TITUS CONNECTION Volume 17, Number 10 – November, 2023
WISE INTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
TITUS CONNECTION
Volume 17, Number 10 – November, 2023
Intentionally Developing Multigenerational Leaders
Throughout The World
TITUS CONNECTION
Volume 17, Number 10 – November, 2023
Intentionally Developing Multigenerational Leaders
Throughout The World
Greetings. Developing a culture is not easy work but provides direction and an understanding what is expected in the team. Building a Better Team Culture looks into where culture comes from and what to do to keep the culture you desire. Then we look at the little we know about Joseph of Arimethea. Enjoy. Mike
Building a Better Team Culture
Culture is the way your organization gets to its mission’s destination. That is why core values and standards are critical. When you compromise those areas, the organization’s foundation begins to crack and fall away. Here are ways to build your group’s culture.
Determine what is and where your cultural standards are coming from. Have you considered where morals and a person’s behavior stem from? Often the answer given has been, “from my parents”, or what the majority or the country feels. That response is dangerous as when you couple that with the people in the group who make the loudest or most consistent noise (you think that a lot of people must believe that viewpoint because it is in your face all the time), you can be following behaviors you may not be in favor with. That is very subjective as the viewpoints can quickly change.
Standards do not change depending on the situation. The best standards come from standards outside of us. Those standards are not subject to prevailing feelings, the loudest noisy voice and most importantly are absolute. Absolute means that the standard is for all people, for all the time and for any situation. This guidance takes personalities, majority rule and influential people out of the picture.
Absolute standards come from worldviews and most often are created from religious or spiritual realms. Common worldviews include atheism, Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, Mormonism, Judaism, Christianity and Satanism. Judaism and Christianity originate from God, and Christianity is founded upon Jesus is God.
An organization’s core values and principles create culture, but what has more impact is the behavior of those leading the organization. Core values written on paper are just that. That paper is only as good as the people who lead. That paper carries no weight. It is the people that either live them or do not live them.
The questions remain, “What and where does your standards come from?” How an organization answers those questions and lives them out can make or break the group especially when tough times come or an opportunity to compromise the core values comes along.
Have clarity. Figure out why your organization exists and why we are involved with our organization. Are we clear about why our organization exists? Do you know why you are involved in your organization and what role you play?
Make communication a priority. Poor communication is almost the death sentence for an organization. Organizations are relationships and relationships THRIVE on communication. Never stop working to develop our communication skills and interactions. Relationships are better off to over communicate rather than think you have done enough. When you think you have arrived as being an excellent communicator, keep going. Your people need to know that they can respectfully share their views, ideas and feedback without reprimand or retaliatory action.
Be empathetic. Because organizations are relationships, make sure you are caring for one another. People need to know that they are appreciated. It is proven that if a person feels appreciated, the likelihood of staying involved in the organization, job, or relationship, increases even if the “grass is greener on the other side of the fence”. In a business, providing various kinds of benefits shows appreciation. People are willing to take risks for the organization when they know are protected and built up.
Be Intentional. Building a better culture does not happen simply because you want it to happen, or a group of people just talk about it. You must take it from the conceptional discussion stage to intentionally living out what you put on paper. This is not easy as talk is cheap but living concepts and core values out in your life, well, that puts flesh onto concepts and values. Being a person of integrity and actually prioritizing integrity changes a person, but it does not happen because it was written down on a piece of paper.
Determine what is and where your cultural standards are coming from. Have you considered where morals and a person’s behavior stem from? Often the answer given has been, “from my parents”, or what the majority or the country feels. That response is dangerous as when you couple that with the people in the group who make the loudest or most consistent noise (you think that a lot of people must believe that viewpoint because it is in your face all the time), you can be following behaviors you may not be in favor with. That is very subjective as the viewpoints can quickly change.
Standards do not change depending on the situation. The best standards come from standards outside of us. Those standards are not subject to prevailing feelings, the loudest noisy voice and most importantly are absolute. Absolute means that the standard is for all people, for all the time and for any situation. This guidance takes personalities, majority rule and influential people out of the picture.
Absolute standards come from worldviews and most often are created from religious or spiritual realms. Common worldviews include atheism, Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, Mormonism, Judaism, Christianity and Satanism. Judaism and Christianity originate from God, and Christianity is founded upon Jesus is God.
An organization’s core values and principles create culture, but what has more impact is the behavior of those leading the organization. Core values written on paper are just that. That paper is only as good as the people who lead. That paper carries no weight. It is the people that either live them or do not live them.
The questions remain, “What and where does your standards come from?” How an organization answers those questions and lives them out can make or break the group especially when tough times come or an opportunity to compromise the core values comes along.
Have clarity. Figure out why your organization exists and why we are involved with our organization. Are we clear about why our organization exists? Do you know why you are involved in your organization and what role you play?
Make communication a priority. Poor communication is almost the death sentence for an organization. Organizations are relationships and relationships THRIVE on communication. Never stop working to develop our communication skills and interactions. Relationships are better off to over communicate rather than think you have done enough. When you think you have arrived as being an excellent communicator, keep going. Your people need to know that they can respectfully share their views, ideas and feedback without reprimand or retaliatory action.
Be empathetic. Because organizations are relationships, make sure you are caring for one another. People need to know that they are appreciated. It is proven that if a person feels appreciated, the likelihood of staying involved in the organization, job, or relationship, increases even if the “grass is greener on the other side of the fence”. In a business, providing various kinds of benefits shows appreciation. People are willing to take risks for the organization when they know are protected and built up.
Be Intentional. Building a better culture does not happen simply because you want it to happen, or a group of people just talk about it. You must take it from the conceptional discussion stage to intentionally living out what you put on paper. This is not easy as talk is cheap but living concepts and core values out in your life, well, that puts flesh onto concepts and values. Being a person of integrity and actually prioritizing integrity changes a person, but it does not happen because it was written down on a piece of paper.
Youth Ministry
Joseph of Arimethea
Little Means Alot in God’s Economy
Joseph of Arimethea
Little Means Alot in God’s Economy
God loves to sneak people into the Bible for a moment of time and then not to be heard from or about again. As Esther was told by Mordecai that perhaps she, a Jew, had been allowed to become the Queen for King Xerxes to be the key figure to save the Jewish people, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)
Just as Esther was used in a very unique way, so was Joseph of Arimethea. Who is this Joseph? Where in the world was Arimethea as it is not mentioned again in the Bible, nor no one knows precisely knows where this place was. But as Joseph very clearly lived, small faithful acts can lead to astonishing impact. He was a quiet admirer of Jesus (Mark 15:42-47).
Joseph was a prominent member of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin. He was a wealthy person of influence and became a small silent minority who had no part of the majority vote condemning Jesus (Luke 23:50-54). He was rich, honorable, righteous, and an unlikely disciple. Another description is he was a man of conscience who had inner strength and courage, willing to act and take risks when an injustice was perpetuated.
An example of his wealth is he owned a tomb. Joseph went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus to bury (Matthew 27:57-60). None of the apostle joined Joseph to approach Pilate. Jesus was buried with about 75 pounds (34 kilograms) of myrrh and aloes (John 19:38-42). That was not cheap embalming items. Joseph did this with Nicodemus. Together they used their positions, privileges and finances to stand for justice and against the mobs would want Jesus dead.
Asking for Jesus’ body on Friday, just before Passover, meant Joseph was preparing himself to become unclean by carrying the dead body of Jesus and embalm Jesus. Embalming would make both Nicodemus and Joseph ritually impure for the start of the Passover Feast. They sacrificed their cleanliness, money, time, reputation to the person who had changed their lives.
Here is the catch. Due to their affluence, they could have had servants or others do this job. They had the authority to make someone else do the dirty work and allow themselves to remain ceremonially clean but they got down and dirty/bloodied to show honor to their dead Messiah.
But Sunday was coming. Hope was on the horizon. Joseph’s life was renewed when Jesus rose from the dead. Joseph found his life when he lost it, when he laid aside his title, reputation, wealth, comfort, and status. Matthew 16:25- “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” What Joseph felt was a simple act of helping out his Messiah, had astonishing influence and impact.
We are ordinary people. We are here on earth for such a short amount of time. Being people of small bits in history, how will we use the few moments of eternity while here on earth? Do we really want Jesus to say to us when we come before Him, “Well done, good and faithful servant”?
Am I willing to get outside of myself and live for Jesus, building relationships to help bring glory to God and build His kingdom? Each of us have to figure out if we are building our own kingdom or God’s Kingdom. Is the legacy that we each build, does it resonate Jesus or me? Joseph came from a no-where place and was not one of the Fathers and foundations of the Christian faith. What he was, was someone who took what he had here on earth and used that for “such as a time as was his” while on earth.
He never envisioned being mentioned in all four gospels. He never dreamed that the day he got ahold of his tomb, that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords would be resurrected in it. Let us thank the King of Kings that He uses ordinary people to accomplish His will and build His Kingdom for His glory!
Just as Esther was used in a very unique way, so was Joseph of Arimethea. Who is this Joseph? Where in the world was Arimethea as it is not mentioned again in the Bible, nor no one knows precisely knows where this place was. But as Joseph very clearly lived, small faithful acts can lead to astonishing impact. He was a quiet admirer of Jesus (Mark 15:42-47).
Joseph was a prominent member of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin. He was a wealthy person of influence and became a small silent minority who had no part of the majority vote condemning Jesus (Luke 23:50-54). He was rich, honorable, righteous, and an unlikely disciple. Another description is he was a man of conscience who had inner strength and courage, willing to act and take risks when an injustice was perpetuated.
An example of his wealth is he owned a tomb. Joseph went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus to bury (Matthew 27:57-60). None of the apostle joined Joseph to approach Pilate. Jesus was buried with about 75 pounds (34 kilograms) of myrrh and aloes (John 19:38-42). That was not cheap embalming items. Joseph did this with Nicodemus. Together they used their positions, privileges and finances to stand for justice and against the mobs would want Jesus dead.
Asking for Jesus’ body on Friday, just before Passover, meant Joseph was preparing himself to become unclean by carrying the dead body of Jesus and embalm Jesus. Embalming would make both Nicodemus and Joseph ritually impure for the start of the Passover Feast. They sacrificed their cleanliness, money, time, reputation to the person who had changed their lives.
Here is the catch. Due to their affluence, they could have had servants or others do this job. They had the authority to make someone else do the dirty work and allow themselves to remain ceremonially clean but they got down and dirty/bloodied to show honor to their dead Messiah.
But Sunday was coming. Hope was on the horizon. Joseph’s life was renewed when Jesus rose from the dead. Joseph found his life when he lost it, when he laid aside his title, reputation, wealth, comfort, and status. Matthew 16:25- “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” What Joseph felt was a simple act of helping out his Messiah, had astonishing influence and impact.
We are ordinary people. We are here on earth for such a short amount of time. Being people of small bits in history, how will we use the few moments of eternity while here on earth? Do we really want Jesus to say to us when we come before Him, “Well done, good and faithful servant”?
Am I willing to get outside of myself and live for Jesus, building relationships to help bring glory to God and build His kingdom? Each of us have to figure out if we are building our own kingdom or God’s Kingdom. Is the legacy that we each build, does it resonate Jesus or me? Joseph came from a no-where place and was not one of the Fathers and foundations of the Christian faith. What he was, was someone who took what he had here on earth and used that for “such as a time as was his” while on earth.
He never envisioned being mentioned in all four gospels. He never dreamed that the day he got ahold of his tomb, that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords would be resurrected in it. Let us thank the King of Kings that He uses ordinary people to accomplish His will and build His Kingdom for His glory!