Encourage your audience to work through the questions in this chapter. Too often we are not willing to answer and work through them to help us grow and develop.
Doing what you were created to be. U.S. News and World Report - between 1977 and 1997, the average work week for salaried Americans rose from 43 to 47 hours.
A) Don’t get involved in “The Tyranny of the Urgent”.
1) Know your priorities, in other words, prioritize your life. What are your priorities?
2) Prioritize your work and know your strengths.
a) What is required of me? What can no one else do that only I can do?
b) What gives me the greatest return? What do I do better than anyone else that
really benefits the church?
c) What do I do that brings me my greatest reward? Joy! What do I do that
keeps me interested in my work?
B) Know yourself.
WILD has spiritual gift profiles and personality profiles available. They are written in English, and in the American culture context. WILD does have a sheet on ways to discuss spiritual gifts, what the four groups are, and a list of spiritual gifts. Again, people disagree on the number of spiritual gifts and whether some are for today. That is not the issue here. WILD does not include this material for argument’s sake. Rather, we need to help people figure out where they fit in the Body of Christ, and help them become active members to impact the world for Christ. If you don’t agree with a “gift,” do not discuss that one.
1) What are your spiritual gifts? What is your personality? What is your purpose in life? What are your talents and abilities? What experiences can you draw from?
2) Questions and profiles.
3) Spend most of your time in your gift mix, in your strengths.
4) Do things in blocks of time periods.
C) Results of knowing yourself.
1) Able to say “NO” and not feel guilty. We are not indispensable – finger in water bucket.
2) Won’t burn out. (Hebrews 12:1-2) Too many “burdens” to carry, frustrations, and distraction = Lose your focus. Select to focus a lot of your time on what
you are most gifted at.
3) Create healthy routines – what are things you are doing to stay healthy?
4) Become much more effective as a member of the Body.
PUZZLE ILLUSTRATION
Get a puzzle and give each participant one or two pieces, depending on the size of the puzzle (puzzles with 60 pieces or less work the best) and number of participants. You may have to start the puzzle with remaining pieces put together first. Have them put the puzzle together, eventually letting them see the box top with the puzzle picture on it. Discuss the biblical principles and truth lessons that were present as they put the puzzle together. Some lessons of this illustration are in Appendix A.
5) JOY! JOY! JOY! - Greek word for spiritual gift – Charisma – JOY! Too many Christians are living in despair – No John 10:10 for them!
6) Acts 17:25 - know God’s will for your life, your purpose (Ephesians
7) Growth Plan
D) Delegate – Exodus 18:13-26 – (Just as Jethro told Moses to get more help to judge in order
not to burn out, so we must learn to involve others and give up some responsibility.)
1) What can only you do and what can someone else do? Make a list.
2) When possible, get help.
3) Why don’t you want to delegate? Control freak? Insecure?
Someone will take my job! Don’t know how or what are my job responsibilities,
anyway.
4) Am I doing or learning something that someone else can/could do? This allows others to become one of the team players.
E) God and Family
1) Where are God and family on my priority list? (1 Samuel 2:12-17, 22-25)
2) Listening.
a) Have you ever slowed down enough to listen to God? Does silence scare you? How does God speak to you? Consider taking an hour up to a day a month and get away from everything and everyone and just be quiet! Listen to that still small voice of God.
b) Lectio Divina
1. Choose a text - (i.e. Hosea 6:1-3, Isaiah 55:8-11, Jeremiah 29:11-13, Phil 2:5-8).
2. Place yourself in a comfortable position, getting in a solitude place focusing on a sound that is constant.
3. Read the text over and over slowly, listening for that still, small voice.
4. Keep reading until a word or phrase stands out.
5. Ask why this word or phrase stands out.
6. Meditate over it, memorizing it, repeating it.
7. Pray, talk to God by putting a prayer together on the word or phrase.
8. Then finally write down your prayer and your thoughts.
3) What do I need to change to make God first on my priorities and my family second? What is more important – family or job?
4) What kind of legacy am I leaving?
Despite Harry Truman’s role as president of the
5) What parameters have I put in place to help keep me healthy?
F) People
1) Matthew 9:35-38; Mark 1:40-42 – What were the steps Jesus followed in this passage? Got out among the people, saw the needs of the people, had compassion on them, and indicated we need to pray to God for workers.
2) Where would you rate your people quotient (how much of the time do you spend with people)? President Lincoln spent 75% of his presidency with people.
3) Leadership work is people work – People are your most important responsibility. What must you change to make people more of your focus?
4) How are your listening skills? Look over the checklist, what area(s) can you develop?
LISTENING AWARENESS INVENTORY - To see how effective you think you are in practicing good listening techniques, answer these questions about yourself. Remember: Be ruthlessly honest with yourself! James
| | Almost Always | Usually | Seldom | Never | |
| 1 | Do you let people finish what they’re trying to say before you speak? | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | If the person hesitates, do you try to encourage him/her…rather than start your reply? | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Do you withhold judgment about the person’s idea until he/she has finished? | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | Can you listen fully even though you think you know what he/she is about to say? | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | Can you listen nonjudgmentally even if you do not like the person who’s talking? | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 6 | Do you stop what you’re doing and give full attention when listening? | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 7 | Do you give the person appropriate eye contact, head nods, and non-verbals to indicate that you’re listening? | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | Do you listen fully regardless of the speaker’s manner of speaking? (i.e., grammar, accent, choice of words) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 9 | Do you question the person to clarify his/her ideas more fully? | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 10 | Do you restate/paraphrase what’s said and ask if you got it right? | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
How are you reproducing yourself? (2 Timothy 2:2) Into whom do you need to reproduce yourself? What exactly is the legacy you want to leave for coming generations? Write a eulogy about yourself.
