Generous Mind

Fear of Generosity?

2012-01-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

I’m bad at choosing gifts—or at least it’s not easy for me to do. I wonder what the implications of a certain item are—if it sends a message other than that which was intended (usually, “You’re important to me”). Did I pay too much or too little? Does it reveal an assumption I’ve made of them by thinking they would want a certain something? And I think about all this before I even wonder if they will like it or not!

So, yes, I have a sort of fear of generosity in that I’m afraid of what the other person will think or say. I’m afraid of rejection. It’s like this with ideas too. What if something I share is criticized and devalued? What then? That’s a good question, what then? I’ll feel bad, but that is temporary and is up to me in a lot of ways. Should that stop me from sharing? No!

There are many roadblocks to sharing ourselves with others: busyness, laziness, fear. What holds you back from sharing your ideas?

Mindy’s Birthday Post

2012-01-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

I was 11 years old at an ordinary moment in life (in fact, I was simply standing in the bathroom) when it suddenly hit me; I exist! I am alive! I am. All this time I’ve been living and I never really noticed—REALLY noticed that I was. I just took it for granted, all this living. And now, I knew.

A sudden joy filled me at the thought—the joy of knowing that I was created. I’ve carried that moment around with me since then, thinking of it now and then, marveling at the wonder of that truth. God thought of me and made me. I didn’t have to exist. He chose for me to be here.

I wish I could keep that thought at the forefront of my mind…living each day in the wonder of that moment, but life wears me down and it gets shoved into the back of my mind.

But every birthday when I wake up, the joy of that moment fills me—if only for one day a year and I know that I exist, I am alive, I am. People wish me a happy birthday, but I can’t help but have a happy birthday. In fact, I wish that everyone else would have a happy birthday with me—to share this joy that I have of being alive.

This year I am going to try to carry a piece of that joy with me. When I get down and frustrated and depressed, I want to draw on the wonder of that realization and remember that I am.

(Psalm 139:13-14 NIV)

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.

MLK, Jr. Day—The Forgotten Holiday?

2012-01-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

Today’s post is from Bruce McCluggage, philosophy professor at Pikes Peak Community College. Thank you Bruce for your willingness to share what you’ve learned from a local friend and the experiences you shared with each other this past year.

MLK, Jr. Day—The Forgotten Holiday?

By Bruce McCluggage, Philosophy Faculty at Pikes Peak Community College

It’s happening again—another all-white church service in January without mention of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It is amusing how I can build the excitement, the tension, in my head while I’m sitting here. “Will we, or won’t we?”

My memories flood back this past year to how God used a man named John to make some of us in our all-white Colorado Springs church a bit ‘uncomfortable.’ John is a major editor for a quite large and reputable Christian publishing company. Yet, he suffers not only from a physical malady but also one that strikes at the heart of many a family—the unbearable heartache of a wayward child. Years ago John started to attend an all-black church in town. He said he found comfort there and understanding in the midst of his ‘unbearable heartache.’ He invited us white folk to go with him and a few of us ventured forth.

Then John invited me to an annual retreat for men—black men from black churches in the Denver/Colorado Springs area. I too suffer the same malady as John—the ‘unbearable heartache’ of a prodigal son/daughter. So I went, I saw, and I was conquered by the unconditional love of black men adopting two white guys into their midst because we ALL know the condition that life just does not go the way that we think it should. It’s unfair, it’s unjust and we hurt as a result. We don’t choose these conditions, rather they choose us. But we can choose to be with those whose history bears the mark of suffering ‘unbearable heartaches’ and in that fellowship we often find the understanding and empathy that is more oft difficult to experience in an all-white congregation.

While riding home from that men’s retreat in the church’s van full of black men we cooked up a plan for us to invite our wives to go out together for a movie and dinner afterward. The movie?—The Help. We decided that we would discuss all the feelings and emotions that would probably be raised by the movie over the dinner. John and I had already viewed the movie before so we were surprised that none of our black brothers had seen it.

I cried a few tears when I saw the movie the first time. But something very strange happened to me while watching the movie a second time sitting next to a black couple from a black church that I had come to know. I couldn’t stop crying. I was a human water fountain. I think it had something to do with the power of empathy.

This morning I will join one of my colleagues, a fellow community college instructor, at an MLK, Jr. celebration at the college where she will take the stage to share some of the journey of being a poor black single mom who overcame obstacle after obstacle to eventually earn a Ph. D. and be courted by many a professional and organizational opportunity. She’s depending on me though. I told her of a video clip I happen to have of actual footage of MLK, Jr. being arrested and thrown into a Birmingham City Jail and other footage summarizing the path that eventually led him to making his memorable “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, DC. So, Regina wanted to show some of that footage at the school-wide meeting this morning.

Well, January isn’t finished yet. I need to have hope for the white churches in town and all across America. I think I’ll call the pastor and offer to stand up in church and share a bit of my story, a bit of my history of what MLK, Jr. day means to me. I wonder what the pastor will say. I wonder what other white pastors say. I wonder how many more Januarys will go by with this happening again.

Can a Database be Generous?

2012-01-11T19:35:00.001-07:00

In these troubled times we are caught between the promise of technological breakthroughs and the great fear of how that same technology might do us harm as it controls more and more of our daily life. Information is a power that has come of age and it is something that each of us must contend with.

But information is still an inanimate thing. It does not love, smile or do a victory dance. It is 1's and 0's given meaning by each of us as we live our lives. We give data meaning and we use that data to make a difference in people's lives.

Just today I found a wonderful example of how a group of people brought data together through a database and gave it meaning and significance. The team at YouVersion (one of the most popular Bible apps in the world) just released a list of the verses most often bookmarked in 2011. Take a look at the list here.

This list was generated from a database that tracked all of the times a verse in the Bible was bookmarked by the countless users of YouVersion's software. In the database it was just a bunch of information.

But people on the YouVersion team decided to pull that information out and share it with the world. Now we can look at the collective impact of Scripture on many lives through the verses they decided to bookmark.

It is a simple act of generosity enabled by a database but brought to life by a person who God inspired to share that information.

What data do you have at your disposal? How could it be used to make a difference in people's lives? Are you actively asking that question today?

Looking Back and Pressing Forward

2012-01-04T08:33:00.000-07:00

We love New Years . . . why you ask? Well, it is such a rich time of sharing. We love to see all the top 10 lists, Best-of lists, Predictions lists and on and on. Many of you spent time looking back over 2011 and synthesizing what took place. Others focused on looking into 2012 and describing what you think will happen in this new year.

Either way, each of you who participated in this annual ritual were being Generous Minds. You were sharing your ideas and enriching the lives of others. At these key milestones in life, we have amazing opportunities to share ideas with others.

That is because other people have a felt need for what you have to share. As the year winds down, they are looking for insights and input into what was significant and what they can learn from the year's events. They are also looking to get insight into what will be coming up in the new year.

As a Generous Mind, you have the chance to step into that need felt by so many and share what God has put on your heart. Will you do take that opportunity?

Share with us your favorite year-end content so we can benefit from your generosity.

The Christmas Message was a Generous One

2011-12-22T10:14:00.002-07:00

All month we have been celebrating Christmas with our family through evening readings, singing, treats and the advent candles and calendar. As we have done that we have interacted with most of the players in the Christmas story as they have heard the Good News of Immanuel - God with us.

As we reflect on all of those encounters with the message of hope that Jesus was either on His way or already arrived, the number and variety of times God chose to share this news is striking.

God did not hide His Son away. He was not stingy with those He shared the news. He shared freely . . . grandly . . . generously!

Let's just think for a minute about some of the instances of God's generosity:

He made Himself known to the wise men far away with enough notice to travel all the way to Bethlehem
His angel appeared to Mary and Joseph to explain this amazing journey they were about to participate in.
A multitude of angels came to the shepherds to announce the birth.
God prepared the heart of Simeon who waited in the courts of the Temple for the Messiah to make Himself known.

These are just a few examples and we could go on and on for pages if we included all of the amazing prophecies in the Old Testament that foretold the coming Messiah.

What stands out is how generous God was with the Good News. He truly wanted the world to know and was intentional about His communication to us. Let us take time this Christmas to thank Him for this wondrous gift!

Incarnational Reading?

2011-12-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

I love the post and the questions that Stephanie Smith is asking about how eBooks can be a more holistic experience. She did an interview with Jon for Moody Publisher's blog. Take a moment to read her post and join in the discussion on how enhanced eBooks bring the author and the audience to the table.

Found: One Generous Mind at the Dentist’s Office

2011-12-08T08:37:00.001-07:00

Going to the dentist’s office doesn’t seem like it would be a time to witness generosity. Fear, dread and anxiety, yes, but not generosity. But every time we go to our dentist, they are truly looking out for our best. Whether it’s trying to find whether we qualify for a discount or sending us home with a plate of special food they had from celebrating a birthday, they are giving by nature.

The generosity does not stop there. The most generous mind in the office is the dental hygienist. Most of the time, the hygienist working in your mouth is not concerned about your mind. They work in your mouth, making sure it is as clean as they can reasonably get it. But this lady is truly interested in letting you know all about your teeth. She gives you helpful tips about how to work with your kids on good tooth-habits, and explains why things are the way they are in regards to your teeth.

No matter what profession you are in, you can be a generous mind. Most of the time we think about the teacher or author, but we can all care about what another person knows and understands. We can enrich each other’s lives by sharing what we know. But most importantly, being a generous mind can be a form of loving one another.

When was the last time you shared what you knew with someone else? What was your motivation? Do you think God was using you to love the other person?

Value: Humility

2011-12-06T09:22:00.001-07:00

Humility is a dangerous virtue to value—at least it’s dangerous to talk about it. As soon as you do, you realize how much you have to grow in that area and it’s out there for all to see! But it’s still important to being a generous mind and hence I write this post in spite of my reservations.

If you want to hear from God, it’s important to be humble. Psalm 25:9 says, “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.” (NIV) How I need to know what is right and understand his way! Without understanding, life can seem like a muddled mess.

But it’s more than just for my personal benefit. When I am humble and learn from God, I can share those lessons with others. Words are such a powerful force. I remember times in my life when I did not have the resources to reach out to God on my own, but someone came along and spoke truth into my life. The words were healing to me—exactly what I needed to hear.

Matthew 11:25-26 (NIV) says, “At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.’”

Children want to share. “Look, Daddy,” they say and, “Mom, watch me!” They spend endless minutes recounting the last show they watched or the intricate plot of the book they read. They want you to know. They have both the humility to learn from God and the internal drive to share it with others.

Our Savior also had the humility to learn from the Father and share it with us. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

How do you think humility helps in the learning and sharing process?

Generous Minds are Reading Minds

2011-11-30T19:23:00.001-07:00

How many books do you have on your "to read" pile right now? Some of you might have 15 and others may have none at all. Either way, you might be doing very little actual reading these days. What with family, friends, multiple jobs, volunteering and entertainment, who spends dedicated reading time?

Now we know that many of you do, but you get the idea. It's hard to focus on reading (especially when it isn't the latest fiction book everyone is talking about). Our attention spans are getting shorter and the books seem to be getting longer!

But not reading is not really an option . . . is it? What we have seen over and over again is that the ideas that you put into your brain are the fodder and raw material that allow you to develop new and creative ideas to share with the world.

That is why being a Generous Mind requires you to be a reader. You have to have new and different inputs into your life in order to create new and creative ideas to share with others. But the trick isn't to start reading just any book. Here are some tips to be intentional with your reading:

1. As C.S. Lewis famously said, "It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between."

2. As you read a book that is meaningful, research who influenced the author and read their books/content as well.

3. Read from many different disciplines and as you read ask yourself what you can learn from this very different area of thought.

4. Ask friends to share the book that has most impacted them this year and then read them.

5. Mix it up between books that encourage, inspire, challenge, entertain and educate. You need all these inputs.

When the Poor Become Generous

2011-11-23T10:51:00.001-07:00

Today's post is by Chris Horst

Chris Horst serves as director of advancement for HOPE International. Chris spent time doing microfinance work in Romania and has visited many of HOPE’s programs across the globe. He completed his undergraduate degree in business at Taylor University (Indiana) and his MBA at Bakke Graduate University. He currently lives and works for HOPE in Denver, Colorado. Chris and his wife, Alli, are parents to one son, Desmond, and active members at City Presbyterian Church. Chris & Alli write on their blog, Smorgasblurb.

When the Poor Become Generous

By Chris Horst

It is more blessed to give than to receive.

How many times will you hear these wise words this holiday season? This is my favorite time of year primarily because of this season’s emphasis on giving. The charitable and gift-giving yearnings among us all are stoked and encouraged more in December than at any other time of the year. This spirit is encapsulated and affirmed in what might be our favorite Christmas saying: It is more blessed to give than to receive.

The axiom could not be truer. Giving is a joy. Research suggests that generous people are happier people. Generous countries are happier countries. Benevolence brings vibrancy to our faith. Historically, openhandedness and abundant giving have been the fragrance of the Church. Part of our mandate as Christians includes a call to a countercultural understanding of our role as stewards, rather than owners, of our time and treasure. I’ll just speak for myself, but my hunch is others will resonate: My charity often robs the poor of the opportunity to give, rather than encouraging generosity.

We hold a collective agreement that giving is more blessed than receiving. Accordingly, we need to invest more energy and intentionality around promoting generosity among the people to whom we give. When the poor become more than recipients, actually becoming donors and volunteers themselves, the very soul of generosity is unleashed.

Pay it forward-ism should be our rally cry. These two stories from Romania and Uganda compel me to give in this way.

Inspired by the generosity of donors to their country, a group of Romanians determined to replicate this generosity themselves. This month, 50 microfinance clients of HOPE’s partner program in Romania participated in funding and packaging over 12,000 Christmas shoeboxes for orphans in their community.

In Uganda, one man—Bishop Hannington—has catalyzed an entire community around this concept. Even though the town was recovering from a war, and poor in every way imaginable, he preached a surprising and seemingly impossible message of generosity. Even the very poorest in this community responded to his call to live generously. One woman, both elderly and crippled, put an exclamation point on Bishop Hannington’s message (4:57 in the video):

“I heard what was taking place. And even though I am crippled, I, too, wanted to give.”

Bishop Hannington from International Steward on Vimeo.

What God did there through His church is nothing short of a miracle. The story will be an encouragement to you as we enter fully into the season of giving.

Take Care in What you Share

2011-11-16T08:45:00.001-07:00

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25, NIV)

How often do the words of someone refresh you? Do you refresh others with what you communicate? My hope is that you experience this give and take of benefitting others with generosity both with material wealth and with thoughts that come from what God is teaching you. And that is an important point to consider, what are we sharing and communicating to others? Is it truly wealth or is it something not worth sharing?

When sharing about the generous mind idea years ago, a friend asked about all of the “drivel” that could potentially be thrown out there in an effort to be generous with our thoughts. That thought has been rolling around in my head for a long time. It’s true; much of what we think about could be put into the drivel category. But, should that discourage us from sharing the nuggets of wisdom that we gain throughout our lives?

This morning I read two Proverbs that seems to speak to this issue. First, my eye caught Proverbs 12:23:

The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves, but a fool’s heart blurts out folly. (Proverbs 12:23, NIV)

At first I thought, “Oh, no! Maybe we aren’t supposed to share what is going on in our minds.” Then I read the comment by what we fondly call “Bible Guy” (the commentary), and “he” directed me to Proverbs 10:14.

The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin. (Proverbs 10:14, NIV)

After reading them together and the commentary which says of the phrase, store up knowledge, “Rather than babbling folly…,” it seems that it’s the babbling about foolish things that is the problem. The message I got was that we should take care in what we share. It’s important to consider whether what we’re sharing is from God and is wisdom or is something foolish.

In a world where you can post almost instantly, this can be a challenge. It’s so easy to post without thinking. But these verses have challenged me to check myself before I share—to share with care.

How much care and thought do you put into what you share? As you strive to be a generous mind, ask God to put wisdom and truth into your heart and mind so that you can refresh others.

Commentary referred to is from The NIV Study Bible, 10^th Anniversary Edition

When the Toothpicks are Gone

2011-11-15T12:19:00.001-07:00

I reached into my purse pocket and found a toothpick. This is not the first time this has happened. Just after my grandma died seven years ago, I found a toothpick that she had stashed away in the pocket of a pair of pants. It made me tear up then. Now it makes me smile. It brought back memories of her—how she always had a tissue up her sleeve just in case, her graceful and peaceful manner, her hugs and that beautiful face.

We all have people we’ve loved and lost. They live on in our memories, triggered by little things they have left behind—a chair, a piece of jewelry, or a card. Grandma gave my sister the red highlights in her light brown hair. She gave my mom a certain inflection in her voice while I got her likable nature.

But what happens when the toothpicks are gone? When all the little things she’s left behind seem to fade in to the world around us? What will remain? Values, traditions, and lessons she taught. The times she invested in others. The small kindnesses she did throughout her life.

That is part of what Generous Mind is about—enabling people to step outside the everyday survival of life and communicate with others the important ideas God has given them. It’s helping people to make a contribution to the world that will live on in others.

What are you doing in your life that will live on? Who are you investing in today?

Generous Thinking is Comprehensive

2011-11-10T21:26:00.001-07:00

When we look for true examples of generous minds, we are looking for those who share regularly but also share in many different areas of their life. A Generous Mind might share regularly about a hobby such as building model airplanes. They might also share their knowledge at work as a mechanic or engineer. At the same time they may be mentoring a young father or mother in areas related to parenting.

This comprehensive nature of their generosity shows that it isn’t simply in their job that they should share but that they have developed a lifestyle of sharing. This holistic discipline of sharing makes it clear that generosity is a core value that is bound to come out in anything that the person does.

For so long we have separated our activities to such an extent that we have not expected our values to permeate the various areas of our lives. But as integration and authenticity become greater and greater values, people are beginning to expect that our lives will be permeated by our values.

So how do you break down these self-imposed barriers and create a value for generosity across all areas of your life?

1. Define the values that you want to permeate your life so that you can be intentional about them. We recommend that generosity be one of them!

2. Ask yourself how these values are being demonstrated in every area of your life?

3. Define how you will measure whether those values are represented in your life.

4. Look at your life and all that you do as a single unit and see if every area is representing these things you value.

Are you willing to live comprehensively in this area of generosity and other key values in your life?

What is a Gift Without a Receiver?

2011-11-03T10:37:00.000-06:00

Every idea is a gift, but without a connector, how will it get to its recipient?

Today we have a guest post on the Vessel Project's blog run by Keiki Hendrix about the importance of connectors when being generous with ideas. Thank you Keiki for this opportunity!

http://vesselproject.com/2011/11/03/what-is-a-gift-without-a-receiver/

Seven billion ideas and counting

2011-10-31T11:09:00.000-06:00

It’s easy to see the number of people climbing and grow worried, but when you think about the potential of a person…the ideas they have, the love they have to offer, the contribution they can make to our world, it can be exciting too.

Just think of it—if every person had just one significant idea in their life, then seven billion people means seven billion significant ideas to work with! Sure we’re not all Einstein or Shakespeare or Martin Luther King Jr. We may not create major shifts in our world, but each of us affects our part of the world even if it’s in a small way.

And as the population grows, so our responsibility to capture ideas that will help others becomes more important. Matt Ridley has an interesting perspective on the situation in his book The Rational Optimist. Read Chris Marshall’s summary on Ridley’s thoughts. The idea is that innovation may help us solve the challenges of a growing population. Just think of it. The more people we have, the more ideas we have to build upon.

What one idea do you have that could help others even if in a small way?

Thoughts from a Bowl of Goop

2011-10-29T20:27:00.000-06:00

Orange goop slipped between my fingers and found its way under my nails as I diligently pinched each pumpkin seed into the bowl. This was going to be a big job and so my mind began to wander.

I started thinking about God and wondering, “Why do we love God when we can’t see him? What makes our hearts reach out to him?” I thought that maybe it was because he was our creator and created things always look to their creator with gratitude and love.

I thought about how it’s the same with kids and their parents. Even before they know whether their personalities would click or they would agree or even like each other…they love their parents with an unconditional love.

What creates that connection? Then I started thinking that in both cases, it’s because the one is essentially part of the other. Every created thing reflects its maker just as every child reflects the characteristics of both parents.

The song from my one of my earliest Sunday school memories began to play in my mind, “Oh, how I love Jesus, because he first loved me.” Of course. We love him because he loved us first. How simple. How true. We can love because of his love. We exist because of his love.

Some drama was brewing in the house and the noise finally drew me out of my thoughts. I rinsed the goop off my hands and left the wondering behind.

In the midst of the Halloween craziness, I hope you have time to let your mind wander into God’s spaces and realize how much he loves you and why you are mysteriously drawn to him.

When you think about God, what are the things that you wonder?

Generosity or Control…What You Can Learn at the Pet Store

2011-10-25T13:06:00.003-06:00

Our daughter’s parakeet is warbling and chattering away as I write this. She brings so much joy to our house with her little personality and beautiful chirping. I’m thinking back to the day we were at the mall and we visited the pet store. The manager took an interest in our desire for a bird and spent about 20 minutes asking us questions and educating us on kinds of birds, what they are like, cost, and other things to consider when selecting a flying pet. He seemed to find true joy in sharing what he knew with us. His style was not pushy, but generous. He encouraged the burgeoning animal expert, affirming her research and engaging in an educated discussion of birds.

After some comparative shopping online, several weeks later, we went to a large pet store to select a parakeet. The woman working the department said to me, “You’re not planning to put a bird in that cage are you?” I stammered at the harsh tone of her question, looking at the cage we had brought from home. The woman then went on to educate us on the appropriate ways to take care of a parakeet. When my daughter tried to chime in to the one-sided conversation she was either corrected or shot down. In spite of this treatment, our daughter bought the bird and has been very happy with her friendly and happy personality. While she came away with a bird…I came away with a stark contrast of a generous mind with one that was not generous.

But what makes one a generous mind and the other not? After all, they both gave information about birds. Intention is the invisible difference. From my perspective, the man at the mall seemed to be trying to add to our knowledge of birds in order to enhance our enjoyment and experience with a new pet. The woman at the larger pet store seemed to be trying to get us to follow the rules as she saw them. One intention was generous, the other was about control.

Can you think of a time you have shared information for the sake of control?

Tell us about an experience you have had with a generous mind.

Update from River Town

2011-10-20T12:21:00.001-06:00

Have you read Through the River; Understanding Your Assumptions About Truth? We have an update from River Town on the Through The River blog.

The Splendor of His Provision

2011-10-18T08:18:00.000-06:00

¹⁷ Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. ¹⁹ In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV)

Are you enjoying the provisions God has put in your life?

Have you ever gone through your day, sitting in front of the computer, walking down fluorescent-lit hallways only to come out into the light of day and cover your eyes from the brilliance of the sun? Without having enjoyed the outdoor beauty of the sunrise, it is hard to take in the sudden beauty of the sunlight. Life is like that. We are surrounded by gifts from God, but we stay inside, letting the blessings go by unnoticed. Then, in rare moments, we are struck suddenly with the splendor of his provision only to go back inside for the remainder of our day. Still the beauty remains, whether we notice it or not.

1 Timothy 6:17 says that God “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” It’s not just about existing…it’s about joy too. How wonderful to know that we can put our hope in a God who provides everything for us, not simply for our survival, but for our enjoyment. The sun not only provides warmth, but illuminates the yellows, oranges and reds of the deciduous trees in fall. Our friends provide security, but also laughter. The life God provides may not be what we ordered off the menu, but our circumstances are what God can use to draw us closer to him, and in him we will find joy.

Do you have security knowing that God will provide for you?

The rising and setting sun each day reminds us that God will provide. It is with this security—knowing that everything is God’s and that He will take care of us—that we can be generous with what we have. At Generous Mind, we believe that includes ideas as well as other resources. The capacity for creativity, problem-solving, and humor come from God and we have the opportunity to share those gifts with others.

And think of it. Verse 19 says that when we are generous, we will be rewarded with life. This not only means that God smiles when we give our resources to someone, but when we write a blog post that glorifies him, help someone solve a problem, or make someone laugh. When we give of ourselves we are being generous.

What resources has God given you that you are willing to share?

Bringing Passion and Experience Together

2011-10-13T08:10:00.000-06:00

It is natural to downplay what we do not possess. It is one of our first defenses when we are faced with our own inadequacies. We see our age – whether young or old – and affirm it as a huge advantage. We also look at our experiences and compare them to what other’s have done.

And as we go about our comparisons we reduce those around us; limiting their contribution in our minds and our spheres of influence. One of the places where this is happening in dramatic fashion is the realm of leadership. In this liminal time of transitions where everything is being reframed around new philosophies, financial realities and technologies, there is an unnecessary struggle for leadership.

Young leaders have grasped a vision for how the world must be reframed in these new times. They bring passion and excitement to their roles as they seek to remake their industries, nonprofits and churches based on the new rules governing our world.

At the same time older leaders have a wealth of experience and knowledge that they seek to bring to these unstable times. They have walked through tough times and good times. With both they have learned how to lead and develop organizations that stand the test of time.

Both of these perspectives are true, powerful and vital to the organizations trying to thrive in today’s realities. But when young and old leaders sit in the same room, they are not affirming what the other brings to the table. In fact, I mostly see disconnects, discouragement and divisiveness. Older leaders refuse to validate the passion and new thinking of the young. And young leaders refuse to affirm the experience and context that older leaders bring to their roles. And as each downplay the other’s significance, they wipe away any opportunity to leverage both passion and experience together for the good of the causes they represent.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Whether you are a young leader or an older leader reading this post, you have the opportunity to stand firm in your identity in Christ, confident in your value as a Kingdom leader and humbly extend your hand to another. By affirming what other leaders bring to your cause and encouraging them in their role, you will see amazing synergies begin to take shape.

If you are ready to do that, I would like to recommend that you read the following two posts by Jonathan Pearson, a younger leader who serves as Communications/Online Pastor for Cornerstone Community Church in Orangeburg, SC. I love his heart to help younger and older leaders communicate and engage.

If you are a younger leader, read his post called “3 Things Younger Leaders Need to Say.” http://jonathanpearson.net/2011/05/17/3-things-young-leaders-need-to-say/

If you are an older leader, read his post called “3 Things Younger Leaders Need to Hear.” http://jonathanpearson.net/2011/05/12/3-things-young-leaders-need-to-hear/

Make sure you read both posts and ask yourself how you can foster a healthy leadership dialogue.

Memoir: Self-Centered or Self-Giving?

2011-10-11T11:02:00.000-06:00

Today, Stephanie S. Smith shares about the memoir and how sharing your story can be an exercise of a generous mind.

Stephanie S. Smith is a twentysomething writer, editor, blogger and literary publicist addicted to print and pixels. She runs her business, (In)dialogue Communications, from her home in Upstate New York where she lives with her husband. Follow her blogging about embodied faith, creative life, and millennial culture at www.stephindialogue.com or @stephindialogue.

America seems to have a love/hate relationship with the memoir. This genre has risen in popularity over the past decade, with advocates praising its transparency and the inspiration of human triumph over the odds, and critics accusing it of syrupy, self-centered drivel.

I’ve read memoirs that fall into both categories, and while at times personal narrative slides into an egocentric universe of one, I would argue that the memoir is a powerful creative outlet for self-giving.

Memoir as Hospitality
Telling your story is a deeply personal act, requiring confidence and vulnerability. We do not invite suspicious strangers into our homes to sit at our table; neither do we entrust the tragedies and triumphs of our lives to just anyone. Storytelling is an exchange that only happens in the context of great confidence. And to invite a person into your story is a powerful act of hospitality.

Memoir as Community
In 1 Thessalonians 2:8, Paul describes the effects of hospitality in his ministry to the local church, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” (NIV 1984) Love for others, rather than selfishness, provokes us to share not only the gospel truth, but the personal and intimate details of our lives with others. Following this model, personal story-telling through memoir opens the door to community, creating a safe environment for others to empathize and share their stories as well.

C.S. Lewis once said, “We read to know that we are not alone,” and memoir is perhaps the best literary form to meet this need in the life of the reader, as self-giving narrators tell their tales and open the door to universal community of the human spirit.

What is Success?

2011-10-06T19:38:00.002-06:00

We all want success—to feel like we’ve accomplishedsomething and done it well. But because success ties to personal goals anddesires, there is a discrepancy between what people consider success. Not onlydo people in general have different expectations, but individuals can havemixed or conflicting desires related to those expectations. The question isn’tsimply, “What is success?” but also, “Who defines success?”

For Christians, it’s the classic Sunday school answer,“Jesus!” But how do we take the goals and desires of Christ and apply them tothe work in front of us? It’s a challenge, but it can be done…and it will lookdifferent for everyone. That is what is so hard. There is no objective standardfor success contrary to what our world tries to convince us of.

For example, suppose Jesus impresses on you in yourdevotions that he desires you to grow in faith as you serve him. (see Luke 7:9)Now let’s say you’ve been working all morning on a presentation that willdecide whether you get an assignment you have been hoping for. Success in yourmind would be for the meeting to go smoothly, for your presentation to be accepted,and for you to be selected to head the project. So how do you pray? How does Christsee success in this situation? What will cause you to depend on him in faith?Can you entertain the thought that he might be glorified even if you don’t getthe assignment? What if he wants someone in the office to see how you deal withdisappointment? God may be up to something entirely different than youexpect…expect it!

So again, how do you pray? Let’s go back to Sunday schoolfor that one too. “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is inheaven.” Matthew 6:10 (NIV)

Are you asking God to help you define success or are youusing the metrics of the world to create your definition? Ask God to give younew perspective on success this weekend and see how he changes your focus inthe coming weeks.

Teamwork is NOT cheating

2011-10-04T09:19:00.001-06:00

I love how ending creditsare now integrated into the movie itself. Whether bloopers or snippets or awrap up scene, the movie-makers have decided not to waste this valuable timeand space without integrating it into the entertainment experience.

But have you everwondered why there is so much time dedicated to the credits? Rows and rows ofnames scroll by, communicating to us that this movie did not come about throughone person, but it took a whole team to pull it together.

Creativity is likethat…more heads make an idea better.

Working in teamsdefinitely takes a shift in thinking from our very independent mindset to amore community focused one. Reminiscent of our school days, we almost feelguilty for pulling other people into the project for fear that we will becaught cheating. But the ability to work in groups should be seen as a gift anda skill that can result in great products and services.

Generous Mind valuesteamwork. Because we (Jon and Mindy) work together as a team, we see everythingthrough the lens of teamwork. We are most fulfilled when we are working withothers who are seeking, forming and fostering healthy teams. It’s a core valuefor us—one that affects everything we do.

What ideas are youworking on that could benefit from a team forming around it? Who could you pullin to help make your idea better and bring it into reality?

Where are your ideas coming from?

2011-09-27T12:30:00.000-06:00

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit oftruth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. ²⁷ Andyou also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning." John 15:26-27 (NIV)

So many thoughts rush through our minds in a day. Where dothey come from? Some come from your past, others from your worries of thefuture still others are triggered by what is going on in the here and now. Butwhen you’re a follower of Jesus, we have the voice of someone else penetratingthrough the chaos of our minds. That someone is the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth who can teach usabout Jesus. But the learning doesn’t stop there. We are expected to tellothers about what the Spirit teaches us about Jesus. But so many times we putdown the ideas and thoughts that we have instead of sharing them. Werationalize that they are not good or that no one is interested. But sharingwhat we have learned is so important to the growth of others.

Part of what can help us move beyond this barrier is knowingthe nature of the Spirit. The NIV uses the name Advocate for the Holy Spirit.The English Standard Version uses the word “Helper” and the American StandardVersion uses "Comforter.” In all three cases, the words connote someonewho is for something. In the case of the Spirit, that something is you. Isn’tit wonderful to know that he can help, counsel and advocate for you?

What has the Holy Spirit been sharing with you that youcould pass on to others? Ask yourself who needs to hear what you’ve learned.

Sharing Our Dream

2011-09-23T05:58:00.002-06:00

An excellent way to be a Generous Mind is to share your ideas as a guest on someone else's blog. We are always looking for opportunities to do this and Paul Steinbrueck's blog Live Intentionally seemed like a wonderful place to share.

He is doing a weekly series on Fridays where he asks people to share about their dreams and goals. So we asked Paul if we could share about our dream of seeing a world full of Generous Minds.

We hope this post that Mindy wrote will inspire you and encourage you on your journey of generosity.

When Ideas Own Us

2011-09-21T07:43:00.000-06:00

More than anything else in our lives, ideas produce greatamounts of pride in our hearts. Maybe it is because ideas are so personal. Wethink them up, craft them, define them and present them to others; and in thatprocess we possess them in our hearts.

When Jesus says that “where your treasure is, there yourheart will be also.” (Matt. 6:21, NIV), He is exposing our natural tendency tobe owned by what we value. We see this at play with our thoughts and ideas on aregular basis. As we create ideas and go out in the world to share them, theybecome our treasure. And as they increase in value to us, we become more andmore prideful and possessive of those ideas until the ideas actually own us!

What an amazing transformation. We start our journey with anidea determined to bless those around us as we share it and we end up slaves tothat very idea. It is a tragedy that we see play out each day as people battleto own and profit from the ideas that were given to them by God.

Now there is nothing wrong with turning ideas into productsand services and selling those things to those who will benefit from them.Don’t get caught up in that trap! After all Paul charged for the tents he madeand probably drove quite a hard bargain.

We are not speaking about methods and tactics here—but ofthe heart. In John 13:14 Jesus defines what should guide our heart. This versecomes on the heel of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples and He then says,“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should washone another’s feet.” (John 13:14, NIV) To do what Jesus did, his treasure hadto be in another place that was not guided by the rules of this world. He wasguided by a different set of values and motivations which led him to a postureof humility and service.

Back in Matthew 6:21 Jesus was calling us to leave thisworld’s metrics behind and define our lives around the rules of the Kingdom.That means we must not allow our ideas to own us. We must not put at the centerthe rights that this world tries to convince us to fight for and we must sharegenerously out of a humble heart. Ideas are tools which God graciously putsinto our hands in order to bless others. Humility should be at the foundationof every thought that we seek to share.

How will that change your role as a thought leader? It willbecome less about “my idea” and more about “your growth.” We will not focusprimarily on protecting our rights and instead expend our energies on the needsof others. We will share freely, but wisely, with the knowledge that our ideascome from God and are given to us as a means to bless others.

Are you enslaved to one of your own ideas today? Ask God torelease you so that you can use it for His glory!

Yellow Balloon

2011-09-15T13:38:00.000-06:00

I held so tightly to the string, my nails dug into my hand.It was my first floating balloon and I was so happy watching that yellow orbbouncing along against the Midwestern blue sky. I was determined to keep thatballoon in my hand, despite the breeze tugging at it.

Then my worst fear happened—the string slipped out fromunder my fingers. The balloon began to ascend. My stomach felt the despair andthen lifted for a moment as the bouncing balloon hit the top of the porchceiling. Maybe I could catch it…then it broke free into the air and begansailing away.

I watched it as it shrunk into the sky, smeared in my visionwith tears.

Now, all these years later, I see that I was looking at mylost balloon all wrong. Sure, I lost the balloon, but how many other peoplecould look up and watch my yellow treasure float up into the blue expanse? Howmany spirits did it lift that day?

Ideas are like that balloon. When we get one, we are elated.For some of us, we want to squeeze that string so hard we bleed. We’re afraid—afraidof losing it…maybe to another person or maybe to the breeze. Our first instinctis to put it somewhere safe. But what if I did get the balloon safely to myroom? It would have floated for a little while on the ceiling and then slowlysunk to the floor. Wasn’t the destiny of my lost balloon so much better? Thinkof the heights it achieved!

Your idea doesn’t have to be limited by your ceiling. If youare generous with it and share it with others, it may touch the clouds. Ideasonly get stronger as you share.

That is what Generous Mind is all about—releasing ideas thatresource the world. We don’t want your ideas locked in your mind. We want themto count.

Be brave. Open you fingers. Let the balloon go.

Getting an Idea Ready for Bouncing

2011-09-13T20:59:00.000-06:00

What is the first thing you should do when a new idea is brought to life? Most people dive in and begin trying to dissect it. But in reality we believe you should do the opposite. The first thing to do when you have an idea is to think bigger than the initial thought. Many times we have an idea, but it comes out as a small application in response to a specific challenge. It’s a little like coming upon a field of flowers after walking a long way. Trudging along, at first you are looking down and only see one purple bloom. In order to see the whole picture you need to look up.

This process of looking up could include asking yourself questions like, “What is the basic principle behind this idea?” “Is this bigger than one project?” and “What am I trying to accomplish here?”

Once you identify what that bigger principle is, you can begin asking, “What are some other ways I can apply these principles?” and “How else can I solve this problem?”

After you answer these questions, you can be sure that your idea will begin taking the shape of a trampoline—taut and ready. Now you can start throwing things onto your idea to see if they bounce. Begin by asking the generosity questions; “Who else would care about my idea?” “Who should care?” and “How can I get the message out to them?”

Once you have that, think about the ways you can communicate to those people in the most appropriate ways. Email, Twitter, a Website, texting, mail, Facebook. How about television, radio, magazines or newspapers? Have you considered doing seminars…maybe a book or a series of articles? A blog would be something to consider.

The opportunities are endless. You just have to get inside the heads of the people who would care about your idea. That shouldn’t be too hard…chances are they are a little like you. After all, you came up with the idea. Figure out how you can speak to them on an ongoing basis and start doing it. Try to get feedback so you can tweak your idea until it is the bounciest trampoline in the neighborhood. Then involve them in the process. When your idea is ready, you’ll have people already interested in what you’re doing.

What will bounce off your next idea?

2011-09-08T11:31:00.000-06:00

Ideas are like a trampoline. Your idea is the material stretched to the point where anything that touches it bounces! You throw a book onto it, it bounces, a radio show, it bounces. Blog, movie, speaking opportunity; bounce, bounce, bounce.

But like a trampoline, unless something is bouncing on it there just this big round piece of mesh taking up space in your back yard. The idea by itself cannot accomplish its purpose. That’s where you come in. What can you throw onto your idea?

Maybe you have an idea to make your train ride more productive. What should you bounce off your idea? Maybe you can invent something. Then maybe you can start a blog about making better use of your time on the commute. You could write a book…or an e-book. You could even get an entire group of people excited about using their commute to accomplish a common goal.

You may need help making your idea useful. That’s normal. Most people need others to help get where they need to go. That’s where Generous Mind comes in. We want to walk alongside thought leaders like you to help get creative opportunities bouncing off your ideas. So get one out, stretch it, get ready, then throw some things on it and see what happens. We look forward to walking alongside you through the process.

Sharing Stories From a Cultural Goldmine

2011-09-06T09:49:00.001-06:00

Guest Blogger: Johanna Fenton

This month we at The Seed Company are celebrating a milestone: entering our 700th Scripture translation partnership. Since 1993, the year we were launched by Wycliffe Bible Translators, we've operated on the mandate to accelerate Bible translation.
We thank God for His blessing and for our many partners—on and off the field. As I reflect on this milestone, however, I'm cautiously aware of a potential danger: hoarding what we've been blessed with.

In my role of coordinating social media content for our blog, Twitter, and Facebook, I have access to a cultural goldmine of stories and information. Instead of hoarding that information, which would be the easy thing to do, I want to do the exact opposite by delivering to our readers the best stories from that treasure trove.

Consider the possibilities with me. We've got local people translating Scriptures in a major langugage—spoken by about 70 million people—in a sensitive region of Asia. On the other end of the spectrum, we've got local people translating Scriptures in Sudest, a language spoken by about 2,000 people in Papua New Guinea. Out of this ministry, many stories are born.

But sharing stories has challenges.

For starters, many of the places we operate are sensitive. People's lives hang in the balance when they dedicate themselves to translating the Scriptures. We must protect their identity and their work.

Thankfully we have several standards in place and knowledgeable folks who help determine the best avenue for stories from sensitive locations.

Another challenge is sharing stories with passion. Stories, after all, are not just dry collections of facts.

Just recently I questioned the method of how I was collecting stories. Before I was using email and documents. But sometimes the stories were lacking … passion. So then I turned to what many would call an old trick-of-the-trade: interviewing eyewitnesses. My, what a difference! I ask just a few simple questions and people begin bubbling over with an overwhelming amount of vivid details!

I can hardly wait for my next interview. I’ll be interviewing a woman who just returned from a Trauma Healing Workshop led by local Bible translators in a sensitive country. Be on the lookout for her story in an upcoming blog post.

What are other ways we can share from a cultural goldmine? Please share your thoughts!

From Your Cherished Idea . . .

2011-09-01T20:00:00.002-06:00

“Don’t ignore me!”

“I’m trying to get out, but you keep putting me aside saying, “Not now,” “Maybe someday,” and “I can’t focus on you today.” I know I’m important to you. You get excited when you think about me, but you don’t do anything with me anymore.”

“Now is the time! Your world is waiting for me. I can change life for so many people if you sit down and work me into something people can touch and feel, watch or listen to.”

Do you ever feel like your ideas are talking to you like that? There are these things deep within you that you know God has called you to share. But you don’t know how, where, when or who. In these moments your self-consciousness takes over and you convince yourself that the idea has no merit. You stuff it down again and move on with your daily activities.

If you are struggling to share your big idea, you aren’t alone. There are people all around you who can help. In fact, that’s why we started Generous Mind. We come alongside you as you bring your idea into reality; providing you with resources, identifying where you need input, and suggesting possible direction.

Our vision is to empower thought leaders and organizations with the understanding, the capacity and the tools to share their ideas with the world. Connect with us today to find out how we can collaborate with you to make your cherished idea come to life.

As you consider what ideas are waiting to come out, your first step is to recognize that you have things worth sharing. Have you realized this yet or are you still denying the power of the ideas inside you?

Love must come first

2011-08-17T19:28:00.002-06:00

Before you can be generous you must love.

But you ask, "Why can't I simply be generous without all the heartache of loving those I want to share with?"

The answer is simple. Generosity is sacrifice and we don't sacrifice for people we do not love. If you can give someone something without loving them, it isn't generosity. It is something else. Something other than human.

But if you will love those around you, then you will naturally be generous with anything and everything you have.

That means you will be generous with your money, your time, and your ideas. That is what we focus on. We want you to think intentionally about what it looks like when you reach out in love to others by sharing what is on your heart.

What do you know that others don't? What experiences have you had that others haven't had? That is where your Generous Mind can start once you have laid the foundation of love.

Can you waste generosity?

2011-08-11T12:19:00.004-06:00

On this blog we talk alot about how you can be a generous mind and share what God has put in your heart. But what about those recieving the generosity? Can it be wasted on those who do not care or learn from what you share?

This is an easy question to grab on to because we always hear about being efficient and effective with our minsitry and our work. People tell us to focus our attention on where we will do the most good.

I am attending the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit and am asking this question because these speakers are giving everyone in attendance the ideas and insights from their heart. But are we as the audience wasting their generosity? Are we minimizing their great sacrifice?

As I have invested years in thinking about what makes being a generous mind so important, my answer has to be "NO!" But why? If I share something that is powerful and you ignore it, then didn't I waste my efforts?

Generosity has two equal parts to it. God is demanding that the giver be generous and the reciever accept the gift with humility and thankfulness. If you are on the stage at the Leadership Summit today or tomorrow, you are responsible to share what is on your heart as effectively as you can. That is what God expects from you. Nothing more.

We can easily complicate the scenario when we try to do God's job by working out how people will recieve what we have to share. But resist this temptation. Your job is to share generously those ideas that God has put on your heart. Let Him orchestrate the ah-ha moments. Many times you will find that your great idea lead someone to have a whole other insight that you could never have orchestrated anyway.

So don't worry about waste - give generously and expect God to do amazing things with your offering.

The Engine Behind Your Generous Mind

2011-07-13T05:44:00.004-06:00

It is not natural for you or I to be generous. Our nature would have us hoard and store things away for ourselves but generosity requires an outside influence of some kind. This engine of generosity propels us to share even when our sin nature wants to keep it all for ourselves.

So what is the engine that is driving your generous mind? For some people it is the opportunity to have influence. They are driven to be generous in order for others to look up to them. For others the engine is control. They share so that they can be the ones running the show and driving the agenda. Still others might share as a type of currency. They share from their mental storehouse in order to build up credits with others and access their ideas at a later time.

You will notice that all three examples of the engines that drive generosity are about the individual and their wants or needs. Should these be the drivers of generosity? No, they should not. The only authentic driver of generosity is pleasing God. If our hearts are in tune with God's heart and we are striving to love Him and love others, then we will be generous because God demands generosity. If our desire is to please God, then we will have this inner drive to love others that is a powerful engine indeed.

One of the key components of that engine is love. As we love God, He gives us the power to love those around us. Being a Generous Mind is but one demonstration of that love that God gives us for those He puts in our lives. When I think of 1 Corinthians 13:13 where Paul describes faith, hope and love and then stresses the power of love, I can't help but think of love as the fuel that drives our engine of generosity.

This takes us to motivations. It may be very difficult for people to tell which engine is driving your Generous Mind because the results may look very similar. Your engine may be control, but those who are benefiting from your generosity may not readily see that. But while individual instances of generosity may not display your engine, the overall picture of your generosity will surely do so. Over time, the engine behind your Generous Mind will clearly show itself.

So what is driving your generosity?

Sharing What Isn't Yours

2011-07-10T20:48:00.002-06:00

So here is a question, how can you be generous with ideas that don't belong to you? I don't mean ones you steal . . . I'm referring to ideas that you create as part of your work. They are works for hire; owned by the company you work for.

What is the protocol here. You are a generous person who is committed to sharing what you know. But your ideas belong to the company paying the bills and providing you with resources.

Here are some questions to ask:

1. Will you jeopardize the organization you work for by sharing the information or will you benefit the organization?

2. What is your motivation to share? Are you trying to hurt the organization or impact it's profitability or mission? Or are you trying to help the organization accomplish it's mission in your generosity?

3. Have you talked with your team or your boss about your passion to be generous? Is that passion shared among those you work with?

These are key questions to ask. Think of something you have developed for your company and then ask these questions about it. Does it give you permission to share? If you feel you have permission from the organization, then your next job is to figure out how to be generous with what you are working on.

Need Clarity? Tell Your Story!

2011-05-26T06:07:00.003-06:00

Progress comes with a price. Our modern world saw so many amazing advances because we allowed many silos of expertise to grow and develop around us. "I'm a dentist." "I'm an expert in 20th Century Asian American Culture." "I know everything about Cocker Spaniels." We talk about this issue of silos in our book, Through the River.

One of the things lost in our focus on progress and areas of expertise is a sense for the larger story of our times, our professions and our lives. You can only find your story if you take down the silos around you and look at all the elements of your life together. Then you begin to see the narrative of your life in new and unique ways.

A great way to be a Generous Mind is to tell your story. Believe us, it is helpful to others as well as yourself. As you tell your story and weave together education, family, work, hobbies, learning, and other key aspects of your life, you will get many new insights into who you are and where you should focus your efforts. But your story also helps those around you. Through the telling of it, you will inspire others and give them new perspectives on their own stories.

Who could you tell your story to today?

A Generous Mind Story: Contentment

2011-05-11T05:54:00.002-06:00

Introduction
Ron Pritz is our guest blogger today. He is the Executive Director of Organizational Development for OC International. When I heard his story recently I was compelled to ask him to share with our Generous Mind community about the task that is in front of him and how he is approaching it. Take a moment to read about how Ron is stewarding a large donation for the organization even as we struggle through recession.

Contentment
“. . . for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation . . . “ Philippians 4: 11b-12a (NIV)

The proper response to God’s provision, whether full or sparse, is the faith response of contentment. Like most mission agencies today, my organization, OC International, has had its share of struggles over the past two or three years in terms of matching spending to income. Hard decisions have had to be made. Times of pain have occurred.

But last December the Lord did something beyond our experience and even beyond our ability to “ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20). From a treasure trove of artifacts from 18th century Chinese royalty, the Lord gave us a completely unsolicited and unprecedented gift of $2,000,000 to be used for projects for our mission’s work around the world.

Because this gift was designated to projects and not primarily to operating expenses, we continue to lean on the Lord for His faithful monthly provisions. However, with this wonderful gift there has been a certain thrill throughout the organization that, for the first time, many ministry dreams are now becoming realities. Never before have we been able to go out to our people, challenging them to dream and soliciting from them strategic projects that will grow the Kingdom.

For the most part we have only been able to identify with the Apostle Paul in the “I know what it is to be in need” portion of the Philippians passage. And in those circumstances we, like most believers, find ‘contentment’ more of a challenge. But in these last few months we have enjoyed joining Paul in experiencing “what it is to have plenty.” But in the end Paul’s point is neither need nor plenty. His point is contentment. So our prayer is that the Lord will give us His grace to rejoice in this wonderful gift while realizing that He grants us ‘needs’ so that we can learn contentment in those times as well.

Can we really have contentment no matter whether the Lord graces us with plenty or graces us with little? Both are part of His provision and are linked to what He is doing in our lives and in our organizations.

Generosity Means Going Beyond Expectations

2011-05-05T20:14:00.003-06:00

Part of being a Generous Mind is to go beyond the expectations of those who you are sharing with. Everyone comes to a conversation with expectations of what you will share and how you will invest in them. Most of the time people underwhelm in this area. We share too little and fail to pass on things that matter. But once in a while someone breaks the barrier of expectations and shares something of great significance. I found that to be true with the sermon shared by the Bishop of London at the royal wedding recently.

Take a moment to read the transcript below and respond to this blog post with what you received from his act of generosity:

Wedding Sermon given by the Bishop of London

"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."

So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day this is. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.

Many people are fearful for the future of today’s world but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one – this is a joyful day! It is good that people in every continent are able to share in these celebrations because this is, as every wedding day should be, a day of hope.

In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future.

William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

In the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to each other.

The spiritual life grows as love finds its centre beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this: the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.

It is of course very hard to wean ourselves away from self-centredness. People can dream of such a thing but that hope should not be fulfilled without a solemn decision that, whatever the difficulties, we are committed to the way of generous love.

You have both made your decision today – “I will” – and by making this new relationship, you have aligned yourselves with what we believe is the way in which life is spiritually evolving, and which will lead to a creative future for the human race.

We stand looking forward to a century which is full of promise and full of peril. Human beings are confronting the question of how to use wisely the power that has been given to us through the discoveries of the last century. We shall not be converted to the promise of the future by more knowledge, but rather by an increase of loving wisdom and reverence, for life, for the earth and for one another.

Marriage should transform, as husband and wife make one another their work of art. It is possible to transform so long as we do not harbour ambitions to reform our partner. There must be no coercion if the Spirit is to flow; each must give the other space and freedom. Chaucer, the London poet, sums it up in a pithy phrase:

"Whan maistrie [mastery] comth, the God of Love anon,
Beteth his wynges, and farewell, he is gon."

As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the West, there has been a corresponding inflation of expectations that personal relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden. We are all incomplete: we all need the love which is secure, rather than oppressive. We need mutual forgiveness in order to thrive.

As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads on to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can receive and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.

I pray that all of us present and the many millions watching this ceremony and sharing in your joy today will do everything in their power to support and uphold you in your new life. I pray that God will bless you in the way of life you have chosen. That way which is expressed in the prayer that you have composed together in preparation for this day:

God our Father, we thank you for our families; for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage.

In the busyness of each day keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy.
Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort those who suffer.
We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Generosity isn't Hard but it is on Purpose

2011-04-19T20:50:00.004-06:00

Many times we view generosity as something difficult. We assume that something generous must be significant and costly. Of course, generosity never comes cheap and always costs us time, effort, etc. However, sometimes you can do simple little things to be generous.

In these days of social media tools, simply taking the time to put your content on a site that is designed to share your ideas is an act of generosity. Many people develop their idea but then simply put it on their blog or their web site. This may get some interaction and benefit a very particular group of people, but by putting that same powerpoint or whitepaper on Scribd or Slideshare you can engage a very different group of people with your idea.

It's not hard but it does take intentionality. You have to set up the account, select the resources you want to share and then post them. Let me give you an example. We work with Global Mapping International (GMI) to engage leaders with ways to use Operation World as they lead others in prayer. We were developing resources to help leaders and putting them on the GMI Web site. This was driving great traffic from people who were connecting with those resources. But then we decided to put those same resources on Scribd. What happened was amazing. We were able to get those resources to a completely new group of thought leaders (over 500 reads so far) that probably had never heard of GMI.

What small things can you do to exponentially grow your generous mind? Don't think big, think little and watch how those small efforts grow!

What I should have done with my sick day

2011-04-06T06:17:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I was sick . . . I didn't sleep well and that just added to the misery. So there I was in bed on a beautiful Colorado Spring day . . . sick.

There were limited things I could have done, being miserable and all, but I wasn't completely out of it. Actually my brain was working overtime thinking of all the things I had wanted to do that day. I had deadlines to make, emails to write, etc. So I spent much of the day worried about what I could not do and trying to do just a little of it without allowing myself to feel even worse. But towards the end of the day, I started to think about what I should have done with my sick day.

In reality, sick days are unplanned moments when life has to stop because our bodies require it. They provide a way for us to slow down and a chance to process. As I debriefed my sick day experience, I realized that I should have used that time to listen to God, ask questions about how I am spending my time and consider ideas that I have not taken the time to process. If I had done this, I would have come out of my sick day with new insights. Instead, I came out of it just one day behind.

This lesson is my only insight from a day in recovery. Could there have been more? I'm sure there could have. So next time you are sick, look at the day as a chance to restock your Generous Mind with ideas and insights to share with others.

Sharing Ideas on how to Pray

2011-03-01T20:17:00.002-07:00

Prayer is a very sensitive and private topic for most of us. We struggle to pray and we also view it as highly personal. However, our times in prayer lead to some of the most important things that we need to share with others.

I am partnering with GMI (Global Mapping) to write articles about how to pray for the nations in connection with their launch of the CD/DVD of Operation World. This is an amazing resource. I would encourage you to check out these areticles and share them with those you know who have a passion to pray for the people of the world.

Click here to read the articles.

I would also love to hear what God is teaching you as you pray and minister to others in prayer. Those lessons are critical and will bless each of us.

Sharing In New Ways

2011-02-23T21:02:00.003-07:00

As you know well by now, our Generous Mind team is always looking for new ways to share ideas with others. One of the ways that we share regularly is through facebook and twitter. However, one of the great challenges with these tools is that they break ideas into very small pieces. These fragments of ideas sometimes communicate so much but other times the meaning gets lost.

It is also very hard to tell a story with these small pieces of sharing. So I have been in search for tools to give context to our social media sharing. I have finally found one! It is called Storify and it is an amazing way to bring bits of video, image and content together from the web to share a larger story.

Take a minute to check out our first story using this tool. We created it around how to pray for the earthquake victims in New Zealand.

Generosity After You Die

2011-01-13T20:26:00.002-07:00

So I've been thinking about a simple question. "What happens to all your ideas, thoughts, and content when you die?" Well, for those famous people there are many a publishing deal to be made by agents and family members even if they have passed away. But what about us regular people?

Well, in reality, your ideas can have impact way beyond your years on earth. However, you have to be intentional. Lets think through a few important steps:
1. You need to keep your ideas well organized so that people can find them and utilize them.
2. As you get older, make it a point to do writing projects with younger people so that their writing will carry on.
3. Make very specific decisions about important ideas and put directions in your will so that your family can help carry them out.
4. Teach, mentor and share ideas with those who will benefit.
5. Use blogs, websites, books and other accessible mediums to present your ideas and make sure that others have the passwords so they can continue to maintain your content for you.

I hope these thoughts are helpful and that you will take the time to be deliberate with your ideas.

Is a leak generosity or treachery?

2010-12-01T21:19:00.004-07:00

With all the attention surrounding Wikileaks and the sharing of countless classified documents, I asked the natural question that any Generous Mind might consider. "Is leaking all these documents an act of generosity or treachery?"

This is a challenging question. The people at Wikileaks believe that the public needs to know much of what was going on behind the scenes. In their minds they feel generous with what they have done. On the other hand their actions will reveal things that were secret for a reason. Who knows the impact of what they have done? In fact we may not know for a long time.

So one person considers the lead generosity and another person considers it treachery. What is the reality in this situation? Of course, it is not so black and white, is it?

I asked my twitter community this question and @rombokins gave a very helpful answer. See her input in three tweets:
@generousmind, i think nature of info and who benefits (leaker or leaked to) dictates whether leaking info is generosity or treachery.

@generousmind, if one has classified info that a massacre is going to take place & they leak it to potential victims, that's generosity.

@generousmind however in the present case it seems info has been leaked for the sake of gaining notoriety and drawing attention to selves :(

My friend from Kenya makes a very good point in those quotes (btw - her twitter feed is definitely worth following). The key issue she identifies is one of motive. A generous leak is one that is shared after weighing the benefits and drawbacks and then shares something with a desire to benefit and help others. A treacherous leak is one that helps you and your cause but hurts many others. Do you agree? Please share your perspective.

Live Tweeting the Operation World Prayer Celebration Webcast

2010-11-09T19:43:00.005-07:00

One of my great joys has been to be a part of launching Operation World this summer in my transition. I worked with GMI (Global Mapping) to market and sell the Operaiton World CD/DVD/Wall Map.

I also helped them set up a Facebook group and a Twitter feed to resource leaders using Operation World.

Well tonight was the Operation World Prayer Celebration Webcast and I did a live twitter feed for Global Mapping @OWTips. Here are the posts (Start from the bottom to get them in order):

@OWTIPS Live Feed

Thanks for following along as we tweeted live from the #operationworld Prayer Celebration -Join the 60 Days of Prayer http://bit.ly/bH6DUR

God is moving in unprecedented ways. Jason Mandryk #operationworld Go to http://bit.ly/bH6DUR to join the 60 Days of Prayer starting Nov 10!

Jason Mandryk and Mike Dworak are talking about where God is moving today - Join the 60 Days of Prayer movement.

Jason Mandryk shares that the #OperationWorld team is planning on developing a prayer atlas for children

There is no book outside of the Bible that has had more impact on my prayer life than #OperationWorld David Platt http://bit.ly/bH6DUR

David Platt, author of Radical, shares about how his church has actively prayed through #Operationworld

Creative ways to pray: Keep Operation World by your television and pray the news. #operationworld

There is no better example that we can set for our children than to be actively praying for people around the world. Jim Daly

We are live tweeting during the #OperationWorld Web Prayer Celebration. Join in! http://bit.ly/bH6DUR

The chains that bind can only be broken by the powerful intercession of God’s people. Joni Earkson Tada #Operationworld

“Today I’ve been praying for Brazil. Maybe you are the answer to my prayers.” Max Lucado’s professor years before he went as a missionary.

If more people in the church would use this resource in a disciplined way, I believe the whole world would change.Peter Grieg#Operationworld

Operation World is part of my spiritual DNA...Help us mobilize the church… George Verwer #Operationworld

Everyone in the Operation World team is a missionary. This is our passion and our calling. Jason Mandryk #Operationworld

We are watching the prayer video from Mozambique - Visit http://bit.ly/bH6DUR to access more prayer videos. #OperationWorld

Prayer does not equip us for the greater work. It is the greater work. Oswald Chambers via Jason Mandryk #operationworld

Missionaries can tell tangibly when people are praying. Jason Mandryk

We are tweeting live from the #OperationWorld Global Prayer Celebration

A minister on Malta mobilized people on the island to pray on the day that #Operationworld prays for Malta.

"You need fuel for prayer!" Lewis Sutton, US Director of WEC on the #Operationworld live webcast http://bit.ly/bH6DUR

DanielHelbling RT @plattdavid: No book (outside Scripture) has had more impact on my prayer life - Operation World webcast 7pm Central - http://ht.ly/36LRt

Retweeted by OWTips .The live #OperationWorld Prayer Celebration is about to start. Go to http://bit.ly/bH6DUR to log on and join in!

Living Out Our Cause

2010-10-13T21:13:00.003-06:00

Both Mindy and I are passionate about being generous minds. This is our life calling. As we strive to show examples of generous minds and highlight aspects of being generous with your ideas, we are trying to live it ourselves in incarnational ways.

One of the greatest efforts I have made to be a Generous Mind is my volunteer work with the Lausanne Movement and Cape Town 2010 Congress. I am coordinating the Blogger Network, writing the Lausanne Blog and participating in the Facebook and Twitter updating.

This effort has been my greatest opportunity to showcase what it means to be a generous mind. The Blogger Network, the Lausanne blog, the Facebook Page and the Twitter account all focus on highlighting what people within the network and the movement are saying and thinking. It is not an organizational focus or an issues focus but a people focus.

It has been amazing to watch how God has spoken through countless people who are sharing online, at the events and in their own local ministries. My great pleasure has been to give voice to what God has put on their heart.

Well the Congress is finally here. Please take time to visit the links below during the event that starts this Saturday. More importantly, be a Generous Mind. As you read, watch, listen, discuss . . . turn around and share what God is saying to you!

Follow Capetown:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/capetown2010
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lausanne-Movement/196600290042
Blog: www.lausanne.org/lausanne-blog/

GlobaLink locations:
http://www.lausanne.org/cape-town-2010/globalink.html

Online Participation:
http://www.lausanne.org/cape-town-2010/participate-online.html

RSS of CT2010 news (includes Lausanne blog)
http://feeds2.feedburner.com/lausannesite

Video Podcast
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=397353785
direct link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/CT2010VideoPodcast
note: video podcast is not compatible with older ipods.

Audio Podcast
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=397353786
direct link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/CT2010AudioPodcast

All congress video will also be added to:
www.lausanne.org/conversation

Email newsletter (for daily news summaries/highlights):
http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?llr=hr96nzn6&p=oi&m=1011244526119

A Special Note from Jon and Mindy

2010-09-12T22:06:00.001-06:00

As many of you know we have been in a ministry transition over the past few months. Please take a moment to read about our new role and rejoice with us in God's provision. Read our blog announcement here.

Bearing Witness

2010-09-02T20:07:00.003-06:00

"And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning." John 15: 27 - NIV

I like the ESV version of this verse better. It says we must bear witness. That term "bear witness" is so powerful because it doesn't talk about winning arguments, making points or convincing people. Instead it talks about highlighting truth, showing the way, encouraging others in their journey.

I believe that a generous mind is one who bears witness to what God has put on their heart. They don't try and convince or demand people to take their ideas. Instead they put them on display for people to see, touch, feel and interact with.

Are you bearing witness to the truth that God has given you to share?

You Don't Get to Choose the Setting

2010-08-17T19:56:00.003-06:00

One of the things that is so basic about generosity is that you do not get to pick the time and place where it happens. That statement is probably a shocker to many of you. But think about it . . . if you pick the time or place to be generous with your ideas then who is in control? YOU!

One of the basic realities of generosity is that we loose control. Generosity requires that we forgo our agenda and submit to another person's agenda. That is why being on mission with God always leads to generosity. We are letting go of the control and giving God the opportunity to steer us into situations where we can share the ideas that He has put in our hearts.

This means that when God gives you a cool idea, you need to take three steps:
1. Thank God for giving you something so precious!
2. Prepare your mind to give it away when the Spirit leads.
3. When the opportunity arises, set aside everything else and share obediently.

But you have to prepare yourself intentionally or you will miss these opportunities.

So are you prepared to be generous with what God has given you, even if it is not on your terms?

Remembering what we give to cherish what we recieve

2010-08-06T06:15:00.003-06:00

"A generous man forgets what he gives & remembers what he receives." Unknown (to me)

You know how something sounds good at first and then as you process it more you begin to get more and more uncomfortable with it? I think that is what happened with this quote. As I think about generosity, I am more and more convinced that what we recieve is valuable because of the sacrifice of what we have given. Unless we remember the effort it took to give up that which we loved - an idea, funds, time, etc. - how can we put what we recieve in perspective?

What do you think?

Being generous with your virtual space

2010-07-19T20:22:00.005-06:00

In the past few weeks two people have asked me to be a guest blogger for them (Here is the first one on Leadership and Publishing). I have been watching this trend grow quickly and am very pleased by it. Why?

When you build a community and a platform through a blog, that is your space that you have invested countless hours in nurturing and cultivating it. Your blog and the people that read it are a valuable resource in an idea economy.

So when you take the time to share your space with another thought leader, you are being a Generous Mind! You are telling this other person that you have enough faith in their ideas and writing abilities to open up your platform and audience to them. This is truly an act of generosity.

If you haven't viewed it that way, I challenge you to consider it. And if you have never invited someone to be a guest blogger in your digital space, then I hope you will seek out the opportunity!

Generous in Translation

2010-07-09T06:40:00.002-06:00

I am always looking for new ways to be a Generous Mind and recently I spotted a new one that I just had to share. Many times when we think of translation, we consider it to be "copying" or "reiterating" rather than creating. After all, aren't we just putting someone elses words into a new language?

But in reality, translation is an incredible act of creativity. You have to understand two cultures and two languages and build the concepts and ideas into a compelling presentation that crosses those cultures and languages. It's a big deal and it isn't easy.

So if we establish that it is a creative act that takes time and investment, then it stands to reason that you can be generous with your translation! I think this is an area of creative generosity that we have not really considered in the past. And the more I think about it, the more it seems that translation is an incredibly appropriate example of being a Generous Mind.

Every time a person translates they are using their multilingual skills to bring an idea to a new audience. What a wonderful gift.

Well, today I have an opportunity for you multilinguals out there to be generous. Many of you may have heard of the Lausanne Congress in Cape Town this October. Well, attached to that is an online groundswell of interaction called the Lausanne Global Conversation. It is a powerful platform on which hundreds of people are discussing the issues. They recently made the conversation multilingual and much of the translation efforts are powered by volunteers. If you would like to be a Generous Mind by helping translate key articles from the Global Conversation so that other language groups can benefit from them, click here and read more about the opportunity.

Maybe someone will even translate this blog post! :)

Generous Lists

2010-06-21T04:59:00.003-06:00

I had a wonderful conversation with Rob Kelly, a pastor on the East Coast, recently. I got in touch with him because he ran a website about what it means to be missional and I really wanted to get some clarity and better understanding of how people are using that word today.

When we talked Rob did not disappoint. He is a great example of a generous mind that is willing to share passionately and openly what God has put on his heart with others. The result was that I finished that conversation with a new friendship and a clearer understanding of the missional movement that is building momentum globally.

But one of the main things I realized about Rob during the course of our conversation was that he is a voracious reader. He shot of countless names of key books that had influenced his thinking. So at the end of our conversation I challenged him to create a reading list on what it means to be missional so that I could share it with each of you and this is what he sent.

Following are some of the foundational books on the subject of missiology and the missional church:

Missiology:

The Mission of God - Christopher Wright
Transforming Mission - David Bosch

Missional Church:

The Trellis and the Vine - Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
Breaking the Missional Code - Ed Stetzer
Missional Church - Edited by Darrell Guder
Introducing the Missional Church - Alan Roxburgh and Scott Boren
The Forgotten Ways - Alan Hirsch
Missional Renaissance - Reggie McNeal
Church Unique - Will Mancini

I hope this list will bless you as it has me, but there is a bigger point here that I want to make. To be a generous mind, you need book lists. Whatever you are passionate about probably has come about through the reading of many books. If you are going to share your ideas effectively, that is one of those core resources you need assemble. Sometimes you might share the whole thing. Other times you might select out a key resource to share with a person. But however you use it, I think book lists should be considered a required tool for every generous mind.

A Generous Portfolio

2010-05-24T09:36:00.010-06:00

There is a difference between generosity and bragging. However, many of us struggle to distinguish that difference because it revolves around motivations. And in the face of this uncertainty many people decide not to share for fear that they will be considered prideful.

Because I am about to share my portfolio as I seek my next career step, let me take a minute to define the difference. Sharing your accomplishments or ideas is generosity when you truly want what is shared to benefit and encourage others. It is pride when your main objective is personal benefit.

So next time you are worried about sharing an idea because you may seem prideful, ask yourself who you are trying to benefit by sharing?

In this case as I present some of my work, my primary desire is to benefit a cause or organization through my work and investment in them. Although there are moments of pride when I focus on myself, I am endeavoring every day to focus on those that I can benefit and encourage through my work and ideas.

PORTFOLIO - Jon Hirst

Web Sites Developed:

Brands Developed:

Marketing Campaigns

OSIS (an XML Bible Encoding Standard): www.bibletechnologies.net/osisinformation
Be the Voice and Hands of Jesus (http://www.hcjbglobal.org/)
ScriptureResources.com - The Path just got BRIGHTER (http://www.ifoba.org/)
With This Ring - Christmas and Valentines Day Ring Donation Campaign (http://www.withthisring.org/)

Public Relations Efforts

75th Anniversary PR Campaign for HCJB Global
PR Campaign for HCJB Global's New President
PR Campaign for the Launch of Christian Grandparenting Network's Military Grandcamps Ministry
PR Campaign for the With This Ring Christmas and Valentines Day Ring Donation Projects

Social Media Management

Facebook Fan Pages/Groups Launched or Managed:

Twitter Sites Launched or Managed:

Blogs:

More Coming Soon . . .

A Double Scoop of Generosity

2010-05-12T20:18:00.002-06:00

We have a funny idea about generosity. Somehow we believe that generosity is limited. We assume that once a generous action is in play, that nothing can be added to it.

Recently I had a wonderful example of a double measure of generosity. I had taken our littlest one out for Baskin Robins with a coupon she had received from school. While there I noticed that 31 cent scoop day was coming up. We quickly put it on the calendar and made plans to attend this wonderful event!

On the day of this amazing sale, we lined up with the countless other people to enjoy as many of the 31 flavors as possible. Finally we got to the front of the line, picked our flavors and proceeded to the cash register. When Mindy tried to pay, the cashier said that the person in front of us had offered their change to pay for as many people as it would cover!

I couldn't believe it. In a moment of generosity, we received a extra measure of generosity that we did not expect. The funny thing was that I felt awkward about receiving it after already being given so much. I had this idea in my head that I did not deserve another gift.

Don't we all feel like that? As people generously bestow their ideas and thoughts on us, we sometimes want to hold up our hands and yell "TIME OUT"! Their gift seems like it is so much more than we deserve. In fact that is what Jesus did for us through His act of sacrifice and love, wasn't it?

So next time you are blessed with an idea from someone, don't get stuck into thinking that the generosity cup is full. Expect that the God who fills our cup to overflowing will generously invest new ideas into your life just like He invested in our ice cream adventure.

Sharing Someone Else's Life Work

2010-04-29T19:52:00.000-06:00

Most of the time when we think about being generous, we think about it in the context of what we know. But I want to challenge you to think about how you can be generous with things you appreciate in others. So many times we are impacted by the ideas of others. As those ideas provide insight and wisdom for our lives, we grow and develop our own ideas.

So it is fitting that when key thought leaders come along that we should be generous with what they have invested in us. A friend of mine, Dion Forster, shared a blog post of someone he knows that does this so well. JD Meier developed a comprehensive list of key ideas, quotes, and resources from the author and innovator Seth Godin. When I saw it, I was truly amazed. JD took the time to bring together Seth's content in a way that someone who has never experienced Seth's work can understand his core ideas and take away many valuable lessons. One of the things about it that really amazed me was the investment that JD must have made. This was not a passing tweet of information . . . this was a significant synthesis of Seth Godin's thoughts and work for the benefit of others.

Who do you know that is a key thought leader? Have you ever thought of pulling their key ideas together and sharing them with others?

Generosity 101 - A Guest Post

2010-04-21T19:25:00.003-06:00

I would like to introduce you to a blogger with a heart for generosity. You can follow blog posts like the ones below at: http://www.generosity-alive.org/

Generosity 101 by David Short

Immediately the word generosity comes to mind, a financial image is often the first one that appears. What about all the other 101 aspects of generosity that could equally be a great blessing to the many worthy projects around the world Initiatives desiring to see further development but lacking the resources to see this happen. The resources at our disposal, although varying from person to person, are considerable and wide-ranged. Let’s think about some of them for a while.

One major resource is time. Thus willingly giving to time to assist others is a wonderful way of being generous. Taking time to show friendship, encouragement or assistance with a particular project or activity. It is a most valuable resource and is readily available to be used wisely with good planning and discipline.

Our life’s experience is another reservoir from which we can draw to contribute to various events or projects that our friends are developing. Each of us has learned so much through meeting with others and while being part of various organisations as we grow up such as scouts/guides, youth clubs, sailing clubs, sports clubs, air/sea/army cadets etc. Many will have learned first aid as well as other skills. These skills are often hidden away and not fully used. They can be diverse and in some cases need to be kept updated such flying, technical or medical skills. Noticing opportunities to share these skills with others in their projects can be such a valued contribution. Prayerfully keep your eyes open to such ventures where you can be generous with your skills. Some organisations that might be able to assist you are: The Finishers, http://finishers.org/ Second Wind http://www.secondwind.net.au/index.html and Volunteering International. http://www.worldwidevolunteering.org.uk/

Advice is another vast resource that is often untapped or unrecognised as a channel for generosity. It is amazing how much can achieved by receiving the right advice. Such generous action can save thousands of pounds or dollars. Never underestimate the input and value of wise advisors. There’s much good teaching about this in the Creator’s Manual.

Networking
Being able to link people and resources together for greater effectiveness and blessing is another aspect of generous giving. Being alert to and aware of resources in a wide spectrum of activities can be a tremendous resource. I’m continually amazed at the way people can linked and blessed. We live in an unprecedented time of creative projects, an abundance of resources and incredible technical communication channels. The missing link is often those with the resources are not aware of those needing them. The whole vision of Global Hand is based on such situations. http://www.globalhand.org

Sharing
“A problem shared is a problem halved” is a common saying. Thus sharing with others is great way of being generous and contributing to their lives in a meaningful way. The secret is to keep ones eyes and ears open to capture opportunities to share in this way. You’ll find 101 ways of doing this I am sure. The sky is the limit as it were. Sharing a story, sharing a meal, sharing a gift, sharing a thought, sharing an idea, sharing a skill by teaching others, sharing a resource, sharing an experience. The list is a long one for sure…..

Translating
In our multi-cultural world translation and translators are welcome skills that can be used generously and in a variety of situations. This can be in the linguistic or in the cultural field. Many people are taking more interest in languages other than their own. This may be a hobby or may be part of their business development brief. It can lead to a career as an interpreter or translation specialist.

Helping visitors to feel at home or guide them in a purchase or direction can be a wonderful form of generosity. It may be helping a new neighbour from overseas understand your own culture as they seek to settle in to a new way of life. There are many things that need “translating” in what they observe. It can be so different to their lifestyle in their former home country.

Illustrating
If you have a flair for sketching or drawing then you will discover many opportunities to be generous with your gift and share it with others by offering to illustrate their book or poster or programme or website. There are so many avenues and outlets for such a skill. A very good example of being generous with such a skill is a family business in the UK that has been creatively developed around an e-card concept. http://www.jacquielawson.com/default.asp Take a look and see what you think…..

Web Design
A key feature of the contemporary world is the Internet and along with this amazing networking phenomenon is all the creativity and skilful designing that is required to produce quality websites. Thus here is another area in which one could be generous. Giving skilled input into producing impacting websites for charities and emerging businesses in the countries where development is seeking to make significant progress.

Craft ideas
Another creative area is that of craft-work and design. Cultures around the world abound in craft skills, often quite striking and extremely unique. However, there is often need for those with craft-skills to enable modifications and even new designs to be introduced so that the products can have effective export potential and be desirable to the world market. Thus being generous with such craft experience could really enrich others lives. Sometimes it is as simple as making woollen hats or clothes for youngsters. One person is giving generously in this area and has setup an attractive knitted doll business involving some 25 women from a rural area of a country in economic difficulty. http://www.gogo-olive.com/

Fund Generation
There is an ongoing need for creative thought in the area of fund generation. The concept can be simple or more complex but the generous investment of time coupled with willingness to share ideas can make all the difference to those desperately searching for financial resources to fund vital projects.

Mentoring
What a wealth of experience and skill is available and how special when it is shared with others generously to enhance their lives, communities and businesses. There are excellent organisations specifically set up to facilitate the giving of such investment with a generous heart. The long term benefits are amazing and will bring joy to all those involved. http://www.mowgli.org.uk/

A Generous Mind that indexes things?

2010-04-08T20:27:00.004-06:00

One of the great things about being a Generous Mind is that the content can be anything that you want to share. It isn't only sports, or only spiritual things that are worth sharing. Whatever you can create / think about / define is worth sharing with others.

I found an excellent example of this that Seth Godin brought to my attention. He has a new book out called Linchpin (definitely worth a read). In it he really advocates being generous with ideas in the new economy. But in that book there was no index.

So, one of his fans who is into research and loves indexes created one for the book and gave it away. You can see it here. What an amazing example of a generous mind! Here is a famous author who's book doesn't have an index and an indexer who just can't help himself.

This is what he says about his generous efforts: "In the terms Seth uses in Linchpin, this is a gift. Partly because I took a skill I had and put the results out there to help people, not to get something. Partly because I see this as a way to express myself. I'm not trying to get work as an indexer. I am trying to highlight the value indexers create."

Two things to highlight here:

1. He is looking at the ideas/knowledge he has as a gift. How often do we fail to do that and how often does that lead us to be stingy with our ideas?

2. He is creating value for what he loves as he shares. So many times we have a "limited good" mentality that convinces us not to share what we have in order to keep our value. But in this new economy, being Generous Minds gives us value!

What do you know that could be a gift to those around you and in turn add value to your ministry and outreach?

A blog post defending the small things God is doing

2010-03-16T20:10:00.004-06:00

Today I responded to Sam Rainer, a local pastor, author and blogger for Outreach Magazine, on twitter. I don't often do that but I wanted to speak to his comment with a very specific thought. Now I need to preface my thought with the fact that I can't read Sam's mind and he may have very different ideas of what these words meant. I'm not judging him or his motives. More than anything these words are an opportunity to share an idea that has been growing in my heart.

Here is Sam's tweet and then my response:
SamRainer: Meeting with our long-range planning committee. Since God is controlling our future, we're planning for big things.

Generousmind: @SamRainer: What if God has small things planned instead? God doesn't always use our metrics for success!

Here is my thought: Is it possible that the God who loves us has small things for us to do rather than big things? In our culture we tend to value the big and set the small things aside. But as I have been working with churches on discipleship models I am realizing something pretty amazing - the small things really count!

What do I mean? When you tweak a small thing, big things can result. They may not look like big things to the world but they are big in the lives of those who are being transformed in Christ. For instance. You might modify an event ever so slightly to include prayer in an authentic and incarnational way. It might only be 10 minutes of the event but it might change the whole dynamic of your evening!

I guess that is the main issue. Becoming more like Christ seldom looks big or impressive. Usually it looks unimportant and humble. But in God's economy it is all that matters.

So Sam, I am so glad you are planning ahead and that you are expecting big things from God. I just pray that if God sends small things you will be just as grateful. I'm sure you will!

The Sharing of Quotes

2010-03-10T06:14:00.004-07:00

Have you noticed that sharing quotes on facebook, twitter, email footers, etc is continually growing in popularity. There is something about a pithy quote that stirs us. Maybe it is that someone else can say what we do not have the courage to speak out for ourselves. Maybe it is that by quoting a person we admire we can connect with them in a unique way. I'm sure there are countless reasons.

But the fact remains that our lives are now awash in quotes.

Now I am not bemoaning this fact. I share many of my own and I collect quotes to use in writing and presentations. The big question in my mind is this:

"How would a Generous Mind share quotes?"

Here are some thoughts that you can think through next time you are about to Retweet that great piece of wisdom:

1. A Generous Mind would add why they like the quote to the posting of it.

2. A Generous Mind would target quotes to people who they felt could benefit from it.

3. A Generous Mind would ask others why they posted the quote that they did.

I hope you can apply one or more of these ideas next time to share a quote that comes across your desk!

What a Generous Mind looks like Part 4

2010-02-28T20:53:00.001-07:00

Part of understanding Generous Minds in the 21st century is to understand social media. Social media is a rich environment where Generous Minds live, thrive and engage with others about their ideas. But not everyone on facebook is a Generous Mind. The key to finding the Generous Minds in social media is to look for people involved in two kinds of activities:

Sharing ideas: if someone is using the power of social media to share ideas, links, videos, concepts in order to help people grow and understand the world around them, they may just be a Generous Mind.
Connecting ideas: if someone is passing on the ideas of others and connecting ideas to others who they think will benefit, they may just be a Generous Mind.

Now you may be saying, “That makes almost everyone in the Web 2.0 world a Generous Mind.” I would respond a definite NO. There are some qualifiers that are very important to keep in mind. One of them is intentionality. Many people send around the YouTube video of a dog dancing. But that doesn’t have any particular value or intentionality to it. It is simply a shared experience.

Another key to distinguishing between the masses of link-happy friends and followers and a Generous Mind is the interaction that goes with the idea. If someone just sends an idea, link or video to all their friends with no interest in what they thought, then they are not Generous Minds. A Generous Mind is looking to use ideas to impact people and is interested in seeing what they learned, thought or how they applied the idea in their lives.

An Ideal Tool
Of all the social media tools, the one that I have found to be most conducive to a Generous Mind is Twitter. It’s not because it is one of the media’s favorites right now and it is not because it is the most personal or engaging tool. The reason is simple…there is no easier way to share ideas and connect an idea with a particular person than those 140 character messages. If you are a Generous Mind, Twitter puts your efforts on steroids. Within seconds you can share an article, a video, a quote with your growing group of followers. Then if you use a tool like Tweetdeck you can email messages and links you find to people even if they aren’t on Twitter. This allows you to target people who are looking for certain resources or need to build knowledge in specific areas.

The Challenge
So here is my challenge to you. If you are a Generous Mind, how are you using these social tools to exponentially increase the ideas you can share? Which tools are most helpful to you? I would love to hear from you.

What does a Generous Mind Look Like - Part III

2010-02-15T20:21:00.002-07:00

One of the traits that sticks out about a Generous Mind is their curiosity. They are curious about everything . . . and I mean everything. They will ask you how you made that turkey soup. They might ask you what your favorite movie is. They will most certainly quiz you about your job and your family.

What does a Generous Mind do with all this information? Well, being a Generous Mind makes you fully aware that every piece of information that God brings your way may be able to be combined with other information and used to honor God and bless those around them.

So this means that when you are around a Generous Mind they will say things like, "I met this guy once who was a plumber and he said..." or "My best friend's favorite musician was (fill in the blank) and he gave an interview that might help you with your project."

You might be wondering if a good memory is part of being a Generous Mind. Well, a selective memory is for sure, but more important than a good memory is knowing what to remember and knowing when to bring it out and use it.

Have you ever been with someone who only talks about themselves. You have a whole meal with them and they never ask you a question. That is not a Generous Mind. A Generous Mind would fill the air around your table with questions. They would be focused outside of themselves and on those around them.

So, what did you learn today that you plan on implementing tomorrow? If you share it here, you never know who it might bless!

What does a Generous Mind look like - Part II

2010-02-10T20:28:00.003-07:00

The idea of being a generous mind is growing in popularity and interest. We are seeing so many more instances on Google of people talking about the idea and processing how to live it out. So this series on what a generous mind looks like is very important.

Today I want to focus on a key belief that defines a generous mind. That belief is that everyone has something to pass on. It sounds simple and a bit general. However, as we talk with people and probe into their thinking it is very clear that a majority of people out there do not believe that they have something to say that others need to hear.

Of course you have the few who are filled with ideas and compelled to share them. Being generous minds comes naturally to them. Those are the people that we assume the concept is made to represent. But Mindy and I would counter that and challenge everyone reading this to consider the possibility that every living person created by God has something that He has uniquely prepared them to share with others.

That means that the garbage collector who comes to your house has something that you need to learn and know. It means that the young person who hands you your Big Mac and McDonalds has something to teach you.

If that is true then a generous mind is someone who realizes that they have something to share with others and begins to look for ways to share it.

Now the immediate mistake people make is to assume that being a generous mind means being a famous writer or speaker. Actually, the best generous minds are those far from the limelight. They are the people who are asking God to reveal Himself to them and then sharing what they are learning in their sphere of influence. Anyone can do that ... right?

Well, the reason that there are not more generous minds in action out there is because the Evil One tricks us. He tells us that what we have to share is common knowledge, that we don't know it well enough, that we are not good enough communicators. Each of these lies drives us deeper into ourselves and keeps us from sharing what God has birthed in our hearts.

Has that happened to you? Have you been deceived into thinking that you have nothing to share? Have you been robbed of the blessing of being a generous mind?

What Does A Generous Mind Look Like - Part I

2010-02-01T06:06:00.002-07:00

Over the next few weeks I want to focus on sharing some core values of a Generous Mind. I hope these values will paint a picture of what a mind truly surrendered to Christ might look like as it focuses outward and allows all that it considers to be a blessing to the world at large.

One of the most important disciplines of a Generous Mind is the commitment to never let an idea slip away. When I say this, you immediately know what I mean. On any given day we let countless ideas float out of our minds never to be retrieved. We don't usually do this because we do not care about the ideas or because we do not want the ideas to impact others. Usually, we have a false security in our memory and tell ourselves that we will remember the idea later.

The problem with our memory today is that it is an over saturated tool. We are inundated with information today and even the brightest minds cannot train their attention on certain ideas when the flood of new information swamps them.

Another problem we have with holding onto ideas is that we do not always know which ones will be important. We have to make a decision at the moment of inspiration about the value and need for that idea in our lives or in the lives of those around us. Many times we judge an idea to be of no value and throw it away when someone in our lives would have been blessed by it. Other times we keep information available to us that ends up serving no purpose or person.

So identifying and remembering ideas must be a discipline in the life of a Generous Mind. It is a discipline that is focused on what might be. That is because we save ideas because of potential, not because of inherent value. We don't know which idea will be a huge blessing and benefit and which ones will get shot down immediately as unproductive or off-base. So we have to mine the fields of our mental activity and save ideas that seem to have value even when we don't know the final outcome.

So how do you do this?

When an idea comes, always write it down without discrimination.
Keep paper or another way of capturing ideas by your bed. The best ideas are lost as sleep overcomes us.
Take those pieces of paper and other tidbits and keep them in a place where you can find them. Some will keep a document on their computer filled with these. Others have a file of ideas. Whatever your process, make sure you know how to find them.
When someone else has an idea, hold them accountable to not let it slip away.
If an idea is coming and you are supposed to go on to another activity. Stop and finish processing before you jump into the new opportunity.
Leave 10-15 minutes between appointments so you can process what you just talked about or learned about at the meeting.

These are simple ideas but they will begin to discipline your thinking and allow you to capture the ideas that will serve as the basis of your generosity. I hope that you will take this challenge and I can't wait to be blessed by the ideas God gives you.

Prayer for Haiti

2010-01-25T19:52:00.000-07:00

We are all overwhelmed with the needs in Haiti, but where do we start. We believe firmly that we start with prayer. That is what we are doing in our church and in our family and we would ask you to join us in that. Jon has created a 30 Day Prayer Guide for Haiti with Eric Foley as part of their work with .W (doers of the Word - www.dotheword.org). Take a minute to visit Eric's blog and download the prayer guide. And please be sure to share here how you and your family are responding.

Being Generous in Tragedy

2010-01-13T06:09:00.002-07:00

When a tragedy strikes today we are immediately surrounded by words and images. We sit in our living rooms and stare at the screen insure of what to do. After all, you are sitting in relative luxury and looking into utter chaos and disaster that is only made possible by technology.

So what do you do? Many of us pick up the phone or go to our computers and make a gift. Usually we do this for a mixture of reasons. We want to feel like we did something. We want to ease our guilt. We want to make a difference. The reasons go on and on.

But as we are watching the images from this latest tragedy in Haiti, I would like to ask you to be generous in a different way. Here are some simple things that take a very different spin on how we as generous minds should response:

If you don't know anything about Haiti, go to the CIA Factbook and get some understanding so that you can pray.
Share what you have learned with a co-worker, someone in your family or someone at church.
Pray with your family for the victims and talk about the tragedy with your kids.
Give in community. Instead of making giving an isolated effort, give with your family, your church or your work. Transfer some of what you have learned to others and challenge them to action as well.
Find out if there are Haitian churches in your city and reach out.
Search the Bible and ask the questions about this kind of suffering and why God allows it.

Our actions are usually so isolated. We assuage our emotions and respond based on our experiences. But a Generous Mind responds by sharing, connecting and bringing something they care about to a larger community.

Will you do that in this tragedy? Will you be a Generous Mind for the people of Haiti?

Urbana09 - Day 2 Twitter Wrapup

2009-12-29T17:51:00.003-07:00

Here are some of the tweets that came out of today's conversations and presentations:

RT @Angelamz40: RT @lovingmercy: Love does not reach from afar, it becomes incarnational. #urbana09 (via @mmesachi)

RT @mmesachi: RT @lovingmercy: Evangelism is firstly relational. #urbana09

RT @Angelamz40: Our prayer: open our blind eyes and break our hard hearts. Save us from pride/prejudice/superiority. #urbana09

RT @Liz_Pix: AM bible session. John 2:1-12. Often times we can taste the glory of God but still not give him the glory for it. #urbana09

RT @TheTatar: "May the people here make decisions that will change history." Yes, Lord, help us change history! #urbana09

RT @HeatherTWR: Ramzez Atallah and Dave Ramsey agree- ACT YOUR WAGE and GIVE LIKE NOONE ELSE! #urbana09

RT @michaelkaspar: RT @julioanta: "Build movements, not monuments" - Ramez Atallah #urbana09. #OMbooth1107

RT @RLouisT: The Great commission & Great Commandment go hand in hand. Love by word and deed. This is the Biblical Mandate frm God #Urbana09

RT @sudantweets: RT @simusa: RT @goodsirdavid: There are currently 15,000 people in auditorium in St Louis cheering 4 Wii tennis. #urbana09

RT @hcjbglobal: Come chat with Radio Trainer Allen Graham from Quito Ecuador at 2:15 booth 1100 #itsnotaboutyou #urbana09

RT @USCWM: Keep the conversation going: articles on slave trade, trafficking etc #urbana09 http://bit.ly/4zAVNH

RT @bensonlee: standing room only out the door for the prayer, fasting, scripture and worship 101 seminar at #urbana09

RT @aaivprays: #urbana09 John Perkins: our blessings from God were never meant for us, but to be shared with others.

RT @christian2do: RT @hcjbglobal: chat w/ Singapore based Ty Stakes about engineering music & farming @booth 1100 at 6pm tonight. #urbana09

RT @acjeske: #urbana09 I am one of the urbana photographers. Shots up at worldviewmultimedia.com ! More soon!

RT @Mexicachel: The bible condemns heterosexual sin at least ten times more than homosexual sin #urbana09

You can follow my messages and RT's during the day at www.twitter.com/generousmind.

Urbana09 - Day 1 Twitter Wrapup

2009-12-28T21:30:00.001-07:00

Each day of Urbana09 I am going to do a wrap-up of twitter posts that I have made or that I have RT'd. My thought is that this will give you a unique and creative insight into the event. I encourage you to go to the daily Webcast to listen in with much more detail to the great speakers.

Day 1 Twitter Wrapup
RT @Linson_Daniel: Let scripture speak John 1:35-42 manuscript study this morning, Where r u staying? Come and you will see... #urbana09

RT @AndrewPass: #urbana09 Jesus speaks to people in community. The disciples are not isolated!

RT @morganjustin: 'Being criticized feels bad. But, feeling bad always wears off.' #urbana09

RT @IJMcampaigns: Hundreds at #urbana09 take stand for oppressed by wearing Humanwrong.org shirts http://post.ly/GSDJ

RT @GEMission: #Urbana09: He Dwelled Among Us. Following Christ how can u be missional presence 4 Christ in the community He has u?

RT @djchuang247: #urbana09 splitting an extra-large pizza w new strangers who'll be friends before we finish

RT @jiolasa: RT @OMurbana: Please help us spread the word. A donor will buy 1,000 Iraqi bibles if we get 1,000 people to 1107. #urbana09

RT @philfoell: after his birth, Jesus was forced to become an international refugee to Africa. Jesus identifies with refugees. #urbana09

RT @philfoell: Social action without the Bible only brings momentary change. #urbana09

RT @Mexicachel: People should learn something about everywhere and everything about somewhere. #urbana09

God calls us to go to others in their context and on their terms and regardless of their response. Ramez Atallah #urbana09 - Night 1

RT @jameschoung: "Live to be forgotten ... make Christ visible, not ourselves." --Patrick Fung #urbana09

RT @aaivprays: #urbana09 tonight, stories of God's people: the displaced, the disadvantaged, the oppressed, widows & orphans & foreigners.

RT @Samlopez: The Word: Be a witness, not a traffic obstruction. #urbana09

Follow along as I RT and comment on Urbana09 at www.twitter.com/generousmind

Sharing Twitter Updates from Urbana 09

2009-12-27T20:58:00.001-07:00

As part of our commitment to being Generous Minds we will be Retweeting and sharing thoughts from the Urbana 09 conference going on all week in St. Louis. You can follow along on our twitter site: www.twitter.com/generousmind.

See you there!

Getting The Message Out

2009-12-15T20:48:00.002-07:00

To be a Generous Mind, you have to be tenacious about getting the message out. There is something about a generous person who is willing to do crazy things to share their ideas. Why are they willing to go to some of these lengths?

Simple...

Because a Generous Mind believes that the idea that God put in their heart needs to be shared.

Recently I saw an example of this that took me by surprise. I saw a Gospel presentation in the last place I expected to . . . the men's restroom. Yes, now you know that Jon is writing this blog.

You see, right above the urinals in the men's restroom of our church there are these 8.5 by 11 paper holders that have promotions of various programs and ministry opportunities. Usually it is things like the food pantries' needs this week, the upcoming men's conference, etc.

But recently I looked at the advertisements, and right there on the sheet was a Gospel presentation in a short paragraph. You see, someones has the job of creating that sheet of announcements every week and for some reason that week they decided to share the Gospel story. It was the last place I expected to find it, but I'm sure that was true for many that week.

So here is the question for you today. What is the message that God has burned into your heart this week? Now, what lengths will you go to share it? You see, even if it is the coolest message in the world with the greatest blessing to the hearer, it only materializes when you decide to take a step of obedience and share it.

Lets practice together. Please feel free to share what God has put on your heart as a comment to this blog.

Trust that Goes Beyond Blessing

2009-10-23T06:07:00.002-06:00

I was reading in My Utmost for His Highest today and Chambers was talking about our complete surrender to Jesus. Towards the end of the devo he asks this question, "Have we come to the place where God can withdraw His blessings and it does not affect our trust in Him?"

Wow, what a question. If you asked most Christians that and they searched their hearts before answering, the reply would be "I don't think I have that kind trust." I just finished John Piper's poem on Job (if you haven't read it please take a minute to read or listen to the audio). This is the core lesson. God wants to see if Job's trust in Him goes beyond the evident and wonderful blessings He provided.

The answer of course is yes. Job decides that he trusts God above blessings and reason. But what does that look like in our everyday lives?

1. We would stop praying about our wants and start praying for deeper faith and trust.
2. We would hold all our possessions loosely knowing that God may take them away as He refines our faith.
3. We would give up control over our relationships because of our understanding that God is working in their lives and we cannot have our way with those we love.

Wow, what a challenging reality check. Do I pray like this? Do I want a life that is this precarious from a human perspective? Maybe the better question is this, "Do I want a life that isn't fully grounded and anchored to Jesus?" How would you answer?

Our Job is To Promote Many Stories

2009-10-19T21:04:00.003-06:00

A Generous Mind helps people see many stories . . .

30 Days about Truth

2009-10-08T06:12:00.002-06:00

In our efforts to be Generous Minds, we continue to look for ways to share new ideas - especially about our latest book, Through the River. One of the ways we have decided to be generous is by creating a 30 series on Twitter. We called it #TruthTeasers and we posted 30 small thoughts about truth.

Well, the series is over and now you can read the whole thing on our book blog. Would you take a minute to read these 30 ideas about truth and share them with someone else?

Relationships in a Digital Age

2009-09-21T05:40:00.002-06:00

This weekend our Pastor, Raleigh Gresham, shared about giving God glory through digital relationships. I thought it would be appropriate to tweet an outline during the sermon (http://search.twitter.com/search?q=fbccs) and then share some thoughts on the blog.

He did a great job of not focusing on the latest technology but going back to how technology has impacted our relationships. Neil Postman talks about this same topic in "Technopoly" but it is not something heard very often.

Our challenge today is that criticism of technology is almost heretical. We as a culture have made a decision that technology is what will save us from loneliness, poverty, ignorance and on and on. So we seek life from technology at every turn instead of seeking life from God.

Raleigh made a great point about the ubiquity of technology. He called it "part of the water in which we swim." I thought that was very helpful because that highlights the fact that we don't even notice technology anymore. Just like we might not notice the green grass we walk on because we are so accustomed to it.

In that ubiquity we have assumed the relationship transfered seamlessly into a digital environment. But as Raleigh pointed out, "the transfer of information is not relationship." The challenge that Raleigh talked about is that the social media present countless opportunities to connect with people, keep people updated, share your life and engage people in discussion. Isn't that relationship?

One big difference. Raleigh talked about the importance of presence in relationship. He shared about how God appeared to Moses and solidified that relationships with presence. He talked about Philippians 2:5-8 and how Jesus came and gave himself sacrificially so we could have relationship with Him. Jesus came out of Heaven to provide that presence. He also talked about Hebrews 10:19-25 where it challenges us as believers not to stop meeting together.

I agree with Raleigh that presence has to be a part of a deep relationship. I have been interacting with a missionary from Japan now online for about 3 years. He is a great thinker and innovator. He and I have exchanged emails, blog comments, facebook comments and so on. But we had never connected outside of the wired world.

Last week he saw a comment I made and asked if I was in the US (he thought I lived internationally). We finally talked on the phone. Even though it is still technology, talking on the phone now made the relationship very different. We got to hear each others voices, listen to how we express ourselves, etc. I feel like I know him much better now that we have actually heard each other's voice. Imagine how I would feel about knowing him if we sat down over coffee?

While I agree with Raleigh, I want to use the example of my friend to add another layer to the discussion. I believe that relationships require presence and that digital interaction is usually more about information than relationships. However, I think that digital relationships can serve as bridges between presence. What do I mean by that?

In today's world where families don't live in the same town, where we move often, where our college friends are scattered around the world, presence is tough. We move and leave behind dear friends and can't imagine just forgetting about them and moving on. But at the same time, without the presence the deep relationship is not there.

In my life what I have noticed is that digital relationships bridge the gap between times of deep and satisfying presence. I will see a dear friend in a given city and then that will help me to utilize the technology to keep interacting with him for weeks/months to come until the next time I see him and we can have that cup of coffee.

Even locally, I can use digital relationships as a bridge to continue a discussion after the meeting is over or prepare for a get-together by raising some of the issues.

So as you live your daily life and build relationship with people across the street and around the world, consider how digital tools can make bridges that lead to deeper relationships!

Seeking Out Generous Solutions

2009-09-02T05:06:00.003-06:00

I have too many books. I can't believe I'm saying that since I absolutely love books. But that is the problem. Every chance I get I pick up a new book and never have the time to read all of them. Many times I pick up a book because I am thinking of someone else who might want to read it. This quote sums up my problem so well, "Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?"— Henry Ward Beecher

Anyway, back to our problem of too many books. One day at the HCJB Global ministry service center, I was talking about this problem with several colleagues. It was almost exasperation. I needed to get rid of books but how could I do it in a way that meshed with our commitment to be Generous Minds? That was the question.

Then out of the blue, HCJB's senior editor Harold Goerzen piped up with an idea. He shared about a prison ministry that collected Christian literature to share with prisoners as they reached out. It's called "Library of Hope" and it was a perfect fit. Now as we get ready to downsize our library we have a generous option for this task.

But the thing that God really impressed upon my heart was Harold's generosity to me by sharing about the option. I had been complaining about my problem and searching for a solution to be generous but I had never thought that some of my friends might have the answer.

I don't think I'm alone in this struggle. So many times we don't stop and ask others to share with us what they know. We live in such an individualistic world that we don't think to seek out the generosity of others.

What problem are you dealing with today? Will you commit with me that the next time you hit a wall with an issue that you will seek out 1 or 2 people and ask them what they would do. Who knows what giving them the opportunity to be generous will uncover.

Transitions are a Time to be Generous

2009-08-23T19:59:00.008-06:00

The idea of being a Generous Mind is at the core of what God has called Mindy and I to devote our lives. But exactly what we are being generous with has gone through various changes and will continue to change as we obediently follow God's leading and direction.

Today we would like to share three major transitions in our lives. They will seem very distinct but in God's timing they actually are all very connected. These three transitions can fit under the general category of 1) Our Job 2) Our Writing 3) Our Family

A Job Change

For the past four and a half years it has been our great pleasure and joy to serve HCJB Global, a ministry that focuses on media and healthcare outreaches around the world. I have served in the area of marketing and communications and have had the opportunity to help the 78 year old organization re-brand and redefine its message for a new time. In that process we launched the idea of Being the Voice and Hands of Jesus. This means speaking up and reaching out for Jesus in a coordinated way to greater impact those around you.

But as that brand really takes hold and the cause begins to launch, we received an opportunity to serve in a new capacity. After praying we knew it was something God wanted us to do. In the process of building the HCJB Global message, I had struggled with the traditional ways that donors and churches relate to outreach ministries (local and global). I wondered if there was another way to organize the missional cause than to have donors on one side and doers on the other.

We found an answer to this question in the work of a friend of ours - Eric Foley (visit his blog to learn more about him and his ministry http://www.ericfoley.com/) Eric introduced us to a new model for giving called Transformational Giving. This is a transition away from most fundraising today that is more transactional. As we delved into this model, we found its approach refreshing and very Biblical. In it, the donor is seen as someone that God has given a ministry to disciple and grow in Christ in relation to the cause. This model focuses on making the nonprofit a platform for donors to own the cause and participate in it. The donor as well as those a nonprofit is helping become the recipients and the goals of the organization. This model is fundamentally a discipleship and mentoring model where donors are those that we are discipling and who are discipling those who work in the ministry daily.

In this process a small organization that focuses on helping ministries transition to Transformational Giving approached Mindy and I about working with them. The group is called ".W" (Doers of the Word) and it is located here in Colorado Springs, CO. It is a next generation Christian marketing and development agency that equips ministries to transform their fundraising efforts into biblical discipleship practices.

I accepted the role of Partner Manager with .W starting September 1 and Mindy will be writing for .W as a freelancer. Now our calling to be a Generous Mind will focus on helping others to move to an incarnational and transformational approach to fundraising and ministry as a whole.

Our Book is Out!

As of this week, Mindy and I will have in our hands our first co-authored book called Through the River: Understanding your Assumptions about Truth. This has been a five year process and has taken much of our time and thoughts over the last years. This book is a Generous Mind effort. We worked with a well-known professor - Dr. Paul Hiebert - who has now passed away to take one of his books and create an entirely new book for a broader audience.

The book is about our epistemology (in our book we call it our truth lens) which is a part of our worldview. It is the part that defines how we understand truth. It is critical to how we process information and discern in a new millennium crowded with ideas. This book help you understand the three most common truth lenses and then helps you to apply them to your faith, relationships and outreach.

The national launch of the book is on September 1 and we will be sharing more about it on Facebook, our blogs and twitter. We hope that this resource will be a great help to you as you strive to understand truth in a time where nothing seems certain. While many are despairing of the place of truth in our culture, our book has a message of hope and points to a way forward.

Please join the Facebook Fan Page for the book to keep updated.

Kids in School

We are entering a new phase with our family. For the first time in 9 years we will have all three children in school. This new phase means that Mindy and I will be able to work together at .W as a team. We began our careers working together as a team for One Hope, a Scripture ministry in Florida. God has been faithful to our desire to continue working together by giving us this new opportunity.

Bringing it All Together

As we settle into a new Millennium and start to look around, it is clear that the paradigm for many things is changing. Many of our personal changes have to do with our desire to be a part of that paradigm shift and help lead through the ideas that will populate a new way of thinking. In relation to our job, we believe that Transformational Giving is a major shift in how missional work is done and will define much of the next generation of Kingdom work. In relation to our writing, we believe that in a time where truth seems like a lost treasure, there is a new way to understand truth that will bring back the solid foundation that we have in Christ while allowing us to learn in community.

Both of these things are key to the paradigm shift occurring in global Christianity right now. We are committed to live them, experience them and then be Generous Minds to bring those ideas and thoughts to you. As we say in our book, our desire for each one of our readers is nothing less than life transformation.

Thank you for being a part of our journey and we are looking forward to how God will use the coming months and years.

We pray that as we are generous with what God has put in front of us to do and to communicate, you will in turn be generous with what God gives you. Who knows what journey God will take you on if you allow Him to share His heart through you!

Sharing a New Song

2009-08-20T19:59:00.003-06:00

Today started like many days. I work at a ministry called HCJB Global and we have chapel every morning (a great priviledge I have enjoyed for 4 and half years). On Thursdays we have chapel in smaller groups with our departments. Today was one of those days and I went with no particular expectations. But I received a gift of generosity that blew me away!

Jessica, one of our Creative Services team members, lead chapel. She had her guitar with her and I immediately worried that I would have to sound good before my coffee really sank in.

As our time started Jessica read us several passages from the Psalms that talk about singing a new song to God. Then she shared how God had given her a new song the night before as she was driving in the car. I realized that Jessica was about to generously share something that God had given her.

She passed out papers with the song on it and we sang it several times together. It was a comforting and encouraging moment. I was fully ready to move on with my day when Jessica did something brave and very unexpected . . .

She challenged each of us to think of a new song. That challenge is nice and all. Many speakers end with a challenge. But she went beyond the challenge. She explained how the song that God had given her was very easy to modify. She asked us who would share something that God had been teaching us recently and she offered to put our ideas into her song and give it to us as an encouragement. I don't know about you but the thought writing new words to a song in front of others would terrify me. But she boldly challenged us.

Three people shared and she bravely worked with what God had put on their hearts. Each time it was miraculous. I saw as the new song was sung how the person who had offered their idea was touched and blessed.

Jessica shared what God had given her with others, but she went beyond simply being generous with her ideas. She used what God gave her to empower others to share.

So as you go about your day, remember that being a generous mind is more than just sharing what is on your heart. It means giving others the opportunity and context to do the same.

Bravo Jessica, thank you for being a generous mind!

Generous Accountability

2009-08-14T05:59:00.002-06:00

Accountability brings up negative images for me. I don't know about you, but when I think of accountability, I think of having to tell people that I have messed up and listening to them moralize about how I should be living my life. Is that what accountability is or do I have a flawed understanding?

In Romans 14:12 the text says, "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." Giving an account means that we must share what our lives amounted to. What did we do with the resources, skills, relationships and opportunities that God set before us.

If we think about accountability from this perspective, it is our ultimate act of generosity. We are sharing with God, or with people in our lives, the account of what God is up to in our world and how we have responded. This type of generosity is the deepest and most significant because we are sharing about our eternal purpose.

It is one thing to share about your favorite movie (and that can be very significant if you share lessons you learned). But it is quite another to share your account of how God is using you and providing for you.

So if accountability is such a noble thing, why is it so scarce in our daily lives? This is a complex question that requires us to dig down through many layers. As I processed it, I came up with this progression of challenges that keeps us from being actively involved in accountability:

Accountability is scarce because:

it requires that we give up freedom
giving up freedom requires trust
trust only grows in relationship
relationships take time
our time is doled out based on our priorities
our priorities need redeemed to be in line with God's focus

So why am I not generous with the account of my life and my actions? It starts with the fact that on most days I do not truly value the act of sharing what I know. My priorities are focused on entertainment, pleasure, accomplishment, and so on.

I am coming to realize that I will never have deep accountability relationships with others unless I begin with my priority for generosity and then build to the point where I will submit my freedom to another who loves me and wants the best for me.

Where are you in this process of accountability? Are you living with God's priorities or your own?

Do you have a rainbow on your head?

2009-07-04T21:01:00.002-06:00

There are many aspects of being a generous mind. Most of the time the ideas that we think about focus around our personal generosity. We are an individualistic culture and we think about concepts like this from our personal vantage point. But stop to consider generosity from another perspective.

It is also generous when you help someone else unlock an idea that they have. You are helping/coaching/mentoring them in the discovery and unleashing of their idea. In this case your act of generosity is seeing an idea in someone else and helping them to bring it to life.

I thought of this concept today as we were driving home from the video store. We saw the most incredible rainbow. The colors were vibrant and clear. As we neared our home we realized that the end of the rainbow was in our neighborhood - so we went hunting for that pot of gold :). Actually we just wanted to see how close we could get to the end. As you know the ends of rainbows are pretty elusive, but finally we came to our local park and the end was hitting an area near some condos.

As I watched the beautiful colors of the rainbow disappear where the condos began, I wondered, "Do the people sitting in those homes realize a rainbow is on their head?" Most probably they didn't. So they were sitting in their homes watching TV, eating dinner or doing any other normal activity without knowing that this glorious array of color was gracing their homes.

That is how it is with ideas. Sometimes people are walking around with amazing ideas and are just to close to the concepts to understand how exciting they are. The job of a generous mind is to see it and to help that person to realize what they have come up with and how to share it.

So do some of your friends, co-workers or family have rainbows landing on their heads? Let them know about it.

They will know us by our tweets

2009-06-22T06:49:00.001-06:00

Take a moment to check out our innovation posting on a being an authentic voice . . .

A Generous Performer

2009-06-15T06:23:00.003-06:00

I saw a great example of being a Generous Mind at church yesterday. Usually we have a drummer who sits behind the plastic shields and does his thing. But this Sunday they were using some bongo drums and creative percussion instruments - like those rainmaker sticks.

Anyway, there was a man playing percussion and next to him was, I assume, his son. His son was on several of the smaller instruments. He did a wonderful job, but I could tell that this was a father who was teaching his son.

What an amazing thing to watch a father trust his son in front of a big crowd and to watch the son follow the dad's lead as they worked through each song. I could see a father who had invested in his son in a special way.

What a challenge to us. How are we being generous with what we know? How are we taking those ideas and proactively sharing them with many more people?

How Starbucks Saved My Life, a book review

2009-06-11T21:12:00.003-06:00

How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else, by Michael Gates Gill

Gill is a gifted storyteller. He unravels his tale of how his life went from having a great job, a wonderful family, and a beautiful home; to a lonely little apartment with no job. He describes how an opportunity at Starbucks changed him from the inside, giving him a second chance at life and happiness.

Digressing often, he weaves into the story, anecdotes from his past where we learn more about this man who is wearing a green apron and Starbucks cap just to survive. We see him with Robert Frost and the Queen of England, and realize just how strange it is for him to be mixing coffees and passing them across the counter to average people in New York City. Even stranger, for him to be liking his new job, feeling happiness he never felt before.

His story clearly demonstrates the values of the Starbucks company and how value and respect for others can transform a workplace. He describes a striking contrast between his old job and status and his new job, taking us on a journey from his old attitudes and prejudices to a new value and respect for others.

This book was a joy to read. I was truly happy for the author as he went through his journey of discovery. It is a must read for anyone who manages people, as he contrasts how he used to manage people without much respect to how he was managed with care and respect as a barista at Starbucks.

Gill is an example of a generous mind—sharing his transformational experience in a powerful and meaningful way.

Sharing Music

2009-05-25T07:50:00.003-06:00

There are many ways to be a generous mind . . . this concept isn't only for writers or poets. In fact, anyone with an idea to share is a generous mind waiting to come out. One great way to be generous is to share your play lists. Music is what inspires us, encourages us and motivates us. So why don't we share it? The answer is that we think people won't care. But you might be surprised.

Here is my Missional Music Play List from iTunes:

Love them like Jesus, Casting Crowns
Blessed are the tears, Bryan Duncan
Rescue, Newsong
Thankful, Josh Groban
Never gonna be as big as Jesus, Audio Adrenaline
Does anybody hear her, Casting Crowns
History maker, Delirious?
Give me Jesus, Jeremy Camp
Boy like me/man like you, Rich Mullins
The beauty of grace, Krystal Meyers
Come lift up your sorrows, Michael Card
Mercy man, PFR
Let mercy lead, Rich Mullins
I'm not who i was, Brandon Heath

Enjoy as you strive to be missional in your life!

Building a Relationship With Your Audience

2009-04-15T19:16:00.002-06:00

I am excited to let you know that I have recently published an article with helpful tips on how to market your book in todays world. It focuses on building relationships with your readers around your idea. In the end it is all about being generous with the idea that God has allowed you to put on paper.

I published it with MAI - a very cool ministry focused on training Christian authors worldwide. Take a minute to check out the ministry when you read the article.

Check it out!

On becoming...

2009-03-13T19:14:00.002-06:00

I recently found an old youth group friend on facebook and found out that she is a writer, author and speaker. I was suprised and excited. Last night I found her blog and the story of how she came to be a writer. She shares tips from her experience of going from a little girl with a story to tell to a wife and mother with, well, more stories to tell--only now with a publisher.

I wanted to feature her as a generous mind, someone who ponders life and lives to share with others what she's experienced. Thank you Nicole, for all you write and for your generous mind.

http://nicoleodell.blogspot.com/

Picking Cotton

2009-03-09T19:32:00.004-06:00

I would like to introduce you to two other generous minds. Their story aired on 60 Minutes yesterday and it was very powerful.

Here are the basics, Jennifer Thompson was raped in college and out of a line-up she picked Ronald Cotton. He was convicted and served 11 years in prison - until DNA testing proved he was not the criminal.

Then they met . . .

(Here is an excerpt from the 60 Minutes Story:

“But when she thought or dreamed about that night, it was still Cotton's face she saw. To get past it, she asked if he would meet with her at a local church. "I remember him walkin' into the church. And I physically could not stand up," Thompson recalled.

"She was nervous. Scared," Cotton said. "I started to cry immediately. And I looked at him, and I said, 'Ron, if I spent every second of every minute of every hour for the rest of my life telling you how sorry I am, it wouldn't come close to how my heart feels. I'm so sorry.' And Ronald just leaned down, he took my hands…and he looked at me, he said, 'I forgive you,'" Thompson remembered. "I told her, I said, 'Jennifer, I forgive you. I don't want you to look over your shoulder. I just want us to be happy and move on in life,'" Cotton recalled.

"The minute he forgave me, it's like my heart physically started to heal. And I thought, 'This is what grace and mercy is all about. This is what they teach you in church that none of us ever get.' And here was this man that I had hated. I mean, I used to pray every day of my life during those eleven years that he would die. That he would be raped in prison and someone would kill him in prison. That was my prayer to God. And here was this man who with grace and mercy just forgave me," Thompson told Stahl. "How wrong I was, and how good he is."

Now these two have written a book and they also speak around the country about changes that need to be made in how eye witnesses are used in criminal cases. They have taken their very difficult experience and are now being generous with what they know.

Take some time to share this new book and this story with those you know.

Introducing Another Generous Mind

2009-03-05T20:00:00.002-07:00

As I was walking out of our lobby at HCJB Global one day for lunch. A man was standing there talking with the receptionist. His name was Molla Tikuye and he wanted to share his new book Insight into Ethiopia with our ministry and see if there might be some opportunities to promote it.

I promised to take a look at it and I wanted to share a quote from the book:

“I have collected history of the area from many elder oral informants or shimagilewoch in Amharic . . . As time passed by, however; I hear that most of the elder oral informants have passed away. So whenever I hear news about their death, I become sorry, because I consider these elders as great history tellers and as my big history libraries. This is because it was do to the feed back of these oral informants that I have a good historical knowledge about Ethiopia. Now I can do nothing about these leaders. What I can do now is to transfer their legacy to the next generation. Hence if there is anybody willing to know history I am ready to share what I heard from oral informants and what I read from books and from what I was taught in schools and in Addis Ababa University.” Insight Into Ethiopia, Molla Tikuye, pg 14,15

This quote excited me because it was such a great example of a generous mind. Here is someone who took the time to connect with key elders and get their history from them. Then he made the effort to share it with the world.

Now this book is self published and so Molla did not have the editorial help that he might have wanted. But it is a wonderful effort to share what he has learned with others at expense to himself - not only money but I'm sure hundreds of hours.

Thank you Molla for being a generous mind.

30 Ways to Be a Generous Mind in 30 Days

2009-02-08T20:03:00.002-07:00

Are you proactively working to be generous with what you know? You might think that it is hard to do . . . it sure sounds daunting. So we went on a journey to find 30 simple ways to be a generous mind in 30 days. The results are below:

Day 1: Identify something you learned yesterday. Pick who you will share it with today. Do the same tomorrow - if it helps write it down.

Day 2: Ask a child their perspective on something you normally wouldn't. Then process their idea and share it with others in your network.

Day 3: Get a book off your shelf, pick out one thing you learned from it, and then send the book to a friend with a note about that idea.

Day 4: Learn something new about a tool you use every day (computer, blender, drill, etc) then find someone else using one and share.

Day 5: When someone shares an idea with you, look for an uplifting addition to their idea. Help make their idea better with your words.

Day 6: Open up a dictionary, pick a word and then come up with a new idea using that word. Call your best friend and share it.

Day 7: Go to your favorite news/info site and find an article that you know a friend would want to read. Take the time to email it to them.

Day 8: On your next errand, take a minute to talk with the service person that helps you. Share something simple that will lift them up.

Day 9: Take a Bible verse you heard this weekend at church and print it out. Then give it to someone tomorrow as an encouragement.

Day 10: Watch a significant event (i.e. the presidential inauguration) and pick out something that needs talked about. Send the quote to some friends and ask for their thoughts.

Day 11: Take a camera with you, snap a photo of what inspires you, and then share it with an explanation that opens your experience to others.

Day 12: Music is a blessing that needs to be shared, so gift an Itunes song, share some lyrics, sing at an event or write your own song.

Day 13: When you hear someone share something valuable tomorrow, turn around and share it with someone else - but make sure to give credit.

Day 14: Have some friends over for dinner and announce the topic to discuss ahead of time. Ask each of them to bring some ideas to share.

Day 15: Think about a memory that has greatly impacted your life. Share that memory and the lesson you learned with someone else.

Day 16: Prayer is a powerful way to share ideas. Connect with a friend and pray aloud for them. Prayer allows you to share powerfully.

Day 17: Pick up your cell phone, go to the first person in your address book and call them. Share what you are going through and learning.

Day 18: Keep your eyes open for ambiguity. Be ready to embrace an ambiguous idea, reflect on it and discuss it with someone else.

Day 19: Define a big challenge in your life. Put it into words and then challenge your coworkers, friends, and family to help you solve it.

Day 20: Identify a generous mind in your life that invested in you. Write them an email or letter sharing something they taught you.

Day 21: Join a book club, bible study or other group that gives you a chance to engage others with your ideas.

Day 22: Go to Google Image search and find your favorite artwork. Then send the link or do a blog posting about how the art inspires you.

Day 23: Read something from another culture and apply it to your experience. Look at your life in a different way and share the experience.

Day 24: Share an experience with someone. Next time you have tickets to an event; make sure to take someone who will benefit from it.

Day 25: Ask a question to 10 friends, collect all their answers and send them to all of them without names. A group to gives perspective.

Day 26: Research a cause (i.e. World AIDS Day) and then share some new insights about the effort with your network. They probably don't know.

Day 27: Introduce two of your friends to each other over coffee. Connect their interests and skills so they can learn from each other.

Day 28: Share the sites, sounds and smells of a trip you have taken. Introduce another person to that place in a way that opens their eyes.

Day 29: Share your definition of generosity with someone and then ask them how they would define the word from their experience.

Day 30: Pray that God will use the simple ideas we have talked about to open up opportunities for you to be generous - always rely on Him.

A Prayer For Authors

2009-01-25T21:15:00.002-07:00

I recently shared this prayer on a facebook cause focused on raising funds for an author to go to the upcoming Littworld conference in Kenya. I hope it blesses you.

Dear God,

I pray for those who have bravely taken up the challenge to share what you have put on their hearts.

I pray that their families would understand the need for quiet times to work.

I pray that they would remember those moments of inspiration when they are caught up in the dry times.

I pray that they would have courage to write what your Spirit puts on their hearts; even when it means hardship.

I pray that You would give them humor, wit, wisdom and creativity as they write.

Most of all help them to see that each word they write is a chance to give You glory for the gift you have given them.

AMEN

Inauguration Idea

2009-01-20T21:43:00.005-07:00

On our Twitter site, we are sharing 30 Ways to be a Generous Mind in 30 Days. It is a fun exercise and we will be doing a wrap-up of all the ideas on this blog when the 30 Days are up.

Idea 10 was stated this way: "Idea 10: Watch the inauguration and pick out something that needs talked about. Send the quote to some friends and ask for their thoughts."

So here goes: "We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."

As I have been processing this thought that Obama shared, I have a few observations. So many times our posture defines our relationships and our interactions. We come into a situation with a frown and arms crossed . . . or conversely we come into a situation with a smile and an embrace. The way that we posture ourselves will impact how people perceive us and will open or close opportunities to us.

Our external posture is simply a reflection of our mental, psychological and spiritual posture. Are we filled with grace, peace, hope and love or the opposites. Ever day I meet people who decide between the extended hand or the clenched fist.

I want my life to be an extended hand . . . what do you want for your life?

30 Ideas in 30 Days

2009-01-10T11:00:00.002-07:00

In our efforts to share practical ways to be a generous mind, we are twittering 30 ideas in 30 days. It's simple: go to www.twitter.com/generousmind and follow our twitter to get these practical ideas. At the end we will document them all on this blog as a summary.

Blessings as you are generous today!

Finally Done!

2008-04-30T06:39:00.002-06:00

Have you ever heard someone say, "I've run out of words."? We know people who actually run out and need to recharge before talking again. Well, we don't run out of words very easily, but we are close this week.

We are handing in our manuscript for our second book today! It is an exciting day but we feel like we are at the end of our marathon. Mostly we are just tired.

We will be telling you more about this book in coming days/months. It is an exciting project that will help you to think through truth in today's world. It is designed to give you tools to engage culture, relationships and your faith.

So I think I have officially run out of words for now . . .

YouTube 50

2008-01-31T06:51:00.001-07:00

If anyone is really interested to see what missions is doing - there is no better place than YouTube. I run a Missions directory on YouTube and we just hit a milestone of logging 50 international ministries that are publishing videos.

Take a minute to check it out: http://ministrytube.blogspot.com/!

Relentless Generosity

2008-01-14T06:39:00.000-07:00

To be generous with what you know takes a relentlessness that is hard to explain.

You have to know two things and believe them strongly:
1. You have something to share
2. Others need to hear it

If you aren't driven by those two statements, then you will struggle to be very generous with your ideas. You will always be coping out and saying things like, "They already know about that." or "My idea isn't that great."

This relentless generosity is not pride, althougth you can fall into that for sure. Instead, it is an understanding that God has given you something that others need.

The reason that relentless generosity is so powerful as you share ideas is that it comes across as passion! That means that people look into your face and know that you really care about this idea and you care that they know it. You are grabbing them by the shoulders and saying, "You need to think about this!"

Generous Minds in the New Year

2008-01-08T05:40:00.000-07:00

All this talk about New Years resolutions is always interesting to us. Why that certain day? You could make goals any time of the year. But for some reason, we as humans are wired this way. We need milestones and key moments that we can look back on and understand.

So here is a thought: Why don't you be generous with your resolutions. Yes, sometimes they are very private so use your best judgement. But what would happen if you shared what was on your heart for a new year?

Well, you might find the following:
1. Supporters to encourage you
2. Fellow resolutionists on a similar mission
3. Better connections with those in your sphere of influence
4. People to celebrate with when you accomplish your goals

Generosity is a wonderful thing because it connects us and gives us a way to live in community. Enjoy a wonderful 2008!

Generosity That Falls Flat

2007-12-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes people don't appreciate our generosity. That sounds weird when you say it. The assumption about generosity is that it is welcomed and appreciated. But that is not always the case.

Being a Generous Mind is taking what you know and sharing it with others. But sometimes what we know isn't something they want to hear. In fact, many times it isn't what people want to hear. Generosity is a outward effort by one person to another. But it is not an individualized effort. For generosity to be effective it has to be recieved.

So what happens when people don't recieve our ideas. Well, we have a few choices. We can decide that we will not get hurt by them again and we stop being generous with them. Or we can continue to be generous and allow them more opportunities to accept it.

Being generous is thankless work most of the time. People take your ideas when you offer them but many times they don't thank you, they don't even give you credit many times.

So why should we do it? Well, we do it because we truely care about the person and we also care about the idea. If an idea is worth sharing, then it is worth some risk.

Do you care about the people in your life and the ideas you have to share them??

Our Generous Words

2007-12-02T20:16:00.001-07:00

We are working more and more on being generous with our ideas. Right now we have a series of blogs that we would like to make sure you know about:

http://greenmomchallenge.blogspot.com - A blog challenging moms to be eco-friendly in small ways.

http://innovationinmission.blogspot.com - A blog resulting from our book Innovation in Mission.

http://ourwordshop.blogspot.com - A blog with articles, poems and tidbits that we have written.

http://ministrytube.blogspot.com - A blog directory of ministries on YouTube.

We hope you enjoy!

Generosity and Personality

2007-08-28T19:26:00.000-06:00

Something interesting happened the other day. I put a poll on my facebook page asking people what kept them from being generous with their ideas. I assumed that people struggle to be generous.

Funnything happened though . . . all the responders said that they had trouble NOT SHARING :).

I thought about this a while and wondered why I would assume it is hard for people to share and then why I would get such an opposite response. Here is a hypothesis . . . those that are drawn to the facebook world, are very social and are less likely to have trouble sharing what they know.

What do you think?

HCJB Global Hands Responds

2007-08-22T20:31:00.000-06:00

HCJB Global Hands is reaching out to those devastated by the Earthquake. Take a minute to watch this video: