Posts

Showing posts with the label listening

What Do You Hear? (from Matt Gunter)

A monk needed to go for a day-trip to a big city, accompanied by an acquaintance. In the midst of urban’ uproar the monk claimed to have heard a cricket, though ... his companion did not believe him. Crossing the road and looking carefully under a tree the monk found the cricket, to the astonishment of his relative. You must have a superhuman hearing! No. My ears aren’t different from yours, said the monk. But everything depends on what you’re used to listen with them. No! I would not be able to hear a cricket in this noise!  It all depends on what is important to you, reiterated the monk. Let’s make a demonstration. So the monk took out few coins from his packet and dropped them quietly on asphalt. And despite of the loud noise of the city, all the people around them turned their heads thinking that the scattered coins could’ve fallen from their packets. Do you understand now? It all depends on what is important to people … If we watch or listen to the contentions da...

8 Things I’ve Learned About Bringing Culture Change

Image
by Ben Sternke on May 4, 2015 I have been in Christian ministry for 21 years. As I look back, one of the major themes that comes to the surface is that I have always had a relentless drive to bring positive culture change to whatever situation I’m in. From my early days of leading worship to church planting, from coaching pastors to consulting with churches large and small, I’ve always been interested in how to see cultures change for the better. Of course, I did this VERY poorly at first, but God’s been helping me, as slowly as I seem to learn. (I joke with pastors that I suspect “ministry jobs” are God’s remedial program for people who can’t follow Jesus the normal way.) So here are, in no particular order, and probably without nearly enough explanation, 8 things I’ve learned about bringing culture change to an organization. 1. Never argue. Never. I have spent SO MUCH TIME arguing with people about theology and ministry, thinking that if they just had this new informati...