“And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39)

“When sounds the world’s threatening cry, And roaring of their thunder. When you feel the heaving of your life, And see the foaming water.
Then from the midst of this swelling sea, A voice so calm and clear. Twas, “Peace be still,” that reached my ear, Calmed my heart, and allayed my fear.
Oh, words of a Savior that gave me Peace, Though the world round me roar. Safe in Him, my peace complete, There for evermore.”

-David Stewart

Although life is not fair and things we do not understand happen, God’s hands control the storm and we are not to fear knowing that HE is in control. If you really believe that there is no “but.” Peace abounds always for the believer that trusts in the Lord with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength. Although fear wants to entangle you from moving forward, faith in God’s good plan gives you strength to get up and go. Your life is dear to God, and his omnipresence allows him single you out and care for you personally even though He cares for everyone. Realize that you personally are in His care, and are not just a face among a sea of faces.

If today has brought you a test, or if you’re in a season of testing, allow yourself the quiet time you need so that you can hear “A voice so calm and clear. Twas, ‘Peace be still,’ that may reach your ear, Calm your heart, and allay your fear.”

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Best of all ConnectNow requires no download for any participant and its cross-platform compatible (PC & MAC), so everyone can access the meeting pretty easily. Check out the website for more info: http://www.adobe.com/acom/connectnow/

If you’re reading and want to know how to prayer for us I would say for sure pray for sleep and for strength as we just give of our efforts this next 30 days to get through this season. Pray for God’s divine intervention in all that we will face this next 30 days. And most of all pray for God’s will to be done in our lives as we press on and plow through this thicket. We thank you so much for your love and friendship, may God bless you as well.

Nick

“Live right, and you will eat from the life-giving tree. And if you act wisely, others will follow.”
Proverbs 11:30 (CEV)

Your inner character is what draws others to follow you. It is that something about you that sets you apart. “Effective leadership results from what a leader is” (Maxwell, 2007). Too many times when leaders are focused on the results they are looking for they miss the target of what they are doing to get the results. Character traits are about who you are, therefore define what you do, and as a result develops the goals you are aiming for.

“To attract better people, you must be a better person. To achieve greater results, you must be a person of great character” (Maxwell, 2000). John C. Maxwell describes this concept as Incarnational Leadership; “the idea is you must first be the leader you are capable of becoming before you are able to achieve the results you desire” (Maxwell, 2000). This illustration best describes the concept:

Who I Am            What I Do                    Result
Characterful         Do right                          Credibility
Relational             Care                               Love
Encouraging         Believe in people           High morale
Sensitive               Embrace flexibility         Openness for renewal
Visionary               Set goals                       Direction
Teachable             Apply what I learn          Growth
Charismatic           Motivate                         Inspiration
Humble                  Rely on God                  Power
Convicttional          Remain steadfast          Commitment
Selfless                  Focus on others            Outreach
Confident               Make decisions              Security
Spirit-filled             Witness                          Fruit

“Leaders get into trouble when they put their desire for results before their willingness to develop themselves in ares of competence and character” (Maxwell, 2000).  I often find myself focusing on each day’s growth, believing that I am inching towards a better version of me. This lesson helps me to evaluate my own character and see that I may not be doing the things that reflect those character traits.

If you were to evaluate yourself  using this simple illustration how would your character measure up?

Listed here are the most recent announcements in case you have not read them yet:

Mark and Leslie Martin

This week Pastor Mark Martin taught a message that was so powerful for a visionary like myself to hear. Although many of his studies have impacted my life with his insight, very few if any have really hit me in the chest like this one, restoring a long missed vitality within me. This message was like a fountain of youth for me, helping to find the ambition that I once had before the turmoil of life squeezed it out of me. Although it is easier said then done, this posting is a follow-up to the start of revitalized life of the opportunities ahead of me. I want to encourage you to listen with great excitement because if one allows this message to really change their approach on life this could change everything for you. God bless and good listening.

My first interview oddly enough was with the Buckle at Arrowhead mall. Unfortunately, for the first time in my life I interviewed for a job and didn’t get it. The blessing in disguise though was that through the interview I was encouraged to look for an Assistant Manager position that I would have never considered before, especially given my lack of experience in retail. So with that experience came a season of interviews with no offer of a job. Months later I was lead to apply at the Buckle again, but this time to be considered for the Assistant Manager position. Surprisingly enough I received an offer and started during the week of preparation for Black Friday!

This is amazing on so many levels but I want to list just a few.
1. During this year God showed me that even though I have the gift to teach, my spiritual gift is in fact leadership (1 Corinthians 12:7).
2. Upon finding my gift I changed my emphasis on studies to leadership/administration. When I interviewed for the 2nd time at the Buckle I set within myself a goal to represent my leadership strengths and how with them I could do anything including retail. Thankfully it was that aspect of me that proved to them I could fulfill the position.
3. Something God shared with me the morning of the interview was so encouraging and thought provoking, it came from a book I’m reading in my leadership class by John C. Maxwell called, “The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader’s Day.” When speaking about the Law of Process, Maxwell said this of Joseph’s example, “Joseph labored in obscurity for a season of his life before becoming qualified to lead others.”

This was so thought provoking to me because I felt like I could relate so much. And in the end, like Joseph I’ve been given a second in command title and chance to lead people after going through the Law of Process (which is always happening). I’m thankful for God’s provisions and His devine lessons throughout this life, if you’re not learning for the lessons of your life then I want to encourage you to wake up and pay attention.

I got to play tennis not long ago with a man about my age who used to be one of the top ten players in the world. (When I say I got to play with him, what I really mean is I got to stand across the net and watch the ball go past me.) He still teaches tennis for a living, so he’s around the courts a lot. But he’s not playing much any more. In fact, he told me that he plays golf much more than he plays tennis, even though he’s pretty much a hacker on the course. I asked him why.

“Because when it comes to golf I’m getting better, whereas with tennis the best I can do is to deteriorate as slowly as possible.”

I thought about how hard it would be to recruit someone to be the president of even a large entity—say General Motors, or Europe—with that as their mandate: “Help us deteriorate as slowly as possible.” No wonder people would rather risk total failure heading up a start-up in Silicon Valley than make a comfortable living slowly steering the Titanic for the ice berg.

Nothing defeats the human spirit like stagnation.

If we were truthful about it, “Deteriorate as slowly as possible” is probably that shadow mission for all kinds of churches and denominations. One denominational leader told me that in his denomination they lost 10 percent of their people in a single decade; so they pulled together to work harder and lost 12 percent the next decade. They have already plotted on a graph what year they will go out of existence at the current rate.

Stagnation is a killer in ministry. I can’t control outcomes. But I must have a sense of hope that growth is possible. And growth does not begin with external results. It begins with the growth in the spirit of the person doing the ministry. The problem is most often people are not aware of that subtle moment when they have crossed the line from “growing” into “receding.”

So here are my candidates for the top diagnostic indicators of a ministry moving into “slow deterioration” mode. You may know of some group (or individual) that needs to do a little self-assessment:

1. Denial. The capacity of emperors to think they are making fashion statements is staggering. Gary Hamel has a wonderful line: success tends to be self correcting. The very process of being effective also tends to bring complacency, and when effectiveness goes down, we tend not to see it. (As Gary puts it: every successful organization is successful until it’s not. Companies pay him lots of money for these kind of observations.) If evangelistic fervor cools, or prayer decreases, or community lessens, or volunteerism fades, those of us at the center are sometimes the last to know.
2. Loss of motivation. People do not lose motivation simply through age, or challenge, or even repetition. They lose motivation when they lose a sense that they are able to grow. People rarely plan vacations to spend two weeks sitting on the beach at the Dead Sea.
3. Fewer people signing up to lead. My nephew is going through training to join the California Highway Patrol. Because he is based nearby, he sometimes spends weekends with us. The ordeal that CHiPs officers-to-be put up with is remarkable. Many of them do not make it through training. Those that do pay an enormous price of commitment. The very price he’s paying is part of what makes him value the badge. I can’t help but contrast this with leading in the church. Seminaries—and churches—will all-too-often take in any warm body that’s available. It is not higher salaries and longer sabbaticals that will draw people into serving the church—it’s a sense of urgent calling that demands a sacrifice and promises the opportunity to make a difference.
4. Phoning it in. Funny how this one gets sensed by everyone around a person before it gets sensed by the phon-ee himself. Sermons get perfunctory; teams lose morale, planning gets second-rate effort, accountability for results diminishes; and there is a general collusion to not name the dynamic.
5. Cynicism. When other ministries are being effective, instead of producing joy, it creates a sense of envy or a feeling of being threatened. Rather than seeking to learn from it, stagnant people will find some pretext for judging or dismissing it.
6. Spending more time looking in the rearview mirror than out the windshield. More stories get told about how things once were than about what may yet be. Who wants to be watching the road when all that’s left is a dead end?

The good news is that stagnation is never inevitable. I may not be able to control outward events. But God has other plans. As a wise man wrote long ago, “Outwardly we are wasting away, but inwardly we are being renewed day by day …”

God never aims at deteriorating slowly.

John Ortberg is editor at large of Leadership and pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, California.
Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal.
Original Article can be found here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/currenttrendscolumns/leadershipweekly/declineisnevertheonlyoption.html?start=1