The Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala is invoked in the Name of God. This historical document identifies the national governance, respect for God, protection over the nation, individual liberties and the priorities for Community Development. It is the authority for governing the effective development of the nation.

The family is the basic unit of the society and a priority is to strengthen families in every way possible, which will enhance nation building. The nation is founded on the Holy Bible and true wealth for all is a national goal.

Wise development prevents dependency and helps to lift families out of poverty and despair. The goal is to give them sufficiency in things truly needed and an eternal hope.

Quality of life increases as free enterprise flourishes.

The protection of wealth and protection of private property for all people is essential to nation building. Economies grow when the growth of government is slowed and cost is contained

READ MORE

You have a passion for life as you define your destiny. You are traveling the road of experiential, progressive and continuous lifelong learning. You can only go as far as you can envision yourself going in life.

Life for some is tough, but you are made strong in adversity. You have a treasure of experiences to share to help build your family, communities and even nations abroad. You live in the Kingdom of God in the Earth – that Shalom of hope and peace. You participate in reinforcing the seven domains of culture that are within your reach and influence. We all must live a relevant gospel, dealing with the issues of today.

You are an influencer, an agent, a world changer right where you live and work. Be active to help transform your block, your community, town and country. Let the light of your family of leaders shine bright and far as a beacon showing others that ―grace is available here‖ and hope guides you on.

Jesus is the Lord of the marketplace. Live your life just like He did, helping people find peace, provision and power to reach their potential in partnership with that spirit of grace, hope and eternity. Jesus came to make all things right. Your part also is to help make things right, just and fair in your areas of influence.

Meditate on these thoughts and apply them to your life in every way possible. Share hope with others, pick up the trash on your street and help make your community a greater place to live. This commentary is written to encourage your participation in Kingdom development and nation building from your street to the nation’s political and financial power centers. It is presented to help you grow in geopolitical and global economic understanding and willingness to take action right from your home base to impact the world and eternity that has already begun.

READ MORE

There is a desire by many to leave a legacy of “common sense” as a memorial for friends and families to rally around in generations yet unborn. To leave a lasting imprint, your thoughts must be written down. If they are not published as a book, at least recorded in some manuscripts or even posted on a website that can be somewhat permanent, they will disappear like the dew in the morning sun.

One day the host of papers that we have written will be discarded in the dustbin, seen as information from some ancient bygone, insignificant era – until they are really needed when current events become just like we predicted it would be.

Tracking the past 100 years is a way of determining the effectiveness of political, economic and spiritual leaders.

My greatgrandfather emigrated from Germany to Wisconsin and on to Nebraska. That era goes back more than 150 years. He and my grandfather were of the homestead times and they were both skilled carpenters. Many homes and farmsteads were being built in small towns as new emerging agriculture and small town economies were taking root.

READ MORE

Wealth, Wisdom and a Common Sense Legacy combines wise sayings from the Holy Bible and common economic sense to build and protect wealth in today’s turbulent environment.

We are observing the deliberate destruction of American prestige, culture and capital through a Socialist-leaning econo-political philosophy based on failed European economic strategies.

It is an overview of how America, once the bulwark of financial strength, is depleting its capital at rocket speed into the reality of being already the biggest debtor nation – with no improvement in sight.

The high price of dependency is explained throughout with the reasons for its destructive development explained. To correct this a “born again” individualism is required.

The national debt is discussed with tables showing its growth and how this will lead to the demise of the U.S. and Western world economies if the course is not changed. These projections show that the U.S. National Debt will consume 100 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as early as 2012 and certainly by 2015. By 2020, the US. could be locked into a perpetual cost of 100 percent of GDP to finance the Federal government alone – plus another 20 percent cost for state, county and local governments.

READ MORE

Family finances suffer as the availability of jobs decreases and governmental priorities cause anescalation of the growth of government. For example, in the last 18 months 400,000 employees were added to government employee roles while private sector jobs shrank by over 2.3 million. Recessionary times multiply misery and believers wonder – where is God in all of this?

Christians have served faithfully, but where is the promised fruit? Former generations were selfsufficient with large families. Big government was restricted, mistrusted and avoided. But today‟s voters elect those who really “bring home the bacon” („pork‟) to the States.

Social Security consumes seven percent of GDP and the expenditures of the Federal Government will soon equal GDP.

The founding fathers formed a union – a Federal Republic – where the people can protect themselves from their own government. However, today the family is broken and the government is broke! Dependency has set in like rigormortis. Only transformation can bring back our former national spirit.

States‟ rights and responsibilities have been usurped by the Federal Government. A cry for Constitutional government and a return to traditional values that made our nation great is heard from the people. We must put God back in America, in our schools and society and resist Islamic Sharia law which is taking root at an alarming rate as Islam is growing in certain enclaves throughout the Western World.

READ MORE

Effective Leadership

Good Leaders:

L   Listen

E   Empower

A   Affirm

D   Develop

E   Encourage

R   Recognize
and Reward

George H. Meyers, Ph.D

Section 1

EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

Effective leadership increases the performance and productivity of people, the profitability of companies and the capability of ministries to serve their communities and to reach out to the nations.

Leadership is an art and the science of
leading people in such a way as
to gain their loyal cooperation.

U.S. Army

Servant leadership is the model demonstrated by Jesus Christ and is the preferred model in many of today’s user-friendly organizations. True leadership will build loyalty and longevity of the people with whom you work.

A leader earns the right to lead people. In some cases one leads by authority this is positional leadership. In some situations one leads a peer group that has selected him or her as their leader. Others may lead simply because they founded the organization or own the company.

Leadership comes with great responsibility. The leader of an organization is responsible for all the organization does or fails to do. That is the price of leadership.

Using the acrostic L E A D E R I want to share some of the insights I have gained through many years in various leadership roles. The following notes relate to the points in the acrostic.

This material is written as a practical exercise in learning how to lead and manage effectively. Included are four learning sections:

1. Effective Leadership
2. Leadership and Management How the Roles Differ
3. Transition
4. Discovering Simple Solutions for Problems

Make disciples in local congregations that become leaders in the marketplace.

LISTEN

• An effective leader listens to others. Listening is a fine art that validates the value and feelings of others.
• Good listening is a grace that is rewarded by respect, trust and honor.
• The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made both of them. Proverbs 20:12, Amplified.
• Listening well to others gives them hope and a sense of value and importance.
• Listening sincerely establishes a spiritual pathway for them to listen to you. It is wise to respect the knowledge and viewpoint of others.
• He who answers a matter before he hears the facts, it is folly and shame to him. Prov. 18:13, Amplified.

EMPOWER

• Invest time and resources in people to increase their own capacity and to help them empower others.
• Grant authority for the person to advance in the organization; otherwise they will find another organization. Allow them to visit other organizations to learn from them.
• Train your staff in issues of marriage and family.
• Help the person learn to manage his or her finances and investments well.
• Coach them on the job to attain greater capacity, then to multiply that capacity toward greater achievement or productivity.
• Employ the principles of apprenticeship to get excellent results.
• Empower people to become all they were created to be.
• Empowerment is the oil that lubricates the wheels of motivation, capacity building and innovation.
• Visionary leaders see emerging opportunities while empowered managers run the day to day operations.
• Empowerment propels entrepreneurship in today’s knowledge-based economy.
• Avoid micromanagement. Leaders that micromanage others stifle individual initiative and creative energy.
• In the global economy empowerment is the only way to prevent obsolescence and to retain your most creative people.

AFFIRM

• Accept the person’s individual contribution as adding value to the achievements of the group.
• Authenticate the value added by the life of service of a person and a validation of their worth.
• To increase trust and loyalty, value people and affirm that you believe in them.
• An affirmation of a person’s worth confirms that they are approved; giving attention or appreciation to them confirms their value in your eyes.
• Affirmation of a person brings the mobilization of their inner resources.
• Affirming is the Amen in acknowledging the truth and recognition of the contribution of a person to the goals of the group.
• Show by your actions that each individual is important.
• Remember that people are more important than simply what they can produce.

DEVELOP

• A developed person learns how to achieve much, vicariously through the lives of other people.
• Capacity building of people increases their potential for contribution to the society.
• A winning team is made up of the players, team captain and the coach all working together.
• The coach may call the plays, but the team must make the scores on their own.
• True discipleship causes one to reach maturity in the Kingdom of God, leadership in family, the church and society.
• Delegating authority to others is the pathway to developing highly motivated and productive people.
• All leaders must be people of responsibility.
• An effective leader develops people in such a way that they are able to develop others too.
• Train your staff to hear the wisdom of the wise. A wise man listens to counsel. Prov. 12:15
• Facilitate true development of personal growth to retain highly motivated people.
• Development is a process, not an event. It is going from today’s level toward a higher level; a succession of learning, acquiring experience and experimentation that tests new levels of attainment.
• Continual investment in people increases their value to your organization, to their family and to the community.
• Progressive and continual lifelong learning opens new vistas for achievement, development and empowering of others. Learning becomes an adventure!

ENCOURAGE

• Encouragement is an act of love and charity to bring out the best in people.
• Building and maintaining a highly effective workforce requires frequent expressions of encouragement.
• A simple thank you, well done, or good job, even though short on words is long on impact.
• An encourager is able to draw the best from people in a spirit of cooperation.
• In the same way that regular maintenance prevents problems in an automobile, encouragement in the work place helps to promote harmony and good will for a long time.
• Staff must be encouraged to learn new skills, accommodate change and accept risk to keep current in this knowledge-based economy.
• True leadership employs encouragement to build trust and loyalty.
• An encourager helps to lift fallen people to help them get on their feet again.
• Restoration is the fruit of an encourager.
• An encourager is a second mile type of person.

RECOGNIZE AND REWARD

• Recognition is like a ray of sunlight on a rainy day!
• Recognizing a person is the proof that you value them.
• True recognition rewards others not only for what they do, but acknowledges that without their participation, the whole organization might fail.
• An effective leader readily recognizes superior achievement; even when rendered outside the organization.
• Appropriate rewards help to create a culture of recognition, appreciation and high performance.
• Recognition communicates to others that there is genuine value in doing things with excellence.
• A reward is a deposit for some future major contribution to the common good of the group.
• Recognition reinforces that which we want to be repeated throughout the organization.
• Recognition is like glue that brings about organizational cohesiveness.
• Recognition is an investment that proves to a person that he/she is worth much more than what is shown on his/her paycheck.
• To reap the harvest of extraordinary results requires an effective application of empowerment, individual development and recognition of superior performance.

Staff A Valuable Asset
An employee or staff member can be viewed as being on loan from God to you, the leader. You accept that person as he exchanges his time for your money. Each person adds value to the organization that can be increased with effective care and feeding of the employee.

An organization has value in fixed assets, investments, inventory and what is sometimes called blue sky, the perceived value of the name of the company or organization.

Part of the value of a going concern is the quality, longevity and competency of the staff, the human resource value.

Investing in staff equips them for on-going service in increasing effectiveness. Their service to you is a withdrawal from their reservoir of knowledge, strength, talent and creativity. That is why vacations, refresher training and an excellent working environment are so important.

If more is withdrawn from the person than is replaced, the leader has consumed his most valuable resource human creativity!

Staff development helps to replace the vitality that has been drawn out of your workers as they do their work.

High staff turnover comes at a very high price. It costs dearly to replace and train through on-the-job training to get a new worker up to speed. This often equals one-third of the annual salary of the worker.

It makes good sense to employ good people and invest in them to increase their value to you, to another company or organization or to the society in which we live, serve and do business.

Employ good people and invest in them to make them more valuable in every way. Your staff is too valuable to lose!

Handling the situation when work does not get done
When a task is once delegated to another, it should be taken back only in the case of an emergency. Effective delegation is the antidote for the tendency for some leaders to micromanage the staff they have appointed.

On occasion important tasks just simply don’t get done. There is a reason. There are management techniques that when effectively employed, prevent things from falling through the cracks. Here are some pointers to elicit on-time delivery of jobs:

• Use a job control sheet to assign tasks. They should show expected completion dates and priorities related to other assignments.
• Make the priority of the job clear to the person responsible for doing it.
• The supervisor should review progress weekly with the responsible staff member.
• In most cases Friday is a good day to check progress and review the work for the following week.
• Any new assignment must take into account previously assigned jobs.
• Any added tasks require an adjustment to the priorities or else the worker can become overwhelmed with assignments and not know what to do first.
• Job assignments should be placed in a desktop notebook. This notebook has three tabs:

Priority One Immediate Priority Two Complete as scheduled Priority Three Complete after priorities one and two projects are complete.

• Priority Three projects may have to be eventually reassigned by the supervisor to a higher priority level to ever get done. Reassigning priorities is management in motion.

Avoiding Micromanagement
Highly motivated ambitious leaders may have a tendency to micromanage people they have put in charge of things. This happens when job assignment sheets have not been prepared, priorities not assigned and weekly reviews neglected.

If a leader sees a job falling behind, he or she should go to the person that super-vises the worker who has been assigned the task. Avoid leap-frogging over managers just for the sake of expediency. There is a process of getting jobs finished, on time and with the loyal cooperation of the staff. The leader confers with a manager or supervisor for information about the status of the projects through a review process. Only the manager or supervisor can reassign the priority and get the stalled project moving toward completion.

Weekly Conference with Managers and Supervisors

• To prepare for the conference, managers and supervisors refer to the desktop job assignment sheets.
• Check the priority level and required completion dates for the various assignments.
• Determine if the project is on schedule and if not, what is causing the delay.
• Determine the workload for each staff member and adjust priorities as required to get the most crucial tasks done on time.

Leaders should work through their assigned managers and supervisors.

A leader that micromanages fails to recognize the true value of the managers and supervisors whom they appointed and put in their positions.

Micromanaging capable managers and supervisors hinders morale, causes confusion and destroys the creativity and initiative of high potential future leaders. It eats away at the soul of the most creative people.

Observe how well a person delegates and mentors their subordinates and it is possible to tell how effective that leader will become.

Micromanaging highly motivated managers and supervisors destroys creativity and hinders productivity.

Increasing Professionalism as Organizations Grow

Professionalism in handling the business affairs and human resources becomes increasingly important as organizations grow.

Founders, leaders or start-up entrepreneurs soon find that their organization has outgrown the system that used to manage it satisfactorily. The more it grows and expands, the greater level of professionalism and competencies are required to keep things on track.

It is a genuine challenge to manage rapid growth, staff development and control systems all at the same time. This is why the roles of leaders, managers, supervisors and workers must be clearly defined and all levels of staff must grow together in their abilities and capacities.

MAKING EFFECTIVE LEADERS People change when they perceive that changing affirms their self-image and promises rewards to better them personally. Visualize yourself breaking through the current barrier and you have created a pathway to excellence. A wise person can get along with just about anyone. He chooses his words carefully and lovingly. If I react negatively to others, it proves they have control over me. People are drawn to appreciative leaders. George H. Meyers

 

Growth brings its challenges, but if managed properly it results in greater success in services rendered or profits gained.

Learning to Lead

• How a person leads others depends to a large degree on his past obser-vations. A leader tends to develop leaders somewhat like he or she has become in style and temperament. Very charismatic leaders like to surround themselves with similar kinds of people.
• Purpose of leadership In most organizations, companies and certainly in families someone has to lead or else big problems occur. Leaders envision or point the way. In addition, they set priorities and allocate resources.
• Leading is a learned skill which prepares a person for a higher level assign-ment. Promotion is based on success. Leaders learn through experience good methods of leading others.
• Historical records of leadership Biographies tell interesting accounts of leaders and their successes. History recounts leaders and their experiences. History recounts leaders and the effects of their decisions. The Holy Bible has many examples of both good and poor leaders.
• Leaders must continue to grow, advance in knowledge, wisdom and effectiveness to prevent stepping back into old habits. Sometimes a new challenge is needed to drive them on. Much growth often takes place in adversity. In II Peter 1:5-6 there is a progression of great promises that become our possession as we partake in the Lord’s divine nature. This progression of growth in faith and ability is additive through diligently adding one trait to another:
  • Faith
  • Virtue
  • Knowledge
  • Self-control
  • Perseverance
  • Godliness
  • Brotherly kindness
  • Love

The Scriptures go on to explain that if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christbfor if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I Peter 1:5,6

Beyond Knowledge
Leadership is more than acquired knowledge. Leadership is taking all that we have, to become all that we can be. Through effectively leading and empowering others, one vicariously achieves greatly through the lives of other people.

Balancing Vision and Management New opportunities loom big for visionary leaders; however, it takes empowered, dedicated, innovative managers to fulfill the vision. George H. Meyers

 

Leadership in Relationships The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people. Theodore Roosevelt

 

Change is a Certainty! Change is inevitable but change has its enemies! John F. Kennedy Change is best accomplished when everyone involved sees that they will be better off because of it. George H. Meyers

 

Learning to do Doing to learn Earning to live Living to serve The motto of the Future Farmers of America

 

Leaders are all born, and then they are made into leaders by someone who believes in them. I either train others effectively or I must do too much myself forever. George H. Meyers

 

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it! Dwight Eisenhower

Discussion Questions for Section 1

1. Does the training/preaching ministry of today’s churches in America prepare people to lead in the knowledge-based economy?
2. Do we develop church leaders to be Christ’s representatives to influence communities or to primarily lead within congregations?
3. How can we cause church congregations to have a higher Kingdom of God impact within their communities? Are pastors trained for Kingdom of God ministry?
4. Think of a leader in your experience whose leadership style and effectiveness you want to copy. List three major distinctive of that leader’s style.

Section 2

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT 
HOW THE ROLES DIFFER

Home Grown Leaders Develop your leaders well or you will have to do all the work by yourself forever. George H. Meyers

 

First Steps for Leaders Accepting and getting along with myself is the first step toward getting along with others. The best way to change difficult people is to change myself first. Change must start with me! George H. Meyers

 

You can only manage that which can be measured and evaluated. George H. Meyers

The Roles of Leaders and Managers are Different
There are leaders and there are managers, administrators and supervisors. All are essential to get good results. Let’s look for a moment at the role of managers, contrasted to that of leaders.

• The Role of Leaders

Leadership is a noble calling that requires a depth of character, integrity, vision and motivation that causes people to want to follow you. A leader must develop other people that become leaders also.

• The Role of Managers

Definition: The root of the word manage is the Latin word manus, like managing a horse with a steady hand on the reins; or the Spanish word manos for hands and manejo for management.

Certain aspects of management require leadership, too. There is no clear cut distinction that shows who is a leader and who is a manager; however, the roles of each and the competencies vary.

The ability to manage people and projects is an indispensable skill. Management may trace its ancestry to the Sumerian Age or at least to the days of pyramid building. No one is sure, but one thing is clear, managers are required to get work done well and profitably.

Management is the art of getting things done through people (Mary Parker Follett).

Management consists of defined functions (Henry Fayol):

Planning
Organizing
Leading
Coordinating
Controlling

Function or Social Class
Through time the term management began to identify a class of people in addition to a function. For example: with union workers there is the struggle between the union representing the workers and management representing the corporation; i.e. labor vs. management. We see then that management is both function and a class or level in an organization.

The term business administration has been substituted for management in some cases.

What do managers do?
Managers receive instruction, missions or assignments from the executive leadership of an organization or company. The leader articulates the vision, but the manager must analyze or translate the vision into a plan of work; then see to it that it is accomplished.

Without effective management, the visionary leader accomplishes little. By recognizing the differing roles of leaders and managers, large organizations or companies can effectively employ the talents, skills, experience and gifting of people.

By placing people effectively in roles in which they are proven performers, much is achieved. Competency can be evaluated by what gets done.

There are various kinds and descriptions of managers working managers, the absentee manager, reluctant managers or effective managers. Managers employ people and control companies and organizations. Depending on the size of the company, managers may deal with huge numbers of people.

Managers Allocate Resources
A primary function of a manager is assigning people to tasks along with capital to provide what they must have to succeed.

Case Study Mom, Pop and their son Luke
The leader and manager may be the same person in a new organization or small company. However as the company gets bigger, the role of leader and manager should progressively mature. Companies start like the Country Mercantile a Mom and Pop country store. Pop had the vision, did the buying and related to the men around the pot-bellied stove. Mom served the customers and rang up the till. Pop was generous and a friend to everyone.

After Luke came home from his hitch in the Army, he too had a vision for the family enterprise. He wanted to add a gas pump in front of the country store. This increased business greatly and soon Luke opened a car dealership and repair shop. Later he started a tire company as well.

As Mom and Pop turned gray and ventured to Florida in winter, Luke was left in Vermont to handle the entire enterprise throughout the year. As they restructured the business, Mom and Pop were identified as the founders and Luke became the general manager. The elders contributed faithfully when they were back home, but their vision could not advance beyond the country mercantile store.

Luke was good at supervising people and expanding the company; adding a drug store, building supply and real estate company. He converted the Country Store to a 7-11 convenience store. As Luke added enterprises he soon saw that he could not effectively manage them all.

He had to transition from being a manager to a leader. It was hard because he had managed every one of the enterprises that he had started, but he was working long hours and rarely took a day off and it was taking a toll on his family and he saw that he had to change.

He was beginning to learn the difference between being a manager and a leader. For 25 years he used people and developed things, such as new enterprises. As these entities multiplied and prospered he began to learn how to make better use of his employees. He learned to invest capital in things that grow in value (equity) and to also invest in people. Investing in people costs time and money.

Managers use people to develop things. Leaders use things to develop people.

Managers allocate resources among the various demands of program, production, equipment, technology, marketing and human resources. They must grow the capacity of supervisors and other staff at a faster rate than the growth of the enterprise. When staff losses accelerate, it consumes human capital. When staff capacity is lower than the needs of the organization it hinders quality, growth, effectiveness and profitability. The main point is to invest in people, retain them and cause them to grow with the organization.

Investing in people grows the capacity of the enterprise to build equity.

Luke successfully made the transition from supervisor to manager and then on to becoming an effective leader. It had been five years since Mom and Pop visited the home place as they advanced in years. They caught up with Luke, now leading the community as the Mayor. They all got in the SUV and drove around town as he proudly took them to visit all of the family enterprises.

As they finished at the 7-11 Convenience Store, they sat down on the bench in front of the store and Pop began to reflect on how it used to be the Country Store, pot-bellied stove, all of the customer friends. He paused a moment and directed his gaze toward Luke. He said, Luke, the years have gone by fast and it is not like it used to be, but wehave really done well.

Luke thought carefully and responded Yes, Pop, the years have gone by rapidly and we have done well. I had good examples to follow.

Pop helped Luke as far as he could, then Luke sought others that added further value to his life.

Luke had become a leader and all three were proud of what they had done together!

Discussion Questions for Section 2:

1. How differently do leaders and managers function?
2. What are the traits of a good manager?
3. What are the main things that managers do?
4. What is the history or root of the word manager?

Section 3

TRANSITION

Transition is Moving from 
Where We Are to Where We Want to Be

1. Transition is a process

Transition is the process of moving from one phase to another. It is forward motion to a better place or a newly stated goal.

There is a popular chorus based on II Cor. 3:18 entitled, From glory to glory He’s changing me. How blessed we are to be in a world of dynamic change. Change should not be done just for the sake of shaking things up, but to keep up with the times.

The Girl Scouts have a saying, Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold. As we experience transition either collectively or individually, we should be able to retain the good of the past. Two singles meet, marry and establish a home. That is really transition, but even greater effect is felt when little miss cutsie is born and then even the cat feels displaced.

Life itself is transitional. Each passing decade brings increase in wisdom, but with it the thinning of the hairline and thickening of the waist! Without change, there would be no improvement. One cannot recapture the invigoration of a balmy spring day or the fresh smell of a newly plowed field. But, having experienced a springtime, one can set his hope on the future spring even during the dreariness of winter. The Proverbs state that to everything there is a season.

1. Transitioning from the Old to the New
2. Nuggets to help during change and transition.

• Looking ahead and moving on to where we will soon be requires forward focus. Looking back should only be done to avoid making the same mistakes over again.
• Living in the past intensifies the reality of aging, but living for the future brings a sense of new life and new beginnings.
• A good memory and honest evaluation helps prevent repeating previous mistakes.
• Forward motion produces friction and friction produces heat! To make change is not easy and can strain relationships.
• A proven marketing slogan is the tried and true and something new. The goal is to retain proven performers and develop new items from a position of economic strength.
• God will prune the most highly producing vines, that they may produce more fruit. John 15:2
• The Lord’s discipline may seem painful for the moment, but the end result is the blessed fruit of righteousness.
• Young stallions exhibit tremendous energy and excitement, but the mature draft horses keep plowing until the field is tilled.
• Jon Lewis, Director of Research for Mission Aviation Fellowship stated, We are what we measure. Transition denotes a from – to something. There must be a measurable distance; an improvement, otherwise it is just change for the sake of change which may be more disruptive than profitable.

2. Helpful Points for Walking through Transition

• We must not let our dreams substitute for God’s plan.
• We must work together to develop a plan that God can re-direct.
• Visualization is important we cannot move to a place that we cannot see ourselves in.
• We must let go of nagging disappointments and failure to reach former goals that may have been unrealistic.
• Prioritize pressure fills the vacuum of the absence of priorities.
• Frustration starts when the last alternative is gone.
• Facts, faith and truth bring light to blind spots. We need clear, written objectives.
• God is sovereign and we must learn to see things from His perspective. He gives us favor even when we are not perfect.
• Reality is seeing what God is doing right and we are doing wrong.
• It takes a long distance to turn a large ship around. Without forward momentum it cannot change direction.
• It is not where we have been that counts, but rather where we are going that measures the value of the trip.
• People who do not add to our life will drain life from us. Our five closest relationships will determine our destination.
• As we honor others, honor will be bestowed upon us. Congratulate the achievement of others to increase our capacity for advancement.
• Exchange is the process of leaving something behind to receive something more valuable and to achieve our

purpose.

• There are those detractors that make greater withdrawals from us than our other good relationships can possibly deposit. This is like the destruction of the body’s immune system, which leaves us too weak to accomplish anything worthwhile.
• To conserve our spiritual energy, we must concentrate our effort on those who are assigned to the same vision team.
• Discernment is determining who has sent a message into our lives and whether it is a blessing or a distraction.
• Development is the effective employment of human and social factors that result in a community of interdependent people uplifting each other at the expense of none.
• During transition you cannot afford to carry those on your back who should be walking beside you and helping to carry the load.
• Determine who is with you in the transition process. Workers often quit many months before they leave. It is best to let those who are not with you leave for other pursuits. They will do better elsewhere and you will do better without them.
• Pillars are those that uphold the work by the tenacity of their faith. Conversely, spiritual parasites want to use your faith to sustain their needs.
• Prioritize your efforts on that which multiplies. Submit to leaders who are secure and will help you multiply your work. Insecure leaders will attempt to control you and hinder progress toward your destiny.
• Any work that does not allow for evaluation is like a moving target. You must evaluate to determine if your motion is taking you forward or backward. Test your work to determine if the results can multiply without an external life support system.
• Maintain an environment of order, avoid clutter and people with undisciplined lives. Develop a productive environment where entrepreneurship flourishes.
• Empower people that are becoming so that your efforts multiply through the Christ-like values that you deposit in their lives. Develop them through leadership and facilitate the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.
• A disciple follows a discipline of increasing; but a convert may change only for an immediate benefit.

One has said, practice makes perfect, but even more accurately another has said, practice makes improvement. (Covey)

Recap

Romans 12:1-2 talks about being transformed by the renewing of our minds to do the perfect will of God. By faith we transition to realize the substance or reality of what we have hoped for, prayed for and even dreamed about.

There is a transitional nature in life itself and change is clearly part of it. From childhood to adult, single to married, young to old, birth to death; all are examples of transition.

Without change there is no opportunity for improvement. Transition takes us from one level of service, leadership or responsibility to another.

Successful transition depends upon our courage to embrace the process and take advantage of its opportunities. The natural man resists change.

To everything there is a season and with each season there is joy in birthing the new, but sorrow in burying the old.

 

Don’t leave behind those who have helped you come so far!

Finally. leave your world in better shape than it was handed to you. The prize before us is great, and new challenges produce greater rewards.

Valuable Quotations

Modeling As a leader, manager or supervisor, one must set the standards and live them as an example for others to follow. George H. Meyers

 

Our five closest friends or associates will determine how high we climb and how far we go.

 

In an interdependent environment, people lift one another up, making progress together at the expense of no one.

 

Concentrate your efforts on developing beneficial things that multiply!

Discussion Questions for Section 3:

1. Transition is change. How can it be done in an orderly fashion that doesn’t disrupt the organization?
2. One has said, out with the old and in with the new. How can you capture the vigor of the new and yet retain the wisdom of the old?
3. Describe a transition that you have experienced in the workplace noting both the good and the could be improved aspects.
4. What is a life transition that you have successfully passed through?

Section 4

Discovering Simple Solutions for Problems

Many volumes have been written on the subject of problem solving. Our goal in this learning activity is to learn together how to cut through complex issues to discover simple solutions.

Purpose
To identify guidelines for use by leaders to solve problems within their organizations.

Objective
To participate effectively in removing roadblocks to success in companies and organizations.

Outcome
Organizations reach their purposes through leaders capable of identifying, preventing and solving problems before they become a hindrance to success or profitability.

Learning Method
Small group active learning. A facilitator coordinating problem solving discussions in a participative way.

Focus
We will focus on solving today’s most pressing issues with a vision toward preventing the same problems from resurfacing in the future.

Start with what you already know. Then train your mind to press on into new vistas. Force your mind to be creative.

Enlist help from your team
Most problems can be solved from within the organization and can be prevented through good planning and forecasting.

Bring in help when needed
Outside advisors/consultants or specialists can be necessary when a serious emergency erupts or a great growth opportunity presents itself.

Problem Solving A Needed Skill
There is no greater contribution one can make to society than to be able to solve problems. Mothers have the greatest potential for impacting our world because they start with a socially unblemished baby and fashion it into an adult that is empowered to make the world a better place.

So much of education is in the preparation of people to solve problems. This is also an important part of leadership.

Effective leaders are skilled at seeing potential problems before they happen and training their employees and staff members to be problem solvers, too. When things are working well, supervisors can handle things just fine. If a situation deteriorates, higher levels of leaders are drawn upon to help find solutions. This assumes that higher level leaders are more experienced problem solvers than the people they lead.

If someone is identified that can solve problems and relate well to people, that person can develop others to impact our world and help us all to live in peace, harmony and prosperity.

There are three major areas that can be addressed to solve problems effectively in organizations, companies and ministries.

Problem Solving Tools for Organizations and Companies Evaluate and Strengthen the: Organization Communication Cooperation George H. Meyers, Ph.D.

Organization
We live and work in a social environment that requires order. This is especially true in families, companies, governments, religious organizations and the military.

To evaluate and manage (get our arms around) a process or problem, we must first get it organized. To do this it is necessary to:

• Clarify the infrastructure Organizational Chart.
• Identify the authority structure.
• Define who is responsible to whom for what – Job Descriptions.
• Determine order and safety.
• Define accountability, especially for assets, funds and inventory Budgets.
• Control Establish a workable control environment to focus on the organizational purposes and achieve agreed-upon objectives Reports, Audits.

Without a clear organizational infrastructure, guiding principles and accountability, chaos soon develops and relationships are stressed. However, an overemphasis on organization can result in legalism, depressed creativity and stifled initiative. There must be a balance.

The Cost of Innovation You can innovate only when you are willing to accept some mistakes. Alan Loy McGinnis in Bringing Out the Best in People

The Organizational Chart is like a snapshot of the organization in motion where it is made clear where everyone fits in and how it is possible for all to work toward a common goal.

One has stated that radical leadership is getting team input and also raising up your own replacement. Leaders tend to make unilateral decisions and not start soon enough to develop a successor.

Communication

Communication is like an impulse flowing down a nerve to alert the brain of peace and order, or a pending disaster.

In the Army, rumor control is only managed by keeping people informed. Lack of appropriate communication often leads to rumors in organizations which seriously affect morale. When information is withheld or inadequate, people base their beliefs on speculation.

Fight rumors with facts.

Well-informed people feel a sense of belonging to the group.

People lacking timely information sometimes develop an us and them attitude.

Style, method and frequency of communication releases is a policy decision of an organization or company’s leaders. It is not appropriate to share all things, but to be systematic and generous in sharing those things that are of interest and benefit to the staff. It is a wise investment of time that helps to avoid misunderstandings and keep everyone on the same page.

When communication is inadequate, the typical employee often suspects the worst, especially if he sees people arrive dressed in dark suits and escorted into offices for meetings with doors kept closed and meals brought in by caterers. The worker imagines, Is the company going bankrupt? Will there be layoffs? Will I receive this month’s salary? Is my retirement package safe? What about my insurance program?

In the environment of doubt, the mistrust of leaders and management has an opportunity to escalate. As the employee works, his mind wanders to the needs of his family, his house payment and car payment and every uncertainty imaginable.

These things happen in both organizations and commercial companies and are often highlighted in television news.

There is a better way! Appropriate disclosure of important facts in a systematic and timely way controls mistrust and increases productivity. Good communication helps to maintain priorities and to keep the entire workforce focused on the main goals.

Resistance to either receive or give communication is usually motivated by fear of the anticipated outcome.

Communication is: A willingness to listen Caring enough to ask Boldness to comment Honest enough to admit fault Loyal enough to act Eager to correct and set things right

Cooperation

Cooperation is so important that it is often spoken of as a spirit of cooperation.

An effective leader will be able to gain the willing cooperation of those for whom he/she is responsible.

The concepts of cooperation and teamwork are interchangeable.

T     Together
E     Everyone
A     Achieves
M     More

Cooperation is very much about having a good attitude.

• Cooperation is the function of thinking and working together for a common purpose.
• Cooperation indicates a willingness to help one another or to work together to achieve a shared vision.
• People cooperate to achieve mutually beneficial goals.

Cross training promotes teamwork in action.

Through teamwork, specialization is directed toward developing multidisciplinary skill sets and makes it possible to build mutually beneficial models. Every position needs a trained back-up person.

Indicators of cooperation:

• Employees helping one another both on and off the job.
• Participating in community and extended family activities and events.
• Management striving to crucify the problem, not the worker.
• Willing cooperation results from trustworthy leaders and managers.

Examining the Roots of Conflict
When conflict occurs, there is always an underlying cause. These causes become the devil’s tool to turn people against each other.

Inspect and evaluate appropriately to discover weaknesses, pinpoint errors and fix problems quickly. Include the person who made the mistake in the problem-solving process. Take the person to a private place, listen to their side of the story and do any correction or reprimands only in private.

Inner office intrigue, mistrust, envy, jealousy and slander kill the soul of a cooperative environment. Leaders must cut off conflict at the root aggressively and rapidly. Sometimes leaders withhold information as if pretending that a problem does not exist. Or they may procrastinate on problem-solving in the hopes that the situation will resolve without action.

Effective leaders rapidly seek out the root cause of conflict. By rapidly solving conflict, relationships are restored and team viability is strengthened. Confidence increases in the problem solving ability of the leaders.

Recap
Effective and wisely employed investigation will reveal the root of the problem.

• What?
• With whom?
• To what effect?
• At a specific location?
• For a defined purpose?
• For some definable personal gain?
• Who are the injured parties?
• How will restoration be carried out?
• What is the plan for restitution to relieve loss or hurt to the injured party?

Let the effect of the injury be measured and then cancelled by a plan for generous restitution to the injured party.

All of the above questions apply for hurt experienced by individuals, married couples, business people, special groups and ultimately to the society at large.

If we would practice restitution and restoration to replace that which was lost, rather than punishment and incarceration alone, the society would more clearly understand the effect of crime. Crime is committed not only against the individual victim(s), but in reality against society itself.

Part of leadership is to prevent every major problem possible and also to make right the consequences of bad things being done, especially to the innocent or helpless.

In solving problems we can:

• Clarify facts on the problem.
• Review the cause such as fine-tuning the organizational structure.
• Identify what is ideal.
• Visualize the improved status after the problem is solved
• so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
  Romans 12:18

Discussion Questions for Section 4:

1. How does one prevent small problems from erupting into bigger ones?
2. How do you control destructive rumors?
3. Discuss ways to apply restitution to those harmed.
4. Describe how you can put some of these principles into use in your organization or company.

 

Introduction

It is often said that the world is really changing fast, and in many ways that is true. Population growth, changing family structures, urbanization and newly emerging economies all have their role in accelerating change. Technological changes and repositioning of super powers change the global landscape.

These mega-forces also affect the world’s societies, culture and religions. As urbanization intensifies, there is no space for a typical Western church building on the corner of every fourth block. The physical forces of population growth and the sheer numbers of people change many things.

Many of us grew up in rural communities with small community schools, 4-H clubs and church programs affecting our upbringing. We were made into leaders as a matter of the course of life. Today’s society demands different methods and measuring devices. Previously, with fewer people, many leaders emerged to fill the needs in the local society. Then the mega-everything began to take place. The mega-school, mega-industry and mega-church all were based on bigger is better.

However, in the bigness of it all much of the personal interaction and relationships of former periods were lost. Weakened families began to produce dysfunctional children and eventually blighted communities. The Church did not help much to stop the economic, social, cultural and spiritual decline. Eventually a leadership shortfall developed in the Church and a moral crisis arose in the society as the church in general became fully occupied inside her walls.

The development of leaders is done only through intentional, deliberate effort. It takes desire, a model to adopt and a mentor to follow. It is still true that like begets like. Today’s emphasis on the role of mentorship is causing a new group of leaders to emerge in our communities. This is good. Current methods can birth new leaders using old principles to demonstrate improved results.

Yes, even in the Church we have a leadership crisis of too many followers and not enough leaders. This paper suggests some ways that our cooperative efforts can launch new models for raising up home grown leaders that will help change our world.

Discussion

Strategies for using Foundations for Emerging Leaders

1. Integration and mutual support The Foundations for Emerging Leaders (FEL) system founded by Leadership Training International (LTI) can be a help in integrating other training segments to round out the Calvary International or any other organization’s equipping track. It has a very practical application, a non-seminary type informal training approach.
2. Holism The FEL integrates the total training program into a holistic Kingdom economy It goes beyond biblical chapter and verse for the practical application to disciple the participants and to equip them as leaders.
3. Beyond the walls The FEL is a beyond-the-walls of the institutional church approach for equipping the Body of Christ to take command of its assignment to be World Changers through becoming effective Christian leaders of commerce, education, finance and the courts. The goal is to bring the Kingdom of God into the lives of the people and all of the domains under Christ’s rule.
4. Beyond conversion The FEL system is evangelistic, but much more. It takes a person from conversion to discipleship and further equipping as a leader. This practical process is often weak and fragmented in Bible schools and seminaries, even though they exhibit excellence in many areas of education.
5. Equipping for service Most Bible schools are formed by those with pastoral gifting. This results in excellent preparation for the 5% of Christendom that are in pastoral, clergy-type roles. However, we need to be able to more effectively impact the remaining 95% of believers that make up the rest of the service force in the Kingdom, beyond the walls of the worshiping assembly. Only a portion of the Old Covenant law dealt with the tabernacle, temple, sacrifice, worship, teaching and priests. The multitude of statutes and laws guided the masses through the affairs of life.

Transformation of Methodology

1. We recognize and are pleased with the results and traditions of the Reformation. The rebirth of the reformers in today’s marketplace affords great opportunities. During the Reformation, the communi-cation method was the printed page, which was a new phase since the printing press was new on the scene. Communication traveled on Roman roads and initiated the colonial expansion that made the whole world known to man. Now Reformation II is digitalized, assisted by satellites in the heavens and can penetrate even the most challenging frontier borders and cultures.
2. FEL is foundational as a means to truly develop leaders in various cultural and infrastructural settings. Other supporting interfaces can be employed to round out the learning package. For example: Internet and media-based evangelism, Internet-driven discipleship and global listing of locations of house churches where that type of worshiping congregations can be wisely used. Groups such as Bible Gateways make the Bible available to all people everywhere that the Internet can be accessed.
3. Church leaders are trained through FEL to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. The ministry of the 95% is granted greater emphasis, as the saints become leaders and are capable of changing their communities, a task the clergy has never been able to do very effectively. When this leadership training is done well, it is of great assistance to pastors of local congregations that understand their role as it relates to the 95 percent who are not meant to be pastors or salaried church staff.
4. Trainers of Kingdom dynamics We should understand that the message of Jesus was the message of the Kingdom. This is clearly shown in His teaching of the parables. The message of pastors inherently will continue to drift toward the message of salvation, stopping short of fully explaining the dynamics of Kingdom economics. This message must be taken forward by others, not pastors only. Herein lies a dynamic tension. The pastor will focus on building his congregation, collecting believers and holding them close, as part of the pastoral gifting. Kingdom dynamics and a Great Commission focus requires a greater release of discipled leaders outside-the-walls effort. Most pastors are totally consumed by their work inside the walls, so there must be others trained to focus outside the walls in the Kingdom economy community.
5. This aspect is also essential where the House Church movements show themselves strong and effective. In these cases, there are leaders with pastoral gifting of small groups of disciples contrasted to an institutional pastor who builds, guards and maintains a large congregation, and preaches a message of salvation regularly. This institutionally-oriented entity is engulfed in requirements of motivation, leading, planning and funding its ongoing success. Pastors in this model have a daunting task and we are thankful for them. The house church model is quite non-institutional in practice and not so all-consuming of its leadership. Nearly all of the members usually remain employed in the marketplace, thus engaged fully in the life of the community, thereby reducing the clergy-laity divide. The more effective the leaders, the greater the success of the house church movement. As it multiplies, the full array of ministry gifts are essential and in action. Leadership development and apostolic connectivity is crucial in this model.
6. Our role is to understand the various models, distinctives , strengths and weaknesses of each type of congregational style and to collaborate with them where possible.
7. In developing communities both large and small, Community Health Evangelism (CHE) is a method to bring about improvement. This program is used in over 50 countries as a basis for community transformation. This is another example of partnership in the gospel. Through developing local voluntary leaders good news is proclaimed to the poor, hungry, lost and sick. Physical problems are addressed through self-help, holistic initiatives in concert with spiritual training. The result is a rebirth of the human spirit, hope for the future and individuals born again of the Spirit of Christ who collaborate to empower individuals who transform communities.

Implementation

1. Modeling The easiest way to initiate something is to observe and follow a model. We know how to do this in Community Transformation methodology, for example CHE (Community Health Evangelism).
2. Holism and integration As we implement Foundations for Emerging Leaders, immediately we can take the participants beyond evangelism. Inherent in being a being a disciple is being a discipler and a Christian leader is effective in his own life and in influencing good conduct in others as well.
3. Christ in Community and Community in Christ Bible school or seminary teachers often are best at producing other Bible school teachers. When a pastor observes a faithful, highly capable young person, his first thoughts are often to influence him to become a pastor and to attend his alma mater. Pastors have a very crucial role of pastoring the people of God. They are best at developing pastors . The FEL model is not based on only pastors being the trainers of trainers. Leaders may be the best at developing leaders! In developing functional communities beyond the church walls, pastors preach and teach biblical principles as well as guiding their worshiping assemblies. Bankers develop bankers. Businessmen and women develop (disciple) business leaders on the job while learning and participating in community development , transformation and capacity building.
4. Transformation Leaders help transform communities through leaders they have trained (discipled) to be community transformation developers. They are not conformed to the status quo but reach beyond to new and improved ways. When the Kingdom of God is the focus, the enablement of every believer is essential to its success. Essentially, no inactive members needed. No one left behind.

Transferability and Multiplication

1. Our aim can be no limits to growth as we reinforce our understanding of how to multiply the growth of the Kingdom through the multiplication of leaders.
2. Inherent within this multiplication is the replication of churches. It is family planning at its finest the family of God agrees together to expand their influence from their home church outward. It is possible for a new congregation to plant another congregation within three years and every three years thereafter. This is the upward spiral of the effect of the discipleship model of church planting.
3. Worship Centers or Church Buildings – The Church did not build buildings for the first 300 years. It was The Way. It spread rapidly and even touched the top leaders and rulers in Rome. Once the Church (body of believers) was cathedralized, the work of the ministry was turned over to specialists specially anointed ones. This continues to this very day, except our houses of worship today often lack the design and art quality so prevalent with the Romans and later among the Christian monarchies of Europe. Later, Luther’s Reformation brought refreshing as the winds of change brought renewed vitality, hope and release of faith. The early church met in houses and enjoyed learning the ways of God, fellowship in one another’s homes in an expression of caring brotherly love, as well as worship of the Lord. Today’s giant buildings for mega-churches are to some degree a renewed version of the Christian monarchies of 600 years ago. Who can build the biggest and most magnificent building? Remember however, that in the program- based church model, large buildings are very necessary for large assemblies of believers.
4. Transferability The megachurches of today get more recognition than their contribution actually deserves. Those giant congregations are a rather small percentage of the total membership of Christendom. Cultural influence, geography, population density, transportation options, land availability and economics all influence the nature of worship centers. It is easier to multiply a host of small churches than to successfully birth and grow a congregation of 20,000 or more. Whereas there are no limits to the growth of Christians and Christian movements, there are definitely limits in the development of mega-churches. That does not make them wrong, nor house churches and worshiping assemblies with small buildings right. They are simply different. Equipping leaders that can start and multiply small, intimate worshiping bodies can be successfully enhanced through Foundations for Emerging Leaders. Companion discipleship materials reinforce the process even online implementation guides.
5. Partnership in the Gospel  It is through partnership that Calvary International and other groups most effectively advance the work of the Great Commission. Bringing the Great Commission to closure in the reasonably near future is a possibility and progress continues toward that goal. Partnership in gospel ministry begins with the local congregation. The local pastor is the gatekeeper. Calvary International is partnering with the local congregation to reap a global harvest. The sharing of materials and people helps to advance the Gospel. Calvary modeled this in Russia and experienced effective church planting and the emergence of national and regional Christian movements. The same thing is occurring in Nigeria, India and other places. The joint collaboration with Christ for the Nations in missionary internship training is yet another partnership example. Global Pathway has emerged as an example of sharing training materials with others. This excellent program written by Calvary’s president, Jerry Williamson, is a tool to equip the church at home and abroad to experience full participation in Great Commission ministry. Calvary’s ministry cooperation with Christian Adventures International and the T.L. Osborn Ministry is another example. Some mission ministries do everything through partnerships.
6. Calvary’s doors are open for other agencies to visit our organization and learn from our staff. This helps to strengthen their organizations and reduces costs for research and development. Calvary International staff also visits other agencies and Christian movements in various parts of the world in a collaborative process. This is a distinctive of generosity that is growing in our organization. Our goal is to take advantage of all opportunities to promote the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Partnership yields so much more than competition in gospel ministry. There is room for many more churches to be planted, Christian movements to be established and mission societies or agencies to be formed.
7. It will be the decentralization of the work of the gospel that will provide the most effective international infrastructures. This framework has loci or nodes of growth. Denominations usually form closed systems; however the leaders of Calvary International are growing in our capacity to mentor others including entire organizations. The collaborative efforts yield great long-term results. In this method, there really are no limits to growth.
8. As younger leaders form new organizations, they will undoubtedly make mistakes. They have the right to start new things and even the responsibility to do so. Our task is to encourage them along the way and promote their risk-taking and zeal. If they get into serious trouble, they will sometimes come to the more mature ministries for guidance. This is the proper way and we must always be available to encourage and guide.
9. As our focus continues on initiating, encouraging and mentoring ministries that multiply, our contribution to the task of the Great Commission will continue to grow. In this way there are no limits to growth, nor limits to grace. Let us all be good partners, respect the opinions of others and take the risk to try new ways.

Summary

This paper is about leadership development, the role of holism and models for training that permit transformation of individual leaders and their organizations. It is about Christ in Community and Community in Christ; leadership and its foundational role in advancing Great Commission ministry to the ends of the earth. It is about establishing the Kingdom of God in us and around us and bringing new ways for the purposes of God to be understood in our generation.

Models that others can follow are an investment of our experiences, experimentation, successes and failures. The 95% of leaders that are not church or agency staff must be effectively equipped also and mobilized by successful Christian business owners, bankers and governmental leaders to become full participants in global gospel ministry. I like to think of it as mobilizing people from the end of my street to the ends of the earth. Failure to mobilize these leaders is the greatest weakness of the institutional church of our day.

It has been reported that by 2012, half of the world’s population will live in mega-cities. This trend and reality challenges our missionary and church planting methodologies greatly but we are ready for new challenges!

Our programs and methods of transforming individuals, communities and societies must be formed into potentially multiplying models. We need to be more strategic and simply use a good models , that can multiply on their own merit. Jesus began with 12 disciples and changed the world!

Finally, partnership in the gospel has been discussed strongly in this paper. We need to take inventory from time to time on how well we are actually doing in our goal of partnering with others. These notes help to confirm what we already do well and to promote allowing others to show us how to do better. We need to be more effective in equipping the saints (training the trainers) and modeling our success as vanguard leaders and full partners with others in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. May God’s Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven!

Whereas this paper was written with staff and leaders of Calvary International in mind, its principles apply to other organizations, movements and churches as well.

Vision:

Multiply sustainable Mayan villages that have a quality of life as high as the mountain tribes of Guatemala.

Since the end of the insurgency (36 year war) in 1996, the Pet in District of Northern Guatemala has been advancing. During the ten years since the war, a spirit of peace has endured. In this atmosphere refugees and displaced people are returning to re-populate the ancient Mayan areas.

Since there is now open access to the region, progress is apparent in the county centers. Governmental infrastructure is improving. Roads and communications systems are being upgraded. There is consensus among the population that the peace will endure and development can advance like in other regions of Guatemala.

Building upon the success observed at the county town centers, people of local and often primitive villages are beginning to see hope for themselves. Village leaders welcome empowering knowledge and demonstrations of how they can improve the lives of their families and communities.

Success has been shown to be the foundation for a continuing desire to do more to improve their impoverished lives. This must be done in a low risk manner to be acceptable to illiterate villagers.

The people are beginning to see how the subsistence level existence gets better through demonstrated higher food production, nutrition, health care and literacy. This is a small but important beginning.

Past experience with demonstrated success has become the springboard for envisioning a widening circle of leaders that are taking steps to help develop themselves and others.

The advancing village leaders are beginning to envision their people to see that they can continue to lift themselves from hopelessness to confidence in a more prosperous future.

Mission:

To empower village leaders to become capable of implementing Community Transformation basics in their villages; and to demonstrate to neighboring villages how they did it.

This project is supportive of the overall objective to partner with villages to motivate them to be transformed from abject poverty to faith in a better future.

Transforming the Pet in jungle region of Guatemala, one village at a time.

Calvary International, through its ability to form village partnerships, is successfully facilitating the process of progressive community transformation.

Community Transformation in concert with evangelism and church planting, synergize in a holistic way to lift families to a higher level of health, hope and happiness.
Meyers 2004

Target Population:

Census data reveal a provincial population of about 450,000 people. Governmental programs are successful at strengthening the infrastructure at the province and major town locations. The larger towns of several thousand people have an educated class of people and successful merchants.

In contrast, in the small, mostly Kekchi tribal villages, education is almost non-existent or basically dysfunctional. The same is true of health care and basic human services with barely passable roads or none at all.

Most of these villages are accessible only by 4-wheel drive vehicles, especially during the rainy season, six to eight months of the year depending on the soil type on which the roads or trails are built.

County centers have people of mixed tribal and Spanish ancestry. The primitive villages are populated only by tribal peoples of Mayan descent.

Project leaders have nearly ten years experience in engaging leaders of the very rural sector. A good reputation has been earned that makes it easy to be accepted by the villages that yet have no community development initiatives.

The fragility of life is so severe that these people cannot tolerate risky project adventures. That is why the demonstration (model) village approach is employed. They must see success to be motivated to risk change.

Since the villages are very isolated and the roads or trails so bad, access is available only with 4-wheel drive vehicles or by foot. Some seasons motorbikes can be used if the mud is not too bad.

Regularly scheduled contact and follow-up training is mandatory to reinforce positive change. Much listening time is required within the village setting to establish confidence.

To establish a demonstration site that can become a model village requires diligence in maintaining regular physical presence. The village leaders respond very well to regular on-site encouragement.

Note: Transportation to maintain access to these villages is always one of the greatest challenges to promoting development in rural villages. This transportation shortfall challenges missionary work, overseeing projects, denominational overseers and even governmental departments.

It is true for Calvary International, that maintaining access and to have a continuing positive influence is seriously jeopardized by the lack of suitable 4 WD vehicles.

Engaging a village begins with a contact. This is often through one person that has been helped with medical care. The Nutrition and Health Project for the Children of the Pet in (NSP) was so well received that it was taken to over 120 villages in five months time. There were up to 24,600 children enrolled in the program of protein nutritional supplementation. That program has given Calvary International credibility in most areas of the Pet.

Once a community is engaged, a meeting is held with the leaders. Skill is required in communicating with illiterate people at this stage to not create unreasonable expectations and to bring them along as the major participants. Women play a key role in the development process. However, the culture demands a cautious approach of honoring the male village elders initially. Once acceptance is gained then specialized training is possible for various segments of the village society. For example, strengthening the knowledge and capability of traditional birth attendants. (TBA)

Next, some leaders are taken to a demonstration site to see what others have done. Integrated community transformation is emphasized. A village project is begun with one thing that they want to do. Success in this opens the way for other parts of the effort. Early adopters are encouraged and reinforced to initiate future change.

Note: The use of bilingual (Spanish-Kekchi) national staff members is mandatory for the success of these projects. The presence of expatriate staff gives credibility to the effort and helps manage the resources and provide program stability.

At the primitive jungle village level, virtually no governmental infrastructure exists. However, the Christian denominations have made some progress impacting the hearts of some of the people. Calvary International has a history of coalition building among denominations, reinforcing existing work and avoiding duplicating anything that is already working and advancing.

Note: The description of the details of this program are portrayed in a way that begins with the basics and adds progressively more details in the next section or chart.

There is planned redundancy in this presentation. The various charts add information in greater detail. This method of charting the process leads to the final chart on measuring the improvement of various benchmark items. The benchmark list on Page 14 is the measurement of success  the ultimate goal.

This program description is also for training of staff on the systematic evaluation and drafting of outcome-based programs with a focus on results.

Goals:

1. Gain access to leaders in primitive villages in 6 districts (counties.) Maintain current contacts in 120 villages.
2. Initiate or continue small projects in 20 villages as a test to assess if the motivation of village leadership is present to facilitate more advanced development.
3. Identify and select one village in each of the six counties (municipalities) to develop into a model village. (Achieve two selections per year 2005-2007.)
4. Initiation of development of model villages in six different counties. Two model villages to be initiated in 2006.
5. Multiplication of success by facilitating through modeling, training, partnerships and coalitions influencing 10 villages near each model village.
6. Motivate the communities through participatory means to lift themselves to a higher plane of life and hope.

Note: These goals began to be developed in 2003. Expatriate staff has been trained and national staff are being developed and envisioned with the goals  a shared vision. A coalition of denominations was formed by consensus and is participating in the community transformation process. Included in the coalitions contribution is discipleship, church planting and development of leaders within the primitive villages. The Christian denominations are the major leadership and infrastructural focus for transforming the villages to become empowered to be all they can be.

Goal Summary:

Calvary International has begun and has had some success in achieving these goals. The rate of success is determined by the ability of the national staff to have regular presence in the villages. Through Calvary Internationals contacts and influence about 120 villages have become aware that the organization is available for advising and helping in community transformation projects and their processes. The program builds upon former successes.

The acceptance into villages is an important first step. There is now some momentum that is being reinforced each year by visits from the programs advisors, permanent national staff, missionary interns and short-term teams from North America.

Table 1. Goals and Objectives Chart

Note: The plan is to get two models initiated by December 2006, two more by December 2007 and finally by December 2008 have 6 model villages functional in 6 different districts (counties). This is a focus on establishing models for future multiplication through demonstration. This is Phase 1. Phase 2 is for each model village to model through demonstration to ten nearby villages and mentor the leaders to have the villages become like the models they have seen.

Table 2. Activities and Services Chart

Note: Villages A & F are the Phase 1 model or demonstration villages. The ten influencers are Located one per each of the ten satellite villages circling each model village A & F.

Note: The radio reaches to the primitive villages and is the primary means of outside communication to them. Interviews of community leaders cooperating in model villages will help inform the listeners of the program, its goals and activities and finally to focus on the successes. Note: The infrastructure is for a model village ultimately with about 10 satellite villages to be influenced in a given county.

Table 3. Activities for One Model Village Expanding to Six  The Process

Staff and Partnerships

The staff to operate the Pet in District Community Transformation program consists of both expatriate and national staff. A permanent community transformation staff typically consists of two expatriate members and ten national specialists and workers. Other agency expatriate and nationals manage the program operations offices and a demonstration and training center in the Northern Guatemala region.

Through partnering with other agencies, denominations and governmental entities the permanent staff is augmented markedly. The focus is for implementation through the national staff.

Primary partners include:
Ministry of Agriculture
Ministry of Health
Town governmental leaders
Security forces
Christian denominations
Private clinics and hospitals
Non-governmental Community Development Organizations (NGOs)
The missionary community
Visiting short-term teams (often with professionals such as medical, water development,
Dentistry, opthalmology physicians
Tropical health leadership development and integrated community transformation             advisors.

Note: The following advisors are available to the Director of the Pet in District Community Transformation program:

George H. Meyers, Ph.D.  Dr. Meyers has community development experience in supervising and evaluating significant development projects in Africa, Asia, Central Europe and Latin America extending over a period of thirty years.

Mark Dal Corso, MD, MPH. Dr. Dal Corso has conducted Tropical Health training in several Latin American countries. He is on the faculty of Tulane University Medical School and directs health programs in U.S. inner cities.

Jason Noble Mr. Noble has served in Guatemala and in the Pet in region for nine years specializing in training and planning and leading community development project teams. He is especially qualified in the process of developing consensus and contracts for village projects.

Synergism

This is essential to multiply our efforts in concert with other organizations. For this reason the model village project is a faithful partner in many aspects of ongoing development in the area.

An example is the training of interns from area high schools. The interns work alongside a national staff person for a month to learn practical skills in management, maintenance, bookkeeping, finance, community development and human resources.

Another example is conducting medical clinics in primitive villages in cooperation with the Ministry of Health district clinics and national doctors.

Our purpose is transformation of the whole person: spirit, soul and body while concurrently developing leaders that can replicate themselves in the lives of emerging village leaders out in the towns and primitive villages throughout the region and beyond.

Partnerships

We partner with various entities. For example, in 2003, we partnered with Orden de Malta to received several million dollars value of powdered milk. This was distributed to as many as 24,612 children each month, throughout the Pet, in a cooperative program with eight denominations and two Guatemalan non-profit development groups.

Through cooperation, a Pet-based association has emerged, ASEDI Asociacion Evangelico Desarollo Integral (Association of Evangelical Integrated Development) to promote, encourage and facilitate community development throughout the Pet District. This was formed by the leaders and influencers among the Christian denominations.

Leadership Development The training of Guatemalan leaders and specialists has been and continues to be the strong focus of this on-going program. The program is one empowering (capacitacion) or increasing their capacity to lead. This is done to influence, motivate, plan, organize and implement a program of separate projects that are designed to bring about positive change as shown by demonstrations that model success.

The program is an infrastructure like a scaffold that can later be removed. The leaders and followers go forward on their own, motivated by faith and success, being lifted to a higher standard of life and hope for the future. When leaders are developed to plan these things and achieve them, then it will be measured as successful. This is what on-the-job training is all about empowerment!

Table 4. Outcomes That Can Be Measured

Indicators

There are benchmark indicators that are used to measure progress. Some of these are shown in the Outcome and Result columns of the Outcome Table of this project description.

Primary Benchmarks

1. Per cent per year of improvement after the satellite villages are well engaged in the transformational processes. Typically a 5% improvement is very impressive and attainable throughout the satellite villages.

Table 5. Benchmarks and Measurable Improvement

The above chart is a partial list and will be changed according to specific villagers desires, priorities and contracts. The exact projects are selected only through dialog with village leaders and their influence over their people to buy into the process and to own the goals.

Comments on Long-term Progress

• Conceivably the influence and capacity of the village leadership should grow in strength and motivation as the physical and spiritual formations advance.
• The potential impact of this multiplication could impact over half of the villages in each of the modeling counties over a 15 year period.
• Finally, after 15 years through expansion each model may positively influence 40 villages or up to 5,000 people in their county. However, this is not an ideal world. If only 20 villages of 250 people each were impacted by each of the six models A-F, then 5,000 people would be impacted per county as a springboard for future success.
• Impact 5,000 people from each model A-F after 15 years of initiatives would yield:
  6 models X 5,000 people = 30,000 people impacted in six counties by December 2020; or half of the county population residing in outlying villages.
• This type of model has the power within the transformational dynamic to continue to make progress long after the project is over. The investment in people goes on throughout eternity.

Note: If 30,000 people could be lifted from poverty to hope in this multiplying model in 15 years, we would all conclude that it was worth the cost and effort.

Built into this model is a clear mandate to foster self-sufficiency to prevent unhealthy dependency. The focus on leadership development is the driver to the continuing progress.

Dissemination: Creating a Learning Community

Periodic and final reports of this ongoing project have been and will continue to be shared through the following means:

• Visits to model sites to personally view and experience the results.
• Written periodic and year-end reports recording the results of the various projects within the program.
• Financial and progress reports prepared and sent to meet the requirements of organizational, funding groups and partner agencies.
• Progress reports are posted on the program information sites of the Website.
• Media summaries to highlight achievement.
• Distribute reports appropriately to governmental, non-governmental and partnership agencies. These reports will show:
  1. Plan Objectives
  2. Achievements
  3. Weaknesses and failures and their cause
  4. Lessons learned.
  5. Recommendations about implementing the program in other locations and even in other countries.
  6. A permanent file of electronic reports will be maintained to permit public access to the program results.

Summary

The program shown in this project description is a model village project. The concept is to form one model or demonstration village in each of six counties of the Pet District of Northern Guatemala.

The first three years of the program envisions having all six models in operation. Progressively about ten satellite villages nearby each model/demonstration village will be impacted through seeing, learning and doing what they have seen others do. The results expected include the benchmark items shown as improvements to the status. Studies are required to assign values to the benchmarks from which improvement is measured.

The program is integrated or holistic, encompassing spiritual, social and physical components.

A high level of participation is obtained in this program with a strong emphasis on developing leaders.

Even though in some cases the project works in an environment of very high illiteracy, integrated development can move ahead with some of the people concurrently inquiring literacy skills. Illiteracy will not hinder the outcomes.

There will be a progressive attainment of six model villages, then approximately ten satellite villages and further expansion of the learner-centered progress in the model villages. This extends to a multi-year effort with annual incremental improvement.

After 15 years, it is conceivable that 5,000 people in each of six counties will be impacted by this program. This would result in a definite improvement in quality of life for 30,000. The communities that are lifted will inspire others to try to improve their villages also.

Success will be measured against the benchmarks starting point and yield a higher quality of life through combined spiritual, social and physical values.