The Science of Building Leaders

Recent I read something interesting in the Star paper about the Science of Building Leaders.

The main idea behind this Science of Building Leaders research is that different aspects of leadership development occur at different points in an individual’s life. I have broken it into three key elements – Foundational Leadership, Emerging Leadership and Executing Leadership – which are further broken down into six other key areas. The key insights are as follows:

1. Foundational Leadership – this is a period where a person develops character. There are three key areas of character: moral, intellectual and performance character.

2. Emerging Leadership – this is a time where a person develops their identity including understanding their strengths, having a firm sense of values and understanding their purpose and their vision for their self. Once they are clear what these are, they start building competencies that enable them to achieve their personal vision and purpose.

3. Executing Leadership – this is a period of growth and execution. Leadership competencies, including decision-making, are enhanced and the individual either makes it or breaks as a leader. For those that make it, it leads on to a teaching and legacy phase where they “give back” by sharing their leadership Point of View (POV) via mentoring, teaching and knowledge transfer.

This is the summary depicted in a chart:

Click here to read more.

References:
http://mystarjob.com/articles/story.aspx?file=/2017/2/25/mystarjob_careerguide/9405218&sec=mystarjob_careerguide

https://leaderonomics.com/leadership/science-of-building-leaders-part-1

https://leaderonomics.com/leadership/science-of-building-leaders-part-2

https://hbr.org/2012/04/the-new-science-of-building-great-teams

Leadership Growth by John C Maxwell

There is a difference between good and greatness.

The result of greatness is in the result of the people.

1. The Law of Intentionality

Growth is the the only guarantee that tomorrow is going to get better.

There are 2 key questions that will determine whether you will be successful?

Q1. What are you doing to develop yourself?

You can not give what you do not have.

You better start by yourself, especially if you want to be a good leader.

Q2. What are you doing to develop others?

This is about compounding effect. It's about develop other people.

If you're going to grow you have to be intentional.

But we have problem called Growth Gap.

Assumption Gap. I assume I will grow automatically. Assumption is a big disappointment in life.

Knowledge Gap. I don't know how to grow.

John Maxwell spent US 799 to bought a success planner kit, but he only earned about US800 per month. But this kit eventually helped him to earned millions. It helped him to get started.

Getting started is the key to life.

Personal growth keeps me prepared.

You don't go into an opportunity. You grow into an opportunity.
If you are growing, you are always ready.
Personal growth is very important for you to be a good leader.

Everything in life that you're ever going to want is based on your availability to grow.


An Intentional Growth Plan

1. Make a commitment to intentionally grow.

2. Make that commitment public. Else it's worthless. Because we have a tendency to go astray. A shared commitment becomes a strong commitment.

3. Identify the areas you want to grow in personally. Where am I going to grow specifically? AT least 2, and no more than 5. Don't just focus on one. Grow in the area of choice and skill. Choice: attitude/discipline. Skill: Speaking.

4. Invest one hour a day in those two areas. Including Sunday. :)
How to do it: Preparation, Practice, Reflection.

E.g. For Communication. Is the speaker connecting with the audience? Observe, reflect and implement.

5. Invest one hour a week on reflection and writing on what you're learning. Start with jots daily. Then journal.

6. Share your growth with someone.
If the people you share is happy with what you share, keep sharing the next week.
If they are not happy, start moving. Don't share it with the people that are not thrilled with your progress. Drop those friends. Get some new friends. Get around with good people. Those who add value, complement you. They can multiply you. They can elevate you, though your skills never improve.

How Many Laws are in the Old Testament?

There are 613 laws in the Torah. These 613 laws have two divisions, which are: 

248 Positive Commandments - "You shall do".

365 Negative commandments- "You shall Not do".



References:
http://learntorah.blogspot.my/2013/04/horeb-vs-mount-sinai-what-is-spiritual.html

How do I Know Jesus is the Only Way?

How do I know Jesus is the only way to heaven?

Jesus himself mentioned that He is the ONLY way.

John 14:6

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Acts 4:12

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

God has been searching and seeking over us.

Psalm 98:2

The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.

Romans 1:18-19

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

In the New Testament, God sent to Peter to Cornelinus to share to him about Jesus.

Jeremiah 29:11-14

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will callon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Deut 4:29

But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Proverbs 8:17

I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

Acts 17:26-27

From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Pastor Robert Morris - How Do I Know? - Jesus Is The Only Way

John MacArthur: Is Jesus the Only Way?

The 7 Words of Jesus on the Cross

The Seven Words of Jesus from the Cross are a wonderful commentary in his own words of Forgiveness, Salvation, Love, Atonement, Suffering, Victory and Security.

Matthew 27:46
About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lemasabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

Luke 23:34

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

Luke 23:43

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” 

Luke 23:46

Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

John 19:26-27

When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.

John 19:28

Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”

John 19:30

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

References:

https://bible.org/article/last-seven-words-jesus

How to Know that the Bible is True?

How do we know that the Bible is true?

This is one of the most important question that have ever asked in the history of mankind.

Answer this question, and you will be able to answer about the creation of of the world, the existence of God, the death of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, the miracles of the prophets, and most relevantly: the purpose of our lives on earth.

According to RC Sproul's book (Now, That's a Good Question), if we want to test whether something is true, we are asking a technical question in epistemology.

How do we test claims of truth? There is a certain kind of truth that we test through:
- observation
- experimentation
- eyewitness
- examination
- scientific evidence

As far as the history of Jesus is concerned. as far as we know any in history, we want to check the stories of Scriptures using those means by which historical evidence can be tested - through archaeology, for example. There are certain elements of the scriptures, such as historical claims, that are to be measured by the common standards of historiography.

Out of the multitude of archaeological discoveries related to the Bible, consider a few examples to illustrate the remarkable external substantiation of biblical claims. Excavations at Nuzi (1925-41), Mari (discovered in 1933), and Alalakh (1937-39; 1946-49) provide helpful background information that fits well with the Genesis stories of the patriarchal period. The Nuzi tablets and Mari letters illustrate the patriarchal customs in great detail, and the Ras Shamra tablets discovered in ancient Ugarit in Syria shed much light on Hebrew prose and poetry and Canaanite culture. The Ebla tablets discovered recently in northern Syria also affirm the antiquity and accuracy of the Book of Genesis.

Quoted from https://bible.org/article/how-accurate-bible 

Secondly, we can test the claims of truth through the test of rationality. Is it logically consistent? It is coherent?

Note that the Bible is a compilation of 66 books, written by 40 authors, over 1500 years - but with consistent focus about Jesus! That's amazing.

It's astonishing that the Bible has literally of testable historical prophecies, cases in which events were clearly foretold, and both the foretelling and the fulfilment are a matter of historical record. The very dimension of the sheer fulfilment of of prophecy of the Old Testament Scriptures should be enough to convince anyone that we are dealing with a supernatural piece of literature.

The prophet Isaiah prophesied about the birth of Jesus, 700 years before the birth of Jesus.

David wrote about the crucifixion of Jesus about 1000 years before Jesus was crucified, and 500 years before the first crucifixion (497 BC). Isaiah talked about it as well.

Thirdly, is there any external test about the validity of the Bible? The answer is a resounding yes!
Especially about the New Testament, there are many extrabiblical references about the accuracy of the New Testament. It's very important for us to be very sure of the accuracy of the New Testament (especially about the four gospels), because it talks about Jesus that can changed our lives forever.

The historicity of Jesus Christ is well-established by early Roman, Greek, and Jewish sources, and these extrabiblical writings affirm the major details of the New Testament portrait of the Lord. The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus made specific references to John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and James in his Antiquities of the Jews. In this work, Josephus gives us many background details about the Herods, the Sadducees and Pharisees, the high priests like Annas and Caiaphas, and the Roman emperors mentioned in the gospels and Acts.

We find another early secular reference to Jesus in a letter written a little after A.D. 73 by an imprisoned Syrian named Mara Bar-Serapion. This letter to his son compares the deaths of Socrates, Pythagoras, and Christ. Other first- and second-century writers who mention Christ include the Roman historians Cornelius Tacitus (Annals) and Suetonius (Life of Claudius, Lives of the Caesars), the Roman governor Pliny the Younger (Epistles), and the Greek satirist Lucian (On the Death of Peregrine). Jesus is also mentioned a number of times in the Jewish Talmud.

Quoted from https://bible.org/article/how-accurate-bible 

~~~

Watch below's video for some of the best explanations about the Bible:

Ravi Zacharias: How Do We Know the Bible is True

Pastor Robert Morris: How Do I Know? - The Bible Is True

John Piper: God’s Peculiar Glory: How We Can Know the Bible Is True

Note:
epistemology
- the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope. Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion.

coherent

- logical; consistent and orderly

archaeology

- the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains.

Resources Link:

https://bible.org/article/how-accurate-bible

http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/gods-peculiar-glory

http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t003.html

https://www.gotquestions.org/is-the-Bible-true.html

https://essentialbible.org/2016/06/top-10-reasons-the-bible-is-true/

http://www.gracechapelsomd.org/books/The_New_Evidence_That_Demands_A_Verdict.pdf

Easter - Triumph in Tragedy

Easter is coming.
For this year, Easter will fall on 16th April 2017.

While most of the world will take this time to have fun with Easter Bunny, Christians around the world take this time to reflect on the salvation that we received through grace by the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a time where we can be thankful of the victory that we gain in Christ.

For Christians, Easter is day where we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's better known as Resurrection Sunday.

To reflect more on the victory of Christ, below's link has a good reading from RBC website:

http://cdn.rbcintl.org/cdn/pdf/sg_TriumphInTragedy.pdf

I hope that the Lord will bring much encouragement for you during this time of Easter reflection ;)

Happy reading, and of course, Happy Resurrection Sunday everyone!

Mark 16:6

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.