HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR CV AND MAKE FRIENDS DOING IT

This Sunday just gone, Pete stirred us about how we can fight the negative temptations around power can be used in humility to serve.

My employer is quite progressive in its people policies.

Our director of HR is listed in HR magazines most influential practitioners.

One policy I particularly like is the offer of paid leave each year to work in the community, to give something back.

This year found my team clearing the undergrowth at St Mary's Church, Leyton. We came out dirty, sore and smiling. 

The philosophy behind the policy is that:

• communities are served well, meaning my organisation is using its power ethically
• teams can learn about each other in new situations, so their experience is good for team building and morale
• individuals can develop new skills and confidence by stepping outside their typical working day

Colleagues of mine coach school children on numeracy, English, CV writing, etc. and in doing so they broaden their abilities.

For me, whether it's been serving on the PTA , on a local children's music club committee (I recommend Questors Young Musicians Club), visiting an old people's home, leading the Redeemer setup team or serving on the Redeemer welcome team, over the years I've found opportunities outside my daily routine to stretch new muscles, make new friends, and in so doing both I and others have benefited.

Jesus came to serve, he said. We can follow his example.

So for your own good and for the good of others, I recommend that you find some way of serving. You may get your hands dirty, but you'll also have more able hands as a result.

Serving develops new skills.
Serving helps make friends.
Serving builds self-confidence.
Serving keeps us humble.
Serving strengthens ties to our community.
Serving builds character.
Serving follows the example of Christ.

If you'd like to serve on a team at Redeemer, you'll be most welcome (just email), but that's not what this blog is about.

Find a place to serve.

You'll be the better for it. 

HOW MY LOVE FOR ARSENAL HAS COST ME

I have been a fan of the greatest North London team since my older brother informed me at primary school that ‘they are our team’.

I'm talking about Arsenal.

As a child, I wanted to wear the kit, had posters all round my room of the players and loved anything with their badge attached. Pencil case, rubber and ruler all became more valuable if painted red and white.

I have been faithful to the Gunners throughout the years...

• Drinking tea out of an Arsenal mug as a student
• Wearing the scarf on playground duty when a primary school teacher
• Instructing my kids ‘they are our team’
• Even preaching about the club at church - they are the only team mentioned in the Bible (Jeremiah 50:25)

Despite all this I still struggle this season…

I thought after the FA Cup final last year, and the sudden drop of form of Manchester United and Chelsea, that this would be our year!

Yet here I am at the beginning of May, still hopeful that we can make fourth place in the Premier League to scrape into European football again next season.

This faithfulness to Arsenal costs me - in time, emotion and money.

What are you faithful to, and what is it costing you?

I encouraged us in a sermon recently that Christians should pray, serve and give. So let me make that challenge again.

Will you pray?

Will you serve?

Will you give?

MANAGERS MIGHT MOVE MOLEHILL-MOUNTAINS BY AN M-WORD

Have you ever met a problem that wasn't really a problem, then that became a problem?

Maybe that wasn't clear enough. I'll try again.

Sometimes in life, or marriage, or work, you come across a 'problem'. It's not really a PROBLEM, but now that you've noticed the 'problem', it's definitely a problem. So you stop doing everything else to look at the 'problem'. And now that's the PROBLEM. The original 'problem' is still a problem, but it was never a PROBLEM until you identified it as a problem! (Breathe.)

Or let's use an analogy, for no other reason than to use the word 'problem' less.

A train is charging across Europe at 150mph. For some unknown reason, someone has built a brick wall across the track - concrete, steel reinforcements, the whole shebang. And the train ploughs straight into it.

Shebang!

The train is slowed, ever-so-slightly. And there are some scratches. But no-one was hurt, the wall is no more, and the train is continuing towards its destination.

The wall was real, but the train's momentum carried it straight through.

Imagine the train was stationary by the time it reached the wall - there's no way it would have even started moving because of the wall - in fact, if the wall were removed but a single brick had been left in the way, the train would struggle to set off.

We all encounter problems in life. Some are our own fault, some are forced upon us by others, and some are just bad circumstances.

And we have a choice to make: will we plough through them at 150mph, or will we slow down, stop, and turn the 'problem' into a PROBLEM?

John Maxwell, the well-known leadership coach, said:

Managers try to solve problems; leaders try to create momentum.

When you have enough momentum, even the largest problems seem inconsequential - the real question is how to create momentum.

Let me give two ideas:

1. Constantly think about where you might get to. The train is focussed on only one thing: reaching its destination. What would happen in your marriage if all you ever dreamed about was your spouse's happiness? Let me tell you, they'd get happier, because like it or not you'd start to act on that thought!
2. Just keep moving. We tend to think that action is caused by momentum, but logically this simply isn't right! Start acting on top of the dreaming; the results - the momentum - will develop, and the problems will pale in comparison.

Of course, the best way to learn is to get experience.

Redeemer is constantly on the lookout for people who are Dreamers and Doers. Might that be you?

Get in touch by emailing serving@redeemerlondon.org to find out more.