Leadership Language: Using Authentic Communication To Drive Results (2018) by Chris Westfall, Book Review

If I read Mr. Westfall rightly, I think the main thesis of this book can be summed up in this statement: "Leadership is about doing the right things for the clients you serve." By "client" he means more than an external client, namely, someone who buys your products and services but also included internal client, namely, someone on your team, broad of director, vendor, supplier, boss, and even your family and friends. In short, someone whom you serve. "Your client is the source of your success," he wrote, "Your ability to deliver results, your ability to generate revenue, your ability to advance in your career, your ability to grow your business - it all comes from your clients." Then he added, "Your personal success - in all aspects of your life, not just in business - hinges on what you create WITH, THROUGH, and FOR OTHERS."

But then, I asked, what does he mean by Leadership Language? This illustration helped me a lot: Mr. Westfall asked his super-smart Millennial engineer coaching client from Hungary who can speak five languages, "Erik, why are we speaking English today?" His client said, "Because that's the only language you understand." Erik was speaking Mr. Westfall's language. Leadership language speaks your client's language. A language of words demonstrated in actions, and delivering an impact that can't be denied! Let's say one of my leadership strengths is creativity. This is useless on its own unless I use it to serve my clients. So, I need to think about how can I deliver this strength practically and in my actions. Then, I also need to ask myself, "How can my client be better off from my service?" Putting concepts into action for the clients you serve and the ability to see what the clients need and then deliver it is the path to creating real impact and authentic communication. This is the 'language' that those who follow your lead CAN understand.

This concept of leadership is interesting and essential. Although there are things that I might disagree with and couldn't relate to what Mr. Westfall was communicating (two of them are his simplistic view of human nature and overuse of high-level business examples that I can't relate to), I think overall this is a good book on everyday leadership not just in business. It's an easy read, with very engaging stories and dozens of valuable insights such as The Ten (10) Leadership Factors that he explains throughout the entire pages of the book. To know more, read this book... Or, like me, borrow it from the library! :)

#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #LeadershipLanguage #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

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THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Things I Wish My Father Knew #2 Where to Find Instruction and Guidance?

We live in a changing society –

technologically…

morally.

The role expectations for fathers

are quite different today

than in grandfather’s day!

House husband?

Chances are

your grandfather

never heard of such thing.

New rules for the game of life?

No! Our Creator’s precepts for life

are changeless.

So… where do you go for

Instruction…

Guidance…

Support?

Where can you find unchanging standard

for this increasingly complicated

role of fatherhood?

Try your own Heavenly Father!

Because of His infinite love

for his own children,

His Word will instruct you,

His example will guide you, and

His love will support you.

Stand firmly on the unchanging

Word of God!

“I the Lord do not change”
(Malachi 3:6)

“Your Word, O LORD,

is eternal;

it stands firm

in the heavens.

Your Laws endure

to this day,

for all things serve you.

… I will ponder your statutes.

Your statutes are wonderful;

therefore I obey them.

The entrance of your words

gives light;

it gives understanding

to the simple.”

(Psalm 119:89, 91, 95, 129, 130)

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn (Get Your FREE BOOK Here!)

“Difficulties come to you at the right time to help you grow and move forward by overcoming them. The only real misfortune, the only real tragedy come when we suffer without learning the lesson”
(Emmet Fox)

If you’re going to lose – and you are because everyone does – then why not turn it into a gain? How do you do that? By learning from it. A loss isn’t totally a loss if you learn something as a result of it. Your loses can come to define you if you let them. If you stay where a loss leaves you, then eventually you can get stuck there. But know this: Your choices will begin to declare you. You can choose to change, grow, and learn from your losses.

That, of course, is not necessarily easy. In a favourite Peanuts comic strip Charlie Brown walks away from Lucy after a baseball game, head down, totally dejected. “Another ball game lost! Good grief!” Charlie moans. “I get tired of losing. Everything I do, I lose!” “Look at it this way, Charlie Brown,” Lucy replies. “We learn more from losing than we do from winning.” “That makes me the smartest person in the world!” replies Charlie.

It’s a good thought, but not everyone learns from his losses. A loss doesn’t turn into a lesson unless we work hard to make it so. Losing gives us an opportunity to learn, but many people do not seize it. And when they don’t, losing really hurts.

Learning is not easy during down times because it requires us to do things that are not natural. It is hard to smile when we are not happy. It is difficult to positively respond when numb with defeat. It takes discipline to do the right thing when everything is wrong. How can we be emotionally strong when we are emotionally exhausted? How will we face others when we are humiliated? How do we get back up when we are continually knocked down?

In his book Sometimes You Win – Sometimes You Learn (2013), John C. Maxwell wants to help you to answer these and others questions about learning from losses. John believes you can do that using this road maps:

Humility: The Spirit of Learning

Reality: The Foundation of Learning

Responsibility: The First Step of Learning

Improvement: The Focus of Learning

Hope: The Motivation of Learning

Teachability: The Pathway of Learning

Adversity: The Catalyst for Learning

Problems: Opportunities for Learning

Bad Experiences: The Perspective for Learning

Change: The Price of Learning

Maturity: The Value of Learning

I want to give you a FREE COPY of this book – hardcover with large print – if you can answer (comment on my blog post below) these three simple questions: #1 What is your personal motto or favourite quote on failure? #2) Who or what is your main inspiration to move forward in life? And 3) Why you got to have a copy of this book? There are only THREE (3) COPIES AVAILABLE, get your copy now! [Malaysian readers only]

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

My Top 20 Recommended Biographies/Autobiographies: Read for Inspiration, Not Imitation

For more Books recommendations, click here: My Top Book Lists

“He that walketh with the wise men shall be wise”
(Proverbs 13:20)

Philip Brooks, preacher, and author, said, “A biography is, indeed, a book; but far more than a book, it is a man… Never lay the biography down until the man is a living, breathing, acting person to you.” We who are in the ministry – of all people – ought to read biographies. We minister to real people, and the better we understand great men and their times, the better we can minister to our people in our times. A truly good biography of a great person “has a universal quality about it that makes it touch life at many points” writes Warren W. Wiersbe.

But I have to warn us (and to remind myself) that after reading a biography of a great man we must never try to merely imitate him. To be honest, today there are many pastors and preachers who are carbon copies of great men, who try to be someone else but themselves. I’m convinced that God wants each one of us to be ourselves. There is no need for us to imitate others – yes, to imitate their faith and passion for Christ; but no, to imitate their ministries and gifts – when God has a work for each of us to do in His own special way. Again, Brooks advises, “The object of reading biography… is not imitation but inspiration.” Oh yes, for inspiration!

Here are my 20 top biographies and autobiographies in this writing. The possibilities of Christian biography/autography are limitless, and obviously, I only read as much as I can from the vast library of great biographies out there. My purpose in sharing my ‘top’ list of books is to get you, the reader, to start discovering Christian biography for yourself by giving you suggestions of what books to read, in other words, to inspire you to read books. And to cultivate your passion for great literature. By the way, here are my lists:

1)    Walking with the Giants: A Minster’s Guide to Good Reading and Great Preaching (1976) by Warren W. Wiersbe. This book covers 18 great preacher-authors such as Samuel Rutherford, F.W. Robertson, Alexander Maclaren, R.W. Dale, Joseph Parker, J. Hudson Taylor, Charles H. Spurgeon, Phillips Brooks, Alexander Whyte, W. Robertson Nicoll, Charles E. Jefferson, A.C. Gaebelein, B.H. Carroll, G. Campbell Morgan, J.D. Jones, George H. Morrison, Frank W. Boreham, A.W. Tozer, and W.E. Sangster. I read this a long time ago, and need to read it again.

2)    More than Conquerors: Portraits of Believers from All Walks of Life (1992) edited by John Woodbridge. This book covers about 69 great men and women of God. I like reading particularly about George MacDonald, C.S. Lewis, Hudson Tailor, Jim Elliot, Amy Carmichael, Ken Taylor, D.L. Moody, Sadhu Sundar Singh, Billy Sunday, John Sung, Billy Graham, C.H. Spurgeon, A.W. Tozer, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, J.I. Packer, etc.

3)    Spurgeon, A New Biography (1988) by Arnold Dallimore. What can I say, this is a very inspiring book about Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 – 1892), a great Baptist preacher and writer. My favorite!

4)    Charles Spurgeon: The Prince of Preachers (1997) by Dan Harmon, under Barbour Publishing Heroes of the Faith series.

5)    John Calvin: Father of Reformed Theology (2001) by Sam Wellman. Heroes of the Faith Series.

6)    John Wycliffe: Herald of the Reformation (?) by Ellen Caughey. Heroes of the Faith Series

7)    Jonathan Edwards: The Great Awakener (?) by Helen K. Hosier. Heroes of the Faith Series

8)    Martin Luther: The Great Reformer (1995) by Edwin P. Booth. Heroes of the Faith Series

9)    William Tyndale: Bible Translator and Martyr (?) by Bruce Fish. Heroes of the Faith Series

10) God’s Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards (1998) by John Piper. The first part of this book tells the story of Jonathan Edward’s life.

11) A Could of Witnesses: The Great Christian Thinkers (1990) by Alister McGrath. He covers the life and theology of Athanasius, Augustine of Hippo, Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Karl Barth, and C.S. Lewis. Wonderful!

12) Five Leading Reformers: Live at a Watershed of History (2000) by Christopher Caterwood. This book covers the five most influential reformers who shape the theology and thinking of the Reformed. They are Martin Luther, Thomas Cranmer, John Calvin, John Knox, and Ulrich Zwingli.

13) Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light (2007) by Brian Kolodiejchuk. This work reveals the inner spiritual life of Mother Teresa and her private writings.

14) The Confessions (actually written in Latin between AD 397 and 400) by Saint Augustine. This is his autobiography in the form of prayers to God to tell about the conflict between good and evil in his life and how he found spiritual growth and unshakeable faith in Christ alone.

15) Tortured for Christ (1969) by Richard Wurmbrand. This is an autobiography about a Romanian pastor who physically torture for his faith, who constantly suffer from hunger and cold, and who went through anguish brainwashing, and mental cruelty and yet survived to tell the story. Very touching and inspiring!

16) The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun (2002) by Paul Hattaway and Brother Yun. A dramatic autobiography of one of China's dedicated, courageous, and intensely persecuted house church leaders.

17) Sadhu Sundar Singh: A Biography of the Remarkable Indian Disciple of Jesus Christ (1992) by Phyllis Thompson. He is one of the most influential Indian preachers.

18) Revolution in World Missions: One Man's Journey to Change a Generation (2009) by K. P. Yohannan. I fully recommend this book. Period.

19) 50 People Every Christian Should Know (2009) by Warren W. Wiersbe. This book combined stories of fifty faithful men and women in Christian history. Very simple, short, and compact.

20) Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (1950) by Ronald H. Bainton. You’re not really Luther’s follower if you haven’t read this book. As it was said that this book is “a vivid portrait of Martin Luther, the man of unshakeable faith in God who helped bring about the Protestant Reformation.” I will read it a second time this year.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Letters to Annie: Be Still and Wait for God's Voice (Sometime I Reflect on Us)

Dear Annie,

            I miss you so much. When I first looked at you few years ago, I barely know you. You looked so innocent and I’m, well, so casual. There was no serious conversations, no proper ‘hi,’ always in the distance. What weird is that I can’t barely looked you in the eyes. By all mean, we tried to avoid eye-contact. But then, everything was just normal. Never crossed my mind that we will be together like this. Funny, now I can’t even remember any time when I didn’t even think of you. When I be still, reflecting… I thanks God for every moments I have with you. Why I didn’t get to know you early in my life? Thankfully, God’s plan is good.

            I think that is how God want us to think and know Him also. Psalms 46:10 instructs, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Be still. Funny how the Bible teaches that a wonderful way to get to know God is simply to be still and listen to Him not in rush and noisy ways. “Deepest communion with God is beyond words,” writes Madeleine L’Engle, “on the other side of silence.” You know, when I’m in silence and solitude I can reflect many blessings that God had given me (that include you, my dear). I also can hear His deep small voice for guidance and instruction. Isn’t this is what you want from God?

            As you know, the demands of everyday life weigh down upon us. Because of our working loads and everyday responsibilities, we can easily be tempted to ignore God’s presence or – worse yet – to rebel against His commandments. But, when we quiet ourselves and acknowledge His presence, God touches our hearts, restores our spirits, and help us to think and see things in God’s perspective. If we want to get to know our Heavenly Father more, silence is a wonderful place to start.

            It’s not about where we are physically but it’s about the position of our hearts. As illustration, I can think of you even in the midst of busy traffic or in the noise of conversations.  My heart belongs to you. In the same way – even more – we can hear God speaks to us anytime if our hearts focusing on Him. Let’s be in silence and solitude with God more often. Let’s go to a quiet place and listen (You may want to find a place for you to have a quiet time). It’s good for our souls and relationship with God and one another. If we keep listening long enough and carefully enough, He’ll start talking.

Annie, I write this letter not as much as I want to teach you,

But it was you who reminds me about silence and solitude.

To be patient and wait upon the Lord.

You wrote to me, “I will wait for God’s voice…

…so I will follow His voice.”

Yes darling, let us be still, and know that God is God.

I want to marry you,

Richard

P.s.: I love you!

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Letters to Annie: Substance is More Important than Appearance

Dear Annie,

            I love you just like you are. You’re beautiful. No doubt. If you think you’re not or you think people don’t seem to look at you that way – who cares? – I, I earnestly think and confess that you’re beautiful. But you must understand that I first fall in love with you is not because you’re (just) beautiful but because you’re a God-fearing woman and you’re freakingly love Jesus. Even though you always say you’re “not perfect” (of course, my dear) you know that in Christ you’re perfectly perfect. It is perfectly okay.

            You see, we’re living in a society that is obsessed with “looking good.” Jesus said this to the Pharisees, “You make yourself look good in front of people, but God knows what is really in your hearts. What is important to people is hateful in God’s sight” (Luke 16:15). Everywhere we turn, we’re confronted with a steady stream of subtle messages that try to convince us to look good. Like Brennan Manning said, “The temptation of the age is to look good without being good.” These messages are not only false, but they are also dangerous to our spiritual and emotional health. Remember the day you said to me that you don’t care much about my look? I was very relieved. That’s another reason why I fall for you.

            I want to build a better life and stronger relationships with you. So here’s a great place for us to start: worry less about appearances and more about substance. Let’s do this! For sure, when we do this, we may find that we’re a little out of step with the world, which is – perfectly okay – who cares? “You will quickly be deceived if you look only the outward appearance of men,” writes Thomas A. Kempis, “and you will often be disappointed if you seek comfort and gain in them.” After all, the world sees people and things as they appear to Jn, but God sees them as they are. People look “at the outward appearance, but [God] looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). And that’s the way we should see them, too.  The old-time saying is forever true: “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”

The world shouts, “Appearance! Appearance! Appearance!” But God whom we worship affirms, “Heart, heart, heart, I look at your heart!” My Annie, in Christ our hearts are renewed day by day – pure and holy – unto God. Can decent, courteous, and simple appearances by our mottos? (But once in a while there is nothing wrong with grandeur and gorgeous appearances. At the end of the day, God looks at the heart). May we don’t be too worried about what we look like on the outside but be more concerned about the kind of persons we are on the inside.

I never tired of saying,

“I miss you”,

Richard

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

So You Want to Be a Calvinist? John Calvin on the Nature of Sacraments

as remembrance of Him

In this section from the 1559 edition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin explores the relation between a sacramental sign and the grace which it signifies. Notice the emphasis placed on God’s deliberate accommodation to human weakness. He writes:

“To start with, we must consider what a sacrament is. It seems to me that a simple and proper definition is that it is an outward sign by which the Lord [Jesus] seals on our consciences the promises of his good will towards us in order to sustain the weakness of our faith; and by which we in turn bear witness to our piety toward him in the presence of the Lord and of his angels, and before human beings. More briefly, it is a testimony of divine grace toward us, confirmed by an outward sign, with mutual attestation of our piety towards him. Whichever of these definitions is preferred, its sense does not differ from that given by Augustine, who teaches that a sacrament is ‘a visible sign of a sacred thing’ or ‘a visible form of an invisible grace’; however, it explains the thing itself better and more clearly…

Now, from this definition we understand that a sacrament is never without a prior promise but is joined to it as a sort of appendix, with the objective of confirming and sealing the promise itself, and of making it clearer to us and, so to speak, ratifying it. God thus makes allowance first for our ignorance and slowness, then for our weakness. Yet, properly speaking, it is not so much needed to strengthen his holy Word as to support out faith in it. For God’s truth is of itself firm and sure enough; nor can it receive better confirmation from any source other than from itself. But as our faith is slight and feeble unless it is supported at every point and sustained by every means, it trembles, wavers, totters, and finally falls down.

So our merciful Lord, by his infinite kindness, adjusts himself to us in such a way that, since we are creatures who always creep on the ground, cleave to the flesh, and, do not think about or even conceive of anything spiritual, uses these earthly elements, and sets before us in the flesh a mirror of spiritual blessings. For if we were incorporeal (as Chrysostom says), he would give us these very things naked and incorporeal. Now, because we have souls inserted into our bodies, he imparts spiritual things under visible ones. This does not mean that the gifts set before us in the sacraments are bestowed with the natures of those things; rather, that they have been given this signification by God.”

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

References:

1) Institutes, IV.xiv.1, 3; in Joannis Calvini: Opera Selecta, ed. P. Barth and W. Niesel, vol.5 (Munich: Kaiser Verlag, 1936), 259.1-261.3

2) The Christian Theology Reader, edited by Alister E. McGrawth (Oxford UK: Blackwell Publishers Inc, 1995), 312-313.

Great Teacher Inspires

Marriage is More Important than Love

Remember Futurama? Funny movie :) 

Elton Trueblood writes, “It may seem a gratuitous paradox, but the truth is that marriage is more important than love. Marriage is more important than love because it is the normal situation out of which true and abiding love arises. The popular notion, much encouraged by light friction and the motion picture, is that love is primary, marriage being a dull anti-climax. But this is vast error.

Real love hardly exists outside marriage. How could it? Real love is a slow growth coming from unity of life and purpose. Love is a product. It is a thing to be created by mutual service and sacrifice. Normally this service and sacrifice can exist only between married people and only if the bond is accepted as a permanent one.

Love outside of marriage or before marriage is largely romantic fiction. Before marriage there is a certain amount of passion and the mutual attraction which is the possibility of love. This is a good starting point, but it would be a very weak conclusion. The Hollywood mentality is in error because it supposes that this weak thing is love and that it is of primary worth.”

[Quote from Elton Trueblood’s Foundations for Reconstruction (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1946, 76]

Either you agree of this or not,

It comes from a person who know quite lots about marriage and love.

Something to think about.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Merlin Mann's Advice for Me on Blogging (New Bloggers take Notes)

Merlin Mann is the editor and primary contributor for 43 Folders, a small family of websites about personal productivity, “life hacks” and simple ways to make your life a little better. I love to watch and listen to his witty talks on YouTube. In Brian Bailey’s book The Blogging Church (John Wiley & Sons, Inc: 2007) here Merlin gives some encouragement words for bloggers, especially new bloggers, to keep on writing, to “just get fingers in motion, and fear not the crappy first draft.” He writes,

“The most exciting and difficult time for a new blogger is the barn-raising period after the new blog is launched and the daily dash for new and interesting content begins. As perhaps thousands of ostensible bloggers discover – sometimes as early as their site’s inaugural week – this can be surprisingly hard work.

            It’s hard not simply for the obvious reasons – that regularly scheduled writing (or photography, or even linking) takes time, preparation, and care. You may also have days where you have nothing to say and are tempted to meta-whine about how you have nothing to say. You may find yourself padding pages with the results of online personality tests or the latest funny-once meme du jour. Resist this with extreme prejudice.

            Remember that your blog is only incidentally a publishing system or a public website. At its heart, your blog represents the evolving expression of your most passionately held ideas. It’s a conversation you’re holding up with the world and with yourself – a place where you can watch your own thoughts take different shapes and occasionally surprise you with where they end up.

            By focusing on the themes that interest and inspire you most (to the exclusion of topics that are simply fashionable or widely held), your creativity will be re-stoked and your writing will become a more accurate artifact of the way your mind and your heart want to operate. Accept that the process of writing is also the process of thinking and of realizing what really matters to you.

            A lot of people say writer’s block is your brain’s way of letting you know it needs the help of your hand – so just get fingers in motion, and fear not the crappy first draft. Bad days pass, and as long as you’re writing as honestly and with as much focus as you can muster, the process will seem less foreign and painful every day.”

As a blogger myself, I know that encouragements above are true.

I hope this words will encourage you to start blogging (or to write blog again)

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Gary Lamb's Advice for Me on Blogging

"Make sure you have thick skin" just like elephant. 

Gary Lamb is the founder and lead pastor of Ridge Stone Church in Canton, Georgia. The church started in 2004 and is known for its creativity and emphasis on those who don’t normally attend church. In Brian Bailey’s book The Blogging Church (John Wiley & Sons, Inc: 2007), Gary shares three advice that are very helpful for us to remember as we write blog:

“Blogging has become a huge part of my life in a very short time. I can’t put a price on the friendships and networks that I have formed through blogging. This sounds funny, but my church wouldn’t be what it is today without these relationships.

            I have three pieces of advice. First, be aware that the written word shows no emotions. People many times can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic, funny, or whatever other emotion you are trying to portray. I have offended many people without ever meaning to when what I wrote was read differently than what I meant.

            Second, make sure you have thick skin. Anyone can read what you write. Unfortunately, that includes critics who want nothing more than to destroy and tear down the work God has called you to do.

            Finally, remember that the people in your church are reading your blog, not just other pastors (Richard: I also must remember that students are reading my blog). They are reading between the lines, trying to figure out who you are and what you are talking about. Sometimes, they misread things and think they know the ‘inside scoop.’ This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s something to always remember as you blog.”

First, be aware that the written word shows no emotions

Second, make sure you have thick skin

Lastly, remember that people do read your blog

I hope this words will encourage you to start blogging (or to write blog again)

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Kathy Sierra's Advice for Me on Blogging

Kathy Sierra is the creator of the best-selling tech book series from O’Reilly, Head First. She’s worked as a game developer and interaction designer, and was a master trainer for Sun Microsystems. In Brian Bailey’s book The Blogging Church (John Wiley & Sons, Inc: 2007), Kathy shares her wisdoms on blogging that encourage me to think through about how to give value to my blog readers and I hope it will do the same to you too:

“Before I hit the Publish button on a blog post, I always ask myself the same question: ‘How does this help the reader?’ If the answer isn’t immediate, or it’s just too weak, I think very carefully about whether I should post it. This one simple rule, I believe, is the reason our blog went from having a single reader to more than ten thousands readers each day within its first year.

            My co-authors and I never forget that our readers are just as overwhelmed by information overload as we are. Our readers’ time and attention is a precious gift, and we try to respect that by offering something in return – something helpful and inspirational. Something to help them learn and grow, delivered with passion and energy. There are a million things they could do with the time they spend on our blog, and we are always grateful they chose to spend those moments with us.

            So, the one thing I believe is the most important in creating a blog that engages and helps readers is simply this: when you write, do not focus on what readers will think of YOU or your church. Care only about how readers feel about THEMSELVES, as a result of their interaction with your message.

            I don’t believe that ‘if you write it, they will come.’ But I do believe what ‘if you put your readers first, they will learn and grow.’ And every day, I feel so fortunate to have the chance, thanks to blogs, to help make that happen.”

Wow, isn’t these words are witty and inspiring?

I hope this words will encourage to you to start blogging (or to write blog again)

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Kem Meyer's Advice for Me on Blogging

As communications director for Granger Community Church, Kem Meyer spends her time finding creative ways to clear the clutter that keeps people from engaging. She’s not afraid to break marketing rules and change how people think the “church” is supposed to interact with the world. In Brian Bailey’s book The Blogging Church (John Wiley & Sons, Inc: 2007), Kem writes about blogging that encourage me so much – especially in the area of what to write –  and I hope it will have the same positive effect on you too:

“What is the thing you are most passionate about? The situation you can’t walk by without doing something about it? The subject matter you can’t seem to get enough of? The thoughts filling your mind that keep you up at night and wake you up in the morning? The thing you are most knowledgeable about, have the most experience with, or the most discontent? What solicits your heightened opinion, frustration and joy? What problem are you seeking the solution for? The spot you keep going back to again and again through every season?

Blog about that.

If you do, your content will be authentic, emotional, purpose-driven, and engaging. Posts will be natural, unmanufactured, original, and inspired. Your blogging will be a spontaneous extension of your life. It won’t ever be a chore. Readers know where to find you and you will engage their interest. The hardest thing for you will be knowing how and where to stop once you start. Avoid clichés and soapbox at all costs to remain trustworthy. If you ramble, you will be your only audience and the significance will be lost.”

I hope this words will encourage to you to start blogging now (or to write blog again)

Let’s blog for the Glory of God. Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Guy Kawasaki's Advice for Me on Blogging

Guy Kawasaki is a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, and the author of eight books. Previously, he was a Mac Evangelist at Apply Computer, where he was one of the individuals responsible for the success of the Macintosh computer. In Brian Bailey’s book The Blogging Church (John Wiley & Sons, Inc: 2007), Guy writes about blogging that encourage me so much and I hope it will do the same to you too:

“I know a fair amount about evangelism and a little bit about blogging, so I’ve combined the two in order to provide some insights into the evangelism of a blog.

My suggestion is that you think of your blog as a ‘product.’ A good analogy is the difference between diary and a book. When you write a diary, it contains your spontaneous thoughts and feelings. You have no plans for others to read it. By contrast, if you write a book, from day one you should be thinking about spreading the word about it. If you want to evangelize your blog, then think ‘book’, not ‘diary’, and market it like crazy.

As you develop your blog, make sure you acknowledge and respond to people who comment. Only good things can happen when you read all the comments on your blog and respond to them. If people feel like they are part of your blog’s community, they will tell more people to read your blog. Also, if you are providing value in your blog, don’t hesitate to ask for your readers to help spread the word. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

Finally, be bold. If you can’t speak your mind on your own blog, you might as well give up and stay on the porch.”

Yes, I hope this words will encourage to you to start blogging (or to write blog again)
Much better, write and share for the glory of God!

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Making a Wise Comparison

Many of our feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction have their roots in how we compare ourselves to others. When we compare ourselves to those who have more, we feel bad. When I compare my educational level (I’m a diploma holder only) with others who studied for degree and master, I will feel bad. When I compare my income with my friends who work in the government, I feel sad. When I compare my English with magazine and website editors in my church, I feel down.

But when we compare ourselves to those who have less, we feel grateful. When I compare my breakfast with the hungry, I feel blessed. When I compare of me having a home and personal bedroom with homeless strangers at Kuching Waterfront, I’m very thankful. When I compare my Biblical knowledge with those who are well-educated at theological school, I guess I’m proud of myself.

Mind you, both feeling and thinking are dangerous because we try to compare ourselves with the more and the less, rather than making a wiser comparison. The truth is we have exactly the same life either way, our feeling and thinking about our life can be difference tremendously based on who we compare ourselves with. May I advise? Compare yourself with those examples that are meaningful but that make you feel comfortable with who you are and what you have. Find your own personal heroes.

Yes, God want us to imitate His faithful servants in the Scripture when the writer of Hebrews writes, “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” (Hebrews 13:7). Yes, compare our lives with their faithful lives and consider (think of) their way of life. But God doesn’t say for us to be like them. The healthiest comparison that God offers is this: Compare yourself with Jesus, not others. Focus on Jesus when you’re tempted to compare yourself with others. In Jesus, our comparison is more meaningful. We still can be who we are with greater thanksgiving, humility and contentment. Choose your comparisons wisely.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.