Charting the Course: People's Sense of Urgency

By Charles Scott
John Kotter writes that most organizations are divided into four groups. This knowledge is especially helpful when vision casting or working to present new ideas. The task of the leader is to produce inspirational goals and knowing these groups can make a vital difference.

The groups that Kotter identifies are:

1. People who sense urgency
   These people want to be a part of determined, focused leadership that is addressing the real issues in truth. Most people are in this group. Their desire is to contribute something meaningful to the organization, not self.
   
2. People who have no sense of urgency
   These people do not want anything to change. Period.
   
3. People who create their own sense of urgency to deflect attention from the true urgent issues
   These people are smart. They know how to use emotion and words to gain support for their purposes and get attention off the main areas that really require attention.
   
4. People who respond to the urgent with their ideas of action
   These people come on the scene with the Savior mentality – you are in trouble and I am your answer. They use cute words and expressions that convey all is well because they are here.

It is very important for leaders to discern which of these four groups a person is a part of and where their actions are leading. The leader cannot get in a hurry. A big hurry = bigger mistakes.

The Power of Persuasion: 4 Basic Persuasion Skills

By Charles Scott
We are working in the field of communication. Most preachers and leaders fully comprehend the power of persuasion and the necessity of improving our communication skills. Jay Conger wrote in the Harvard Business Review, “Persuasion skills exert far greater influence over behavior than formal power structures.” If this is true then we must rely more on the ability to persuade than the power structure to lead those God has called us to serve.

Here are four basic persuasion skills:

1. People will listen to you if they like you.
   The best example of this is Tupperware. Tupperware products are sold by people who host parties in their homes and research shows that fondness for the hostess played a major role in purchase decisions. If you truly influence people two main roles play into the consideration: similarity and praise. Similarity draws people together and praise holds them together. Good leaders find areas of similarity to bond themselves to others. Then, good leaders praise and reward people for their dedicated service.
   
2. People will listen to you if you listen to them.
   The eternal truth is, “What you sow you will reap.” An amazing number of leaders believe that everyone should listen to them but they do not take time to listen to others.
   
3. People will listen to their peers more than they listen to you.
   The simple truth is that influence is stronger from the horizontal relationship and not the vertical relationship.
   
4. People will listen if they are convinced you are committed.
   People need to know that you are totally committed to the project you are asking for their commitment. Research shows that once people make a commitment they seldom change. This was true in the recent presidential election – most people made up their mind early and were not influenced by the campaign process. There is a vast difference between a commitment and an unwelcome burden.

Vision Vitamins

Compiled by Charles Scott
Millions of people who long for eternity do not know what do with themselves on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
- Susan Ertz

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There are two basic choices in life: to accept conditions as they are or accept the responsibility for changing them.
- Denis Waitley

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A man can get discouraged many times but he is not a failure until he begins to blame somebody else and stops trying.
- John Burroughs

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MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR DAY! by Paul J. Meyer

When was the last time you complained that you had too much time on your hands? You probably cannot remember that far back. The truth is that most of us cannot squeeze into a 24-hour period all the items written on our daily planners. A common mistake most people make is to attempt to find time instead of make time!
How do you MAKE time?

FIRST, define your most important goals:

A burning desire to reach a specific goal motivates you to make time to take the required actions.

Write down specifically how you will use extra time. Will you spend it making personal calls, three-way calls, attending training meetings, making new contacts?

SECOND, chart your time:

Note how you spend each hour. Most time is wasted, not in hours, but in minutes. A bucket with a small hole in the bottom becomes just as empty as the one that is deliberately kicked over.

THIRD, organize your time to plug the time leaks:

Assume the attitude that every minute that does not work for you, works against you.

To make the most of your time, try these proven time savers:

• Examine the usual daily interruptions. See how many you can eliminate immediately, screen out, or delegate. Set aside a specific time for phoning people on your prospect list, making presentations, keeping up with the detail part of the job, attending training meetings, reading and sending emails and phone calls. These designated time blocks do not always work; emergencies occur, demanding flexibility in scheduling. But when you have a plan for organizing and investing your time, that extra hour of time each day will be available.
  
• Analyze your energy cycle. Determine when you tend to be at your best physically and mentally. Schedule challenging tasks during those times of peak performance and you will accomplish more in less time. I have more energy in the morning hours than I do in the afternoon hours, so I have always made the majority of my phone calls for sales appointments first thing in the morning. For some people it is just the opposite. They are evening people and work better in the evenings.
  
• Think about time the way you think about money. The more wisely you invest time, the greater the yield. Before you invest time in a given activity, ask yourself, "Is there something more profitable I could be doing?" And remember, making face-to-face contacts and presentations will ALWAYS be the most profitable thing you can do!!

Make the most of your life by making the most of every minute, every hour and every day!!

You can receive more information about Paul J. Meyer, as well save 20% on his audio tapes/CDs, including The Paul Meyer Collection and The Grandmasters of Success - visit www.yoursuccessstore.com.
Paul J. Meyer Copyright ® 1999 Paul J. Meyer ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

How Do You Measure Success?

By Charles Scott
The book UnChristian is gaining much attention. The author states on page 83, "We should measure success not merely by the size of our church or the number of baptisms or decisions, but also by the depth and quality of spiritual growth in people's lives."

While the author makes a strong point, is this a Scriptural truth? The Book of Acts measures decisions. The Early Church measured the number of baptisms. Also, how do your measure the depth and quality of spiritual growth in people's lives?

This is an issue I am struggling with. For years the PCG has measured the number of ministers and the number of churches as indicators of organizational health. Are these the proper measures? If not, what are the correct benchmarks to measure organizational health?

E2E Article: Those Were the Days

I hate to admit it. I am having difficulty facing it. I am trying to deny it. I don't like it. I can't do anything about it. I'm getting old. I am staring at a new decade and it is having a drastic impact on my face. There's just something about living; you don't get any younger – you just get older. I'm even starting a "bucket list." (Hey Jon, just 19 more baseball stadiums to go!)

Something about getting more mature; the older we get the better we was. As a matter of fact, as we age, the better everything was. Now I realize I'm not old yet; I mean, Pat Wilson and dirt still have a few years on me. But I find myself looking back a bit more. Thinking about how things were and recollecting about those good ol' days.

One of my fond memories is the time right after I graduated high school. I had a dramatic conversion experience to Jesus just prior to my senior year. After graduation I had another dramatic experience: the baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced by speaking in other tongues. I had been raised in a Southern Baptist church under the pastoral leadership of one of the greatest pastors ever, Dr. William Bennett. I had a zealous passion for Jesus, which lead me to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That passion also lead me to a Spirit-filled church, an Assembly of God (Can I put that in The Messenger?) church in Fort Smith, AR.

A precious couple in their late 70s attended that church, Brother and Sister Craig. I soon developed a friendship with these wonderful people. I worked in a department store in the mall and their home was in short driving distance. They invited me to come to their house for lunch, and on multiple occasions I was privileged to dine on cornbread, fresh delectables from Brother Craig's garden, and sweet potato pie made only as Sister Craig was anointed to make. The real treat was sitting and listening to Sister Craig recall the weeks her family spent in Hot Springs, AR at a camp meeting that was known as a genesis for the Assemblies of God. (I did it again. Can I get by with that twice?)

Sister Craig had reached that point in life where she could remember 50 years ago better than 50 minutes ago. She recalled with explicit detail the singing, the preaching, the signs, the miracles and the lives changed by the power of God. She would re-enact for her audience of two (two physical but a cloud of unseen witnesses) the mighty move of God, describing people falling out under the power, shouting, dancing, speaking in tongues, gifts of the Spirit in operation, healings, and, most of all, men, women, boys and girls being born again and delivered from sin by the grace of God.

I would stay as long as I could. I could not get enough. I would beg her to tell me the same stories over and over. She would slightly protest but eagerly repeat the recitation. She would at times get so caught up in the moment that she would lift her hands and begin to praise the Lord until she would start speaking in tongues in ecstasy. I would drink it all in. More than 50 years separated us. Background, tastes and preferences separated us. One thing united us: a passion for Jesus.

By now you are wondering what all this has to do with an issue dedicated to prayer and worship. I know one of my weaknesses is to over-simplify, but isn't worship just an expression of the soul's passion for Jesus? Whether it was a century ago at Azusa Street or last week at church, whether it was a hymn from a songbook or a track from Israel Houghton, isn't worship a passion for Jesus? And doesn't a heartfelt passion for Jesus always receive a manifestation of the presence of God?

So I'm adding new items to my bucket list. (Just how high is Mt. Rainer, Dwayne?) Someday when my hair is gray (OK, completely gray) and I have time to piddle in my garden, I cannot think of anything better than a group of teenagers coming to the house, and Janice cooking up some fried potatoes with onions, beans 'n' cornbread and banana pudding (some things must be passed to the next generation). One of those young bright faces will shine with anticipation as they ask, "Tell us about the good ol' days. Tell us about when God visited the PCG with a revival that transformed every community in America. Tell us about when the anointing was so strong in the PCG that missionaries were sent around the world. Tell us about divine demonstrations that caused people to give their hearts to Jesus. Tell us about when the passion for Jesus was so strong in the PCG that there was no division over bylaws, no politics or power struggles, no strife over methods, just a cry for Him." I can't wait to see them eye to eye.