1) Shares a resource for women’s health (http://www.womenshealth.gov). This week is National Women’s Health Week.
2) Discusses the six different areas of health (physical, social, environmental, emotional health, psychological/developmental health, and spiritual health)
3) Explains meditation as a Bible-based, health-promotion practice (starting about 24 minutes in)
A link to some of the scriptures used in today’s show can be found here on Bible Gateway. Specific scriptures related to meditation can be found here on Topical Bible.
Do you have health-related topics that you’d like to be discussed in our series? Please list those topics below! You can also contact me using the Contact Us link at the top of the page.
The Bible tells us a lot about fear. We know that fear is not from God, but is from the enemy (2 Timothy 1:7). We are taught to renew our minds (Romans 12:2); to keep our minds on God in order to have peace (Isaiah 26:3); to trust God in the face of fear (Psalm 56:3); and to believe that God is with us, and refuse to be afraid (Isaiah 41:10).
So many people come to coaching and begin to pursue greater faith because they are afraid. Bible teacher Joyce Meyer describes fear well in her article, Facing Fear and Finding Freedom. There are so many common fears and fear disorders that these keep people stuck where they are, and inhibit them from moving forward into the calling of God on their lives for ministry and service.
J.P. McClure shares a mindset-shifting perspective on fear on Marketing Mindset expert Mara Glazer’s website. If you have a God-sized dream, goal or vision, this is a great coaching exercise to get you moving in the right direction: overcoming fear, taking do-able steps to overcoming stagnation, and reminding yourself that you CAN do it!
The article is posted below in its entirety; you can find the original article here. Try the exercise, and share a comment below to let us know how it goes for you.
4 Steps to Banish Your Fearby J.P. McClure
Fear is the most overused diagnoses for lack of success. If we find ourselves unable or unwilling to get something done, we assume we must be afraid of something.
Fear is the absence of belief. When we believe in our abilities and ourselves, fear has no meaning or relevance. Just like turning on a light makes the darkness disappear, belief renders fear obsolete.
Our goal is to work within the belief that we already have and let it expand naturally through accomplishment. Look at the area in which you sense fear. Ask yourself the question, “What belief is lacking that causes this feeling?”
Use these 4 steps to help pinpoint where your belief slacks:
1. At the top of a sheet of paper, write the goal to which you attach fear. At the bottom of the paper, write where you are in relation to that goal. For example: “Owning a business” – at the top and “Working 60 hours per week for someone else” – at the bottom.
2. Write the big steps you’ll need to take in order to get from the bottom to the top. Don’t concern yourself with details of how, just the mile-markers you need to pass on the way.
3. Find the fear by asking, “Do I believe I can accomplish this?” for each step.If the answer is a confident “YES,” move on to the next. When you find the one that causes your guts to ache, that’s your sticking point.
4. Take one step back to the last step you believed in. Your confidence to accomplish this step is high. Shift all of your focus here.
With your focus on a step you fully believe in, action becomes a default. Concern yourself with achieving what you believe, not in forcing yourself to do something you fear.
About the Author
PJ McClure helps aspiring entrepreneurs to multi-million dollar business owners destroy roadblocks and seize opportunities to achieve their ideal vision of success. He is an award-winning speaker and the best-selling author of “Flip the SWITCH: How to Turn On and Turn Up Your Mindset” and “Unlock Your Life: How to go beyond Time-Management to the Life of Your Dreams”. You can download a copy of Flip the SWITCH for Free by clicking here.
Courtney at Faithful Bloggers asks, “What ministries are you currently active in? In your church? Outside of your church?”
Right now, I’m active in the music ministry and the prayer ministry at my church.
I sing in the choir, and I enjoy it tremendously. I believe that my true passion is worship, which is a spiritual gift. Singing is an absolute joy for me, and I thank God that He’s allowed me to use singing to help lead others to a place of higher, deeper experience in worship.
I’m also on the prayer team that intercedes for the congregation prior to service. Each member is scheduled to lead the prayer on a specific day of the month. We’re in a growth season where the congregation is just beginning to join us regularly in prayer. Our leaders sense that God is really moving at our church, and will do something great! As prayer warriors, we want to be in position. I love prayer, plain and simple. I love this prayer ministry. I’m super happy there.
In the past, I always felt encouraged to minister outside of the church walls–whether or not that ministering was part of an “official” outreach from my church or not. At my home church, my bishop appointed us all as ministers one day and said, “go forth!” It was nice. I felt trusted and supported in the things God has called me to do, and encouraged to go and do those things. I am just now beginning to embark again on ministering outside of the church walls, mostly to women who are experiencing life transitions and/or who want to strengthen their faith and their relationship with God.
Do you know where you’d like to serve in your church? In your community? Either of our Coaching Exploration Sessions will help you decide quickly where you might step into service. Sign up for one today–I would be honored to serve you!
Welcome to Faith Fridays! Starting today, Faith Fridays is on Foundational Gifts every other week, opposite our Thomas Tuesday posts. It’s just another opportunity to inspire you to great heights!
My friend Courtney at Faithful Bloggers has encouraged us to blog on certain topics, and share those blog posts with others in our blogging confab. If you have a blog, feel free to join us!
Today’s Question is Blog Prompt #11: “When you do your Bible study, do you use multiple Bible versions to compare verses?”
I confess: I am a Bible version junkie! As much as I generally prefer hard-cover books to electronic versions, I HAVE to use electronic Bibles specifically for the multi-version factor. If I haven’t researched a key scripture in at least five translations, I feel like I’m missing something.
My principle Bible teacher at church defers to me for various translations at every assignment. She knows I will have dug up some obscure Bible translation, and I may even have the Greek or Hebrew translations of key words. Even when I provide a scripture link on blog posts, I make sure I give the link in different translations: you never know which translation will “land” the best with which reader.
It’s official: I’m a nerd.
Now, I do have my favorite version. The problem is that it changes every now and then. If I had to pick three, I would choose the New Living Translation, the Amplified Bible, and … ? I tend to prefer paraphrase or thought-for-thought translations over literal ones. They are equally accurate; however, paraphrases and dynamic equivalents are easier to read in everyday language, and easier for me to understand and apply to my everyday life.
How about you? Are you a translation junkie? Or do you have a favorite go-to translation that works best for you? Share your thoughts below!
“He who suffers attracts reasons to continue.” ~ Thomas Leonard
I have been struggling A LOT with fear and doubt lately. This has taken me aback for many reasons. First off, I’m a coach,an entrepreneur and a woman of faith, and I don’t do fear!! More importantly, the Lord did a mighty work in my life years ago, and delivered me from anxiety and panic attacks. It didn’t mean I never had fear: it just meant that fear no longer ruled my life. I was free! Now, I’m feeling like a bondage has crept in and has tried to take over my life. It won’t happen.
This quote from Thomas Leonard reminds me of the passage of scripture in Job 3:25, where Job says that the thing he feared most has come upon him. As we know, Job had it rough! But his suffering didn’t start with the tragic events in his life. Job’s suffering started with an abundance of fear and a lack of faith. As diligent in his prayers and rituals as Job was, he did these out of fear. He worked hard to keep his family covered in prayer because he was afraid bad things would happen to them.
Fear is a spirit, and it is attracted to us not only by what we do, but what our intentions and thoughts are. We can praise and confess all day, but if we’re doing it in fear and not faith, then it’s all for nothing.
Fear is the opposite of faith, and without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). If we’re not pleasing God, then who are we pleasing?
If we continue to suffer in fear, as Thomas Leonard says, we will attract reasons to continue to suffer. We will find confirmation for our fears in every little thing, and continue to be afraid. We will bring more of that same spirit onto us, and continue in that way. We may never reach a level of faith that is even mustard-seed sized (plenty–it moves mountains!) unless we become intentional about it through action.
On the day that I realized I was in fear, I took a bold action. I did something that I would have been too afraid to do even the night before. I did it by myself (well, me and the Holy Spirit!), and I was glad I did. I know in the future I can do it again if need be. Every time that spirit of fear has tried to attach itself to me again since then, I just praise God aloud, reinforce my now-faith that His power and plan are bigger than my fear, and continue on in my duties.
How about you? Do you struggle with attracting reasons to continue suffering? What step can you take today to turn the tide from fear to faith? Share your thoughts below!
All week, I have been blogging about Leonard Sweet’s book, I Am a Follower. Click on the links to review my Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday posts. My review of the book on Amazon can be found here.
Dr. Sweet posits that we as Christians should be focused on following Christ and influencing others to do the same, and not focused on leading others to do things we don’t want to do. He says on p. 46: “When we focus on the world’s view of leadership, being a Christian becomes more about blazing our own trail than tracking Another’s footsteps, more about being happy than knowing truth, more about creating a guide to living than accepting the gift of life.”
He then goes on to share with us the Bible’s template for the Christian life, based on John 14:6:
* We should follow the WAY of Jesus through missional living–belonging to the community of people on a journey with Him;
* We should follow the TRUTH of Jesus through relational living–believing on Him as the Truth, depending on Him, and having a right relationship with Him; and
* We should follow the LIFE of Jesus through incarnational living–obeying Him, and changing the way we live to better reflect His light through us
The book is powerful and challenging in the way that these concepts are described. I promise, once you read this book, you will never think of leadership in the same way again.
As a trainer and coach, my focus has always been to encourage people–particularly women who are loathe to be “seen”–to step up, own their level of influence, and use it to the glory of God for His designated purpose. Whether my audience has been people with titles (“official” leaders and influencers) or without (“real” people with influence), the process is the same.
One huge problem with that is language. I have used the same language as business, Christian bookstores, and the secular world to describe a spiritual role. I have not in the past distinguished between the type of leadership of the world, the type of leadership that the church has focused on, and Biblical leadership-through-followership. While my efforts may have been noble (I would like to think so!), I may have missed the mark and pointed people toward a concept that is spiritually bankrupt. While it was never my intention to join the chorus of those who feel that leadership has magical powers (the “fetish” we talked about yesterday), I can say that I have recently balanced my training and coaching offerings more toward spiritual development and less toward leadership for that particular reason. I need to prayerfully consider more of this topic as I move forward in service.
So, what say you? Is this much to do about nothing? Or, are we ready as Christians to open a new dialogue and have a shift in how we talk about using our influence? Share your thoughts below!
Should we abandon leadership talk in the church? Should we re-frame it and talk about it a different way? Or, should we stay the course and continue to emphasize responsible church leadership? Share your thoughts below!
I’m not an every day blogger (go ahead, check my dates! ). But this book, I Am a Follower by Leonard Sweet, has really changed my perspective on how I teach and how I serve others around leadership. I have blogged about it every day this week so far! Check out my posts from Monday and yesterday if you haven’t already. My review of the book on Amazon can be found here.
Dr. Sweet calls leadership a myth. He says that as Christians, we have become so obsessed with the concept of leadership that we’ve made it a sort of fetish. You may have heard the term “shoe fetish,” particularly if you are an accessory hound like me! (I’m more into handbags.) In short, the true definition of a fetish is a perversion: an object that is worshiped, one that is believed to have magical powers, even something that causes an erotic response. WOW…just wow!
Dr. Sweet offers these examples of how Christians have made a fetish out of leadership:
1) Leadership books have been the 3rd best selling topics in Christian book stores for over thirty (30) years. The Left Behind series and books on the prosperity gospel have been the only topics to outsell leadership in that time period.
While that alone is not a problem, the challenge lies in its relationship to one of the key purposes of the church: discipleship, or the making of dedicated followers of Christ. Compared to leadership books, there are very few book sales on becoming and creating better disciples (followers). In my opinion, that’s just plain crazy…and off-mission.
2) We have become dependent on celebrities to lead us. He mentions conservative media personalities and musicians as examples, people we look to to tell us what’s going on in the world. “What are many of the most popular Christian leadership conferences but celebrity worship orgies?” he asks on p. 30. Orgies?! Yowza! He calls this dependence and obsession a “cult culture.”
We know that human leadership is NOT “the answer.” Willow Creek, the “leader” in leadership publications and the church that most others imitated in leadership development, acknowledged in 2007 that their process was NOT doing what it thought it would: producing dedicated disciples of Christ. The financial crash of 2008 (under which our world’s economy is still suffering) revealed horrific stories of failed human leadership in the business world. The church had been relying on these very people and their “success” concepts for tips and training for thirty years. Where has this reliance gotten us?
What are YOUR thoughts on the Christian obsession with leadership? Do you think Leonard Sweet is on to something, or that he’s taken the concept too far? Share your thoughts below!
I introduced the book, I Am a Follower by Leonard Sweet in yesterday’s post. The book has really changed my perspective on how I coach and teach around leadership. You can check out my review of the book here.
The author works with this premise: only Jesus is the leader, and the rest of us are followers. He says this: “The church is led not by leaders but by Christ. The head of the church is Christ. Everyone else is a follower. Leadership has led us to the place where everybody is trying to get everyone else to do something, and no one ends up doing anything.” (p. 24)
Ouch! I think he’s right, and I definitely don’t want to be part of that as a leadership instructor and coach. There is a better way.
Giving and doing our best is not leading; instead, it’s being what the author calls a first follower.
Here are some characteristics of first followers:
* A risk taker who is willing to stand beside the Innovator
* Willing to step out in front of everyone else
* Willing to follow by living differently from everyone else
* Willingly accepts the label of mover and shaker
* Willingly accepts the risk of being alienated from others
* Paves the way for others to follow
* Shares their life with others
* Choose the way to go when no one else is going there (yet)
* Recognizes the truth and sees the beauty that others don’t see yet
* Early adopters of innovations
Dr. Sweet uses the Sasquatch Festival Dance as a visual example of the power of first followers. If the first person (green shirt, black shorts) hadn’t joined the dance, we would have missed all the fun!
Is there someplace in your life where you’ve been a “first follower” of the Lord and inspired others to do the same? Share!
As a blogger, I am frequently asked to review books; and as a radio show hostess, I’m asked to review books and to have authors on my show. I’m an avid reader, so I’m always psyched to get my read on; and I’m always awestruck by authors–people with the discipline to sit down and write.
Right now, I’m reading a book called I Am A Follower: The Way, Truth, and Life of Following Jesus by Dr. Leonard Sweet. I had my expectations when I picked it up to review it. I felt like I already knew what it had to say; that it would be a quick read; and I braced myself for a mediocre review.
Wow–was I WRONG! This book has completely changed the way I think about leadership–a topic that I teach on and coach around extensively.
My review on Amazon explains an overview of the book. What I’d like to do here on the blog is to describe in more detail how the book takes us from the concept of supporting leadership to embracing followership–in a healthy, God-affirming way.
As much as I generally prefer hard-cover books to electronic versions, I HAVE to use electronic Bibles specifically for the multi-version factor. If I haven’t researched a key scripture in at least five translations, I feel like I’m missing something.
