Seven Keys to Achieving Your Dreams!

 

Do you have things that you want to accomplish in life?

 

You can call these dreams, goals, desires, or hopes---they are all the same. It is the thing that you desire for most out of life. It can include what job you want, money to make, house to live in, place to travel, or it can be accomplishing a great task, building a great company, winning the biggest game, or just providing a comfortable and happy life for your family. For me, faithfully doing what God wants me to do has always been the measure of success.

 

I would have been more successful and happy if I had known of these seven keys and activated them in my life.

 

First, is to allow yourself to dream. In today's world, nothing seems to be beyond the realm of possibility--especially when God is leading. I believe that God puts within us certain desires. I have often been amazed when I see a person that is so passionate about something that it seems to consume them like music or sports. When I was younger and began to think of things that I would really like to do, I would always find reasons that I should not or could not do it.

 

This leads to the second key--believe it!!! In high school, I thought I would like to be a lawyer. I was not the greatest student and knew that law school was expensive so I gave up that notion before it even took root. Later I thought about going into law enforcement, but standing just a little over 5 foot tall in high school, I thought that I was too small to become a cop. That dream died also. Looking back to my high school days, I was preoccupied with finding a career that I could do---not what I wanted to do. If I were to get the chance to do it over again, I would ask myself the question, "What in life  do I really want to do?" When the answer came, I would relentlessly pursue that dream.

 

The third key is to see yourself in the pursuit and fulfillment of your dream. This is more than "visualizing." If the dream reflects reality, then you will have an idea of what it takes to get you there. The steps may include college, finding the right mentor, or relocating to another city. Don't just see yourself on the podium holding the gold medal, see yourself training and putting in all of the hard work. See yourself in the pursuit of the dream---not just the fulfillment of the dream.

 

The next key is important---tell others about your dream. Sometimes we are afraid of those "dream squashers" that want to step on and kill our dreams. I was so afraid of them that I always killed my own dream before I would allow others to kill them for me. If you believe that your dream is possible, then you will not have a problem telling others about your dreams.

 

Dreams are not accomplished by accident. They don't just happen. They take planning. Sometimes when we hear about another's success, it seems like it "just happened" for them. But we don't see all of the work that it takes to get there. True--it does take a little bit of luck and being at the right place at the right time, but I heard one successful person say, "The harder I work the luckier I get." Set goals and milestones to get you to where you want to be in 1 year--2 years--5 years..... Make a plan!

Success takes hard work. You must work it. Get used to words like change, adapt, pivot, rebuild, innovate, and start over. There is not usually a direct line to success. Most roads wind and have many turns. Realizing a dream requires steadfast tenacity and relentless focus upon the goals regardless of the obstacles in the path to your dream. This is to be expected---do not allow these bumps in the road detour us.

Finally---and importantly---enjoy the journey. Maybe you just want to enjoy sitting on a beach sucking mixed drinks with tiny umbrellas, but you will have missed a lot if you don't enjoy the journey. If you are not enjoying the journey your family will suffer.

 

Learn these lessons now and learn them well and success will be sweeter and more rewarding.

 

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Do you have enough power in your life?

Regardless of the vehicle, power is required to get from place to place. The greater the power, the quicker and more efficient the trip.

 

The same is true in life, we all require power to get us to where we want to go. When we do not have the power to control our situations and destiny, we begin having feelings of powerlessness. These feelings lead to depression  and anger and can lead to desperate behaviors like drug addiction and acts of aggression. People are often treated for these symptoms in counselor's offices or programs, but feelings of powerlessness are seldom adequately addressed.

The answer to these feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness is to be EMPOWERED!!!

There are four ways that every individual can be empowered: socially, structurally, psychologically, and spiritually. We will write more about each area of empowerment in future blogs or you can go to www.dunamisempower.org for more information.

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Pain of Being a Disappointment

 

A story I heard years ago about a man that committed suicide has stuck with me. I can't remember all of the details, but this man was in his thirties and was a husband and father. Everyone acknowledged that he had always struggled making a living, but those that knew him said that he was a good person and loved his family. The thing that haunted his friend and family--and what has stayed with me for these years--is a statement in a letter he left before he took his life. It said, "I am tired of being a disappointment."

 

The irony is that his greatest act of "being a disappointment" came when he made the choice to end his life.

 

I wonder how many people carry the same feeling? I wonder how many people contemplate suicide because of the same or similar feelings?

 

I know for a fact that many people carry this pain. I have worked for a drug rehab program and have pastored a church and have worked with many people down on their luck or are reaping the fruit of bad decisions. Feeling that they are a disappointment to others and letting family and friends down is a common emotion that many carry.

 

Where does feeling that you are a disappointment to others come from?

• It may come from the words or actions of others. They may have been told directly they are a disappointment.
• It probably means they are disappointed in themselves for not living up to their and other's expectations.
• It may come from unfulfilled hopes and dreams.
• It may be compounded by other issues like health or financial problems.
• It may reach its head if hope is lost.

How do you help someone that may feel like they are a disappointment?

 

First, they must know that your love for them is not dependent on what they do for you. Your love for them should outweigh any disappointment--real or imagined--that the person feels.

 

Second, empower them by giving them support. They may need a little help but don't want to ask or be a burden.

 

Third, shine a light on hope if hope seems to be fading in their lives. Hope is infectious. Hope is saying, "I know that it hurts now, but the pain will go away."

 

Never give up; Never give in; Trust in God always!

 

 

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The Pain of Having Nothing

 

Recently I watched a documentary about a college football player named Maurice. He was a naturally gifted player that everyone expected to go on to have a successful career in the NFL. Through a series of events--some of his own and some just unfortunate circumstances--he lost his college eligibility to play football. He wanted to join the NFL draft, but the rules at that time stated that he had to be three years removed from high school to enter the draft and he was only one year out. He had to wait two years for his chance. During those two years, he turned to alcohol and other bad behaviors. When he did get his chance to play professional football, he was not in well enough shape to make a very big impact.

 

The documentary described his motivation for desiring to succeed in football in college and then the pros. He said, "The pain of having nothing drove me." It has been a week since watching the documentary, but those words have stuck in my mind. There is a powerful lesson in those words.

 

First, there is an actual pain that accompanies 'having nothing'. I have been fortunate in life, but I have had periods in my life where I literally went to the store with $35 to by groceries for the next week. I have had to borrow money for gas so that I could get to work. Living in lack is painful especially when surrounded by people with plenty. There are hundreds of people around us each day that are experiencing the pain of having nothing.

 

Second, 'having nothing' gives people a sense of powerlessness. When people feel powerless, they can become resentful and angry, thy can feel depressed and suicidal, and these feelings can effect their behavior. I theorize that many mass and spree killings are in part due to feelings of powerlessness. My motivation in life is to see people gain more power in their lives so that they can live fulfilled and successful lives. Since 2009, I have been studying power and powerlessness. In 2014, I started a nonprofit organization (Dunamis Empowerment Foundation). The purpose of Dunamis is to promote the empowerment of others.

 

Third, having nothing either motivates or debilitates. I would love to say that feelings of powerlessness motivates a person to do better and pursue excellence, but from my perspective it often makes a person give up or turn to unlawful or immoral behaviors.

 

This is a social problem. When large segments of a society feels powerless, they turn to illegal acts to "get more stuff" and to "take power" the only way they know how. Some might say that economic redistribution is the answer. However, taking from those that have and giving it to those who do not have never works. It "angers" the haves and makes the "have nots" feel entitled to their resources.

 

The solution for the pain of having nothing is empowerment. We must empower others so that they can have the power they need to be successful.

 

This is the message that I want the world to hear. We must all empower others. Society depends upon empowering others and I believe that it is God's design that we empower others.

 

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Three Ways to Simplify Your Life



People often get overwhelmed in life. Have you tried to cut back to make life manageable? We get more and more things, then we need more money to maintain everything in our lives. We have become dependent upon electronics and smart phones.  We are in constant communication with everyone and life seems to get more complicated and confusing.

 

Isn't it time that we simplify our lives?

 

I think so...you can empower yourself by reexamining your life, strengthening the essentials, and eliminating the waste in your lives.

 

I am in a season of life where there are simply too many things that I would like to do, but don't have the time. So I have been thinking a lot lately about how I could simplify my life and be happier and feel better about my life.

 

There are three things that will make a person's life simpler and more fulfilling. Actually, I came up with a lot more than three, but realized that I could easily make things more complicated in an effort to simplify life. (Life is full of ironies like that.) I examined all of the things that I had listed and took the three things that I feel will make our lives more fulfilling and they all begin with a realistic examination of our lives.

 

We must honestly evaluate everything that we do and be willing to make the adjustments necessary to make our lives better. I recently saw a definition of discipline and have used this definition many times.

 

DISCIPLINE 

is

choosing between

what I want most

 &

what I want now.

 

I love this definition because it sums up our lives well. We may want washboard abs, but are we willing to diet and exercise to get them. I believe that we all have ability to be healthy and fit if we are willing to do what is necessary.

 

Three things that will help us to simplify our lives and become more satisfied:

 

1. Determine what thing or two is most essential for personal growth and do them every day.

 

If you are not developing personally or professionally, you are declining. Ask yourself what are the most important things that I should do everyday that will help me become the person that I want to be? Things like exercise, Bible reading, praying, mediation, listening to sermons or development experts, or blogging. Make these things a priority and do them daily.

 

"If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority."

 

2. List all of your daily activities, then label them as:

1. Essential
2. Useful
3. Enjoyable
4. Wasteful

Then focus on the essential and eliminate the wasteful.

 

Obviously, the things that essential and useful should be prioritized and strengthened. We should examine those things that are enjoyable--like watching TV for two hours every evening--and determine if we should exchange that activity for a more useful one.

 

But the thing here is to identify and eliminate those things that are wasteful in our lives.

 

3. Eliminate dead weight (i.e. things that hinder us).

 

We have all seen the movies where items were thrown out of a plane or over the side of a ship to lighten the load to prevent a horrible tragedy. Americans want to live outside of our means. I saw a movie years ago where a couple crash landed on a island. They had to walk to the other side of the island so that they could be saved. When the couple started out, the woman insisted that they carry her bags. By the time they reached the other side of the island, they had discarded all unnecessary weight. Her priorities had changed. Things that seemed important actually were hindrances.

 

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Upgrading Your "Life Vehicle"

 

 

You may be satisfied with your life as it is right now, but I have suspicions that there are things that you still want out of life. We should always be looking for ways to advance our situation in life, and to help others advance in their lives. Our life "vehicle" has brought us to where we are, and will take us further.

 

Your vehicle should be equipped to take you to the next level in life!

 

"Vehicle" comes from the Latin vehiculum (a means of transport) which is derived from vehere (to carry). The dictionary meaning is 1) a thing used for transporting people or goods, or 2) a thing used to express, embody, or fulfill something. We each have a "vehicle" that takes us to where we want to be in life, but everybody's vehicle is different.

 

The "vehicle" that takes us to where we want to be in life is our knowledge, skills, and abilities. Some of us have great and reliable vehicles that takes us to places we want to go, however we should always be upgrading. Because life is a journey, it is as much about the vehicle as it is about the road or the destination. Even if your vehicle is adequate for now, we should not be satisfied.

 

You should always be upgrading your knowledge. It is often said that knowledge is power. Every job, career, organization, or discipline has information that is unique. A person that goes to work for Alltel may be a RF engineer and know everything about wireless communication, but still has to learn information that is unique to Alltel. A young man was hired as a leasing coordinator for a company. He worked in a pool of other leasing coordinators, but while the other coordinators did their jobs and earned a paycheck. This young man began to learn how the company as a whole worked and soon became a project manager because he gained the knowledge about the company the other lease coordinators did not.

 

My daughter works for a restaurant chain. Not being satisfied with just earning a check and because she has an inquisitive mind, she determine that she wanted to know everything about the restaurant chain. As a result of her gaining more knowledge and showing her dependability, she has become a manager and goes to other restaurant grand openings to assist. She is on her way to having her own restaurant--and she is only twenty years old.

 

Upgrade your knowledge and become an expert in an area that is vital for the company success or can become a marketable asset. Become the "go to" person in that area.

 

As you upgrade your knowledge, upgrade your skills also. A skill is a combination of abilities, techniques, and knowledge that makes a person do tasks at a higher degree or standard. Skills are primarily learned behavior. We attend college, trade schools, or take on internships to gain the skills needed to advance our careers. Skills come from putting knowledge into action. Knowledge that it not followed up by action is useless.

The third upgrade should be to your ability. Ability is the generic make up of a person that is generally inherited. Abilities are either cognitive or physical and everybody has an inherent level of abilities. Ability is part of a person's overall make up that includes personality, intelligence, and emotions. However, abilities can improve or diminish. 

 

Knowledge, skills, and abilities work together. An athlete may be big and be able to run very fast, but that ability will not make him a football player. The athlete must gain football knowledge. Being big, able to run, and having football knowledge still does not make that person a running back. Skill comes when a person's ability is combined with knowledge and put into action. This continual action produces skill.

 

This combination of knowledge, ability, and skill is the vehicle that will take you toward your destiny.

Coaching Questions:

1. Are you satisfied with your level of knowledge, abilities, and skills and are they able to take you to the next level?

2. Which is your greatest strength?

-Knowledge
-Abilities
-Skills

3. What is your greatest weakness

-Knowledge
-Abilities
-Skills

4. Which of these three need the biggest upgrade?

5. When and how will you start this upgrade?


 

Do you need help in advancing to the next level?

 

Have you considered getting a coach?

 

Coaches can help you identify your next level and work to achieve it.

 

For more coaching information email me at jimbayes4@hotmail.com

 

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Empower Your Dreams

 

Do you know what it takes for you to be able to achieve the dreams that you have for your life?

 

A fact of reality that comes with getting older, is looking back at our lives and seeing the things that we wanted to accomplish go unfulfilled. Sure, some of the things we wanted to do were out of our control and sometimes doors that we wanted to open remained shut. Reasons for unopened doors often remain hidden to our understanding. I also look back at opportunities I let go by and wonder. I wanted to be a foreign missionary. I had an opportunity in my twenties to work for Teen Challenge in Germany--I turned it down. Maybe I should have looked at that opportunity more closely. I was also asked to start a church in West Texas, but didn't feel ready for the task at the time. I wonder where I would be today if I had chosen another path. I choose, however, to dwell upon the things in life that I have accomplished. I can honestly say that, although I look back and wonder about paths not taken, I have no regrets and I love the place in which God has placed me.

 

I have more dreams I will accomplish in the near future and know that there are five things that will get me there.

 

1. Determination

 

Our plans for the future should be directed by God. God directs our plans if we allow Him. Once we have a direction from God, we should follow that path with determination. Often the paths that we believe God is directing stops or changes direction. These unexpected changes are usually from God. He seldom gives us the whole picture and usually the way that we envision the future seldom comes true in the exact form we imagined. We may dream of teaching in a University,  but God may have us teaching a small group on Thursday nights. We may have dreams of writing the greatest novel in the twenty-first century, but can only manage a weekly blog. I watched a video of a couple that felt from the beginning of their relationship that they were going to have a daughter and that her name would be Chloe. After years and years of trying to have children, they only had heartache. After they decided to adopt, they found that the mother of the girl they were going to adopt wanted to name her Chloe. They had thought that they would give birth to Chloe, but realized that God had different plans. We may have dreamed of marrying Veronica, but ended up married to Betty. The circumstances of the dream God gives us may change, but the essence of the dream remains in tact--having a child, having a spouse, teaching, being a missionary, etc. We need to be determined in seeing the dream God has given use come true and not necessarily the circumstances as we planned them.

 

2. Responsibility

 

Our life is our responsibility. This includes our dreams. Our life is not the responsibility of our parents, our families, our friends, our spouses, or even God. It is ours. Self-leadership and self-management are vital keys for realizing dreams. They are defined as having the ability to lead and manage yourself. Leading and managing your life means taking responsibility. If we have gotten off of track, it is important to understand that we can do little to change past decisions. However, we can repair damage that may have been done, mend or heal our current situations, and plan our future decisions. Important to self-leadership and management is making informed decisions. That brings us to the third thing.

 

3. Education

 

Education is defined as the process of receiving systematic instruction, but it is also defined as having an enlightened experience. Regardless of what your dream is, there is a level of knowledge and understanding that is needed. The old adage says that knowledge is power. In our pursuit of this power, look for mentors. Look for someone who is or was where you want to be and ask them to mentor you. I cannot stress this enough. One of the great failures of not accomplishing our dreams is not having good mentors. Many people who are qualified, do not place themselves in the position of mentoring others. When they do, they often choose others and may not think of mentoring you. That is when we need twenty seconds of insane courage to approach that individual and ask them to mentor us. If they say no or they don't have the time, don't take it personally. They can still mentor you by observation. Each boss or supervisor that I have had were my mentors. I observed them and asked questions and learned from each of them. Although I didn't always have an official mentoring relationship, they were all my mentors.

 

4. Attitude

I will never forget. I was walking down the hallway of a hospital and passed a man pushing himself in a wheelchair. The man had on a t-shirt that said, "Attitude is everything." It was clear that this man's ability to deal with his handicap was because of his attitude. The difference between this man's life and the life of someone that has lost the use of their legs and gives up on life is in their attitude. The attitude in which we approach life determines not only the destination, but also how smooth the ride getting there will be. People whose attitude is right are successful. People whose attitudes are informed by faith, trust, and belief in God are unstoppable.

5. Motivation

Motivation explains why we do the things we do. This is important. We need to have the proper motivation that will put us in a situation to accomplish our dreams. Those of us that have college degrees have them because we were motivated enough to endure everything that is required to get that diploma. Accomplishing our dreams directly relates to the motivation to accomplish that dream. The right motivation supplants every force bent on stopping our dream. Psychologist talk about intrinsic and extrinsic motivational forces. A person that is intrinsically motivated is motivated from within themselves. They have an inner desire for accomplishment. A person, on the other hand, that is extrinsically motivated gets their motivation from external forces--a paycheck, the threat of punishment, fear of being fired, or that large bonus for a job well done. Both motivational forces are legitimate. Sports athletes are internally motivated to succeed, but often need that coach in their face to insure they are doing their best. I will suggest a third kind of motivation; God-motivation. Every Christian, regardless of internal or external motivation, should be motivated by God. He is the one who designed us and knows for what we are best suited. God sent the Holy Spirit to live in us and guide us. We should be motivated by His Word and by His Spirit.

These five things can help us achieve our dreams.

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I feel that there are many people that need some encouragement. Some people have lost sight of their dreams and God's plans for them seem far away to them. I feel that God wants us to encourage them. GOD IS NOT THROUGH WITH ANY OF US YET.

 

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How to Live With No Regrets

The last thing that we want is to look back over our lives and regret the way that we lived our lives. Bucket lists have become very popular. There are many things that we all would love to do and places that we would like to see, but there never seems to be enough time or money. However, our lives are much more than a collection of experiences. A recent Hospice report lists the five most common regrets from people who are dying.

They are:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

We are told to dream big, set goals, and succeed in life and many of us (especially males) are driven to do this. What is not always realized-and what the dying know-is that we often lose sight of what is really important and exchange what we aspire to for what is expected.

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.

This is one of the most common regrets among men hospice patients. I am sure that these individuals would not suggest that working hard is not important, but my interpretation of this is that we need to balance our work with other important aspects of life. Men too often sacrifice spending time with their family for the sake of work. Let us not make this mistake.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

As I contemplate this regret, I am mindful of all of the people that have touched my life that probably don't know what they mean to me.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

The popularity of social media has made contacting friends and acquaintances from the past much easier; do not neglect this mean of staying in touch

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

I realized some time ago that happiness is a choice. Do not make the mistake of NOT choosing to be happy.

What is NOT listed is as revealing as what IS listed. Notice that specific places and experience do not seem as important to people coming close to the end of their lives.

It is often said that hind-site is 20/20. Looking back is always easier and clearer than looking forward and we cannot change our past, but we can influence our future.

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Empower Your Life by Thinking!

Mom, "I can't stop thinking!"

The walls of my boyhood home must have been very thin. I remember one restless night trying to go to sleep. Mom detected my restlessness and said with a loud voice from her adjoining bedroom, "Jimmy, go to sleep!" My reply was something like, "I can't get to sleep, I can't stop thinking!"

Let's try an experiment. For the next 60 seconds try not to think about anything.

Times up....

Pretty hard isn't it? Have you ever wondered why you think about the things you think about? I have (maybe I have too much time to think). I am sure that some researcher somewhere has received  grant money for research into thinking patterns and why we think about what we think about. I am more interested in what the Bible says about our thinking. A Bible study into "thoughts" and "thinking" gets quite involved. Ultimately we learn that our thoughts come out of the state of our hearts (Mark 7:20-22 for example). Instead of jumping into that whole study, I just want to stress three points regarding our thoughts.

1. What we think about matters.

There are many scriptures that indicate that our thoughts matter to God. For example, "The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but gracious words are pure in his sight" (Proverbs 15:26). Ultimately, thoughts merely reflect what is in our hearts, but we know that God changes hearts every day (Romans 12:1-2). This leads to our second point.

2. We have the ability to control our thoughts.

Although we do not always exercise the power to control our thoughts, we have been given this ability. People are guilty of thinking habitually--that is we tend to fall into patterns of thinking. This is often because of our environment. The computer programming phrase comes to mind--garbage in, garbage out. This applies to virtually every area of life and is the reason for Paul's admonition:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatsoever is true, whatsoever is noble, whatsoever is pure, whatsoever is lovely, whatsoever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." Philippians 4:8

3. We can determine many outcomes in our lives by controlling our thinking.

Think about the power of this statement!

This statement is true.

If we think about positive, Godly things, then we will have more Godly positive outcomes in our lives.

The opposite is also true.

If we think about negative, worldly things, then we will have more negative ungodly outcomes in our lives.

This is true for the Christian and for the non-Christian! This is a natural law that applies to all mankind. There are many laws that apply to mankind--give and it will be given to you, love and you will be loved, tithing (there is a blessing for all who give a 10th to God, I know several non-Christians that feel strongly about tithing). Thoughts have a resonance or frequency that can be heard by God and I believe can be detected by others. I would rather my life resonates positive, Godly, up-lifting "vibrations" than ungodly, faith-killing, fleshly "vibs".

Empower Somebody's Dream

I have hopes and dreams of what I want to accomplish in the next 10 years. 

Do you? 

I hope that you do. 

I spend a lot of time thinking and planning about future endeavors. A few years ago I was disappointed in a certain person because I felt that they did not give me enough support so that I could establish an after school program. I tried to get them to catch the vision, but ultimately I could not get the kind of support that I felt I needed to get the program started. Recently I was visiting the same person and realized that they had a dream also and that I was so wrapped up in my own dreams that I could not see theirs. I apologized to that person for not giving them more support for their dream. It saddens me to know that my support could have made the difference for them seeing their dream become reality.

This was a lesson learned and one that I am hoping to pass on to you. In our efforts to achieve our dreams, we should not neglect helping others realize theirs. I am not suggesting that we lay aside our own visions for the future, but in our effort we should not get so busy that we fail to see others visions and pass up opportunities to help them succeed. I love the word "synergy." It means the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sums of their separate effects. I love to see synergy in action. It basically says that we can accomplish more together than we can by ourselves. This is God's plan. God intended for us to help one another.

My doctoral work was on leadership empowerment. The greatest thing that I realized during my research is that every individual has untapped potential to empower others. There is not a human being, regardless of their circumstance, that does not need to be empowered. The wealthiest person and the poorest person need to be empowered. They need empowering in different ways and to different extents, but they both need to be empowered.

Besides helping get resources, we can empower each other to accomplish each other's dreams by:

1. Helping others to clarify their dream. Having someone to talk things over helps to clarify our dreams. We can help them by asking probing questions. Ask them to clarify, give examples, breakdown and/or expand their thoughts. Active listening is rephrasing their statements back to them to make sure that you are understanding their dream.

2. We can help them make their dream more concrete by getting them to articulate what they desire to accomplish. It is difficult to act upon dreams that remain abstract.

3. We can help them set goals that will accomplish their desired result. Realistic and meaningful milestones should be set. Goals should be broken town into smaller goals or milestones so that they are not overwhelmed by the magnitude of their dreams.

4. We can help them to take action. Every person is different. We tend to be doers or thinkers (see my blog "Be an Executioner"). Doers tend to jump out and do things without making good plans (#1-3 above help doers set goals). Thinkers like to plan. Sometimes they plan too much and have difficulty starting a project. We can help these thinkers initiate their action plans.

5. We can help them reflect and review their actin plans. A feedback loop is important for any project. This helps us adapt our strategies for current projects and to avoid pitfalls for future projects.

I am currently working on Empower 4 (see www.jimmybayes.org/empower4 and my blog titled "Empowering Others") for more information on empowerment.

Empower4 (E4) is an empowerment program that explains how everyone or organization can divinely, socially, structurally, and psychologically empower others. Stay tuned for more information regarding E4.

Share your dreams in the comments section below:

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Empowering Others

I have been doing research on power and empowerment and I want to hear from you. 

Please answer these questions:

1. In what ways do you feel you have POWER over your life and circumstances?

2. In what ways do you feel POWERLESS over your life and circumstances?

3. What would need to happen to give you more POWER over your life and circumstances?

4. In what ways can you EMPOWER others?

5. Tell how someone has EMPOWERED you.

Please copy and paste these questions in the comments box below or if you don't want your response seen, email them to jimbayes4@gmail.com.

Thank you,

Your responses will help in the material I am preparing for a Model of Empowerment.

Three Empowering Keys to Church Fitness

The definition of health reveals two things. First is the lack of or being free of disease or ailment. The second thing is that health implies soundness and vigor.

The first aspect of health is the absence of any disease or ailment. No church is perfect, but if you have been a part of the Christian church for any length of time, you have more than likely seen churches that are sick because of a debilitating sickness. When I look at churches, I tend to look at the positive things and do not dwell upon the negative. There are, however, some churches that are obviously sick. Some church sicknesses are controlling factions, adversarial people who criticize and hinder things they do not agree with, conflicting relationships, poor leadership, and lack of vision and direction.

These are just a few of the potential sicknesses that can afflict a church. Being free from any of these or other major sicknesses does not mean that the church is a healthy church. The second part of our definition of health is that health implies wholeness and vitality. These two are separate but related. Wholeness is more than the body without a debilitating disease—there must be vitality. Vitality means that the body has all of its parts functioning properly and significant observable signs of life. As a nurse takes the vital signs of a patient--primarily blood pressure and temperature—we can also examine the church body for vital (or vitality) signs. Church leaders should be concerned about the health and vitality of their church, but how to determine church health and vitality is not always easy.

Let's look at the head, heart, hands, and feet of the body and their impact on vitality.

To determine the vitality of the church body, the head must be examined. The head of the church represents the leadership. Church leadership cannot be overestimated. I have often said that a church is what it is because of the leadership and it is not what it is not because of the leadership. That places a lot of responsibility upon the leader (usually the pastor) of the church. You may be thinking, "Yes, but what about our adversary the devil and his demons that are out to destroy the church?" Yes, we do have an enemy that is out to destroy and hinder our efforts, but have we not the promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against us (Mt. 16:18)? If this is true—and it is—then church leaders must admit to themselves that they may be the weakness of the church.

[Caveat: Church Health is not measured by attendance, membership, or money in the bank. As one pastor put it, "Church Health is not measured by butts and bucks."]

The leadership must become students of church health and vitality. I did not know about colic until I became a new father and we could not get our daughter to stop crying. Every time that our kids come down with a sickness, we have to become knowledgeable enough about the ailment to know how to respond. Poor attendance and lack of resources can be a symptom of a greater problem. Just like I had to learn to help my colicky child, pastors must learn how to treat their colicky church. Most of the time the church leaders are too close to the problem to identify it. Pastors do themselves and their churches a favor by getting someone who is familiar with church vitality to help diagnose their vitality.

Next is the heart of the body. The heart represents the spiritual vitality of the body. The spiritual heart is diagnosed by Mark 12:30-31, to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. In the churches that I work with, this seems to be a strong area. After all, that is what church is all about--loving God and loving others. Most churches have leaders and a core group that truly love God and show love toward others. I have had pastors of small churches point to their love of God and each other as proof of their health in spite of their size. Regardless of the atmosphere of love, acceptance, and forgiveness that exists in your church, this has to be nurtured or it will die. We make sure that our children have plenty of nutritious food. Pastors must make sure that their church has a healthy diet. Spiritual vitality is very important to the church, but it is only one organ of the body that impacts its vitality.

Next are the hands of the body. Hands represents what the church does. The hands are the functions of the church. Being active is a part of life. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, " Whatever you do, do it with all your heart. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom." Many church health experts assess church health by assessing the functions of the church. There are two aspects of the Christian life and by extension the church: being and doing. God is first interested in the "being"--who we are. Every Christian should be aware of who they are, but what we do is also important because it reflects who we are. We show our love of God by our worship and obedience--by how we respond to God's love. Being and doing are almost inseparable because they impact each other in profound ways. A coin has two sides regardless how thin or thick it is. If one side of the coin ceases to exist, then the coin itself ceases to exist. You cannot have a coin with only one side. This is equally true with "being" and "doing" as Christians. James makes a similar argument about faith and doing when he says, "Show me your faith without doing and I will show you my faith by what I do" (James 2:18). As with the head and heart, the hands represents only one aspect of church vitality.

Finally we examine the feet of the body. The feet represents evangelism. Isaiah 52:7 says, "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'" While most churches are busy "doing", many are inadequate in outreach. Outreach can be measured by the impact they are having on their community and the reputation they have in their area. Sadly, many churches are making very little impact on their community. It is logical to assume that God planted each church strategically so that they could influence and help people they come into contact with. It is also a fact that many communities are unaware of the churches in their area. It is safe to say that the churches that are known are also the churches that are making a difference in their communities. A vital church implies that they are busy working in God's fields either planting or harvesting. A vital church looks outward into their community as we as upward toward God and inward toward their spiritual family.

Church vitality can be measured by examining the head (efficient leadership), the heart (spiritual vitality), the hands (godly behaviors), and the feet (community impact) of the body.

I invite you to enter into the conversation about church health. I have been a part of several groups that dialogue and try to find solutions for ailing churches. I have noticed that church members and lay leaders have not typically been part of the dialogue. I believe that the solution for revitalizing the church will not come from pastors and leaders alone. The solution will come from every member of the body working together.

Please jump into the conversation about the state of the Church in America and leave a comment below.

Thank you for contributing your opinion.

 

 

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Please visit the Dunamis Empowerment foundation (www.dunamisempower.org).