Nuggets of Wisdom- 7/27/11

First day of class was awesome. We covered A LOT of information in a short time. Here’s a list of ten statements/quotes that I found very beneficial:

1.       “Some of the things that will bother you the most about people are not people’s behavior but rather, you’re expectations of them” –WOW! This quote really hit home, even though I didn’t come into Hillsong with a lot of expectations, I had been a bit disappointed with some of the people that I had met. I didn’t realize that I had extremely high expectations for myself and the other students at school until I heard this quote; and dang it’s so true! The people’s specific behavior wasn’t the thing that bothered me; it was that their behavior shattered my high expectations of them. I think it’s important to keep this quote in the back of my mind at all times because people will ALWAYS fail you! No one is perfect and we’re all flawed. It’s important to keep my expectations of others in check because it will safeguard my own heart as well as my perceptions of other people.

2.     “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit”—I love this. Whether or not we realize it, our struggle for entitlement affects us more than we think. We LOVE to be recognized for the things we do and often feel threatened when people emerge with greater gifts or talents than us. Learning how to submit this need for recognition to the Lord will not only allow us to walk more humbly with God, but will also allow us to recognize and appreciate the body working together as a whole—regardless if we can ANY credit—because all credit goes to the Lord. God doesn’t need our glory; he manifests his glory in us. Period

3.     “God given ability may be out of our control but our ability to work as a team is not”-Everyday we have the CHOICE to be an effective team member or not; we have the privilege to show up and create teamwork. Are you going to choose to bring your gifts/talents to the table and challenge others to bring theirs?

4.     “An effective team has the ability to discover, accept, and champion each other’s differences”-Vulnerability, honesty, authenticity and trust are vital components of a team. Learning to thrive off of each other’s differences is critical for the longevity of your team.

5.     “It’s better to be sent, then went”-Often we have a “do-it-yourself mentality” that promotes individualism rather than the team. There is rich fruit however, waiting for people who serve under authority.

6.     “We compare ourselves because we don’t take the time to be in Christ so we don’t feel the need to be seen”

7.     “Leadership never graduates from servant hood—only reason we get promoted to higher levels of leadership is because you’re serving more people”

8.     “Our struggle with criticizing ourselves and others demonstrates a lack of understanding in grace; we HAVE to learn how to show grace and not judgment”

9.     “What will your disciples be doing in 200 years”-I love that Hillsong not only challenges what our legacy will be while we are alive, but also, what will be the fruit of our ministry even after we’re dead. Honestly, I had never even imagined that. I had never imagined dreaming THAT big; yay for my imagination and heart getting stretched.

10.                        “People always change the most when THEY have a personal revelation” THEY have to be the one that owns it”-the importance of self-discovery is vital. While it may be easier to “teach” somebody the right answer, ownership and personal revelation produce deeper roots in an individual.