This is a BONUS installment to our 6-part series, “The Five Purposes of the Church” on the CWA Radio Network. We learned today that the five purposes of the church must be intentionally balanced in each church body in order for the body of Christ / church universal to function as a healthy entity. Have a listen!
There is still time to grab your free coaching session in 2012! Up to 40 people will be provided with free coaching during International Coaching Week, February 6-11, 2012 AND February 16 and 17. If you haven’t already, sign up for your free session here, while there is still time! These will be the only free coaching sessions that Foundational Gifts is offering in 2012.
On Show #6 of our 6-part series, “The Five Purposes of the Church,” we discussed the 5th purpose of the church, which is service. Have a listen! (Warning: there are some technical difficulties from :045 to 2:15, but it plays fine after that.)
Every gift and ministry is designed to serve others, so service is a significant purpose of the church.
There is still time to sign up for a FREE COACHING SESSION this year. We are celebrating International Coaching Week February 5-11, 2012 by offering up to 40 free coaching sessions to our FG Tribe. These sessions will be the only free coaching sessions offered in 2012, so sign up now. To complete your intake form and grab your slot, go to the sign up page.
Join us next week–Thursday, February 9–on the CWA Radio Network, when we will be providing a BONUS to the “Five Purposes of the Church” series. See you there!
A couple of good articles that can help you with evangelism are linked here, from Into Thy Word and What Christians Want to Know. Have a look at them, and hopefully they will encourage you to be confident in sharing your faith.
Share with us in the comments below a time when you’ve been successful and/or patient in your role as a planter or water of the word, rather than a harvester. We’d love to hear about it!
FREE COACHING is available to you as a blog reader and BTR show listener, but you can only grab it during the week of February 6-11, 2012. After that, no more free coaching is scheduled for the year. Sign up for your time slot on the International Coaching Week page here on the FG website. I would be HONORED to serve you!
Join us for our next show on Thursday, February 2 at 10AM Eastern on the CWA Radio Network. We’ll be discussing the 5th purpose of the church, which is service.
Today on the Foundational Gifts Blog Talk Radio Show on the CWA Radio Network, we discussed fellowship, which is the purpose #3 of the five purposes of the church universal. Have a listen!
If you haven’t already, sign up for one of the FREE COACHING SESSIONS that are being given away as part of International Coaching Week. These are the only free coaching sessions I will be giving away in 2012, so sign up quickly! Here’s the link: ICW FREE COACHING SESSION
How has a focus on fellowship at your church blessed you and your ministry? Share your perspectives with us below!
The five components of a purpose-driven life align closely with the purposes of the church universal.
FREE COACHING Sessions for 2012 are only available during International Coaching Week, February 6-11! Sign up for your session (a $150 value) now here: FREE ICW Coaching
Tune in next week on Thursday, January 19, 2012 to learn about the third purpose of the church–fellowship.
“I prefer the bounty of contribution to the scarcity of accumulation.” ~ Thomas Leonard
When I see this quote I find myself “remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” ~ Acts 20:35
When we give, we’re blessed! Abundance is ours, and ours to share. On the other hand, if we refuse to give, or if we only take, we will experience the back-hand of reaping.
Christmas is considered the season of giving. Besides expensive gifts for our immediate family, there are other ways to give and experience what Mr. Leonard called “the bounty of contribution:”
Time. Consider donating time to a cause that matters to you, time that you haven’t been able to carve out or time you haven’t prioritized at other times of the year. Do you have a friend or family member who is long overdue for a call or a visit? Is there a charity that could use your help during this season? Might you cut out some unnecessary or non-mandatory events to make more time for your children or spouse?
Talent. What gift, ability, passion or strength have you been sitting on all year (or more!) without sharing with others? Could you share your creative gift, such as singing, dancing, pottery making, needlepoint, baking, cake decorating, or fashion design? Who might be surprised or blessed by it?
Treasure. How might you choose to spend the same amount of money this holiday season, but distribute it differently? Could you give more to charity? Could you give something fairly valuable that you own already as a gift to someone who values it, or may be able to use it? Perhaps you could limit the amount you spend per person, and put the balance toward something important, such as savings or an anonymous gift to a friend in need?
Whatever you decide, remember that contributing more leads to abundance!
Would you like some coaching on maximizing your time, talents and treasures for 2012? Sign up for a FREE COACHING SESSION. I will be providing free coaching to the first 100 people who sign up, so grab your session now!
Thomas Leonard (1955-2003) was an inspiring entrepreneur and innovator who founded the profession of coaching.
”Commitment is what your boss needs you to have. Choice is what you need to have.” ~ Thomas Leonard
We spoke about having a job vs. working as God intended on our Blog Talk Radio show on September 15. According to Pastor Jamal Bryant, we were never intended to have regular, full-time jobs; instead, God intended us to work consistently serving in those areas and capacities that He designed and pre-ordained for each of us, uniquely.
Pastor Bryant said that work is from the devil. That’s a hard pill to swallow! It’s not so hard to fathom when we realize how few people have paid jobs that reflect their true passions, gifts, talents, interests and strengths; jobs that support their personal and professional development, and the strengthening of their souls. Those “jobs” may need to be created by us as entrepreneurs, ministers, or people who have a true sense of our worth in the marketplace as employees.
In order to thrive in the area of work that God designed for us, we need to have personal agency, or ‘choice’ as Thomas Leonard describes. We need to have the sense of liberty that comes from being where the Spirit of the Lord is. While our bosses at work understandably want “commitment” from us, our commitment must be to living out our true purpose before the Lord. We need to remember that it is the job that needs us, not the other way around. If need be, we can find our true work (and income) elsewhere.
Would you like FREE COACHING on how to find your true purpose in work, career, and vocation? I will be coaching 100 people for free between now and June 30, 2012. Sign up now for your free session!
Thomas Leonard (1955-2003) was an inspiring entrepreneur and innovator who founded the profession of coaching.
When one’s cup is full, all we humans want to do is contribute. ~ Thomas Leonard
When you’ve got seed in the ground and are waiting for a crop…when you’ve got plenty of bread on your table and plenty of more seed in your storehouse…when all is well with the world, you want to GIVE! You want to share what you have, give thanks to the Lord, and tell the world how great God is; and you want others to do the same (2 Corinthians 9: 10-15).
The challenge is that we don’t often see how full our cups really are.
Around my house, we collectively gripe about the TV in our family living area that is so old that cable doesn’t work on it. I’m grouchy that there never seems to be enough money in the family budget for the 27 things I want. My daughter keeps asking for the same electronics over and over, telling me with starry eyes how her friend has one and how awesome it is.
My husband is the king of gratitude. He will put a thing in perspective for sure. He is quick to remind me of how God provides in our bank accounts, how blessed we are to have love in our lives, and to remember to be grateful to God for our health, which hasn’t always been the best. I have watched him recently push himself far out of his comfort zone to serve others, simply because he’s begun to see how full our cups are, to running over. It’s inspiring.
What are you doing this Thanksgiving to remember the measurement of your cup, and to show your gratitude to the Lord?
Are you having trouble seeing the fullness in your proverbial cup, and in your life? Sign up for a FREE coaching strategy session, and let me support you as you gain clarity and perspective. I will be providing free sessions to the first 100 people who sign up. Spaces are going fast, so sign up now!
Thomas Leonard (1955-2003) was an inspiring entrepreneur and innovator who founded the profession of coaching.
When people are inspired, they don’t need motivation. ~ Thomas Leonard
Motivation is external. It’s your ‘why.’ Why are you working toward a particular goal? Your motivation is the outcome. Why/How are you able to stay on track? Your motivator is your accountability tool or consequence.
Motivation is an essential component to success, but it’s not the strongest or most important component. Being inspired is the thing that makes the difference between keeping a goal alive and killing it.
Inspiration is defined as “a Divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind or soul.” The Latin root of the word means to inflame or breathe into. The word appeared in English around 1300, and its original meaning was “immediate influence of God.”
When God breathes a vision or a purpose into us, we don’t need any external cattle prods to keep it in the forefront of our minds and hearts; but as humans with weaknesses, we may need some motivation to keep us on track. Being in touch with the Life that is Him is a much more useful success tool than external motivation alone could ever be.
Are you moving forward only because you are motivated by external factors and pressures to do so? Or, are you able to fulfill your dreams as the result of a God-inspired vision? What are you in pursuit of most right now–those things that motivate from the outside, or that inspire you from deep within your soul?
Coaching can help you identify what truly inspires you, and what you’re inspired by through God. Sign up for a FREE COACHING SESSION. I will be providing no-cost coaching support to the first 100 people who sign up.
Thomas Leonard (1955-2003) was an inspiring entrepreneur and innovator who founded the profession of coaching.
Simplify everything: Abandon non-essentials. ~ Thomas Leonard
In every success education area (business, ministry, academics, parenting, etc.) that I’ve ever been exposed to, a central theme appears: keep you priorities straight. Major in the majors, and minor in the minors. Focus on what’s truly important, not on what’s emergent or urgent.
This is good advice for everything in our lives. The Great Commandment is to love God and love others; all the other commandments hang on these two essentials. Seek God first, and everything else will fall into place. Simple. Clear. Priorities.
As I not-so-subtlely alluded to in last week’s post, we sometimes need to abandon those things that are not truly essential, or not super-important at this time. It’s impossible to keep going at a break-neck pace, trying to do everything and be everything everywhere to everyone.
Abandoning things that are either not meeting their original intended purpose in your life, or activities that no longer reflect your priorities or who you are, sounds easier said than done. We cringe when we think of letting anyone down, or being “irresponsible.” But the truth is that in order to be fulfilled, useful, authentic, and healthy, we have to let things go that aren’t important. We have to make our must-dos easier, and our won’t-dos clearer.
Need some help learning how to say no and/or getting organized? Sign up for your FREE COACHING SESSION at let me walk you through it.
Thomas Leonard (1955-2003) was an inspiring entrepreneur and innovator who founded the profession of coaching.
