Brain Dump

The conference I have been at has been awesome. I have gone in session after session of valuable, powerful information. There are things for the church and things for my 2717 ministry and things just to help I my everyday accountability. I'm laying in my bed, looking at the pictures of tires and cars on the wall and trying to sort out everything I've taken in today. In is in this overloaded state, I am trying to write this blog. It might not be my best decision, but I really want to share a few things I have learned.

The first thing I learned is meet people where they are. I don't mean physically, which most people can do, I mean emotionally and spiritually. This means don't assume people want what I've got; many people can't understand where I am. If I can go to them, then we can build real relationships. It is OK for people not to be ready to believe, they may just be thirty for a little information. It is OK for people to want to do something little, who am I to judge the size of their task. If I can meet people where they are in their life journey, then I can walk with them and if I can walk with them then we can go places together.

The second things I can remember learning, is the fact that within man's heart is deep water and with a good, Godly coach, that water can be drawn out. I can't, right now, put this into the words I want, but this really spoke to me. This is a huge part of 2717. When I helping someone, the needs of their heart are not usually given to me, they are given to them for me to draw out. This means asking them the right, probing, uncomfortable questions until they come into the realization of there need. Then they can solve the problem and they can set the goal. Do you know how much more valuable a goal is when you set it for yourself as opposed to when someone else sets it for you? I have a whole new set of tools to use to get better at this.

The next part of the 2717 cycle is accountability, and that was addressed in the next session. From that session, here is the truth we leaned, transparent lives, with each other, is the only way to have genuine accountability. Did you catch those two critical things? Transparent lives. This means not hiding when you uncomfortable, owning your flaws and failures, cover free. We don't like this, but it is a key because you can't fix what you can't see. That second piece, is with each other. It is not enough that you are transparent, but you need to live lives with each other. This explains the importance of daily contact I had stumbled into on my own, but didn't know why it worked. This is not just how one on one accountability works, but also small group improvement and even building better church relationships.

Think about that power. If you can meet people where they are, then draw out their deep desires, the goals God has planted within them, then live a transparent life with them, so you can strengthen them when they are weak and applaud them when they are strong. You help them become a better person.

I learned a ton more, but I fear my tiredness may already be robbing the understandability of what I have put together. I'm excited to get home tomorrow and put many of these thing into practice. I pray I can make good use of the things God is teaching me here.