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Is your life in alignment with God’s plan and purpose? If not, put into practice the habits that Jesus did.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”(Romans 12:2, NIV) How did Jesus stay focused on His mission? We believe that it was because of His habits. Habits are behaviors and actions that we often do instinctively, often without much thought. Jesus’ habits, His spiritual disciplines, were something that He practiced as a regular part of His daily life. The habits that Jesus practiced—spending time in solitude and prayer, applying God’s word, abiding in God’s unconditional love, and maintaining supportive relationships—kept His life and leadership perfectly aligned with the Father and His mission. God uses our habits (spiritual disciplines) to put us into a place where He can work within us to transform us into the leader that He wants us to become. Practicing these habits aligns your life and leadership, keeping you on course much like the alignment of your car’s tires keeps your car headed in the right direction. When your car is “out of alignment,” the tires or wheels that are not aligned properly will pull or steer the car in a different direction from that of the remaining ones. If you are not careful while you are driving, your car might veer over into another lane or even run off the road into a ditch. Through our habits, God continually realigns and transforms our life so that our heart, head and hands remain focused on the purpose and mission that God has given to us. Practicing them on a daily basis prevents us from losing our direction, keeps us out of the “ditches” that Satan puts in our way, while helping us become a servant leader who leads like Jesus. Is your life in alignment with God’s plan and purpose? If not, commit yourself today to put into practice the habits that Jesus did. If you do, your life and leadership will be blessed. Written by Fred Waggoner
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Power in Partnership
In life there are very few if almost anything great that can be accomplished without some sort of partnership. We are creatures of relationship and partnerships are a thriving force to make and become the change we want to see for the Kingdom of God. REASONS FOR PARTNERSHIP Partnership Is Biblical Partnership is an often overlooked, yet vitally important aspect of New Testament Christianity. Although the ministry of Paul and other prominent New Testament leaders was in some ways unique and, therefore, in some ways unrepeatable, the pattern of partnership is repeatable. God still provides suitably gifted people to facilitate such partnerships today. Paul used the word, "partnership," to describe both church leaders and churches working together:
Partnership Is an Expression of Humility and Honors the Body of Christ Apart from the Biblical precedent of partnership, common sense tells us that no eldership team could maximize their potential without meaningful outside input. On this, Colin Hundermark writes, "In a corporate or not-for-profit context, it would not be frowned upon - more likely encouraged - to use an external source to contribute to the overall cause and direction of the enterprise. This is typically expressed in one of two ways. Firstly, the role of non-executive directors on a board is oftentimes filled by a subject matter expert or industry doyen, that is, someone that can contribute meaningfully to the overall direction and executive strategy of the business. Moreover, global corporate governance standards require that boards of directors have a minimum number of non-executive directors. Secondly, the use of external strategy and management consultants is commonplace, even for tasks considered the domain of internal teams such as understanding new product opportunities, new markets and new geographies. It would be curious to conclude that the use, or encouragement, of external input should be restricted to the corporate environment. Would it not be unwise for local elders to assume that they and their local church could somehow reach their redemptive potential without outside help?” Partnership Provides Synergy Partnership helps enhance a church’s strengths and helps shore up her weaknesses. Partnership helps maximize a church’s potential influence, providing a network through which individuals and churches can influence more broadly than they otherwise could. Partnership provides resources to help a church plant more churches in her region than she could working alone, including prayer, people, finance, encouragement, and skills. Partnership Provides Protection Sometimes churches go through immensely challenging seasons. For example, if a church loses a leader to burn out, sickness, or death, it is much easier to support the church and find a suitable replacement leader if the church is part of a partnership. Reference Advancemovement Allow the power of partnership drive your advancement of the the Kingdom today! |
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September 2020
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