My bloggin' buddy Ben has a great post titled, "Some Things are Certain". Check it out!
The Seacoast Story
Check out this interesting post by Geoff Surratt on how Seacoast became an "Accidental Multi-Site". God's ways are higher than ours!
Innovative Church Tip #47: Hire Worshippers
Worshipers for hire boost Sunday excitement
"Praise God!" he shouts, lifting his hands and prompting others to chime in with "amen" and "glory." His infectious enthusiasm is just what the pastor ordered. Kendall isn't a Christian, but he and hundreds of other people across the U.S. are getting paid as much as $12 an hour by temp placement agencies to pretend to be exuberant worshipers. "Praise decoy work is great," says one worshiper for hire who has lent his skills to more than 50 church services. He doesn't mind sitting through services, and considers the praise movements "good stretching exercise, like Tai Chi." In the past five years, the worshiper-for-hire industry has flourished as pastors try to goose the energy level in dwindling churches. Temp agencies train decoys to clap, laugh and make affirmative noises during the sermon. Most prized is the ability to appear authentically engaged, but not overly so." =)
Creative Team Planning
I'm doing a series on "The Heart of Worship" at church. This week we're on the "What Worship Isn't". So far we have...
1. "Worship isn't about you!"
2. "Worship isn't about tradition or empty rituals."
3. "Worship isn't about escaping reality."
Any other thoughts, ideas, resources, or a title on what "Worship Isn't", that you would like to add to our creative team planning?
Question of the Week
British churches are divided over whether to allow filming of The Da Vinci Code in their churches, "Would you allow "The Da Vinci Code" movie to be filmed at your church?"
Blogger for Word
Now you can use Blogger right within Microsoft® Word
-Publish to your blog
-Save drafts
-Edit posts
Was the Preacher Lying?
Money Can Buy Happiness
"Psychology has shown that richer people generally rank the overall quality of their lives more favorably than poorer people do. At the same time, their actual happiness seems to be motivated less by their ability to buy more than by being able to keep up with those with comparable resources in their own age group (five years older or younger), according to a new study.
"Our findings point to the possibility that, rather than promoting overall happiness, continued income growth could promote an ongoing consumption race where individuals have to consume more and more, just to maintain a constant level of happiness," writes Glenn Firebaugh of Pennsylvania State University."
All Pastors and Leaders already knew This
Half of All Americans Mentally Ill
"A new study by Harvard University and the National Institute of Mental Health claims that 46 percent of all Americans will, at some point in their lives, develop a mental disorder. "
Two Part Security Name Tags??
Does anyone know where I can find "Two Part Security Name tags" for babies for our nursery? I've looked everywhere online. Thanks.
Sunday Stew
God will never ask you to do something, He doesn't think you can do. Our church has a big 60" cut Dixon zero-turn mower, that my eight year old son would just love to be able to get on and ride around on. But I never allow him or ask him to cut the grass, why b/c he can't handle it, he would get hurt and hurt others.
Even though he can't cut the grass yet (that is why we had kids ain't it), I do ask him to clean his room, make his bed, and pick up his dirty clothes. I ask him to do things, I know he can handle. If God is asking you to step out or go to that next level, it's because he thinks that you can handle it and you're ready for it. He will never put more on you than you can bear. He won't ask you to do the impossible. Always remember that God will never ask you to do something, that He doesn't think you can do!
1 Question IQ Test
THE ONE-QUESTION IQ TEST
Here's a one question IQ Test to help you decide how you should spend the rest of your day...... There is a mute who wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing one's teeth, he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done. Now if there is a blind man who wishes to buy a pair of sunglasses, how should he express himself?
He opens his mouth and says. "I would like to buy a pair of sunglasses" If you got this wrong - please pack up your things, turn off your Computer and call it a day.
Leadership Summit Notes
Mark posts some notes on Bill Hybel's opening session at the Leadership Summit.
Update: Kem has some great notes from the Leadership Summit. Session 1 -Bill Hybels , Session 2 - Rick Warren. Thanks Kem.
The Trump Blog!
That's right Apprentice fans! Donald Trump and "his circle of experts" have a blog called, "The Trump Blog." Check it out!
First Podcaster From Space
You know podcasting is big when NASA does one from outer space! Here's our tax dollars at work. Click here to check out the NASA podcast.
Ten Deadly Distractions for Communicators
♣ Rambling
♣ Speaking in a monotone
♣ Appearing to have limited topic knowledge
♣ Showing no energy, no passion
♣ Using a lot of non-words
♣ Poor eye contact
♣ Pacing, wandering or fidgeting
♣ Using profanity or questionable humor
♣ Lack of preparation
♣ Poor storytelling skills
(Taken From Ty Boyd's Leaders Zipline Newsletter)
This is cool!
Pool of Siloam Uncovered in Jerusalem
"Scholars have said that there wasn't a Pool of Siloam and that John was using a religious conceit" to illustrate a point, said New Testament scholar James H. Charlesworth of the Princeton Theological Seminary. "Now we have found the Pool of Siloam … exactly where John said it was." A gospel that was thought to be "pure theology is now shown to be grounded in history," he said."
Top Church Websites?
What's your favorite church website? A company is building our church a website and they wanted to know my favorite church websites for ideas. Mine would be Granger's (gccwired.com), Life Church (lifechurch.tv).... Know any others I need to know of?
Are Pastors Bad Listeners?
I've had to really work on this because my pastor was always in a hurry and never took time to listen to you. I believe many pastors are caught up in their own "agenda" to take time to listen to people. What do you think? Read more by Tommy Ham.
Lead us not into temptation...
Recently I've discovered Temptation Blocker via Attack of the Show. I'm embarrased that I need it, no it doesn't block bad sites from your computer, as the name implies but it does block programs such as Internet Explorer, Messenger... Say you have an article or message you need to finish but have the habit of checking your email every ten minutes or your blogroll. You can set Temptation Blocker to block those programs that distract you from getting work done for ten minutes or ten hours. After your time is up, your programs are unblocked. Did I also mention that it's FREE!
Yahoo Audio search
This is pretty cool. With Yahoo Audio Search you can "Find any audio file on the Web". Find out who has the best price on a song you're looking for before you buy it.
A Good Leader...
"A good leader is not the person who does things right, but the person who finds the right things to do." - Anthony T. Dadovano
Building Progam Help
Next Spring, our church will be building and does anyone have any resources to recommend for doing a "Building Fundraising Campaign"? Thanks.
Repainting Faith
Here's an interesting article by the Grand Rapids Press interviewing Rob Bell regarding Velvet Elvis. Link via John.
"Bell also shakes up traditional evangelical beliefs. While calling Christ's way "the best possible way to live," Bell writes Jesus did not claim one religion is better than another when he said he was "the way, the truth and the life." Rather, he writes, "his way is the way to the depth of reality."
Ill Communication
Check out Bruce's post, "How to Fix the Most Common Preaching/Communication Problem". Good stuff.
My Two Cent: Podcasts Rant
With the all the buzz with podcasting, I just want to say a few things... Don't try your podcast out on me! My fear is that there are some good podcasts out there and with the successs Terry is having everyone will try to have one. But just like communicating a talk or sermon, be prepared! Don't just get up there and wing it. Act like you know what you're doing. Do a few practice podcasts before you publish one and get it down. Don't be in a hurry to get one out but take your time publish a quality one that people will actually want to listen to. Bad podcasts are like bad sermons, no one wants to hear them!
Can't Afford an iPod?
If you want to run with the big boys, but can't afford an iPod, you can now just make one. Check out iPod Origami! LOL!
I must be getting old...
E-mail is for older people...
"Three-quarters of teen Internet users use instant messaging, compared with 42 percent of adults, Pew said. Nearly half of teens said they exchanged IMs daily, and some said they spent more than two hours each day using instant-messenger programs.
Half or nearly half of the 1,100 teenagers surveyed said they used IM to send Web links or photos to each other, while nearly one-third said they had sent music or video clips over IM. Adults were much less likely to do any of those things, the survey found."
The Christian Paradox
How a faithful nation gets Jesus wrong
"Only 40 percent of Americans can name more than four of the Ten Commandments, and a scant half can cite any of the four authors of the Gospels. Twelve percent believe Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife."
"Three quarters of Americans believe the Bible teaches that “God helps those who help themselves.” That is, three out of four Americans believe that this uber-American idea, a notion at the core of our current individualist politics and culture, which was in fact uttered by Ben Franklin."
God is looking for Better Men...
"We are constantly on a stretch, if not a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the Church... God's plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than anything else. Men are God's method. The Church is looking for better methods: God is looking for better men." -E.M. Bounds
New Mp3 Tuesday : Blogger Mp3s
Have you always wondered what your fellow bloggers sounded like? Here are some bloggers with links to their talks/sermon mp3s. If you blog and have mp3s, let me know in the comments and I'll post them.
Ben Arment - Blog - Audio
Mark Batterson - Blog - Audio
Bob Franquiz - Blog - Audio
Scott Hodge - Blog - Audio
Bruce Johnson - Blog - Audio
Perry Noble - Blog - Audio
Brian Orme - Blog - Audio
Tally Wilgis - Blog - Audio
"Don't Xerox a Mega Church!"
Church Media guru, Anthony Coppedge took Ed Young's article, 5 Ways to Stay On Track with Media & Technology, and added his own insight. Check it out!
Sunday Stew
Psalm 16:11 - "You will show me the path of life; In Your Presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (NKJV)
Free Mp3 Friday!
Mars Hill Church is ahead of the game with now offering bitTorrents. BitTorrents is a file delivery system that distributes the bandwidth costs of downloading big files. Now you can not only download podcasts but now you can download a whole book series at once. I tried it out yesterday and downloaded 37 sermons for the whole book of Ephesians. For more information on bitTorrents check here, to see all the bitTorrents they're offering check here.
In other exciting news, Terry Storch's podcasts made it to iTunes, to find his podcast just do a Podcast search in iTunes (4.9) for Storch and you should find it. Check it out.
Are you a Voice or an Echo?
I once heard a preacher say, "God wants us to be a voice not an echo" but Tracey Barnes make an intersting point, that we first must be an echo before we can be a voice. Check out the post here.
The Power of Church Multiplication
Check out Bill's post on church multiplication , he puts a out a great point about Lakewood's growth vs. what their multiplication could have been.
Okay, so $95 million, split by $50,000 start-up gifts, comes out to...
...1900 new churches that could have been started. 1900 more churches. Now, use your imagination a bit. Let's say, over the course of each of these church's history, they only grow to be about 100 people. That's not big. Not a megachurch. But do the math again. If each of these 1900 churches grew to 100 (not an outlandish number), then there would be...
...190,000 people who are now part of these churches."
Perry on Preparation
Sweet! Perry is one of my favorite communicators, so I emailed Perry a few weeks back and asked if he'd post on what his preparation & creative team planning looked like for the weekends and he posted today about it. Check it out here . (July 21st post. Permanent link doesn't work.)
Mac is Back
Mac is back from Disney with a great lesson he learned while there. Disney Lesson #1 small things are a BIG DEAL. Check out his interesting post .
Leadership Lessons from the Chocolate Factory
Check out Bob's post on "Lessons from the Chocolate Factory"
A Few Keys to Better Meetings
I have to say I HATE pointless meetings. I usually go to a couple minister's meetings in the community and have a few at our church each month. I'm considering cutting out the minister's meetings b/c they are pointless and I can't change them. They go on and on about nothing and that's time I can spend with my kids. Here's a few keys I've found to better meetings that I use at the church.
1. Set a time limit on the meeting.
Sarge's Law of Meetings is that a meeting will expand to the time you allow for it. People will be more likely to participate if they know the meeting will last only 1 hour. We've all sat through 3 hour meetings that could have been done in 1 hour. Respect people's time.
2. Set an agenda.
An agenda is the meeting's goals. If you don't have an agenda, you don't need to have a meeting. If the agenda is given out before the meeting, each member can be prepared and not caught off guard during the meeting.
3. Invite only those who need to be there.
I've been in meetings where the leaders were the only ones that needed to be there to make decisions but somehow Mr. Yahoo got invited. Mr. Yahoo questioned every decision and wanted every detail on decisions that were made last month. Keep Mr. Yahoo out.
4. Stay Focused during the meeting.
This is the benefit of telling the members that this meeting will only last an hour and half and I respect your time. I'm able to say we've got 30 minutes left to cover these last three items on our agenda.
Finger Scanning At Disney Parks Causes Concern
Finger Scanning At Disney Parks Causes Concern
I think I saw this on that "Mark of the Beast" movie I had to watch in youth growing up. Did anyone else have to watch that movie in youth? I'll have to ask Mac if he ever comes back from Disney.
Sunday Stew
Philippians 2:9 - "Because of that obedience, God lifted him (Jesus) high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, EVER..." The Message
Joel Osteen on Larry King
For all the traffic I'm getting for "Joel Osteen on Larry King"(I'm ranked #2 on Yahoo.) Here's the transcript of the show & here's the apology letter . Thanks.
Free Mp3s Friday!
When I did my post on Top Mp3 Communicators, I forgot to include Dr. Larry Osborne from North Coast Church. He would have made the Honorable Mention list. Check out his sermons on mp3 for free!
Leadership Capacity
Bruce hits a homerun with his post on Leadership Capacity! Check it out! I've always taught this and I use the "Parable of Talents" passage. He gave to each as their ability to receive. What's your ability to receive?
Are you a Power Slacker?
Survey: Workers waste more time than employers expect, costing companies $759 billion a year. More than 10,000 respondents in the online survey admitted to wasting, on average, 2.09 hours per day.
Their top time-wasting activities, they said, were making personal use of the Internet (including email), socializing with colleagues, conducting personal business, spacing out, running errands, making phone calls, applying for jobs, planning personal events, and arriving late or leaving early.
Why I hide my identity?
After I read Bruce's post on being asked to resign, I had flashbacks. I don't know if blogging had anything to do with it, but here's my story. I was blogging before blogging was cool, three or four years ago and linked by some big blogs of the day, even had a post linked by the big guy, instapundit.com (150,000 hits a day) sending thousands in traffic my way. I was never fired or asked to resign over my blog but when I did leave I was told that the board and members read my blog daily. They checked out the blogs of everyone who left comments to see if they were decent sites. They visited my blogroll daily and those I linked just trying to find something bad.
I get asked frequently of who I am and I respond in email with my name and I've been thinking of just using my name on the blog, but after reading Bruce's post. I don't think I will. Why am I telling you this? Your leaders, board members, & people read your blog and some people are evil and are looking for some reason to bust you. You say they don't know you have a blog, but do you think they can't google your name? Just beware of your blogroll, your comments, and who you link to, the devil is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. This is just a friendly reminder.
Help!
What must I do to be able to have church E-invites for people to use to invite friends to church? Do i need certain software to add to a site or is there a hosting site? thanks!
Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln
Tally recommended "Speak like Churchill, Stand like Lincoln" on his blog, so I ordered it, and I'm loving it! I find it very interesting to learn things that great communicators do.
Here's a quote: "Churchill once said that a speech is like a symphony. It may have three movements but must have one dominant melody. Churchill would growl out the central chord of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, "da da da dum." Churchill explained that Beethoven already had that Beethoven already had that chord drumming in his head before he wrote that symphony."
Pray for Perry
Pray for Perry Noble. His blog says that he almost died from a loss of blood during an elective surgery and is in the hospital.
Top 5 Books that have Influenced Me
Bob published his Top 5 Books and asked the question what ours were. He's my Top 5 Books that have Influenced Me besides the B-I-B-L-E:
5. Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard
Reminded me it's about life transformation not numbers.
4. Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill
This little book rocked my world when I read it ten years ago and it will change you and your church. If you have a hard time praying read this book. I have to go back and read it every so often.
3. The 21 Qualities of a Leader by John Maxwell
When I was a youth pastor, I took this book and taught one chapter a week to my leaders. It challenged me and them. They still talk about this book years later.
2. The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren
Enough said.
1. Developing the Leader Within You by John Maxwell
This was my first leadership book I read and it blew me away when I read it. It's a classic.
What books have influenced you?
Don't Pray for Me!
This is a weird story where singer "Omarion Nixes Prayer Request".
"The B2K alum and You Got Served star is distancing himself from a press release that said the singer, scheduled to play a gig Sunday in the besieged British capital, "would like his fans to pray that he has a safe trip and a safe return home."
The widely circulated statement, published on PR Newswire within hours of Thursday's bombings, was turned into a full-blown story by the news agency Reuters, which raised the question: With at least 49 rail and bus commuters dead, and hundreds more injured in the worst attack on London since World War II, why should Omarion be singled out for prayers?"
Sunday Stew
Psalm 34:1 - "I bless GOD every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise." (The Message)
Podcasting
I've been getting questions on podcasts and I came across this book, "Podcasting: Do It Yourself Guide". Check it out for those churches wanting to get in the game.
Free Mp3s!
Check it out, fellow blogger Ben added MP3s to his church website! Adding it to my iPod to give it a listen now.
Just finished listening to Tally's "Be Still" sermon. Good stuff. Found out why they call him Tally and that I was not pronouncing it right.
Gary's recommendation of Brian Boyle was a good one. Check him out also.
The Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator
Take this quiz to find out how long you will live. Woo-hoo! I should live until I'm 84.7 years old.
Mr.T & T's Top Ten
They finally did it. Terry & Tony compiled a list of the Top Ten Innovative Churches. Check it out. I already visit these churches weekly on the net to see what there doing. I was hoping for a few new ones. But this is a great resource!
I'm working on the Top Ten Non-Innovative Churches in America, you know the ones with no people, no innovation, still doing church like they did in 1950. I'm sure you can think of a few.
Doonesbury on Blogging
Check out this Doonesbury cartoon strip on blogging. Best line, "Isn't blogging for angry semi-employed losers, who are too untalented or too lazy to get real jobs in journalism."
Joel Osteen on Larry King Live
Did anyone see Joel Osteen's interview on Larry King Live Sunday Night? That was the strangest interview I've ever seen. Here's the transcript. It went so bad Joel put out a letter of apology on his website.
Happy Fourth of July!
Happy Fourth of July! Shut down the computer and go enjoy the day with family and friends!
Freebies!
Sign-up at wiredchurches.com for their free e-newsletter and receive their "First Impression Manual" free! Woo-hoo!
The Sunday Stew
Galatians 5:1 - "Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you." (The Message)
Live 8
Can a concert change the world? I wish it would but I don't think so. I sure would like to be in London. Watching Coldplay now on AOL!
iTunes Podcast Subscriptions Top One Million
iTunes Podcast Subscriptions Top One Million in First Two Days
"With the release of iTunes 4.9, listeners are voting with their ears,” said Adam Curry, co-founder of the PodShow Podcast Network. “Subscriptions have dramatically increased across our entire PodShow Podcast Network, and I predict over the coming months that iTunes will introduce tens of millions of new listeners to the world of Podcasting.”
This Week's Podcast Recommendation
Every leader that's not a megachurch pastor, needs to listen to "So You're Not Saddleback and You're Up a Willow Creek?" podcast by The Mayberry Driven Church. It starts slow but then gets going, discussing comparing yourself to megachurches. Good stuff! Link via Todd.
Make The Connection!
"People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges." -Joseph Newton
I had an interesting evening last night, one of the "saints" in our church invited my wife and I out to the local state park for a cookout with her and her husband. We really were not looking forward to it and made excuses why we should have cancelled but we went anyways. I find it awkward being invited to go meet unchurched spouses of church members. You never know how it's going to be and I've met some heathen that let you know that they didn't care for you being there.
We prayed before we got out of the Jeep, for God's favor and that we could make the connection with this guy. As soon as we met, he fell in love with our three kids and God opened the door. We ended up talking for over 3 hours about everything and a relationship was formed. I never preached at him, I just built a bridge for when he is ready. He made a promise to visit the church soon. Most people don't realize that making the connection in relationships is a slow process. Alot of people have walls up that were made by other Christians for one reason or another. Jesus took time for people and made connections outside of his circle of influence. Today make a decision this holiday weekend to widen your circle and make that connection.
Tipping Points for the Church
We've all read the book, "The Tipping Point" but check out Brian Orme's great post on "The Tipping Points for the Church".
Megatrends of Megachurches
In an article in Outreach Magazine, Bill Easum lists 4 Megatrends of Megachurches and what we can learn from them.
MEGATREND No.1: Rapid Growth
One of the most important and visible changes in church growth over the last 20 years is the size and rate at which churches have expanded and will continue to grow.
MEGATREND N0. 2: Small Groups
The most significant church growth event in the U.S. Church today and for decades to come is the explosion of small groups— meeting both in Sunday school classes and during the week outside the church.
MEGATREND No. 3: Multi-Service
As churches grow larger they are becoming more creative in their use of time and space.
MEGATREND No. 4: Diversity
Our churches are not the anemic church profiles portrayed in much of today’s media projection of America’s churches and their leaders. Approximately 30 of the nation’s 100 largest churches are heavily ethnically mixed.
See any other trends?
Free Mp3s!
Shawn Woods from Seacoast Church read my post on mp3s and said offering "Free Mp3s" really hasn't hurt the sales of their CDs! He says, "It has actually been a very cool experience. Our sales have not been effected too bad, only about a 10% decline, which could actually just be a coincidence..."
Great Communicators that I'd love to see get podcasts or free mp3s:
1. Ed Young
2. Andy Stanley
3. Bill Hybels
4. Rick Warren
5. Mark Beeson
Leave anyone off?
iTunes 4.9
In reference to my previous post, iTunes 4.9 was just released with the ability to download and manage podcasts! Got to go figure it out!
Update: Churches that do have podcasts need to submit their podcasts to the Apple Music Store!
The Mp3 Connoisseur
I have to say I am a connoisseur of sermon mp3s, much of my sabbath on Mondays (I preach twice on Sundays) is spent being refreshed by listening to great communicators. Of the 600 songs on my iPod, probably 100 are sermons. I've hounded Terry and other megachurches about putting out podcasts or mp3s, those of you who sell them give us a sample once a month! I also will say I never listen to Real Media or any other Streaming Media, give me something I can take with me. Here are my top five "FREE mp3" great communicators and where to find them:
1. Perry Noble
2. Rob Bell
3. Kevin Myers
4. Brian Tome
5. Greg Surratt
Honarble Mention - Erwin McManus , Mark Driscoll
Is there anybody I don't know yet, but needs to be on the list? Drop me a comment.
Blind Spots
Over the weekend, I read most of Coach McCartney's book titled, "Blind Spots". The book is okay, but there was one thought that really struck me. Right before he quit coaching, he talked about having a moment when he asked himself, "Have I become the man that my wife thought she was marrying?" My wife and I have a great marriage, but that question really hit a nerve for me. Am I putting the effort I need into my marriage and home? Are there "Blind Spots" that are keeping me from being "the Prince Charming" she thought she was marrying? Are you being the person that your spouse thought that they were getting? Are you being the leader that your followers thought they were following?
Sunday Stew
Philippians 2:4 - "Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand." (The Message)
Rick Warren on Neil Cavuto
Rick Warren was on Neil Cavuto on Fox News today and he made an interesting statement, he said that there was no more mainstream America, that there are many streams in America and Christianity is a large stream. What do you think?
Vision Quote
"The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet." ~ Theodore M. Hesburgh
What is leadership?
Bob Franquiz hits the nail right on the head with his definition of leadership! Check it out!
ENTJ
After Terry took the personality test, i decided to do so. My results were ENTJ. (Extraverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging).
Here's the description:
ENTJs have a natural tendency to marshall and direct. This may be expressed with the charm and finesse of a world leader or with the insensitivity of a cult leader. The ENTJ requires little encouragement to make a plan. One ENTJ put it this way... "I make these little plans that really don't have any importance to anyone else, and then feel compelled to carry them out." While "compelled" may not describe ENTJs as a group, nevertheless the bent to plan creatively and to make those plans reality is a common theme for NJ types.
ENTJs are often "larger than life" in describing their projects or proposals. This ability may be expressed as salesmanship, story-telling facility or stand-up comedy. In combination with the natural propensity for filibuster, our hero can make it very difficult for the customer to decline.
What's your personality?
The Superman Complex, Part 3
According to the book the Superman Complex there are several things you need to quit doing if you have the Superman Complex. They are Quit:
-Telling yourself you can do everything
-Placing blame
-Insisting "It's my way or the highway!"
-Indulging in contempt for "lesser beings"
-Engaging in "coulda, woulda, shoulda" thinking
-Maintaining your dignity at all costs
-Wallowing in impatience
-Interrupting
-Being a perfectionist
-Asking others to be a perfectionists
-Intimidating subordinates, friends, or family members
-Trying to control everyone and everything
Time Management Test
Check out Mac's "Time Management Test". I scored low on all of them but the lack of discipline one.
The Superman Complex Part 2
"Hi my name is Josh and I have the Superman Complex." After yesterday's post you may want to ask what's wrong with having a Superman Complex, I get things done! Is it wrong for me to have ambition & drive? No, the book talks about the Superman Complex being more than just normal ambition & drive. You know if you're going overboard. Along with the good parts of being a "Superman", there is a what the book calls, "The Darkside of Being Superman".
Here's the Dark Side of Being Superman:
-You put your mental health at risk with worry
-You damage your psychic health (self worth)
-You damage your spiritual health (no room or time for God)
-You damage your relationships with others
-You rist your physical health
-You do damage to your workplace, your family, & to your future
Tomorrow, we'll look at what to do if you've got the "Superman Complex".
The Superman Complex
Yesterday, I picked up the book, "The Superman Complex" by Max Carey at the library. Wow! It's very convicting and every leader, pastor, & business owner should read it. I'm half way through the book and here are the "Six Pillars of the Superman Complex".
1. The Renaissance Man - He can do anything and he could do it better than anyone else.
2. The Know-It-All - They believe they are the expert in every field of human endeavor.
3. The Glutton for Punishment - They are willing to sacrifice anything to get the job done.
4. The Lone Ranger - They don't need anyone at all.
5. The Puppet Master - They have to control everything.
6. The Hall of Famer - They have to win all the time.
Anyone come to mind?
Are you Mr.Clutch?
As I watched the Pistons & Spurs game last night, I sat in amazement as Mr. Clutch, Robert Horry hit the game winning shot for the Spurs, again. Horry scored 18 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Horry has knack for delivering when the pressure is on and that's why he has 5 NBA Championship Rings! I was wanting the Pistons to win but in the end I was rooting for Horry to come through.
During Horry's run, I remembered playing ball as a kid and wanting the ball at the end of the game. Most people would rather pass off the ball to someone else, but me I wanted the pressure. It made me focus more. In your church, business or leadership role, can you deliver when the heat is on? When everyone else wilts, can you knock down the big shot, so to speak? Are you the go-to-guy or girl or do they try to get it out of your hands because you'll panic? When the heat is on, be the leader that will step up and deliver and people will gladly follow, Mr. Clutch.
The Positive Paradigm
Check out the post by Mark Batterson called the Positive Paradigm. "A research study at the University of Iowa found that the average two-year-old receives 432 negatively oriented statements a day compared to 32 positively oriented statements. That's a 14-to-1 ratio."
Which are you?
Convenience people are emotion based; Consistent people are character based.
Convenience people do what is easiest; Consistent people do what is right.
Convenience people are controlled by their moods; Consistent people are controlled by their priorities.
Convenience people have a selfish mind set; Consistent people have a servant mind-set.
Convenience people look for excuses; Consistent people look for solutions.
Convenience people quit during tough times; Consistent people continue in tough times.
-Building the Winning Team by Alton Garrison
Get Back Up!
I took my family to see Batman Begins last night at a local drive-in. I hadn't been in to a drive in for probably 20 years as a kid. It was a great experience for us and the movie was good. There were several good quotes in the movie, but one that was repeated often was, “Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.”
The quote reminded me one of the most helpful things some one ever shared with me, when I was starting out my walk with God, and that was that "What separates overcomers from strugglers is that the overcomers learned to get back up, dust off, and keep walking and strugglers wallow in their fall." Have you learned to pick yourself up? If you're stuggling with your walk, get up, dust off, & start again.
Father's Day
As I prepare for my Father's Day message, I am reminded of the influence that us fathers have on our children. If we are going to be successful leaders, then we must first make a decision to lead our family. Are we successful, if our churches and organizations are growing but our families are falling apart? I think not! I know the benefits aren't recognition, pay raises or bonuses but there are major rewards from leading a successful home. The bible says in 1 Timothy 3 that if someone desires to be a leader, he must first "rule his own house well." Let's make a decision that we fathers will step up and use our influence for good and lead our families in the right direction.
Passion
I've about finished the book "Breakout Churches" and here is an interesting passage about "passion". "Without passion there is no vision. We've found no churches that had anything resembling a true vision unless the leadership, particularly the pastor was passionate about something. Of 427 churches we examined, only 6 % of those congregations had a leader who was clearly passionate. The breakout churches, however had a passion to reach and minsiter to the community."
Are you passionate about what you do? What am I passionate about? Golf, leadership, church, computers? Find your passion and you'll find a job. My pastor told me when I was preparing to get into the ministry and church leadership, not to do it unless I couldn't stay out of it. Of course, I had a passion and couldn't stay out of it.
The Power of Praise
Check out this article by Stan Holder on "The Power of Praise". It's good stuff, I've heard him a few times at his "Model Church" seminars.
Reagan's Leadership
"President Reagan decided what he believed in, stuck to it through thick and thin, and finally, through its success, persuaded others." Read the rest of this interesting article on Ronald Reagan's leadership here.
Think About it...
Do you NEED to be a Leader?
"The real leader has no need to lead - he is content to point the way."
- Henry Miller
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