Tag: innovation

I Know I’ve Been Changed

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half-dome-918596_960_720I’m starting at a new church soon and the feeling is completely different than any other beginning.  I’ve seen churches that give new meaning to the words I shall not be moved; refusing to consider any infusion of change, or newness.  I’ve also seen at churches on the other end of the continuum—filling the calendar with exciting activities with very little impact for the kingdom of God.  I’m excited for this opportunity mainly for one specific reason. It’s not the new building from which to launch exciting ministries. It’s not the youthful exuberance with which I have been embraced so far.  It’s not even the fact that the church leadership identifies with my journey and is willing to partner with me as we move in God’s will.  I’m thankful that the aforementioned attributes are true and reasons to be excited.  I’m mostly excited, however, for this opportunity because I know I’ve been changed!  I’ve been at this for over 23 years and while my ministry may be considered successful to some—I have yet to experience the impact I envisioned for the kingdom of God.

I have encountered enough barriers in ministry to write a series of books!  The difference, however, today is that I have a new appreciation for barriers in ministry.  I know I’ve been changed!  God has transformed me for the sole purpose of having the anticipated impact in his work.  Transformation doesn’t come without some adversity.  Consider the story of a boy who found a butterfly struggling to emerge from its cocoon.  After watching it for hours he decided to cut a hole in the cocoon and watch the butterfly crawl out.  The only thing that butterfly ever did was crawl.  Like the butterfly, without the emerging struggle, we fail to reach our full potential.

If your ministry has yet to take off the way you believed it would, if you thought by now you would have reached your full potential, if you thought by now you would have emerged from the cocoon to fly high above the trees.  Take some time to thank God for the cocoon.  Breaking from it is a process which God gives as a gift so we can experience the kind of change in our life required to glorify him.   That’s why I am excited about my new ministry. I know I’ve been changed!

I will be installed as the pastor of the Cedars of Lebanon Seventh-day Adventist Church in Chesapeake, VA on January 16, 2016.  Please follow me on twitter as I share the joys of leading in pastoral ministry @drgbanks.

two things every winner should know

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I used to coach girls basketball for a small private high school when I lived in Chesapeake, VA.  It was an amazing experience!  That’s when I realized that I have the ability to motivate people and help them achieve things that they didn’t realize they could do.  I’m going to share two things I emphasized in teaching the will to win. First I taught them the following poem, written by Walter D Wintle.

If you think you’re beaten you are, If you think you dare not you don’t;

If you like to win but you think you can’t, It’s almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose you’re lost, For out in the world you’ll find

Success begins with a fellows will, It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you’re outclassed you are, You’ve got to think high to rise

You’ve got to be sure of yourself before You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man

But soon or late, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can!

In addition to reciting this poem on a regular basis, I showed them the importance of outcome vs. process in creating the mindset for winning.

Outcome vs. Process

 There are two types of goals.  Outcome goals give you direction, such as winning or making a particular play.  Process goals include mastering the fundamentals and strategy to be competitive in basketball.

You dramatically increase your chances of making a basket by focusing on the process and letting the outcome take care of itself.  When you focus on the outcome, you open yourself up to the fear of missing or losing.  If you make a bad play or make a mistake, it is easier to become angry.

Fear and anger are negative emotions that adversely affect your brain’s chemistry and performance.  You will be more relaxed and efficient by focusing on instinctive execution, rather than thinking about scoring or winning.

While you may not be able to control the outcome, you can control your thoughts and actions to improve the process.  Success in mastering the process builds confidence and makes it easier to achieve your desired outcome.

These are the two things that every winner should understand as they take on the challenges of life.

Dr. Gary Banks

 

Cast down your buckets where your are

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Booker T. Washington, in his book Up From Slavery, tells this story.  A ship lost at sea for many days suddenly sighted a friendly vessel. From the mast of the unfortunate vessel was seen a signal, “Water, water; we die of thirst!” The answer from the friendly vessel at once came back, “Cast down your bucket where you are.” A second time the signal, “Water, water; send us water!” ran up from the distressed vessel, and was answered, “Cast down your bucket where you are.” And a third and fourth signal for water was answered, “Cast down your bucket where you are.” The captain of the distressed vessel, at last heeding the injunction, cast down his bucket, and it came up full of fresh, sparkling from the mouth of the Amazon River. Often times along our journey we are in search of much needed resources to accomplish the task.  We look for solutions from strangers, we ask for money to start a new business, we look for help from people who have their own work to struggle through.  If we pay attention and look at our own gifts, our own abilities, our own experiences we may have been floating on the resources we need all along.  Sometimes there is a solution to your problem right beneath your feet.  Take the problem faced by the mission of Apollo 13.  The astronauts were in danger of carbon dioxide poison.  Check out the video 

 to see how the scientist on the ground cast down their bucket where they were.  You can solve your problem if you just look around and pay attention.  The solution is much closer than you think.