What an encouraging and timely book! It's cool to see that there are a lot of other churches that have done what we are embarking upon. God definitely brought this book to us at the right time. I really like how he described that "vision is a leader's most powerful weapon." I know that I have heard great speakers and have felt so compelled by their message that I wanted to jump on their bandwagon too. I think it was so cool to see how in his church, Bill Hybel began the process with his vision team of senior leadership in the church. It is so vital that we are all on the same page before we can carry the vision out to the church as a whole. I was very encouraged when he talked about how in todays world people have schedules so crammed with stuff that it's hard to imagine squeezing one more thing in. However, when people are excited and have caught the vision they are willing to do what it takes to carry it out. People are moved into action because they realize the great value in what the vision has set to accomplish. I believe that our family, our Signet group and many in our church family feel the same way. What has more value than bringing people into the kingdom of God?
I liked the "Getting-it-Done Leadership" chapter. It's practical and shows how you can cast vision all you want but if we never get up and do something, the vision won't become a reality. I think the setting of goals is a great idea and I hope we are able to do that in our Acts 2 process. I am excited to continue reading this book and seeing the parallels to our own transformation process.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Annette's CL Oct. Book Review
Isn't it amazing how God directs our lives??? I chose this book for Signet in October of last year!! At that time, we had no idea that we would be in this Acts 2 process. God is so ingenious! Everything we're reading is right in line with the vision process. What is so cool to me is that this book brings another facet to the process. In vision team, we're talking about the vision, movement of people, the process of discipleship, etc. But this book talks about what kind of leader can actually facilitate that vision! How cool!!!
Hybels' love for the church really inspired me. It's easy to get frustrated about what doesn't work. But the Church really is the hope of this world! That is a huge responsibility for us to carry. And the leaders of the Church hold the opportunity for impact in their hands. Wow...are we sure we want to sign up for that? :) There is no other organization, club, or government that can have the influence that the Church can. I am very humbled by that realization. We have to do better.
So that leads us to chapter 2 where he talks about vision. We have definitely come to appreciate the importance of vision through the Acts 2 process. It sounds like they did their own Acts 2 process to clarify their vision as well! Our most potent weapon as a leader is VISION. I was glad to read that he emphasized the importance of not only identifying the vision - but also that you must work hard to communicate. It's not a once a year event. It should be threaded through everything we do. Every opportunity has to be weighed against the vision that God has given us. We can't afford to use time and resources on activities that aren't a part of that.
Chapter 3 was a butt kicking chapter. LOL Talk is cheap - that's how I summarize it. Haha. He had to make some difficult decisions and push people pretty hard in order to fully achieve what God was calling them to. Are we ready to do that? I admit that it is hard for me to "push" my team when they are volunteers. I served as a volunteer for years, and I gave a lot to ministry while balancing family and work. So I empathize with the struggle to not take on too much. But at the same time, is there anything in life more important than Kingdom work? So shouldn't it be #1 priority after your personal relationship with God and family? I've always felt bad about expecting that. I guess if I am communicating the vision with great passion and conviction in a way that will help to inspire people - they will willingly make the necessary sacrifices! Because they'll see that God is in it, and that I need their help to do it. What an awesome book this is so far...I'm excited.
Hybels' love for the church really inspired me. It's easy to get frustrated about what doesn't work. But the Church really is the hope of this world! That is a huge responsibility for us to carry. And the leaders of the Church hold the opportunity for impact in their hands. Wow...are we sure we want to sign up for that? :) There is no other organization, club, or government that can have the influence that the Church can. I am very humbled by that realization. We have to do better.
So that leads us to chapter 2 where he talks about vision. We have definitely come to appreciate the importance of vision through the Acts 2 process. It sounds like they did their own Acts 2 process to clarify their vision as well! Our most potent weapon as a leader is VISION. I was glad to read that he emphasized the importance of not only identifying the vision - but also that you must work hard to communicate. It's not a once a year event. It should be threaded through everything we do. Every opportunity has to be weighed against the vision that God has given us. We can't afford to use time and resources on activities that aren't a part of that.
Chapter 3 was a butt kicking chapter. LOL Talk is cheap - that's how I summarize it. Haha. He had to make some difficult decisions and push people pretty hard in order to fully achieve what God was calling them to. Are we ready to do that? I admit that it is hard for me to "push" my team when they are volunteers. I served as a volunteer for years, and I gave a lot to ministry while balancing family and work. So I empathize with the struggle to not take on too much. But at the same time, is there anything in life more important than Kingdom work? So shouldn't it be #1 priority after your personal relationship with God and family? I've always felt bad about expecting that. I guess if I am communicating the vision with great passion and conviction in a way that will help to inspire people - they will willingly make the necessary sacrifices! Because they'll see that God is in it, and that I need their help to do it. What an awesome book this is so far...I'm excited.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Mike's Courageous Leadership Intro through Chapter 3
I have really enjoyed this book and what Bill Hybels has had to say. A lot of what he is talking about goes hand in hand with what we are going through in our church vision meetings - so this is tying in with a few different areas. The following are some points and ideas that stuck out to me.
He has a deep passion for the local church and its potential - the local church is the hope of the world. The local church should be pointing people to Jesus. On page 23 he goes into detail of what the church can be when functioning right. It is so many things to so many people that no other type of organization can compare to. Leaders play a big role in helping to guide or steer the church to where it needs to be.
Vision is a picture of the future that produces passion. This was one definition used in this book. Vision is very important to a leader and is backed up with scripture - Proverbs 29:18 ...Where there is no vision, the people perish...
Mr. Hybels listed some basic truths to a leader, if they are having trouble getting a clear vision from God. He lists about 8 different points (page 38 in the book). Some seem fairly basic, but yet I still need to ask myself if I have taken the time to do these things.
Another point mentioned about having a clear vision is that it helps to define (by implication) what the church or organization is not about. This can really help to keep a group from getting involved with things that take up a lot of time and resources and really don't accomplish what the group is wanting to do. This should help so that the group doesn't get spread so thin.
We need to be a get it done type of leader. Some leaders are just vision casters, or others just constantly give pep talks. We need to be able to cast a vision, but yet be able to take steps to move towards and accomplish the vision. Along the way, we need to be able to show progress in moving towards the vision. If we don't, we probably won't have many people sticking and working with us towards the vision / goal.
I like how he mentioned how we need to be able to work towards the main goal of the church and not just the goals of our area within the church. This will help us to work together as a body and not just a bunch of independent little bodies doing our own little thing.
A diligent leader will need to be willing to move out of our comfort zone, be willing to learn new skills and disciplines, and at times be willing to submit to a process of retraining.
He has a deep passion for the local church and its potential - the local church is the hope of the world. The local church should be pointing people to Jesus. On page 23 he goes into detail of what the church can be when functioning right. It is so many things to so many people that no other type of organization can compare to. Leaders play a big role in helping to guide or steer the church to where it needs to be.
Vision is a picture of the future that produces passion. This was one definition used in this book. Vision is very important to a leader and is backed up with scripture - Proverbs 29:18 ...Where there is no vision, the people perish...
Mr. Hybels listed some basic truths to a leader, if they are having trouble getting a clear vision from God. He lists about 8 different points (page 38 in the book). Some seem fairly basic, but yet I still need to ask myself if I have taken the time to do these things.
Another point mentioned about having a clear vision is that it helps to define (by implication) what the church or organization is not about. This can really help to keep a group from getting involved with things that take up a lot of time and resources and really don't accomplish what the group is wanting to do. This should help so that the group doesn't get spread so thin.
We need to be a get it done type of leader. Some leaders are just vision casters, or others just constantly give pep talks. We need to be able to cast a vision, but yet be able to take steps to move towards and accomplish the vision. Along the way, we need to be able to show progress in moving towards the vision. If we don't, we probably won't have many people sticking and working with us towards the vision / goal.
I like how he mentioned how we need to be able to work towards the main goal of the church and not just the goals of our area within the church. This will help us to work together as a body and not just a bunch of independent little bodies doing our own little thing.
A diligent leader will need to be willing to move out of our comfort zone, be willing to learn new skills and disciplines, and at times be willing to submit to a process of retraining.
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