Oakleaf Church turns 1!

Oakleaf church celebrates its 1 year anniversary this Sunday.  Here are some comments from Michael on what God has been doing at Oakleaf! Come be a part of what if what God is doing at this great church!

Men’s Christian Magazine endorses Huckabee!

New Man Magazine endorsed Mike Huckabee for President in their most recent issue.  They outline all of the qualities that seperate him from the other GOP candidates in the field.  The entire article can be read by clicking the link above!

Developing the Leader Within You!

I started a new book on leadership yesterday written by John C. Maxwell.  The book is called Developing the Leader Within You and has been really good so far.  Click on the link for more information!

Here are some key points from the early chapters:

1) Leadership is influence

2) Leadership is the ability to obtain followers

3) You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.

4) Efficiency is the foundation for survival. Effectiveness is the foundation for success.

5) Success is the progressive realization of a predetermined goal.

6) Don’t forget the 80/20 rule! 80% of your production will come from 20% of your priorities / organization / accounts.

7) Sociologists say even the most introverted person will influence 10,000 people in their lifetime!  Leave a mark not a scar!

Leadership is about Service not Authority

I have just finished the book God is my CEO and wanted to share some of the things I learned about leadership.  This book looked at the lives of 20 Christian business, civic, and sports leaders and examined how they were able to make difficult choices using a biblical model of leadership.  This book should be a must read for anyone in or aspiring to be in a leadership position.  The book is broken into 10 core areas that leaders always face in the process of leading people or running an organization.

The thing that I appreciated most about all of the men and women who were interviewed is that they understood that their faith in God is what propelled them to be successful.  Each one of these people detailed that after some “conversion” experience or as a result of a deeply rooted set of beliefs that they poured their efforts into making an impact on their employees. 

They followed the biblical example that Christ gave to us as he washed the feet of his disciples.  On the surface it seems silly to think of the God of this universe humbling himself before his followers to perform probably one of the worst duties of that time period.  It is important to remember that these people did not have the modern shoes that we wear today.   They wore sandals that were open to the elements if they wore shoes at all.  You can just imagine how unpleasant that task must have been but I think that Jesus selected that particular act of service for that very reason.  Jesus made the disciples understand that he came here to serve not be served.  His purpose, priority and calling was to show God’s love to all of those that he came into contact with through service and compassion.

Many of today’s leaders could benefit from changing their definition of success to a more people based paradigm.  Servant Leaders who focus on building the organization by investing in the lives of their employees will reap both tangible and intangible results.  If the leader empowers and invests in those people who follow  then that act of service will be continued throughout the organization and a culture of success will be created one person at a time.  The saying “No one cares how much you know, until they Know how much you care” really goes to the heart of servant leadership.  

If you sit in a leadership position take a minute to think about what kind of culture you are creating for your employees.  Are you a servant leader or are you self-centered leader?  Are you investing in people or are you investing in profit?  Are you building your organization for the long-term flucuations of the markets or are you focusing on only short-term rewards.  Real leaders need no titles for people “cast down their nets” and follow them.  What kind of leader do you want to be?  Employees tolerate those with titles and follow those who LEAD!

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him- 1 Corinthians 2:9

Huckabee on the Move!

Mike Huckabee is making huge strides in Iowa as new poll declares he is tied for third. 

That was a good day!

I had the opportunity to participate  in the grand opening for Pine Log Elementary on Friday and what a great day it was.  There are days when being a school board member is not the most rewarding or uplifting.  This was not one of those days!  It was great to see all of the teachers excited abut the new building and the impact it will have on this historic community.  This school came in on time and under budget and I would like to thank all of the staff members at the county office for a job well done!