Passing along an interesting video of Seth Godin speaking about "This is Broken." Seth Godin at Gel 2006 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.
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Here's an interesting summary of a recent survey of people who sit in church pews. This one relates to preaching.
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It's why we call it the World Wide Web. Just yesterday, I was spending a few minutes reading blogs I like to follow. I started with Mac Lake, a blogger who writes about church leadership issues. He led me to Casey Graham, who writes about church finances. Casey led me to Mark Clement, a filmaker who uses his giftedness to shine God's light through media. And then I came to this article by Mark Clement: "I Couldn't Have Done it Without Him." In the article Clement mentions a fellow who I attended college with -- John Marc Green. It's a small world.
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As leaders, we often think in terms of vision casting. It's our responsibility to discern where God wants us to go and then to paint the picture for those we lead. In many respects, this is a top-down process. We hear from God, our churches/members/employees hear from us. I also believe part of our mandate as leaders is to help bubble up vision from within the hearts of those we lead. God doesn't speak only to me; he is constantly at work in our world to establish his kingdom. As a leader, I need to be sensitive to what God is saying to those around me. What are their dreams? What inspires them? What is gaining momentum in their lives? Casting vision isn't always about shouting from the rooftops; it's just as often about keeping an ear to the ground.
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One of the most important parts of being a coaching leader is learning to ask the right questions. Here's a good example. If something doesn't out the way it was supposed to, do you ask "Why did you ...?" This immediately puts the other person on the defensive and back-pedaling people can be dangerous people. A better question might be, "How can we ...?" This invites a solution rather than placing blame. It also involves the leader in helping ascertain the solution. Which question do you most often ask?
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