Archive for the ‘book study’ Category
angels and demons.
30 Nov 2009 My thoughts have been on angels, demons, and satan this month as I’ve been studying for a message in a doctrine series. There is great curiosity today about the spirit world, both good and evil. Here are a few FAQs about that world from Scripture:
1. Who created angels? God, of course. He created [...]
Your new boss.
In: book study| leadership
25 Jul 2008In his book The First 90 Days, Michael Watkins offers good advice on working with a new boss:
Don’t trash the past – don’t criticize past employees’ performance or work
Don’t stay away – don’t avoid the boss, even if they don’t at first reach out to you
Don’t surprise your boss – inform them early on about [...]
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- Tags: new job
The STaRS energy focus.
In: book study| leadership
13 Jul 2008Last thought on Michael Watkins’ “STaRS” organizations in his book, The First 90 Days.
When walking into a new organization, we must decide how we focus our energy. We have two sets of choices:
How much emphasis will we put on “learning” as opposed to “doing”?
How much emphasis will be put on “offense” as opposed to “defense”?
Different [...]
The STaRS teams.
In: book study| leadership
11 Jul 2008The First 90 Days book identifies two types of teams that are needed in different organizations: HUNTERS and FARMERS.
Hunters
Best used in: START-UPS and TURNAROUNDS
team members who can move fast and take chances
act quickly and decisively, often on the basis of incomplete information
make rapid diagnosis
the problems teach them about the need for change
they handle ready-fire-aim situations
in [...]
The STaRS challenges.
In: book study| leadership
5 Jul 2008Michael Watkins talks about the CHALLENGES of the four types of organizations:
START-UP
Building structures and systems from scratch without a clear framework or boundaries.
Welding together a cohesive high-performing team.
Making do with limited resources
SUSTAINING SUCCESS
Playing good defense by avoiding decisions that cause problems.
Living in the shadow of a revered leader and dealing with the team he or [...]
The STaRS organization types.
In: book study| leadership
3 Jul 2008In The First 90 Days, Michael Watkins writes about the “STaRS” model of organizational evolution. He notes there are four situations you may find yourself walking into when starting a new job: a Start-Up, Turnaround, Realignment, or Sustaining Success.
This is your job in each one:
START-UP - Assembling the capabilities {people, funding, technology} to get a [...]
The first 90 days.
In: book study| leadership
1 Jul 2008Today I passed a mile marker in my new adventure. As I walked in the door at the Wards Road Starbucks in Lynchburg, the barista already had my drink ready - iced tall soy chai [hey, I need protein in the morning.]. It struck me - I’m not just visiting here anymore, this is my [...]
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- Tags: new job
Reading in 2008.
In: book study| discipleship
4 Jan 2008What will you read in 2008?
You’ll read some blogs. Maybe some newspapers. You’ll start a few books - but will you finish them? Maybe you suffer from “reading A.D.D.”. What about the quality, the importance of what you will read? Blogs are great pulse checks on what’s happening currently in culture, sort of a [...]
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- Tags: reading list
The Jesus school.
In: book study| leadership| staffing
17 Dec 2007“Come and see.”
“Follow me.”
With these invitations, Jesus gathered his team. From the first day he invited Andrew (and maybe John) to spend the day with him [john 1], to the call for followers on the beach [matthew 4], to the ordination of the 12 to serve as apostles [matthew 10].
What training approach would Jesus take? [...]
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- Tags: staff training
Sacred pathways.
In: book study| discipleship
9 Nov 2007SACRED PATHWAYS by Gary Thomas is a powerful book dealing with the scriptural and historical paths God’s people have traveled to know Him. Following is an overview of the nine paths prepared by the author…
NATURALISTS - Loving God Out of Doors
DESCRIPTION - “Where we worship can have a profound impact on the quality of our [...]
study, practice, teach
For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel
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- Ethan Waters: Thanks Matt for this much needed post. Also, thanks for the Greenhouse church planting session last [...]
- Jeff Bell: Thanks Matt for the insight. Automatic genuine respect from others does not generally come with a Ti [...]
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- your young friend: I just wanted to say thank you for everything that you have done for my mom and I. You and your fami [...]
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