Are You Salty?

Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?

It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure piles; they throw it away.

Let anyone with ears to hear listen!

Luke 14:34-35

Do you ever feel like you are not salty? Like your spiritual life and your walk with Christ is bland? After all, most others don’t want to eat bland food. So, how can we be living out and fulfilling our Great Commission if we have no Jesus flavor?

Many times, Christians will mistakenly believe that they are not salty- and thus would be ineffective in doing God’s work in others’ lives and telling them about Jesus. BUT- that is BACKWARD thinking. Actually- doing God’s work in others’ lives and telling them about Jesus is just what will make you salty…and the more we pour Jesus into others the more flavorful we become.

If you are holding back from telling that co-worker or family member or friend or spouse or child or person you have just met about Jesus because you think you are too bland…DO IT…for this will make you salty.

-In Him

How Are We Doing?

Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that, some have entertained angles without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured.

Hebrews 13:1-3

How well are we loving the unlovable? Even tax collectors will love their spouse and children and friends and relatives. But how well are we Christians loving one another as Jesus loved us? Jesus tells us that it is by LOVE, by how we treat others, that others will know we are His. How are we doing with it?

But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame,

and the blind. And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you,

for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

Luke 14:13-14

Are we helping the poor?

Are we feeding the hungry?

Are we caring for the orphans?

Are we visiting the sick?

Are we submitting to each other?

Are we praying for one another?

Are we taking time to listen to each other, encourage each other and correct each other?

Are we gossiping about each other?

Are we jealous and covetous of one another?

Are we cheating and taking advantage of one another?

How are we doing?

-In Him

The Law of Explosive Growth

Law #20 of John Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is:

The Law of Explosive Growth: To Add Growth, Lead Followers; To Multiply, Add Leaders

Leaders’ Math- “Becoming a leader who develops leaders requires an entirely different focus and attitude from simply attracting and leading followers. It takes a different mindset.” Maxwell talks about a tension a leader can feel between him/herself and followers- derived from the difference between where the followers are and where they should be [something the leader sees before everyone else]. He notes that the way to relieve the tension is to acknowledge the Law of Explosive Growth:

• If you develop yourself, you à personal success
• If you develop your team, your organization à growth
• If you develop leaders, your organization à explosive growth

A Different Focus- Maxwell lists some differences between leaders who attract followers and those who develop leaders

• Leaders who attract Followers… Need to be needed
• Leaders who develop Leaders… Want to be succeeded

Although having followers can make you feel needed and important, this is a shallow reason to lead, and is based on insecurity. Leading for the sake of the followers and for what you can leave behind as your legacy, what good leaders do, stems from a position of confidence and strength.

• Leaders who attract Followers… Develop the bottom 20%
• Leaders who develop Leaders… Develop the top 20%

The weaker people are usually those asking for the most help. If you ‘need to be needed,’ then you sill spend your time addressing those issues of the bottom 20%. If you seek out the top 20%, on the other hand, and pour into them, they will be able to handle the rest, and then some.

• Leaders who attract Followers… Focus on weaknesses
• Leaders who develop Leaders… Focus on strengths

If you are spending you time dealing with the bottom 20%, you are usually dealing with their weaknesses [since they require tour time and attention to help them do their job. If you are developing the top 20%- you are able to focus on and develop strengths.

• Leaders who attract Followers… Treat everyone the same
• Leaders who develop Leaders… Treat individuals differently

“Leaders who develop leaders give rewards, resources and responsibility based on results. The greater the impact of the leaders, the more opportunities they receive.” It is not so much about everyone getting equal opportunities.”

• Leaders who attract Followers… Spend time with others
• Leaders who develop Leaders… Invest time in others

True- this takes more time and energy in many ways, but it pays huge dividends.

• Leaders who attract Followers… Grow by addition
• Leaders who develop Leaders… Grow by multiplication

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The Challenge Of Leading Leaders

1. Leaders are hard to find- “most people are followers; some are producers; few are leaders…leaders are like eagles, they don’t flock.”
2. Leaders are hard to gather- Leaders want to find their own way…make their own rules. If you want to gather leaders, you have to provide an environment for them to be able to thrive.
3. Leaders are hard to keep- It is even harder to keep them than it is to find and gather them. “The only way to keep leaders is to become a better leader yourself,” so that you can keep adding value to them.

“Leadership development compounds. The more you invest in people and the longer you do it, the greater the growth and the higher the return.”

Applying the Law of Explosive Growth to Your Life

1. Identify your current stage of leadership development

• Stage 1- Developing yourself
• Stage 2- Developing your team
• Stage 3- Developing leaders

To help you decide- note specific actions you have taken for each step. If you are not developing leaders, why not? What steps can you take to start?

2. What are you doing to find and gather leaders? What places do you go, events you attend, networks you access to accomplish this? How do you then follow through to the next step of realizing this?

3. What are you doing to gather and hold leaders? In other words, what are you doing to become a better leader yourself? How are you adding value to and helping to grow them?

Reference:

Maxwell, John. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Chapter 20- The Law of Explosive Growth. Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN; 2007

The Living Word

I am now making my words in your mouth a fire and this people wood, and the fire shall devour them. -Jeremiah 5:14

How powerful is the Word. It is alive and it speaks to us. It convicts us and loves us. It corrects us and encourages. What an amazing thing that God has given us this blueprint. But not just a bunch of words on paper, limited to one place, one time, one people. This is Him, on our shoulder, in our mind…carried to our heart by the Holy Spirit. We have a way!

Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides the soul from the spirit, joints from the marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. -Hebrews 4:12

You Are A Leader If-

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

John Quincy Adams

Law #19 of John Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is:

The Law of Timing: When To Lead Is As Important As What To Do And Where To Go

Maxwell notes that, “Timing is Everything… When to lead is as important as where to go.”

Every time a leader makes a move, there are really only 4 outcomes:

1. The wrong action at the wrong time à DISASTER.

2. The right action at the wrong time à RESISTANCE. “If a leader repeatedly shows poor judgment, even in the little things, people start to think that having him as the leader is the real mistake.” Good leadership timing requires:

• Understanding- Do you have a firm grasp on the situation?
• Maturity- Are your motives right?
• Confidence- Do you believe in what you are doing?
• Decisiveness- Can you initiate action with confidence and win people’s trust?
• Experience- Have you drawn upon wisdom from others to inform your strategy?
• Intuition- Have you taken into account intangibles such as momentum and morale?
• Preparation- Have you done everything you must to set up your team for success?

3. The wrong action at the right time à MISTAKE. People who are natural entrepreneurial usually have a good sense of timing. However, they must also know which is the best move to make is at that time.

4. The right action at the right time à SUCCESS. “When the right leader and the right timing come together, incredible things happen.”

“When the stakes are high, the consequences of the Law of Timing are dramatic and immediate…Reading a situation and knowing what to do are not enough to make you succeed in leadership…you must pay attention to timing.”

Applying the Law of Timing to Your Life

1. Does timing play an important role in your strategy as a leader? Review the major actions you have initiated in the recent past and assess how much attention you have given to timing.

2. Spend time analyzing recent failed initiatives for your team/organization to determine if they were secondary to wrong action or wrong timing. To guide you, answer the following questions:

• What was the goal of the initiative?
• Who was responsible for leading it?
• What factors were considered during planning?
• Whose experience did the strategy draw upon?
• What was the condition or temperature of the organization at time of launch?
• What were the market conditions?
• What “leverage” was available and being used?
• What factors were working against it?
• Might the initiative have been more successful if launched earlier or later?
• Why did the initiative ultimately fail?

3. As you consider future plans, consider the list of factors to prepare for the timing [#2 in above section].

“Only the right action at the right time will bring success to your team.”

Reference:

Maxwell, John. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Chapter 19- The Law of Timing. Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN; 2007

Flamingo Needs Your Pet Photos!

They say that pets often resemble their owners. Do you have a cat, bird, or dog? Pastor Troy's new teaching series, "The Wild", will be launching on September 11th and 12th. We are collecting photos of pets and their owners. These photos will be shown before and after our church service on the large screens at all our campuses. We want to get as many photos from our leaders as possible. Accentuate the similarities of you and your pet! Funny pet photo? Send those too. Please email your photos as soon as possible to Photos@flamingoroad.org. Your photos may be used as part of this new teaching series or in a promo video. Invite your Connect Group members to email their photos as well, but we must send these quickly. Thanks for your help! Can't wait to see your photos!