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Ron Edmondson Leadership Blog

Packed with practical thoughts on leadership, church, and culture

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    One Place I Receive Motivation

    By Children, Encouragement, Family, Life Plan, Parenting

    I always joke that Cheryl keeps pictures on her desk so she can look at the ones she loves, but I keep pictures on my desk so I don’t forget the people I love. (Don’t email me…it’s a joke…kinda!) Seriously, men and women are wired differently. I’m convinced there’s never a moment Cheryl is not thinking about her family. That’s why she’s so much better at remember special occasions and where we keep our favorite socks!

    It’s not that I love Cheryl or the boys less than she loves us, but most men are more task-oriented than we are relationally oriented. When I’m in a zone of work, I’m not usually thinking about anything else. Sometimes though I like to stop, turn from my laptop, and receive motivation for why I do what I do. Apart from giving God glory with my life, my greatest motivation is to leave a strong legacy for my wife and two boys.

    Today I was deep in thought, but I turned around and saw this picture. It was the spark I need to keep pushing forward.

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    January 26, 2011
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    Movie: To End All Wars

    By Culture, Encouragement

    I was not familiar with this movie until Michael Bayne, our family pastor, pointed it out to me. Wow! The trailer makes me want to watch this movie.

    The descriptions says:

    A true story about four Allied POWs who
    endure harsh treatment at the hands of their Japanese captors during World War II while being forced to build a railroad through the Burmese jungle. Ultimately they find true freedom by forgiving their enemies. Share this powerful story of
    redemption with your friends.

    Watch the trailer:

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    January 25, 2011
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    3 Values of Teamwork

    By Leadership, Organizational Leadership, Team Leadership

    Recently I was asked a question regarding how we handle set-up on Sunday mornings. Grace Community Church meets in a school and so every Sunday morning staff and volunteers start arriving about 5:30 AM to prepare for the day. The specific question was whether we have one person who oversees all the set-up. The answer is no. We actually have a team of people responsible; with different people in each area of ministry.

    Answering the question reminded me of the value of teamwork. I personally believe that the way we are doing this is best. I’m not opposed to one central leader, and in some situations that may be better, but with this task, I think the team approach is more efficient than one individual being in charge.

    Here are 3 reasons I personally prefer a team approach for this function of our church:

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    January 25, 2011
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    Common Struggles

    By Culture, Encouragement, Uncategorized

    The first sermon of the new year was a difficult one, because I encouraged our people to let go of some of the burdens they had been carrying in 2010. We wanted to start 2011 with a clean slate and make it a better year. I challenged people to write the one issue they wanted to leave behind on an index card. We captured those, and though they didn’t have names on them, we recorded the general issue to see what people in our church were dealing with this year. For me personally this is helping to shape the way I preach.

    Here is a graph of the over 1,000 cards we collected:

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    January 24, 2011
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    The Art of Loyalty (Loving an Old Pair of Shoes)

    By Culture, Encouragement

    I’ve had these shoes for 20 plus years.

    I’ve stitched up the sides a couple times.
    I’ve replaced the soles…

    I’ve worn these shoes on construction sites when I was in business…
    I’ve preached in these shoes…

    These shoes are falling apart now…
    I’m about to make some hard decisions about whether to replace them…

    I have to admit:
    When it rains my feet get wet…
    When it’s cold my feet freeze…

    But I’ve been loyal to my old shoes a long, long time…

    Maybe I should retire them but they’ve been good shoes many years…

    Whenever I wear my shoes, I’m reminded of a culture change I’ve noticed…

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    January 23, 2011
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    Scripture Memorization, Week 4

    By Encouragement

    Each week this year, we are learning another verse from the Bible together. So far we’ve learned (or attempted to learn) three verses.

    How are you doing?

    I won’t share them all each week, but at this point you could easily catch up with us, so here are the first few verses:

    Week one: Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

    Week two: In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9

    Week three: You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3

    This week is a continuation of last week’s thought process. This week’s memory verse is:

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    January 22, 2011
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    Friday Discussion: Why People Don’t Attend Church

    By Church, Culture

    Let’s discuss church attendance today.

    I specifically want to know why some people choose not to attend church.

    I want to hear about your experiences, but I also want to hear your opinions.

    One of my passions is the local church. I grew up in church and there’s never been a time in my life when I didn’t want to go to church.

    Recently I was interviewed for a local online newspaper about the launching of our second campus. (You can read the article HERE.) In the article I stated a statistic that 86% of people in our county do not go to church. That’s what the latest numbers I’m hearing indicate. I didn’t make the number up, but I didn’t do the research either. Regardless of the accuracy of the number, no one who believes in church doubts that it is higher than we would like it to be.

    So, today, I’m wonder why people don’t go to church.

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    January 21, 2011
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    7 Reactions to Controlling Leadership

    By Business, Leadership, Organizational Leadership, Team Leadership

    Recently I was speaking with someone about their experience with a controlling leader. My friend said, “He’s just one of those humor him and move on kind of guys.” I thought to myself, “What a sad commentary to be said about one’s leadership!”

    It reminds me of a similar experience I had with a controlling leader…

    You see, I once had an idea…

    It was a dream…a big vision…

    I knew it would require risk, extra energies, and the assistance of others, but I was confident this was something worth pursuing…

    I even felt it was a call of God for my life…

    I was a volunteer for the organization, not an employee, but I had been given a certain amount responsibility and authority…

    The only problem…

    The leader of the organization was a controlling leader…

    That fact alone changed the way I approached (or didn’t approach) the opportunity…

    Many controlling leaders receive that kind of attention…

    I’ve noticed from my own experience and watching others, that we tend to respond to controlling leaders by:

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    January 18, 2011
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