Thursday, July 31, 2008
Father Abraham
Anything that kids do is cute. This is especially true, if they have an african accent. I met these kids on my recent trip to South Africa. They are performed this song for us before we began to work to help improve their education center called Graceland. These kids live on nearby farms and come to Graceland everyday to learn. Without Graceland these kids would not be receiving an adequate education. in the Stelenbosch region of South Africa. They live on nearby farms and
Monday, July 14, 2008
Freedom?
To protect your freedom, we will read your email.
To protect your freedom, we will listen to your phone calls.
To protect your freedom, we will watch your every move.
To promote freedom, we will hold secret trials.
To promote freedom, we will torture.
To promote freedom, we will imprison as many people as necessary.
To protect and promote freedom, we will remain unaccountable.
To protect your freedom, we will listen to your phone calls.
To protect your freedom, we will watch your every move.
To promote freedom, we will hold secret trials.
To promote freedom, we will torture.
To promote freedom, we will imprison as many people as necessary.
To protect and promote freedom, we will remain unaccountable.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Cautionary note on Strengths Finder themes of talent
It has come to my attention that there is a tendency to use the results of the strengths finder evaluation in ways that are unnecessarily limiting. I don't believe that your themes should be seen as disqualifying you for things, nor should it be used as a way to cop out of certain responsibilities.
I'll give you an example using my own themes which are Input, Intellection, Responsibility, Context, and Connectedness. you will notice that none of these themes are obviously relational. I don't have Woo, Relator, Includer, Empathy, or some other theme that might mark me as someone who is good at relationships. However, I am pretty good at building and maintaining relationships. How I build and maintain relationships is affected by my themes in the following way.
{Input} I listen to people. I love talking to someone one-on-one and asking them quesitons about their life. I try to figure out someone's personality by observing their reactions in different situations or listening to certain phrases that they repeat like "It's the right thing to do." or "I had a hunch she felt that way."
It's even better if I can get them to take a personal evaluation test like Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, Love Language Test, Gifts Test, or Strengths Finder. If so, then I'll research everything i can find out about them based on their evaluation results.
{Input, Context} I like to find out about where people are from. I love to learn historical information about someone such as how someone came to Christ, how they met their spouse, or how they landed a certain job.
{Intellection} I turn over in my mind all of the things that I've learned about someone by listening, observing, and researching their themes or personality type. I look at things from different angles. I reinterpret situations that I've observed this person in and notice how personality influenced response.
{Intellection,Connectedness}I make connections between different thengs that they have revealed about themselves. How does being raised up in a country church relate to their Belief Theme? Does their spiritual gift of mercy have a parallel in their preferred love language? Is their personality fit their profession? On and on I go.
{Intellection} I try to understand how the person fits in the larger group. I also imagine how this person would fit in other groups and environments.
{Responsibility} Then, I think of ways to use this understanding of a person to tailor my style of communication. I try to encourage them based on who I understand them to be. If I can, I recommend experiences that I thing that they would enjoy and connect them with other people who may be able to help them pursue their goals or fulfill their desires. I'm often asked for advice because people feel like I 'get them' and can help them get a better perspective on situations. I relate Scripture, using my own teaching gift, to them in ways that make God's Word relevant to someone based on what I understand about them and about their situation.
The point is that I am not people-focused because of my themes, but because God commands me to love people. I use my themes to serve people in my own way. Don't let your themes define your mission. Let your themes serve your mission.
I'll give you an example using my own themes which are Input, Intellection, Responsibility, Context, and Connectedness. you will notice that none of these themes are obviously relational. I don't have Woo, Relator, Includer, Empathy, or some other theme that might mark me as someone who is good at relationships. However, I am pretty good at building and maintaining relationships. How I build and maintain relationships is affected by my themes in the following way.
{Input} I listen to people. I love talking to someone one-on-one and asking them quesitons about their life. I try to figure out someone's personality by observing their reactions in different situations or listening to certain phrases that they repeat like "It's the right thing to do." or "I had a hunch she felt that way."
It's even better if I can get them to take a personal evaluation test like Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, Love Language Test, Gifts Test, or Strengths Finder. If so, then I'll research everything i can find out about them based on their evaluation results.
{Input, Context} I like to find out about where people are from. I love to learn historical information about someone such as how someone came to Christ, how they met their spouse, or how they landed a certain job.
{Intellection} I turn over in my mind all of the things that I've learned about someone by listening, observing, and researching their themes or personality type. I look at things from different angles. I reinterpret situations that I've observed this person in and notice how personality influenced response.
{Intellection,Connectedness}I make connections between different thengs that they have revealed about themselves. How does being raised up in a country church relate to their Belief Theme? Does their spiritual gift of mercy have a parallel in their preferred love language? Is their personality fit their profession? On and on I go.
{Intellection} I try to understand how the person fits in the larger group. I also imagine how this person would fit in other groups and environments.
{Responsibility} Then, I think of ways to use this understanding of a person to tailor my style of communication. I try to encourage them based on who I understand them to be. If I can, I recommend experiences that I thing that they would enjoy and connect them with other people who may be able to help them pursue their goals or fulfill their desires. I'm often asked for advice because people feel like I 'get them' and can help them get a better perspective on situations. I relate Scripture, using my own teaching gift, to them in ways that make God's Word relevant to someone based on what I understand about them and about their situation.
The point is that I am not people-focused because of my themes, but because God commands me to love people. I use my themes to serve people in my own way. Don't let your themes define your mission. Let your themes serve your mission.
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