Equipping Thoughts

In this season of my life, I’ve never been more motivated to improve. To improve my relationship with God, attitude, roles as husband, father, leader and servant. To improve my quality of life, health and gifts. The desire and willingness to improve in life has increased immensely since moving back to Hawaii 6 years ago, rubbing shoulders and hearts with Pastor Wayne and the people of New Hope! There is an incredible heart attitude amidst the servants of New Hope. I think we are trying to live out one of our Core Values…God is worthy of our very best, therefore a spirit of excellence should permeate everything we do (and everything we are!).

As leaders, our goal is to ultimately please God first, not people. Many of us get trapped by being people pleasers, limiting our forward movement and progress. Some leaders fear change for fear of complaints and unsatisfied people.

A willingness to improve will always require change. I’m so glad I’ve upgraded my computer along the way from 15 years ago. If I were unwilling to change or satisfied with what I had, my productivity would be greatly hindered. I love the “Mac” God provided! See if some of my thoughts below can benefit you to adjust your attitudes and convictions towards helping people through change.

• Believe in people to make necessary changes. Be positive communicating the “why’s” and potential fruitfulness.
• Believe in the “whys” of your direction to change. Especially when the change is direction from your leadership. Be sure to own the heart and the conviction of your leadership during change. This is a must…very critical! Under shepherds or leaders (middle management) can spoil the hearts of others if their hearts aren’t right! I can’t over emphasize this one!!
• Be willing to listen to others along the way. Don’t be stubborn about listening to resistance. Others resistance may contribute elements that could sharpen the pathway to change. In other words, be OPEN to CHANGE too.
• Decide not to compromise your convictions to make others happy. Maintaining healthy relationships is essential but not at the expense of compromising your conviction to lead others through change.
• Be consistent to evaluate everything and everyone involved to progress towards God’s very best.
• Upgrade towards improving people, productivity and programs.
• Make it your desire to make God happy by leading people through change that will produce
• Help people to understand the purpose behind the change. They may not always agree but the communication will build healthy relationships.
• I must be willing myself, to step aside for other ideas, people to lead through change - as it is appropriate. Sometimes leaders aren’t willing to lay their lives (ways, thoughts, plans) down to make room for a better plan, idea or direction. That attitude may have a little to do with PRIDE.

Lord…help me to hear Your voice to lead others to grow in their relationship with You, through change. Help me to always be willing to improve through change. Change me O’ Lord!

Choice number 2 may seem too simple and easy for you. It’s so basic that it can be overlooked and forgotten. In fact it was in my life.

Choice #2 - Increase your water intake!

Drink more water. Don’t change your eating habits yet. Start with drinking more water. Decrease your soda, carbonated and sugar drinks intake. Make the wise and healthy choice to drink water instead of soda during your meal. Start with one meal a day. In the morning I drank coffee, soda at lunch and the afternoon - even into the evening topping my evening off with a nice cup of java. Once I began drinking more water in between meals, I was motivated after a week or two to try water for lunch instead of a Dr. Pepper.

We should be drinking at least half our body weight in ounces of water. I weigh 155 pounds. I drink 80 ounces of water a day or more. It took me a gradual time frame of one year to conquer my craving for soda and coffee.

C’mon…choose choice number 2 and increase your water intake. It’s not that difficult when you realize how much better you feel.

Ah-h-h-h…the keys that unlock the safe of fruitfulness. Fruitful living can be a difficult achievement. To know that who I am and what I am doing is making a difference and having a significant impact on peoples lives. This is a noteworthy aspiration but fruitfulness must begin with me. There was a season in my life when I wanted to conquer the world - be all I could be for others - yet my struggles were deep within. I was not conquering certain areas in my life.

A little voice within my heart whispered, “Prioritize your purpose and calendar your calling.” You see my purpose as a husband and father needed prioritizing. I can so easily put off responsibilities at home to meet the needs of a suffering, dying world. Here’s what I’m trying my best to live by:

• Re-identify my purpose as a husband and father. To be a nurturer, counselor, listener, pastor, coach, mentor and leader at home.

• List my priorities. Write a “to do” list of all the things, activities, chores, devotional and family times I need to reestablish. Then prioritize them.

• Once I prioritized my purpose, this indicated and reaffirmed what my calling was. I needed to “Calendar my Calling.” In other words, fill my calendar - schedule my priorities according to my redefined calling. I would write in my calendar, all the events, family activities, chores, devotionals first. My other assignments outside of being a husband and father would be scheduled thereafter.

Why should I become a member of New Hope?

Is your life being enriched and your heart encouraged through the teaching? Do you sense God’s presence through our services? Do you agree and believe in what God is doing through New Hope? Do you relate to the beliefs, culture and spirit of our church. Are there ministries that support your growth as a Christian? Is your family ministered to through our ministries (children, youth, music, serving, outreach, discipleship ministries, etc)? Can you identify with and call Pastor Wayne your pastor? Do you consider New Hope to be your church home and family?

God has given you the privilege of becoming a member of New Hope. This membership does not get you in to heaven, help with the forgiveness of your sins or give you any special parking rights on campus (smile!).

Becoming a member does afford you and I the blessing of belonging and committing to the heart and vision God has given New Hope. Remember, your membership into the family of God is through your relationship with Jesus as Savior and Lord. Your membership with New Hope is through attending Growing Deep Growing Strong…our membership course.

The benefits of partnering with our vision through serving, giving (tithes and offerings), discipleship through course, conferences and small groups are internally and eternally rewarding.

If the Lord has touched your heart through this ministry, discover the the value and joy of membership…belonging to our New Hope ‘ohana.

No doubt - email has become a vital tool to communicate, to people around the world and those around the corner in our workplaces. The church is no different from any other organization, using email to communicate quips, quotes and jokes to crucial, timely information that requires immediate attention and action.

Have you ever been misunderstood through an email you sent? I’ve witnessed relationships being damaged and divided because of misinterpreted words. Proverbs 10:19 In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise. We may need to consider this passage when writing emails. Especially in the context of discussing relational matters or topics that can be personal and sensitive.

When using email to communicate, here are some tips to consider to build bridges, not damage relationships.

~ Be careful when you are upset, emotionally involved in a situation you are addressing. Be aware of your feelings and attitude when you are writing or responding to a sensitive issue or topic.

~ Remember, you don’t know the frame of heart or mind of the person when they “finally” receive or open your email. If this is a time sensitive issue or if you respond too quickly to a “sensitive” email, the recipient may not catch “your intentions or heart” behind the email.

~ When in doubt, when emails are being shot back and forth discussing or trying to resolve something, PICK UP the PHONE! We can tend to hide behind email communication.

Let’s build winning teams by building winning relationships through winning email communication!

Lord I need Your wisdom! I’ve prayed that many times in a variety of situations but never in the the area of my health. A little over 4 years ago, I felt a tug in my heart, a little voice within, say, “What about wisdom for your health? Are you willing to make wise choices for your health?” That began the slow, but steady journey to ask God for wisdom and strength to choose to live a healthy lifestyle.

It was after I discovered I had a heart condition along with a series of other things four years ago, that I knew the Lord was convicting me to change the way I cared for my soul and body. I work fairly well on keeping my spiritual life strong but my physical and emotional life were being neglected.

This article begins a series of choices I’ve made (and am making along the way), by God’s grace and strength, in my journey to live a healthy lifestyle.

Choice number 1 -

Be willing to admit your need for a change in lifestyle.

Ouch! That hurts! Many of know we need to change our lifestyle habits in the areas of our diet, exercise and rest. I’ve learned that people, including myself, know we need to change but are not willing to admit or confess that need. It’s one thing to identify a need to change. It takes another choice to admit that need with intentions to take the first steps to change.

That’s easy…I can admit my need to change…you may say. Make sure your willingness to change is strapped to intentions to make some necessary corrections, taking the first steps to “Living a Healthy Lifestyle.”

There are so many serving opportunities at New Hope. The needs for servants are on going. In some cases, willing, die hard volunteers give themselves to sacrificial service. Even to the point of weariness - then burnout - then drop out. That is not God’s desire or will. In my efforts to shepherd volunteers to live healthy, balanced lives, one of the key issues is not calling serving or ministry an enemy. Is our enemy serving or something else about our lives or within us that needs correction. It’s easy to blame our weariness on serving. Below are some questions I ask volunteers, mentorees and staff when they feel burned out.

• Are you spending quality time doing your daily devotions ? If we spend quality time with God, listen and heed to His voice, we will always be aligning our hearts, schedules and lives to His will.

• Are you doing too much?
  

• Do you actively and consistently plan your days and weeks according to your priorities?
  

• What and to whom is your primary ministry? Are you compromising your service to your primary ministry?

• What do you do that drains you? fills you?

• Are you being obedient to your Sabbath - your day of rest with the Lord?

• How is your health? Are you eating right? Exercising?

Honest answers to these questions reveal causes to weariness, burn out and drop out. Do you have other tips or questions you ask? Please share a thought or suggestion in this area. Let’s build healthy hearts and lives - disciples that will go the distance and live for the long haul.

Dear Leaders,

Thank you for diligently assimilating our wonderful, new volunteers into your ministry. Your participation, ministry tables, hearts throughout the weekend, along with Pastor Wayne’s message on “Doing Church as a Team” weekend, drew people from sitting in the stands to getting in the game!

Speaking of playing in the game, here are some reminders and tips to get people in the game:

~ Call people right away. Many of you have already done this. Great! If you got a hold of them to schedule their first shadowing or training, awesome. If you left a message, please be sure to make repeated efforts to get a hold of them or meet them at church…to get them in the game!

** If they want information about another ministry, PLEASE lead them to that ministry. Help them get in the game on another one of our teams! Be a team player…capital “C” and help them get connected in our church.

~ Connect people into your ‘ohana. Your ministry is an ‘ohana. The new people should experience the joy of belonging. Not only to serve the Lord, but to grow in connection with Him through relationships - through discipleship.

The connection involves orientation, shadowing and training. Develop an effective system with lots of heart added to your organization.

~ Care for the new volunteers. Follow up is a great thing - following up on calls, connecting them to serve. But follow through by showing that you care about them. Isn’t it in one of our Core Values…genuine love and caring relationships are the key to EVERY endeavor. That would include the endeavor of building healthy ministries by building healthy relationships.

~ Calibrate…
…your approach: There may be different, new, creative ways to call, connect and care for your new volunteers. Don’t give up if you’ve left 3 messages or if they haven’t replied to your email. Approach your follow up differently. Leave more specific information about when and where to meet you, etc
…your attitude: Calling, Connecting and Caring for others is not always easy - but it is rewarding! Be careful not to allow any negative attitudes overshadow the grace, kindness and love of God living in you.

~ Calendar your crew. Be specific about times, shifts, services to serve at. Make sure they know how often they are needed, when and where you need them. Be sensitive to their calendar too.

~ Celebrate the joy of serving with them. At New Hope, we are servants of celebration. Cheer each other on celebrating the joy of worshiping Jesus through serving.

Thanks for all the follow up and for following through with the new volunteers God has blessed us with.

Greetings coaches of New Hope.

Let’s emmanuelize the characteristics of living and leaving a legacy. Pastor Wayne shared this with our staff:

“The Legacy of New Hope”:

1. Resourcefulness - just go for it, even when you have nothing. If all you have is zeal, use it. Quoting Taylor Hudson, “God’s will done God’s way will receive God’s supply.”

2. Spirit of Evangelism - everything is connected to a soul. Don’t get involved in religion, get involved in the harvest, and everything will begin to make sense.

3. Believe in People - some one believed in each of us. People come with a desire, not always fully developed.

4. Base everything on Scripture - don’t soften to spiritualize and attract more people. Model yourselves after Jesus and stay true to God’s Word.

5. Give people hope - not guilt and condemnation like the Pharisees. Keep the Good News the Good News without compromising. Be gracious and share hope.

“If you keep your spirit up, the worst situation will get better. If you’re spirit is down, the best situation gets worse.”

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro

I’m so encouraged to hear from God through my devotions and journaling . My ten year old Princess Malia shared her journal with me and I want to share it with you. As leaders, we need to spend time with Jesus through His word and journaling. Here’s Malia’s journal…raw, unedited, straight from her heart to yours.

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
February 9, 2007

31They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Acts 16:31

Do you know how many people do not know the Lord? There is a lot in this whole big world. And do you know how many Christians are in this world not that many. That is why we need to tell people about Jesus. That Jesus died for all of us. Don’t you want to tell your family and friends that don’t know the Lord?!

This applies to me that you can start by telling your family or friends that don’t know God that one day they be in Heaven with us. And you can start by being good around house so that your neighbors can so why are you s good and you can tell them I have the Lord in my heart.

Dear Jesus thank you for dieing on the cross for my sins help me to be good around the house and tell people about you in Jesus name amen.