This month we’re moving into the category of message. It’s easy to think that your message is simply what you’re teaching. But sometimes it doesn’t matter how good the teaching is, or how strong your bottom line is, if you don’t have a PLAN. It’s a really good idea to gather your staff to grapple these questions:
(1) What’s the plan for content within your age-group ministry?
(2) What’s the plan for your own life? What’s the message you want to send through your words and actions?
We hope that this will be a pivotal month for you and your team. Take this opportunity to hone in on the key messages you want to teach in your ministry as well as model for others through your example.
We know that you lead in several ways at any given time. You lead yourself, you lead volunteers, you might lead a staff, and you often lead up. So here’s what we have in store for you in our premium YouLead content. We will also be talking about the same topic here on the always free Orange Leaders blog. If you have the Orange Leader Handbook– this focus is from p. 72 – Focused Truth.
BOOK REVIEW: Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D.
Do you know the difference between talents, skills, and strengths? This quick read will help you not only understand the difference, but it also provides an opportunity for you to discover your personal strengths and how you can use your natural abilities to do what you’re already doing even better!
PODCAST: Interview with Chris Wiersma and Chris Brogan
This is going to be a treat. Chris Wiersma is the senior pastor of Westside King’s Church in Calgary, Ontario, and he’s an incredible communicator. Chris Brogan is the president of New Marketing Labs and a leader in social media strategy. Eavesdropping on a conversation between these two communication experts is going to be good!
VIDEO: Chris Wiersma
We can’t get enough of Chris Wiersma! He gave an extraordinary message at the 2010 Orange Conference and we’re going to highlight some of his key points as they pertain to living life with a focused purpose.
REAL LIFE: McDonald’s
We’re lovin’ it! The team at McDonald’s has definitely gotten a handle on sending a focused message to kids, but what about the grown-ups? It’s not just about the Happy Meals anymore. Check out the Real Life this month to find out why we’re lovin’ it and how you can too!
WEEKLY EMAILS FOR YOUR VOLUNTEERS:
Why not make a plan to do some investing in your volunteers? Not like giving away new cars and iPads: We have a way to invest in your volunteers for free! We make it really simple to be more intentional with your volunteer communications via some good-looking emails (if we do say so ourselves) and we’ll even do the writing for you. You can even add some of your own words of wisdom to the messages.
BONUS: STAFF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT. We’re including another book review with this portion of YouLead because we felt that it would be a great tool to reinforce this month’s topic.
BOOK REVIEW: Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley & Lane Jones
As a leader, this book is a great reference guide. The two authors are masters at more than just words—they have a strategic plan about HOW to communicate their message in the most effective way.
CHALLENGE: Focused Truth
This month’s Challenge will be another great opportunity to get your team out of the office and into another setting to ask questions about how other organizations do things. Your team will work together to generate the beginnings of a teaching plan for their environments that’ll not only strengthen your messages, but alleviate the week-to-week stress of coming up with material.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP PODCAST: Interview with Carey Nieuwhof and Tim Wright.
Tim Wright is the owner of multiple McDonald’s restaurants outside of Orlando, Florida. Who could tell us better about McDonald’s priority to focus on what matters, then him. Tim’s commitment to running a successful business does not stop there, he is also determined to make a difference in the community around him.
