Quotes

Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful. John Wooden

Every struggle in your life has shaped you into the person you are today. Be thankful for the hard times; they can only make you stronger. Coach K

If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over? John Wooden

Employees will forgive and forget a leader’s errors in judgment, but they will never forget his lack of integrity. Dr. Alan Zimmerman

• Because God accepts us on grace alone, apart from our work, we can devote ourselves to working radically for others first instead of ourselves. Matt Perman

• A spirit of arrogance allows us to believe that we know everything and that we’re smarter than everybody and we’re more capable. Andy Andrews

• It takes a community to create incredible things. Catch people doing something right! Ken Blanchard

• When around great people you admire, ask great questions. Be curious. Gain credibility by listening, not giving answers. Brad Lomenick

• If you celebrate FRIDAY too much it might be a sign you need to change what you are doing Monday-Thursday. Dave Ramsey

• Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success. Coach K

• You get ideas across better through listening and the pat-on-the-back method than you do with a kick on the pants. John Wooden

• Action Item for the Week – Write down five things you will do in the next month to update your knowledge and skills. Now go out and do them. Dr. Alan Zimmerman

• Working to Please the Lord. Richard Phillips writes “In all our work as Christian men, whatever season we may be in and wherever we happen to find ourselves on the ladder of our chosen pursuit, the best way for us to honor God in our work is to offer up everything we do directly to the Lord Himself. In all things, our goal should be to please Him.
• Working out a Theology of Work. Justin Taylor writes “Do you ever feel guilty for going to work when you could be doing ministry instead? If you’re a student, you’re spending hours in the classroom, hours typing papers, hours taking tests. But you could be out evangelizing. If you’re in the workplace, you spend hours in front of your computer, hours in meetings, hours in your little cubicle. But you could be on the mission field leading people to Jesus.”
• When Your Dream Job and Your Day Job Don’t Line Up. Austin Burkhart writes “Regardless of what’s in front of us right now, God is calling us to do it well.”
• Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast. In this month’s podcast Andy Stanley talks about creating a staffing system that will liberate your organization.
• Dealing With Change Before It Deals With You. In this “Tuesday Tip” Dr. Alan Zimmerman writes “The two most common responses to change are denial and resistance. Some people pretend it doesn’t exist, and some people fight it, but most people try both approaches. The trouble is–both denial and resistance are fairly useless responses.”
• Want to Make Alignment Easier? Staff with Eagles. Mark Miller writes “The people you surround yourself with will determine the quality and direction of your organization as well as your level of effectiveness.”
• A Simple Idea with Huge Potential. Mark Miller suggests assigning a champion to each large body of work.
• Be a Belief Magnet. John Maxwell explains how he shares his belief in people and helps them find that belief in themselves.
• Steward the Gifts God Has Assigned to You. Jon Bloom writes “So live your assignment. Steward your gifts to the utmost for the sake of others. Aspire to be the very best and most fruitful you that you can be for God’s glory.”
• John Maxwell on Influential. In this “Minute with Maxwell”, John Maxwell looks at what it means to be influential.
• Tim Keller’s 5 Ways the Gospel Transforms Your Work.  Nick at Scribble Preach shares five principles, from Tim Keller’s lecture at Redeemer Church to businessmen and women.
• The Acceptable Leadership Sin. Dave Kraft looks at comparing ourselves to others.
• Did You Know You Were Created to Work? Erisa Mutabazi writes “Most people spend the majority of their waking hours working, yet have never fully grasped the idea that God created us to work. In fact, work was meant to be a joyful experience in which we are fulfilled in the use of our collective ability to partner with God in the cultivation of resources entrusted to us.”
• The Gifted Traveler Experience. Watch these three short videos from Andy Andrews.
• 7 Ways to Create Time to Think. Philip Nation shares seven ways that he is trying to implement more brain time into his life.
• Cheat Sheet. This short devotional from Lead Like Jesus asks what’you’re your cheat sheet, that short list of what is most important to you, the one that you turn to when you need extra help.”
• Why Being Super Generous at Work Will Make You Happier. J.B. Wood writes “So when you arrive at work tomorrow, rather than getting deep-fried in the corporate pressure cooker, think of your every task as an opportunity to make someone’s life better, whether it is your co-workers, your customers, your shareholders, or your boss.”
• What Good is Religion in Business? Liam Glover writes “Jesus wants you to invite Him into your “boat”. What business or work circumstance do you need Jesus to step into – into your boat – to bring significant blessing, calm the storms of business or take your business to a new place?”
• 5 Expressions of Cowardly Leadership. Eric Geiger writes “The antithesis of courageous leadership, of course, is cowardly leadership, where leaders lack the moral integrity and conviction to do what is right for the right reasons. Here are five common expressions of cowardly leadership.”
• Calling & Your Heart’s Desires: Fixer Upper’s Joanna Gaines on How God Led Her to HGTV. Joanna Gaines and her husband Chip are the talent behind HGTV’s “Fixer Upper.” Together, they help families renovate their homes and create spaces they can love. In this video, Joanna shares how God led her to the work she does now.

 Faith and Work Book Clubs – Won’t you read along with us?

The Conviction to Lead Book Club

The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership That Matters by Albert Mohler

We’re reading this excellent book from Albert Mohler, one of the best that I’ve read on leadership. It is broken down into 25 relatively short chapters. Won’t you read along with us? This week we look at Chapter 12.

Chapter 12: Leaders Are Readers -When You Find a Leader, You Find a Reader, and for Good Reason

• When you find a leader, you have found a reader. The reason for this is simple—there is no substitute for effective reading when it comes to developing and maintaining the intelligence necessary to lead.
• Leadership requires a constant flow of intelligence, ideas, and information. There is no way to gain the basics of leadership without reading.
• The leader is constantly analyzing, considering, defining, and confirming the convictions that will rule his leadership.
• The leader learns to invest deeply in reading as a discipline for critical thinking.
• Your first concern is to read for understanding.
• You should read a book or article only for what it is worth. If you find that the book is not contributing to your life and leadership, set it aside.
• Learn to read critically.
• As you read, ask the author questions and filter the book’s content through the fabric of your convictions. Argue with the book and its author when necessary, and agree and elaborate when appropriate.
• The activity of marking your books adds tremendously to the value of your reading and to your retention of its contents and your thinking.
• Reading critically also means evaluating the author’s credibility and clarity of thought.
• The leader’s reading diet should include books covering a range of subjects, though most of us will invest first in those books that are most relevant to our work and mission.
• If newspapers represent the first level of report and analysis, then magazines, journals, and newsletters represent the second.
• There will never be enough time to read all that you want to read, or even all that you think you ought to read. Just keep reading. Set aside segments of time devoted to reading and grab every spare minute you can find.
• When possible, read when you can retain and think most productively.
• Christian leaders learn to read with discernment drawn from our deepest convictions.