The Freedom of Admitting Our Weaknesses

"Good leaders are aware of both their strngths and weaknesses. They are not afraid to admit to the latter. The know how to find support and are humble enough to ask for it. There is no perfect leader who has all the gifts necessary for good leadership."

Jean Vanier, in Community and Growth: Our Pilgrimage Together

Leaders, by their very gifting, like to run things. We like to be in charge. We like to be in control. Our problem is that we sometimes take on too much responsiblity or try to control things that would be better left in another's hands.

I know. I've been one of those leaders.

When I first started leading small groups and teaching classes, I felt like everything was up to me. I assumed responsibility for content devlopment of the study or topic, for discussion facilitation, for hospitality, for refreshments, for soul care, for leadership-liason roles between church leadership and the group, for social activities... and well, you get the idea. Like a one-woman band, I tried to play all parts simultaneously and ended up flat and off-key.

Then I learned about delegation. I studied the Scriptures about the Body of Christ and how we need each other. God humbled me and let me know I wasn't indispensible, and that, in fact, He could accomplish some things far better without me.

By trying to do it all, I in effect denied someone else the chance to use her gifts or to develop her gifting. I denied that someone the privilege and blessing of serving others with her gifts. My compulsion to do everything barred her from becoming a vessel of God's grace in the lives of others (1 Peter 4:10). Father, forgive me.

Through a painful process of growth and learning, I've finally found rest in knowing I'm free to use only my gifts and no more. I can focus on what God as prepared me to do and leave the rest to those who are better equipped.

So now, in our Bible study classes, each class has a leadership team: two teachers, one hostess, and one care team coordinator. The teachers are responsible to prepare content, teach the class, and foster small group interactions within the larger classes. The hostess handles room set-up, refreshment coordination, and overall responsibility for creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. The care-team coordinator is responsible for creating a class care-team (a small group of people) who will see to the group's special needs (meals, visitation, notes of encouragement, condolences in loss, support in injury, etc...).

Each role requires gifting specific to the task.

And what a relief it is for me, as one whose primary gifting is teaching, to turn over the reigns of hostessing and care. Though I was competent in those roles, I was not gifted. And when I tried to assume those roles too, the responsibilities of care and hostessing drained me and compromised my ability to teach.

What fun it is to focus on teaching! And what grace it is to serve with a team. Team leadership beats one-woman-band leading any day.

I'm thankful for my team. I delight to see God in and at work through them. I'm releaved to be able to focus on my strengths. And the class is far better for it, as are we all.

Consider delegating. Try team leadership. I suspect you'll be glad you did.

'Til next time,
Joan

Leader Quote of the Week - April 25, 2005

"Faith is that attitude in which, acknowledging our complete insufficiency for any of the high ends of life, we rely utterly on the sufficiency of God....It is an act which is the negation of all activity, a moment of passivity out of which the strength for action comes, because in it God acts.
--C.H. Dodd

I have to agree with the insight provided by twentieth-century British theologian and biblical scholar C.H. Dodd (1884-1973) in his quote above.

Until we realize that we, even as leaders, cannot change hearts or give someone understanding—until we realize our insufficiency—we won't rely on God (the only true heart-changer and source of all understanding) as we should.

Dodd’s words are a wake-up call for me this week. How much do I really rely on God alone to accomplish life change in the hearts of those I serve? How much do truly realize how insufficient I am to do anything of eternal significance in and of my own resources?

May God give us grace this week to realize our inadequacy and to rely on His sufficiency in all we undertake.

'Til next time,
Joan

The Importance of Pauses

Read the following:

imnotsureifyouregoingtobeabletomakesenseofthisparag
raphbutatleastyoumightgi veitatryiusedthisactivitythis
weektoillustratealessononsi mplifyingandfocusinghoww
euseourtimewithoutcapitallettersorpunctuationhowever
thisparagraphwillmakelitt lesenseitneedscapitalizations
pacesbetweenwordsandpar agraphscommasperiodsan
dotherpunctuationforittobecomereadable

I suspect the paragraph above will seem difficult to read and decipher. It maybe confusing, too. If, however, I insert the necessary spaces between the words, add correct punctuation, and capitalize letters as needed, the paragraph becomes readable.

Now try it:

I'm not sure if you're going to be able to make sense of this paragraph but at least you might give it a try. I used this activity this week to illustrate a lesson on simplifying and focusing how we use our time. Without capital letters or punctuation, however, this paragraph will make little sense; it needs capitalization, spaces between words and paragraphs, commas, periods, and other punctuation for it to become readable.

What a difference a few pauses make!

We need pauses (spaces and punctuation) and priorities (capitalization) to help us make sense of our lives. Do we bother to pause to think about what we're doing and how we're using our time? Do we take time to prioritize? When we do, instead of living lives that feel like endless streams of activities and demands, we end up with lives that flow like words of a well-written paragraph.

A punctuated life makes more sense. It's easier to follow and understand. It's easier to live.

Won't you take time this week to pause and prioritize? You'll feel refreshed and refocused if you do.

Blessings,
Joan

Leader Quote of the Week - April 18, 2005

"Leaders are human. They get tired, frustrated, discouraged, and confused. They also fail and sin time and again. Yet, by God's grace, your humanity does not disqualify you from serving God in all that you do. In fact, it becomes the means for God to reveal his power and mercy to you and through you."

--Touchpoints for Leaders (Tyndale, 2004)

Stay the Course

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; [24] and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

Hebrews 10:23-24 (NASB-U)

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. [36] For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

Hebrews 10:35-36 (NASB-U)

Ah. Endurance. Perseverence. Determination. Holding on. Hanging in there. These traits and attitudes are part of biblical leadership. And it's no wonder.

What leader hasn't felt like quitting? Who hasn't wanted to give up? How often have we wanted to throw in the towel? Sometimes we're so exhausted or discouraged we just don't feel like going on.

I can say, without exception, that the times I've wanted to quit or give up have been the times when my eyes were focused most on myself, my inadequacies, and my circumstances and least on the character and power of God.

If you're discouraged just now, remember these truths from God's word:

2 Corinthians 9:8 (NASB-U): And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;

Philippians 1:6 (NASB-U): For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

1 Cor. 15:58 (NASB-U): Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

2 Cor. 1:8-9 (NASB-U): For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; [9] indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;

2 Cor. 12:9 (NASB-U): And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

1 Thes. 5:24 (NASB-U): Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

When I'm discouraged and feel like quitting, I ask God to lift my eyes from my circumstances and my inability to His sovereignty and might. The vehicle through which God accomplishes this in me in His word. Scripture moves my eyes to Him.

If I'm physically exhausted, I take time to sleep, exercise, and eat right, and I pray for strength. If I'm spirit-weary, I pray for renewal. But most of all I ask God to reveal more of Himself to me. I ask Him to move my eyes to Him. And He does.

If you're discouraged today, take a few moments to meditate on the passages above. Allow God to renew you through His word. Allow Him to move your eyes off yourself and your circumstances and to set them squarely on Him.

Hang in there.

'Til next time,

Joan

Thought Provoking Lists Make Great Teaching Tools

My apologies for my recent two-week absence. Life's been a bit crazy, but I haven't forgotten you! I'm back now, and will be posting regularly again.

And I'm continuing to learn about new (and new-to-me) resources that can enrich my teaching.

One group of teaching illustration resources I've discovered recently are those countless books of lists on the market today. Wow, are they filled with topics that can generate great discussions! Here are just some of the list books in which I've found useful teaching prompts or intriguing discussion starters:

Checklist for Life: The Ultimate Handbook (2002, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

Lists to Live By: The Christian Collection (2004, Multnomah)

List to Live By for Smart Living (2002, Multnomah)

Lists to Live By: The First Collection (1999, Multnomah)

I have found these books clearanced at overstock book sales, second-hand novelty shops, and public library used-book sales (have yet to pay full price for one). The cheapest cost only 50 cents; the most expensive was $5.97 (far less than retail). I'm sure you can find them on sale, too.

And they are loaded. Their lists cover topics like these: wisdom; virtue; sin; prayer; marriage; success; leadership; rest; forgiveness; time management; handling criticism; building character; memorizing Scripture; endurance; contentment--you name it; it's probably covered in one of these lists.

Sometimes I use the lists "as is" (duly credited, of course) as a resource handout for my students; sometime I adapt the lists to suit my lesson-planning needs (again, duly credited). Sometimes I just use the lists to springboard my own thought process.

In any case, I think these lists can stimulate our thinking and foster creativity in our teaching.

I hope you find them as useful as I've found them.

'Til next time,
Joan

Leader Quote of the Week - March 28, 2005

"The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know God. Disregard the study of God and you sentence yourself to stumble through life blind-folded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul."

--J. I. Packer

We leaders sometimes fall into the habit of studying the Scriptures for theological knowledge or doctrinal know-how. When we do, we can become modern Pharisees: people with lots of knowledge but with hearts far from God.

This week, as we study God's word, let's remember to study not to know more about God, but to encounter Him through our interaction with His word.

Our prayer might be: Father, as I study Your Word this week, reveal more of Yourself to me that I might love You more, honor You more effectively, and become a bit more like Jesus.

That's it for now!
Joan

Bible Study Zone - Another Resource

Sometimes it's difficult for Bible study teachers and leaders to come up with fresh activity ideas or new, dynamic curricula. Staying on top of current resources is a must if we want our classes and groups to stay fresh and creative. But how?

One bi-monthly resource I've found helpful, put out by NavPress, is Bible Study Zone. This is an on-line small group leader resource that can be perused on-line or received as an e-mail subscription newsletter, completely free. It comes out six times per year (every other month) and, if you don't want to bother checking the web site, it can be e-mailed directly to your e-mail address. It's loaded with the following:

Tips for ministry leaders
Tips for leading small groups
Group discussion tips
Group activity tips
Community-building tips
Bible study tips
Outreach ideas
Additional resources
New resource releases

It also keeps you up-to-date on NavPress's newest small group study guides and leader resources, and offers them to you at discounted rates.

To subscribe to Bible Study Zone, just click here, then check the appropriate box, fill in the subscriber information boxes at the bottom of the page, and click "submit." You'll be added to the Bible Study Zone e-mail list.

The authors and leaders at NavPress has proven themselves to be consistently on-target when it comes to equipping Bible study teachers and leaders. I think you'll find loads of solid, helpful information in this NavPress subscription.

Enjoy!

'Til next time,
Joan

Featured Site: ChristiansUnite.com

If your looking for a one-stop-shopping site for Christian resources of all shapes and sizes, try ChristiansUnite.com. Loaded with links, this site offers Christian clip art, jokes, cartoons, puzzles, desktop wallpapers, shopping, news, e-cards...you name it; it's probably there.

I recommend this site, not because you'll find so many links or so much Christian "stuff" (something that usual bugs me), but because of it's Bible Study resources page. In addition to several translations (though fewer than other sites offer), this page offers access to writings from Christian history (e.g.: Josephus), classic works from figures like John Bunyun and Augustine, biographies and autobiographies, topical Bibles, Bible dictionaries, commentaries, and thousands of sermons and articles in which you can find ideas or illustrations for your lessons.

I'm not one who likes banners and blinking ads, but don't let the heavy Christian advertising on this site's opening page fool you; it's loaded with helpful resources (and almost no advertisements on the resource pages).

I hope you find something useful there!

That's it for now,
Joan

Tuesday Challenge: Ask a Great Question

Because Tuesdays are my teaching days, I don't have much time to create blog entries. So, I thought Tuesdays might be a good day to issue a weekly challenge designed to foster growth in us as leaders and teachers.

Here's this week's challenge (look for more in the weeks to come): Ask a great question!

Come up with one question you can ask yourself, your students, or your group members that requires thought and personal interaction with the topic.

Here are your guidelines:

1. The question cannot be answerable with just a yes or no.

2. The question cannot look for a right-or-wrong, test-like answer (facts, people, places, etc.).

3. The question should prompt thought and discussion.

4. The question should be open-ended. Here are some standard openers for open-ended questions:

• In what ways...
• How do you feel when...
• What do you think it means when...
• Why do you think...
• With what or whom do you most identify...?

Here's an example. I'm currently teaching on simplifying the spiritual disciplines. One question I might ask that meets the above criteria is this: Why do you think we tend to complicate spiritual disciplines so much? Another might be: In what ways have you (or I) unnecessarily complicated the spiritual life? A third might be: In what ways do you think Jesus modeled simplicity in His spiritual disciplines? You get the idea.

That's your challenge! Go for it! If you have the time, leave a comment to let me know how your challenge worked out (now that Blogger's comment capabilities are back)!

That's it for now,

Joan

Leader Quote of the Week - March 14, 2005

This week's quote comes from A.W. Tozer:

"...[biblical] exposition may be carried on in such a way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth."

As teachers and leaders we're often tempted to impart knowledge to our students. We've done our research, we've studied the passages, we have a wealth of information we'd like to pass on. But information doesn't change lives. Encountering God does.

If our goal as leaders is to foster life change through learning (remembering that only God changes hearts), then we need to be willing to take the information we've prepared and tie it to experience. What difference does this information make? What does it tell me about God's character? What does it tell me about God's way of interacting with mankind? What does it reveal about the work God desires to accomplish in this world? What does it reveal about what He desires to do in or through me? In what ways has God revealed this truth in my experience? How might He apply this truth in the lives of my students or group members?

Intellectual ascent isn't the same phenomenon as intimacy with God. To move my students beyond intellectual ascent I need to ask and answer these questions as I prepare: how can this truth foster deeper intimacy with God in my students? How can I offer this truth in a way that will foster life change? What illustrations can I use to help my student identify this truth with real life situations? What one thing from this biblcal exposition can my students apply? What practical steps can I give them this week to help them apply it?

Teaching isn't about impressing others with our knowledge; it's about being faithful stewards of God's word and being vessels for life change.

It's good to perform a self-check now and then: what kind of vessels are we: the kind that leads to intellectual ascent or the kind that fosters life change?

'Til next time,
Joan

The Heart of a Leader

I've been reading Henri Nouwen's In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership, a small, heart-warming, wisdom-packed book on the meaning of Christian leadership. In it, I found this quote:

"It is not enough for priests and ministers of the future to be moral people, well trained, eager to help their fellow humans, and able to respond creatively to the burning issues of their time. All of that is very valuable and important, but it is not the heart of Christian leadership. The central question is, Are the leaders of the future truly men and women of God, people with an ardent desire to dwell in God's presence, to listen to God's voice, to look at God's beauty, to touch God's incarnate Word, and to taste fully God's infinite goodness?" (emphasis added)

He then explains that the original use of the word "theology" (we often view theological grounding as an important qualification in contemporary leaders ) meant "union with God through prayer." Wow! How differently we view our academic version of theology today!

His point is this: Christian leaders, first and foremost, must be lovers of God; they must be men and women who know God intimately (not just know about Him).

I have to ask myself: do I desire to dwell in God's presence, to hear and listen to God's voice, to gaze upon His beauty, to touch and taste His character and Word? If I can't answer "yes" to these questions, then out of what motives am I truly leading: Self-sufficiency? A desire to please or impress other? A desire to prove myself? A deluded works-based effort to earn God's favor?

Authentic Christian leadership, true biblical leadership, flows from intimacy with and love for the Source of all life, strength, wisdom, and power. It finds its origins in grace and gratitude. If it doesn't, then that leadership differs little from the world's.

Let's do a heart check this weekend. How's our love for God? How well do we fit Nouwen's description of a leader in the second paragraph above? Just how rooted in grace and gratitude are we?

May God give us grace to love Him and to serve Him out of that love. May He equip us to do so.

That's it for now,
Joan

Bible Study Methods

As leaders and teachers it's easy for us to use the same methods of Bible study over and over again. Usually it's because we've found whatever methods we use to be reliable, comfortable, and user-friendly.

Sometimes, however, the same-old-same-old routine leaves us feeling flat and lifeless after we've encountered the Word of God. The same could be said for our students. Try spicing up your personal Bible study time (or that of your students) by trying new study methods.

Where can you find new and different methods of study? Try these resources:

• Discipleship Journal's on-line archives. Here's one of DJs, entitled the Bible Background Study (you may have to provde your e-mail address to access this article).
• Each New Day's Bible Study Methods page. This site offers twelve standard Bible study methods (step-by-step instructions, including tools required and hints) in PDF and HTML format.
• Crosswalk.com's Methods of Bible Study page, the contents of which are quoted from R. A. Torrey's How to Study the Bible for Greatest Profit.
• Bible.org's Bible Study Methods page (offers several articles describing various methods).

These sites alone provide dozens of methods of Bible study. But if you'd like more options, trying these book resources (links take you to Amazon's book store). I own them and use them regularly for finding Bible study options to offer my students.

Personal Bible Study Methods: 12 Ways to Study the Bible on Your Own by Rick Warren

Discipleship Journal's Best Bible Study Methods compiled from past issues of DJ

The Navigator Bible Studies Handbook compiled from methods the Navigators have used for over 60 years

How to Study Your Bible by Kay Arthur (a summary of the inductive study method)

Between these book resources (some of whose contents you can view in part at amazon.com) and these web site offerings, you should be able to find a new way to approach the Scriptures or a old way with a new twist. Either way, trying something new may bring new life to your encounters with the Word of God.

That's it for now,
Joan

Map and Bible Land Image Resources

Atlases come in handy for our lesson preparations, but sometimes it's difficult to adapt what we find in a book for use as an overhead transparency or PowerPoint slide. I've stumbled upon two helpful on-line resources that solve the problem of creating map and Bible land images for us.

The first is Heartlight's searchgodsword.org. Here are just a few of the tools this web site offers for free to any user:

• a searchable Bible (by key word or reference; searches in over twenty translations)
• daily Bible reading plans
• daily devotionals
• "Today in Christian History"
• commentaries
• Bible dictionaries
• Bible encyclopedias
• concordances
• lexicons
• historical literature
• "Sermon Jazzers" (anecdotes and humorous illustrations)
• over forty FREE PowerPoint Bible maps!

The PowerPoint Bible maps alone are worth the visit to this site. They're well done and ready for teaching use. If you don't have PowerPoint you can print the on-line images directly onto transparency film for use as overheads.

The second site where you can find free maps and photos of Bible lands and other Bible images (e.g.: an Olive tree; a cubit; Mount of Olives, etc.) is ebibleteacher.com. This site boast all kinds of additional resources as well.

When you have a chance, investigate these sites. I think you'll find that both provide useful and practical helps for teachers.

Every little bit helps!

That's it for now,

Joan

Leader's Quote of the Week - March 7th, 2005

To encourage and motivate my readers, I've decided to add another feature to this blog: the Leader's Quote of the Week. Some weeks I'll comment; other weeks the quote will stand alone. In any case, I hope you fine these gems of wisdom helpful and stimulating.

This week's quote comes from Theodore Roosevelt:

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

Are you?

That's it for now,
Joan

Christianity's FAQs

Sometimes people in our studies have basic questions about the Christian faith, the Bible, the Christian life, theological or doctrinal issues, or other questions we can't address within the limits of our classes or study groups.

While we might discuss these questions with inquiring individuals one-on-one, sometimes it helps to direct them to other resources that might answer their questions.

Evangelical pastor, Bible teacher, and best-selling author Johh MacArthur of Grace to You Ministries provides answers to dozens of Christianity's FAQs at the Grace to You web site. Click here to access this web resource.

You'll find answers to questions like these:

Is my Bible really free from errors?

Which Bible translation is best?

How can I be sure of my salvation?

What is God's will for my life?

If God is sovereign is He responsible for evil?

Using careful biblical exegesis, John MacArthur answers these and dozens more questions covering everything from suicide to sanctification.

Take a peek at this web page; I think you'll find it helpful (or perhaps your students and disciples will).

That's it for now,
Joan

Christian Research Institute: Another Great Resource

Well, I'm back. :o) And since I've returned I'm more convinced than ever of our need to be solidly grounded in an intelligent faith: Bible knowledge, theology, doctrine, and application.

While I was away I encountered mature believers who, though they knew much Truth, struggled to apply it. Sometimes the difficulty was individual will (they didn't have the will to apply what they knew). Sometimes the difficulty was forgetfulness (they forgot to apply what they knew). But sometimes the difficulty was ignorance (they didn't know the Truth well enough to apply it).

One of the organizations I've encountered that best pursues the goal of equipping Christians with an intelligent, Bible-based, appliable faith is the Christian Research Institute (CRI), headed by Hank Hannegraff, the voice behind the Bible Answer Man radio program.

CRI offers a number of excellent resources on countless topics, including difficult-to-answer questions about our faith. One resource, the Christian Research Journal, tackles today's controversial issues head-one. Though non-subscribers cannot access the current issue's articles, past issues of The Journal are available on-line to anyone and are organized by topic. CRI also provides a solid summary of Christianity's essential doctrines and more detailed explanations of specifics of the faith.

The CRI Resource Center offers resources (for sale) in several media types (hardcover books, softcover books, audio tapes, CDs, DVDs, etc.) searchable by over twenty-five categories (e.g.: apologetics, Christian doctrines, Christian classics, cults, evangelism, eschatology, ethics, science and the Bible, world religions, etc.). These resources are well-researched, historically accurate, biblically grounded treatments of various topics. They make great references for teaching on everything from the Resurrection to Spiritual Warfare.

CRI is dedicated to equipping believers (hence their web address: equip.org). I think you'll find their resources quite helpful.

'Til next time,
Joan

Quick Note: I'm Away

I'll be away for the next three days speaking at a women's retreat. Just thought I'd let you know. You can look for more helpful posts next week after my return.

Blessings to you all!
Joan

Another Great On-Line Tool!

I've been checking out several blogs and web sites lately, and I found another great "one-stop-shoppping" Bible study resource. Just about everything you need for lesson preparation (resources, references, and Bible study tools) is available at this site.

Called The Smart Christian, it encourages a thinking approach to Christianity. Good stuff!

You'll find the SmartChristian.com page devoted to Bible study tools here. You'll find the site's theological resources here. You'll find other general reference sources here.

Don't forget to check out the history reference link and other resource links offered at this site. You'll find a ton of neat study aids.

That's it for now,
Joan

ANNOUNCING: "Featured Site"

I've added a new feature to this blog: a sidebar offering called "Featured Site."

The "Featured Site" section on the right will contain a link to a new, excellent on-line resource I've stumbled upon and highly recommend. I'll try to highlight a new featured site at least twice a month.

This week's "Featured Site" is John Piper's site Desiring God. This outstanding resource offers all kinds of helps for Bible study teachers or leaders:

• An On-line Library (on-line line book references)
• An On-line Study Desk (a ton of Bible study aids and tools)
• Weekly audio sermons (you can listen on-line)
• Daily radio broadcasts (you can listen on-line)
• The "Fighter Verses" Bible memorization system
• The complete English Standard Version of the Bible (ESV) and 25 other versions on-line
• Daily devotionals
• Today's News and Links sections
• Easy-to-use search features that allow you to search the site by topic.

Just the On-line Study Desk feature is worth the visit to this site.

If you've never read John Piper's works, I'd encourage you to do so; his is a unique and penetrating voice that drives us out of complacency into deepening relationship with God--the true God of the Scriptures who if far greater and more wonderful than we know. You'll find no superficiality, quick fixes, or "cheap grace" here.

Please note that when I visited this site, the "store" feature (where you can purchase products) was not operational. This, however, did not affect my ability to search the databases or to use the on-line resources.

So, check out DesiringGod.org. I hope you like it. Let me know what you think.

That's it for now,
Joan