Not Our Circumstances

By Rod Denton, Equipping The Next Generation

Your attitude quotient (AQ) is more important than your intelligence quotient (IQ)

Words that have impacted my life and leadership

1. “START AT THE TOP AND WORK YOUR WAY DOWN. THEY MIGHT SAY 'NO' BUT THEY COULD SAY 'YES'."

Dr. Robert Clinton, a former professor of leadership at Fuller Seminary had five principles of mentoring. His first principle; it is the mentee’s responsibility to find a mentor. This could be interpreted as the principle of attraction.

By Rod Denton, Equipping The Next Generation

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound 
That sustains a soul like me
I once was weak, but now I'm strong
Through Christ who lives in me.

THE GRACE OF GOD COMES TO US IN TWO INSTALLMENTS: FIRST WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE (AMAZING GRACE PART 1) AT CONVERSION, AND THEN WE ARE SUSTAINED BY GRACE (AMAZING GRACE PART 2) FOR THE REMAINDER OF OUR LIVES.

CHRISTIAN ATHEIST: Is a person who believes in God but lives as though God doesn’t exist or is largely irrelevant to the everyday business of living.

The term CHRISTIAN ATHEIST is a figure of speech called an oxymoron in which seemingly contradictory terms appear side by side. Other examples of oxymorons that perhaps you have used are:

I was most interested to learn from a family in my church about their recent holiday in another state. Even more so when they had taken the time to visit a very well known church in that state. I asked them what was it that impressed them most about the church and what could we learn from them.

There is much to suggest that the church in the west is living in a post-Christian generation. Evangelism has fallen on hard times, and ironically it seems that seminars to help people learn how to share their faith are doing no better.  And yet our denominations, although aware of their continued decrease in numbers, seem largely unmotivated to address the real issue. If ever there was a time to get back to basics, then surely it is now and I would like to suggest that the following 10 keys will give you a platform on which to build a fruitful church that will reach lost people. These 10 keys will help you to take evangelism in your church from being an optional extra to an important priority...

One of the wisest persons in the Bible wrote the following words that have served me well in my life of ministry:

“The righteous choose their friends carefully, But the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
— Proverbs 12:26

So important was this principle for his readers to take to heart, that he repeated it in varying ways through the book of Proverbs. “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” Proverbs 13:20...

An important leadership lesson: What do you do when your mates desert you?

It can be lonely at the top. Like the time the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy from a damp, dark prison cell, on trial in a Roman court, believing that the time for his departure was near. As I recently read this story, I couldn’t help being reminded of one of the great challenges that leaders need to be ready and equipped to face at critical times in their ministry. That being, what to do when your mates desert you? Paul describes this situation in 2 Timothy 4:16-17. “At my first defence, NO ONE came...

We live in a world where emotional intelligence (EQ) is of more importance than intelligence quotient (IQ). “Emotions impact everything we do, think and say, and for this reason, a whole set of skills are all enhanced by emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise and understand emotions in ourselves and others, and our ability to use this AWARENESS to manage our behaviour and relationships.” (Talentsmart) An interesting thought came to me as I recently read...

My favourite place in my house is in our lounge room looking out of a bay window into our garden. One day, I felt a strange prompt; this garden needs a bird bath. So I purchased a bird bath and placed it in the garden. To my surprise, it wasn’t long before the local birds discovered this newly installed bird bath. News travelled fast. Around dawn and at dusk, a number of birds would appear at our bird bath to splash and enjoy a cool drink...

You are probably familiar with a leadership review. But there was one that caught my attention recently as I was reading of the life of Jesus in Matthew 23. Interestingly, Jesus had been reviewing the religious leaders of His day, unbeknown to them. And it seems that they failed the review badly. I must admit that I had an uncomfortable moment as I reviewed my life in light of comments Jesus made about these leaders....

All of life is a learning experience. Throughout the course of my life, I have participated in learning experiences that have been of a formal, non-formal, and informal nature. Some of my best learning opportunities have occurred in the less intentional informal moments in the school of life. In these experiences, learning has taken place through observing people who unexpectedly created a teachable moment for me in the high calling of married life...

Your Destiny... it's in your hands

I have heard it said that the greatest buried treasure in any city is to be found in its cemetery. For this is the place where the accumulated unfulfilled potential of a large number of people forever lies. I compare this with the life of Jesus who said just before His death on a cross at the age of 33, “Father….I have brought you glory on earth by FINISHING THE WORK YOU GAVE ME TO DO.” John 17:4 He was born with a destiny and He gave His life to fulfill this destiny. I was challenged by the words of John Maxwell in his message on How To Build A Legacy...

I was recently reminded by our [Australian] Prime Minister that I am now old enough to be regarded as a protected species that needs to be shielded from the dangers of our society. He was addressing the issue of the current Coronavirus pandemic and urged all Australians over 70 to stay at home to avoid any unnecessary risk of contracting the virus. I must admit that I had mixed feelings about his interest in my welfare. Growing old has its challenges. But it also has its advantages as I discovered in my recent Bible journaling where I took time to follow the lifeline of the apostle Paul. In the process, I made a discovery that deeply stirred my spirit; the one quality that should characterise above all else a follower of Jesus as they grow on to maturity. Let me illustrate with three passages of scripture...

We live in a generation that is not noted for its ability to wait patiently. The demonstrators of the world march and chant in unison, “What do we want” and “When do we want it?” And the answer echoes back, “We want it now!” Waiting is rarely seen as a virtue. Rather, we associate waiting with being left behind, with wasting time, with a missed opportunity or with someone getting ahead of us. However, a close read of the Bible suggests otherwise. Time and time again we see that there are seasons where waiting on God is of vital importance. The prophet Isaiah had learnt the value of waiting...

In 330 BC, Alexander the Great had conquered the Persian Empire and in the process had become ruler of most of the known world. With the greatest army ever assembled, he decided to continue his push eastward. His vision was unrelenting. He wanted to rule the entire world. But when they reached the Himalayan Mountains, his leaders came to Alexander with a serious concern. They had gone beyond the boundaries of their maps. To go further would mean that they would march off the map. They were suddenly faced with two options. They could return to where they came from and stay within familiar territory, or they could bravely march off the map into new and unknown territory. The first option would result in retreating to the comfort and security of the past; the second option would result in embracing the opportunities and challenges of a new order...

“All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time.” (John Kenneth Galbraith) Whenever God wanted to get something done, He raised up a leader. That leader was often not a person in a leadership position or one who had the title of a leader. In fact, God often overlooked those who to the logical mind seemed to be more suited to the leadership position in question. Take David for example. Samuel was commissioned by God to anoint a king who would ultimately replace King Saul who had been rejected by God for disobeying God’s instructions. Samuel was directed by God to go to a man named Jesse who lived in Bethlehem because God said, ”I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” Samuel’s obvious choice was Jesse’s son Eliab. But the Lord said to Samuel...

One of the most important lessons I have learnt has been to live intentionally according to the seasons of my life. It has helped me understand God’s unfolding plan for my life and to see how He is at work in various areas of my life at any particular time. There is a liberty that accompanies the person who lives in harmony with the seasons of life. It frees a person from the need to live according to the expectations of other people or to miss God’s Kairos moments that sometimes unexpectedly break into our lives. In his recent book, New Thinking New Future, Sam Chand opens up the idea of seasons being constantly disruptive rather than everything always being neat and tidy. “Leaders who insist on a consistent, predictable environment value safety above progress...

Did Jesus really mean what He said?

The Church of Jesus Christ is the most powerful body in the world today. It is the group of people that Satan fears most. Consequently, one of Satan’s main assignments is to suppress this truth so that the church will never find out about it, and start living it out in the power and authority of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised His disciples. Occasionally, there is a person who takes this truth seriously and in the process discovers the reality of Jesus’ words, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about 60 pounds (27 kilograms) of flour until it worked ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE DOUGH.” (Matthew 13:33)

The person who modelled to me the key to growing. The first principle of mentoring is “the attraction of the mentor to the mentee.” I was first attracted to Doctor Robert (Bob) Boyd Munger when I was a student at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California where Bob served in the esteemed position of Chaplain to the Faculty. Prior to that, he was the professor of Evangelism and Church Renewal. In addition, Bob taught an adult Bible study class at nearby Lake Avenue Congregational Church where, with my family, I attended church. We joined this weekly Bible study class on a Sunday morning prior to attending one of the various church worship services. Bob was the author of the book My Heart – Christ’s Home which he first preached as a sermon in 1954...{addthis off}