Where is God? by Dr. John Townsend

I just finished Dr. John Townsend's new book Where is God? This book asks the questions that so many people ask when they are going trough times of difficulty, struggle or personal tragedy. It is written to those who are hurting or struggling. It is also a great read for those who have a desire to help others overcome their hurt and find God in the midst of the pain. For me, the book was worth Chapter 5, entitled: The God You Must Not Seek. In this chapter alone, Dr. Townsend frankly discusses the four "Gods" that many people encounter in the midst of their struggle. What I found is that regardless if you are in a difficult time or not, we find that we are trying to serve these other "Gods" and not the one true God of Scripture. There is also one of the greatest definitions and discussions of God's love that I have every read. I also think that this book is a great resource because it does not just talk about theory, but also practicality. Dr. Townsend give practical exercises for the reader to go through to evaluate themselves as well as practical suggestions on what to do next. This is definitely not a book just for those that are suffering. In reality it is a book for those who have suffered, which encompasses all of us. While I didn't think I would benefit much from it when I started reading it, I have found it to become a wonderful resource when counseling and comforting the hurting. It is a must read to gain a better understanding of where God is in the midst of suffering.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://booksneeze.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Leaders are Learners

Yesterday, I talked about how leaders are listeners. So what do you do with all the stuff that you glean from all of that listening. Hopefully you learn something from it. I have always heard it said that teachers make the best students. In fact, if you have ever taught anything, you know that you learn more than those you are teaching. We can never reach the point as leaders that we stop learning. The information base is doubling at an alarming rate these days. It's not lack of information that we suffer from, that's for sure. I think that as leaders we need to invest our time in the right information. There are things that we need to learn to make us stronger in our strength areas. Any athlete or body builder will tell you that you lose muscle tone and mass quicker than you build it. Many time we neglect our strengths for the simple reason that they are our strengths. It is important to take time to further develop you strengths. It is also important to take time to develop your growth areas. Some people will call these weaknesses, but calling them growth areas makes them into positive potentials as opposed to negatives. Where we err on the side of under developing our strengths, we tend to over correct to the side of our growth areas. Face it! You are not going to be strong in every area. As much as you'd like to, it is just not going to happen. That is not to say that you neglect your growth areas all together, but you must realize that growth areas will never become strengths. You are just not wired that way. And while you can grow and develop your growth areas, they will not become your dominant characteristics. All of the development is done through learning. So how do I learn? That's a great question. You need to find the way that you learn best. It may be through formal training, reading, seminars/webinars, or any other way of gaining information. An area of learning that has become popular recently is coaching. For the sake of this entry we will say that coaching and mentoring are the same thing even though there are some subtle differences. Coaching takes the teaching/instruction aspect of learning and marries is with modeling and performance in an instructive environment. It is usually one-on-one relationship with someone who has experience and wisdom in the area you are trying to learn. I think this is one of, if not the most effective way that we learn. Find the expert and learn from them. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes sacrifice. It takes investment, but the dividend is well worth it. Lead on!

Leaders are Listeners

Most of the time when you think of a leader, you probably think of a great speaker. And while this may be the case, I would be willing to bet that those same leaders, if they are truly leaders at all, spend more time listening than they do speaking. Those who excel in the area of leadership did not get there by chance. They showed a unique skill set that thrust them into the leadership limelight. Those who fail usually do so because they have a superiority complex, that is to say that they think they are better or smarter than those they are over. Any leader who is worth his or her salt will tell you that the greatest skill they have is listening. How will you ever be able to lead people or know how to lead people if you don't listen to the people you are trying to lead. That is not to say that you have to do everything they say, but you might get some great ideas by listening to those you are leading. It is important to define what listening really is. Most of us are good hearers but horrible listeners. You hear noise, you listen to people. Listening is active. You must engage your mind and process what is being said or communicated. Listening is more than just gathering information. When we listen we are able to discern information and emotion or passion. If a group of people are passionate about something that will lead to the greater good, it would behoove the leader to listen to those he is leading and capitalize on that passion. As leaders, we must see that the greatest asset we have is people. When we combine a listening ear with a passionate people we have a recipe for success regardless of the context.

Master Leaders

I just finished reading George Barna's new book Master Leaders. In my opinion this is the best and most comprehensive book on leadership I have ever read. I am not a critic, nor am I on Barna's payroll. I have a desire to become a better leader and found this book earlier in the week. What I soon discovered is that Barna hit on every major area for leadership development. The best thing about this book is that it is not your "typical" leadership book. You don't get 25 chapters on how to be a better leader or 55 things that you need to do to be a better leader. Very simply, this is a "behind the scenes" conversation with some of the greatest leaders of our time. If you are a leader, administrator, pastor, teacher, coach or some one who has influence over people, this book is a must read for you.

Reading and Leadership

I've always heard it said that "Leaders are readers." I have found this to be very true. Some would say that "Readers are leaders." I have not always found this to be the case. Just because someone reads does not mean that they are designed for leadership. I am reading George Barna's Master Leaders. It is a great read and I recommend it to those in leadership or those who aspiring to be leaders. When I talk about leadership in this context, I am speaking of those who lead groups, organizations or movements. I make the assertion that everyone is a leader. At the very heart a leader is someone who has someone following them. We are all leading someone somewhere, whether it is consciously or not. For those leading groups, organizations and movements, it is vital that you read continuously. There is a wealth of resources out there to help you become a better leader (and honestly we can all become better in the area of leadership). It takes sacrifice to invest in yourself to become a better leader, but remember that as you invest in yourself, you are also investing in others. What you pour into yourself will ultimately be poured into those that you lead. We always for our team to put forth their very best, but is our team getting the very best out of us? Are we giving our very best? Are we the best that we can be? Regardless of the area in which you serve and lead, you must always be willing to shape your craft. You must constantly be learning. Learning is the movement that takes you to where you want to be. Learning is the river that we raft to reach the destination we desire to achieve. Learn. Read. Succeed. Lead.

Blessing

Abraham was a man who knew the blessing of the Lord. Abraham was also the source of blessing for others. In Genesis 12:2-3, God lays out His plan for blessing. God blesses us for the sole purpose of us being a blessing to others. Take a look! While this is a promise to Abraham, because we have been in grafted into the line of Abraham, it is also a promise to us as followers of Christ. God promises to bless us with the expectation that we will be a blessing to others. Think, for just a moment, about the ways that God has blessed you in the past year. Did you think it was just for your benefit? The blessing was or is so that you can go and be used of God to be a blessing to someone else. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:6 that you reap what you sow. If you sow blessing in the life of another, blessing will be returned to you. God tells Abraham that those who bless others will also be blessed. So often we wait for the blessing of God and it never comes. Have you ever thought that it was because you were not a wise steward of what God blessed you with last time? We are the direct result of Abraham's blessing; therefore, we should carry on the promise given to Abraham by being a blessing to others.

Brokenness

Brokenness is a beautifully difficult thing. When we witness it in others we sympathize with them, comfort them, support them. When it happens to us, we feel as if the rug has been pulled from beneath our feet, as if our very intestines have been ripped out of our insides. Brokenness is painful but so necessary to be pursuant of Christ. It is not until we have been broken that we fully understand the fullness of grace. We need brokenness. I have witnessed it many times and experienced it a few times myself. It's the times that we reach rock bottom, brokenness, when we have nowhere to go but up, that we are ready to go where God intends us to go. There is great reward in brokenness. It is in brokenness that we are made whole and complete.

Seeing 2010

As the new year dawned, how did you see it? Was it the same as it was yesterday, or did you see it entirely new? The key word fro me this year is vision. It will be a theme in my preaching this Sunday, but has also been a theme of things I have been reading lately. Vision is not just seeing what is, but what can be or will be. I tweeted earlier today that I see 2009 in the rear view and am slamming the gas into 2010. Vision is being able to leave the past in the past and push toward the future. Over the Christmas break I read Seth Godin's e-book What Matters Now. It is not a "Christian" book, but a book that needs to be read by every leader. It is thought provoking and challenging. There's some good stuff in there and there's some stuff that does not apply right now. The thing that I took away from it is that away is the need that everyone of us has for vision. What has happened to so many people is that they have lost their vision. There was a time, when we were young, and we thought we could conquer the world. Then as we grew older, we began to listen to the critics and we lost our desire and drive to be world conquerors. We became settled and we lost our fire. As the fire died in our soul it dimmed our vision for grandeur.

If we are going to crash into life, then we must be people of vision. We must spend time seeking the will of God so that we set our vision on the things that matter most. I hope that we enter the second decade of this millenium that you will begin the process of becoming a person of vision. I hope that you regain the fire of your youth and that you will begin to conquer the world. 2010 is a year of great promise, a year of great vision and a year of great accomplishment.