You Need A Coach 2

In the first post I talked about the need for a coach. So you know the need...NOW WHAT???

I was a really good player in high school...it wasn't until I played in college that I realized that in order for me to play at that level I was going to have to be better at my technique. In fact, after our first day it was apparent that I hadn't learned much in high school but had gotten by on athletic ability. If it weren't for the great coaches I had in college I would have found myself not being able to continue on that level.

For you to begin reaching your potential you need to find someone that will help you get there.

Let me give you three ways to reach those new levels:

1. Ask - Ask someone to mentor you who has been where you want to go. Hire a coach to help you in an area you are lacking.
2. Read - Some of my best coaches I have never met in person. I have read their books or blogs.
3. Join - Join a network with others where you can all learn and share in the journey.

You don't have to do it alone. Whether in business or ministry do it with a coach. Do it with someone who can help you develop yourself to your fullest potential.

[photo credit by flickr.com]

You Need A Coach

One thing that many of the greatest athletes in the world have learned is that for them to be even better they need a coach. One thing that escapes many people in ministry though is just that point.

It is impossible for you to maximize yourself...by yourself. You may be better than everyone around you but you will never be as good as you can be unless you have outside input.

When you set yourself on a pedestal or an island/kingdom all your own, you are only hurting your God-given potential. Don't allow your ability to perform be hampered by the pride of letting yourself be helped. The ministry and people you lead deserve it.

Who has helped you along the way???

The Capacity Of A Leader 2

Matthew 25 has a great story of stewardship. Of course we see it as an illustration of three people taking care of what God has given them. I think it is a prime example of how we should work to better the leadership God has given us.

Each of us has a capacity to lead. In part 1 we talked about how the size of our ministry is determined by the capacity of our leadership. I believe it is possible to increase that capacity. Not only that but I believe it is our God given responsibility to do so. Maybe you could call it the stewardship of leadership...not sure about that.

As we see in Matthew 25:14-30, each of the servants is entrusted with the Masters property, "each according to his ability".

Here is where I want to break and show you what God is showing me through this. I'm not going to go into what happened. Most of us know the story and/or can read it. What I do want to zero in on is the "ability" part.

Now we could go into who gave them the ability. We could go into a lot of things on this. This is what I do know through experience in my life and in how I see God working.

When I was born, I believe I was given athletic ability as well as a certain level of intelligence. When I got to junior high/high school I began to work hard to develop and not develop those abilities.

In athletics I worked hard and was able to take that ability He gave me and go on to play football in college. To me...I doubled that talent.

As far as intelligence goes I graduated in the top 10% of my class. Only problem is that I never worked hard. I skated by in High School. In fact, you could say that really I was an average student that got by with the intelligence God gave me. I was able to get into college and academically I did horrible. In fact I graduated as a "C" student. To me...I wasted that talent.

God has entrusted us with His church and with the purpose of making disciples. We can either sit on that talent or we can increase our capacity to lead. The choice really is ours. What I have chosen to do is better myself in various areas so that I might be better organized to lead the church God has given me.

What are you doing with what God has entrusted you?

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Google - Your Leadership Development Fetcher

I thought it would be great to give you one of my tips that I use for part of my personal development.

Really it can be summed up almost in one word - GOOGLE

Well Google Alerts is actually what I use...hmmm...that's two words.

With Google Alerts you can define exactly a term that you want google to search for and it will "alert" you, through email daily, weekly, or when it is published. With the alert you an have it search web content, blogs, news, video, groups or even comprehensive covering it all.

Right now I have an alert set with the term "church leadership" which searches daily through blogs. I will scan through the content on anything that looks interesting and read. Again any term you want, you can create your alert for.

I also used this to keep up with the Evolve and C3 Conferences.

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How To Feed Yourself Spiritually As A Leader

I have to admit that as a pastor I hate to hear the words, "I'm not getting fed!"

Honestly, I think that is the lamest, most pathetic excuse I've ever heard from a Christian. As a Christian you must take the responsibility for making sure you are growing.

But to be honest I can agree with that statement somewhat. There are many pastors who do not know how to communicate and butcher their presentation but yet want people to not have the excuse of not being fed. They don't know how to develop a point or connect people with the message. They feel that just because they open up the bible and can talk about a scripture it should be good enough. But I'm not getting into that with this post.

As a pastor or ministry leader how do you feed yourself? How do you get "fed" spiritually?

Obviously you can't sit and hear your own message on Sunday's. You need to make sure that your own spiritual refrigerator is full.

Daily Bible Reading
Don't just read to study for your message. Read to be in communion with God. There are various yearly Bible Reading plans that will help you continually stay in the word. I would also say don't just read to read but journal as well.

Listen To Other Pastors
With the availability of many pastors who now have their messages podcasted for free there is no excuse. I subscribe to about seven church podcast specifically to feed myself spiritually. I listen to the podcast messages from North Point Ministries, National Community Church, Community Christian Church, Flamingo Road Church, Newspring, Pine Ridge Church, Elevation Church, Revolution Church and Lifechurch.tv. I listen to each of these for specific reasons as well the fact that each are excellent communicators.

Read Spiritual Books
I'm not talking about leadership books or business books here. I'm talking about a book written to challenge or grow you spiritually. Whether it is a classic or the latest off the book shelf, add some books of this type to your spiritual diet.

I'd like to know how you are keeping your spiritual refrigerator full as a ministry leader?

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