Welcome to the Truth@Life Blog Site by Curtis Songer


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There are 5 threads of thought in this blog site:
1. Church Stuff - things pertaining to the evangelical Christian Church of today
2. Leadership Corner - concepts on management & leadership
3. Two Becoming One - principles of marriage enrichment
4. Train Up a Child - principles of parenting
5. Personal Thoughts - my mental ramblings on how God is growing me

I highly recommend you find an entry on one of these topics that interests you and click on that label at the end of that entry. It will bring up all the entries on that particular category. And be sure to check out the great web site links in the lower right corner of this page - Enjoy!

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Barriers to Empowerment

People’s capacity to achieve is often determined by their leader’s ability to empower. The empowerment leadership model shifts away from positional power. With the empowerment model, all the people are given leadership roles so they can contribute to their fullest capacity. Only empowered people can reach their potential. When a leader can’t or won’ empower others, he creates barriers within the organization that people cannot overcome. If the barriers remain long enough, then the people give up, or they move to another organization where they can maximize their potential. Leaders frequently violate the Principle of Empowerment for the following reasons: 1. Desire for Job Security: The primary enemy of empowerment is the desire for job security. A weak leader worries that if he helps his subordinates, he will become dispensable. The paradox is that the only way to make yourself indispensable is to make yourself dispensable. In other words, if you are able to continually empower others and help them develop so that they become capable of taking over your job, you will become so valuable to the organization that you become indispensable. 2. Resistance to Change: Nobel Prize winning author John Steinbeck once stated, “It is the nature of man as he grows older to protest against change, particularly change for the better.” By its very nature, empowerment brings constant change because it encourages people to grow and innovate. Stated another way, a leader may occasionally have to “kill his own baby.” Change is the price of progress. 3. Lack of Self-Worth: Many people gain their personal value and esteem from their work or their position. Threaten to change either of them, and you threaten their self-worth. But to those who have confidence in themselves, change is a stimulus because they believe one person can make a difference and influence what goes on around them. These people are the doers and motivators. They are also empowerers. The best leaders have a rock-solid sense of self-worth.

Monday, January 14, 2013

A Promise to My Children

I came across this recently and loved it. I think it summarizes how a lot of us parents feel: As long as I live, I am your parent first and your friend second. I will stalk you, flip out on you, lecture you, drive you insane, be your worst nightmare, and hunt you down like a bloodhound when needed – because I LOVE YOU! When you understand that, I will know that you have become a responsible adult. You will NEVER find someone who loves, prays, cares, and worries about you MORE than I do! If you don’t think you hate me at least once in your life – I am not doing my job properly. Love, Your Mon & Dad

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

A New Year’s Resolution (part 2 of 2)

I do not say that I have already won the race or have already reached perfection. But I am pressing on, striving to lay hold of the prize for which also Christ has laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not imagine that I have yet laid hold of it. But this one thing I do - forgetting everything which is past and stretching forward to what lies in front of me, with my eyes fixed on the goal I push on to secure the prize of God’s heavenward call in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 Continued from yesterday’s blog… But like any New Year’s resolution, this will not be easy. Studies show it usually takes less than 10 days to break a New Year’s resolution! Anything of value is almost always difficult to achieve. We must be persistent. As the passage above states, we must “press on toward the goal” through our victories and our failures. We must discipline ourselves to do the things we need to do when we need to do them, so the day will come when we will be able to do the things we want to do when we want to do them. And what will be the reward for our efforts? The passage promises we will “secure the prize of God’s heavenward call.” What does that mean? I think it means several things. Obviously, it means that we will secure heavenly rewards. But I believe there are earthly rewards we will be blessed with as well. First, by impacting the lives of others we leave a lasting legacy here on earth. One clear example is the impact we can have on our own children – messengers we send into a time we will not visit ourselves. But this impact is not only reserved for our children, but also (as stated earlier) for anyone we come into contact with at work, in our neighborhoods, at home, and at church. Second, and perhaps less palpable, is the impact it has on our own life. The process of forgetting what lies behind and pressing on to what lies ahead is a better way to live and transforms us into better human beings as we practice this way of life. As you begin this New Year, focus on forgetting the past and moving on to fulfill a purpose that will outlive you. Do you have a vision for the purpose God has called you to? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

A New Year’s Resolution (part 1 of 2)

I do not say that I have already won the race or have already reached perfection. But I am pressing on, striving to lay hold of the prize for which also Christ has laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not imagine that I have yet laid hold of it. But this one thing I do - forgetting everything which is past and stretching forward to what lies in front of me, with my eyes fixed on the goal I push on to secure the prize of God’s heavenward call in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 Tom Peters, the famous business author, calls it “sticking to the knitting”. Knowing your core mission/vision, and focusing all your efforts on it – without getting distracted. There are two parts to this: not dwelling on the past, and reaching ahead to achieve the mission and vision of the future. The past can bog us down in two distinctively different ways. Some of us feel ashamed by failures in our personal lives or in business, and our minds are haunted by those memories. Every decision we make is colored by our grief or the fear that we’ll make the same mistakes again. Others of us, though, live in past glories. We’ve enjoyed stunning successes, but instead of using our gains as a foundation for future growth, we keep reliving those memories. It has been said, “The day our memories become larger than our dreams is the day our soul begins to shrink.” Living in the past, whether failed of successful, takes our lives out of focus. In the passage above Paul says, “Forget the past (good or bad) and move on.” But in which direction should we move? We should reach forward to fulfill the mission and vision God has for us. Paul encourages us to uncover and embrace a God-sized cause, one that has a positive impact on people and expands his Kingdom (this will leave a lasting legacy). At its most basic, this is loving God by loving others. We can show other our love for God by how well we love others (e.g., sacrificially helping them). This can be done at work, in our neighborhoods, and at home, as well as at church. What are some past failures or successes you need to leave behind? Is there a God-sized cause that has gripped your heart? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com