Mark Zweifel

Change

2011-05-15T10:58:00.001-07:00

Everyone likes change - except when it makes things different!

Four things we want:
1. Progress - but not the unknown that comes with it.
2. Security and stability - but not the stagnation.
3. Love - but not the risk of rejection.
4. Adventure - but no the unpredictable journey of charting a new course.

What we want is yesterday, today and tomorrow all tied up in one neat little package that does not exist.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad ::: Visit Mark's website at: www.markzministries.com

Location:Wilderness Dr,Anchorage,United States

Gaining Feedback for Personal & Leadership Growth

2011-05-03T08:10:00.001-07:00

As leaders it is important for us to seek feedback from others. I helps us take a pulse on where we are as leaders and how we are doing. There are times that our perceptions of how we are doing are vastly different from the perceptions of others. Or there are times we need some direction to navigate more clearly through decisions.

I think there are right and wrong ways to gain feedback. If you don't do it right, you may only hear what people think you want to hear. To gain the most from honest feedback, you should follow these tips:

1. Ask for feedback in the right environment - comfortable quiet place!
2. Tell the person from whom you're seeking feedback that you want honest input about a particular situation or concern. Emphasize your sincerity, and explain your motivation.
3. Remember, the feedback you are requesting represents an important point of view, so don't get defensive.
4. Listen carefully and ask for elaboration (but be sure not to off-handedly invalidate feedback).
5. Make sure you express your appreciation for your advisor's time and help.

Feedback is important because it helps us face our reality with courage. I have always believed that we must listen to our critics because they are often the only ones who will tell us the truth.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad ::: Visit Mark's website at: www.markzministries.com

Location:Wilderness Dr,Anchorage,United States

Common Stages of Victim Cycles

2011-05-01T12:57:00.001-07:00

I have been enjoying a book entitled, "The Oz Principle: Getting results through Accountability." This book helps define principles I have sensed, or even began to develop personal leadership philosophies on...however, lacked the ability to define in simplistic ways. I have always believed that as leaders we are responsible for our thoughts, feelings, attitudes and actions...not the thoughts, feelings, attitudes and actions of others.

The book "The OZ Principle's," basic premise is that there is no wizard that will solve all our problems. We have to take personal responsibility for our lives...in other words let's take responsibility for our thoughts...our feelings...our attitudes and our actions! In other words... "IF ITS GONNA BE...IT'S UP TO ME!"

More to come...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad ::: Visit Mark's website at: www.markzministries.com

Location:Anchorage, Ak

leadership and Influence

2011-01-05T07:41:00.001-08:00

I love the verse in Matthew 5:1 where it states, "One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went to a hillside and sat down."

In the Message it words it this way, "When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a mountain. Those apprenticed to him, His climbing companions also came. When the reached the top he began to teach them."

I like this verse because I think it challenges us as leaders to look at the season we are in. Here are some principles that I believe we can extract from this passage as leaders:

1. We must grow if we see our ministry grow!
2. We must not get caught up in the growth...without getting caught up with the growing!
3. We cannot not take everyone with us!
4. We cannot take others where we have not first been ourselves!
5. If we don't climb...we will continue to see things from perspective we are currently at not the new level God wants to take us to.
6. To grow we must grow!

Just some pondering's for the ponder's! Enjoy!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad ::: Visit Mark's website at: www.markzministries.com

2011-01-04T07:32:00.001-08:00

Genesis 9:6-7a, "For God mad human beings in his image. Now be fruitful..."

You have to love this verse. Part of being created in the image of God means that we are created to bear fruit.

Matthew 7:16-19
16
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
17
Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
19
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

1. WE ARE RECOGNIZABLE BY OUR FRUIT.
2. WE ARE REPRESENTATIVES OF OUR FRUIT
3. WE ARE REPROGRAMMED BY OUR ROOT TO PRODUCE A FRUIT IN KEEPING WITH THE ROOT.
4. WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR DESTINY

JUST A FEW THOUGHTS ON BEARING FRUIT!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad ::: Visit Mark's website at: www.markzministries.com

One.One.011

2011-01-01T11:04:00.001-08:00

This morning I started again on a journey that took me 365 days last year to complete and today I started on the journey again. That journey is reading the Bible through in a year. I have always heard that to do the same thing and expect a different result is the definition of insanity!

What I find so unique about the Bible is that it is amazing that you can see new things in new ways. This year that is one of my prayers and goals! To see new things in new ways!

This morning I saw an old verse in a new way. In fact I read two books this year on the topic/theme of Christmas and read the Christmas story several times. With that said I still saw something fresh and new today from the Christmas story in Matthew 1. The verse reads:

Matthew 1:19 (NIV)
"Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly."

What leaped off the page and into my pondering's this morning are several leadership principles that we can learn about how to handle difficult situations with relationships. Joseph found out some very difficult information concerning his bride to be Mary. Mary is expecting a child. Here are some principles that spoke to me this morning.

1. Joseph's character charted his course (he was righteous)

2. Joseph allowed his mind to dictate his decisions not his emotions (he had in mind)

***How many times do we allow emotions in crisis to lead us rather than our mind. "If you keep your head when everyone else is losing their's you will stand a bit taller in crisis!"

3. Joseph chose to protect Mary publicly and confront privately!

Great leadership choice. When you are in a crisis to remain calm. Let your cognitive (mind) lead you not your emotions. Always support in public and confront in private.

This year chose during relational crisis to think before you act!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad ::: Visit Mark's website at: www.markzministries.com

I wish you a MARY Christmas

2010-12-24T14:52:00.000-08:00

The Mary Miracle! Let's look at this this Christmas season:

1. Mary was a virgin

Mary's virginity represents the impossibility, humanly speaking, of life coming forth. We need to see her virginity as the hopelessness of the situation. Can you see yourself in Mary's situation? There is a dark pocket in your life, as with here womb, where life has never entered. The Mary Miracle is something that is available to each of us.

2. The Angel Came @ An Appointed Time | Luke 1:26-27

Just as God had an appointed time to send his son into the word...God has an appointed time for each of us. God has an appointed time to enter the darkness of the world around us to bring his light.

3. The Angel Came to an Appointed Place

The Angel of the Lord came at an appointed time to and appointed place...

I want to encourage you that God knows your address!

4. The Angel Came to an Appointed Person

5. The Angel Said Mary was Highly Favored | Luke 1:28

The word used for highly favored here in this verse is only found two times in the New Testament. Once in this discourse of the Angel with Mary and once in Ephesians when Paul is addressing the saints "...the accepted ones in Christ."

We are highly favored, highly accepted! Every single one of us. The same thing said of Mary is also said of us.

6. The Angel made a Pronouncement | Luke 1:31-33

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad ::: Visit Mark's website at: www.markzministries.com

Location:Wilderness Dr,Anchorage,United States

Anger Management? What about forgiveness?

2010-12-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading a great booked called Island of Saints. Island of Saints is a parable style book written to paint the picture of what forgiveness is. Here is what I extracted from the book as the secrets to forgiveness:

1. For you to forgive another person, it is not required that he/she asks for your forgiveness.

2. For you to forgive another person, it is not required that he/she deserves your forgiveness.

3. For you to forgive another person, it is not even required that he/she is aware that he/she has been forgiven.

There is not a shred of evidence from the Bible that demands a person ask for, deserve, or be cognizant of the process before you can forgive him/her. Forgiveness, as it turns out, is a gift that means more to the giver than it does to the reciever.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad ::: Visit Mark's website at: www.markzministries.com

Location:O'Malley Centre Dr,Anchorage,United States

The Power of the Nativity

2010-12-24T13:33:00.000-08:00

What does our nativity set teach us?

1. The Star ::: God provides a travel guide for seekers ::: be a star for someone this year!

* be bright
* be compelling

2. The Stable ::: God sent Jesus to live in the real world ::: Jesus was born into a real family...worked a real construction job...lived in a real neighborhood...had real friends...he suffered just like the rest of us...died a cruel death for crimes he didn't commit!

* He Understands - He's been there
* The Stable represents the deliberately unsheltered life of Jesus

3. The manger ::: the ordinary becomes extraordinary ::: a feed trough for cattle becomes a cradle for the King of Kings

* What can God transform us into if we allow him to enter our lives?

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What will you find this Christmas?

2010-12-11T23:12:00.001-08:00

You will find this Christmas what you are looking for!

Three things I believe you can find this Christmas if you are looking for them:

1. This Christmas you can find Forgiveness ::: "Today a Savior was born...His name is Christ, the Lord." (Luke 2:11)

I saw a Christmas card the other day that read, "If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need would have been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so he sent us a Savior.

2. This Christmas you can find Peace of Mind! ::: "Those who love your teachings will find true peace." (Ps. 119:165)

What is real peace?

::: Real peace is having a relationship with Jesus Christ, God's Son, and becoming friends with God.
::: Real peace is knowing that no matter what I do. God will never stop loving me.
::: Real peace is knowing that no matter what happens, God will never leave me alone. He'll always be with me.
::: Real peace means that no matter what happens in the New Year, or in the years to come, I know that God is going to give me the strength the handle it.
::: Real peace is living by God's Word, the Bible, so I can avoid a lot of needless hang-ups and hurts and habits that mess up my life.
::: Real peace is teaching my children the Word as a foundation for life.

Three things that can rob us of REAL PEACE
* Guilt
* Grief
* Grudges

3. This Christmas you can find Eternal Life

Here are the facts of life

* We are all going to die someday.
* We are going to spend more of our life on that side of eternity than we're going to spend on this side.

You see Christmas is really the celebration of an invasion. It is a close encounter of a God kind!

The miracle of Christmas is not on 34th Street; it's Bethlehem.

You can find Jesus if you are looking for him. When you find him you find forgiveness, peace and eternal life!

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Follow a star...only to end up at a stable....

2010-12-11T16:47:00.001-08:00

There are times we follow a star to only wind up at a stable. What the wise will do when your star turns into a stable:

1. When wise men find a stable they look for God.

2. When wise men find a stable they offer there very best to God.

3. When wise men find a stable they change their direction.

When you wind up in a situation that is different than once thought...be wise!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad ::: Visit Mark's website at: www.markzministries.com

Revelatory Gifts of the Spirit

2010-11-13T18:28:00.001-08:00

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (NIV)

Couple of thoughts:

God is not American

God speaks through
* Impressions
* Burdens
* Heaviness
* Holy hunches…

God doesn’t limit himself to our known languages…often uses them, but
is not limited to them.

1. Feel It

2. See It | Picture, Vision, Dream

How does it work

Information // Revelation
Interpretation
Application

3. Hear It

4. Think it

5. Say it

Keys to Developing Revelatory Gifts

1. We know in part…so you prophesy in part

2. Prophesy according to your faith

3. Act on what you have…it’s like a tissue box

4. Realize that the gifts are tools not toys

5. Understand gifts are free - maturity is expensive

6. Marinate in the presence of God

The manuscript for this teaching is available for download on Mark's website at: www.markzweifel.org

www.markzministries.com

Three types of Relationships:::

2010-11-13T17:59:00.001-08:00

I am reading the book "Margins" by Richard Swenson. The book is a great book that discusses one of the greatest challenges of our lives is nurturing and protecting right relationships. There are three relationships we must work hard to nurture.

* Social ::: my relationships to others
* Emotional ::: my relationship to myself
* Spiritual ::: my relationship to God.

To find balance in life we must work as hard on all three of the above relationships as we do our "work". In life we often find ourselves "working" hard to bring home a paycheck and advance our ministry and/ or goals only to see the three relational areas be neglected. This book helps one redirect and refocus our energies to help ensure that we will maintain effective margins.

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10 Ways to Best Serve Your Pastor

2010-11-04T23:14:00.000-07:00

How to Best Serve Your Pastor/Leader

To know what your pastor wants, two things are necessary:

1. Communication

2. Like Mindedness – DNA/Chemistry

The Best ways to please/serve your pastor.

1. Go Above and Beyond Expectations – go the second mile

2. Bring Solutions not Problems

3. Make No Excuses

4. Finish Your Work without Reminders

5. Bounce Back from Mistakes & Corrections

6. Think Ahead

Principles for planning

o Today’s decisions limit tomorrows actions

o Greater the change…the greater the resistance

7. Keep Growing – never be satisfied

8. Demonstrate Initiative –

9. Be LOYAL

10. Enjoy your work/tasks

The complete manuscript for this teaching can be found on my website: www.markzweifel.org for download.

Enjoy - Mark

Motion brings clarity | Part 4

2010-10-05T08:42:00.000-07:00

You say, I can't afford it Mark. I would say, you can't afford not too. Be resourceful. Invent ways to lesson the bite for the cost for growth. Ask your employer for an expense account for growth related resources. Let your employers know that the books can then be put into a library that other employees can use. Not every boss may agree, but some will, so it's worth a try. Make a book list to send to your family as ideas for Christmas or birthdays. Check books out at a local library for "FREE". You can often find used books online for a fraction of the cost of new ones. Used books are used once you read them anyway! Don't worry about how good the book might look on your self. After all many of us have books on our selves that give us a sense of pride which have never been read and internalized. In short what I'm saying is..."if there is a will...there is a way!"

As you read magazine or journal artices, you can begin to look for book recommendations. Ask your friends for the titles of their favorite books. Not only will you be able to compile a great list of books...you will provide them with an impetus to read more. A tip I always tell people about is that hardbacks come covered with dust jackets. Don't take the dust jacket off. Let the design keep you interested in the book. More important, the colors, the images, and the words will help elicit feedback from others. If you carry around a plain cloth book, few people will ask you what you are reading. If you are holding a book with a flashy jacket, some will probably wonder about it, giving you an opportunity to share your thoughts and helping you learn to express the book's "kernal". You own the theory best when you can fully communicate it to others.

After aggegating (a whole formed by combining several elements together) the next step is encoding.

Encoding means that you've intelligently and completely digested your knowledge meal.

Before you can properly consume books, however, you have to find places to read, or what I call.....

To be continued....

Motion brings Clarity | Part 3

2010-09-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

Continued...from Motion brings Clarity | Part 2

....When you buy from the leaders, like Barnesandnobles.com or Amazon.com, their technology recommends related books each time you revisit their site. How easy is that.

Don't be afraid to buy three to five books at a time on a subject to immerse yourself in. Although this may end up costing you a hundreds of dollars a year, think of it as an investment in your future. That investment today could net you many thousands of dollars tomorrow.

I remember when I was a 22 year old college graduate working as a youth minister at a small Midwestern town. It was a smaller church and I was paid a meager salary of $300.00 a month. I worked a part time job to bring in additional money to provide for my necessary needs. Looking back it was some of the best times of my life. During that initial season of ministry I was listening to one of the leading church leadership teachers of the day. It was 1994 B.C.D - (before CD's) it was a tape. I have lost the tape, and even forgotten the title of the leadership lesson, however I have never forgotten the message.

At the end of this tape the communicator asks the question, "What is your Plan for Growth?" I didnt' have one. After all, I had just graduated from college and was concerned about paying my bills, and what the theme of the next youth group all-nigther needed to be. I was in survival mode like many others may age or older who did not realize that you either daily grow or you gradually die. If you don't have a plan, then you have just accepted by default the goal to survive and not to thrive.

The speaker...who became an audio mentor of mine that day began to tell those listening that we needed a plan for growth. He even went on to share that he had designed one for those what would like it. The plan he had designed cost $699.00. I signed up as soon as I could to launch on my plan for growth. It was simple plan...but it was a plan. I have found that half of life is just showing up. The other half is showing up ready!

The plan was to spend 1 hour a day with God, listen to two tapes on leadership a week and to read one book a month. It was the best year of my life. Now, you have to understand that I didn't have $699.00 in the bank. I was only making $300.00 a month as the youth pastor and the board member that I rented an apartment from charged me $275.00 for rent. I choose to make a sacrifice, I chose to skip meals and even ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for several meals a week (I don't even like peanut butter) so that I could find the money to grow.

That year changed my life. I read each of the books at least once, and listened to each of the tapes multiple times. The hour I spend in the mornings in the Word and in prayer refined the me. Those books marked me, the tapes mentored me. That plan for growth spoke into the leadership DNA of my life. I do not know where I would be today if I had not had a leader challenge me to grow. You see, you can either pay today and play tomorrow, or you can pay tomorrow and play today! You choose! There is a cost to growth!

You say, I can't afford it Mark. I would say, you can't afford not too. Be resourceful. Invent ways to lesson the bite for the cost for growth. Ask your employer for an expense account for growth related resources. Let your employers know that the books can then be put into a library that other employees can use. Not every boss may agree, but some will, so it's worth a try. Make a book list to send to your family as ideas for Christmas or birthdays. Check books out at a local library for "FREE". You can often find used books online for a fraction of the cost of new ones. Used books are used once you read them anyway! Don't worry about how good the book might look on your self. After all many of us have books on our selves that give us a sense of pride which have never been read and internalized. In short what I'm saying is..."if there is a will...there is a way!"

As you read magazine or journal artices, you can begin to look for book recommendations....

to be continued

Motion Brings Clarity - continued...

2010-09-29T08:18:00.000-07:00

I always wanted to be somebody. I should have been more specific.

Lily Tomlin

Books give you knowledge. The news gives you awareness. The latter is a measurement of today. Knowledge is a measure of yesterday, today, and tomarrow. Awareness if finite. Knowledge if forever. The books you read today will fuel your leadership and earning potential tomorrow.

There are two types of workers in this world. Those who work for money & those who work to grow and master their current roles. Those who work for money never have enough. To them they do a job and get paid for it. There is nothing wrong with that. However their focus is on their current income and current needs. The second group of people work to grow and master their current roles. Their goal of their current job is to add to their current knowledge everything they can to master it. For this group of people...they can never get paid enough. They will not be average - they will always rise to the top of their organization or community.
They will always stand out from the crowd. Like a purple cow among browns-everyone will know and see the difference! You won't have to tell them you are different, they - they will know and they will tell the world!

Here is a practical four-step program designed to make knowledge work for you:

Aggregation - how to know which books to read?

When a football coach tells a player he should own the game, he wants him to know more about his position than anyone else on the field. For example, former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders didn't just market himself as Prime Time, he worked like crazy. He watched more videos than anyone else who played his position; he studied wide receivers and quarterbacks on teams he had just played or was about to play, or teams he was watching in other conferences, should they play in the future. Imagine this guy spending hours on end with a stopwatch timing quarterbacks and receivers, until his knowledge of was so great that when the ball was supposed to hit the receiver, instead there was Deion, intercepting it running it back for a touchdown.

Read books so that you can own your own job just like Deion Sanders own his. If I were the financier who aspires to be a banker, I would want to be fully geeked on the impact of globalism so I could sit comfortably in any meeting, knowing that I could add value to any conversation. Or, if I were that human relations person who aspires to be the best in his/her business, I would want to know everything there is to know about human and organizational behavior as it pertains to my job so that I could lead the pack rather than follow. If I acquire the right knowledge, I am actively self-promoting in the best sense of the word; I have been moved up from private to four-star general in others' eyes.

But to aggregate, you must engage in the first step - find the right material. This is not a difficult process. Stroll through a book store and look for title and sections that seem interesting to you. Begin to develop key words you look for for your topic/field of desired study. Go to an online book selling website. There you can type in your keywords and research every available volume on that subject. Take advantage of those sites that recommend books. Study which ones people with similar interests purchased and follow the links to them. When you buy from the leaders, like Barnesandnobles.com or Amazon.com, their technology recommends related books each time you revisit their site. How easy is that.

to be continued....

2. Encoding
3. Processing
4. Application

Motion Brings Clarity -- continued

2010-09-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them!"

George Bernard Shaw

I have always said there are three types of people in this world:

Those who make it happen....
Those who let it happen...
& Those who wake up one day and say, "What happened"

I believe God is looking for make it happen people. Far too many of us are sitting on the bleachers of life telling others how to play the game and have never, nor will we ever get in the game. Often times we do not even do what it takes to prepare to get in the game. I have always believed...the will to win is not as important as the will to prepare to win.

I have always been of the opinion and belief that I can speak life into my children. I have four daughters - tenderly and lovingly referred to as my estrogen enhanced humans of the female gender tribe! Since they were young I have chosen what to speak over them...one such life maxim that they have heard me say and could repeat it too you is, "The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary." I have spoken into the fabric of my daughter's world and into their spirit the belief that if you want to be successful in this world you must work hard. I don't want them to think that success is based on luck. I believe luck follows hard work.

Being good at anything is like figure skating - the definition of being good at it is being able to make it look easy. But it never is easy. Ever! That's what the those who are sitting in the grandstands hoping the "catch" a break think. I think luck is far simpler...it is you taking personal responsibility to find that extra hour or two in the day that belongs to nobody else but you, and make it productive. Put the hours in, do it for long enough, and magical, life-transforming things happen -- LUCK!

to be continued.....

Movement Brings Clarity

2010-09-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

I have been toying with what I am calling a "Mark Maxim" on leadership and life. It is called "Motion/Movement Brings Clarity". The idea behind it...one that I will be developing more and more in the future is that at times you won't or don't know if you don't start! At times we sit and wait till we have all the information and then start...at that time it's too late.

I was tossing this idea around in my head again today, all the while wondering what the "squeaking" noise was that was coming from my daughter's room. It was "Hammy" our daughter's hamster spinning on his exercise wheel. As much as Hammy is just going in circles...atleast he does more than some of us do with our ideas. I just posted a quote on my blog recently that said:

"An idealist believes that the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes that what is done or undone in the short run determines the long run.

We must do something! We can't just sit there. Now I am not proposing movement for the sake of movement....however the alternative to me is much worse. Just sitting where we are without doing something.

I think of the Old Testament story of the Lepars who realized if they sat there they would die...if they acted they may die...however...what would happen if they acted and were successful.

Just some random ponderings...come back as I develop this idea more and more!

Any thoughts? Please respond!

Quote of the Week

2010-09-26T10:22:00.001-07:00

An idealist believes that the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes that what is done or undone in the short run determines the long run.

What to do when we don't know what to do!

2010-09-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

In 1 Samuel 14:1-4 there is an interesting story concerning Israel's challenge of being overwhelmingly out numbered by the Philistines. I see it as a powerful example of what to do when we don't know what to do. Here are some quick, but powerful truths that can be extracted from this passage.

1. God can't steer a parked car.
2. Act on the last order's you received (possess the land)
3. It might not add up...but it lines up! (only two swords...yeah...but we have a sharp sword)
4. Trust him when you can’t trace Him and He will fill in the lines (God will show as we move out....)
5. Learn how to crawl before you walk. (Learn to get on your hands and knees as God directs you)

Just some simple thoughts...for some of you preachers....some fodder!

Quote of the week

2010-09-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

"Vision without execution is hallucination!"
Thomas Edison

6 Altitudes of Life

2010-09-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

As I have lived life (as if I'm an expert...LOL...4 kids and a minivan later) there are times that I feel like I'm thriving and walking in my destiny...and there are times when I feel like I'm surviving. The difference is not the circumstances of life alone. I have thought hard about this and have come to realize it has a lot more to do with attitude than anything else.

Back in College I read one of John Maxwell's first books, "The Winning Attitude" where John mentions that our Attitude determines our Altitude. Thinking about that I want to give you what I think are the 6 Altitudes of Life...

6 Altitudes of Life

• 50,000+ feet: Life
• 40,000+ feet: three to five year vision
• 30,000+ feet: one to two year goals
• 20,000+ feet: areas of responsibility
• 10,000+ feet: current projects
• Runway: current actions

As we approach life we must understand that we can't just live on the runway of life. Just managing to survive the current "rat race". (If we win in the rat race of life...does that make us a rat?) We need to find times to climb "out of the rat race" to the summit and look around to make sure our runway is facing in the right direction for our life goals. If we have the runway facing the right direction...we need to "see" our current projects as a means to fulfilling our responsibilities. This should help us fulfill our one and two year goals and feed our three to five year vision! It's all about the altitude and attitude of what we are currently doing!

Just a thought!

Quote of the week

2010-08-27T06:16:00.001-07:00

An idealist believes that the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes that what is done or undone in the short run determines the long run.

Quotes of the Week

2010-08-22T21:53:00.001-07:00

"You won't see how to do it until you see yourself doing it!"

"You often need to make it up in your mind before you can make it happen in you life."

"I have always wanted to be somebody. I should have been more specific."

Fascination!

2010-08-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

----------------------------------- Favorite Quotes -----------------------------------

"An idea is only as valuable as its ability to solve a problem."

"Ideas are precious, yes...but not in and of themselves. They don't live in a vacuum. They become precious only when they successfully answer a specific need: otherwise they're just scribbles."

"A competitive environment demands a more captivating message."

"A fascinating message, like a fascinating person, steps outside the norms."

----------------------------------- Book Summary -----------------------------------

FASCINATE is a compelling journey into method and madness of persuasion. The concept is that whether you are pitching a new client, inviting a friend to lunch, luring a cranky toddler to sleep, or marketing a product, you are using triggers to elicit a certain response. Sally has narrowed these down to 7 (power, trust, mystique, prestige, vice, alarm and lust) and the book demonstrates and explains how dialing these triggers up and down can help you more effectively influence your relationships.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part uses lots of dare I say it ... fascinating examples ... of how fascination factors into key world events and even human development. It's a page-turner. The second part of the book reads more like your typical marketing book and won't be all that revolutionary to seasoned advertisers. But it does frame up basic motivators in a memorable way. The key take away from this section is that we are part of a fascination economy where companies and individuals that are fascinating or can make someone else feel fascinating as a result of their relationship with them will win. That's a concise bit of advice that can serve marketers, sales people, and anyone trying to persuade very well.

The third part of the book is probably my favorite. My number one pet peeve about business books is that they always promise to tell you how to be more successful but they never actually give you a formula for doing it. Sally gives her readers a clear plan for becoming more fascinating. I've already cracked the book open once this week when a concept we were planning to pitch to a client was falling just a little bit flat. I have a feeling I'll be doing that again and again.

DAILY GROW...OR...GRADUALLY DIE

2010-08-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

Wayne Cordeiro, the pastor of of New Hope Fellowship in Hawaii wrote an amazing book I finished a few weeks ago called, Divine Mentor. (More will be posted on this book later in an expanded review.) However, I wanted to share a powerful plan for daily growth and growth that I have been doing for the past several months that has been life-changing for me.

I have taught through the years that it's not how you mark your Bible...but how your Bible marks you. I have also said that it's not staring up the steps that is important...it is stepping up the stairs! This book is not just casting vision for devotions and marking up your Bible...it gives you some practical steps to dynamic life changing devotions that will mark you for life.

The Divine Mentor promotes personal interaction in the Word of God. This book is an introduction to the importance for devotions and a tool called the SOAP Journal. It is a systematic way to read through the Bible and record what God says to you personally.

S - SCRIPTURE: What Scripture or Scriptures stood out to you?
O - OBSERVATION: What stood out to you in the passage?
A - APPLICATION: What does the passage mean to you and what are you going to do about it?
P - PRAYER: Talk to God about what you learned.

I would recommend this book and the SOAP Journal for new and experienced believers! Here is a quick description of soap journals that Heidi & I have designed for the students in her youth ministry. Click here to download: SOAP JOURNAL | DOWNLOAD

Quote of the week!

2010-08-18T19:35:00.001-07:00

It is not enough to stare up the steps...we need to step up the stairs!

Fred Factor | Freducation!

2010-08-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

----------------------------------- Favorite Quotes -----------------------------------

"The Fact is that everybody is already making a difference every day. The key question is, What kind of difference is each of us making?"

"The things you do, both small and large, cumulatively create a lifestyle that becomes apparent to anybody paying attention. It is that kind of example that most influences others."

When you don't see much meaning in what you do, you won't bring much value to what you do."

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"There are no unimportant jobs, just people who feel unimportant doing their jobs."

----------------------------------- Book Summary -----------------------------------

This short book focuses on a mailman Mark Sanborn met, a man named Fred. When the author first met Fred, Fred took an effort to get to know his new customer, and find ways to do a better job as a mailman. This book about the value of doing a better job, how to build relationships, and why we should take initiative. In short by going the extra mile we'll have a better life, and others will benefit.

It is a good book, and a short book. It is well written. The book is entertaining and at the same time makes many good points.

The first of four sections covers how the author met Fred the mailman, and how very quickly the author realized that Fred was a superstar mail carrier. The basics of what a "Fred" is are explored, and then the author mentions sightings of other "Freds."

The second section explains how you can become a Fred. Basically you need to build relationships with others so you know them well enough to then be able to be create, take initiative and make a difference.

The third section gives pointers on how you can help others grow into being Freds. The basic steps are to:

1) Find - how do you recognize a Fred

2) Reward - how should Freds be rewarded

3) Educate - how help people improve their Fredness

4) Demonstrate - model the correct behavior

The final section recounts the value and importance of being a Fred.

This is a book worth reading. It provides a good reminder and motivation to go the extra mile and do a better job. I will always remember a statement I once heard, "There are no traffic jams on the second mile...everyone got off on the first exit!

2010-08-01T00:37:00.001-07:00

Quote of the day! "Dave, does your hair dry as fast as my daddy's?" Macy Dayne Zweifel

Love, the new killer app!

2010-08-01T00:19:00.000-07:00

"Love is the Killer App! How to Win Business and Influence Friends."

I just finished a great read that a friend of mine encouraged me to read. It was a quick read...and a very enjoyable one I might add!

The premise of the book is that love (in business) is made up of three things. He calls it the business "trinity". These three elements being:

Knowledge
Networks (connecting people with people) I have always believed that we need to network because "nets" work!
Compassion!

I have, for my own sake defined them as the three "N's" of winning people and influencing friends. (k)Nowledge | Networks | Needs... Tim explains that in the past longevity meant advancement in business, however in our new economy it is not longevity but knowledge that gives you the ability to advance in business or in life.

I loved how he discusses beginning to invest in your future by currently investing in your knowledge base. We must read. I have always believed and "preached" that God gave us two ends...one to sit on and one to think with...all the success in the world depends on which end you use. 'Head's you Win....Tails you LOOSE!" Just a thought!

I would recommend this book to those who want to develop a habit of investing in your future!

Enjoy!

Embodiment or Impediment?

2009-02-08T14:22:00.000-08:00

Jesus made a statement that I have read many times that today leaped off the page and began to speak to me in a whole new way. He said one day in his teaching, "I am the light of the world." What a powerful statement. He also said, "Tear down this temple and in three days I will raise it up again," he was giving a clear message: I am the mission. The mission is in every fiber of my being and Spirit. Tear down the outer walls of my authority and the inner walls will spring up again.

The Pharisees and scribes were saying, "But it took Solomon thirty years to build this temple!" Their eyes where on the outward appearance - the tangible expressions only. They were completely missing the picture and function of "embodiment" that was being presented to them. Thus, they thought that killing the body of Jesus would end the body of his work. History has proven otherwise - just as he predicted.

The word embody means to give physical form to something invisible or incorporeal. So when Jesus said that he was the light of the world he was letting everyone know that I embody light. He didn't just house light in his physical body but in his soul. Embodiement is internalizing and "becoming" your mission.

At salvation, I have righteousness imputed to me...however I must now embody righteousness and internalize it.

As youth pastor's do you embody the vision of your church and your pastor...or do you impede it? You are either the embodiment or the impediment. Could teens and parents in your church pick up on who you are without you saying a single word?

Leaders who embody their mission will not lack for followers...

Just a thought....

A New Day!

2009-02-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

The past month has been very busy. I packed up my office...said, "See You Later," to my beautiful wife and girls (They are finishing school up in Vegas & will be joining me in May) and drove my 1999 Dodge Durango to Tacoma, Washington. I put my truck on a ship and shipped it up to Anchorage, Alaska! What a weird day that was...shipping a car to Alaska from Tacoma, Washington.

What is so unique is that I purchase my car in Tacoma 1o year ago. It was my car when I youth pastored with Pastor Fulton Buntain at Life Center in Tacoma. From Tacoma our car made the move to Modesto, California where we served for a brief season at Calvary Temple Worship Center helping them develop their school of ministry - Chamption's Collge.

From Modesto, Heidi and I moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where we became the Senior Associates at the International Church of Las Vegas and the Lead Youth Pastors for their student ministries. June 0f 2006 we took a step of faith and became full-time youth evangelists. When we drove away from our last youth service we were not sure if we should be happy, sad...or if we should laugh or cry. We sensed in our spirits that it may be the last time we would ever be a youth pastors....we didn't really know what to feel. As we drove away we decided to treat our girls to some frozen yogurt. When we stopped at the light to turn into the mall complex I glanced down and noticed the odometer on my truck. I told my wife to look at it... to our amazement it read, "99,999.9" miles. We started to shout because we realized that God was bringing one season to an end and was begining a new one!

It took my Dodge several days on the open waters to finally land in Anchorage...My desert car had a rude awakening...transitioning from Vegas to Anchorage! AS I drove my car away from the dock I needed to get some gas and change the oil. After my oil change I was driving back to my apartment at First Assembly in Anchorage and again looked down at my odometer reading...to my amazement it read, "111,111.1 miles." What are the chances of that? I started to weep in my car as the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said...I have started a new chapter. Mark...the transition is complete...I have closed one chapter and opened another.

I am excited about this new chapter. I am still trying to wrap my mind around what the role of a DYD is! I have a job description and I understand the "job" side of things...however...what is my role in the kingdom as it relates to leaving a legacy. Here are a couple of thoughts that I have come up with:

My role:

1. As far as events are concerned - ie. youth conference, summer camps....

I lead people and manage events...I don't lead events and manage people!

My role is to help leader's lead... if you don't own the event...you will not buy into the vision. In other words... if I don't find a way to turn you on...you will turn me off!

2. As far as district events go...

A district event must serve the needs of the local church...not the local church serve the needs of the "district" event!

IN other words...my philosophy is that I am here to serve you as the pastor and your church...if what I do doesn't serve you then I need to figure out how I can best serve you! Please let me know if I am "NOT scratching where you are itching..." In other words...I want to make sure that we are facilitators of ministry not frustrators...

3. I see myself as the steward of youth ministry in Alasksa and the Alaska District Council of the Assemblies of God!

I am not the owner...I am the steward...It is God's state, His church, His leaders... I have been entrusted with the honor of serving His vision for His church and His Leaders (That's You)! I sense a great accountabilty for what the king has entrusted me with. How do I choose to lead knowing my accountablity:

I want to be teachable! God teach my abilities!
I want to be trainable! God train and prune my abilites!
I want to be responsible! God let me respond with all my ablities!
I want to be available! God let me be available...with my ablities!
Why? Because I will give an account of what I was able to do if I was teachable...trainable...responsible...and available!

Just a few thots I have been thinking about!

Till next time! God loves you, I love you, and there isn't anything you can do about it!

Mark

check out our new website: www.akyouthministries.com

Vision Speaks

2008-11-21T07:25:00.000-08:00

As I was reading in Acts 18 today there was a single verse that jumped out @ me with multiple points of interest. Act 18:9 states, "One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision..."

Wow...the Lord spoke to Paul --
How...in a vision...

My prayer is that we would continue to spend time with the Lord in daily prayer and meditation...why...the Bible says that the sheep know the shepherds voice. Paul was in a place where he had spent time with shepherd & he spoke. He spoke in a vision. God speaks in so many ways, however I love it when God speaks through a vision. Not only do I believe God speaks through vision...I also believe that visions begin to speak.

As Heidi and I are in transition moving to Alaska to move into the role as the DYD's I have found that not only did God speak to us to move into this role...now that speaking continues. The voice that moved us...still moves us. Paul's vision from God was a voice of direction...but then the voice began & continue to speak to him.

Stay close to the pasture...if you spend time their as sheep...the shepherd will speak.

Just unedited thoughts to think about...

MZ

Living in Two Places

2008-11-17T19:51:00.000-08:00

The past few days has been quite a unique time as my wife and I have just accepted an invitation from the Alaska District of the Assemblies of God be their District Youth Director. Wow! What an amazing few days it has been. Between the congratulatory phone calls, e-mails and the facebook rumbles...news has traveled fast. I'm excited to serve Bill Welch (Alaska Superintendent) and advance the Kingdom of God in the state of Alaska.

I will be moving in January and my family will follow me in May/June. I will be doing some traveling in the lower 48 (that's what Alaskan's call USA minus Hawaii) at times...with some time spent in Vegas with my family. I will be living part-time in Anchorage and part-time in Vegas... It made me think about our Christian walk which is we as believers living with two-worlds always on our mind. We are living on earth...but we know it's only transitional. Please be praying for my transition. Here's what I need to do:

Pack
Get our house ready to sell
Paint our Bedrooms
Paint two bathrooms
Fix a tile in the entryway
Replace the Counter tops in our kitchen
New kitchen sink
And a few other "honey do's"
Put Our House on the Market
Figure out what to do with my 1929 Model A Ford
Sell my Durango
Numerous Garage Sales
Get Ready for the Holidays...among other things

Heidi and I are excited. I will continue this blog as time goes on concerning the transition.

Blessings - Mark