Feast or Famine (2)

I want to borrow a chapter from John Maxwells book “leader shift” tonight that I believe will help us not only to make the most of Easter Sunday, but to be leaders that are constantly looking for ways to create momentum in the church and within the lives of those that attend our services.

Maxwell calls “the Abundance shift” —> Moving from maintaining to creating.

I believe the key to Living Hope shifting forward in growth is every individual leader striving for this abundance shift.

The first step to this shift is to determine which of four zones we are in as a leader. These zones identified how we live, how we lead, and what we achieve.

Here are the four zones as well as the attitude statement that explains them:

The Coasting Zone - I do as little as possibleThe Comfort Zone - I do what I have always doneThe Challenge Zone - I attempt to do what I haven’t done beforeThe Creative Zone - I attempt to think what I have never thought before

Obviously the greatest level of leaders and those that move an organization forward, are those that move into the comfort zone. These are leaders that have take absolute ownership of their areas of ministry and responsibility and are intent upon being a good steward that produces growth.

The more that this mindset of leadership is isolated to the top level leadership in the church, the less likely we are to see significant growth in people and in our organization. If we can see this Abundance shift take place down to the most fundamental levels of ministry in the church, growth will be imminent.

Maxwell identifies 7 Mental blocks that that keep us from getting to the creative zone:

Finding the right answer - This is where we operate as if there is only one right answer to challenges. This creates tunnel vision and leads to frustration when we come to a dead end. That’s not logical - Albert Einstein said “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Imagination begins where logic ends. It is willing to take leaps that logic can’t. Logic does have value and it important to consider, you should intentionally add creativity. Follow the rules - Thomas Edison once said “There ain’t no rules around here! We are trying to accomplish something!” This obviously is not my attempt to tell everyone to refuse working within the policies and processes that have been constructed. We are dealing with our thinking through challenges and growth. I’ve never been to one art museum where a color within the lines coloring book page was on display!!Avoid Ambiguity - By definition ambiguity is having more than one interpretation. Again, we aren’t talking about doctrine or Godliness...we are talking about looking at what we are doing through the lens of growth! Be open to new ways of addressing old problems. Failure is bad - The person who has never failed is the person who isn’t trying. Failure is not something that we should avoid. Failure is something that we should learn from. Don’t be foolish - To stand up is to stand out. All great dreams looked foolish to someone. How others see you is less important than how effective you can be. I’m not creative - The mental block that keeps most from being creative is believing that we don’t possess creativity. This self-perception is a barrier to talent, opportunity and intelligence.

Creative Principles to Learn and Live By:

Build a Creative Culture. An article in Forbes provided is nigh in how to make your area of leadership more creative. Fuel Passion - It is easier to do what we’ve always done and color within the lines. Moving beyond those boundaries and beyond the comfort of the bold lines requires a lot of energy.Celebrate Ideas - What is celebrated gets done. Praise those that are brave enough to share ideas. Foster autonomy - General George Patton said “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. Give people the freedom to be creative. Micromanagement undermines creativity while freedom and flexibility foster it. Encourage courage - Creativity requires risk and taking risks requires courage. Fail Forward - There was a company that had sorted the motto: We make new mistakes. Don’t stay at the old mistake. Learn from it, then move forward.Start Small - Often we get stuck because we are looking for huge breakthroughs and innovations when what we need are small ones.

2. Make Everything Better

1. Everything can get better!

Leaders that are moving their areas of ministry forward are always looking for ways that they can make things better!

Can we take an idea to the next level?

Can we target a message more sharply?

Can we make a clients experience even better?

Can we add something to an event to make it spectacular?

What can we do to go the extra mile?

3. Place High Value on Ideas

Harvey Firestone, one of the most successful businessmen of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, said, “Capital ins’t so important in business. Experience isn’t so important. You can get both of these things. What is important is ideas. If you have ideas, you have the main asset you need, and there isn’t any limit to what you can do with your business and your life. If you want to be creative, you must place a high value on Ideas and then learn how to generate them.

1. Start gathering ideas

2. Test the ideas that you gather

3. Analyze your failures

4. Analyze your Failures

5. Adapt other ideas

6. Seek out and listen to different voices