Just heard that Stephen Covey passed way today at 79. He was the author of many books, but two that I feel are must reads for anyone really but all leaders for sure: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The 8th Habit.
The 7 Habits are:
- Be proactive
- Begin with the end in mind
- Put first things first
- Think Win/Win
- Seek first to understand, then to be understood
- Synergize
- Sharpen the saw
As a student leader at Moody we read the 7 Habits together and it was incredibly impacting, becoming one of my all-time favorites. Even typing them out I want to go back and again reread the book.
If you've never read these books just go to Amazon and get them NOW!
A great man of God passed away yesterday: Chuck Colson.
There are leaders of the faith who have inspired me, those who have equipped me, those who have encouraged me. But Chuck Colson is a leader who challenged me to think about and understand my faith. And in doing so he inspired, equipped, and encouraged.
The first time I ever heard Chuck Colson I had no idea who he was or that it was him I was listening to. At the beginning of his song, "Heaven in the Real World," Stephen Curtis Chapman had a sound bite of Colson saying this:
"Where is the hope? I meet millions of people who feel demoralized by
the decay around us. The hope that each of us has is not in who governs
us, or what laws we pass, or what great things we do as a nation. Our
hope is in the power of God working through the hearts of people. And
that's where our hope is in this country. And that's where our hope is
in life."
His life story is about that hope. His story is a testimony to the powerful grace of God.
If you've never heard of or interacted with the work of Chuck Colson, I highly recommend you do.
The Aspire Pastor's Conference is going on right now in Phoenix AZ, and I'm here with some guys from the Logos team. Last night we heard Bob Pitman speak on everything the pastor does being about Jesus; pastors aren't to ever proclaim themselves, we are proclaiming Jesus. Sometimes the most basic truths are the ones we need reminded of, and they also make for the most powerful sermons.
Toward the end he was talking about genuine and fake humility when he said this:
Some of the ladies in our churches have their blouse sleeves down to their wrist, their skirts down to their ankles. They have large bee-hive hairdos that tower over the congregation. I asked one such lady why she does that, to which she said, "I'm just trying to have humility." Come on lady - that's not humility, that's just ugly!"
6000 people in attendance, and you could probably hear me laugh above them all. Even this morning I'm laughing as I type out the recounting.
Then he said this: "Humility is not an outward expression, it is an inward reality."
Now that's powerful.
Always good to get a humility check. Always good when it comes along with a pretty hilarious story.
"I won a button for being humble once, but they took it away from me because I wore it." - Mike Warnke
We're very excited to be hosting this event at church this Thursday night. The difficulties and trials that our current economic times find us in don't mean that we are without hope. Below is the information from Dave Ramsey's website about the free event, as well as two videos: On Thursday April 23rd at 7:00 pm, New Life Community Church will be hosting a free simulcast event called Town Hall for Hope. This event will connect families across the nation for a truly radical perspective regarding our current economic times: HOPE.
Tired of hearing the fear, doom and gloom that’s filling the airwaves? Join Dave Ramsey personal money-management expert, popular national radio personality and best-selling author of The Total Money Makeover, for a live nationwide town hall meeting and discover what’s happening with today’s economy, how we got here, and where we’re going. Plus, Dave will answer your questions throughout live simulcast!
Ramsey knows first-hand what financial peace means in his own life, living a true rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches story. By age twenty-six he had established a four-million-dollar real estate portfolio, only to lose it by age thirty. He has since rebuilt his financial life and now devotes himself full-time to helping ordinary people understand the forces behind their financial distress and how to set things right-financially, emotionally and spiritually.
When is the event? April 23, 2009, 7:00 p.m. What is Town Hall for Hope? Town Hall for Hope is your opportunity to sit down with people in your community for a nationwide town hall meeting led by Dave Ramsey. Thousands of venues across the country will host the event, broadcasting Dave's live presentation. In the opening half hour, Dave will offer straight talk about the economy, recession, foreclosures and more. He'll carefully explain where we've come from, where we are now, and what we should be doing with our money during this time. Then, Dave will spend an hour answering your questions live!
We'll take questions by phone, email, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and more! Check out our Get Involved page to see all the ways in which you can join in the conversation! And remember, this is a free event!
Ravi Zacharias is one of my favorite speakers and this is a clip from his Q&A time at the University of Illinois. Our discussion about the Bible from our 20's group last night made me think of this so I wanted to share it. It's worth the few minutes it takes to watch it.
Just heard that Stephen Covey passed way today at 79. He was the author of many books, but two that I feel are must reads for anyone really but all leaders for sure: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The 8th Habit.
