by Clarence E. Stowers | Nov 6, 2012 | Current Affairs, Decisions, Empowerment, Leadership, Politics, President Obama, Vision
As the election season comes to a close, whoever wins will make history. We will elect an African-American to a second term or a Mormon as president. Both President Obama & Governor Romney talk about change and how they will implement those changes. Both have a vision on how to get America back on track and believe it wholeheartedly.
However, what they both fail to articulate is how change involves loss, sacrifice, and pain. That is the hard part. Why? Deep change requires that people change the way they think. When people change the way they think, it changes how they feel. When people change how they feel, they change the way they act/behave. Therefore, when both candidates call for change, what they are calling for is a revolution. (more…)
by Clarence E. Stowers | Nov 5, 2012 | Communication, Empowerment, Encouragement, Leadership
Encouragement is often something that leaders overlook. They think that providing vision and management is enough to get a team to work together or achieve a goal. However, remember that teams are made up of individuals who have different personalities and talents. The organization will only benefit from those talents if encouragement is part of the culture.
Often people lack confidence, especially in a work environment. They will hold back if they think they will be mocked for their ideas or that they may fail. Fear is one of the biggest reasons people fail to reach their goals, because of their fears they don’t even try. In his book “Be All You Can Be!” John C. Maxwell explains that people need to be told “Yes you can” before they may try something new. This is the role of a leader, to provide encouragement and tell people that “Yes they can”. Your encouragement as a leader in a way gives people permission to succeed.
Who have you encouraged or inspired lately?
by Clarence E. Stowers | Nov 2, 2012 | Current Affairs, Empowerment, Excellence, Family, Leadership, Relationships, Self-Leadership, Servant Leadership, Weblogs
Welcome back to my blog!
This is my personal blog. It is focused on “empowering people to live an abundant life.” My mission is to help you connect life’s dots while passionately pursuing your purpose. I write on personal development, leadership, finance, relationships, inspiration, and motivation. On occasion, I write about stuff that doesn’t fit neatly into one of these categories.
My goal is to create insightful, relevant content that you can put to work in your personal and professional life. If you are in a position of leadership—or aspire to be—then this blog is for you. I typically post two to three times a week. To make sure you don’t miss my newest posts, you can subscribe via RSS feed.
Thanks for stopping by!
by Clarence E. Stowers | May 14, 2012 | Book Reviews, Books, Christian, Christianity
Life has a way of dealing us the wrong cards. Many of these cards come with painful circumstances which leave scars. Scars are visible reminders of a painful event in our lives. Steve Arterburn’s book, “Healing Is A Choice” shows us how to deal with our painful past.
In 11 chapters, Arterburn explores 10 choices we need to make if we are to experience the healing that comes from Christ. These Choices are as follows (these are also chapter titles):
- The Choice to Connect your life
- The Choice to Feel your life
- The Choice to Investigate Your Life in Search of Truth
- The Choice to Heal Your Future
- The Choice to Help Your Life
- The Choice to Embrace Your Life
- The Choice to Forgive
- The Choice to Risk Your Life
- The Choice to Serve
- The Choice to Preserve
I would recommend it for those who must look at their scars daily. “Healing is a Choice” provides a fresh touch from God. This book shouldn’t replace a pastoral counseling, but could be helpfully useful on your journey towards healing.
FULL DISCLOSURE:
I received a copy of this book from Thomas Nelson via booksneeze.com in exchange for this fair and honest review.
by Clarence E. Stowers | May 14, 2012 | regular
Today, we walk into coffee shops and restaurants & see stickers on the windows offering free wifi. If the aforementioned places can do this, so can the church.
So where am I going with this?
In an effort to promote the church as a great space to work away from the office, Mars Hill cast the vision of offering free WiFi. The vision has come to past. On Sunday, May 13, 2012, We flipped the switch & now Mars Hill Baptist Church of Chicago offers FREE WiFi. Why? Part of our vision is to leverage technology for the glory of God.
Some may ask, “What is the theological reasoning behind Mars Hill’s use of technology to forward the Gospel?”
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9 that he became all things to all men so that by “all means” he might save as many people as possible. It’s that simple. We use whatever we can to tell as many as we can about Jesus.
Technology is simply a tool or an idol depending upon whether it helps or hinders the forward progress of the gospel. We believe it’s a tool to further the advancement of the Gospel.
What do you think – should churches offer FREE WiFi?
