Leaders Who Last is a book written by Pastor Dave Kraft.  I saw a clip of Mark Driscoll interviewing him not long ago and Driscoll described him as an older mentor that really put him on the right track when the wheels began to come off of his ministry.  I love learning from older men so I ordered the book right away.  I wasn’t disappointed.

I read through the book very quickly and was convicted and challenged in many areas…so much so that I needed to read it again.  I am going to blog things I learned from the book, not necessarily provide you a ‘book review’.  If you want a review I would say “it’s awesome, go read it, primarily for leaders but most everyone could benefit from his insightfulness”.  I’ll break each post down by chapter and will stick to my notes.  My hope is that it will encourage you to read the book yourself and at least learn from what I learned.

I’ll start if off with the introduction tomorrow and my plan is to blog each day.  We will see how it goes.

I have had the great privilege of several godly mentors in my life. They have been and continue to be men of courage and integrity. Before moving to Macon I had the great privilege of working with Pastor Ben Orchard – I miss our times together greatly. He taught me many things in our two years together, but one of them has come to me more often than the rest.

He once said, “Patrick, your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness.” Now, whenever some one praises me in some area of my life I automatically begin looking for my weakness in it. I am working on a blog series called, “Lessons from Leader’s Who Last”, a book by Dave Kraft and I realized something tonight. One of my greatest strengths is that I’m fairly even tempered and can adapt easily to most new situations (look at the last two years of my life to see that clearly). Tonight I realized that my great weakness in that is I can become very comfortable in a situation and not desire to change out of it.

Kraft was challenging me in being a visionary leader and I realized that I have a lot of work to do in this area. As I sat brainstorming and examining my life I realized the strength of adaptability and the weakness of a lack of vision for what could be. This revelation is perfect timing because God has me working with a great visionary leader in Keith Watson.  I continue to be blessed by God’s guiding as He forms me into the man that He desires.  This will become a new prayer and area of examination for me.

What is your greatest strength? You will probably find your greatest weakness there as well.

I was just sitting at my computer catching up on Facebook and Tweets when I saw that there is going to be a 5k Run in 4 weeks here in Macon, Midnight Madness.

Patrick:  I wonder if I can do that?
Jennifer: I don’t see why not?
Patrick: But it’s in 4 weeks…a 5k in four weeks?
Jennifer: You can do that.
Emma: Dad, I’m a little concerned right now.
Patrick: Why?
Emma: Because I’ve never heard you say “I can’t do anything”.
Patrick: Well, some things I can’t do.
Emma: Stop saying that, it seriously is freaking me out.

This conversation was funny because we just had my Elder Assessment where we discussed one of my weaknesses being that I take on anything.  I don’t say no to much and feel like I can do anything.  Even my daughter notices my weakness…Sigh.

You can watch Driscoll interview Kraft here.

The theme of the recent Acts 29 Boot Camp in Louisville, Kentucky, hosted by Sojourn Community Church, was ambition. Simply knowing how to plant and lead a church is not enough. Knowledge must come hand-in-hand with God-given ambition.

Audio Sermons

• Matt Chandler – Ministry for the Long Haul & Ambition
• Kevin Cawley – Decoding your City & Ambition
• Bob Thune – Discipleship & Ambition
• Russell Moore – Speaking Past Demons: Christian Preaching As Expository Exorcism
• Darrin Patrick – Leadership & Ambition
• Steve Timmis – The Church & Ambition
• Ed Stetzer – Church Planting & Ambition
• Dave Harvey – The Gospel & Ambition

To Whom Do We Show Compassion?  Homelessness in the City (6) My Final Answer

Living in the thick of things offers no time for paper guesses, well wishes, or eloquent babble. In American Christianity most Pastors look for the most comfortable church and the most ‘prosperous or growing’ area. Come read a blog by a m an who has said to hell with all of that. He is a man who has chosen to go where Jesus has called him, not where a good paycheck has called him. Not a blog for the faint at heart – welcome to Keith Watson.

I need to work on striking this particular phrase from my vocabulary.  Great, short article on President Obama’s use of time.

How President Obama Spends His Other 8 Hours

From John Maxwell

How do people discover their dreams? By dreaming! That may sound overly simplistic, but that’s where it starts. Imagination is the soil that brings a dream to life.

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Albert Einstein, a dreamer and thinker, understood the value of the imagination. He said, “When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.” Einstein called his imagination a “holy curiosity.”

If you come from a discouraging background, or you don’t think of yourself as an especially imaginative person, don’t lose hope. You can still discover and develop a dream. God has put that ability in every one of us. If you know and watch children, then you know that’s true. Every child dreams. Every child possesses imagination. My wife, Margaret, and I have five grandchildren, and whenever we are with them, we see their vivid imaginations at work, whisking them away from this world to ones of their own creation.

You have it in you to dream. Author and friend Max Lucado is clear about your possibilities: “You weren’t an accident. You weren’t mass produced. You aren’t an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the Earth by the Master Craftsman.” Beyond that, some people would even argue that the more drab your beginnings, the greater your potential for dreaming.

Businessman Howard Schultz, who came from a very humble background, used the fertile soil of his imagination to help him cultivate the idea of Starbucks, the company he founded. Schultz says,

One thing I’ve noticed about romantics: They try to create a new and better world from the drabness of everyday life. That is Starbuck’s aim, too. We try to create, in our stores, an oasis, a little neighborhood spot where you can take a break, listen to some jazz, or ponder universal or personal or even whimsical questions over a cup of coffee.

Who dreams up such a place?

From my personal experience, I’d say that the more uninspiring your origins, the more likely you are to use your imagination and invent worlds where everything seems possible.

That’s certainly true of me.

I believe God wants us to dream, and to dream big, because He’s a big God who wants to do big things and He wants to do them through us. My friend Dale Turner asserts, “Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born.” It’s never too late to dream.

If you’re wondering whether the dreams of your imagination are likely to take root in the soil of reality, then start by asking yourself the following questions (from Put Your Dream to the Test.)

1. The Ownership Question: Is my dream really my dream?
2. The Clarity Question: Do I clearly see my dream?
3. The Reality Question: Am I depending on factors within my control to achieve my dream?
4. The Passion Question: Does my dream compel me to follow it?
5. The Pathway Question: Do I have a strategy to reach my dream?
6. The People Question: Have I included the people I need to realize my dream?
7. The Cost Question: Am I willing to pay the price for my dream?
8. The Tenacity Question: Am I moving closer to my dream?
9. The Fulfillment Question: Does working toward my dream bring satisfaction?
10. The Significance Question: Does my dream benefit others?

I believe that if you really explore each question, examine yourself honestly, and answer yes to all them, the odds of your achieving your dream are very good. The more yeses you can answer, the more on target you are to fulfill your dreaming. I truly believe that everyone has the potential to imagine a worthwhile dream, and most have the ability to achieve it. And it doesn’t matter how big or how seemingly outrageous your dream appears to others if your answers are yes to the Dream Test questions.

Copyright John C Maxwell, 2009. From: John Maxwell on Leadership All rights reserved Use only with permission