by Clarence E. Stowers | Jul 14, 2016 | Encouragement, Christian, Christianity, Current Affairs, Decisions, Empowerment, Leadership, Motivation, Self-Leadership, Success, Vision
What happens when you combine trust, faith, and hope? They produce grit.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, grit in the context of behavior is defined as “firmness of character; indomitable spirit.”
In light of the recent deaths of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and five Dallas Police Officers, I decided to tweak this definition to be the ability to keep going despite setbacks, even when your efforts are not rewarded. Grit is what you need when facing dark days and sleepless nights.
[shareable]Grit is the ability to keep going despite setbacks even when your efforts aren’t rewarded.[/shareable]
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Jun 30, 2016 | Encouragement
There’s a dark side of success and many don’t like talking about it.
It can leave you feeling empty. If you’re not careful, it can lure you into a false mindset that says, “since I’m so awesome, I can do anything.” The more successful you are, the more opportunities you’ll pursue. This mindset leads you down the path towards “the Undisciplined Pursuit of More,” according to Jim Collins.
The Undisciplined Pursuit of More
Past success lures you into pursuing “more ventures, more opportunities, more acclaim, and more of whatever you see as success,” says author Jim Collins. We behave as if we’re King Midas and believe everything we touch turns into gold. In turn, we lose sight of what we truly value and soon lose passion for these pursuits. It happened to King Solomon and it can happen to you too.
[shareable]The more successful you are, the more opportunities you’ll pursue. [/shareable] (more…)
by Clarence E. Stowers | Jun 23, 2016 | Empowerment, Decisions, Encouragement, Leadership, Self-Leadership, Success, Vision
We’re all living and working in an increasingly fast-paced and ever-changing world.
Succeeding and excelling in today’s world requires you to consider certain traits to be effective. In order to thrive in a fast-changing world, effective leaders make and implement decisions, possess agility, and include others in decision-making. Regardless of their respective industry, effective leaders make decisions and implement strategies to implement their decision.
Making and Implementing Decisions
The critical task of leadership is making decisions. Unfortunately, there’s no way to know the outcome of the decisions we make. Effective Leaders must decide where they’re going and how to get there.
Deciding where to go could be considered the vision. Having the plan to get there is the strategy. Once a leader decides where they’re going and how to get there the next critical task of leadership is implementation.
Ask yourself: What decision am I making and what’s my strategy to implement it?
[shareable]Deciding where to go could be considered the vision. Having the plan to get there is the strategy.[/shareable]
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Jun 8, 2016 | Empowerment, Decisions, Encouragement, Goals, Leadership, Motivation, Self-Leadership, Success
Starting something new is much easier than transitioning something established.
Currently, I serve as lead pastor of the Mars Hill Baptist Church of Chicago. I succeeded my father, the late Rev. Dr. Clarence E. Stowers, Sr. who served for thirty-six years. The church I inherited was a traditional African American Baptist Church rich with tradition.
After five years of praying, meeting, teaching, leading, and building supportive teams, we transitioned to a contemporary church. During the process, I almost quit, but decided to pivot and stick it out. It was the best decision of my life. In life, you’ll eventually come to a crossroad. When it happens, you must decide if you’ll stick with it, quit, or pivot. How do you know which choice is best? I chose to pivot.
In life, you’ll eventually come to a crossroad. When it happens, you must decide if you’ll stick with it, quit, or pivot. How do you know which choice is best? I chose to pivot.
So What Does it Mean to Pivot
I love sports, and when I hear the word pivot, immediately basketball comes to mind. When basketball players stop dribbling the ball, they must decide which foot is their pivot foot. Upon deciding, they can’t switch feet. Pivoting is the term used to define both the act of keeping one foot in place while moving the other and the actual foot which remains on the ground.
Keeping one foot in place is necessary when a player stops dribbling the ball but wishes to reposition himself for a pass or shot. A player may rotate and move around as long as one foot remains in place, on the floor. The foot chosen is known as the “pivot”, or “pivot foot”, and if it comes off the ground, or otherwise shifts position away from its original spot on the floor, a travelling violation will be called.
[shareable]Starting something new is much easier than transitioning something established.[/shareable]
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Jun 6, 2016 | Decisions, Empowerment, Encouragement, Goals, Motivation, Self-Leadership
Every so often something or someone comes along and changes your life forever. It happened to me.
I’m learning that all successful people live by this principle: Edit as you go. Remember, life is about seizing opportunities and moments. And if you never make changes, you’re always living in that would-have-could-have-should-have world.
[shareable]Remember, life is about seizing opportunities and moments.[/shareable]
by Clarence E. Stowers | May 24, 2016 | Encouragement, Communication, Empowerment, Motivation, Social Media, Technology, Web/Tech
I have a confession: I’m a certified geek pastor and make no apologies.
I’ll admit, I wasn’t happy when Facebook made live streaming available to celebrities and those with verified pages (pages with those little round, blue checkmarks right next to their names). Immediately, I Googled every possible phrase to find an alternative and found nothing except Periscope.
Recently, Facebook added the ability to live stream on Facebook Profiles, in Groups, and on Pages. So what does all this mean for churches, pastors, and church leaders who rely on Facebook to communicate with their Facebook communities? A lot!
I use Facebook live to make the sermon stick past Sunday. You can read more about why I chose this format to engage our congregation beyond Sunday HERE. Find a quiet place and take copious notes while I explain how to live stream using Facebook Live. (more…)
