Equipping Thoughts

A recent email I sent to some men that came to mind as I as praying for my own heart - to be a man of C.A.R.S. for Christ!

a man of Godly…

1. Character
2. Attitude
3. Relationships
4. Service

WOW…Stephen was a C.A.R.S. man of God! I’ve been looking at Stephen’s life, reflecting on my C.A.R.S. and questioned the depth of my faith, while meditating on the verse below.

I know God is with me, I know I love Him, I know He is my all in all – but put in Stephen’s scenario, would I be praying for those who are murdering me!!

Acts 7
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

I am enflamed with conviction, to grow deeper in love with Jesus!!
I want my character, attitude, relationships and service to be deeply real, violently strong, outrageously passionate!!!

GOD – HELP ME…HELP ME…I want to be LIKE YOU!!!!!
I’m desperate because I’m lacking!
I’m hungry because I’m lazy!
I’m weak because I’m complacent!!

Lord – deliver me from ME!
I decrease, that you may increase!
I yield and surrender so that You may have the right of way in my ENTIRE LIFE!!!

by Frances Nojiri, Tentmakers Ministry

Often I find myself assessing my heart condition: reason and purpose I do what I do; intent, motivation, etc., etc. I will call it a “spiritual tune-up or check up”. When going about doing God’s business, I must be sure that the Spirit is in the control seat, guiding and directing my attitude, thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc. so that it would be a genuine spiritual act of worship, pleasing to the LORD.

I must admit, there have been times when I feel like I’m running out of fuel (figure of speech). Starting was no problem–pumped up, inspired, . . . but continuing, persevering over time can sometimes be draining. However, I have noticed that when people are involved, they become one of the motivating factors to press on–the desire to be a support, to help them grow and mature in the LORD.

Confession time: I’ve been asking the LORD if I’m to continue sending out devotionals. The intent and motivation from the start and even now, have been for encouragement, to help build up and mature, to share what the Lord has blessed me with, etc. In all that I do, even when I’m tired and weary–in those times I strive to rise above it, I want to be sure that the LORD is being magnified and honored.

Scripture gives some examples of people starting off uprightly, with the intent and motivation to please God, but over time their intent and motivation switched gears because of compromises, unaccountability, etc., and sadly, their ending was sad.

Although Matthew 24:13 (NASB) (”But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.) in context is referring to the end times, as an application, “I will reap what I sow and the work that has been started, unless the LORD redirects its course, must be completed to the end,” all to bring honor and glory to HIM who is worthy, to HIM who is full of grace and mercy. I honor and praise YOU, my Blessed LORD!

JESUS, YOU are my KING! Be Thou Glorified!

Loneliness is a growing epidemic that can frustrate, discourage and lead hearts to defeat. Even in marriage’s, the workplace and among friends, people experience loneliness. God can fill that void, with His presence and through the presence of others who desire to grow, to give of themselves to God’s purposes.

The sense and feeling of belonging, ahhhhhhh….there’s nothing like experiencing belonging to a family, serving God with all their hearts! That’s our hope for you! That you would join one of our family’s of serving ministries, experiencing the joy of belonging, giving and growing in relationship with God and others at New Hope.

We invite you to BELONG. To get connected into the life of our New Hope ‘ohana through serving! God desires that we all belong to him & grow in healthy relationships. One of the ways we grow is through serving with others in a ministry. Come & BELONG, growing deeper & stronger in your relationship with our God & ‘ohana .

Visit these ministries on our Ministries page link and discover the joy of BELONGing!
http://www.enewhope.org/ministries/

Here are some great families to consider!

Office Volunteers
Shuttle Drivers
Tent Makers
Bookstore Set up
Childrens Ark
Hospitality
Parking
Levites
Sound
Ushers
Greeters
Lighting
Video
Stage Production
…and more!

Dear Leaders:

Emails are such a great and efficient tool of communication in so many
ways!! …they can be!

My Scenario:
I recently wrote an email to a group of 4 servants. One of them called me
to inform me that I should’ve talked to them about the situation first,
before putting my question out on email to others. Although the email was
specific to an event and I didn’t write with emotional hurt, I appreciated
the servant calling me to discuss their thoughts and feelings, instead of
writing out their disappointment through email…especially if they
would’ve ”copied” the rest of the group.

Emotional emails can be a dangerous tool in the hands of the devil.
Especially emotions that leak a little hurt, disappointment and
frustration. Angry, Jealous, Bitter emotions that spill through emails… are just
plain wrong to write. It’s amazing how many misunderstandings I’ve had to
clear up because emotions were misread and misinterpreted through email.

Pray and think through emails that you write. Pause, sometimes even for a
day to let your emotions settle down, especially if you are responding with
passion or emotion. As a rule, those subjects should be best discussed over
the phone or in person.

Just a thought from…from one email user to another.

Here’s a DEFINITION: Refusing to change one’s ideas, behavior, etc.; stubborn; obstinate.

“You cannot be a pervicacious leader Rod, and expect to be an effective team player!”

When sitting amongst a round table of great leaders in the Midwest, I had to learn to be more tolerant of “Dumb” ideas. What was dumb to me was an indication of my shrimpy sized paradigms. Not to mention my unwillingness to listen and learn from others (especially who I thought didn’t know much about a certain subject). It was revealed to me that I might think of other ideas as “dumb” but I was really being ignorant and closed minded.

Valuable Lessons learned:

1. First of all..the definition of pervicacious! Ouch!!
2. How to keep my mouth shut and open my mind to other ideas. Listen to find the good in an idea!
3. Judging other ideas revealed insecurities in my leadership. (Control, Jealousy, Fear of not succeeding or being seen as valuable, etc)
4. My stubbornness can damage team spirit and team unity.
5. Put my opinions, judgements, feedback before the Lord first, before I voice them to others.

Nehemiah 9:29 You warned them to return to your law, but they became proud and obstinate and disobeyed your commands. They did not follow your regulations, by which people will find life if only they obey. They stubbornly turned their backs on you and refused to listen. 30 In your love, you were patient with them for many years.

May I learn from my past mistakes and the mistakes of the Israelites! Help Me Lord and thanks for being patient with me!

Hello leaders:

There’s a certain line, I seem to cross at times. That line is called familiarity.

I get familiar with my surroundings, relationships, circumstances – and around our volunteers. Then I cross the line, not realizing that at times, I don’t speak or treat our volunteers with as much kindness, grace and gratefulness as I should.

…just a reminder, from lessons of my recent “line crossings”
We are a church that depend on our volunteer leaders, shepherds and servants. Let’s be gracious in All our dealings with our teams. You & I set the tone, culture and heart of graciousness and gratefulness.

It’s an honor to reach people for Jesus with you,
Rod

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!