September 3, 2010 in Thoughts from Josh... by joshrobinson
The Battle for Courage
A few weeks ago I shared a message called, “The Battle for Courage.” Below are a few thoughts/points. God’s will is found when we decide to be COURAGEOUS about following Jesus. Many people live each day with the temptation of living for now and not for eternity. Living the “safest” life possible is not the goal of following Christ. It is not about the OUTWARD, but the inward. Jesus always looked at the motives of the heart.
Romans 8:31- 37 “ No in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
Cowards live by….
1. Confusion – Those who lead with wrong motives are mixed up on what is right or wrong.
- Constantly debate with, “what is wrong with it?”
- A courageous person asks, “what is right with it?”
2. Criticism – Overly critical of authority.
- Rebellion against authority.
- Puts others down to uplift oneself
3. Compromise –
- Willing to take a shortcut at any cost to get AHEAD.
- Do whatever it takes to make oneself look right in any situation.
Following Jesus is not just in your mind – it is a heart change and surrender of WALKING as Jesus WALKED. We create a compromise of saying, “I’ll just pray about it” or “I’ll get to that.” Instead Jesus wants our heart to be captivated by His love in order to lead with courage. “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” John 15:8
Jesus won the battle of sin and death! He is the undefeated champion!
Courage lives by…
1. Clarity – Understand the purpose of knowing why you live your life.
- Eternity is the focus
- Tradition is not as important as God’s Word
2. Confidence in God’s Will
- Obedience to Authority
- Finds wisdom daily through God’s Word
3. Character to become like Christ
- You should be excited when people put you down for following Jesus.
- Following Jesus can be a lonely road, but it is WORTH IT!
- Decide to resemble Jesus in how you ACT.
- Courage to follow Christ at any cost! Courageous believers will one day hear from Jesus…“Well done, my good and faithful servant…” Matthew 25:23
Are you willing to trade in the American dream for a world that desperately needs Jesus? Are you willing to trade in your tradition for untraditional people to come to know Christ?
September 2, 2010 in Thoughts from Josh... by joshrobinson
A Leader’s Skills – Delegation
A leadership skill that is needed is the ability to delegate. It is unproductive to go about ministry with a “me-for and no-more” mindset. Using a team of volunteers is important to fulfilling the ministry’s mission. A leader who does not delegate takes the ministry upon himself and makes it all fall upon his shoulders. One pitfall of many leaders (including myself) is perfectionism. Everything MUST be done a certain way. In Blackaby’s book it he states, “Whatever the reason for reluctance to delegate, leaders must understand that mastering the art of delegation is preeminent among leadership skills. It is one of the wisest uses of a leader’s time.” One person can not do it all. They can try but the ministry will suffer if the leader is controlling and has a perfectionist attitude. Bill Bright said, “Great men lead people, but greater men train leaders.”
The understanding of skills in ministry is a simple concept, whatever God has blessed you in, you need to use to glorify God. A wise leader helps develop ways for people to live out their spiritual gifts in the church. Leadership involves people and administration. Finding time for both can be difficult. One of the things I do is delegate some of the administration to one of my youth leaders who loves it. I am not aloof from the responsibility, but give people freedom to take ownership of the ministry. I prefer to empower people to achieve success rather than just “dumping” stuff on people. Delegation is key to success in the ministry. Wisdom is found when people and their gifts are used together for a common goal.
References:
September 1, 2010 in Thoughts from Josh... by joshrobinson
A Leader’s Skills – Lifelong Learner
Leadership is an ongoing process of becoming a “lifelong learner.” Unless a leader continues to grow and stretch their understanding of leadership, they will eventually run out of steam. It is no longer a process of allowing a few people at the “top” of the leadership ladder to be in charge of everything, but it is moving people along in their own abilities on the team. The only way to improve an organization is to challenge the habits or processes that make it function. It takes humility and a teachable spirit for a person to improve and take constructive criticism. At the heart of any successful leader is a willingness to always be willing to improve. Without a good review of the process, there will be no improvement throughout the organization. With that being said, encouragement goes hand in hand with challenging the process. The motive of leadership is to help people come to a clearer understanding of themselves and become confident in their abilities.
I have learned that there are negative and positive ways to lead. When I began in student ministry I sometimes viewed parents as an obstacle. For some reason I believed that I could help the students and thought that most parents did not know how to help their students. Through conversations with numerous parents, I learned that parents are my one of the most powerful aspects of student ministry. Instead of thinking that I had the answers, I would gather around me parents who were wise and we joined in the discussion together on how to lead students to be fully devoted followers of Christ.
I have learned in the past four years that leadership is a shared vision and not a “one man show.” Like earlier, when I began student ministry I focused upon the students mostly. Now I realize the powerful change that can happen when the parents are encouraged to be the spiritual influencers in the home. My passion is to build relationships with students and parents. My goal is to encourage and equip parents to lead in the home and reinforce God’s Word into the lives of the students. One of the challenges of leadership is to be willing to admit faults and through these past years, I have learned that parents need encouragement and ministry just as much as the students.
August 29, 2010 in Thoughts from Josh... by joshrobinson
A Leader’s Skills – Time Management
Time is passing away every second of every day. A skill that is vital to success in Christian ministry is time management. In order to make wise choices, you must ask yourself the question, What is most important?
Many leaders struggle to manage time because of responsibilities at home, church, and more. Ministry is never done, there is always more to do no matter how hard a leader works. The leader who is people-centered will spend more time on the field than a quiet, studious leader in their office. The role of both is important in a ministry, but both need to be balanced. It is important to use a planner or reminder list to stay on track with tasks. At the same time, there should be flexibility within the schedule to meet people at their point of need.
One of the ways I prioritize my time every week through writing down important goals to accomplish. It is important to begin this way because if a leader does not prioritize their time, someone else will do it for them. I have learned that unless I have a goal in mind, it is easy to waste time on projects and plans and end up stressing due to last minute decisions.
I have learned to say “no” to good things in order to be able to lead great things. Through my ministry I have learned to delegate responsibilities in order to accomplish a goal faster and more effectively. When a leader rallies the people behind the vision, it becomes shared responsibility and takes less time to accomplish. The goal is spend quality time with our spouse, ministry, relationships and health. Leaders are to make the most of the time that God has provided.
August 19, 2010 in Thoughts from Josh... by joshrobinson
Temptation of Apathy
We have been going through a series on how to deal with temptation. I thought I’d share a few thoughts from last night’s message on, “Temptation of Apathy.”
Apathy in the dictionary means, “absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement. lack of interest in or concern for things.”
The issue of temptation becomes a problem when a person thinks they know how God works and how to “work” Him. This temptation is one that is “subtle” and “religious.” You can go on for years and not realize you fall into this temptation. It is the temptation that you have God all figured out!
In Matthew 4:5-6, Jesus is being tempted, first by bread and now in a new way. He is taken to the top of the temple. Satan quotes Psalm 91:12 to try and entice Jesus to test His heavenly Faither.
Apathy is a disease of the soul that erodes the need for God.
Attempts to “Play God”
• A couple (students) who are home alone and asking God for strength to stay pure
• A guy searching online in his room—alone, who asks God to prevent him from going astray
• A girl who dresses provocatively yet asks God to bring her a godly guy
Christians are called to cooperate with God, not manipulate God.
Apply – Temptation of Apathy…
1. Rejects the need to Change
- People who are most disappointed with God are the people who never fully surrendered to God.
- Christians are called to keep the gospel as the most important part of their lives.
- People who reject change do not hear from God.
2. Rejects the need for Faith
- Apathy says, “I know better than God and don’t need to trust Him.”
- Apathy kills the heart of the gospel
- Apathy removes the need for opening up to new people in our lives
Passion for God…
1. Leads to daily surrender
“…to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2
2. Leads to cooperation with God
- God speaks loudest to the people who are surrendered to Him.
- Transformed lives result in CHANGE to become like Christ.
Commitment:
- Have we lost our first love? Jesus!
- Are you passionate about changing whatever it takes for people to know Christ?
- Are you a cooperator or manipulator?
Passion for God kills the temptation of Apathy
