Month: May 2016

Since God Chose You

Posted on May 24, 2016 by - Articles, Church & Faith-Based, Leading Organizations, Relationship with God

In this post, Summit Satellite Manager Rhonda Jenkins shares the “White Hot Why” story behind Colossians 3:12-15, the GLS team’s anchoring Scripture for 2016.

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves in tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.  Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Colossians 3:12-15

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O16HcWWuSU

 

If you would have asked me five years ago, “Rhonda, what is the most important thing you need to do to train the host site operations leaders to have an excellent Summit at their site?” I would have answered simply “to eliminate all unnecessary distractions. Eliminate anything that might compete for the guests’ attention.  Clear the path for God to work in the lives of our guests.”

That’s what operational people do, right?  We eliminate distractions. We plan and prepare for months to ensure our facilities look their best, our volunteers are friendly, knowledgeable servants and we have all the materials and refreshments our guests will need to ensure they are not distracted by clutter, unhappy, confused faces or hungry minds and tummies. And if I’m really honest, we want the lack of distraction to cause guests to rate operations at our sites 5.0 on a 1-5 scale because, after all, that means our mission becomes measurable.

Recently however, God has been doing a little operational work within me to remove some distractions that have been creeping into my Summit-planning seasons. What has surfaced is what I’ve determined to be my “White Hot Why” – cultivate the hunger in leaders’ souls!

Four years ago, I introduced a Summit Scripture passage for the satellite operations team—in order to center this team on what really matters, and to let God remove distractions that clutter our souls.  This Scripture became the foundation for our team’s work and a binding agent to our grander vision to maximize our collective kingdom impact. It became so meaningful for our team that others joined in: senior pastors, promotional strategists, production teams, the WCA staff, onsite Summit team and international GLS teams. Even our WCA Board of Directors was invited and encouraged to memorize our 2016 Summit Scripture!

We’ve recently completed three events for host site team leaders and introduced this passage as our anchoring Scripture for Summit 2016. At the last training, 150 first and second year event managers experienced a 90-minute session around the Colossians verse. We explored how, as “the doers” on the team, we can cultivate our souls for the operational work within that God wants to do. As these new event managers saw the connection between their role, this Scripture, and God’s work at the Summit, I was affirmed about this “White Hot Why.” These leaders are hungry and this session cultivated their souls!

rho2Building on the “clothe yourselves” image in this passage, we invited our “doers” to consider a word or phrase God was inviting them to internalize from this passage and write it onto a piece of colored fabric. Then we commissioned each one by exchanging their fabric piece with a leather bracelet speaking the words “Since God chose you . . .” We closed this session with a spoken word video that sealed each of our commitments to clothe ourselves as we plan and prepare for the Summit.

Would you consider joining our global Summit teams in memorizing Colossians 3:12-15? 

Read it aloud to yourself two or three times a day for 30 consecutive days and see how easy it is to remember each time you read it. Include it in your daily devotions. Replay the Scripture video for inspiration.

By joining in this Scripture journey with us, you can expect God to use it to transform you from within and as a result transform the people you lead and influence every day.

Letters From Prison (Part 1 of 6)

Posted on May 20, 2016 by - Calling, Emotional Intelligence, Execution, Government, North America, Prison, Stories

GLS Group2The first Summit at Southeast Correctional Center in Missouri was held in August of 2015 with the sponsorship and the support of the team at La Croix Church. They caught a vision to serve prisoners, unleash potential and change the culture of the prison from inside out, using the tools offered by The Global Leadership Summit (read more about the event here).

We received letters from several of the prisoners who were able to attend, and we are blown away by the powerful impact the Summit has had on these men.

We hope you’re as encouraged, challenged and inspired by their words as we were when we received them.

 

A letter from Brandon GLS attendee, Southeast Correctional

The Global Leadership Summit was way beyond what I expected! For two days it was like I wasn’t in prison, and that means a lot to someone sentenced to live out the rest of his life in prison. While facing the death sentence in county jail, a preacher visited and preached. At the end of his visit, I decided to approach him to ask for help. He introduced me to Jesus Christ and I got saved. From that moment, I’ve never been the same again. I prayed and decided that each day from then on I would live for Him despite what the future might bring. I decided that each day I was blessed with, I would live a better life for Him. I was 20 years old when I made that decision, and 10 years later I’m still serving Him where I’m needed.

Apparently, some of the staff and volunteers in this institution have noticed what God is doing in my life, and chose me to go to the GLS. The La Croix Church sponsored it and paid for everything! God really does work in awesome ways for those who don’t deserve it! I was one of the first 40 men to attend the Summit out of the 1600 in this prison, and this is the first time this has ever been done in the state of Missouri. What a blessing and honor!

For years I’ve been trying to reach younger men who desperately need Jesus and a new beginning. Unfortunately, many of them choose gangs, violence, drugs, and many of the other evils prison has lurking in the darkness. This becomes bothersome because I want them to experience what I’ve experienced in Christ.

I never really viewed myself as a leader, but since the Summit, I’ve realized there’s more in me than I could ever imagine. God dwells within me, and he can help me be the leader and man of God He wants me to be! The GLS has given me many more tools to use in the ministry and in my everyday life.

It’s difficult to choose just one speaker as my favorite because each of them spoke to me in a special way. I’ve really been questioning my “White Hot Why” while asking others about my blind spots. I’ve started to reassess the ministry I’ve been blessed with and my servitude as a whole.

I’ve looked into my “dumb ideas” and have created some “Big Hairy Audacious Goals.” Some seem unreachable like the “dumb idea” of having a “Dignity and Respect Walk-a-Thon” to encourage staff and offenders to co-exist in a friendlier environment instead of the dislike and hatred on both sides. For each lap an offender and staff completes, an outside entity will donate $1.00 and the proceeds would be sent to the victims or a place that helps victimized people. Offenders and staff working together? It seems impossible, and to some, a “dumb idea,” BUT with God all things are possible!

I want to do more with my life, and I want to impact people in a positive way for Jesus Christ.

I’m also trying to see how I can reach society in a way that will help others. I’ve created a proposal for a halfway house idea, but it still hasn’t been looked at. The Grander Vision is sometimes difficult to achieve. I’m still learning to step back and let God have His way.

Since attending the GLS, I’ve contacted a friend of mine (Frank Brooks, the pastor of Flag Springs Church in St. James, MO), and explained to him it is a must that you attend the GLS or go to a church that hosts it. I believe he is going to get the leadership of that church to either host one or attend in 2016.

God is doing great things through the GLS and those who are participating in it. I can’t wait to see what God will have transpire throughout the upcoming year! I guess I just want to say thank you for letting me, of all people, attend such an awesome event. It was an honor and I hope I’ll get to see the next one. Until next time, take care of yourself and may the Lord bless you abundantly in every aspect of your life.

Sincerely in Christ’s Love,

Brandon
GLS attendee, Southeast Correctional

 

Please pray for our prison sites in 2016. This year there will be 25 prisons experiencing the GLS teaching. Imagine what God might do?

Wildly Important Goals | Chris McChesney | 2016 GLS Faculty Spotlight

Posted on May 19, 2016 by - News & Updates

Have you ever wondered why your organization gets caught up in day-to-day issues but cannot seem to make progress on your big goals?

Chris McChesney has spent the past seven years studying best practices in how organizations can execute on their strategies. He gathered the data into a comprehensive system, The Four Disciplines of Execution, and will be sharing his insights at the Summit. We couldn’t be more excited to share this content that every leader will be able to “apply on Monday.” The post below introduces his concepts.

The More You Try to Do, The Less You Accomplish

This is a stark, inescapable principle we all live with. But somewhere along the way, most leaders forget this. Why? Because smart, ambitious leaders don’t want to do less, they want to do more, even when they know better.

Isn’t it really difficult for you to say no to a good idea, much less a great one? And yet, there will always be more good ideas than you and your teams have the capacity to execute. That’s why your first challenge is focusing on the wildly important.

Focus is a natural principle. The sun’s scattered rays are too weak to start a fire, but once you focus them with a magnifying glass they will bring paper to flame in seconds. The same is true of human beings – once their collective energy is focused on a challenge, there is little they can’t accomplish.

Discipline 1: Focus on the Wildly Important requires you to go against your basic wiring as a leader and focus on less so that your team can achieve more.

When you implement Discipline 1, you start by selecting one (or at the most two) extremely important goals, instead of trying to significantly improve everything all at once. We call this a wildly important goal (WIG) to make it clear to the team that this is the goal that matters most. Failure to achieve it will make every other accomplishment seem secondary, possibly even inconsequential.

Watch this video to begin setting goals that will bring clarity and focus to your most critical objectives.

To attend the GLS at a premier host site near you, register here by May 24, 2016 for the best rates. Check out the The Global Leadership Summit website for additional information and to see other members of the faculty.


mcchesneyChris McChesney is a Wall Street Journal #1 bestselling author of The 4 Disciplines of Execution and is the Global Practice leader of Execution for Franklin Covey. Known for his high-energy and engaging presentations, McChesney has consulted with many of the world’s top brands and leverages this practical experience to help leaders from the boardroom to the front lines of an organization get better at executing the ideas that matter most.

Is the Church Really the Hope of the World?

Posted on May 18, 2016 by - Church & Faith-Based, North America, Stories

Robin experienced a background of abuse, including sexual abuse by a pastor, and her world felt apart, including faith in God and her hope in the church. But when she went to a Summit and heard a talk about the church being the hope of the world, a seed was planted that eventually led Robin to see God in a different light, leading her to use her leadership gifts for the local church, even working with pastors. The place some of her worst pain has become the place of her greatest healing. And the Summit helped her gain a grander vision for what the church can do when leaders get better. 

 

No one is more surprised by my work and dedication to the church than I am. But to understand why, you have to understand my past.

I told no one about my abuse as a young child. Like most sexual abuse victims, I grew up telling myself my life was normal, and I pretended it didn’t matter. No one, including me, could understand the problems that were developing as a result of my abuse and the maladaptive coping strategies that were becoming part of my lifestyle.

I attended church regularly and found safety and enjoyment in various programs, but I still didn’t deal with my past and continued to remain silent about all that had happened to me.

But my past caught up with me.

I was living away from home and desperately needed help to undo the damage done. Talking after years of silence seemed like torture. At the time I didn’t even know what was wrong with me, let alone have the words to explain what had happened. Finally, out of desperation I turned to the one place that had always been safe for me. I went to my church to talk to my pastor.

In what still seems completely unfair to me, that pastor ended up sexually abusing me, and I was thrown into another round of abuse that not only added to the emotional damage I already carried, but completely stripped me of my love, faith and trust in God. Being abused by the one person, who represented the only safe haven I had in the world, devastated me. Eventually I was able to confide in a second pastor who was able to end the abuse, but was unable to help me deal with what had happened.

I felt abandoned by the church, by the pastors and by God. There was no justice done, no guidance and no support. Not only was I left physically and emotionally scarred, but the spiritual damage cut deeper than I could ever imagine.

I gave up on church and I gave up on God.

For more than 15 years, I lived apart from God—hurt and angry with Him for allowing this to happen. Using the unhealthy coping strategies I had learned as a child, I continued to pretend nothing was wrong. I managed to succeed outwardly in my professional life, but inwardly I lived a life of isolation. Being at church scared me; being near pastors terrified me. I never allowed myself to get connected.

I wished I could have become an atheist, but I was too busy hating God to stop believing in Him.

I knew something was missing in my life and despite the pain the church had caused me, I felt the source of healing was there. I wanted help, but I struggled to trust anyone, including God.  Then I joined Ebenezer Church. While there, I went to a Summit event and heard about the church being the hope of the world (something I couldn’t quite fathom since it had been the complete opposite of the hope of my world.)  But that planted a seed that eventually led me to see God in a different light.

I joined Ebenezer with an, “If this doesn’t work, I’m giving up on God” attitude. I don’t suppose you should actually give God an ultimatum, but I felt like I did. However, I also realized if God was going to help me, I would need to do some work too. I started attending services, reading my Bible, going to a Bible study, and, little by little, started listening to God in my life. Eventually I made the courageous and terrifying decision to talk about my past with another pastor. But trying to break the silence again created incredible guilt, shame and embarrassment, but I managed to keep going.

I truly believe Ebenezer is a place where Jesus Christ changes lives. I am an example of that transformation. Through God’s love and the church, I started to understand how my past had damaged my ability to trust, feel my emotions, open myself up to true relationships and depend on others. I’ve started learning how to reframe my thinking and my behavior to break out of the walls I had built around myself so I can better lead the life God wants for me.

Slowly, guilt, shame and embarrassment are being replaced by my knowledge that I have worth as a child of God. I also started to understand God has blessed me with several gifts and talents, many of which could be used in service to the church.

I find myself now in a leadership position in church, working alongside pastors.

While I don’t think I’ll ever understand why God didn’t stop the things that happened to me, I have come to the conclusion that God didn’t cause them. And I believe He suffered with me the whole time; He wept for my pain, and He deeply cared what was happening to me. I also think He will use my pain for good if I let Him.

It’s amazing to me that the place of my very deepest hurt has become the place of my greatest healing.  

The Leadership Summit helped me to gain a grander vision for what the church can do when leaders get better. Wanting to serve Him is a reflection of my gratitude and a response to God’s love. I am thankful to Ebenezer for teaching me Jesus wants a relationship with me, the sins of my past are forgiven, and I am, first and foremost, a child of a loving Father who cares about me.

How to Pitch an Idea like Mark Cuban and Reid Hoffman

Posted on May 18, 2016 by - Articles, Change Management, Communication, Leading Organizations

Adam Grant’s (GLS 2015) new book explores how original thinkers succeed in business. In the post below, he talks to some of America’s most iconic entrepreneurs on how they would convince people to buy into a novel idea. 

Sometime this year, you pitched a new idea to someone. If you’re an entrepreneur, you probably tried to persuade an investor to fund your startup. If you’re an employee, you might have asked your boss to support improved working conditions or better parental leave policies. If you’re a leader, chances are you encouraged your team to take a risk on innovation or test-drive a new technology.

If your idea fell on deaf ears, you’re not alone. A dozen publishers turned down Harry Potter—it was apparently too long for a children’s book. (If anything, it was too short.) Movie studios rejected Star Wars and Titanic; Seinfeld was nearly cancelled by NBC for being a show about nothing, when it was really a show about everything. Excite declined to shell out $1.6 million for a little search engine called Google. How many other great ideas are sitting on the cutting room floor?

And what can you do to get yours heard?

Last month I published a book, Originals, about how we can improve at championing our ideas. I wanted to learn from the best, so I sat down with entrepreneurs who mastered the pitch, made billions and became investors themselves. Now they’re on the other side of the table—they spend their days listening to other people’s pitches. And I couldn’t resist turning the tables on them.

Mark Cuban sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo!, owns the Dallas Mavericks and Landmark Theatres and has invested about $20 million in entrepreneurs on Shark Tank. Reid Hoffman founded LinkedIn, got it funded by Greylock with a powerful pitch, and then became a partner there; his investments include Airbnb and Facebook.

When I asked them to demonstrate a pitch, three common themes jumped out at me. 

  1. Spell out the Problem, Not Just the Solution

When you pitch an idea, you suffer from the curse of knowledge: you’ve spent days, months or years thinking about the problem. It’s so crystal-clear in your mind that you lose sight of how it sounds to other people. Before people will believe your idea will make the world better, you have to explain what’s wrong with the world right now.

  • Mark pitched his app Cyber Dust. He warned us that when sending an email or text message, “The minute you hit send, you no longer own that message, but you are still completely responsible for it—for the rest of your life. How scary is that?”
  • Reid pitched a scholarship fund to help people build technical skills. He started by mapping out the problem: despite “mammoth growth of tech jobs that are highly valuable,” they’re going mostly to white men. Next, he described why the current solutions were incomplete: six-week boot camps exist to teach technical skills, but they’re too expensive to solve the inclusion problem. Only then did he unfold his vision for a scholarship fund via Opportunity@Work.

This isn’t unique to entrepreneurs. In his most famous speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. spent more than 11 minutes denouncing the injustice of today before revealing his dream for tomorrow. As communication expert Nancy Duarte explains, you have to show people what’s unacceptable about “what is” before they’ll get excited about “what could be.”

  1. Involve the Audience

“I’ve sat down with people who lectured to me for an hour about entrepreneurship,” Reid lamented. It’s not much more effective to deliver a monologue and then ask, “So what do you think?” Great entrepreneurs involve him in a dialogue: “How do you think I should solve this particular problem?” That sends a clear message: “I’m not just trying to get your money, I’m actually trying to treat you as a partner. I am also intellectually alive and learning…. Pitching is a collaboration.”

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Read Adam’s third observation in the original post here on LinkedIn – and watch Mark Cuban and Reid Hoffman make their pitches on video.