home > Pastor’s Desk > 2017 > March 24th > Unrecognisable Growth Moments

growth-of-a-leader

It’s how we handle the little moments which prepare us for the big ones. And it’s the little moments which tend to shape us more profoundly – for better or for worse. Being shaped for better by life’s moments means that we become more confident about dealing with life’s difficulties. It means we become more resilient to life’s setbacks. It means that we are less wasteful and therefore able to build more reserves in life consisting of finances, strength, time, and knowledge. Conversely, when life’s moments are allowed to shape us into someone worse, we become prickly, withdrawn, hard to get along with, discontent, and always in need. Perhaps if we could only recognise these little moments for what they are, we might respond to them quite differently.

 

1. Say “Yes” more often.

Life’s most profound moments occur when it presents us with opportunities. How many times have you been presented with an opportunity to do something you have never done before and you nearly said, “No.”? Perhaps, even reluctantly, you said “Yes” and then afterwards you were sooo glad that you did! This might have been to go on a journey somewhere, see a movie with friends, try a new cafe or restaurant. These kind of opportunity moments shape us either into open people, or closed people. Once I was asked if I would go to a professional development seminar in the place of someone who had booked in but could no longer go. I didn’t want to. I was more than reluctant. But I said “Yes.” That one day professional development seminar changed my life. I had another moment about 30 years ago when an academic mentor of mine, Richard Winter, asked me if I would like to get involved in a student group at Deakin University in Geelong, called, Overseas Christian Fellowship. Despite my reluctance, I said “Yes” and the ultimate result of that “Yes” was that I met a young lady by the name of Kim (who became my wife). 

Sometimes God presents us with opportunities by showing us a need. By saying “Yes” with our willingness to meet that need, we are being shaped into better, bigger, stronger, more admirable people.

¶ “ ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Revelation 3:8

Dr. Henry Cloud says that if more singles said “Yes” they have a greater chance of finding, as the title of his book indicates, a date worth keeping. Some moments need a “Yes” in order to clear your path to your destiny.

 

2. Cooperate more often.

Committees get a lot of bad press. I can understand why maverick (highly individual) leaders find it difficult to work with committees. Committees require working with people who have different ideas and viewpoints. They require listening, negotiating, disagreeing, compromising, and patience. This can be difficult for any strong-minded, gifted, driven, inflexible leader to work with. But, if a leader can learn to cooperate with others more often they will be all the richer for it. Of course, this growth principle of cooperation doesn’t just apply to leaders, it applies in the workplace, the sporting field, the classroom, and the home. 

¶ Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Second Corinthians 13:11

 

3. Give away what you want.

It’s one of life’s counter-intuitives. The generous always seem to have enough and the stingy never do. 

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
Proverbs 11:24

The best way to keep somethings is with an open-hand. Most of us want more affirmation and encouragement. There are moments in life when others are looking to you for an affirming look or word. Don’t miss these moments. People who take these moments and share an encouragement with others tend to grow in their own self-confidence and emotional security. If you want more encouragement and affirmation look for those moments throughout your day when God brings those who need it more across your path.

 

4. Start throwing a rock rather than pebbles into the puddle.

There will come a moment when you are already busy but you will be presented with a need which you have the ability to meet. Not everyone is offered such a moment. Your immediate response may be to reject this request. Before you do, consider whether you are being asked to throw another pebble into the pond, or just a slightly bigger rock. That is, before thinking you have to spend just as much time again on this new responsibility, consider whether this is extra responsibility might actually fit your life’s mission. If it does, then just maybe, all you have to do is throw a bigger rock into the puddle rather than picking up more pebbles. That is, it might be more efficient – when it comes to making a bigger splash in the puddle – to throw a rock rather than some pebbles. To put it another way, when we know what our lives should focus on we may find that what looks to others as if we are doing many things, is actually just one thing which makes a splash the equivalent of many pebbles landing in the pond.  

Dr. F.W. Boreham found in the early days of his pastoral ministry that his preaching was too dry dry, too theoretical, too disconnected from his hearers. He discovered that if he wrote his sermon out word-for-word before he preached it, he was better prepared in the pulpit because he had already selected the precise word to convey his message. He would preach the message without these notes, then go back and re-write those parts of it which needed adjusting. He then submitted these notes as an article to newspapers (both Christian and secular). Once a collection of these articles had been published he would select a group of them to be put into a book. Thus, it looked like he was throwing a pebble of sermon preparation, another pebble of preaching, another pebble of newspaper articling, and another pebble of book authoring. But in actuality, he was simply making a bigger splash with one rock rather than a handful of pebbles. Dr. Boreham was committed to reaching as many people for the Saviour as possible. His writing and preaching was his main means for accomplishing this mission. But over the years his rock got bigger as encompassed taking responsibilities as the Chairman of the Australian Baptist Foreign Missions, serving on the committee of the Victorian Baptist Union, and promoting the establishment of a Baptist Ministers and Missionaries training college. Again, these looked like he was throwing more pebbles into the puddle to make more splashes, but in reality he was throwing just one larger rock!

Jesus was on a single mission and had a clear focus. He “set His face to go to Jerusalem”. This was His rock. On the way to the Cross, the culmination of His mission, he healed the sick, raised the dead, preached to thousands, and trained His disciples.

¶ When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem…But the people did not receive Him, because His face was set toward Jerusalem.
Luke 9:51, 53

 

5. See your sacrifices as investments.

¶ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Romans 12:1

There will come moments when you must pay a price in life. You go from being a single to forming a relationship. This involves a price. You go from being a couple to becoming parents. This involves a price. You go from being served to serving. This involves a price.

In these moments you can consider that price an expense or an investment. Ask any financial advisor and they will tell you that there is a world of difference between expenses and investments! Expenses make you poorer. Investments make you richer. One of the best investments you can make is time with people. This is one of the reasons why pastors are so rich in many respects. The time invested into people seeing them helped, trained, and developed, pays huge dividends. The time you invest in others may feel like a sacrifice but it’s probably an investment.

John Maxwell tells of how he grew his leadership training company by regarding sacrificing as investing. He needed another staff member, but the company didn’t have the finances to do employ someone. He decided that he needed to sacrifice his salary in order to employ their next staff member. Within a relatively short time of doing this the company was enabled to grow and take on more clients to point where it was able to pay both salaries. Dr Maxwell says that he went on to do this same kind sacrificing several more times – each time giving up his salary in order to hire a new staff member. He says, it was in these moments that both he and his company was able to grow and reap the dividend of his investment/sacrifice.

Leadership calibre is not measured by how many you lead. It is at least measured by your mission effectiveness. If your mission is to be a Christlike ambassador to those around you so that they might be drawn to the Saviour, then you are a leader.  All followers of Christ are leaders. Parents are leaders. Husbands are leaders. Managers are leaders. And if you want to grow as a leader you must recognise those moments when growth can occur. 

It seems that God is committed to helping each of us grow toward maturity and be the best influencers on others that we can. The above growth moments might be summarised in the diagram below. Perhaps this might help you to realise how significant life’s seemingly fleeting moments are and help you to recognise what most don’t.

The-Growth-Moments-of-a-Leader

Amen.

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

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HE WAS A KIND AND CHARITABLE MAN

home > Pastor's Desk > 2024 > March 22ndr > He was a kind and charitable man.WHO WAS KENNETH TYNAN? You’ve probably never heard of Kenneth Tynan. I hadn’t. I was introduced to him while conducting some research for my current PhD program on C.S. Lewis. In...

FROM LITTLE THINGS

The first time I heard the song “From Little Things, Big Things Grow” was in early 2008. I was trying to get my head around superannuation funds. I never knew of its writers – Paul Kelly and Carmody. Neither did I know it was originally a protest song. In my opinion, the original lyrics and melody bears no semblance to what we may consider protest today. Many will agree with me that it is now synonymous with Industry Super Funds. But its principles remain true in nearly every aspect of life.

ADVICE WORTH MORE THAN GOLD OR A MOUNTAIN OF CASH ABOUT HOW TO USE REJECTION TO BECOME AN EVEN BETTER, WISER, STRONGER YOU!

For several reasons I am qualified to help people deal with acute and chronic pain. Some acute and chronic pain can be resolved medically. Some pains can go a long way to being resolved with the help of a psychologist. Some pains can be resolved with a hug from mum. But there is a pain that a doctor cannot cure, a psychologist cannot counsel, a mother’s hug cannot alleviate. It is a pain that goes deep – beyond the defences of our integumentary system, our neurological system (including our para-sympathetic nervous system), our muscular system, our skeletal system, our lymphatic system, our renal system, gastro-intestinal system, our respiratory system, our cardio-vascular system, our hormonal system, and our half-share of a reproductive system. It is a pain that wounds: our memory, our sense of self, our estimation of our worth, our confidence, and our ability to connect meaningfully with others (our ability to love and be loved). It is the pain of rejection. It not only effects who we are (our identity) but it also leaches symptomatically into each of these ten-and-a-half biological systems which every human being possesses. I am going to offer all those who have experienced the pain of rejection how they can be healed from its wound, and actually become stronger, wiser, more confident, as a result.

THE MYTHICAL PATHWAY TO HAPPINESS

I’ve accidentally found myself enrolled in a Ph.D. program. I kind of blame Associate Professor Stuart Piggin for this. A few years ago I was having some serious discussions with him about doing a Ph.D. in Historical Theology at Macquarie University focusing on the contribution of Dr. F.W. Boreham. But I found myself unable at that time to proceed. In my discussions with him about my health prognosis and what I wanted to be able to do in the remaining time that I have left, he suggested focusing instead on Philosophical-Theology and enquiring with Monash University. I took his sage advice and did as he said. This week, I formally commenced with Monash as a part-time extension (distance) student. The result is that after my first zoom meeting with my supervisor I am now having to delve into an arena that requires me to be able to convince a critical secular audience that my proposal about the Bible’s truth claims are reasonable. Oddly, in order to do this, I have to explain in some depth what C.S. Lewis meant by the word, myth. And to do this I have to draw even deeper on the writings of a now dead French philosopher who is regarded as the greatest exponent of what a myth is! Therefore, I am going to tell you something quite shocking. It might be advisable for you to go and get a strong cup of tea, then return to this screen, and read on while sipping your tea, to absorb some of what I am going to tell you. 

Follow Me AS I FOLLOW JESUS

We all walk a path in life that is set before us. We start with very little experience and knowledge about the purpose of our life and the world beyond us. All of humanity experiences joy, wisdom, strength, weakness, suffering and hardship, especially those who are “contending for the faith”. Knowing Jesus is a very special part of this life journey.

A CERTAIN GOD

We can be reasonably certain about many things. In fact, without this certainty about life, none of us could function. We can be certain that tonight the sun will ‘set’. Tomorrow the sun will ‘rise’. After the February 28th it will be February 29th. This year there will be international unrest and much political instability in many parts of the world. In the coming months global warming will be identified by politicians as the source of floods and wildfires. Several high profile international celebrities will die this year. Archaeologists will make a discovery that will require some aspects of history to be rewritten. And you will certainly have one of the most memorable moments in your life in the coming days. You see, there are clearly some things we can be quite certain about. However, there are some aspects about our future that we cannot be certain about, yet in those moments we can be certain about what we should do.

LOW COST LIVING

Turn on any TV or radio news lately and there’s bound to be a story about the current “cost of living crisis”. We all feel it. Initially most people accepted the widespread price-rises were caused by 2020-21 pandemic lockdowns. But whatever the reasons for the rapid price hikes over the past two years, every time we go to the supermarket we feel it again. While governments are striving to curb the impact of this cost of living crisis, there remains a way to enjoy low cost living. The key to this is recognising that the most valuable things in life are literally priceless. The path to enjoying low-cost living is to be found in Christ, and what He taught — and it begins with treasure.

How To Know Jesus Better

It’s a scary thought to realise that the Jesus we have been told about and worship may not really be known to us at all. We can ‘know’ about someone or something, but not really know them. In Christian circles it’s often referred to as head knowledge not heart knowledge.

Knowing Christ Better

As a church, this year’s theme is coming closer to Christ by getting to know Him better. I feel that I am “the least qualified person” to tell anyone how this is done — but someone else has already claimed this distinction – the apostle Paul. After decades of hearing directly from Christ, seeing extraordinary miracles, being taken to heaven temporarily, planting churches across the Roman Empire, he could still say I would give anything to really know Christ – even if it meant suffering like He did! (Phil. 3:7-10). Therefore, I could say: If you do this or that, you will then know Christ better – but in my view, it’s not as easy as that! How we develop our relationship with Christ is shaped by several factors including our personality, our life experiences, our physical health and fitness, and our relationships with others (especially our parents and particularly our father). In fact, I believe that there is a relationship between how we have learned to build relationships with others (and notably how we have learned to relate to those who are closest to us) and how we then proceed to have a relationship with God. Even though I have expressed my lack of qualifications in telling anyone how to have a closer relationship with Christ, I still can, like one hungry beggar to another hungry beggar, offer you a few of the morsels of food that I’ve been able to find.

SOME PEOPLE HAVE AMAZING BUTS

I know of several people with amazing buts. There’s Jo’, Mo’, Sam, Esther, Jerry, and others. Each of these people were gifted by God with an amazing but that changed there life and the course of human history. Sometimes these gifts came with a …then, or …God, or …the LORD. When it comes to the size of things, a but is a relatively small thing (in Greek it can be just two letters: de) but it can have huge implications and enormously great blessings for multitudes. I hope to show you how this was the case with each of the people I have chosen as samples, and then show you how God is your God of buts.