Influence Soars Through Authentic People by Robert Ricciardelli

Authentic Living becomes reality when you intentionally answer the questions people are afraid to ask about you, and before they ask you. As you open your heart to others, they will open their heart to you, and then high level relating begins. The world is desperate for people who are real. Watch your influence soar as you crush your self protective shell, and reveal the pearl that God has placed within your heart.

Dallas April 22-24 Free Strategic Conference - Join the Ricciardelli's

Please Join Joyce and I and several friends, as we gather together with leaders of several Tribes (Networks), and introduce a Kingdomized way to work together, and provide ways for others to join us in becoming educated and empowered together "As One", far greater than what we think we may accomplish without each other. This will also be the further launching of the Converging Zone Network.

If God has given you a ministry, come and join us as we relate with strategic purpose together for the Kingdom of God.

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Embracing and Releasing Eternal Love

God's love for us existed before we were born and exists after we die. We are graced with eternal love, and must embrace Him in order to live as reflections of His love. There is no human love that is not broken somewhere. We can overcome the inadequacies of humanities love by Living in God's love. Let's forgive each other's limitations, and enjoy together the love we have to offer each other in Him.

Keeping Our Eyes On the Main Thing

People are passionate in what they think is right. The mind justifies what the heart has chosen. One may write a book to change the world, and another has a breakthrough revelation to sell. The Pharisees were passionate about their perceptions. Jesus simplified it to love, and living a life that pleases the Father. Be careful to not prop up good things, while becoming living epistles of that which matters most.

"Visionary Advancement Strategies" Weekly Articles March 28, 2010

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Get Real, Get Right, For the Next Generation!

Get Real, Get Right, For the Next Generation!

By Robert Ricciardelli www.vision2advance.com

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What The Young Leaders of This Next Generation Need.

I was able to spend a weekend recently with a group of 92 men of valor. Their ages ranged from about 18- 70, and they represented more than 10 nations. It was a safe environment for all to come together in a deep relational way to discuss the issues of today, the church of today, and the direction we need to be moving towards for tomorrow.

I particularly took notice of the leaders in the generation that is coming up after me. They are passionate, and they are committed to living a life for God’s glory. They are radically in love with Jesus, and just as radical about changing the impotent ways of what they perceive about today’s Christianity. They want to be a part of birthing real communities that increasingly look more like family, and less like corporate America.

I also was amazed at how talented these young men were and how equally they were wrapped with humility. One has preached in over 450 cities around the world, and yet was amazed at Father’s continual use of Him. This young man has no formal Bible education, He just knows Jesus. He does not have degrees or pedigrees, but He is filled with the Spirit of God. Even at a young age, this man has been wrecked in a great way for the Kingdom of God.

Here are just a few of my take-aways from our time together…

They just want to be heard!
This generation carries a much-needed voice for today. We need to hear the sound of God through their perspective worldviews. They are not perfect, but are being perfected. They remind me of David’s 400 men, who all at some level had been marginalized or had lives of no reputation. The Holy Spirit inspired each of them for the King and the Kingdom, much like these young leaders of today.

Servant Leadership
This generation of leaders is not enamored by stardom, but by righteousness, authenticity, and humility towards God and mankind. Many of them commented that they do not look up to leaders who desire “Superstar Status”. They do not want to be viewed as merely armor bearers, because they have their own purpose, and want to engage in the battle. They want to walk beside those they can learn from, and fight alongside them the good fight of faith. They will serve leaders that seek to serve and not seek to be served.

Authentic Fathers
Many of these men are looking for fathers of the faith that will be real with them. They want dialogue, they want the truth expressed through real relationship, and not some religious hierarchical chain of command. They want leaders to answer questions that they may be afraid to ask. They desire intimacy with leaders who live transparent lives that manifest the idea, “Into me You See”

Kingdomized Gender Equality
The married men grasped the fact that their wives were partners in every possible way for the Kingdom. In some cases their wives might even have a greater public voice or influence than themselves, and they were okay with God’s will in such matters. John Wayne is not their hero, Jesus is, and Jesus gave women the right to be and to do all the things God may call a man to do. In the Kingdom of God there is no male or female, but obedience and recognition of each one’s calling and assignments. These men get this. The single men there are trusting God to reveal their partners one day, and have the heart to allow their partner to flourish in all the things of God.

Fearless
Another quality I observed was the amazing ability to honor those in authority, but with an incredible lack of fear towards men in authority. There was honor and yet little fear. One young man was also writing a biblical research paper to one of his mentors to challenge some paradigms and ways that may not be God’s best. They do not fear tomorrow. They are passionate about how the Father may use them to bring solutions to humanity in whatever part of the world the Lord sends them into.

Our Father is speaking to fathers
We all must do everything we can to embrace the young men and women who will lead the future generations. Some final thoughts:

• We must repent if we have gotten in God’s way in how we have related and imparted to them
• We must set a new course in how we relate with them going forward.
• God is making it clear that He only wants one Superstar, and that is His Son Jesus. All other Superstars, please step down. God has proven that He can make a way for you to step down if you need it, but please listen to His voice today and step down.
• Remove the fear of man from your life, ask the Lord and seek wise counsel if necessary.
• Have a righteous fear of God, and only obey His voice for the training of these young leaders.
• Ask the Lord for His perspectives regarding how you may be choosing those you are working with. Have you disregarded some based on human understanding?
• Do all for the glory of God and remove all hidden agenda’s.

His Power and HIS GLORY

God shares His power with us, but does not share His glory. He is growing us up in wisdom, stature, and favor. He has empowered us to accomplish the miraculous in this world. His power, His very essence is with us, all the days of our lives. He has called us to be Sons and Daughters of His light to the world. His glory... is revealed through our lives, and yet must always remain, HIS GLORY.

God's Covenant, our Covenant with Each Other

In God's covenant with us, He eternally loves, and will not quit us even if we reject, betray, or run away from Him. In our society we replaced covenants are with contracts. Contracts often break, because of unfaithfulness. God wants our relationships with one another to reflect His covenant with us. Marriage, friendship, and community life are ways to give visibility to God's faithfulness in our lives.

God-Within-Us

Jesus became God-within-us through the Holy Spirit. God wants to live in you, so that the He can become God in others through you. He wants to remove all distance between humanity and the divine as His Kingdom expands on earth. His Spirit empowers us to say, think, and do His will. In manifesting His life and love, the world can know that He has come, and that He wants to be Father to all who would receive Him.

Let God Fill the Emptiness

We fear emptiness and we want to be occupied. If we are not occupied we easily become preoccupied with stuff that fills empty spaces that God wants to fill. It is very hard to allow emptiness to exist in our lives. Emptiness requires a willingness to give up control and trust, surrender, and be open to guidance. God wants to dwell in our emptiness. If we do not have faith in God's actions in our lives, we will not give Him our emptiness. Let go and let God fill the emptiness with His desires.

Disciplines Create Responders

Discipleship without discipline is like trying to win a race without training. Discipline without discipleship is like practicing but never participating. Discipline in the spiritual life is beyond sport and into creating time and space for God to become our master and where we can respond freely to His guidance. Disciplines of solitude, worship, and lovingly doing good to others creates the time and space for God's presence to be acknowledged and responded to.

Patience is Powerfully Active in Faith

Anything of value that you pursue is worth waiting for. Patience is the virtue that gives us strength to go on even when there are many voices in our minds telling us to quit. Patience sounds passive but is powerfully active in our faith in God, with whom all destiny rests. It demands that we be still and trust that Father's perfect outworking is on the horizon, especially when there is no evidence of such in sight. So we do what we do, and wait for God to do what only He can do, in His time.

Glimpse of a Perfect Life

Life in the Spirit gives us a glimpse of perfect life. In the midst of many struggles we can touch eternity now. We are subjected to every kind of hardship, we see no way out but we never despair; knocked down, but still have life in us; always we carry with us in our body the resurrected life of Jesus. Our imperfections open for us the vision of the perfect life that God has promised each of us through Christ.

"Visionary Advancement Strategies" Weekly Articles March 21, 2010

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Worthiness Beyond Celebrity

There is much emphasis on notoriety and fame in our society. The media keeps giving us the message: What counts is to be known, praised, and admired, especially in limelight perceived career paths. Real greatness is often hidden and unobtrusive. We get the notion we are not worthy without public acknowledgment. We must have strong self-confidence in our talents combined with deep humility. Some of the greatest works have been created by people who had no need for the limelight. They may be celebrated, but more importantly knew that what they were doing was fulfilling their call.

Secrets Coming to Light

We all have secrets; thoughts and feelings we keep to ourselves. We think, "If people knew what I feel or think, they would not love me." Secrets may lead to shame, and continued patterns of darkness. As we bring our secrets to safe people in our lives, we realize that we share many common secrets. Bringing secrets into the light creates community and inner healing, and we are able to love ourselves more fully.

Meet at the Intersection of Humility and Understanding

We become transformational agents for good when we can celebrate rather than just tolerate one another. We can meet at the intersection of humility and understanding. If we seek to understand each other more than trying to get others to see it our way, strength, honor, and relationships will manifest. In the unity of love and service, we benefit from each others strengths, while covering each others weaknesses.

Dream His Dream

When life has killed the dream you dreamed, there is One who can redeem it. He will often give you a new dream, and walk with you towards it. There are dreams and purposes that people have planned for their lives, and then there are God's plans and purposes. When you are led by His Spirit in life, He takes you from one path and puts you on another. In His divine stream, He unfolds His dream for your life.

God's Intersection of Your Faith and Plans

When you have vision for your life, life becomes exciting. As you talk and share about your vision, you can begin to dream about it. You begin to see and have faith for the possibilities, as you pray and plan for your dream. The reality steps toward your dreams begin to appear when God meets you at the intersection of your faith, plans, and activities.

Love Allows for Space

Relationships easily become possessive. We are inclined to cling to the person who offers us love. It is easy to become possessive in our insecurities of love. Only God can offer perfect love. Love includes giving one another space. When we do not allow them to be their own free person, we cause great suffering. When we give another space to mutually share in each others gifts, true intimacy becomes possible.

Enjoy and Not Possess

We can enjoy but must not think we own the things of this world. We become non-possessive when we have true belonging in the One who possesses everything. He gives us stewardship over parts of His creation. If we detach ourselves from worldly possessions, we become secure in Him, and for Him. In God's wealth, we are thankful for every breath, every experience, and are unencumbered in seeking His Kingdom glory.

Power For Your Potential

A self-limiting belief is the idea that you are limited in some way, in terms of time, talent, money, ability, or opportunity. The way you free yourself from these negative brakes on your potential is to change your thinking about who you are and what is truly possible for you. In God, all things are possible, and apart from Him, you can do nothing. Allow God's Spirit to be the power for in your potential.

Identity Crisis Revealed

Most people have an identity Crisis. They do not know who they are, or why they were created. The why begins to take shape, when the answer to who they are is revealed. Christ was the Incarnate of God, and made a way for the manifest children of God. You are His child. Beyond theory and religion, you can now KNOW the Father. As His identity is made clear, your identity and purposes for why you were born are revealed in powerful ways. Know Him, seek Him, and self will soar to the glory of God.

What is the Basis of Your Security?

What is the basis of your security? When we start thinking about it, there are many possibilities: success, money, friends, popularity, and so on. We may not think that these are the basis of our security, until we start losing our money, friends, or popularity. Our anxiety often reveals how deeply our sense of security is rooted in these things. A spiritual life is a life in which our security is based not in any created things, good as they may be, but in God, who is everlasting love.

Check Yourself Out Daily

Assess your life on a daily basis. We may miss how we are responding to God's Spirit and His transformational process when we do not take account for what is happening in us, through us, and around us. Choices are not set in stone, and if your choices are not working for the "God and you" process, seek a more excellent way. Take time to reflect daily, "check yourself out", and hear His voice for your next steps.

Timely Sound From Heaven

God's messengers bring forth the sound of heaven in word and in deed. They must also ”speak to the condition” of their hearers; otherwise they speak a language known only to them. They bring forth the message of the Kingdom, Power, and Glory of God, rather than popular and religiously minded concepts. Their message must be not only timeless but timely, relevant, and in the power of His love.

"Visionary Advancement Strategies" Weekly Articles March 7, 2010

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Leading, As One Who Serves by Robert Ricciardelli

Leading, As One Who Serves

By Robert Ricciardelli www.vision2advance.com

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Luke 22:24-29 ²⁴Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. ²⁵Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. ²⁶But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. ²⁷For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. ²⁸You are those who have stood by me in my trials. ²⁹And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me.

Jesus just had a wonderful and final time of fellowship with His team, the team that had walked beside Him, witnessed the signs and wonders, and should have had perceived by now that the Kingdom of God was not like the kingdoms of this world. But human nature took over, and thoughts of power, control, and status led to a dispute among them.

We see the same dispute today all around us. Those who have been called to lead, want to collect servants, and do not understand that they were called to lead like Jesus Himself, AS ONE WHO SERVES, and release servants to the world. As a whole I think we can say, “Ouch, we somehow missed that memo from Jesus, and now must be determined to make the shift towards His likeness, and His desire for all of us.”

It is way past the time for godly leadership to make this shift. “Top down” methods must give way to Christ’s “Bottom Up” mandate. Here is how it works, if you are a leader, you go low, and stop propping yourself or your agenda up. You choose to go way low in serving and lifting up the heads, hearts, and vision of others. Do this, and Father says, “That is the Way the Truth, and the Life my child, and you are now Kingdom great.” Of course that is presupposing that most of God’s people want to live their life as a Father pleasers, like Jesus did.

Many leaders who were supposed to be informed have now become those that need to be reformed. Reformed in the Kingdom. Reformed in mindsets as to being as one who serves, rather than expecting lights, the red carpet, and an entourage of servants. Reformation, and actually transformation must take place, and can only happen with willing and humble hearts.

Think of leadership as the process of setting people free to do the best work they can, while the Holy Spirit whom you have released them to, guides them. It is not about you, it is about the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory of God, and unleashing others into that Kingdomized place of freedom. We do not own anything, but we are called to steward everything God has given us.

Many leaders on the world’s scene are getting this and becoming successful by releasing others to be and to do. Phil Jackson has made a “Hall of Fame” career by following a few principles of this truth. In his career, Jackson has gone from coaching the record-setting champion Chicago Bulls to the present NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. He says his principal task is creating an environment in which his players can flourish. In communicating with his championship teams, Jackson convinced them that they had the talent to win championships and that the main goal of the coach was freeing them to use that talent.

In businesses today, team members say they want, more than anything else, the autonomy to do their jobs without the boss’s interference. Empowered and trusted, their productivity soars. Nearly a decade into the new century, it’s already clear that the CEOs of our best-run companies believe that the more power leaders have, the less they should use. They become facilitators of principles and let people manage themselves within those values.

The job of a leader is to help others hear the voice of God, train and prepare them, and release them into strategic vision and mission opportunities. People need to feel safe and valued as a Kingdom citizen to fulfill God’s destiny for their life. In other words, people will flourish in God when a leader seeks to serve, rather than be served.

The key to authentic leadership is to listen to those within your community, and then open the door for them to lead themselves into God directed service. The secret is education, training, and empowerment. The main incentive is genuine love, caring, and recognizing the need for every member to be free to serve in the sphere’s of society the Lord has placed him or her into, while being part of a relational and missional community.

A good leader recognizes that every believer is called to do great things for God, but was not called to do it alone. So the leader gathers, serves, facilitates, and prepares others for Kingdom service, and rolls up their sleeves and works alongside them. It is rarely what the believer does in a building on Sunday, but what they are released and empowered to do daily. The more decentralized and relational a community can be, the freer they are to move in the power of the Holy Spirit as a unified Body of Christ.

Lord, may leaders understand the power of strength and honor for every single person. That they might lay down their agenda, for your agenda, as your people rise up “As One” who serves!

All in All, All the Time

Many believers have lost trust in God's presence. Religion does not produce followers who appreciate or experience life in the Spirit. The words, ”Be still, and know that I am God,” mean little to self-confident church goers. Forms of godliness have replaced presence filled power. If His presence is not with us, what, where, and when have no Kingdom significance. He must become our All, in our all, and all the time.

Celebrating Life in Communion

Intimacy around a table in communion with one another is a place of power, vision, and service. Because the table is meant to be an intimate place, it sometimes becomes a place void of intimacy. Human nature can easily make it a place of distance, hostility, and even hatred. The table often reveals the tensions among us, and when there are tense silences, the table is a place we least want to be. Coming together in love is essential for family and community life. Let's do everything possible to make it a place to celebrate our lives, "As One!"

The Kingdom of God is Not Meat or Drink

The Kingdom of God is not just meat or drink when we come together in His name. We share and celebrate the gifts of life. A meal together often can become both intimate and sacred. We become vulnerable to one another and can create a safe environment for relational impartation's. We can be an encouragement and a healing balm for one another. Around the table we become family, friends, community, and yes, a Body.

Joy and Fulfillment Comes From Within

Many people work hard to accomplish goals only to find that real joy or satisfaction from them alone is limited. They ask, "Is this all there is?" Real happiness comes in living what is right and true in your heart, and expressing it in daily life. It is the gift you become to the outside world that brings you happiness. You cannot find it out there, as the Kingdom of God is within you waiting to live through you to others. That gives God glory, and brings you joy, peace, and fulfillment.

The Receiving of Himself

In searching for spiritual significance, many settle for the good things that religion can bring; Inspiration, values, guidance, etc. They receive those things in the name of God, and yet sometimes fail to receive God Himself, who is the creator of all good things. Receive the Holy Spirit of God and allow Him to empower each moment of your life. Good things will come and go, but He will remain with you forever.

Strength Forged Through Bumps and Turns

The path from where you are to where you want to be is not always smooth and straight. The reasons for bumps and turns are often because life is not about you and your plans, but about God and His purposes for you. When you hit those roadblocks, your character, commitment, and attitude will be tested, and will forge a greater strength and resolve when received by His Spirit. As we view life from Father's perspectives, we are far more likely to come up with creative solutions, rather than a mind that dwells on setbacks and difficulties.

Contending Contraints

Constraints keep us from God's best. We must ask the Lord to expose and free us of those constraints, whether it is the nature of self serving, self righteousness, or any manner of sin. Organizations will never rise above the constraints of it's leaders. Leaders who are unwilling to confront their own constraints do not deserve to lead. If they continue to lead without dealing with the weights that have beset them, they restrict the potential of the organization's movement and cause.

"Visionary Advancement Strategies" Weekly Articles February 28, 2010

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