April 15, 2013: Volume 2, Number 12
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MORE WITH
30 60 100 MINISTRIES |
We're pleased to announce that 30 60 100 MINISTRIES has earned the GuideStar Exchange seal, which demonstrates our commitment to transparency. |
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| Greetings! | Competition is a good thing, right? It makes us grow, forces us to work hard, opens the way to creativity ...
But what about all those times we compete in order to simply validate ourselves? Even though we claim to value individuality, secretly we long for the security of uniformity -- for everybody to be like us. Maybe it's time to take a Relationship Reality Check. You can do so in today's feature.
 In more than four decades together, we're more convinced than ever that God gives us differences not so we compete with each other but so we can complete each other. Let us know what you think in a quick email. We look forward to hearing from you!
Keep growing!
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BACK 40 UPDATE: US, GUTATEMALA, UKRAINE
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We're back in the U.S. after an amazing 10 days coaching and training elders and young leaders (ages 16-83) at Iglesia Los Olivos in La Esperanza , Quetzaltenango, Guatemala using Spiritually Healthy Leaders� materials. The group attended workshops 5 hours a day for an entire week. We also had the opportunity to teach at four worship services. No question ... this was a well-prepared harvest field. Look for a more complete update soon.  God continues to confirm our two-pronged call: to equip stateside leaders to combat complacency (in themselves, their congregations, their teams) and to equip believers in remote areas with leadership training. Leaders in the U.S. long for authenticity. Believers in other parts of the world cry out to grow in their skills. We have been invited to speak in May at a men's retreat in New Mexico about how to win the battle over complacency - and asked to to teach Spiritually Healthy Leaders� workshops in Ukraine late this year. Our answer to both requests is a resounding "YES!" Will you please continue to pray for God's anointing on the Back 40 as we plan and prepare? Thank you for your sacrificial partnership!  |
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 Feature: COMPETE OR COMPLETE? A RELATIONSHIP REALITY CHECK | When asked to reveal their secret for 43 years of a happy marriage, a couple looked at each other and smiled. "We let our differences complement each other," they said.
 Yet it comes as a surprise to many that "to complement" another person does not mean "to be the same." It means "to complete." This couple had recognized their striking differences, faced them, and embraced them.
People claim to value individuality. Yet ironically, many yearn secretly for the security of uniformity. That's one big reason differences can drive people apart. The key to success lies in how you view your differences with others. Will they be a source of competition ... or will you let those differences complete you, as did the couple in our story?
When Do Differences Mean "Let's Compete"?
Opposites attract. We've all seen the introvert who is attracted to an extrovert, for instance. But before long, those differences that first attracted you in a relationship may soon make you uneasy, frustrated, or even irritated. You may clearly see what is wrong with the other person or even deep down, you may be afraid you don't fit in or don't measure up. We are more comfortable when others are like us. Differences challenge our status quo.
Those challenges to our comfort zone can lead us to judge others' differences, even questioning their value, as a means to validate ourselves. Competition sets in. Our way is the way to be! Tension rises further as we seek to change the other person to become like us.
The truth of the matter is that we are not all supposed to be the same. Romans 12:6 explains, "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us." Differences between people are God's idea. They're a gift, not a problem to be solved or a contest to be won.
"To Complement" means "To Complete"
The biblical way to view differences is to identify and value what each individual offers to the whole.
 Consider a track and field meet. Its diverse events require diverse skills. One athlete on a particular team excels at distance running; another is gifted in the shot put; yet another competes well in the long jump. A single team member cannot win every event in the entire meet on his own. Together, members' skills complement one another and complete the team.
In the same way, individual strengths complement partnerships and complete them. A quiet husband opens up easily with his vivacious wife. Meanwhile, his constancy steadies her. A visionary but disorganized staff leader relies heavily on an orderly administrative assistant. Two managers thrive in a creative balance, one's snap decisions tempered by the other's methodical approach.
Take a relationship reality check: are you fighting differences for the security of uniformity?
When it comes to your spouse, a family member, or a team member, you can oppose their differences and compete to maintain the status quo. Or you can embrace the opportunity to value others' strengths and let them complete you.
Compete or complete. Which will you choose?
Growth Point
Differences need not make us compete, but rather can complete us.
Scripture
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. (Romans 12:6)
Prayer Points - Why is our human tendency to compete with others who are different from us?
- Identify strengths you bring to your relationships.
- Consider a time when you sought to change another person to become more like you and what you may do differently now.
- How does acknowledging another's strengths free you to value you them rather than judge them?
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What People Are Saying ...
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 "God bless all of you who made it possible for Dalton and Vicki to come to Guatemala. I feel very fortunate to have been able to participate and receive the love, the teachings, and content they shared with us during the workshops." Rom�n Mendez, Guatemala SHL participant
Hear more testimonies from Christians in remote areas served by 30 60 100 MINISTRIES staff here.
Find out more about equipping, coaching, and training opportunities with 30 60 100 MINISTRIES here.
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