When I was 17, I made the decision to have a good attitude. I was a junior in high school; the coach said I was going to be the captain of my basketball team. I thought – that surprised me because I wasn’t the best player. John Thomas was better than me, and I was probably second or third best player. And I kept thinking, “Why am I going to be the captain?” I think everybody else was thinking that too. And the coach then answered, “The reason John is going to be the captain is he has the best attitude on the team. He encourages others, he believes we can win, he never gives up.”
I tried to write the book [Today Matters] with integrity and say, health is one of my daily dozen, and I work on it, but I don't have this right.
I want to always be viewed by my readers as a friend and not as an authority or an expert.
I would rather be viewed by the reader as I'm just taking a journey with you, and here's what I'm learning, what are you learning? Oh, you do this better than me. Than to be viewed as kind of like an authority.
I think once a person realizes that they are every day either sowing into their life either potential success, or sowing into their life potential failure, they would all of a sudden go okay, I've got to figure out what I'm going to do.
I think the hardest thing for a person is to know what those twelve things are that they need to work on that will bring the return of success to their life.
I don't think every person is going to have the same twelve, but I think out of the twelve I have, nine of them every person will have. Three of them are a little bit of an option, but I say go get your own three, it's no problem.
I thought that because I wasn't a sickly person - I never have been - I thought I was healthy. So I assumed health. I didn't have it.
I think that self-discipline has to be accompanied by passion.
I think passion and discipline are wonderful, complementary things.
I think passion gives you the energy to do what is right, and discipline makes sure you do what is right. So I look at them as kind of cousins maybe.
For many many years, I've taught, not only leadership, but I've taught people that they need a personal growth plan. Growth is not an automatic process for you or me or anybody.
People say, "John, what's your personal growth?" And ask "How do you grow?" And I tell them. I thought, "Why do I keep telling them, why don't I just write a book on what I call personal growth?" And that's what this [Today Matters] book is.
We cannot accomplish as much as we think we can in one day and we can accomplish more than we think we can in a year. Isn't that true?
Vision is something pastors and churches cannot afford to live without.
Anytime a church squabbles over minor things you can be certain they do not have a clear picture of what they need to be.
Pastors need to find their place in the community of believers by spending time with God.
Many times when people have a vision, they think in terms of a big vision - I want to take my city for Christ. But the problem with many pastors and this type of vision is this: they haven't developed the strategy to fulfill that vision. A pastor preaches a dream or vision to his/her people, they get excited for a week, a month, or a couple of months, but there is no strategy, planning, or process to fulfill that vision.
As a pastor I reinforced my vision over lunches.
When I had something I thought God was talking to me about, the first thing I did, before I ever talked to the congregation, was to sit down with the major influencers of the church and share with them what I thought God was speaking to me. I gave them time for input or questions. Many times they would ask questions and I would reply, "I need to spend more time on this. I'm not sure I'm thinking clearly there." Other times they added value and helped make this vision better or more accessible to the people.
When pastors ask me if their people will buy this vision, I ask them two questions: "Have they bought into your leadership?" If they haven't, don't ever try to pass on a vision. Second, "Have you processed this vision correctly?"
By the time I went to the pulpit, the vision was never on the same level as when God first gave it to me; it was clearer and bigger. It was better because the body of Christ complemented what God had given me. So when I gave the vision to the congregation, the influencers already bought it. Then after the people have heard my message, and migrate to the influencers, these influencers are already my allies and help me communicate the vision to the congregation.
There is something to be said about a pastor and a church that develop a missions statement and the people take ownership of it. They get their identity, purpose, and energy from the unique place their church is to be in that community.
If the church is going to make a difference, it will need to go through the "big give-up" stage. Churches will need to quit being selfish and become relevant.
There are a lot of pastors who have a vision and have not yet seen it become a reality.
