Jarrod Jones

Every Wednesday is staff meeting with the Grace staff.  We always begin with Scripture and prayer. Then we get into the meat of things with our staff agenda–celebration moments, strategic ministry, old and new business etc. At the end of staff meeting we always allot about 20 - 30 minutes of leadership “training.” I walk us through material or articles about leadership based mostly on successful leaders who may or may not be Christian. We learn a lot from resources, as well as each other, in ways that we apply leadership principles in our personal lives, families, and ministries. I believe that God can use successful leaders (christian or not) to teach us how to better lead what and whom has been entrusted to us.

We wrapped up our most recent leadership training with a focus on “clarity.”  We spent weeks on this topic. A magazine leadership article we were studying had a list of questions to ask ourselves often to see if we were living, leading, and ministering with clarity.  I had my assistant make cards with the questions and give them to staff to have in front of us throughout the day.

I thought I’d post the article’s comments and questions for you with view toward helping you have clarity in your life too.  Enjoy.

The below (except for question 1) was taken from the article “The Power of Clarity” by Tony Jeary, SUCCESS Magazine, April 2009.

—-

[In regards to gaining clarity], [t]he willingness to change plays a huge role in your ability to succeed. Voluntary change, which does not require anyone to push you or mandate that you do new things, is the kind of change you should seek.  To enable smooth, low-stress change, you need to become aware of what you can and should change.

Here’s a change audit to follow:

1. What is it exactly that you’re trying to accomplish?

2.  What opportunities and choices present themselves to you daily?

3.  What causes you to feel stressed or rushed?

4.  What are the five most important actions you can take to bring value to your business, [ministry], or personal life?

5.  What are five actions you can either delegate or spend less time on?

6.  If you spent less time on the actions in No. 4 and focused more on the actions in No. 3, what would that mean to your effectiveness?

Remember, you will need to know what you want to do, why you want to do it, and how you will do it.  You need to know the benefit of doing it and the negative payoff for not doing it.  Acquiring clarity and increasing effectiveness will accelerate success.

Lips are powerful.  God invented lips. Our lips can be poked out, puckered up, curled under, curled downward, curled up on one side, and so forth. Lips can display emotions. Lips can speak without speaking. On the other hand, lips can form speech to discourage, devastate, or destroy a life. Or they can form words to encourage, empower, and bless a life.

Deep intimacy is shown with lips too.  Lips touching softly or wildly between husband and wife is a powerful act of affection and often the prelude (and prerequisite) to the celebration of sexual intimacy.

Indeed, lips are powerful to God. The Psalms are a perfect example. The Psalms are music and poetry inspired by God to stir emotion and affection in us… and in God. Music and poetry are powerful when expressed through lips not just in thoughts.  That’s why the Psalms were never meant to be read in silence. The Psalms were written to be read and sang out loud.

Since lips are so powerful and intimate to God, and us, they are mentioned time and time again in the Psalms. One example, King David says, “Your love Oh Lord is better than life, therefore my lips will praise you. … My mouth offers praise with joyful lips” (Psalm 63:3,5). Why the emphasis on lips? Because God loves lips.

God gave us lips to worship Him with encouragement to others, to worship Him with intimate lip locks with our spouse, to worship Him with words of praise. What our lips do and say moves the heart of God.  And what our lips do and say can stir our hearts for God.

Ever feel distant and numb and icy toward God? Me too. When these times come (and they come more than I care for them to) I turn to a Psalm, stand up, and read it out loud. Even more so, if my family is not around, I will pace back and forth in the living room and shout the words, repeat the words and phrases over and over again with intensity, until my mind and heart draws near, gets stirred, and unthaws for God again.

My lips preach His Word to me. And my lips praise Him with His Word. I believe God’s heart is stirred when I declare His praises with my lips and not just my thoughts. I have found that reading Scripture aloud with intensity is powerful in my life.  I highly recommend it to you.  Sometimes I break out the King James too. The “thees” and “thous” tend to give me fresh perspective.

Maybe you’re not reading Scripture because it feels more like a duty than a delight. Consider that using your lips might be a key to unlocking fresh delight in your heart for Scripture…indeed for God.  On the other hand, for some, perhaps while reading Scripture you don’t feel that you are “connecting” with Him. Ever thought it could be because your lips are glued in silence instead of giving praise?

God loves your lips. So use ‘em.

Enjoy!

Just wanted to tell and remind everyone of this new blog site we started a month or so ago— www.13waystoruinyourlife.com. It will only deal with sexual issues and sin.  And it isn’t for the faint of heart. The blogs will be different from the blogs on this website.  I hope you’ll bookmark or join the site (RSS feed) for future reference and pass it along to friends and family.   Hoping and praying it will inform the ladies and transform men.  On another note, there will be blogs that will hopefully inform the men and transform the ladies.  All by God’s grace.

Blessings…

The below is a question I was asked in an online Q & A last week on 13 Ways.  Great question. Be encouraged in your battle.