by Clarence E. Stowers | May 20, 2015 | Decisions, Encouragement, Motivation, Self-Leadership, Success
According to the Phobia List, there are OVER 2000 “CONFIRMED” fears.
Phobias are emotional and physical reactions to feared objects or situations. Symptoms of a phobia include the following: Feelings of panic, dread, horror, or terror. Recognition that the fear goes beyond normal boundaries and the actual threat of danger.
Fears are mostly learned behaviors and this process can often start in a mother’s womb. Unborn children pick up on their mother’s responses to situations. This is known as innate learning and can become naturally inborn fears.
It appears there are only TWO fears we are born with:
- The fear of LOUD NOISES – (We question how sound affects and impacts a growing baby, after all we can make judgment, see, hear and sense sound. A baby has little insight of this)
- The fear of FALLING – (Giving birth is about gravity, and often baby’s can spend a long amount of time upside down, no wonder this is classed as a fear we are born with)
Therefore, if we can learn them, we can unlearn them.
[shareable]Fears are mostly learned behaviors and this process can often start in a mother’s womb. [/shareable] (more…)
by Clarence E. Stowers | May 13, 2015 | Communication, Mars Hill Baptist Church, Motivation, Servant Leadership, Teamwork
I’ll admit, as a leader it’s quite easy to get caught up with a vision.
It’s natural because as leader’s we’re encouraged to look out for opportunities and then take the lead in making things happen. But sometimes we find ourselves alone out front and wonder what happened to the people we’re leading? Why aren’t they with us?
Do You Like To Fish?
Take a scenario of a group of people going fishing on a lake. Typical leaders get the vision, jump in the boat and are off to fish straight away. But the rest of the group may take a different approach. As the leaders look back, they find that half the people are still on the river bank.
Some are still prepping their fishing gear. Some are just starting to launch their boats. Others are on the water but are heading in the opposite direction. Some are going in circles, and still others haven’t yet even decided if they feel like fishing after all. That’s when you realize that only leading from the front doesn’t always help facilitate the transition.
We have a choice to change or remain the same.
John Maxwell in his book Winning with People admits that patience is not one his strengths. He says:
When I was younger I constantly cast vision for the people in my organization and then left them behind – not a good thing for a leader.
In the past sixteen years, Mars Hill experienced many changes. But as exciting as that vision of building was, we know now that during the process we left some people behind. There were parts of the process whereas leaders we simply dropped the ball. Here are three humbling lessons learned: (more…)
by Clarence E. Stowers | Apr 22, 2015 | Decisions, Empowerment, Encouragement, Motivation, Self-Leadership, Success, Vision
Let’s face it – winning is fun. I know some believe that “winning isn’t everything,” but why play the game if you’re not playing to win? That’s why I love Scripture, especially The Book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 11 is about winners. It’s God’s Hall of Fame. These were ordinary people who accomplished extra ordinary achievements. They weren’t perfect. They often failed. But they all reached their goals. One of my favorite winners listed in this book of winners is Moses.
In my humble opinion, Moses was one of the greatest men in the Old Testament. He received the Ten Commandments from God, wrote the first five books of the Bible, and led the children of Israel out of captivity and slavery into the land of Egypt. Why was God able to use Moses so effectively? He understood that being yourself is one of the secrets to living an effective life.
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 17, 2015 | Christian, Christianity, Empowerment, Encouragement, Mars Hill Baptist Church, Motivation, Self-Leadership
I will never forget a couple who attended Mars Hill Baptist Church of Chicago for five years. They almost never missed a week. They would walk in, hear the message and the music, and walk back out.
Week after week, in and out. They never met anybody. They never established any friendships. They never got involved in ministry. They never joined. They never built a network of support.
After about five years, they went through one of those horrendous, gut wrenching, devastating crises, that shattered their world. The kind that knocks you against the wall and leaves you gasping for breath just trying to hold on.
The real tragedy was, there was nobody there to help them. They had never taken the time to get to know anyone. They had never built any relationships. They had never been there for anybody else in a crisis, and nobody was there for their crisis. That’s sad. Because it’s completely unnecessary.
They could have taken the time before the storm to establish a few key relationships that would have been there to strengthen them when they were going through tough times. So, what do you do when you’re going through one of those horrendous, gut wrenching, devastating crises that shatters your world? Drop your pride and accept help from others. (more…)
by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 12, 2015 | Accountability, Empowerment, Encouragement, Goals, Motivation, Self-Leadership
As a father, one of the most important things I have learned is that life is not fair.
Life does not always deliver equal portions to everyone. When my sons were younger, I remember trying to split a Baby Ruth candy bar in equal parts. Joshua, my youngest, began protesting because, in his opinion, his older brother had more peanuts. The first thing that came out of his mouth: “NOT FAIR! He has more peanuts than I do.”
That is exactly how life is. It is not divided into equal portions and that is when we scream: “Life is not fair!” Sometimes our portion of life does not seem right. Consequently, we are disappointed, angry, and if we are not careful, we become bitter. Bitterness is often a by-product of finding yourself stressed to your breaking point. All of us can recall moments of unfairness. We find ourselves saying “this should not be happening to me.”
The fact is, you are going to experience pain in life through circumstances, from other people, sometimes intentionally, and sometimes unintentionally. You cannot keep yourself from painful moments. Although you cannot control your circumstances, you can control your response, your reaction, and how you choose to react to a particular circumstance or person that has hurt you. How do you respond when life is not fair?
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Mar 6, 2015 | Christian, Christianity, Decisions, Empowerment, Encouragement, Goals, Motivation, Self-Leadership
A few months ago, I flew to Orange County, CA. On my return flight, I experienced turbulence somewhere over the Colorado Rockies. Sensing my nervousness, my seat mate looked at me and said, “Do not be worried, if it is your time, it is your time.” Really? You mean to tell me that is the best thing you can say?
He gave me absolutely no comfort! I have never received comfort from people who say, “If it is your time, it is your time.” It does not matter if you are in a car, or on a bus or plane, if it is your time, it is your time. What if it is the pilot’s time? It may not be my time but it is the pilot’s time. The truth is, at some point, we all worry.
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