"Starbucks is not a coffee company that serves people. It is a people company that serves coffee, and human behavior is much more challenging to change than any muffin recipe or marketing strategy." -- Howard Schultz, founder of Starbucks, as quoted in BNET
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For any church to remain healthy, grow, and expand, the leadership must be about duplication -- the art of equipping others to do the work of ministry as God has gifted them. The temptation most ministers face is to be doers, not duplicators. It might stem from insecurity ("What if they do it better?") or pride ("I'm the only one who can do it right"). Either way, being a doer stunts the church by capping the growth at the ceiling of our individual abilities. Are you a duplicator or doer?
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Abraham was seventy-five years old when God made him this promise: “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:2-3). When the promise arrived, Abraham and Sarah (then known as Abram and Sarai) did not have any children of their own. Becoming a "great nation" would require this to change. More to the point, it would require having children. In this same chapter (12), God promises to give Abram's offspring the land occupied by the Canaanites. Again, offspring indicates children. A few years pass and Abram is growing concerned: "“Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate…
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Here's a simple truth: if you're not doing what you love to do, you'll either burn out or rust. Does this mean we ALWAYS do what we love one hundred percent of the time? Of course not. It does mean you should be over the fifty percent point, and I would even suggest you should be tipping the two-thirds mark. Pursue your passion.
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Marcus Buckingham says that the most ineffective staff people are like “sundials in the shade.” It's not a matter of ability or talent or desire. The real question is this: do we have them in the right role? As you lead teams of people -- be that at church, work, or home -- one of your primary tasks is to help place people in the right positions. Whenever talent is misaligned, no one is happy. In fact, misplaced talent will eventually erode if it's not being continually sharpened or utilized. Do you have any sundials in the shade?
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