KINDLE Servant Leaders

18. Pray Unceasingly
Pray continually alone and with others

You, O eternal Trinity, are a deep sea into which, the more I enter, the more I find, and the more I find, the more I seek.

O abyss,

O eternal Godhead,

O sea profound,

what more could you give me than yourself? Amen.  (Catherine of Siena)

18. Pray Unceasingly
Pray continually alone and with others

Late have I loved you, O beauty so ancient and so new. Late have I loved you! You were within me while I have gone outside to seek you. Unlovely myself, I rushed towards all those lovely things you had made. And always you were with me, and I was not with you.

All these beauties kept me far from you—although they would not have existed at all unless they had their being in you.

You called, you cried, you shattered my deafness. You sparkled, you blazed, you drove away my blindness.

You shed your fragrance, and I drew in my breath, and I pant for you. I tasted and now I hunger and thirst. You touched me, and now I burn with with longing for your peace. Amen.   (Augustine of Hippo)

18. Pray Unceasingly
Pray continually alone and with others

Come! Spirit of Love! Penetrate and transform us by the action of Your purifying life. May Your constant, brooding love bring forth in us more love and all the graces and works of love. Give us grace to remain still under its action, and may that humble stillness be our prayer. Amen.   (Evelyn Underhill)

4. Spur One Another
Challenge others to develop as servant leaders

On Tuesday I wrote about how I use the timer to get overwhelming challenges…I can do anything for 15 minutes. And today I came across this little video which, in a twist on the 15 minute theme, this guys says he uses 30 days as a way to learn new things or try things out. He even says “I can do anything for 30 days…” Check it out (it’s a little over 3 minutes). Anything you’re willing to try for the next 30 days? I am going to hand-write one thank you note every day for 30 days.

4. Spur One Another
Challenge others to develop as servant leaders

This blog post on “batching” caught my eye. It reminds me a lot of the stuff on FlyLady.net, which is a site that helps people deal with clutter. In our culture today, it is so easy to jump from one email to another phone call which gets interrupted by a text which is followed up with writing a newsletter article that gets interrupted by a Tweet etc., etc.

The idea here is rather than hopping from one activity to the next in our fractured culture, you set a timer for 15 minutes and focus on only one thing. I’m here to tell you it works. Especially when I’m overwhelmed. When the task list is huge and everything on it is “urgent”, I set the timer for 15 minutes and work on only one thing. I am always surprised by how much progress I make in 15 minutes. It’s a way to get there. How do you do it?

18. Pray Unceasingly
Pray continually alone and with others.

God, of your goodness give me yourself for you are sufficient for me. I cannot properly ask anything less, to be worthy of you. If I were to ask less, I should always be in want. In you alone do I have all. Amen.  -Julian of Norwich

8. Grow in Wisdom
For intellectual health intentionally and regularly engage in learning opportunities

Michael Hyatt’s blog is one of my current favorites. He’s teaching me about Evernote (I will be paperless, yet!) , he writes great leadership stuff, and he connects me with other great resources. Yesterday he offered a free year subscription to G5 Leadership. Worth $129. Don’t know if you can still get it, but it looks awesome…great seminars by leading voices in leadership development. You might want to take a look or share it with another leader who might benefit.

2. Voice the Vision
Inspire a shared vision and mission and communicate it regularly and consistently

I am a firm believer in measuring and accountability. Isn’t it true that if we don’t know where we’re going we won’t know when and if we get there? I learned a lot from Jim Collins monograph “Good to Great for the Social Sectors.” In effect he said: just because it’s hard to figure out measurable outcomes for organizations like churches, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Have the conversations about what it will look like in your church when you are accomplishing your goals. What behaviors will people be doing, sharing, and repeating?

And one of the big reasons I’m excited about the Reveal study that First Trinity is taking part in, is that it will help us measure spiritual growth (a slippery deal). We will be able to make progress in helping people take their next step in their walk with Jesus.

And in all the love of measuring, it is important to remember the measuring is part of being faithful, not “successful”. Here is a beautiful caution from Gregory Boyle in his memoir “Tattoos on the Heart”:

…I find myself heartened by Mother Teresa’s take: “We are not called to be successful, but faithful.” This distinction is helpful for me as I barricade myself against the daily dread of setback. You need protection from the ebb and flow of three steps forward, five steps backward. You trip over disappointment and recalcitrance everyday and it all becomes a muddle. God intends it to be, I think. For once you choose to hang out with folks who carry more burden than they can bear, all bets seem to be off. Salivating for success keeps you from being faithful, keeps you from truly seeing whoever is sitting in front of you. Embracing a strategy and and approach you can believe in is sometimes the best you can do on any given day. If you surrender your need for results and outcomes, success becomes God’s business. I find it hard enough just to be faithful.

How do you help the servant leaders you work with a healthy understanding of measurement?

18. Pray Unceasingly
Pray continually alone and with others.

God our Father, we rejoice in the faith that draws us together, aware that selfishness can drive us apart. Let your encouragement be our constant strength. Keep us one in the love that has sealed our lives, help us to live as one family the gospel we profess. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen. (For All the Saints)

My favorite: #12 “Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.”

Which one is yours?