INFLuENCE notes: Summit 2011

This is going to be a long one. So you better brace yourselves....some of the points might seem irrelevant to the message, but somehow it just happened that way. I underlined the points that really hit me. 


SESSION ONE
- if I want to influence others, I have to start with myself (in the plane emergency analogy, put on your oxygen mask first so you're healthy enough to help the person next to you).
- A healthy leader will have a strong emphasis on prayer/a Christian leader starts (at a problem) on his/her knees in prayer.- Prayer puts events in the right focus, and allows us to see the situation through God's eyes.
- You have to let go of your own plan in order to have free arms to embrace God's plan.
- Sometimes God disguises the greatest opportunity as the most insignificant role. 


SESSION TWO
- The church goes through seasons; it's supposed to be a living, breathing body (even though it's not treated that way sometimes).
- How to handle compliments: receive them, then pass it to Jesus who deserves all the glory.
- Don't let my ministry outgrow my character.
- Your feelings will lie to you. Don't trust feelings, trust God who is working in your heart.
- You will go through storms so that others come to know Jesus, and the way you handle them is how people will see Jesus in your life. 
- No matter what season of life you're in: trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.


SESSION THREE 
- Fog causes us to lose reality and perspective. The familiar starts to look confusing.
- 1 Sam. 30:1-10; 1) Pursue (God is reminding us to return to a Godly pursuit); 2) Overtake (Move ahead in achievement); 3) Recover (find, gain, retrieve). 
- David didn't wait to pursue when he was ready and comfortable. God called him, and he moved. 


INTERACTIVE ONE
- To not ask people to respond to the message being given, is to raise up a nation of spectators.
- When truth is presented, a response is demanding. 
- Prepare for a response; the battle is won in prayer (even before the message is given). When you decide to battle it out in prayer, brace yourself.
- "Habit prayer" is dangerous, because it tends to lose heart if you're not actually in it...if you're just repeating words in monotone, not really putting your heart behind the words. 
- Battle prayer is effective and will move ministry.


INTERACTIVE TWO
- We think conflict is not Christ-like and shouldn't happen within the church, which is unbiblical. Conflict happens within the church, but if we ignore it, we never learn how to deal with it.
- Are you loving people because YOU want to be loved, or are you loving people because Christ called you to love people?
- Instead of giving people what they need, sometimes we make the mistake of instead giving them what they want (which is, just to clarify, sometimes not what they need).
- Co-dependence is dangerous.
- "You don't have to change" is a lie. The Gospel is always talking of transformation. 
- Sometimes we get sick of people who say "no" so we surround ourselves with "yes" people. It's a way to avoid conflict.
- We don't deserve anything. Entitlement is a bad place to be.
- Conflict is good cause it can be humbling.
- Christ got away when He was tired, so it's OK to get away if you need to...but don't run away from your problems completely. 
- If you guard your character, God will guard your reputation. 


METAMORPHOSIS
- INFLuENCE starts with a little u and a big God.
- Christ's love compels us to action.
- We don't let teenagers lead prayer services because we think they're inexperienced ("kids" have more potential in Christ than we give them credit for).
- Discipleship is life time. 




SESSION FIVE
- All influencers are not created equal
- Who you are is more important than what you do.
- Your identity is in Christ
- What you do for God is an overflow of who you are. 
- The key to influence is the spiritual health of the leadership.
- Live by way of example and don't remove fear of God. People want to be more relevant than they want to build spiritual character (NOT GOOD)
- "More of a commitment to humor than to holiness" (Scotty's statement on modern church culture) this is also NOT GOOD.
- Have enough spiritual character to be taken seriously in times of urgency. 
- Is God honored with your life?
- Spiritual Character: HUGE deal that is made up of tiny daily decisions.
- There are some that will accomplish much more for the kingdom of God because of their character.
- What spiritual character looks like:
    a) Obedience. It's all about pleasing Him, not always other people. 
    b) Submissive heart.
    c) Guard your heart - if you think there is no connection between your spiritual character and the media you view or the activities you participate in, you are falling for a lie. Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life. 
    d) Surround yourself with accountability. Make other people call you out and correct you if you're doing wrong. It will teach you a humble heart and it will improve your character a tonnnn.
- Stop being complacent and "relaxed" about prayer and/or spiritual lifestyles. 
- We are called to a standard of holiness that is made achievable by the sacrifice of Jesus, the grace of God, and the strength that the Holy Spirit can give us (the same power that conquered the grave lives in us). Because of the freedom we have in Christ, we no longer have to feed our flesh desires which hurt God's heart, because we are no longer bound by sin...but we choose to feed our flesh anyways, because we are easily fooled. When you build a character, you build discernment...therefore you are not deceived as easily.


SESSION SIX
- Things to remember in your setbacks:
   a) God is with you.
   b) God's timing is perfect.   c) God is teaching you something.
   d) God is working through you (to others) in ways you don't even notice.