by Clarence E. Stowers | Dec 10, 2010 | Decisions, Empowerment, Goals, Mind Dump, Self-Leadership, Top 5
We live in a changing world. Someone recently said, “the only constant in the world is change.” Let’s face it, we’re changing every year, month, and each week. Truthfully, how many of us look the same as we did five years ago? Not many! Things are changing right before our very eyes and what was on the cutting edge moments ago is now almost obsolete.
A friend recently shared how he went to purchase a case for his original Motorola Droid cell phone. When he asked to see a few cases, the salesperson laughed and informed him that his phone was old and suggested he should check eBay. Amazing! Why? The phone’s only 11 months old.
As pastor who tends to be ahead of the curve on what’s happening, understanding change and knowing how to lead change is an indispensable art in leading today’s church. Over the last 12 years I’ve led our church through some significant changes and here’s a few things I’ve learned about change:
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Dec 1, 2010 | Communication, Decisions, Empowerment, Leadership, Self-Leadership, Success, Vision
We hear a lot about how leaders must have a burning red-hot vision from God. If we accept Bill Hybel’s definition of vision (I do), then what exactly does it mean to have a vision? How can you tell if you’re moving in the right direction? Great! I’m glad you’re pondering that question.
As a subscriber to Harvard Business Review OnPoint Journal, I behaved like a child at Toys R Us upon receiving the Winter 2010 edition. “Turning Your Vision into Reality” is this month’s theme and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Vision is popular buzzword among leaders, especially church leaders. Unfortunately, many pastors attend conferences and come away with visions hijacked from others, falsely believing that God will do the same for their church. I call this ministry pornography (I’ll blog about that later).
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Nov 15, 2010 | Accountability, Communication, Empowerment, Personal, Self-Leadership, Success, Vision
You have a purpose in life. Let me repeat: You have a purpose in life! You know in your heart what’s most important to you.
What Is A Personal Vision Statement?
A personal vision statement is a preferred picture of what could be and what should be in your life. Additionally, it’s a plan for people to accomplish the goals they set. It shapes your identity and crystallizes principles which are important to you, and supplies a foundation on which to build a preferred picture of the future. In short, it communicates who you are and what you plan to accomplish. A personal vision statement can be based on your mission, goal, or your passion.
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Nov 10, 2010 | Accountability, Decisions, Empowerment, Personal, Relationships, Self-Leadership, Teamwork
To say I’m excited about mentoring a fine group of men is an understatement. In fact – I’m ECSTATIC! How often are we allowed the chance to impart and pour our lives into others? I told our men that this will be one of the most difficult assignments they’ll ever encounter. I will teach them…stretch them…develop them…train them…correct them…as they transition into fine Christian leaders in their homes, communities, and church.
(Praying for our Men of Promise. Sunday, November 7, 2010)
I crossed the burning sands of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., on March 4, 1987 @ 10:54:35pm while attending Jackson State University in Jackson, MS. While pledging* (The Men of Alpha Phi Alpha DO NOT participate in or condone any form of hazing :-D), my line (The Naughty 9) read poems that instilled hope and inspiration. The inspiration from these poems gave us the strength to reach towards the finishing line. I shared with the Men of Promise how nothing great comes without sacrifice, dedication, and hard work. Therefore, I believe this poem, “The Test of a Man” will prove beneficial to their development.
THE TEST OF A MAN
(Author Unknown)
The test of a man is the fight that he makes,
The grit that he daily shows;
The way he stands upon his feet,
And takes life’s numerous bumps and blows.
A coward can smile when there’s naught to fear.
And nothing his progress bars,
But it takes a man to stand and cheer,
While the other fellow stars.
It isn’t the victory after all
But the fight that a Brother makes.
A man when driven against the wall, still stands
erect and takes the blows of fate with his head held high,
bleeding and bruised and pale,
Is the man who will win and fate defied,
For he isn’t afraid to fail.
Question: What Scriptures, poems, or quotes get you through the day?
by Clarence E. Stowers | Oct 8, 2010 | Christian, Christianity, Empowerment, Goals, Money and Finance, Prayer, Vision
This past Sunday, I shared with our congregation how I selected 20 people to pray for who were generous, faithful, and cared about the poor, oppressed, and marginalized.
I’m praying that God would make them wealthy (multi-millionaires) so they could reach back and help the poor & permanent underclass.
Why? Jesus was/is ALWAYS on the side of the poor, oppressed, and marginalized AND someone has to speak for the voiceless. Also, it’s time for a shift of wealth into the hands of Kingdom-minded people with integrity to do the right thing!
I prayed before selecting people because they had to meet the following criteria:
- Compassionate
- Unselfish
- Have extraordinary faith
- Have a genuine concern for the poor
- A heart for empowering those who are less fortunate
This Sunday, I extended an invitation for others to join my list & WHAT A RESPONSE! If you meet the aforementioned criteria, you may want to consider getting in on this prayer. If you are selfish, lack integrity, & want to be wealthy for the sake of being wealthy, please reconsider your priorities before deciding to join.
In the meantime, the Lord wants you to get your financial house in order before the harvest comes & the hardest step is getting started!
Here’s what you can start doing NOW:
- Stop signing up for more debt!
- Save $2,500 and save in your emergency fund – pay minimum payments on all debt until you have $2,500!
- Find out which debts you owe and how much you owe
- Seek to reduce or eliminate the interest you are paying
- Calculate your debt freedom date – using the free tool @ HERE
- Pay minimum payments on all debts except the smallest one
- Attack the smallest debt with as much money as possible
- As each debt is paid off, use the freed up payment money to add to the payment of the next smallest debt.
- Repeat steps 6 thru 8 until you become debt free!!!
You CAN do this!
by Clarence E. Stowers | Sep 9, 2010 | Christian, Computers, Conference/Workshops, Empowerment, Events, Leadership, Technology
The NINES is an online conference worth attending!
The NINES is a totally online conference and gathering for church leaders that will happen today, September 9, 2010 @ 10:30AM (CST). I attended the conference last year and it was brilliant – no seriously, it was brilliant!! The format is that each leader speaking at the conference is given six minutes to give their thoughts on the conference theme – this year the theme is “Game Changers.”
Here are some answers to some commonly asked questions (from the Q&A page of the NINES website)!
I know it’s short notice, but, trust me: YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED! Registration is free, but you can also register and get lots of good stuff.
See you online @ The NINES!
