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 | Nov 21, 2011 | Empowerment, Excellence, Leadership, Servant Leadership
I’m excited to share some thoughts regarding leadership. Recently, I googled the word “leadership” and it reavealed 141 million hits! Wow! Now I understand why many are confused when it comes to defining leadership. Since this is our first session, I’d like to begin by sharing the “best kept” leadership secret – BE A SERVANT.
The phrase “Servant Leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, he said:
The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.
The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived? (Source: Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership)
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by Clarence E. Stowers | May 12, 2011 | 2011, Accountability, Decisions, Empowerment, Excellence, Goals, Self-Leadership, Vision
I recently heard someone say, “Life is a cruel joke and I ain’t laughing.” I agree wholeheartedly. In fact, the majority would agree that life comes at you fast, doesn’t play fair, and is downright unpredictable! Wouldn’t you agree? Since life doesn’t play fair, why should you? If you plan to excel, you’d better learn how to “hack” life and make it work for you. Hack life, what in the world is that? “A life hack a clever solution to a tricky problem,” according to UrbanDictionary.com.
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Apr 27, 2011 | Current Affairs, Dating, Decisions, Empowerment, Men, Relationships, Women
The beauty and challenge of pastoring an urban, thriving, and large congregation are the number of singles who attend.
Our church is filled with people who’ve never been married, recently divorced, and widows. Since I counsel them all, most are eager to get back into the game before they’re healthy and ready. Since I’m a pastor, I approach dating from a biblical perspective and having a relationship with God is a given. However, since I like to keep it real and relevant, I decided to strip away the layers and give it to you – “straight up – no chaser.”
If you’re dating…considering dating…I advise you to NEVER break this rule for anyone:
If a man or woman doesn’t like you for who you are, just stop.
Why? If you have to change who you are to attract, or keep them, you are cheating both yourself and them.
Whoop, there it is (Man, I’m showing my age). What are your thoughts? Sound off?
by Clarence E. Stowers | Apr 14, 2011 | Communication, Empowerment, Leadership, Relationships, Staff
God blessed me with an opportunity most pastors rarely experience – an opportunity to pastor a large and thriving congregation that grows daily (Acts 2:42-47). I’m humbled because I had a strong and solid foundation to build upon. Although our church experienced many changes, for the most part, our members remain supportive, prayerful, and committed.
As a family, we’ve experienced setbacks, disappointments, and trials, however, we’ve remained true to our mission, values, and vision. Although we’ve accomplished much, there’s more God wants us to accomplish and we are uniquely positioned participate in expanding God’s Kingdom.
Therefore, I want the world to know how proud I am to serve as your pastor.
Dear Family,
There are people in this world we hardly notice. There are people in our circle of friends we rarely observe. But you are different.
Because of your significant contribution to our church family, your dedicated service to the Lord Jesus Christ through our local body of believers, I’m writing this letter to say a big “Thank you.” I want you to know that your devotion does not go unnoticed.
You are there when we need you. You are available at extra times, and best of all, you back up what you do with a life of faith. I value your ministry among us.
With heartfelt gratitude, I put into words in this letter what has long been in my heart.
With best regards,
Pastor Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.
Senior Pastor
Mars Hill Baptist Church of Chicago
“Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing” (Psalm 100:2).
by Clarence E. Stowers | Apr 11, 2011 | Christian, Christianity, Easter Weekend, Empowerment, Leadership, Men, Self-Leadership, Worship
People often joke: “You have a greater chance seeing Marvin Gaye (R.I.P) at the Superbowl than seeing men attend church.” Although some men attend church regularly, it is a fact many do not attend…at least not with the frequency and regularity women.
Churches from every country, race, and ethnic group all ask: Where are the men? According to Church for Men website, “Women comprise more than 60% of the adults in the typical worship service in America. Some overseas congregations report ten women for every man in attendance. Volunteer ranks are heavily female.”
This is not the case at Mars Hill. Men regularly attend our worship experiences and are not embarrassed or afraid to worship God. In fact, there were a few occasions when our men led worship. If you find this hard to believe, check out the picture below. That’s right…men kneeling at the altar…going after God with everything they have.
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