Problem Solving

I ran to Andy Stanley this morning. Go ahead...google him if you've never heard of him or his songs. You won't find any songs that he's recorded! He's the senior pastor of Northpoint Community Church in the Atlanta area. He has also written lots of books on leadership and I listened to one of his podcasts today called, "High Performance Teams." The podcast was a little over 30 minutes and I had a pretty decent run!

Sorry...no music to post here but I do have a nugget to share from Andy.

In his sermon and then de-briefing interview afterwards, he challenges teams (in the church) to NOT identify goals to accomplish, but problems they believe God is calling them to solve. And then to work together to come up with solutions to solving that problem.

And I think that's a powerful challenge for us as individuals.

What problem might God be calling me to solve? What might not happen if I opted out of God's team or just dropped the ball?

If the problem is HUNGER that you believe God is calling you to help solve, then define it as a local and achievable problem: Hungry families in my county. Then you can define the solution with hopes of solving the problem.

Once you've defined the problem, and created a solution, it's a whole lot easier to move forward. Who do I need to help me solve this problem? What resources do I need to create the solution? When can I get started? How will I measure if I've solved the problem?

This might be a great exercise to try with your family. What problem might God be calling us as a family to solve? What's our plan for helping to solve that problem? Who will take on what part of the solution based on gifts and interests and age? It's a good way to help each member of the family (extended family too) really feel an integral part of the whole...whole earthly family...and whole family of God's Kingdom.