** The goal of this study is not head knowledge but application for life change. As such, the way to study the material is to focus on always asking and answering the question: “How can I apply this lesson to make my life and ministry better?”
If we are always hungry for growth and ask such questions, we can apply the material to ourselves.
A great thing to do is set SMART goals for growth. SMART stands for specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals.
Four pillars of a strong organizational culture of excellence
Praise
- Praise
- A culture of praise, celebration, and honor
- Praising and Celebrating people daily
- Praising and worshiping God daily
- A Lifestyle of Worship – Kim Walker
- A lifestyle of worship with LOVE CHRIST & PRAISE GOD. Worship = becoming like Jesus. We worship God the most by becoming more like Jesus:
- in being (heart, character)
- in speech (our words)
- in action (our deeds)
- The Journey to Honor, Jimmy Seibert
Passion
“Set yourself on fire with passion & people will come for miles to watch you burn.” John Wesley
Prayer is Passion; Prayer is an expression of passion. Passion is the root of effective prayer. Prayer is when there is a fire in your bones and then you cry out to God to help you. Prayer is when there is that huge burden in your heart, the kind of burden that moves you and then you cry out. That’s prayer. It’s nothing but an expression of passion. “If you delight yourself in the Lord, he will grant you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4, “Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24. Passion is heart desires. When you have it and delight in the Lord, you don’t even have to say anything, he will answer you and give you what you want. Passion and faith go together. Passion gives faith strength.
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- Ten Ways to Increase Passion For Your Work
- Grit: The power of passion and perseverance (TED talk).
- The Power of Passion (TED Talk)
- Why you will fail to have a great career
- How to Live Before You Die, Steve Jobs
- Bringing Passion to Your Work
- Passion prays. True passion asks for help.
- How to seek God for a burden, a passion for a cause. Yes, you can seek a burden or passion for a cause. That’s something I want us to learn to develop and grow because even when we have a passion, we need to keep getting reinvigorated or renewed. It’s the same thing with the Holy Spirit. After you are filled with the Holy Spirit at conversion, it is strongly recommended to seek to be refilled on a daily basis. That’s how you stay strong. You cannot succeed by running on passion that is out of gas.
- How to develop a passion or grow a passion you currently have.
- Focus: Put your money where your passion is
- To Every Single Woman with a Calling: If Not While Dating, Then Never!
- How do you set yourself on fire with passion?
- How to ignite a fire in your soul
- Passion is like a muscle, you must develop it; it’s use it or you lose it.
- How to pray effective prayers
Relationships
- Conflict Resolution
- The Sixth Sense: The Secret to Effective Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking
- Empathy – Rene Brown
- Forgiveness SPEECH
- No Gossip Policy
- Loyalty – A Culture of Loyalty
- Employees first, customers second
Accountability
- Accountability, transparency, authenticity.
- Points of accountability for senior leaders and junior leaders
- Closed-loop communication is also a great way to stay accountable to one another, keeping them in the loop.
- The Power of Vulnerability, Brene Brown
- Misses and Mistakes
Innovation (& Creativity)
- Dreaming within a dream
- The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers, Adam Grant
- The unexpected benefit of celebrating failure, Astro Teller
- “First why and then trust”, Simon Sinek
- https://hbr.org/2010/08/innovation-is-not-creativity.html
Servanthood
- What does it mean to be a servant? What are some of the qualities/traits of a true servant? How does one grow as a servant?
- A leader is a servant…
- Good leaders are like good parents
- The Trick to Becoming a Senior Leader
- Common weaknesses of young preachers
- Teachability (Teachability lesson from the course)
- Be a servant (The Servanthood series): The mind, heart, and hands of a servant — from Life & Godliness.
- Owner Mentality vs. Employee Mentality
- http://www.gaebler.com/Job-Mentality-Versus-Business-Ownership-Mentality.htm
Excellence
- EXCELLENCE: How to become excellent in anything
- Becoming the Best Sales Person You Can Be.
- Closed Loop Communication and Effective Team Dynamics
- Closed Loop Communication when completing tasks
- Balancing Family & Ministry, Cece Winans
- The Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast
- Listen to the following episodes:
- “Challenging Leadership”, Released May 6, 2016
- Listen to the following episodes:
- Business Processes: A Key Part of Every Successful Business
- 8 Helpful Rules for Editing a Small Business or Nonprofit Website
WWJS — WWKS
WWJS stands for What Would Jesus Say? Why do we use this? Because there are some instances in our lives that the Bible isn’t explicitly clear on. Does that mean that we can simply do whatever we wish? No. Instead, the mark of a good disciple is to know what Jesus would say in such a situation and why. Sometimes, knowing the why is more important because it can help determine they what.
This same principle is useful when you approach situations in your personal life or career in which you are unsure of the right thing to do. Instead of blindly pushing forward, following your own emotions or desires, take a step back and consider, “What would ____________ do?” This blank spot could be filled in with “my mom”, “my husband”, “my boss”. By taking the time to consider what this person would do, especially if it is someone you report to, respect, or desire to emulate, you set yourself up to make a better decision. It helps you get in their shoes and interpret the world with the complexities that he/she has to consider as opposed to seeing things from your own small corner.
When you come across situations with SD work that you are unsure of, try taking this approach — What Would Ken Say? Set aside your own will and try to expand your perspective to see things the way Ken would. This is the mark of a good team member and rising leader.
Books and other resources
- The 21 Indispensable qualities of a leader, by John Maxwell. Go through the book.
