Courageous Leadership 10-13

Chapter 10 - A Leaders Prayer to me seems to reinforce the importance of reading and studing the Word of God. People in the Bible faced many of the same things we face. We are allowed the opportunity to see how others handled similar situations in life. We can pick out the strong points and characteristics and pray that we can grow in those areas in our life.

Chapter 11 - The Leader's Pathway. This chapter talked about the importance of our walk with God and how there can be many different ways that we can go about getting into or drawing closer to the presence of God. Probably one of the main ways for me is when I am serving God and others. Many times during worship and being out in God's creation - a bike ride, walk, etc. it is easy to be drawn into God's presence.

Chapter 12 - Developing an enduring spirit. I thought this was another great chapter. So many times we set out to do things for God, get part way into it, things don't go well, and we want to give up and quite. It was brought out even more the importance of making your calling and election sure before moving out to do something. You don't want to get part way into something and then ask yourself was I really called to do this? It was mentioned that if we remain focussed and fulfill His calling, then He will empower us to endure. Another point that was made - we don't want to give up or betray the One who gave us life, salvation, and the promise of eternity. I really liked the word picture of him sailing across Lake Michigan during rough weather and being able to see it from the view point of an airplane. The past few months I have been reminded of a similar picture of a football player out on the field, and a coach being up in the stands calling out plays. The player can't see everything from his viewpoint, but the coach can. Sometimes the coach may tell us to back up a few steps, move to the right or left, which at the time, may not make any sense. We are getting these directions to help us avoid being tackled. Other times the decisions of those around us effect us as well. If our teammates don't block for us in certain situations in life, we may get sacked. When this does happen, we need to get up and get ready for the next play. We just need to make sure we are doing the best we can (being obedient) with the "plays" or (directions) our coach is giving us. In the end we know we win because we have the gift of eternal life.

Chapter 13 - Refusing God Nothing. This chapter took a look at some of the things Mother Teresa went through before and during the time she was able to work within the call God had placed on her life. Some of the points she lived by was to refuse God nothing, do His bidding without delay, and to be found faithful in little practices. These are not easy standards or goals to live by. The struggles that she went through serve as an encouragement and a reminder to not give up when things don't seem to be working out.

I have really enjoyed reading Courageous Leadership and have learned a lot from it. I would recommend it to others.

Courageous Leadership Chapters 7-9

As mentioned in earlier posts, I believe Bill Hybels brings up some very good ideas. It is hard to pick out just a few points because there are so many.
Chap 7 - Discovering and Developing Your Own Leadership Style. He brought out 10 leadership styles in this chapter. Before reading the chapter I probably would have only come up with a few. If I had to choose the style or styles that I fall into, it would probably be The strategic leadership style - taking something and breaking it down into smaller pieces. Another category may be the shepherding leadership style. This type of leadership takes place over a period of time and doesn't happen quickly. At the end of the chapter he lists 4 steps to help lead and provide a high impact. Step 4 - Commit yourself both to developing your strong leadership styles and growing in your weaker leadership styles, really stuck out to me. The point of growing in your weaker areas may be the driving point. With how things are changing so quickly in society today, if you don't try to keep up, or at least be aware of the changes around you, you will find yourself on the outside looking in. Mr. Hybles made the point - No matter how strong leaders are in their particular leadership style, totally overlooking the areas in which they are weak will eventually compromise their ability to lead.

Chapter 8 - A Leader's Sixth Sense
In this chapter he discusses data sources that we use to make decisions. Knowing these sources and being aware of them will help us understand better why we make some of the decisions we do. What I believe - what are my core values and beliefs. What I know other leaders would do. This would go back to who I surround myself with - people who I allow to speak into my life, mentors, friends, etc,. Pain or probably another way to say it is past experiences. Hopefully we have learned things in the past and don't repeat the same mistakes. May we be able to see where an idea or program will lead even if it is "packaged or wrapped" a little different. The Holy Spirit. We always need to be open to the Holy Spirit's leading. At times this may seem to go against, or not line up fully with some of the earlier points just discussed. He brought out some very good questions that I need to ask myself in this area: Is there enough quietness in your life for you to hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit? Do you have the guts to carry out promptings, even though you might not understand them fully, and even though your team might question your wisdom? Are you willing to walk by faith? Will you commit yourself to allowing the Spirit to fully inform your decision-making?

Chapter 9 - The Art of Self-leadership
I thought his compass analogy was good. It reminded me of being an all around team player. So many times it is easy to just focus on those who you are responsible for. He brings up the point of the toughest leadership challenge - yourself. It is so easy to get focused on a goal or mission and overlook your own needs or areas of weakness. One thought comes to mind - you can't lead someone where you haven't been yourself. Or you may be on a journey with your team and don't have all the answers, but you at least have God's peace while going on the journey. In this chapter he goes on and lists many questions that we as leaders need to ask ourselves from time to time. Some that stuck out to me - Is my character submitted to Christ? Everytime time you compromise character you compromise leadership. In a round about way I am reminded of a former boss - he would never ask any of his workers to do anything he wouldn't do himself. Am I asking those I am a servant leader to, to do things or have expectations of them that I am not doing myself? Is my pride subdued? There probably are better ways of doing things than just my way. Am I overcoming fear? This can keep me from doing things or making changes that need to be done. Is my pace sustainable? I think that this is one question that is not asked enough. So many times we take our family and our physical bodies for granted. The topic of burnout comes into play. In the "church" community and even other areas in our life, if things get going to fast and get out of hand and lead to a mental, physical, or family breakdown, that is not good. He makes the point that we in large part are responsible for the pace at which we live our lives.

Once again, many good points mentioned in these chapters.

Courageous Leadership, Chapters 4-6

I am really enjoying this book. Hybels offers such practical information that I think most people can understand and would be able to implement. The chapter "Building a Kingdom Dream Team" is so good because he lays out a good foundation for building a strong team. Everything he says totally makes sense but on my own I probably would never think of doing this process the same way. I really liked how he said we first need to define the nature and purpose of the team. I know I've been on teams before where no one was really sure what the real goal was. Which totally correlates with our Acts 2 process - we have to all focus on the "main thing" and from there we will have unity in our body. I really liked Hybel's 3 C's of selection. I think it is right on. I think sometimes in churches someone with an incredible talent may be elevated to a position but the character is lacking. They will inevitably fail. Sometimes it takes a while to really see someone's character, which is why I appreciate our church's policy of having new people wait for a period of time before getting involved. The next chapter "The Resource Challenge" was a good one. I'm glad that someone is actually addressing finances and giving to this extent. Bill Hybels wrote in his book about how he was unapologetic about asking for resources in the early years of his ministry. People get so touchy about their money but Bill was willing to ask people who were just barely Christians about donating large amounts of money. It was really good to hear someone be so upfront about how its nearly impossible to make a church grow without financial resources. It really makes me think about what we could be doing to be generating more resources in our body. I whole-heartedly believe that our pastors and staff should be paid more. Their occupation is not easy and is not just a Monday through Friday 8 - 4 job. I believe they should be paid well. I definitely agree with Hybels that if people get excited about a vision, they are glad to give. I feel that we have a generous congregation and if we can get people excited about what our purpose is and dreams that we have for our body, I think we can draw new people in and also increase our resources.

Mike's Courageous Leadership Chap 4-6

In chapter 4, entitled building a Kingdom Dream Team, he discussed the three characteristics of what he looks for when selecting team members. The three c's are character, competence, and chemistry - in that order. With character, he means that the person's walk with Jesus Christ needs to be solid, and that the person is committed to spiritual disciplines. He mentioned that all the areas are important, but that lacking in character in a lot of situations can produce more damage for the team than occasionally falling short in the other areas. Once again, we will be known by our fruit.

Chapter 5 talks about the Resource Challenge and how the leader needs to be the chief resource raiser. This is not a very fun aspect of being a leader, but it does take resources to get a ministry or project going, and to sustain it. The leader standing behind and working with this projects, is just another area that shows how much the leader is committed to the project. It kind of goes back to the old saying of putting your money where your mouth is. He gives many examples of how things were and how tight the budget was when first starting out. These are areas where you hope you never have to go through, but many times you can really relate to them. One thing to keep in mind is that God is the ultimate resource provider, people are just conduits that the resources flow though. Another point he made in this chapter and quoting a couple sentences - People don't give to organizations or to other people. They give to visions. When leaders who understand this take the time to paint pictures for people and to help them imagine the kingdom good that will result from their collective efforts, then people are free to release their resources joyfully. And generally, the grander the vision, the greater the giving. I believe this helps people keep the big picture in mind. Also, knowing Godly principles about giving and finances is so important and the people you are working with need to be educated in this area as well. Finances can be such a source of bondage in peoples lives.

Chapter six talks about Developing emerging Leaders. This is an area that is so easy to overlook or to just plain ignore. Leaders need to take the time to help develop the potential leaders around them. For many of us we can remember the people who took the time and invested in us. We in turn need to take the time and invest in others. Unless we make a conscious effort to do this, it usually won't get done.

As I have mentioned before, I have really enjoyed this book. Mr. Hybels has been able to bring out items that he has learned or gone through in his ministry. These are things that we can be on the lookout for and have a little better idea on how to handle them. At least we should not be completely surprised when faced with some of these issues that he discusses.

Randy's Chapters 4-6

“I think leaders are at their very best when they are raising up leaders around them."

"People don’t give to organizations or to other people. They give to visions."

I am challenged by these two staments.  It's much easier to just do a job yourself and more difficult to raise up a leader to do that same job.  In order for the church to grow the latter must be the mentality.  I have to admit that was not my priority, I made children my priority.  I now see the error in that thought process.  With help I will make the transition in raising up leaders.

The second statement concerns vision.  Vision is more than writing something on a paper.  It starts there but must take on a life of itself.  The written vision has to grab the attention of the reader.  The vision must be talked about and lived.  I will keep in mind what is written in these chapters as I develope next years Children's Ministry vision.   

Nothing tests the mettle of church leaders and members more than the resource challenge.

BUILD TEAM PERFORMANCE BY ESTABLISHING CLEAR GOALS

Knowing leads to loving.” It is impossible to listen to the heartfelt reflections of a team member without being drawn into a deeper relationship with that person.

Natalie's Courageous Leadership - Chapters 1-3

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.

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.

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.

Randy's Courageous Leadership - Intro thru Chapter 3

As I began to read this book I found a lot of similarities between this book and the process we are going through.  I think it is a really timely book.  I like how he began by talking about the church.  Its beauty is indescribable.  Its power is breathtaking. Its potential is unlimited.  The church is the only power on earth that exists to set people free.

 His next point was vision.  What a powerful example of John Adams.  He boldly declared his vision of a new nation and here we are.  “Vision is a picture of the future that produces passion.”  I had to think about that statement.   Any statement can be put out there but until it catches fire of passion it’s just a statement, its not vision.  How can it go from being a statement into a vision?
By embodying it
By personifying it
By living it out

Leaders have to help people know, understand, and remember the “main thing”.  In many ways I feel a brand new church is emerging and I’m humble at the thought.  For us to make the transition the “vision” needs to move people into action. 

Team work   When he gave the illustration of Billy Graham and the team he formed over the years I found myself yearning for that strong of unity.  I know I'm going to need a lot of help in order to get to that level of leadership.        

Natalie's Chapters 8 & 9 Relational Intelligence

The chapter disproportionate investor is all about learning to invest our time in others who will also reproduce good works so that in the end our influence will be greater than we could have done by ourselves. Unfortunately the hard part is determining who to invest in and who to let go. I think we have all encountered those "consumers" the author describes. These people can never have enough of your time and efforts. I think the important thing to take from this is that there are times when we have to realize when someone is trying to use us and not willing to give out to others. I think it is something that we recognize fairly easily. On the contrast, as leaders we need to invest our energy into people who are also going to give out.
I think this chapter is a good reality check because although we want to believe that everyone has good intentions, there are some who will just use and use and don't want to give anything back. But thankfully, more often I have encountered those that really do want to live a life for God and make disciples like Jesus said so I feel that my investment in those people have been totally worthwhile.
I have enjoyed learning from this book. It has a lot of good ideas that I would not have thought of but totally make sense. I would recommend this book to other leaders who want to learn how to be smarter in relationships.

Annette's Ch 8 & 9 Book Review

Well we're down to the end...I really enjoyed this book!  Good insight - caused me to really consider some things about myself.

Chapter 8: I laughed to myself when I started reading about the consumers versus investors.  I've talked with a couple of fellow Signeteers recently about the "life suckers".  I felt the author's approach was very balanced. "Consumers are relationally greedy and never satisfied with the investment someone makes in them."  In ministry, you will inevitably encounter people like this. I also appreciated that he said there are exceptions.  "If God calls us to invest in someone who doesn't look or act like the person we think will maximize our invest...this is the spiritual trump card over any leadership strategy of our own."  He wasn't making an absolute statement about all people all the time.  We do have to discern when God is directing us as well.  Sometimes He's going to send us a life-sucker and we have to follow through.  But this was a great principle to think about!  And in fact, it's why I chose all of you for Signet!!  I believe that each of you have influence and I want to help you invest in others.  It also spurs me on to growth at the same time.  This chapter truly was a principle that Christ employed in his life on earth.  He taught and spoke to crowds of thousands, but he personally discipled and invested in 12 men.  The one thing I wish the author would have given more insight about was how to deal with a life-sucker when you know it's a purse with holes.  That can be tough.

Chapter 9: Jesus really did emphasize relationships throughout his ministry.  This is not a concept that we can disregard.  Relationships are the ONLY way we truly influence anyone else - and it is certainly the only way to lead others closer to Christ.  In his words..."It's the way we as leaders serve humanity and God himself, while also creating a distinct and better world."

Mike's Ch 8 & 9 Review

Chapter 8 talked about a topic that I need to work on. Sometimes I feel like the eternal optimist - if there is something I can say or do for someone, to try and help them, in most cases I will do it. At times I need to guard myself from getting spread so thin that burnout can set in. If I am burned out myself, I won't be able to help anybody. As with most things, I feel there needs to be balance. Sometines I feel that if I am able to help someone they may not realize that they in turn need to reach out and help others - giving back to others. Hopefully with time things will change for that person (they will become more of an investor than consumer). Probably an area I need more help with is that in after reaching out to someone and seeing that things are not changing or improving, is to be willing to back away or to stop the investment process rather than to keep going down a dead end road. If the back away steps were needed, I would want to do it in such a way as to keep the communication lines open.

Chapter 9 - The Last Word. The relationships and interactions we have with other people are important. We need to interact with other people in a Christ like manner. We can't just talk about reaching out and helping others, but we need to put actions to our words.

Randy's Ch 8 & 9 Review

Consumers:  Look for what they can take from others.
Investors: Look for what they can give to others.

I've always looked at these two words and thought I was more of an investor than a consumer and I still believe that, but not as much as I thought.  I evaluated myself and found that there is more consumer in me than I would like to admit.  I am challenged to take a good look at investment.  If I pick the right people, I will multiply my influence.  I will have to discern who is a taker and who truly wants more of the Kingdom of God.  As the author said we should look to see who we invest our time in but the bottom line is that we follow God's direction in who we invest in. 

I will also seek to energize those I invest in.  I like the word energize.  It's an easy way to test oneself.  We are called to make disciples.  Jesus was very particular in who He made into his followers.  I know we must do the same. I imagine a church that the scale is tipped into the area of investment.   Multiplication instead of addition will happen. 

Review of "Slave"

This doesn't relate to Signet - it's a book I've read on my own by John MacArthur.  The subtitle is "The hidden truth about your identity in Christ".  You can probably see why I was drawn to it.  Interesting title.

The ideas presented in this book are definitely different from what I've heard throughout my life.  Slavery has a very negative connotation in our nation - and it should.  Our past was shameful.  Praise God that people stood up for righteousness and abolished the human slave trade.  But what is interesting in what I learned through this book is that slavery in the Biblical culture was very different from that.  It was more along the lines of people having servants.  There were paid servants and there were slaves that were owned.  People were either born into slavery or they became a slave to repay debt.  Slaves had the opportunity to work their way out of that position!  Slave owners were supposed to be just and treat them well.  There were of course people who didn't. But that word meant something very different in that day.

The disciples referred to themselves regularly as "slaves of Christ", and that Jesus was their "master". But if you read the English versions of the Bible, you rarely see that reference in the New Testament.  The Greek word for slave has been covered up by being mistranslated in almost every English version.  It appears 124 times in the original text, but was only correctly translated once in the King James!  "Most of our modern translations do only slightly better." (pg. 16)  They usually use the word "servant" instead.  But think about the differences between slave and servant.  They are very different positions.

The facts were intriguing, but what it means for us as followers of Christ now is far more powerful to me.  The disciples understood the magnitude of grace they received as a result of serving Jesus.  We are often casual in our thinking about Him.  We would rather hear about being a friend of God than being a slave to the Master.  He also addresses the imagery that we can glean from in the picture of slavery.  We are already slaves to sin and selfish desire.  And then he walks us through the redemption of going from slaves to son...what an incredible picture.

This book really challenged me to examine my approach to a Holy God.  I definitely recommend it as a read to make you think.

Natalie's Chapter 7: The Likeable Hero

This chapter is totally common sense but it's something that people probably don't really think about when it comes to relationships. Others are drawn to leaders who they like - who they have a good time being around and feel like they are genuinely cared about. It was interesting to learn about the 5 signs of likeability. I think I do pretty well in the areas of "stickiness" and "rapid trust formation". I think I struggle in "approachability" and "flexible optimism."
I am unsure about the best ways of becoming better these areas but I think awareness is probably the most important thing.

Mike's June Reading - Chapter 7 - The Likeable Hero

I do agree with the author that being likeable and approachable, especially in a leadership position is important. A loosely paraphrased saying - you can attract more things with honey or something sweet than you can with vinegar or something sour. Throughout the chapter another point was brought up - balance. Once people are on the team or join up with the group or cause, you still, as a leader, need to be able to make decisions by looking at the big picture for your group or cause. At times that may involve making a decision or choice that may not be popular with a person or the group. During those times you may be temporarily viewed as not being a likeable hero.
I thought one of the best analogies used in this chapter was the human body. The skeleton, which provides the main structure, represents the mission. The skin, covering the skeleton, is warm to the touch and appealing in appearance, represents being likeable. In order for things to work in they best possible manner, both the skeleton and skin need to work together.

Annette's June Reading Post

I've heard there was a little contraversy about this chapter - so I was super excited to read it!! :-D  He defines likeability as "a person's ability to evoke favorable feelings in their 'audience' (that is, the person they're in a relationship with), in order to produce a positive outcome that serves others well".  Simply put, people who are likeable are easy to be around.  My definition is someone who has a magnetic personality (draws people to them) and people become better by being around them. 

He clearly says that likeability does NOT trump the mission.  BUT if it is in proper priority, you highly strengthen the likelihood of reaching your mission.  I do not entirely agree, however, that the mission can always be warm and appealing.  If your mission is, for example, to reach out to the basest of humanity who are unloveable and not always nice...your mission is not necessarily "attractive".  It is challenging!!  But a likeable leader is more likely to keep his/her team motivated and passionate about the mission - no matter how ugly the work may be. 

I thought the five signs of likeability were very interesting, and right on - and I can definitely think of people in my life who are like that.  I also appreciated when he talked about being in the "middle of the office" to carry out tasks.  A godly leader is not someone who calls out orders from a posh office.  He/she is right there with the team working toward the mission God has called them to.  I remind myself of that occasionally by grabbing a plunger when a toilet is plugged instead of finding someone else to do it.  :o)

I'm not exactly sure what was contraversial in this chapter (although I feel certain that I will find out (-;), but I do feel that he was a lot more business-like in his approach for this one.  The concepts are common to other books I've read that are business focused.  I still think there is some very valuable information in it - but we always need to balance who we are in Christ with everything we read here.  If you are not likeable to other believers and claim to be a Christian, I think you would need to take some time to do some self examination.  We all have rough edges that God helps to rub off during the course of our walk with Him, but we can't make excuses for ourselves not being approachable or trustworthy.  Those things should be fruits of the Spirit that are evident in our lives as we're leading others.  Our natural personality quirks need to be overwritten by the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in our lives!!

Being honest about where we are in these characteristics will free us up to pursue being the best in what Christ has called us to.  I instantly recognized the areas that I want to grow in.  I really enjoyed this chapter even though it serves as a pretty clear mirror of what I lack.  But if you want to grow, you look in the mirror of God's Word and His wisdom OFTEN.

Father, help us to take an honest look in the reflection of your Word to see ourselves as we truly are.  And then give us the courage, strength, and endurance to pursue who you've called us to become!

Randy's Chapter 7 Review

I've entered this book like I would a grocery store.  Some items I like and purchase, other items I leave on the shelf.  I have to say I didn't take anything off the shelf in this chapter.  It sounded like a popularity contest mentality.  I want to be "Spirit Led" and become more like Jesus.  I found the greatest "stickyness" that draws people to a supervisor is becoming a "servant leader".  I practiced this while I supervised inmates and found it very effective.  One of the things Servant Leaders do is meet the needs of those they supervise.

Natalie's RI Chapter 5 & 6 book review

Chapter 5 - "The Compelling Relator" is a chapter that challenged me but it can also be quite intimidating. I think I've always had that desire to be liked by all. Looking back in my life I can see where I was trying to fit in. I also recall times where I challenged the norm and didn't go along with what everyone else was saying or doing. That surely didn't bring me great popularity. I pray that although I made a lot of mistakes along my younger christian years that people will remember me as compelling and that I did take a stand for things that I believed in. One area that I think I may struggle with now is being culturally relevant. A lot of my time outside of home is at church, and I really only listen to christian music. I haven't read a non-christian book probably since college. So I do kind of feel disconnected to culture. And its not that I think I really care because the world has gotten so corrupt. The only reason that I feel like I should is that I want to be relevant to unbelievers and make an impact in the lives of unsaved around me.
Being a better communicator is also another big challenge for me. I don't speak to large groups very often but even if life group situations I know this would be helpful. Having passion is also another great leader. I don't know any effective leaders that aren't passionate in their field. Sometimes I feel like my passion hasn't been fully harnessed. So this chapter definitely challenged me to see my shortfalls. But it has challenged me to try to be interesting.

In chapter 6 the author talks about being a "conversational futurist." Jesus was obviously the best model of this. I think what's important to get out of this chapter, and what Jesus demonstrated, was getting to the heart of the issue. Sometimes it seems like in conversation we can seem like we're going round and round but never getting to the point. Jesus saw people for who they really were and saw their real need. I think the key to this is what the author calls "keeping one ear to earth and one ear to heaven." We should always be aware of what the Holy Spirit may be prompting us to do or say.

Natalie's RI Chapters 3 & 4

What I got out of being a story collector is that part of relational intelligence is drawing people out. When we ask people questions that are deeper than just discussing the weather we can connect with them and they feel a sense of being valued and that someone cares about them. I think we all want to feel like we are understood and that someone else can relate to what we're saying. The most important thing I think the author is saying is that if we get to know who a person really is then we will be able to have greater influence in their life. This is so important in getting to know new people and getting to a place where you can speak into someone's life.

In the "Energy Carrier" chapter the author describes how leaders set the tone for energy. I can definitely resonate with this chapter. Having been a life group leader for several years now I can see how things like distractions and the appearance of alertness can be energy killers. The energy of a group can really go down when it seems like people aren't paying attention or just aren't really engaged in what's going on. I know that he's talking more about the leader having distraction in his/her own mind or being internally asleep. But I guess I can see it both sides. I know I've been guilty of pretending to be listening to someone when in reality my mind is really somewhere else. This chapter motivated me to try new things to create positive energy in our group and to keep people involved and motivated. Especially at this point in my life I do feel pretty distracted on the inside so I have a hard time being fully in the moment, so that is something I will be thinking about.