What Do You Value?
Following the death of King Solomon, Israel split into two kingdoms and both began a downward spiral into idolatry, rejecting the worship of Yahweh for the fertility gods native to Canaan. They turned their devotion from God and gave it to other things. This period is described in 2 Kings 17:15: “They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless.” (NIV) In this passage, the writer explains very clearly that if you worship worthless things, you will become worthless. What you value determines who you are.
Each of us has certain innate values. What we value gives us worth. These are the things that make us get up in the morning, the things to which we are devoted. We usually don’t think about these values, but we can identify them when we reflect on what is important to us.
Very often, I will begin a coaching relationship by asking a person questions that help identify that individual’s values--what is the “north star” for their decisions and actions? This provides a baseline that we can come back to later when that person is designing and pursuing goals.
When I do appreciative inquiry with a congregation, we begin with exercises that help the participants to recognize and share the common values that unite them. Those present may vary by age, gender, economic status, and race, but they quickly identify those things that they hold in common.
The Christian values his or her relationship with God above all else, but what are the behavioral, relational, and ethical values that grow out of that relationship? It is a question worth asking. I submit that values may well be more important that vision in providing direction for a congregation or an individual. Our values provide both motivation and clarity. When we know what is important to us, we can decide what course we will pursue. Our values determine, in a large part, what we will become.
What are the values that undergird your actions? How can you leverage these values to become a more effective leader? We will consider this further in a webinar on "Values-Based Leadership" on Thursday, March 15 at 10AM Eastern/9 am Central.
NOTE – Find and register for Pinnacle Webinars here
Each of us has certain innate values. What we value gives us worth. These are the things that make us get up in the morning, the things to which we are devoted. We usually don’t think about these values, but we can identify them when we reflect on what is important to us.
Very often, I will begin a coaching relationship by asking a person questions that help identify that individual’s values--what is the “north star” for their decisions and actions? This provides a baseline that we can come back to later when that person is designing and pursuing goals.
When I do appreciative inquiry with a congregation, we begin with exercises that help the participants to recognize and share the common values that unite them. Those present may vary by age, gender, economic status, and race, but they quickly identify those things that they hold in common.
The Christian values his or her relationship with God above all else, but what are the behavioral, relational, and ethical values that grow out of that relationship? It is a question worth asking. I submit that values may well be more important that vision in providing direction for a congregation or an individual. Our values provide both motivation and clarity. When we know what is important to us, we can decide what course we will pursue. Our values determine, in a large part, what we will become.
What are the values that undergird your actions? How can you leverage these values to become a more effective leader? We will consider this further in a webinar on "Values-Based Leadership" on Thursday, March 15 at 10AM Eastern/9 am Central.
NOTE – Find and register for Pinnacle Webinars here