i am an offering

I have one chapter left in Worship Matters. I will be posting an extended review on Thursday of this week. In the meantime, I thought I’d share some highlights from a chapter in a section on “Right Relationships” dealing with the relationship with “Your Team.”

Creating Culture that Has Lasting, Positive Impact

Bob Kauflin shares “five ways to think about your team that will help you ask the right questions and pursue the right solutions.” They are:

• Establishing your team - creating a culture.
• Encouraging your team - creating a culture of gratefulness.
• Equipping your team - creating a culture of growth.
• Evaluating your team - creating a culture of humility.
• Enjoying your team - creating a culture of joy.

What can be Done?

For those of you on our team (I use the word loosely, as we haven’t officially established one yet, but you are all team-members, nonetheless!) at Living Word, how can I improve in any of these areas? I know I don’t encourage you nearly enough, and there are definitely untapped opportunities for us to just enjoy each other more often, but how else can I help in these areas?

For those of you with your own teams, what have you done in these areas that has made a difference?

For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness

Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble. - Hebrews 12:10-12

Lately it seems as though God is really working on my heart in a lot of areas.  He’s working on my heart to convict me to have a strong yearning for prayer and time spent with Him.  He’s working on my heart to have a compassionate spirit towards every one I come in contact with.  And He’s working on my heart through many people I love and trust to make me a better leader.

Yesterday, I was gently challenged in how I could improve some areas of ministry to make things better.  To be honest, I’m not quite used to that yet, although I’m very grateful.  In previous ministry experiences I was used to being free to do what I needed to do and then only being challenged about something after the negative consequences had already happened.  If I would have been gently disciplined in these areas before certain things happened, I think those consequences would have turned out much differently!

So, how do you accept criticism, especially criticism that is constructive and meant for your benefit?  Do you get angry and try to justify what you’re doing, or do you say, “Thanks so much for caring enough about me to prevent negative consequences and to direct me towards many more positive ones!”

Take some time today and thank God for the discipline He’s doing in your life, either through His Word or through other people.