Ok, so I know its Tuesday and I missed my Monday blogspot which has wrecked my weekly routine. The purpose of the Monday morning blog was to reflect on the previous few days and prepare myself for the week ahead, before the week took over me! Yesterday it didnt happen and it became one of those days that ran away with itself. I ended up working late until 2am on my latest assignment that has to be in tomorrow and then up at 6.30am for my morning workout - don't email me to say thats crazy - I know!
Last Thursday I went for my first Training Session with Glynn at LA Fitness in Fareham who has offered to give personal training - it was like entering another world. I know he is South African but it is like he speaks a different language! He had me all measured up and then made me do some random excercises and asked if had ever had a knee injury as I was compensating the way I moved - amazing I damaged my left knee ligaments 20 years ago and didnt think it was a problem any more. He also pointed out a number of other areas where I was out of balance and explained how my stance was all wrong and how I could rectify it. It was weird but fascinating and although he wanted to see me twice a week I wimped out and went for once a week to start with - more on this to follow I am sure...
On Sunday we had Jack Groblewski from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania come and speak in the morning meeting which was superb. He spoke on Mission as I had never heard it preached with the concept that Mission meant Honour. That our job was to bring honour to people, to elevate the to the rightful place that God had for them. That when God sent his Son as a gift to us he was showing the value he placed on us and that we should also be giving the gift of Jesus to others and helping them realise that God has made them to be royalty. Brilliant angle and brings a whole new approach to working in the community. We are not doing to just be good, we are not doing to make ourselves feel better or force people to know Jesus, we are elevating people to the rightful place by giving them something so precious that realise how much they are valued - brilliant. (see www.newcommunity.org.uk for podcast download if interested).
So onwards to this week, looking pretty hectic and out most nights. Second edition of the Church magazine to be drafted, Final session of Exploring Christianity, Levi has a hospital visit, New Community Health has had some bad news on its bid for some new work so meeting on Friday to work through and I need to tidy up my assignment today to be posted! oh, and I am meeting with a young couple who want to get married - first wedding for me to officiate in Southampton.
Life is crazy and I still haven't got my work life balance sorted but I am aware of this and working on it. I am 'conciously incompetent' which is better than being 'unconciously incompetent' and I am striving to be 'conciously competent'! Who knows one day I may even be 'unconciously competent' at getting my life all balanced up but I guess I will never know!
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Monday, 23 March 2009
Time to get Fit?
Last Tuesday I had an eye opening day. At lunchtime a colleague kindly rubbed my belly and asked me if I was putting on weight, I laughed it off and thanked them for their ministry of encouragement. That afternoon a church member popped into the office and laughing heartily rubbed my belly and asked the same question! I laughed along but this time a little more nervously - and more importantly why did everyone think it was ok to touch my belly? If I was under 16 I would have reported them!
Anyway convinced that it was all in their heads and I was super fit and fine - I went home to ask my always supportive and encouraging wife what she thought of these ridiculous claims. Her words to me were "I wasn't going to say anything, but..." - OKAY STOP!!! maybe I needed to do something about it...
Next morning I went for a 30 minute run which almost finished me off, especially as we live on a hill and the last bit was a killer! Friday I did 45 minutes and started to enjoy the run, but Saturday everything ached. On Sunday a member of the Church came to see me after the service and said that they were a Personal Trainer and they wanted to "sow into my life" so could they offer me some one to one training?
hmmm, maybe God is saying something??
Recently God has been speaking to me about getting Spiritually Fit. I study for my preaching and study academically for my theology course but where was my personal development time? Leaders are great at leading others, but the biggest struggle is leading yourself. So many Leaders fail and damage the trust others hold in them because of failing to lead themselves, somehow they exclude themselves from the standards they set for others.
I used to make the excuse to God that I had four kids and a busy life doing good things and working for Him and that my time was always His time. But that's not true - my time is my time and I need to make a commitment to use my time effectively for Him, not just assume it to be so.
So for just over a week I have been getting up an hour earlier and using the time to get myself prepared for the day before the day takes care of me. Part of the reason for blogging again has been to reflect on my week ahead but reflection is becoming a daily exercise. The stakes are getting higher and I believe that God is preparing me and challenging me for all that is ahead.
Watch this space as the Super Fit (spiritually and physically!) Sim appears...
maybe I should do before and after shots? :o)
Anyway convinced that it was all in their heads and I was super fit and fine - I went home to ask my always supportive and encouraging wife what she thought of these ridiculous claims. Her words to me were "I wasn't going to say anything, but..." - OKAY STOP!!! maybe I needed to do something about it...
Next morning I went for a 30 minute run which almost finished me off, especially as we live on a hill and the last bit was a killer! Friday I did 45 minutes and started to enjoy the run, but Saturday everything ached. On Sunday a member of the Church came to see me after the service and said that they were a Personal Trainer and they wanted to "sow into my life" so could they offer me some one to one training?
hmmm, maybe God is saying something??
Recently God has been speaking to me about getting Spiritually Fit. I study for my preaching and study academically for my theology course but where was my personal development time? Leaders are great at leading others, but the biggest struggle is leading yourself. So many Leaders fail and damage the trust others hold in them because of failing to lead themselves, somehow they exclude themselves from the standards they set for others.
I used to make the excuse to God that I had four kids and a busy life doing good things and working for Him and that my time was always His time. But that's not true - my time is my time and I need to make a commitment to use my time effectively for Him, not just assume it to be so.
So for just over a week I have been getting up an hour earlier and using the time to get myself prepared for the day before the day takes care of me. Part of the reason for blogging again has been to reflect on my week ahead but reflection is becoming a daily exercise. The stakes are getting higher and I believe that God is preparing me and challenging me for all that is ahead.
Watch this space as the Super Fit (spiritually and physically!) Sim appears...
maybe I should do before and after shots? :o)
Monday, 16 March 2009
Values of Leadership
As part of my study at Moorlands Bible College I am working on an assignment looking at a modern day leader. For my 4500 word essay I have chosen to look at Richard Branson which in itself has been a real eye opener, but maybe I will blog about that another time! I wanted to find some way of looking at Branson and how he works and trying to find some way of appraising his Leadership skills and values.
For this I came across the book "The Leadership Challenge" by Kouzes & Posner, which is apparently one of THE top books on leadership and highly reccomended. The authors have been studying thousands of leaders since 1987 and have one of the most comprehensive databases of leadership questionairres over more than two decades.
They have come up with Five Key Practices of a great leader which basically states that all successful leaders should: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable others to Act and Encourage the Heart. Each of the practices have two commitments which break things down further but you get the picture. I have read loads of books on leadership over the years and they all have their 17 laws, 7 steps, 24 values or something similar that makes all a bit too organised and boxed up for my liking. But what Kouzes and Posner have done is approached it from the other side and interviewed over 75,000 people across many countries since 1987 and asked the question "What do you look for in a leader?".
The answers were vast but the top four values were consistent every time they ran the survey in 1987, 1995, 2002 and 2007. First place was always HONESTY and then FORWARD-LOOKING followed by INSPIRING and COMPETENT.
People want their leaders to be Honest and Trustworthy, worthy of their trust. When leaders let their constituents down by not doing what they said they would there is a breaking of trust and this affects the leaders credibility.
A CHALENGE!! Am I consistent as a leader in those four values? Do I do what I say I will? Always? Am I always honest with people, my family and myself? Do I hold true to the vision that God has given me or am I persuaded by people and by circumstances? Do I inspire because I am inspired or because I am trying to manipulate a result and am I as at leading as I should be? How can I improve?
This is not just about Leaders of Nations, City Mayors, Headteachers, Church Leaders but about being a Great Father and Quality Husband - leading in every sphere of influence...
Anyway these are the kind of thoughts that are running through my head at the moment, bit preachy and Jerry Macguire-esque but hey - gotta be honest!! :o)
Heading into Childrens & Youth Workers meeting to complete the conversation on Generational Vision we started a couple of weeks ago, planning for a Business Leaders event this afternoon and then being interviewed by Rank Foundation for possible funding of a Youth Worker position within one of our Congregations - key week. Follow the updates on Twitter.
For this I came across the book "The Leadership Challenge" by Kouzes & Posner, which is apparently one of THE top books on leadership and highly reccomended. The authors have been studying thousands of leaders since 1987 and have one of the most comprehensive databases of leadership questionairres over more than two decades.
They have come up with Five Key Practices of a great leader which basically states that all successful leaders should: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable others to Act and Encourage the Heart. Each of the practices have two commitments which break things down further but you get the picture. I have read loads of books on leadership over the years and they all have their 17 laws, 7 steps, 24 values or something similar that makes all a bit too organised and boxed up for my liking. But what Kouzes and Posner have done is approached it from the other side and interviewed over 75,000 people across many countries since 1987 and asked the question "What do you look for in a leader?".
The answers were vast but the top four values were consistent every time they ran the survey in 1987, 1995, 2002 and 2007. First place was always HONESTY and then FORWARD-LOOKING followed by INSPIRING and COMPETENT.
People want their leaders to be Honest and Trustworthy, worthy of their trust. When leaders let their constituents down by not doing what they said they would there is a breaking of trust and this affects the leaders credibility.
A CHALENGE!! Am I consistent as a leader in those four values? Do I do what I say I will? Always? Am I always honest with people, my family and myself? Do I hold true to the vision that God has given me or am I persuaded by people and by circumstances? Do I inspire because I am inspired or because I am trying to manipulate a result and am I as at leading as I should be? How can I improve?
This is not just about Leaders of Nations, City Mayors, Headteachers, Church Leaders but about being a Great Father and Quality Husband - leading in every sphere of influence...
Anyway these are the kind of thoughts that are running through my head at the moment, bit preachy and Jerry Macguire-esque but hey - gotta be honest!! :o)
Heading into Childrens & Youth Workers meeting to complete the conversation on Generational Vision we started a couple of weeks ago, planning for a Business Leaders event this afternoon and then being interviewed by Rank Foundation for possible funding of a Youth Worker position within one of our Congregations - key week. Follow the updates on Twitter.
Monday, 9 March 2009
The Art of the Long Meal
Yesterday Billy spoke on the importance of eating together as a way of creating and building community. For the Jewish home the table is the centre of worship, the place where they celebrate and remember what God has done. Jesus often did miracles around food and ate with people symbolising his acceptance of those perceived to be outcasts of society.
A couple of years ago I spoke about Jesus and his disciples having breakfast on the beach - I remember the talk well as I cooked bacon sandwiches while people listened (and enjoyed the smell!). For me the Last Supper is often remembered as a a very important meal (and it is and was) but we have turned what was a meal with friends into a tokenistic sip of blackcurrant juice and a cracker.
If given the choice between eating the Last Supper with Jesus (and Judas!) or having breakfast on a beach with the boys and the risen Lord Jesus, I think I would go for the latter every time.
Apparently most homes in the UK do NOT have a table that the family can eat round and if they do then I guess a lot don't use them. We had 11 for lunch yesterday (not including Jemimah) and we didn't really finish eating until around 5 and then started making tea! A great time with great friends.
Life is busy and I want to make good use of the time God has given me and so often skip lunch to get more done - but I am challenged this week to spend more time with friends and family over food...
Lunch anyone?
A couple of years ago I spoke about Jesus and his disciples having breakfast on the beach - I remember the talk well as I cooked bacon sandwiches while people listened (and enjoyed the smell!). For me the Last Supper is often remembered as a a very important meal (and it is and was) but we have turned what was a meal with friends into a tokenistic sip of blackcurrant juice and a cracker.
If given the choice between eating the Last Supper with Jesus (and Judas!) or having breakfast on a beach with the boys and the risen Lord Jesus, I think I would go for the latter every time.
Apparently most homes in the UK do NOT have a table that the family can eat round and if they do then I guess a lot don't use them. We had 11 for lunch yesterday (not including Jemimah) and we didn't really finish eating until around 5 and then started making tea! A great time with great friends.
Life is busy and I want to make good use of the time God has given me and so often skip lunch to get more done - but I am challenged this week to spend more time with friends and family over food...
Lunch anyone?
Monday, 2 March 2009
Learning to Breathe
Yesterday I spoke at both our morning and evening congregations as part of our series of Learning, Loving and Living. I looked at the season of Lent and the art of breathing - how to stop, pause and reflect before moving on. Its not about meditating or locking yourself away it is just about building in a process, creating routine so we can 'live life to the full' and learn the 'unforced rhythms of grace'. Hopefully talk and study notes will be available at www.newcommunity.org.uk/central when Sam our technical man puts them up.
Last week I went to the Pioneer Conference in Letchworth to support Billy & Caroline Kennedy as they took responsibility of leading the network of around 90 churches in the UK from Gerald Coates who founded the movement some 30+ years ago. It was a great occasion with many recognisable faces from New Churches around the UK being there on the Thursday night to show their appreciation for Gerald and then the Friday morning was spent welcoming Billy and Caroline into the leadership of Pioneer.
There is a very clear shift taking place in the UK Church scene at the moment with Steve Clifford taking responsibility for the Evangelical Alliance and a desire for Churches to connect with their community by working in partnership across streams, denominations and networks.
A New Day? The next few years will be interesting to watch...
I am spending most of today with our Youth Worker and Childrens Co-Ordinator to look at the long term strategy of our work amongst the under 18's. The big question I am asking is that if a child is born into our community and benefits from our love, care and input for 18 years what will we be producing? We often just cope to get from week to week, but we need to start thinking generationally and long term change not just short term fix.
Will write more next week in the mean time for regular updates on the world of Sim Dendy follow me on twitter - www.twitter.com/simdendy
Last week I went to the Pioneer Conference in Letchworth to support Billy & Caroline Kennedy as they took responsibility of leading the network of around 90 churches in the UK from Gerald Coates who founded the movement some 30+ years ago. It was a great occasion with many recognisable faces from New Churches around the UK being there on the Thursday night to show their appreciation for Gerald and then the Friday morning was spent welcoming Billy and Caroline into the leadership of Pioneer.
There is a very clear shift taking place in the UK Church scene at the moment with Steve Clifford taking responsibility for the Evangelical Alliance and a desire for Churches to connect with their community by working in partnership across streams, denominations and networks.
A New Day? The next few years will be interesting to watch...
I am spending most of today with our Youth Worker and Childrens Co-Ordinator to look at the long term strategy of our work amongst the under 18's. The big question I am asking is that if a child is born into our community and benefits from our love, care and input for 18 years what will we be producing? We often just cope to get from week to week, but we need to start thinking generationally and long term change not just short term fix.
Will write more next week in the mean time for regular updates on the world of Sim Dendy follow me on twitter - www.twitter.com/simdendy
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