Saturday, April 18, 2009
Communcations - video clip
While I was at Spring Harvest I saw this advert in one of the seminars. It would be a good one to use for talking about communication
Labels: Spring Harvest, Video clip ideas
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Making the right decision
Here are some more notes from the Spring Harvest seminar by James Lawrence....
Making a decision can be a tricky business. The outcome depends upon what we do (the action) and when we do it (the time). If we don't get the right combination, things might not work out as we expect. This diagram attempts to show what can happen:
Making a decision can be a tricky business. The outcome depends upon what we do (the action) and when we do it (the time). If we don't get the right combination, things might not work out as we expect. This diagram attempts to show what can happen:
| Wrong action | Right action |
| Wrong time | Wrong time |
| | |
| Disaster! | Resistance |
| | |
| | |
| Mistake | Success |
| | |
| Wrong action | Right action |
| Right time | Right time |
Labels: Spring Harvest, Training
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Change
A few months ago I typed up some of the key points from the Spring Harvest leadership seminars I attended this year. I thought I'd type up some more on the subject of change...
Principles of change
1) different people react differently to change...at one end of the spectrum we have people who like stability and at the other we have people who like change. For those of us who are trying to undertake change, we have to ask ourselves: what if someone likes stability? After all some people like Church because it is a source of stability in a changing world. Change can lead to:
- strong dissatisfaction
- stress
- negative attitude (distrust / dislike) towards those with other preference
- resistance
- intense emotions
- loss of rational judgment
2) Everyone has fundamental needs to be meet. Those initiating the change need to consider what these individual needs are and how change will effect / meet those needs.
3) Change involves loss...people go through a "loss curve" like grieving:
- Shock
- Anger
- Rejection
- Acceptance
- Healing
4) Fears need to be dealt with in a rational way
Note that change usually requires a considerable length of time...skipping steps can't be done.
Kotters eight phases of leadership through change
1) Establish a sense of urgency
2) Form a powerful guiding coalition
3) Create a vision...a clear a concise description of what you are doing. This should be written in terms of outcomes, not specific activities
4) Communicate your vision, use every opportunity and every tool you have available. Do this time and time again.
5) Empower others to act....coaching
6) Plan and create short term wins (milestones). This enables people to see progress.
7) Consolidate and maintain momentum
8) Institutionalise the new approaches
Labels: Spring Harvest, Training
Monday, October 01, 2007
Bullying seminar notes
These are from some seminar notes from Spring Harvest about 2 years ago...
Some definitions of bullying
Why do people bully?
Some definitions of bullying
- Name calling
- Spreading rumours
- Making up stories to get people into trouble / take away friends
- hitting / tripping / poking
- remarks about colour / physical appearance / looks
- choosing not to be someones partner
- being left out when choosing teams
- taking possessions / demanding money
- hiding stuff
- sending nasty text messages
- prank phone calls
- doing things that you know will make someone ill
Why do people bully?
- Traumatic event
- Boredom
- it gives power
- because they are spoilt and always want their own way
- because that's what in going on at home
- some are under pressure to succeed, so they "have a go" at those who don't try
- they don't fit in...it's a way of getting some power / respect etc.
- they have no sense of accomplishment...they can get some people to do stuff
- they have a negative attitude...
- could be scared of the bully even years later
- being too scared to do or say anything
- can't except praise
- suicide
- causes a wrong view of God...if everyone else bullies you...surly God will
- scared of walking to / from meetings / youth group / school etc. May constantly ask to be driven or may change their route.
- they stop coming all of a sudden
- may suddenly become withdrawn..."hide at the back" of the group
- suddenly start stammering
- threaten suicide / run away
- all of a sudden feel ill before some activity
- begin to underachieve....stop giving the right answers...maybe they are being bullied for being bright
- their stuff gets damaged
- they start to lash out
- they stop eating
- they present improbable excuses
- The no blame approach...draw a pictures / write a poem
- Mediation
- Circle time
- Peer group programs
- "Telling", ie, use a message box to allow people to post their concerns
- Sometimes they bring it on themselves...children can spot a victim from an early age
- Some children don't like their name because someone has misused it
- If you suspect someone is being bullied, start recording any incidents in a log book
- Check out the book Odd Girl Out - the hidden culture of aggression in girls
Labels: Bullying, Spring Harvest, Training
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Developing leaders vs developing followers
Here are some more notes from the seminar by James Lawrence.
We were exploring the issue - is it better to develop leaders or followers? In reality most of us try to develop what he termed to "followers", which in the long run is less effective than developing leaders.
Here's a comparison between developing leaders vs developing followers:
I can recognise some of this in myself - I think where I struggle is "treat people the same". I guess this is because we are so paranoid about favoritism.
We were exploring the issue - is it better to develop leaders or followers? In reality most of us try to develop what he termed to "followers", which in the long run is less effective than developing leaders.
Here's a comparison between developing leaders vs developing followers:
| Leaders that develop followers | Leaders that develop leaders |
|---|---|
| Need to be needed | Want to be succeeded (do themselves out of a job) |
| Focus on weakness | Focus on strengths |
| Develop the bottom 20% | Develop the top 20% |
| Treat the people the same for "fairness" sake | Treat people as individuals for impact |
| Hoard power | Give power away |
| Spend time with others (more socially) | Invest time in others (more focused) |
| Grow by addition | Grow by multiplication |
| Only impact the people they touch | Impact people beyond their reach |
I can recognise some of this in myself - I think where I struggle is "treat people the same". I guess this is because we are so paranoid about favoritism.
Labels: Spring Harvest, Training
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Team leaders role
I've been going through some of my old notes from various training sessions I've been on. These notes are from a seminar by James Lawrence & Rob White on team work:
There are two fundamental principles on developing people.
1) Everyone can develop other people, you can do this through:
The team leaders role is to:
The leaders must make sure all three of these things happen.
To make these happen, we need to be aware of the "needs" of the "team", "task" and "individual":
The needs of the "individual"
There are two fundamental principles on developing people.
1) Everyone can develop other people, you can do this through:
- affirmation - saying thank you / well done
- encouragement
- Jesus only invested in 12, and within that focused on 3 (and 1 in particular)
- We can't invest the same amount of time in everyone
The team leaders role is to:
- build and maintain the team
- achieve the task
- develop individuals
The leaders must make sure all three of these things happen.
To make these happen, we need to be aware of the "needs" of the "team", "task" and "individual":
The needs of the "individual"
- to be accepted and valued by the leaders
- to be able to contribute to the task
- to know what is expected from them and what is expected from the team
- to be part of the team
- to have clear targets
- to set standards and perform
- to clarify responsibilities
- to achieve / set targets and standards
- to ensure all members contributions are complementary
- to know the leaders style and vision
- to feel a common sense of purpose
- to be supported
- to grow and develop as a unit
- to have a sense of collective achievement
- to have a common identity
Labels: Spring Harvest, Training
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Dealing with conflict
I've just been going through some of my notes from Spring Harvest...one of the sessions I went to looked at the issue of conflict. I've typed up some of the notes (see below). When it's laid out like this, it's quite easy to recognise some of the problems we come across and when we, as individuals, will succeed...for example, I'm probably a 'problem solver'...but people like me will find it difficult to solve some conflicts...there may be times when a facilitator is needed.
Three myths about conflict
Three myths about conflict
- Conflict can never lead to anything positive
- Conflicts are a result of clashing personalities. Personalities don’t clash, behavior does
- Conflict and anger go together
Four levels of conflict
Generaly speaking there are four causes (or levels) of conflict:
Level 1 – Facts or data. People have the wrong information about stuff
Level 2 – Process or methods. There is a disagreement about how something should be done.
Level 3 – Goals or purpose. When people don’t agree with vision
Level 4 – Values. Where the parties disagree about basic values, ie, one party thinks we should look to the past, others look to the future.
Styles of handling
When dealing with conflict, most of us will fit into one of these roles:
- The problem solver. These people refuse to give in…finding a solution is just a mater of time. This approach tends to work where the parties have common goals
- The super helper. This person wants to see all conflicts resolved. They will fight tooth and nail for someone else but often find it hard to sort out their own issues
- The power broker. We will solve this problem and it does not matter how many casualties there are. All that matters is that we resolve the problem.
- The facilitator. They look for ways of bringing people together
- The fearful looser. These people tend to run from conflict.
Top tips
- Separate the people from the problem
- Focus on the issues not the positions
- Think about the options that might solve the problem(s). Is there space for compromise?
Insist on objective criteria….on what basis will we agree to disagree? A third party judge? - Try make it a shared problem, not a conflict problem
- Don’t be personal – behave like adults
- Keep your body language in check
- Try to clarify goals. What outcome is needed and where goal fits?
- Listen carefully ‘underneath the words’ and reflect back, ie, don't just listen to what they are saying....what do their words imply?
Labels: Behaviour, Spring Harvest, Training
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Why does bad stuff happen?
I mentioned other week, I'm thinking of doing some sessions on tricky questions such as Why does bad stuff happen. While I don't want this to be an academic debate, I thought I'd try and come up with all arguments and some of the counter arguments. Here are some that I've come across so far:
Maybe God is not in control - he may of created the universe, but he's cleared and left us to it For reasons we don't understand, God chooses to out work his purpose though us...fallible human beings...we are Gods 'instruments'. In other words, we are here to do God's work, and if we don't do it, we add to the suffering. To what extent are the problems of this world the result of our own actions? Did God create evil? Maybe he just created the possibility for evil to exist. If you believe in evolution, then the process its self includes "pain" or "suffering", i.e., for the "survival of the fittest" to become a reality, some must fall. Where is God when things go wrong? suggests something similar on page 14 - if God did not create the universe...and mankind is "just a bit of slime of a planet, why should we be remotely concerned at the systematic slaughter of six million Jews or half a million Rwandans?". It goes on to say "If human beings are simply the result of countless chemical and biological accidents, how can they have any personal value...." I heard Steve Chalk talk about evil a few years ago at Spring Harvest. He suggested that God is not all powerful, but has all the power. This is because his love for us restricts him. I think the talk was called Evil Uncovered. Maybe God's power is limited In a world that favours Moral relativism how can the concept of evil exist? The Bible teaches absolute moral truths, i.e., the ten commandments apply regardless of the situation. Note the paradox within Moral relativism - is this theory an absolute truth or relative? For it to be true, it must be absolute! I've heard some humanists say that moral values are based on the human experience of pain - i.e., if it causes pain, then it's morally wrong. Calvinism vs. Arminianism, i.e., total depravity etc. From what I understand, the idea that only the "elect" are chosen to be "saved" and others aren't. This would suggest that our choices are limited or fated. See The Problem of Evil Romans 8:28
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
James 4:1-5
"Wars and murders come from yourselves because you are greedy and lust for power"
Jesus tells us to pray in Matthew 6:10 "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven".
Where is God when things go wrong? This booklet takes a fairly realistic look at this problem and tries to come up with some answers. Where are some quotes:
Where do sciences live Behaviourism fit into this?
Pain is a warning sign
As we suffer, Christ has suffered too...for you...us...
Psalm 23
Technorati tags: youth talks, youth ideas, Suffering
- A God of love will not force you to do something...he will allow you to make your own choices
- God teaches us through suffering
- Bill Hybels in Finding God in the Storms of Life talks about "rouge winds", suggesting that when they strike it causes us to focus on what is really important. It also results in some people coming to faith.
- God tests us though trials
- God may allow certain things to happen for the greater good - we are not in possession of all the facts.
- Look at the story of Joseph in
- See Matthew 7:7-12
- Rob Bell Nooma "Kick ball" DVD uses this analogy
- James Sire "A transcendent God, as a First Cause, created the universe but then left it to run on its own? ...To the deist, then, God is distant, foreign, alien."
- Bill Hybels in Finding God in the Storms of Life..."God took a risk of unimaginable proportions by giving human beings free will...it's like giving a fifteen-year-old kid the keys to a Ferrari...". He also quotes Jeremiah 17:9 and suggests that sometimes we deceive ourselves. There's an example of some guy who smokes 3 packs of cigarettes every day...he gets lung cancer. Who's fault is this? I guess the same principle would apply to things like drink, stress, work or the way we deal with anger, problems etc.
- Genesis 2:15 - 17 "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
- Romans 3:10 - 18
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
"Wars and murders come from yourselves because you are greedy and lust for power"
- "1) Evil and suffering exist in the world 2) If God were all-powerful, he could prevent evil and suffering 3) If he were all-loving, he would want to prevent these 4) If there were an all-powerful, all-loving God, there would be no evil and suffering in the world 5) God is therefore powerless, loveless or non-existent"
- "If all living things on the earth were created by God, and he was a loving God who made man in his image, how do you explain the fact that he must have created the tapeworm, the malaria parasite, the tetanus germ, polio, ticks, mosquitoes, cockroaches and fleas?"
- "When people respond to tragedy by asking, 'how can there be a just God?' their question is logically flawed, as without him words like 'just' and 'unjust' are purely matters of personal opinion"
- "Far from moral problems ruling out the existence of God, our sense of things being right and wrong, fair or unfair, just or unjust is a strong clue that there is some transcendent standard that affects us all"
- "...suffering reminds us of our physical frailty and of our dependence upon God"
- There is an interesting challenge on page 18. Some guy who wants to know why there was "so much evil in the world" is challenged to say "what you have done about the evil you see within you"
- 1 Peter 2:21
- 1 Peter 4:1
- The Death of Lazarus John 11:1 - 44
Labels: Apologetics, Spring Harvest
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Talk response 13: friendship braclet
Make a friendship bracelet. Each strand could represents a prayer. I think I saw this at Spring Harvest
Labels: Prayer, Reflective, Spring Harvest
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