Spiritual Health Assessment

I don't really know why, but I feel like blogging today. I had a small group leader ask me for a resource over the weekend that you may find useful as well. I started using a tool known as a Spiritual Health Assessment a few years ago. It was developed by Steve Gladen and Todd Olthoff at Saddleback Church in California.

The purpose of the tool is to help people assess where they are in their spiritual walk at a point in time. That information can then be used to map out a plan on what areas the person needs to grow in over the next few months or year. It includes a form that you can give to a friend that allows them to speak into your life about these spiritual issues as well.

The purpose of this assessment (or any other assessment for that matter) is not to dictate or lock you in to being a certain type of person. This is a tool that can be used to help you think honestly about your spiritual walk and help you think about what God would have you do to improve that walk. The key is letting God reveal truth to you, and you allowing God to change you in the areas that need to be changed.

I think what excited me most about revisiting this tool is the realization that honestly assessing our lives from time to time is so beneficial. I had to write a paper for one of my classes this summer that was a self-evaluation, and I am still reaping benefits from that process. If you would like to get a copy of this document, feel free to contact me.

Helping People Win at Work

I recently participated in the annual planning for Hope Women's Centers and was shown a great book during our time together. I have always been a big fan of Ken Blanchard for his ability to make leadership understandable for everyone. One of his newest books, Helping People Win at Work (along with Garry Ridge), is another great resource for parents, managers, employees, business owners, coaches, teachers, and anyone else who works with people.

The premise of the book is centered around the philosophy "Don't mark my paper, help me get an A."  What makes this so powerful is it puts the leader/teacher and the follower/learner on the same side of the table. The leader wants the follower to succeed, and the follower knows the leader's job is to help them succeed. It is a win-win situation.

In many ways, this is a good introductory book to many of Blanchard's other works. He ties together issues such as vision, planning, praising, reprimands, customer service, and situational leadership in this work. I would encourage you to get this book. It will only take you a couple of hours to read, and you will find a lot of good leadership principles to help you lead your family and work place.