Over the weekend I made a comment via Twitter about the internet being a great networking resource.  And it is – but being networked isn’t necessarily the same as being connected.  I think it’s perfectly appropriate that this weeks blog is about being connected, while at church we started a new series on relationships call FacebookJesus (click on Sermon to listen). Being connected is more about relationship than knowing lots of people.

A growing leader needs to be connected to people and there are three ways that we connect:

1. Building Networks “It’s not what you know, but who you know that matters.” True or false?  I think it’s true at the beginning of things – eventually you’ll have to show you know something, but often times who you know helps you get the opportunity to show what you know.  Networking is a great opportunity to find out what other people are doing.  There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel.  What’s this look like at church?  Talk to other teachers and leaders.  Having a problem in class?  Ask other teachers how they handle it – it’s a simple thing to create a network.  Want to expand your network?  Try talking to friends who go to other churches, ask them who their Sunday School teachers are – give them your number to connect.  Try Twitter or Facebook to connect with other Children’s Leaders.  There are all sorts of ways to build a network and there are huge benefits to doing it.  You never know who you may meet or how it can help grow your ministry.
   
2. Creating Connections This is the process of deepening relationships.  Moving from a surface connection to a genuine interest in a person.  One of the greatest short comings of social networks (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is that they create the false sense of a relationship.  There is a difference between knowing what is going on in someone’s life and actually knowing someone.  In the Facebook world I have over 1,000 friends – but in real life it’s much smaller.  You can only connect with so many people, but it’s important that you do connect with some – we need relationships to help keep us sane and support us along the journey.
3. Providing Care What kind of friend are you? A lot of people are great at receiving, but not so great at giving care to their friends.  I’m not even talking about the people you know – I’m talking about people you consider real friends.  How many times have you had to tell someone “Oh, I had no idea you were going through that…” And it was somebody you thought you were close to?  Growing leaders know that the main focus in relationships cannot be themselves – you have to learn that life is better when you have other people in it to walk with you and people are more likely to walk with you if you show that you actually are concerned about them.  Try it and see how relationships can grow and deepen through you providing some genuine care to your friends.

Connecting is important for you as a leader.  It gives you opportunity to focus on others, expand your influence, and grow as a person.  When you make a genuine connection it can change your life and ministry for the long term.  So, how are you going to get connected?

Sorry about the lag on the blog posts; last week was a very short week.  We had a great time with Jim Wideman and Monty Hipp at our Children’s and Youth Leadership Lab – but a few things got put on the back burner. And the blog was one of those things.

If you remember my last blog post, we talked about being a Growing Leader.  Hopefully you really took that to heart, otherwise most of what my next few posts are about will be like seed thrown on hard ground…it’s not going to help you.

The first week we spoke about being a growing leader, I told you that who you are matters.  I didn’t mean who you are in society, who you are in your organization, or who you are in your family – I meant who you are on the inside. Think “Ogres are like onions.” Now, this isn’t a “on the inside we’re all beautiful” pep talk or anything, because on the inside many of us a pretty gross.  We haven’t done a great job cleaning up and making sure we are prepped to be a Growing Leader.

There are several areas we are going to be talking about over the next few weeks, but today I want to focus on the most important part of being a Growing Leader – your personal relationship with God.  There is nothing more important in your journey to being a Growing Leader than your personal relationship with God.  Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. If you don’t have a good relationship with God – focus there first and then come back.

In his book “Being Leaders” Aubrey Malphurs notes that the first characteristic of an authentic Christian Leader is that they are a Christian.  The first time I read this I said “duh”, until I thought about it.  America considers itself a Christian nation, would you agree?  Probably not. So it’s a good reminder that we need to be Christians and one of the best ways to make sure we maintain our personal relationship with God is by making sure we put our personal time with him as a top priority.

I want to give you a few tips on how to get the most out of your devotional time and how to make sure you are maximizing your personal growth with God – because this is the first area that matters in being a Growing Leader.

• Set a daily appointment with God

It doesn’t have to be the same time everyday, it doesn’t have to be first thing in the morning, but it needs to be everyday. You know when your best time for focusing on God is – dedicate that time to God.  Maybe that means you take a shorter lunch break so you can have time.  Maybe first thing in the morning is the best time, maybe it’s after dinner…it’s going to be different for everybody.  The important thing is that you give God your whole attention during the time you have set aside for devotions.

• Have a plan

For a 30 minute devotion try this:

1. Devotional Reading – 5 Minutes (something classic – Chambers, Towzer, Watchmen Nee, C.S.Lewis, Etc.)
2. Bible Reading – 10 Minutes (Don’t just go willy-nilly, set up a reading plan. You can use the same plan year to year, just change translations. Check out YouVersion to see some reading plans.)
3. Prayer and Meditation – 10 Minutes (Reflect on the reading and application for your life. Spiritual Life is not static – it is a process, it should produce movement in you.)
4. Journaling – 5 Minutes (This will help you track growth, collect thoughts, and reflect in the future.)

If you learn to develop a consistent plan and routine, it will help you get a the most out of your time. As you mature you will probably find 30 minutes is not enough time – so try doubling your time in these areas.  Make sure that you keep life in your devotions – many folks read their “Daily Bread” and think they’ve done devotions.

A Growing Leader cares about their personal relationship to Christ first and foremost.  I want each of you to spend time daily with God – he has more for you than I ever will.  Don’t stand on the shoulders of others and think you are growing – spend time deepening your relationship with God and you will be amazed at how many other areas in your life will improve.  You have to start with the basics before you can move forward as a Growing Leader.

BONUS SECTION

I was going to include this in the blog originally, but it was getting long and I didn’t want to make this a two parter.  So I’ll throw this in here.  If you’ve got time for it great, if not then come back later.

Often times when we read the Bible we don’t really get the most out of it and I believe that’s because of lack of training on how to get a handle on God’s Word.  So this bonus section is “How to Get a Handle of God’s Word”

Trace your hand on a sheet of paper and write these words on it starting with your thumb

• Hear – Listen to the Word preached.
• Read – Can’t handle what you don’t look at. Try not to read the study notes in your Bible at this point.
• Study – Take notes – go back, reread, look at the study notes, write down what it means.
• Memorize it – we typically think about this for children, but it’s for adults also.
• Meditate – this means Focused Thinking. Picture it, Pronounce it (Emphasis different parts of the verse), Paraphrase it, Personalize it, and Probe deeper.

Take the text and find out what it meant when it was written (this is called hermeneutics) find the timeless principle in the text, and then apply it.  There are four marks of good application:

1. Personal
2. Practical
3. Possible
4. Provable

Take this little Bonus Section and apply it to your daily interaction with the Word of God and see how it helps in your growth as a leader.