Mark Conner Leadership, Quotes

A Call to Courage

Courage wordle

The apostle Paul finished his letter to the church at Corinth, which was facing many challenges at the time, both internally and externally …

"So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." 1 Corinthians. 15:58. NLT

Bill Hybels writes this in his excllent book Courageous Leadership … 

"No matter how difficult the hardship, no matter how long the particular storm lasts, no matter how dark and scary it gets, no matter how the winds how and the waves crash … choose the path of courage. Be steadfast, immovable, endure. Decide in advance you are never going to quit. That’s courageous leadership!” 

Mary Anne Radmacher once said, "Courage doesn't always ROAR. Sometimes courage is that quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.' "

Aristotle said, "You will never do anything in this world without courage."

C.S. Lewis said, "Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point."

Dorothy Bernard said, "Courage is fear that has said its prayers."

Mark Twain said, "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not the absence of fear."

Victor Frankl said, "There is no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bear witness that a person has the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer."

Napoleon said, "Courage isn't having the strength to go on, it is going on when you don't have the strength."

Winston Churchill said, "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."

"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength." Unknown.

God said to Joshua, "Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take." Joshua 1:9. MB

Do you need to hear a call to courage today?

I do.

Mark Conner Contemporary Culture, Current Issues

The Impact of Poker Machines in Australia

Pokie-machines
 
TONIGHT at 9.30pm on ABC TV, Ka-Ching Pokie Nation will screen across Australia. 

By all reports, it is a shocking report into the way that poker machines are placing a terrible cost on our society. There is stunning new evidence that pokie addiction functions in exactly the same way as heroin, cocaine or ice. This product has not just been licensed by the State but spread irresponsibly throughout Australia for the profit of the gambling industry, not to mention State Treasuries.

PLEASE help us lift awareness about poker machines by:

  1. Watching Ka-Ching tonight and encouraging others to watch it to. You can see and share Ka-Ching's trailer here. 
  2. Live tweeting during the event with the hashtag #kaching so that we can contribute a distinctly Christian voice to the conversation. 
  3. Stay tuned for next steps we can all take as part of an alliance of more than 40 community groups committed to addressing the problem.
“The problem we have is that [poker machines] are everywhere,” says Ms Keogh. “We’ve got 20 per cent of the worlds’ machines, and five times per capita more than the United States, and it’s really causing a lot of damage.”
 
Ms Keogh says that when it comes to poker machines, the gambling industry continues to talk about “problem gamblers”, casting blame on the user and diverting conversation away from the product itself.
 
“Roughly 30 per cent of people who play [the pokies] end up with a problem. If any other product caused 30 per cent of people to get sick we would actually look at the product rather than blaming the person,” she says.

[From Bible Society article]

Mark Conner Contemporary Culture, Evangelism and Mission, Relationships, Travel

How’s Your Cultural Intelligence?

CQ-word-cloud

The apostle Paul worked hard to relate to a wide variety of people. Have a read of this from his letter to the church at Corinth in the first century:

1 Corinthians 9:19-23. Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose–living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized––whoever. I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ––but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God–saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it. Message Bible

As followers of Christ, we are to the same. This means learning to relate to people of different personalities, background, educational level, religious belief, age, gender and race. When it comes to race and nationality, we now live in a truly 'global village'. Yet people living in different localities still have their unique manners and customs.

Over the last month, for the purpose of both holidays and ministry, I have had the privilege of travelling to Russia (St Petersburg and Moscow), Sweden (Uppsala), Poland, Ethiopia (Addis Ababa) and United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi). What a whirlwind it has been yet what an enjoyable experience visiting different places and meeting different people.

Cultural differences include (noted by David Livermore):

  • Individualistic versus Collectivist.
  • Low verses High Power Distance.
  • Cooperative verses Competitive.
  • Punctuality verses Relationships.
  • Direct verses Indirect.
  • Being verses Doing. 
  • Particularist verses Universalist.
  • Neutral verses Affective.
  • Tight verses Loose.

These differences can be seen across a wide range of cultures, including Anglo, Germanic, Easter European, Asian (with many differences between regions), Latin American, African, and Arab … just to name a few.

A simple example is my recent experience with Indigenous Australians. When two men from Western descent greet each other, after exchanging names, their next question is always something like, "So what do you do?" We derive our primary identity from our work – our doing. In contrast, when two indigenous men meet, after exchanging names, their next question is more likely to be "Who's your mob?" In other words, tell me about your family. In their culture, your family and tribe are the source of your identity – your being. What a difference this makes in how people from these two different go about their daily lives!

Not everyone will travel, like I have had the opportunity to do, but people from different cultures are everywhere around us – in our neighbourhoods, our schools, our workplaces and our churches. Everyone of us should seek to understand people who are different, so we can better love and appreciate them, do life together with them with appreciation, and share the love of Jesus with them in meaningful ways.

Every time I travel to a new place, I do a few things to prepare myself:

1. Read as much as I can about the history, demographics, and local culture. Wikipedia as well as various travel guides are a good source of up-to-date information.

2. Learn about the people – their values, language, interests, education and well-being.

3. Study various maps to understand the geographical area and it proximity to other places.

4. Read about the state of Christian faith in a particular area, as well as the other local religious beliefs. Operation World is an excellent resource for this.

I am always enriched the more I know and understand about the people I am visiting and connecting with. 

Here's some recommended further reading for those who are interested in learning more:

Mark Conner Relationships, Spirituality

The Power of a Clear Conscience

ClearThe apostle Paul spoke a lot about a 'clear conscience' back in the first century. Here are two examples:

  • "Friends, I've lived with a clear conscience before God all my life, up to this very moment." Acts 23:1. MB
  • "I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people." Acts 24:16. NLT
  • "The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith." 1 Timothy 1:5. NLT
  • "Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked." 1 Timothy 1:19. NLT

A deep awareness of right and wrong, as well as a desire to do what is right (and an inability to always do it!), is a unique aspect of all human beings, regardless of a person's culture, race or background. Most people prefer justice over injustice, love over hate, peace over war, and forgiveness over violence. We may not always work for it; but we know it's right. It's just the way things are. For people of faith like myself, this is one of those indicators of God's fingerprints in our world. The presence of a 'law' reflects the existence of a 'lawgiver'. He has written that law on our hearts.

Our conscience is that part of us that indicates to our mind and heart whether we are doing what is right or wrong, urging us to do the right.

I heard the story of an American Indian who was asked to describe a 'conscience' to a young person. He described it like this:

"Your conscience is like a wooden triangle on the inside of you. When you do something wrong it turns, causing pain and urging you to stop. If you heed it's warning, it stops turning. If you don't, it keeps turning. However, if you ignore it long enough, over a period of time, the edges of the wooden triangle will wear off. At that time, when you do something wrong, it will still turn, but you will no longer feel anything."

What a profound answer!

To me, living with a clear conscience means:

  • No unsettled accounts – with God or people.
  • Everything repented of … and forgiven.
  • Finishing each day with nothing left undone.
  • Beginning each day with a clear slate.

It means there is nothing that I am aware of between me and God or any other person that I have not done my very best to make right. Oh, the joy of a clear conscience. It leads to peace and an inner sense of well-being, enabling us to live fully present each moment … without guilt or regret about the past or fear and worry about the future. 

The apostle John, Jesus' closest disciple, put it this way:

This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him. If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth – we're not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin. If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins – make a clean breast of them – he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we've never sinned, we out–and–out contradict God – make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God. I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest–Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good – not only ours, but the whole world's. 1 John 1:5 – 2.2. MB

May we know and experience the power of a clear conscience each day. 

 

Mark Conner Personal Development

First Things First – What are your ‘Big Rocks’?

BIG-ROCKS-COMPARE

One day, an old professor of the School of Public Management in France, was invited to lecture on the topic of “Efficient Time Management” in front of a group of 15 executive managers representing the largest, most successful companies in America. The lecture was one in a series of 5 lectures conducted in one day, and the old professor was given 1 hr to lecture.

Standing in front of this group of elite managers, who were willing to write down every word that would come out of the famous professor’s mouth, the professor slowly met eyes with each manager, one by one, and finally said, “we are going to conduct an experiment”.

From under the table that stood between the professor and the listeners, the professor pulled out a big glass jar and gently placed it in front of him. Next, he pulled out from under the table a bag of stones, each the size of a tennis ball, and placed the stones one by one in the jar. He did so until there was no room to add another stone in the jar. Lifting his gaze to the managers, the professor asked, “Is the jar full?” The managers replied, “Yes”.

The professor paused for a moment, and replied, “Really?”

Once again, he reached under the table and pulled out a bag full of pebbles. Carefully, the professor poured the pebbles in and slightly rattled the jar, allowing the pebbles to slip through the larger stones, until they settled at the bottom. Again, the professor lifted his gaze to his audience and asked, “Is the jar full?”

At this point, the managers began to understand his intentions. One replied, “apparently not!”

“Correct”, replied the old professor, now pulling out a bag of sand from under the table. Cautiously, the professor poured the sand into the jar. The sand filled up the spaces between the stones and the pebbles.

Yet again, the professor asked, “Is the jar full?”

Without hesitation, the entire group of students replied in unison, “NO!”

“Correct”, replied the professor. And as was expected by the students, the professor reached for the pitcher of water that was on the table, and poured water in the jar until it was absolutely full. The professor now lifted his gaze once again and asked, “What great truth can we surmise from this experiment?”

With his thoughts on the lecture topic, one manager quickly replied, “We learn that as full as our schedules may appear, if we only increase our effort, it is always possible to add more meetings and tasks.”

“No”, replied the professor. The great truth that we can conclude from this experiment is:

If we don’t put all the larger stones in the jar first, we will never be able to fit all of them later.

The auditorium fell silent, as every manager processed the significance of the professor’s words in their entirety.

The old professor continued, “What are the large stones in your life? Health? Family? Friends? Your goals? Doing what you love? Fighting for a Cause? Taking time for yourself?”

What we must remember is that it is most important to include the larger stones in our lives, because if we don’t do so, we are likely to miss out on life altogether. If we give priority to the smaller things in life (pebbles & sand), our lives will be filled up with less important things, leaving little or no time for the things in our lives that are most important to us. Because of this, never forget to ask yourself,

What are the Large Stones in your Life? And once you identify them, be sure to put them first in your “Jar of Life”.

With a warm wave of his hand, the professor bid farewell to the managers, and slowly walked out of the room. 

[Story Source: The Jar of Life]

In Matthew 6:25-33, Jesus teaches us to seek first God's kingdom. We are to live one day at a time not worrying about the future. Jesus is not telling us to avoid thinking or planning about the future, but simply to not allow worry, anxiety or undue concern to enter our minds. God gave us life and he can provide our basic necessities. Birds work hard, yes, but they don't worry. Worry is useless. It is a characteristic of the pagans not of the believer. It is essentially a mistrust in God.

The issue is one of “priority” – what is first in our lives?

There are many “first things” in the Bible:

  • Giving God the first part of every day – spending time with God in prayer and his Word.
  • Giving God the first day of every week – putting Him first and gathering with believers on the “Lord's Day”.
  • Giving God first 10% of our income – honouring Him with the “first fruits” of all our increase (Proverbs 3:9) and demonstrating our dependence and trust in God for all our needs.
  • Giving God the first part of our time, gifts and abilities – being a good steward and investing your best into the kingdom of God.
  • For husbands, loving their wives as Christ loved the church.

What's really important? Define your “big rocks”. Getting our priorities right is essential. What are the highest priorities in your life? What are your values? Unless we identify what we value most and put our everyday lives in line with those values, we will live reactively.

Are you putting 'first things first'?

Mark Conner Books, Contemporary Culture

Global Megatrends: Seven Patterns of Change Shaping Our Future

GlobalWe live in a time of rapid change. Yesterday is gone. Today is momentary. Tomorrow is never far away, though never guaranteed. We are called to live in the present, while learning from history and yet looking toward a better tomorrow. Our God is the one who was, who is, and who is to come. The Great I AM – past, present and future are all one to Him.

Futurists study the future, yet no one can fully predict what it will be like.

Stefan Hajkowicz has been thinking for the last twenty years about how people plan for an uncertain future. With training in economics, geography and decision theory, Stefan is one of CSIRO’s leading thinkers about trends, shocks and scenarios in the coming decades. His work led to the creation of the newly established CSIRO Futures research unit – a team of dedicated scientists working to unveil the future and inform people’s choices. Stefan now works as a principal scientist at CSIRO in Brisbane and is in demand worldwide as a speaker, strategist and consultant.

His latest book Global Megatrends reveals his most recent research as he unpacks seven patterns of change that are shaping the future. They include:

  • A scarcity of natural resources.
  • The challenge to protect biodiversity and the global climate.
  • Rapid economic growth and urbanisation in Asia and the developing world.
  • Changing demographics and an ageing population.
  • The impact of new digital technologies.
  • Consumer expectations for services, experiences and social interaction.
  • An imperative to innovate. 

Megatrends are gradual yet powerful trajectories of change that have the potential to throw companies, individuals and societies into freefall. In this book, Hajkowicz identifies these seven patterns of global change and tells a story about how the world will change over the next 20 years. The book captures the thinking of many dedicated scientists and researchers who have devoted their careers to exploring and understanding change. The change heralded by megatrends lies beyond our direct control but not beyond our influence. By getting a picture of how the world is changing and what these megatrends are, we can alter our destiny.

"My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there." Charles F. Kettering

"The leaders of Issacher had understanding of the times, to know what Israel should do." 1Chronicles 12:32.

Tomorrow's coming. What do you see?