are you really listening?

a leadership fable seth godin uses in tribes is ronald reagan's secret to leadership. check this out.

your tribe wants a leader who listens. and by listen i mean actively listen. reagan says, "you should value what you hear and then make a decision even if it contradicts the very people you are listening to. people want to be sure you heard what they said - they're less focused on whether or not you do what they said."

for the most part i really try to give people my full attention when listening; however, so many times i am not actively listening. i make excuses like, "i am busy and there are 1,000 things going on in my head" and i just let something that someone said to me go in one ear and out the other. i am striving to become an active listener.

tribes

this idea of a tribe that seth godin has introduced NSM to has made us rethink leadership. i just finished the book and it had some nuggets that were really worth the read.

- "heretics are the new leaders."

- "...faith is demonstrated by the actions you take."

- "being charismatic doesn't make you a leader. being a leader makes you charismatic." (my guess is this is kevin harris' favorite line in the book)

- "the only thing that makes people and organizations great is their willingness to be not great along the way."

- "change is made by people, by leaders who are proud to be called heretics because their faith is never in question."

this book transformed the way i think about leadership. on the last page, seth challenges the reader to share the book with someone else if you got anything from the book. a few of you may be getting a copy from yours truly for Christmas.

NSMisms

i regularly read a blog by a pastor, Tony Morgan, from NewSpring Church. he calls quotes from the senior pastor, Perry Noble, at NewSpring Perryisms. he has inspired me to write the first ever blog titled NSMisms.

"That's money"
"Kevin Harris is now khartos"
"Bible says..."
"Organic Chemistry"
"Go Yearbook Yourself"
"You just got Pepe Le Pew-ed"
"Yeah Boy!" <-- Brian Jarvis Shout Out

there will be a lot where that came from.

ephesians 2:8-10

ephesians 2:8-10
8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

we are in the middle of our giving+thanks series at SHIFT and i will be giving a talk next week on putting our thankfulness into action. this verse in ephesians has stuck out to me and has been recurring in my mind over the past few weeks. tomorrow middle school students will be preparing Thanksgiving dinner boxes for Northwood Church's Turkey Outreach on Nov. 23rd. what better way for our middle schoolers to put their thankfulness into action?

that morning (before the Turkey Outreach) i will be speaking to our middle schoolers on this verse. i am praying that God will move in their lives and then in turn their lives will be full of good works streaming from the love of Christ that dwells within them.

recharging

what an excellent thing rest is. i really enjoy sleeping. when i got home today i was so tired but i couldn't go to sleep. this wasn't the type of rest i needed.

allison, her mom, and i went and visited allison's grandparents in cincinnati this past week. the 10-hour drive wore me out and i had not had a chance to catch up on my rest since i have gotten back on saturday afternoon. the rest i needed was to be recharged by God. God did that today through complete silence on my back porch (which i don't access near enough). the beauty of the night and coolness of the air were so magnificent tonight, and it is so amazing that nature was created by God and we can see His glory all over things like these. even thought the drive back from cincy wore me out i saw the beauty of His creation in the mountains, the starry night, and the colors of the autumn leaves. and man, was it beautiful!

just seeing the beauty of God in His creation makes me so happy and energizes me instantaneously. oh how i love to be recharged by His love, by His majesty, by His beauty, and by His glory.

the blazing center

all northwood student ministry male group leaders are invited to join the brand new group beginning this monday night at 6:45 pm at keith christmas' house. the group will be going through a dvd study with john piper's the blazing center. the study guides have just arrived at my door and will be provided.

if you have any questions email me at aj@northwoodstudents.com.

i can't wait. i'll see you there!