Leadership Development

In Mark 1.17, Jesus looks at a couple of fishermen and says, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men,” (ESV).

I have always liked this passage. The interesting part is Jesus was not attempting to really change these guys. They were fishermen. He simply wanted to help them improve on what they did; to have a Kingdom agenda in their trade. Certainly it is good for these men to fish. It provided for their livelihood. But Jesus wanted them to fish for something greater than earthly provision; He wanted them to learn how to delve into the spiritual venue of fishing. So, Jesus takes on a small band of brothers, ultimately a group of twelve, and begins to equip them to be gifted, servant leaders.

I believe this is an important element in discipleship. First, be a life-long learner yourself. Second, develop others. As we are moving into the fall, leadership training for churches should begin taking shape. New classes are beginning therefore new teachers and workers need development. The fall is a great time to attend training events hosted by your state convention, association, or schedule one in your church. The important element in this entire process is…engage others for a better purpose. AND…if you believe you are already at your pinnacle; you’ve been teaching for years and do not really know what anyone else can teach you…let me remind you; Peter was a fisherman; and yet, Jesus taught him how to fish for something better. Our lesson here…we can always learn something. Give it a change.

If you live in Texas; the Southern Baptists of Texas Conventions Equip1One event is scheduled for Friday/Saturday, August 12/13; www.sbtexas.com/equip for more info.

Overcoming Artificial Barriers to Growth

Growth barriers are tricky.

How do you know if what you are confronting is a barrier compared to a church in need of revitalization?

Who is to say?

As I meet with churches and evaluate these issues; I find some simple insights might help with this issue. 20 years ago, Dr. Ken Hemphill released a book entitled “Bonsai Theory of Church Growth”. His overarching theme: there are inherent barriers within any organizational system, as well as any facility, which will impact the growth of a church. His encouragement: know what your barriers are and know the options to overcome them.

Due to the continued need of raising ministers and church leaders awareness to these issues, I have asked Dr. Hemphill to release a Revised and Expanded version of “Bonsai Theory of Church Growth” for ministry in the 21st Century. Dr. Hemphill accepted my encouragement and invited me on the journey. So today, we are happy to announce the 20th Anniversary Edition of “Bonsai Theory of Church Growth: Overcoming Artificial Barriers to Kingdom Growth, Revised and Expanded”. This title is available through Auxano Press, http://www.auxanopress.com, for purchase in bulk quantity at a discount. Individual books are available wherever you find Dr. Hemphill or me speaking; or by searching Amazon or other online book distributors.

A free four to six week study will be available in mid-May; the study is in process now so we are not certain the length.

If you are interested in Dr. Hemphill or me speaking at your church and leading a Bonsai Conference; please do not hesitate to contact us.

Equipping – As a Discipline

When is the best time to provide equipping for church leaders?

Is there a better season for one group over another?

I’m certain everyone in church leadership has an opinion on this. The most common opinion is probably: “when it is convenient for me”. I cannot say I disagree. In today’s global landscape taking time out for training is challenging.

We do what is important to us. We take time out of our schedule for things we consider are a priority. Equipping for the church is one of these items; or should be.

Discipline is a difficult word for many of us. If we want to lose weight, we must discipline our eating and our bodies through appropriate exercise. Similarly, if we want to mature in our faith, we must engage in spiritual disciplines, or practices.

Equipping leaders is an investment in the future. As minsiters, we must invest in the lives of those God has called us to serve. We do this by insuring everyone is adequately prepared for the work God is using them in. Too often we want to focus attention on everyone learning their spiritual gifts, and how God has uniquely made each person to serve…and that’s not a bad thing. My question is, “What next?!” The greatest challenge for church leadership today (and has been for several years) is follow-through. Plenty of churches develop strategies and plans of what to do, but nothing moves past development. The churches that I see growing, expanding their ministry base, and impacting the culture for Kingdom causes, actually execute on their respective ministry plans. The same is true in giftednesss discovery. It is not enough to help persons discover hod God has gifted each one. As leaders, we must also have a plan on how to equip each person for how they are gifted.

A person with the gift of teaching, should not be handed a Bible and piece of curriculum and told: “You have the gift of teaching, now go and do.” This person needs to be shown how to prepare a spiritual conversation with a class; how to interact; and more importantly, developed spiritually for their own maturity as they will be leading others in Bible study and discussion.

Equipping – As a Discipline, actually requires time. Time on our part as ministers to develop and implement the necessary strategies to insure every person is being developed, in the way God has created them.

There’s no better time than the present to begin equipping yourself…in order to equip others.

Grouping Models: Based on Church Size

Below are options for effective grouping of Sunday School and Small Groups. Select the size of your church, then determine the type of group, finally align your groups within the listing. As small group attendance increases, it will become necessary to have multiple groups within the same category. The number of groups should be evaluated based on a demographic analysis of active attendees (active should be defined as persons who attend on a consistent pattern; ie, at least once per month).

Church Size: Less than 100

Option 1: On Campus

Nursery Class

Toddler Class

Children (K-5)

Youth  (6-12)

Adult: Men’s Class

Adult: Women’s Class

Option 2: On Campus

Nursery Class

Toddler Class

Children (K-5)

Youth  (6-12)

Young Adult Co-ed (18-30)

Adult Co-ed (31-59)

Seniors Co-ed (60+)

Option 3: Off Campus

Small groups center around zip code, community, sub-division, common region or affinity group.

Church Size: 100-300

Option 1: On Campus

Nursery

Toddler Class

Children (K-3)

Children (4-6)

Youth (7-9)

Youth(10-12)

Single Adult (18-30)

Married Adult (18-30)

Adult Co-ed (31-45)

Adult Co-ed (46-59)

Seniors Co-ed (60+)

You may have gender specific classes offered as well.

Option 2: Off Campus

Small groups center around zip code, community, sub-division, common region or affinity group.

Option 3: Off Campus

Small groups center around age groupings as outlined in Adult portion of Option 1.

Church Size: 301-500

Option 1: On Campus

Nursery

Crawlers

Toddlers 2yrs

Toddlers 3 yrs

Preschool 4yrs

Older Preschool

Kindergarten

1^st & 2^nd Grade

3^rd & 4^th Grade

5^th & 6^th Grade

7^th & 8^th Grade

9^th & 10^th Grade

11^th & 12^th Grade

Collegiate

Young Singles (21-35)

Singles (36+)

Young Married 1 (18-29)

Young Married 2 (30-39)

Married Adult 1 (40-49)

Married Adult 2 (50-59)

Boomers (60-69)

Seniors (70+)

You may have gender specific classes offered as well.

Option 2: Off Campus

Small groups center around zip code, community, sub-division, common region or affinity group.

Option 3: Off Campus

Small groups center around age groupings as outlined in Adult portion of Option 1.

Church Size: 501-999

Option 1: On Campus

Nursery

Crawlers

Toddlers 2yrs

Toddlers 3 yrs

Preschool 4yrs

Older Preschool

Kindergarten

1^st & 2^nd Grade

3^rd & 4^th Grade

5^th & 6^th Grade

7^th & 8^th Grade

9^th & 10^th Grade

11^th & 12^th Grade

Collegiate

Young Singles (21-35)

Singles (36+)

Young Married 1 (18-29)

Young Married 2 (30-39)

Married Adult 1 (40-49)

Married Adult 2 (50-59)

Boomers (60-69)

Seniors (70+)

You may have gender specific or affinity classes offered as well.

Option 2: Off Campus

Small groups center around zip code, community, sub-division, common region or affinity group.

Option 3: Off Campus

Small groups center around age groupings as outlined in Adult portion of Option 1.

Church Size: 1000+

Option 1: On Campus

Nursery

Crawlers

Toddlers 2yrs

Toddlers 3 yrs

Preschool 4yrs

Older Preschool

Kindergarten

1^st & 2^nd Grade

3^rd & 4^th Grade

5^th & 6^th Grade

7^th & 8^th Grade

9^th & 10^th Grade

11^th & 12^th Grade

Collegiate

Young Singles (21-35)

Singles (36+)

Young Married 1 (18-29)

Young Married 2 (30-39)

Married Adult 1 (40-49)

Married Adult 2 (50-59)

Boomers (60-69)

Seniors (70+)

You may have gender specific or affinity classes offered as well.

Option 2: Off Campus

Small groups center around zip code, community, sub-division, common region or affinity group.

Option 3: Off Campus

Small groups center around age groupings as outlined in Adult portion of Option 1.

 

As small group attendance increases, age-groupings can become in smaller ranges. This will create closer life-stage affinity groups; ie Newlyweds, 18-24 years, 25-29 years, 30-34 years, 35-39 years, etc. Focus should be given to creating new units based on the growth of the respective groups.

Today’s Leadership Issue

Integrity continues to be a key issue in leadership. While government continues down the path of bailing out companies, top leaders are in the media spotlight regarding excessive compensation, bonus payouts, and benefits usage. “Massachusetts’ congressman Michael Capuano stated, ‘You come to us today on your bicycles…telling us: “We’re sorry. We won’t do it again,”…America doesn’t trust you anymore.’”[1] Leadership should be about trust. A leader without integrity is no leader. “Whatever is at the center of something has a lot to do with its quality…”.[2] Integrity in leadership is a fundamental element as to how one conducts him/herself. “Bless what you can bless. Thank everyone you can thank. Cheer on what is appropriate to cheer on. And be done with it.”[3]

“Leaders in every arena possess an internal quality-control mechanism, a longing for excellence that won’t let them off the hook.”[4] This “internal quality-control” is what is in question in today’s marketplace in the leading financial and manufacturing industries. “By the end of the Great Depression, 44% of households played bridge, a game that requires players to cooperate and where the primary point is to socialize. The reigning card came in recent years? Texas hold ‘em, a version of poker that rewards those who deceive by bluffing – and where the primary objective is to rake in cash…(this) certainly shed(s) light on current values.”[5] Whether this is commentary on today’s culture or simply evolutionary process of card games, there are serious issues with leadership in first world civilization.

Leadership integrity has to be more than talk. “Leaders like to talk about defining moments: critical times when we draw a line in the sand, put a stake in the ground.”[6] Unfortunately, these defining moments are leaving a lot to be desired for the public. The general populace expects leaders to conduct themselves in such a way as to provide progressive, innovative and fundamentally appropriate decisions in business. The case may be made, beginning with Enron/Arthur Anderson, and continuing today with Citigroup/Lehman Brothers, General Motors, Ford, etc., a complete overhaul of guiding leadership principles in our country needs to change.

The current state of leadership integrity does not mean mistakes have not happened in the past, nor will not happen in the future even with an overhaul. Out of failures come great opportunities for growth. The issue is when confronted with an opportunity to make a decision based out of one’s integrity, should you make the wrong decision, acknowledge your mistake. “Admitting your mistakes says something profound about your basic integrity as a leader.”[7] Learn from this and then move forward.

A great parenting lesson in reality discipline teaches a parent to help their children learn from where they have gone wrong. Acknowledge the wrong, apologize for the wrong, and then go forward and try to do right. This key growth opportunity for children could go a long way in leadership development in the twenty-first century. The future of effective leadership might hinge on this watershed moment in history. If today’s leaders are not modeling for the emerging leaders, how will they know which path to choose when provided with an opportunity which requires an “internal quality-control” decision to make?

---

Notes

[1]William Cohan, “Why a 9/11-style panel should examine the financial crisis”; 26 February 2009; available from http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/17/news/economy/commission.fortune/index.htm; accessed 26 February 2009.

 [2] Nancy Ortberg, Unleashing the Power of Rubber Banks, (Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, 2008), 7.

 [3] Bill Hybels, axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 194-195.

 [4] Ibid., 206.

 [5]Fortune, “Fast” Vol. 159, No. 4, March 2, 2009, page 14.

 [6] Ortberg, 81.

 [7] Hybels, 211.

Organizing for Growth

The Bible shows several instances for organization. The
nation of Israel, represented in twelve tribes (Genesis 49); in
part of the Exodus account, Jethro advises Moses to get organized
(Exodus 18); in the New Testament, Jesus organized His disciples
and sent them out by two’s to share the Good News (Mark 6:7ff); in
Acts, the apostles have to organize deacons to handle the work of
service to widows and orphans (Acts 6). This last passage is the
most likely to support organizing for growth, though more of an
example of having to get organized after the fact as a response to
growth and growing needs. Nonetheless, it is clear, God adds to the
numbers and organization must take place to insure leaders do not
get burned out nor lose focus on the main thing, as well as, to
insure ministry is done effectively and efficiently. Another
benefit of organizing is this insures more are involved in the
ministry. Organization does not have to be formal however it does
need to be intentional. The similarity in the two is this; someone
insures everything that is supposed to be done gets done. Whether
you choose a formal organizational model or a more chaordic
approach, one of them has to be implemented. Growth models
typically focus on creating new units with emphasis on Bible study
classes. Another consideration which might prove more effective in
today’s culture is to focus on growing care groups (ministry
teams). Space limitations dictate the size a class can grow,
however, maximizing growth space helps foster a synergy which
sometimes gets lost in starting new Bible study classes. Ministry
teams within the class structure accomplish several needs in
effective growth models. A ministry team varies in size, but
typically has eight to twelve members. This small group is
positioned best for meeting one another’s needs through ministry
(this is the “care” group mentality). A ministry team must first be
organized for care for one another. This provides a community
connection for every person on the team. A ministry team keeps the
group small. As a class grows, persons can lose touch with one
another, unless a coordinator is helping keep the class small by
intentionally focusing on creating new ministry teams within the
class. Limiting the group size to between eight and twelve gives
room for the team to grow and, in the class structure, provides
opportunities for the class itself to grow. When creating ministry
teams, the teams should start around eight members, leaving four
slots for growth. As guests visit the class, they are connected to
a ministry team, which accomplishes the next purpose of the team,
outreach. A ministry team provides care to one another through a
prayer network. As classes grow, prayer can become overwhelming for
the class structure. However, being organized through ministry
teams provides an opportunity to pray for one another and be more
personally involved in the lives of a small group of persons. I
attend a large church in North Dallas. The Bible study class I
attend averages about sixty persons on Sunday morning. Handling
prayer for sixty people is quite a task. However, by breaking the
class into ministry teams, these prayer needs could be met in a
more personal and connected environment. No matter how large the
group, the ministry team remains small enough to handle prayer. The
ministry team leader is then responsible for communicating to the
class coordinator what the major prayer needs are and becomes the
liaison between the team and the class. As an example, if a person
has heart surgery, the entire class would want to know and all
ministry teams would want to pray for that person. The ministry
team leader is responsible for staying up to date with the
information about the member and communicating that to the class
coordinator so it can be communicated to all ministry teams within
the class. Organize your class for growth today…watch ministry
take place and Christ’s mission become fulfilled.

Spiritual Coaching

Spiritual Coaching is a model Christ used in His ministry. Somehow we have lost this through the generations. Jesus did not simply call twelve men, there were hundreds of men and women who followed his teaching. He called twelve men to “coach” the Master’s way. These were not even varsity level players, this was the junior varsity team. Traditional Jewish education of the day, says if these men were top level students they would have been under a Rabbi’s teaching already. Instead, we find these men fishing, collecting taxes, involved in the family trade (except of course for the two disciples of John the Baptist who left and followed the Christ.

Jesus spent time with His followers, or more importantly, His followers spent time with Him, John 2:12. As the disciples followed Jesus, they witnessed miracles, experienced teaching from the Master, and were coached on how to live out the Kingdom of God in the present. Mark 3:13-19 tells of the specific twelve called out and empowered to accomplish this task. Jesus did not neglect the other disciples who followed Him; He continued teaching and advancing the Kingdom. However, Jesus did spend extra time with these twelve, helping them understand His teaching. Within this group, he also called an inner circle of three; Peter, James, and John; who were given specific experiences which prepared them for the journey they would follow in service to the Master.

In Matthew 10, Jesus provides a coaching moment as he prepares the twelve to go out in to the community and do what he had been doing. What?! This should cause a bit of hesitation. The Master Teacher has just given the JV team the authority to heal every kind of sickness and cast out unclean spirits; even the varsity players of the day could not do this. What is He thinking? Can these guys handle this kind of power? Let’s be honest, must of us would go on an ego trip like never seen before. We would be booking every talk show in town to show what we could do…or would we? If we had spent night and day, day and night with the Master, being coached into His way, would we not respond in the same way? Simply go and do, since that is what he said for us to do.

A Word on Revitalization

Ezekiel 37 (English Standard Version)

¹The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. ²And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. ³And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” ⁴Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. ⁵Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” ⁷So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. ⁹Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ¹⁰So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Now we know this passage was written specifically regarding the Nation of Israel. The very next verse, where we left off says this.

However, I believe we find some transferable principles from this passage that relates, or should relate to us.

First, in verse one, ¹The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD…

…is the transferable principle of being led by God.

The church is God’s chosen vessel to advance His kingdom. To that end, the church must follow God…be led by His Spirit.

How do we know if what we are doing is led of God? Simple truth tests; does what we are doing line up with God’s Word? Are lives being changed? His kingdom being advanced?

There are two qualifiers I see here:

-Are you growing in your relationship with Christ; do you look more like Him today than you did last week, last month, last year?

-Are people being saved? God’s Word does not return void. He calls the lost to Himself. Are people being reached for His cause and purpose?

The second transferable principle is acknowledging the supremacy of God, seen in verse 3, O Lord GOD…

This is YahWeh God.

Do you have life in the church? Life that is pointing to the Creator who gave you breath?

Notice what happens here. The appearance of life in vs. 7-8a; ⁷So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them.

Then we see it, in the last part of verse 8; But there was no breath in them.

There are plenty of churches with the appearance of life. Remember the church at Sardis, flip to Revelation 3 (ESV), ¹“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. ²Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

The church has the appearance of life, but not the breath of life. So what is their instruction? strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die.

I have not found your deeds complete. There’s more work to be done. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray now to the Lord of the harvest, that He will call out an army of laborers.

If not, he warns us in verse 3; ³Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

Oh God, breathe on us!

Church, Wake Up!

Strengthen what remains!

It’s not too late!

In the words of Ezekiel “Come from the four winds, oh breath, and Breathe On Us”.

Being a Person of Influence

Matthew 22:34-40

In his book “How to Be a Winner and Influence Anybody”, James Merritt cites a Harris Poll from a couple of years ago. People were asked what was most important in life:

             56% relationships

             21% religious faith

             12% making the world a better place

             5% a fulfilling career

             5% money

We are all looking for relationships and connections in life. As Debbi and I have served churches and traveled, she has conducted unscientific research with leaders in churches. Her insights are a little concerning. You see, we are all seeking relationships yet, many of us…even in the church, do not have relationships. In asking leaders how many friends they have at church, or who would you call to come watch the children at 2am when your spouse needs to be rushed to the hospital; the answers focus (first on the obvious family members), but when family members are not present, which is ever increasing that we are living further away from family in this global culture; many answers typically focused on a person from some social community group, not church group…little league parents, etc.

Everyone is looking for relationships. Look at the friends list on Facebook, My Space, or who you are following or is following you on Twitter. There is nothing wrong with these social-networks, but they do not meet the relationship need we have innately in our lives. When it comes to these social networks, many of us have hundreds of friends, but in reality, we are truly only managing a few relationships. Many social studies have been conducted that discuss the amount of real relationships a person can manage.

Understand, there are different levels of relationships. Our social-network list, can reach the thousands; work lists which might be a small company or a global conglomerate; you have a number of persons you relate to there. You have your family list; your neighbors, your acquaintance list, your friends, and your close friends. The social sciences tell us, most of us can count on one hand the number of people we connect with on a deep personal level that we would consider a dear friend.

Each circle of relationship have a purpose. Keith Ferrazzi, author of “Never Eat Alone” discusses his network list of over 5,000 people that he says will take calls from him. That’s a massive network. However, he goes on to quantify the massive network:

“Today, I have over 5,000 people on my Palm who will answer the phone when I call. They are there to offer expertise, jobs, help, encouragement, support, and yes, even care and love.”

He understands his network, and which persons serve what role in his life.

Life is about relationships. Relationships are about influence. We should surround ourselves with the types of people we want to influence us and we want to influence.

In your spiritual journey, what was a time when you had to overcome some type of relationship barrier?

How does overcoming these types of barriers impact your influence in someone’s life?

Personal Reflection

Who are you influencing with your life?

Think about it. Who is it that you have influence over? There are probably several areas. Are there family members? Friends? Co-workers? Neighbors?

What does this influence look like? How do you impact persons in your circles?

Jesus was and is the great influencer. By His Spirit He calls persons to Himself. He chooses to use us as His vessels. The question we have to ask ourselves is, are we positioning ourselves to be used by Him?

Jesus worked from a motive. You all remember the story in Luke 7, at the end of the chapter, verses 39-50. A woman washes Jesus feet with her tears and hair and anointed Him with perfume. Simon, a Pharisee, in whose home they were in, criticized Jesus under his breath for permitting such a thing from a “woman like that.” But Jesus tells a parable of forgiveness, and then points out how Simon had not exercised appropriate hospitality to Jesus when He arrived. Then, Jesus forgives the woman of her sin and sends her on her way.

His motive was forgiveness of sins both in the Samaritan woman and in this story. We do not possess the power to forgive sins, but we can introduce people to the One who can forgive their sins. Our motive must be pure and certain. We do not influence people just to notch one more score on our evangelism belt. We influence people because we are in relationship with them or desire to be in a relationship with them.

It is important to meet people where they are in life and bring them to where they need to be. This is the importance of building relationships.

Foundational Principles

-God is everywhere and always advancing His kingdom. We must be prepared and involved.

-We must develop relationships with others if we are to influence them for the cause of Christ.

-Prayer is key to seeing God at work and lives changed.

-Telling your story of God is essential (Matt. 28:19-20).

Personal Reflection

In this mobile, global society, do you find it hard to develop relationships?

Does your job have you traveling? Are you new to the area? What is it that is making it difficult to connect?

Connection requires intentionality on your part.

-How many non-Christian relationships do you have?

-How close are you to them?

-How many of your neighbors do you know?

-What would it take to get to know one neighbor or build a new relationship in the next six months?

What is the challenge in your community to make the church inclusive of all people? What would it take?

Personal Reflection

Where is God calling you to share your story? With who?

Take your SPLASH Zone card out again. Now look at each of those names. Do you know where they are on their spiritual journey? Have you been an influence for Christ with them.

There might be other names you would like to add to that card. Let this be a reminder of the influence God would have you to be in someone’s life. Use your influence for Kingdom causes. Use this card as a prayer card to pray for opportunities to influence these persons. If you know they are a believer, then be an influence of encouragement to them on their respective journeys.

 

SPLASHZone cards can be found at www.splashinfo.com

Today’s Thoughts

I’m simply thinking today about being a person of influence. What does that mean?

In his book “How to Be a Winner and Influence Anybody”, James Merritt cites a Harris Poll, a couple of years ago, people were asked what was most important in life:
56% relationships
21% religious faith
12% making the world a better place
5% a fulfilling career
5% money

Who are you influencing with your life?

Think about it. Who is it that you have influence over? There are probably several areas. Are there family members? Friends? Co-workers? Neighbors?

Ken & Paula Hemphill released a book in 2007 entitled “SPLASH: Show People Love And Share Him” (auxanopress.com). A simple and natural way to share the Good News with family, friends, and neighbors. A person can study the life of Jesus and learn from the Master a simple but effective way to SPLASH everyone with life giving water.

That’s what I am thinking on.