Responsibility

One of the most important lessons I have learnt through ministry is my responsibilty towards the people I lead. Its all to easy for a leader to develop a Saviour complex or to try and be a White Knight towards every person and in every suituation.

I have learnt that this approach not only limits their growth because they are never being empowered to think for themselves, it also can affects my growth,because you can get prideful when they are doing everything right and you can feel like a failure when they are doing everything wrong.

To prevent this happening we need to remember we are not responsible for people but to them. Is thier a difference?Yes their is and its incredibly freeing.

When I’m responsible to people I understand they have a choice. When I’m responsible for people I think I should decide for them.

When I’m responsible to people I know they must figure out their next step. When I’m responsible for people I try to tell them what their next step is.

When I’m responsible to people I allow them to bear the brunt of the consequences for their own chosen actions. When I’m responsible for people I assume the guilt, or worse the shame, for them.

When I’m responsible to people I engage in their journey, offering encouragement and teaching. When I’m responsible for people I try to direct their journey, never allowing them to wrestle, mess up or make a wrong turn.

When I’m responsible to people I talk to God on their behalf. When I’m responsible for people I talk to people a lot on God’s behalf.”

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road:

BARACK OBAMA:
The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN MC CAIN:
My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road

HILLARY CLINTON:
When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure — right from Day One! — that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me…….

DR. PHIL:
The problem we have here is that this chicken won’t realize that he must first deal with the problem on ‘THIS’ side of the road before it goes after the problem on the ‘OTHER SIDE’ of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his ‘CURRENT’problems before adding ‘NEW’ problems.

OPRAH:
Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I’m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

GEORGE W. BUSH:
We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL:
Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road…

ANDERSON COOPER - CNN:
We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

JOHN KERRY:
Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

NANCY GRACE:
That chicken crossed the road because he’s GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN:
To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

DR SEUSS:
Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY:
To die in the rain. Alone.

BARBARA WALTERS:
Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE:
It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

BILL GATES:
I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash
reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN:
Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

BILL CLINTON:
I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE:
I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS:
Did I miss one?

Progress

This is a picture of two men installing and setting solid steel pillars in concrete to stop vehicles from parking on the pavement outside a sports bar in downtown some yet-to-be identified place. They are cleaning up at the end of the day.

Do you notice anything wrong with this Photo??
How long did it take you to realise ?

Got me thinking how often I’m so focused on my tasks that I forget to look up and around...evaluate my progress in the context of my surroundings.

When it comes to progress, how can we really tell if we are leaning in towards the purposes of God,or are we leaning out ?

Busyness can be an attraction ,but its also a very good distraction.

What things to you have in place in your life to make sure you and Jesus are interested in the same things ?

Making Vision Stick-Andy Stanley

“Vision is a mental picture of what could be, fuelled by passion that this should be.” Vision always begins as a burden.

5 Things That Help Make Vision Stick

1. State It Simply
Memorable is portable. If you’re going to have vision that sticks it has to be portable and memorable.
People in our church aren’t asking stupid questions, they’re just telling us that we’re doing a poor job communicating our vision.
What is the vision of your church?
If you’re vision is going to stick, it has to be really, really, really portable & memorable.
What’s the one sentence job description for everyone in your organization?

2. Cast It Convincingly
Components of Good Vision (Nehemiah 2)
1. Define the problem.
2. Offer a solution.
3. Explain Why & Why now?

Your vision needs to be the solution to a problem.

1. What must be done in the environment you find yourself in?
2. What would go undone if your organization ceased to exist?
3. Smart businesses have crafted themselves as a solution to a problem.

Explain Why & Why Now?
1. What makes this the time to do something new in that community?
2. The ‘Why’ & the ‘Why Now?’ is where the passion comes in.

3. Repeat It Regularly
Look at the rhythm/cycles of your organization.
1. Spend the time when the most people are there to vision cast.
2. Discover those moments that are most important to cast vision and build it into your regular systems.
Vision doesn’t stick, vision leaks.

4. Celebrate It Systematically
When you catch somebody living out the vision the way you anticipated, you need to celebrate them – Celebrate the Win.
Stories do more to clarify & illustrate vision than anything else.
Are you missing opportunities to showcase the wins in your church?

5. Embrace It Personally & Publicly
Anytime you can illustrate personally your vision, you need to do it because your people need to see that you are embracing the vision personally