Justin Gravitt: Healthy things are created and sustained by need-meeting habits. Just consider the core habits needed for a healthy lifestyle: healthy eating and regular exercise. Both habits meet many of the body’s core needs. The first for nutrition, the second for musculoskeletal health. Not only do these habits largely determine our physical health, but they are also easily neglected.

In the same way, disciple making cultures are built and sustained by a few need-meeting habits. The list isn’t long or particularly surprising but they do drive disciple making outcomes. Like healthy eating and exercise, they are also easily neglected. Their power comes from being applied over and over again. Let’s look at the three most basic…

Habit 1: Aspiration

Within our first ten seconds of life aspiration begins. The first breath we take is in, not out. As air fills our lungs it triggers radical change; the placenta no longer sustains us, from now on our lives are sustained by the exchange of carbon dioxide for oxygen. Breath by breath, our lives are built. Aspiration is the foundation.

In the same way, disciple making leaders begin building a disciple making culture through aspiration. Just like an infant is to fill its lungs with air, church leaders must fill their lives with Jesus. I’m not talking about mere belief, moral behavior, or the ability to quote Scripture. No, the filling that’s needed is driven by humility and compels obedience. From the outside it looks like someone who is in love—not just the passion-filled days of young love, but also the loyal devotion of mature love. When a person is filled with Jesus she breathes in His personhood, His teachings, and His mission, then she’s transformed into a person who walks, acts, and looks like the Savior.

Such spiritual filling leads to another kind of aspiration that must also be intentional, repeated, and transformative. Disciple making cultures need people who also take the time to see what is and then dream about what could be. Being filled with Jesus naturally moves a person to aspire, to envision a future that involves others, a future that’s better than today. Someone who cares enough to consider what it takes to build such a future is the first step in developing a culture of disciple making.

Habit #2: Connection

A newborn baby can see only 8-12” away. This is the perfect distance to gaze into her parent’s eyes. Not only is it a favorite activity for most babies, but it’s also a need. A baby that doesn’t connect with another adult may not survive. The connection stimulates caring and the bond ensures that the baby has someone to respond to his cries for food, a clean diaper, and comfort. Connection doesn’t just happen through eye contact, it also grows through physical touch and conversation. Not surprisingly, we continue to use eye contact, conversation, and physical touch to make connections throughout our lives.

Disciple making cultures are built through connection. When a person is filled with Jesus’ heart, vision, and will then connecting with others allows them to spread the fire that is within them. Jesus did it with the disciples. Paul’s fire spread to Barnabas, Silas, and Timothy. As connections deepen so too, does the vision. Disciple making cultures are never built alone. Instead, they are created by intentional leaders who aspire and then invest in others. Cultures are built when groups become teams and teams impact those around them. As love grows between each person on the team, others are attracted. It’s love that draws others to Christ and verifies that Life is present. Together they work to model what they hope others will become.

Habit #3: Expression

Finally, we impact others.

An infant expresses itself almost immediately. It does so in cries and grunts, but in deeper ways as well. Think about how quickly family members are changed by a baby’s presence and very being. Relatives often simply sit and marvel at a newborn. It doesn’t end there, as the individual grows he’s able to express and impact more and more. Since each of us is created in God’s image, we have indescribable value. God gives each of us work to do, people to love, space to mature, and fruit to bear. As we develop we embrace these opportunities and realize the calling God has given.

Cultures work similarly. Thomas Carlyle said it this way, “The great law of culture: let each become all that he was created capable of being.” All great cultures exist for the good of the people. Disciple making cultures embody this sentiment. They exist so that each person can become all that God desires of them. They inspire individuals to fill themselves with Jesus, to connect with others, and to express and impact others with the life God has grown in them. It’s possible for individuals to develop in unhealthy cultures, but disciple making cultures make it easier for individuals to thrive and multiply.

Designing, building, and sustaining a disciple making culture is difficult work. It takes time and the rate of growth differs from place to place. Yet, regardless of place or pace, aspiration, connection, and expression are habits that must be developed and continued for a healthy disciple making culture to exist. It’s no surprise that the same habits are needed in the life of each disciple.

Before you go consider these three questions: How are those habits going in your life? How are they going in the life of your church? And finally, how can you intentionally develop them in the few weeks and months?

By Justin Gravitt. Article originally posted here:

The post Three Powerful Habits of Healthy Disciple Making Cultures appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: Three Powerful Habits of Healthy Disciple Making Cultures

The post Three Powerful Habits of Healthy Disciple Making Cultures appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Carey Nieuwhof: As a leader, there are things you do every day.

Some help—others, not so much.

I’ve found that as I’ve grown as a leader, I’ve regularly had to change how I think, how I lead and even what I say.

Fortunately, there are hacks you can learn along the way that will help you get better faster.

What follows are some things you can easily banish as a leader starting today. Eliminating all of them or most of them will give you immediate traction.

Here are 7 things you should stop doing today if you want to make progress.

1. Lead by intentions

Your kids aren’t going to remember your intentions. Neither will your wife or your church. The people who count on you only ever see your actions.

Which likely means no one’s going to stand next to your casket or urn and say “He wished he was nicer” or “He had always hoped to be more strategic” or “She really wanted to overcome her fear”.

Legacies never get built on intentions. They’re built on action.

So get over your intentions and start acting.

Legacies never get built on intentions. They’re built on action.Click To Tweet

2. Use words that start with “Some”

If you want to get nothing meaningful done, just use words that start with “some” a lot. Like in every conversation or meeting you’re in.

What ‘some’ words? Well….

Somebody

Someday

Sometime

Something

These words end up sounding like this: Somebody should do something about that sometime someday.

Guaranteed zero action happens. Ever.

Leadership is not simply talk. In fact, talking about doing something again and again is not leadership, it’s delusion.

Talking about doing something again and again is not leadership, it’s delusion.Click To Tweet

There’s only one ‘some’ word I can think of that I like, and that’s somehow.

Somehow can be an amazing word when you’re up against and impossible task and someone asks you “How on earth will we do this?” and you reply “I don’t know. But somehow we’ll figure it out.”

Now that’s awesome.

But someone somewhere sometimes means no-one nowhere ever. Trust me.

Someone, somewhere, sometimes means no-one nowhere ever.Click To Tweet

3. Unnecessary meetings

The value of meetings once you get beyond the creative process, or meetings to nail down a few executional details or meetings connect for a check-in to sync up the team is pretty low.

For the most part, meetings are the enemy of work.

Far too many leaders waste their lives in meetings. Instead of doing what they’re called to do, they meet about what they’re supposed to be doing.

Dreams can be born in meetings, but far more often, dreams die in meetings.

Meetings are the enemy of work. Do your work instead.

Meetings are the enemy of work. Do your work instead.Click To Tweet

4. Fear

Fear is the thief of hope. It kills leadership. It murders courage.

Way too many leaders I know, live in fear.

The difference between effective leaders and ineffective leaders is simple: all leaders feel fear. The effective ones push past it.

Fear is the thief of hope. It kills leadership. It murders courage.Click To Tweet

So what’s the antidote to fear?

While there are a few, believe it or not, I think one of the antidotes to fear is the fear the right thing.

If you’re going to be afraid, I suggest you fear this:

Be afraid of never accomplishing your mission.

That will give you courage, or at least determination. And that in turn, will grow your faith.

If you’re going to be afraid, be afraid of never accomplishing your mission.Click To Tweet

5. The Desire to Be Liked

Leadership requires you to take people to destinations they would not go without your leadership.

Stop for a moment and, if you would, re-read that sentence.

Do you see the challenge?

Leadership is inherently difficult because it requires a leader to take people where they don’t naturally want to go.

So you have a choice as a leader.

You can focus on leading people, or focus on being liked.

When you focus on being liked, you will instinctively try to please the people you’re leading. And when you do, you will become confused.

Pleasing people is inherently confusing because people don’t agree. One person wants it one way. Another wants it another way.

And soon, you’re bending over backward to make everyone happy, which of course means that in the end, you will end up making no one happy, including yourself. It’s actually a recipe for misery for everyone.

It’s also a recipe for inertia.

If you focus on being liked, you’ll never lead. You will never have the courage to do what needs to be done.

If you focus on being liked, you’ll never lead.Click To Tweet

6. Selfishness

Ambition can be a good thing. It’s great to have hopes and dreams for your mission.

But selfish ambition is a different creature.

Ambition kills servants of God and turns them into servants of themselves.

Enough said.

Ambition kills servants of God and turns them into servants of themselves.Click To Tweet

7. Blaming Others

It’s so easy to blame everyone else and everything else for your lack of progress as a leader.

If you want to keep not making progress, keep blaming others.

The opposite of blame is responsibility. If you think about the leaders you admire most, they’re probably the most responsible leaders you know.

Great leaders never assign blame. Instead, they assume responsibility.

Great leaders never assign blame. Instead, they assume responsibility.Click To Tweet

Get Ahead…Work On You

It is a crazy world, and if you’re not careful, it can take you under. That’s what happened to me when, after my first decade in leadership, I burned out.

If you’re trying to find the time for what matters most in life, my High Impact Leader course, is my online, on-demand course designed to help you get time, energy and priorities working in your favour.

Many leaders who have taken it are recovering 3 productive hours a day.  That’s about 1000 hours of found time each year. That’s a lot of time for what matters most.

Here are what some alumni are saying about The High Impact Leader Course”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you for providing the course again. It has absolutely made an impact in my life and family already that I can’t even describe.” – Joel Rowland, Clayton County, North Carolina

“Just wow.  Thank you, thank you.” Dave Campbell,  Sioux Falls South Dakota

“A game changer.” Pam Perkins,  Colorado Springs, Colorado

Curious? Want to beat overwhelm and have the time to reflect, rest and reinvent yourself?

Click here to learn more or get instant access.

What About You?

Those are 7 things I check myself on regularly.

What about you? What would you add to the list?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

The post Your Stop Doing List: 7 Things To Banish Today To Make Progress appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: Your Stop Doing List: 7 Things To Banish Today To Make Progress

The post Your Stop Doing List: 7 Things To Banish Today To Make Progress appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Carey Nieuwhof: So many leaders struggle with willpower and self-control, whether that’s grabbing that extra piece of chocolate cake, acting up at a meeting or just not taking care of themselves. Drew Dyck discusses his latest book on willpower and explains how habits are the key to greater self-control.

As a journalist and publishing acquisition editor, Drew also talks about the massive changes in publishing since the rise of the internet, how curated content is just about gone, and the new digital world that publishing finds itself in.

Welcome to Episode 275 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Guest Links

Drew Dyck | Your Future Self Will Thank You

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Episode Links

Pro Media Fire has the media solution that’s right for your church at promediafire.com/carey. Podcast listeners receive 10% off for life.

Get your volunteers ready to serve with simple online training. Try TrainedUp free for 14 days at servehq.church.

CNLP 168: John Ortberg on the Problem with Hurry in Leadership, Why so Many Leaders Struggle with Intimacy and His Friendship with Dallas Willard

CNLP 246: John Ortberg on What’s Wrong with How We Define Salvation and What It Really Means to Follow Jesus

CNLP 170: Esther Fedorkevich on Pro Tips on Getting Your Message Out There, How Anyone Can Get Published and How to Stand out in a Crowded Marketplace

CNLP 250: Gary Chapman on How the Five Love Languages Can Improve Employee Performance at Work, Make Your Marriage Better and Foster a Better Relationship with Your Kids

ctpastors.com

Amazon Publishing

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

The School of Greatness Podcast, EP. 793

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Atomic Habits by James Clear

3 Insights from Drew

1. If you want to write a book, you need more than a good topic

If you are going to write a book today, you have to get a little more refined and original in the idea. The best books are books that grow out of the author’s personal experience. Often times, those are lessons that they have learned the hard way. When an author can tap into a pain point in their story that helps a larger audience, they have found a topic they can build a book off of.

As an author, 2 other things you will need to get published are good writing skills and some kind of audience. You attain both of these issues by testing your ideas out in a few articles or blog posts that you publish to test your ideas in. One of the biggest frustrations Drew has is when someone comes to him wanting to write a book but they are not even willing to write articles. Authors need to get reps and get feedback before they dive head-first into a book.

2. Willpower is a finite resource

Ever wonder why you eat healthier at breakfast than at 8 at night? While researching for his new book, Drew has learned that you only have so much willpower for any given day. There are multiple factors that drain this willpower. Decision making, resisting temptation and maneuvering conflict are 3 examples.

This depletion of willpower causes you to lose your cognitive ability to make good decisions as the day goes on. This is why you eat well in the morning but lose all self-control by 8 PM. Another danger of this is that people make plans for the day in the morning when their willpower is high, but then, when evening rolls around they are much less motivated or equipped to use the self-control required to go on that run they planned on.

3. Want to win self-control? Build your habits

If two people are going into a situation and one of them is just relying upon willpower to do the right thing and one has a good habit in place to do the right thing, the habit person will win every single time. Although we think every action is based on a conscious decision, habits are what actually guide our actions in life.

If we don’t take control of our habits, they will continue making our decisions for us. A simple way to begin controlling your habits is by studying yourself and figure out what things you are doing and when. Once you track your habits, you can begin to change how your life is organized so that you can begin replacing bad habits with good habits.

Quotes from Episode 275

Willpower is a finite resource. @drewdyckClick To Tweet

Good character is when your habits are healthy and holy. @drewdyckClick To Tweet

If knowledge was the key to success, we’d all be billionaires and have perfect abs. @cnieuwhofClick To Tweet

When you finish writing a book, you’re half done. @drewdyckClick To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 275

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Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

Watch the Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our new YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen. We’ll add select episodes to YouTube as time goes on.

Didn’t See It Coming Will Help You Solve the Problems Most Leaders Miss

If you want practical help overcoming some of the biggest challenges leaders face, my new book Didn’t See It Coming: Overcoming the 7 Greatest Challenges That Nobody Expects and Everyone Experiences tackles the seven core issues that take people out: cynicism, compromise, disconnectedness, irrelevance, pride, burnout, and the emptiness of success and provides strategies on how to combat each.

I wrote the book because no 18-year-old sets out to be cynical, jaded and disconnected by age 35. Yet it happens all the time.

The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Here’s what top leaders are saying about Didn’t See It Coming:

“Seriously, this may be the most important book you read this year.” Jud Wilhite, Lead Pastor, Central Church

“Powerful, personal, and highly readable. ”Brian Houston, Global Senior Pastor, Hillsong

“Whatever challenge you’re facing, whatever obstacle you’re hoping to overcome, whatever future you dream or imagine, there is something powerful for you here.” Andy Stanley, Founder, North Point Ministries

“Uncommonly perceptive and generous…You have to read this book.” Ann Voskamp, NYT bestselling author

“Masterful.”Reggie Joiner, CEO Orange

“Deep biblical insight, straightforward truth, and practical wisdom to help you grow.” Craig Groeschel, Pastor and NYT bestselling author

“This book is sure to help you.” Daniel H. Pink, NYT bestselling author

Over the years, one of the things I’ve enjoyed most about being a public speaker is having opportunities to hang out with Carey…It’s not a matter of if you’ll run into these challenges; it’s a matter of when. Be prepared by spending a little time with a leader who has already been there.” Jon Acuff, NYT best-selling author

“Nieuwhof’s book provides expert guidance…with an accuracy that pierces the heart.” Nancy Duarte, CEO Duarte Inc.

“A refreshingly transparent guide for all leaders in a wide variety of industries.” Bryan Miles, Co-Founder and CEO, BELAY

You can learn more and get your copy of Didn’t See It Coming here.

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Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: Chris Norton

Little did Chris Norton know that making a routine football play would change his life forever. Paralyzed from the neck down, doctors told him he had a 3 percent chance of ever regaining sensation in his body. Last year, Chris walked down the aisle with his bride at his wedding. His story has been covered by The Today Show, Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, FOX & Friends, and PEOPLE Magazine. Chris talks about the journey, what he’s learned and shares leadership lessons and even public speaking tips on how to motivate unmotivated crowds when you speak.

Subscribe for free now and you won’t miss Episode 276.

The post CNLP 275: Drew Dyck on the Rise of the Internet, the Demise of Curated Content, the Massive Changes in Journalism and Tips on How to Develop Better Self Control appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 275: Drew Dyck on the Rise of the Internet, the Demise of Curated Content, the Massive Changes in Journalism and Tips on How to Develop Better Self Control

The post CNLP 275: Drew Dyck on the Rise of the Internet, the Demise of Curated Content, the Massive Changes in Journalism and Tips on How to Develop Better Self Control appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Rich Birch: Welcome to the unSeminary podcast. We’re honored to have Darryl Dash with us today from Liberty Grace Church in Toronto.

Liberty Grace Church is unusual in that it’s a fairly small church with a storefront that meets at four o’clock in the afternoon in the middle of a wealthy section of Toronto. Technically they are Baptist, but Liberty Grace doesn’t make a big deal of the denomination and instead focuses on being authentic and honest about faith in Christ.

Darryl is with us today to talk about engaging the culture in Toronto and how to help people wrestle through what it means to grow in their relationship with Christ.

What do you think it means to be fully alive? // Liberty Village, the place where Liberty Grace is located, is a well-off community where everyone has good jobs and nice houses, and yet there is a restlessness inside people in which many of them still aren’t happy. Darryl uses this as a conversation opener as he reaches out to people and discusses what it means to be a Christ follower. He finds wisdom from the book of Ecclesiastes helpful. It tells us if we have a good job enjoy it. If you like good food and wine, enjoy them. Enjoy nice clothes. But in the end, they won’t satisfy you. The road to happiness is not found by pursuing happiness, but by pursuing God. And by pursuing God, not only do you get to enjoy His gifts, but you get to enjoy Him. That doesn’t make you into a “serious” person as Christians are often perceived, but rather fully alive.
Take the pressure off. // We live in a tired society that’s sick of proving themselves so at Liberty Grace they try to ease people into encountering Jesus and his claims. The last thing people need is more pressure so the church works to create a space where people can come in messy, honest, full of questions, struggles and doubts. We need to make a place that they feel safe and connected to Jesus. There are habits that lead to growth, but it begins with Gospel + safety + time.
A culture of shame vs a culture of guilt. // We’ve moved away from a sense of guilt in our culture to a culture of shame. No one would say there’s a set of objective standards or moral laws that we’re violating, but that’s been replaced with a sense that there’s something deeply flawed within me. It’s often this feeling that opens people up to the Gospel message.
Help people develop habits to make them grow. // Because people exploring the Christian faith can feel overwhelmed by taking next steps, Darryl has tried to break down developing spiritual disciplines into practical, bit-sized habits. LifeWay did a study about what behaviors Christ followers want to cultivate and what leads to those results. Liberty Grace took these learnings and asks people to commit to three things in a very manageable way. First: encounter the Word of God. The truth is that even within churches, most people don’t read the bible. Most people sitting in a church haven’t heard scripture since the last time they were in church. Help them break it down into something they can ease into—a three day plan of reading some verses, then moving into a five day plan, a seven day plan.
Speak with God. // The second habit is prayer. Don’t come to God thinking you need to be pious or put together, just come with your mess. Share everything with Him. Make it much more relational and conversational. View it as a way to manage your life with God’s help rather than another thing to add to your life.
Open up to each other. // And third, get involved with community and worship within a church. Begin to open your life to people. We tend to hide what is really going on in our lives instead of letting others in and finding that support we need. Be real with each other.

You can contact Darryl or find more information about his book How to Grow: Applying the Gospel to All of Your Life at www.dashhouse.com. You can find out more about Liberty Grace Church at www.libertygrace.ca.

Thank You for Tuning In!

There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally!

Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! 

Lightning Round

Helpful Tech Tools // Appsumo

Ministries Following // Capitol Hill Baptist Church

Influential Book // High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way by Brendon Burchard

Leader to meet // Warren Buffet

What you do for fun // Explore Toronto

Contact // dashhouse.com or libertygrace.ca

Source: Communicating Spiritual Growth in a Multicultural Global City Context with Darryl Dash – unSeminary

The post Communicating Spiritual Growth in a Multicultural Global City Context with Darryl Dash appeared first on Passion for Planting.