God Is Our Life-Building Facilitator

I am a team building facilitator. My job requires me to coordinate experiential learning processes for teams. My role as the facilitator is to provide a safe (physically and psychologically), supportive, non-judgmental atmosphere, in which participants try to accomplish tasks beyond their self-imposed limitations.

So when a team contacts me, we do a need assessment that guides me in formulating activities and a program for them. These needs are the things that are hindering the team from performing as a team and achieving more. The activities are supposed to produce learning points in line with the needs identified. 

So as I set those challenges for the team, I have in mind what the team needs are, I have in mind what this activity seeks to achieve and I have the confidence that the team process as they do the activities, will produce the required lessons for them. The only way to assimilate the lessons from an activity is through what we call a debrief. The team sits back and starts reflecting on their process, analyzing their feelings, analyzing their actions and their responses and articulating their learning points.

When I was thinking about my work, I started thinking about how God is our life building facilitator. He know the things that are hindering us from achieving our purpose and call. And so everyday he sets challenges for us, knowing that our processes will produce learning points that if assimilated will make us a better people, able to do life as He wishes. And as much as we might feel as if a challenge is impossible, (just like my teams do all the time), when I engage with him and allow him to facilitate me, He guides me through my processes until I manage. He also knows our self-imposed limitations and He wishes we could break those limiting barriers and be the people He created us to be.

Unfortunately, we don't see it that way. Some of us shun away from challenges, some of us are not focusing on becoming better and others are prisoned by their self imposed limitations they can hardly do a thing. They are slaves.

But God is our Life Building Facilitator. Let us learn how to allow him to guide us through life, to teach us thing through our process and to trust him that though he sets ahead of us challenging things, he know that we can surely do it. 

And yeah, you must make it a habit to always do a debrief with God. Take time everyday to reflect on your learning points and allow those lessons to become part of you.

Lessons on Faith From London 2012 Olympics

London 2012 Olympics brought together countries from all over the globe. Many athletes competing could not speak one language. But that did not limit their participation.  As I was just reflecting on this thought, I realized how easy it is for the church to come to the unity of faith. You see, in any sport, the participants do not necessarily have to learn the same language, all they need to know is learn the language of the game. If it's handball, you have to know what makes it different from netball or volleyball. If it's triple jump, you need to know the drill and so with each game.

Once you understand the language of the game, whether in a global tongue like English, or in a local dialect like Kalenjin, you are good to go. And as you enter in the field to play, though speaking different tongues, all players are in essence speaking one language, the language of the game.

The Kingdom of God is bigger than our local realities, it is massive beyond the global sense. Beyond the galaxy, the seen and the unseen. And sometimes one can wonder if the maturity of the church according to Eph 4:13, will come when the church comes to the unity of faith, then will the end really come?

But following the above thinking, let us assume the journey of faith is indeed a game at the Olympics, the reality of maturity is like playing at the Olympics and the people of faith are the players. How then can we make the maturity of all saints a possible reality?

To qualify for the Olympics (maturity of faith), one has to practice, learn the language of the game and be good at it, having achieved the set standard. The language of the game in this context is the Knowledge of the Son. This means that you have to have a level of the Knowledge of the son that is substantial enough to make you qualify for maturity.

Did you realize as nations competed at the Olympic they did not send the whole country there? Everybody could not achieve the standard required to play at the Olympics! What does that mean? It means REPRESENTATION. Could it be as much as the quantum that qualifies one for maturity is unknown, the reality of representation could the secret? That as long as some people are able to achieve the set standard required, they can stand on behalf of the rest and their representation can be considered as an achievement for all? 

Back to the basic thought of this note. 

If each player, in their local reality, learnt the language of the game, and acquired the standard required to play at the Olympics, then the unity of faith we seek could become a reality. And so, the task is for me and you to strive to achieve the standard that will qualify us to play at the Olympics. To strive for the knowledge of the son that will bring us to MATURITY.

Change Me Oh Lord!

We have prayed this prayer over and over again. That God may change us. 

Then just as I was changing my son's diaper it hit me... what kind of change do I want?

You see, when a child has pooped on themselves, they are desperate for a change. They scream to express the desperation. Even if they are hungry, they will not be comfortable to suckle. As you come near them, as you hold them, they are desperately wishing you could just figure it, that they need change.

How many times have we desperately cried out to God for change. A change of diapers? When we poop on ourselves and the discomfort of sin is eating us up alive. Our hearts are so burned we are developing a rash? When our immaturity has blinded us up not to see the greatness of our God. We cry and wail, showing how desperately we need a clean slate... and God in His faithfulness, changes us or should I say changes our diaper... and as we indulge in our usual delicacies... we poop again and the cycle continues. We are ever crying to God for change.. a change of diaper!

But how beautiful would it be when God matures me up.. the kind of change that will teach me how not to poop on myself. The kind of change that matures me. The kind of change that brings me to a higher and deeper level in Him.

And just like a child, we start by pooping on ourselves and God changes our diapers, but He expects us to grow up and mature. He expects us to desire a better change, a deeper change, a renewing change.. something permanent.

And so as I lift my hands and ask God to change me, I focus on getting into a transforming process, the kind of change that makes me more like him.

Change Me Oh Lord!

Think Differently!

Sometimes it feels like life has already been thought out for most people. I mean, must we do things the way they have always been done? I was telling some people the other day that I am tired of using other people's quote. Not in a selfish way, but I too should start uttering fresh quotable quotes. This story of wahenga walisema... needs a fresh start. I want to be a mhenga and start speaking to my generation.


It is time we started innovating. Bringing new stuff to this world. Creating our own future and not waiting for the future to be created for us. What kind of a country do we want? Let us create it. What kind of a generation do we want to be? Let us build ourselves. I am tired of a life already dictated, by tradition that has lost meaning, by religion that has no power, by a lifestyle that is empty and by a past that is just but past. 


And am not just tired,I am doing something to challenge the status quo.


We must start to design the life we want, we must start to shape the globe. 


It is time to THINK DIFFERENTLY.

Where Do I start?

How can a big man like me... start all over again?


The dilemma of Nicodemus in John 3 was not a religious quagmire but a struggle with reality. Nicodemus was a teacher of the law and had matured in the faith of his time, yet he lacked the ability to access the next level of the kingdom. And that is why he visited Jesus at night fearing people might see him and lose faith in him. The truth was Nicodemus had lost faith in himself.


And when Jesus told him that all he needed was to be born again, he lost the battle. By the way what happened to the story? Did Jesus lead Nicodemus to himself?


The thing about getting born again is having to start all over again. Nicodemus must have done everything required by faith for him to acquire the status as the teacher of law. Yet, he still needed much more. He needed to start all over again to align his life with the current doings and speakings of God which were activated by the coming of Jesus the messiah.


Born again is not an event. It is a process. A process of starting life all over again everyday. Living by the basics and learning how to access the new daily. To access the Kingdom everyday. Not assuming you know how to do it but rather asking God to show you the way everyday. Not approaching life from a place of competence but rather obedience. Operating with the current speakings of God.


It is also a journey. A journey of accumulating values. A journey of becoming. Becoming like Him. And yeah, Nicodemus reminds me even as a teacher of the law, I too I am a seeker of Life. And so I run in a manner to win the prize. Being careful not to teach others and be disqualified. Keeping in step with the Savior.


Lord, what would have me do today? That is my posture :-)

Show Me The Way I Should Go

I wish life was a one way street.... coz people like me would not get lost. But life is like a jungle, with many trails made by those who have gone before us. Just like Robert Frost once said.. we get to a junction and wonder which way to go... and as much as we tell ourselves that if this road leads us nowhere, we shall come back and take the other road, we can never really go back there. It is never the same.

Teach a child on the way he should go and when he is old... he will not depart from it...

Thinking about this verse, I have come to learn that it is not really the path that you take or the path that you are on, on the outside, but rather, it is the path you are on within you. The journey of life is an internal journey manifested through a physical life. At the end of life, how will you describe your journey? What will you have become?

And so, as we journey through life, be it on a career path or on a business path, or on a family path, or on a leadership path, the essence of the journey is that we may not lose the path. That we may not lose ourselves.

I'm Just A Fool.

"The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” Psalm 14:1a

When I do something wrong ignoring that God is watching.... Am just a fool.

When I choose to forget what His word commands.... Am just a fool.

When I worry... Am just a fool.

When I fail to trust God through a challenging situation... Am just a fool.

When I think I can do it alone..... Am just a fool.

Have I spoken to my heart?

And what did I say?

Be wise O Yee Fool!

Are You Zero Grazing Your Children?

Sometimes when I look at some disinfectant TVC I get so angry. What do you mean there are germs everywhere? I am not saying there are no germs, but they are not everywhere. Unfortunately we have been brain washed to the benefit of these products.

I think some of our children are reared like the broiler chicken. Indoors, lots of junk food, limited space to walk, artificial lighting and modern gadgets. Those too are experiences, but we are all sure what the products are.

I am happy I was born in my generation where I was allowed to graze freely. The things we did can kill the today’s zero grazed child. We ate some gum from a tree I have no idea what is the English name. And it was such a delicacy. We dug beetles from cow dung by urinating in their holes to force them out. We fished tadpoles thinking they were fish. We made mud slides during the rainy seasons. We ate the roadside stones when it rained just because they smelt aromatic. Oh, and we didn’t die.

I know things have changed. We don’t have forests or rivers or even space to let our children, we cannot trust them to roam around and we are too busy. When was the last time you played with your children? Outdoor?

We are limited I know, but I still believe it is a parents responsibility to create moments and experiences for their children. It is so unfortunate that most of our children have never seen a cow giving birth, or even a cow being milked. They can neither make fire nor make tea. They have never seen a tadpole leave alone a frog. It is a sad thing.

With all our excuses, we are lucky as a country that we can give such experiences to our children if we made deliberate efforts. A friend of mine Emanzo is doing such a great work with his Bush Culture Programs. And I agree with his concept. That unless we do something and create some of  these experiences for our children, they will never understand why environment is such an important things and they may never ever understand life as they ought to.

So this coming holiday, do something with your children. And if you need help, you can always contact me to help you create experiences for you children, experiences that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.

www.teambuildingcompany.co.ke

What Is Your Claim?

If you look at brands they have a communication tagline. This tagline is what we call a claim. Now I was musing about it and I realized human beings do have taglines too. Why do brands have taglines?


Taglines are a condensed representation of the values or attributes a brand wants to be perceived as offering to the target audience. Unfortunately some of these claims are not realistic and neither are they true. But marketers know if they feed you with a claim over and over, your mind starts to think that it is a true claim and we start as we seek to fulfill the created demand and thus we end up consuming the brand.


Let us look at two big brands in Kenya and see what they claim to offer.

OMO : This is a detergent that aggressively fights for her market share. In the recent past they claimed that Dirt is good. Obviously that is a lie if dettol is to go with. Anyway, they would show kids learning how to ride bikes or learning how to play football and as they fall, they would get a badges of honor and that is how dirt is good. In the same campaign they used footballers (Samuel Etoo) to endorse the brand. Who doesn't want their kids to succeed? According to OMO let your kid get as dirty as they can, that is the way to succeed. In my words, let your kids get as dirty as they can, you will only end up using more OMO for the meantime. By the time you realize dirt aint good and your kids cloths are something else, OMO will have come up with another claim... Fights Dried In Stains... who is laughing now?


Let us look at another brand


Coke: Always Refreshing. Life gets monotonous and boring for most of us. And as we engage with what we do we get drained and dehydrated. Knowing water is the best beverage to hydrate, Coke tells you to get refreshed always and so they model that bottle adorned with ice cold sweat that makes you crave for one. That is the claim that water no matter how healthy cannot beat so easily. And that is why it is easy to grab a cold soda over a cold glass of water. Then realizing that people are becoming more health conscious, BRRRRRR came in the picture. We want something exciting to shake us from the inside. And that campaign was a success. And before we realize there is nothing BRRRR about a cold coke, they came up with now what is here... open happiness. Now what is this? Ok, this is fantasy. And subconsciously we are looking for some open happiness... Something liberating, something beyond. Are we still talking about quenching thirst? You tell me...


In a nutshell, that is the power of a tagline, a claim.


Most human beings unfortunately do not have a conscious claim. But of yoy stick around a person you will hear something they say way too often.. Let me sample a few, life is hard, life is boring, I can't do that. I wish I was... I wish I had, If only, I will be happy when... Someday I will...


I believe your claim whether conscious or unconscious will define what you offer life and how your surrounding configure themselves for you. As earlier said, a claim may not be true, but as we consistently engage with it, it starts defining so many things for us.


Having thought about this, my claim for this season is living a great story.

So, what is your claim?

Maintaning A Spiritual High

It is very common to be a christian who experiences a spiritual high every Sunday and then dwindles down as the week goes. On Monday you are still energized by the Sunday's sermon, on Tuesday you are okay, on Wednesday you start forgetting what it means to walk with God daily and by Thursday you start getting drained and you can't wait for the weekend so that you take a break from the draining dragging week and then on Sunday you can go for a service, just like you take a car to the garage for service.

But is that how we are supposed to live?

It is very challenging to main a spiritual high throughout the week without being overly 'spiri'. Many Christians are struggling with this issue. But how do you maintain a spiritual high?

1. Stop compartmentalizing you life. There is only one life that you live. Don't look at yourself from the different aspects of your life. E.g. spiritual life, financial life, emotional life, work life and home life. It is one life. So focus on living a balanced whole life. When you look at your life as a whole block then it will be easy to work around all aspects and allow each element to create harmony and rhythm.
2. Don't focus on a formula, focus on a system. Look at what works for you and develop a structure and a system that will work for you to achieve the goals that you are focusing on.
3. Be deliberate. Understand that many things are fighting for your attention. Be deliberate on desiring to spend time in prayer, in the word and in worship. Create the time don't wait to have the time
4. Be creative. Break monotony and use creative ways of getting to connect with God. Reflect on your day some time, recite a psalm the other day, have a bible study the other day. listen to music the other, revise your notes, teach a friend a principle you learnt. ETC
5. Enjoy being in God and your salvation. Don't get familiar with prayer or with worship and stop it if you find you are just being casual about it. Enjoy the moments and make them personal and intense.

How else do you maintain a spiritual high? Share with us.