OUTRAGEOUSLY CREATIVE!

Pastors, teachers, chaplains - when you are creative, people NEVER FORGET the truth you teach.

It's not about you, it is about creating the foundation for personal shift in people's lives. All of us can study and deliver truth. But when we do not use the creativity that God placed within us, we are neglecting one of His greatest tools of communication.

Christ got in a boat, blasted the religious leaders, forgave the adulterous woman, healed people, broke the rabbinical Sabbath AND taught. He taught AFTER he got people's attention.

That is what we need to do, we get people's attention with creativity, and then we attach the truth of God's word to their heightened sense of awareness.  The result?  For hours, sometimes days, maybe weeks afterwards, the truth stays in their hearts and minds and causes change.

ISN'T THAT WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO?!! 

Every GREAT speaker LISTENS to the audience - NOT before, NOT after, but DURING their presentation.  Your audience will tell you how to be dynamic, when to change and how to be better.  

So often we take our time preparing, we work hard and like what we see on paper and what we hear when we practice.  The problem is that the presentation is NOT FOR US.  It is for them.  

If you will listen to and watch your audience closely while you present, they will tell you if your message is gripping, dynamic and memorable.  They will also tell you where you have become boring or just plain blown it in your presentation.  

The first thing you must listen for is noise.   Rustling, paper shuffling, feet moving around, shifting in chairs... we've all heard it.  If that noise starts it means that somewhere along the way you have lost the attention of the audience, you are no longer captivating.

The second thing is to watch the eyes of the audience....

So often we spend all our time preparing the content.  We study, work hard, pray and hope for the best.  But that is not how God made us.  God built us so that our expectations directly impact our actions, which radically influence how the audience reacts.

That expectation is called faith.  Faith that there is something greater at work than our own efforts.  Faith that the message that you have prepared is not just for that particular event.  Faith that God has chosen you for just exactly that time, that audience, that location and has given you the truth they need to hear.  

You should enter into every presentation that God gives you with nothing short of believing that God is going to change people, generations and the world with the few simple words you are going to utter.  Not because you are good, but because He is great and His Word is great.

So, enter into every opportunity with sky high expectations, believing that your time with...

Tough times can ruin the focus of your team. As a leader, if you don't do something, not only can your people become fractured, but the project, the service, all that you have been working for is in jeopardy.  

How do you get your team back on track, despite the circumstances?

It is YOUR responsibility. IT starts with prayer. Asking God for His guidance and wisdom.

Next, it requires patience to hear the concerns of you team members.  YOU may not be disturbed, but they are, and they need to know that you have heard them and understand their fears, concerns and worries.  

Last, you must offer perspective.  You MAY BE as worried as they are, but from your time of prayer, and your focus on the Savior, you must step out of yourself and offer perspective that carries with it the truth of God's Word, the truth of the greatness of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Easy?  Never.  Essential?  Absolutely.  Does it work?  Yes....

Everyone wants to be unique, outstanding.

The path to be this way is not easy, nor obvious.  Our culture gives us every opportunity to be part of the herd, part of the crowd, just like everyone else.  

But deep inside, we know we were created to be unique, to have a special task, to accomplish something no one else can. We know this! And God confirms it.  When we become His child, and he places His Spirit within us, he blends who He is with who we are and all that together brings us to the place of uniqueness.  

In that place, God has tasks that can be only fulfilled by us.  If you would be one of those who is set apart, then you must fully embrace Galatians 2:20 as your starting point.  My wife and I use this verse to guide our decisions and in so doing, we find ourselves thinking, acting, living differently than just about everyone else. No other concept has the power to make you more remarkable, for all eternity, than this.

Blessings,

Vance

Dr....

Pastors, Teachers - It is too easy to settle into the familiar with our presentations.  Same basic message, same basic stance, tone of voice, position on stage, beginning and ending - all the same - week after week, year after year.  

Though our people will be gracious and some will listen, we take the risk of losing many, especially teens.  As humans, our brains crave surprise, newness, the unknown.  It is what stimulates us to pay attention, to hear where we don't normally hear, to see with different eyes.  

That is the role of creativity, and it is a MUST for those of us who present the Word of God.  If people don't remember what we say, then why are we speaking?

Creativity jars our audience OUT of the mundane and surprises them INTO attention. Here are three simple ways you can be creative.

 Originality. A MUST for influence and impact! If you don't have it, you are in danger of simply repeating what everyone else says and doing what everyone else does.  Through the simple process of challenging yourself to see things with a different lens, you can grip people with original thought.

HOWEVER originality also gets a lot of push back from your people if not done right.  They don't want to think differently, they don't want to have their assumptions challenged.  But challenge them is part of your job description.  It is what Christ did.

Here are 3 things you must know and how to overcome people's push back for maximum impact.

Vance

Dr. Vance Hardisty

When we preach the word of God we do so most often appealing to the intellect of our audience.  We want them to study, II Timothy 2:15, reason, Acts 17:2 and then make a decision for change, either to stop doing something wrong they are doing or start doing something good that they aren't doing.  

And yet there was a reason why Jesus used story telling constantly in his ministry.  Jesus knew that while he could give people reasons, which he did, they would not make decisions until they "felt" like it, or until their emotions were involved.  As a result, he used stories, the greatest tool for tapping into people's emotions.

A few years ago, neuroscientist, Antonio Demasio, made a groundbreaking discovery. He studied people with damage in the part of the brain where emotions are generated. While they seemed normal in most instances, they were not able to feel emotions. As a result, they all had something peculiar in common: they...

How do you accomplish the impossible?

God's power

AND

discipline.  

Here's 3 steps to get discipline in your own life and the 3 steps you must teach others in order for them to have a disciplined life.

Many years ago Richard Foster wrote the classic The Celebration Of Discipline.  It was not a book that I wanted to read.  I thought it would be laborious, judgmental, frustrating and leave me with a terrible case of "I'm a loser".   

None of that occurred.  In fact, the book became one of my favorite.  A book that pointed the way to freedom, power and accomplishment in life.  

These 3 steps are the start.  Without these three, you will never engage in a disciplined life and without that type of life you cannot hope to accomplish what God has called you to do and be.

Blessings,

Vance

Dr. Vance