Come, Cast, Carry

Today we are able to accomplish more in less time than ever before.  Often this comes at the price of being overwhelmed, never off the clock, and stressed out.  The pace and pressures of life can be crazy.  That is why this Labor Day weekend we are going to take a moment to look at the topic of rest not just from work, but rest in life. 

On Sunday, we are going to look at three very important words: Come, Cast, and Carry.  In Matthew 11:28, Jesus tells us that we are to go directly to him in those moments of life when we are overwhelmed.  In 1 Peter 5:7, Scripture tells us to cast our anxiety onto God because he cares for us.  And in Matthew 11, Jesus tells us to carry his yoke because it is light. 

Join us Sunday as we celebrate Labor Day weekend and the rest we can find in

Dynamite: Power

There is something primal that happens in our household when the power goes out.  The candles and flashlights come out to light the house and all the noise of televisions and computers are silenced.  Often in these times, I find that, we as a family have a unique moment to connect in a refreshing kind of way over a board game or a well read story. 

There is something interesting that happens when one has power as well.  Power can come in many forms but at its core it is nothing more than influence over others. 

This weekend at Crossroads Church in Cranberry we are going to look at how we each have power in our lives and how we can use that power to build the community of God.

Join us Sunday as we conclude our series Dynamite by looking at the explosive force of power!

GLS: Closing Session By Bill Hybels

·      Matthew 16:18  “I will build my church and the gates of hell with not prevail against it!”

·      “The local church is the hope of the world.”

o   For the first 18 years of my life the church was hopeless. 

o   In college is started to become hopeful for the church.

§  Vision moves us forward.

§  People live for vision and people die for it!

§  The local church is the hope of the world.

·      Jesus Christ is the only one that can deeply impact and change the heart of man. 

·      Will the local church, the hope of the world be able to sustain itself until the end of time?

o   Confidence is in Christ. He is the builder of church.

o   This is the only thing that God is doing!  He is building the church! 

o   Will you join the savior of the world in helping Him build the local church?

o   How could you do anything else when God taps you on the shoulder! 

o   Every follow of Jesus should wake up excited about serving the church!  It is the hope of the world.

GLS: Getting to Yes by William Ury

·      How much of your time is spent on negotiation or handling conflict?

·      The single most important barrier to getting what you want is you!

o   Go to the balcony. Look at your conflict from a different perspective. 

o   Elevate and see the larger picture.

o   One of the greatest powers of negotiation is the power not to react!

·      Focus on the underling needs.

·      People:  Separate the people from the problem.

o   Be soft on the people and hard on the problem.

§  The harder you will need to be on problem the softer you need to be on the person!

§  Try to put yourself on the same side of the table focused on the problem.

·      Interests:  focus on interests not the positions.

o   What is their intent?  Why do you want this position?

·      Options:  Develop multiple solutions to solving the problem.

o   Create solutions based upon interests. 

·      Criteria:  Use standards that are based on fairness not will!

o   Be objective and be fair.  What is best for the whole?

o   BTNA:  Best Alternative to Negotiated Alternative.

§  What is your back up?  You should have one.

§  This is your anchor. 

GLS: The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni

·      People need to be reminded more than instructed.  Life is simple we need to remember things!

·      Organization health is the single greatest competitive advantage.  It is free but it is largely untapped in many organizations.

o   Why?  Many leaders think it is beneath them! They cannot measure it!

·      Two requirements for success:

o   Smart:  to work well strategically.  Half the equations but 98% of attention. Tech, Marketing etc. 

o   Healthy:  Low turnover, high moral, minimal confusion, and politics.

§  Health is the multiplier of your intelligence.

·      How do we make our organizations healthy?

o   1.  Build a Cohesive Leadership Team

§  5 dysfunctions of a team.

o   2.  Create clarity

§  6 critical questions:

·      Why do we exist?

·      How do we behave?

·      What do we do?

·      How will we succeed?

o   What is our strategy?

§  Honor your 3 anchor values!        

·      What is more important, right now?

·      Who must do what?

o   3.  Over communicate Clarity

o   4.  Reinforce Clarity

§  With human systems.

·      Build a Healthy Organization!

GLS: The Strongest Link by Craig Groeschel

·      There are some tensions between the generations today. 

·      There is not enough investing in next generations in the church today.

o   The Older Generation:  Don’t resent, fear, or judge the next generation.  Invest in them.  Believe in them.  They need you!

§  You can still make a difference.  God values maturity.  You best days are before when you take the best that God has taught you and invest it in others!

§  If you are not dead you are not done!

§  If you delegate tasks you create followers.  If you delegate authority to create leaders.

§  Embrace the season that you are in.  Be yourself.

§  You can be a spiritual father to those who come behind you! Psalm 71:18

o   The Younger Generation:  You need older generation more than you know!  Don’t be Entitled.

§  You overestimate what you can do in the short run but underestimate what you can do in the long run.

§  Honor publicly will earn you influence privately. 

§  One of the reasons we do not honor each other is because we have forgotten how to honor God.

§  Honor builds up!

§  Respect is earned buy honor is given.

§  If you ever want to be over you have to live under with integrity. 

·      How can we learn from one another?

o   Create ongoing feedback loops.

o   Create specific mentoring moments.

§  Learn how other great leaders think.

o   Create opportunities for significant leadership development.

§  Give others the platform.

Dynamite

A number of years ago, I was on a mission trip in Southeast Asia and was personally introduced to the power of dynamite.  I was with a group of students deep in the mountains at a remote river. A number of nationals were teaching us how to spear fish. To our surprise one of our guides pulled out a stick of dynamite from his pocket and gestured how we could use this to blow up fish from the bottom of the river.  This, of course, intrigued me and my fellow travelers, so we nodded our head and before we knew the wick was lit.  Our guide then tossed the lit dynamite in the river and we watched in amazement as it blew both water and a healthy catch of fish out of the river. It was great for that night’s dinner!

Dynamite is a powerful thing that can be used for both constructive and destructive purposes.

This weekend at Crossroads Church in Cranberry, we are starting a new series entitled: Dynamite.  We are going to look at the influences of sex, money, and power in our lives over the next few weeks.  Join us Sunday as we start this new series together and learn how to handle dynamite with care!

GLS: Great By Choice by Jim Collins

·      Why do some enterprises thrive in chaos and others do not?  Why do some leaders thrive in chaos and others fail?

·      Leadership behavior matters!

o   The x factor is humility combined with will!

·      Fanatic Discipline

o   20-mile march everyday no matter what the challenge.

o   Don’t over expose! Steward your energy.

§  Manage yourself in good times so you will be OK in bad times! 

o   What is your 20-mile march?  What is your daily realistic stretch? Personal and Professional?

o   10x Leaders show extreme consistency in values, goals, and performance.

o   The signature of average is chronic inconstantly.

·      Empirical Creativity

o   Fire small bullets before firing a cannon ball to make sure you are on target!

o   Too many leaders waste energy firing undisciplined shots!

o   Blend creativity and discipline!

o   Creativity is natural discipline is not!

o   You need to remove the stuff that is in the way of your creativity.

·      Productive Paranoia

o   Prepare for the troubled times! 

o   How do you manage in blessed times so you can be strong when people most need you!

SPAC Recipe

·      Specific:  Know what you are good at.  Focus on this!  Be efficient. 

·      Preserve the Core: Values.  Stimulate progress change practices.

What is the role of luck?

·      Luck: You did not cause it.  It has a consequence.  It was a surprise!

·      Are 10x leaders lucky?

o   The great winners were not luckier than others. It is what they did with great events that made them win!

o   The difference is what you do with the good events.  Failing leaders squander the good events and are not prepared for the bad ones!

o   What is your return on good and bad events?

§  How do you use a bad event as a defining moment?  How do you make the most of a great moment?

·      Greatness is a result of conscious choice and discipline.

Great Organizations

·      Have superior performance.

·      If they leave would be missed.

They withstand the change of great