 What did we look at? We looked at money management, right? So we've been studying resources, different resources, and the skill that is required to use this resource, to handle this resource. And so we looked at money and how, you know, we looked at how God is not against money and God really, the Lord really wants to, you know, bless his people. And he takes pleasure in the prosperity of his servant, as the psalmist says. And also we saw in 3 John 2 that, you know, the prayer, which John prays, well, I pray that you may prosper in all things, even as your soul prospers, right? So God is not against this whole idea of prosperity and prosperity. We know is beyond, it's not just money. Money is one aspect of it. Finance is one aspect of it. Prosperity is for us to be successful in life, to thrive in life, to flourish in life. So God is interested in that. And of course we need to have skills to be able to do that. And God is also, the Lord also equips us, the Holy Spirit equips us in ways that we sometimes we think that maybe God doesn't know this. You know, how does he know about software, IT? Well, God has the, you know, he, there's nothing that he does not know. So if we would just receive from him, seek him and acknowledge him and, you know, he will establish our thoughts. Probs says he will establish our thoughts. If he commit our works to it, he will establish our thoughts. So meaning thoughts would mean plans, ideas, strategies, you know, imaginations, everything. He establishes that, makes firms, strengthens that. So we have, you know, this God as our God, the all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present God as our God. So he's teaching us, right? He teaches us and we just receive from him and, you know, hone or sharpen these skills. Okay, so we should never look at these skills as something that is apart from God. It flows from him, this knowledge, this understanding just flows from him. So we take note of it, we receive and we involve God in the process of us being equipped, as being sharpened in these skills. Okay, because when we do that, then we will not be puffed up. Okay, we read in Corinthians Paul talks about knowledge puffs up, right? But love edifies, right? We studied in our other class. So we involve God in this whole sharpening process as well. Okay, so last class we looked at money management. So this class, let's move on to another resource, very important resource, which is people. Okay, so people are the reason why we do ministry. When we look at ministry, well, what is it about? It's about God reaching out to people, right? And once they are gathered, once they are in the family to establish them in the Word and the Spirit, to strengthen them, to equip them, to train them, to commission them, God does that. And we have the privilege of partnering with him to be used by him in this whole process of gathering people, of reaching the lost, of establishing them in the church, of teaching them, equipping, helping people discover their calling, their vision, helping people to discover the gifts, being empowered by the Holy Spirit and to be trained by the Spirit of God in the Word and commissioned, right? So all the work so that they can do the same, right? So in all this, you see it involves people, right? So we cannot do away with people. Not just ministry, but also any work, for example, we might be working on computers, or we might be, let's say, designing things, or we might be involved in art, but the fact is that we do that so that it impacts people, right? That the consumer is obviously its person, right? So we cannot live in isolation. You just think about it, right? It involves people work, you know, whether at work, whether at either as customers, either as customers, or as people working alongside as colleagues, as team, or people whom you are reporting to. There are people everywhere, right? So in order to be able to manage this resource, maybe as a spiritual leader, as leaders whom God places us, to be able to manage this great resource, which is precious, who are precious in people, in God's eyes, we need to have some skill as well. Of course, we need to have the heart, meaning you have the desire, the compassion, and everything, but also we need to have some skills, and it's good that we learn these skills and make this part of our lives so that we can be successful in managing, and successful in effectively dealing with this resource, handling this resource called people, okay? So let's look at a few things here. When it comes to people, okay? So we don't have this understanding that this ministry, this work that I'm doing, it's not about me alone, it involves people, and we need to understand that people, you know, if we make people successful, then that in turn makes us successful. We achieve that vision as well, right? So if people who are there as part of our team, as part of our ministry, if we empower them, equip them to be successful and what they do, then what is happening? We are moving closer to achieving that vision, okay? So we are in turn being fruitful or successful. So never forget that, right? So people are important to our success, whether it's secular work or ministry, right? So we need to have that mindset that people are not your enemies. They are not there to slow us down. They are not there for us to just move them out of the way so that you can have success. Well, the fact is that they contribute to, you know, people contribute to our success, whether we work in a team, work in an organization, work in a church, you know, when we are serving in a church or serving in any other ministry, that people contribute to our success, right? So people are key to us receiving the vision when they, or us achieving the vision when they achieve, when they discover and achieve the vision themselves, right? Okay, so when it comes to working with people, here are some things that we need to understand, we need to put in place, okay? Now, how to organize people, right? How to delegate, how to motivate or inspire, and how to evaluate, okay? So we look at four big or main aspects of work, when we work with people, these would obviously come up. So we learn, you know, we learn these four things. And yeah, and then, and also, you know, when it comes to letting go of people, you know, people obviously might grow up in their roles and maybe they have their own plans and desires, and so they might also move away or out of, you know, our environment of work or ministry and move on. So also we need to, you know, be able to, or be ready to let people go, okay? But firstly, you know, either when people come in to the, you know, how people are there already, you know, we need to organize, you know, like how we studied in Christian leadership. We need to get things organized, get people organized, and as we, you know, of course we, all the things of being, you know, relating to them and wanting success and so on. All that is, you know, all that is like foundation, right? We have the right mindset. But the thing is that we need to, as we organize our time, as we organize our finances, we also need to organize people for the tasks, okay? So for the role that is set before that. So if we are, if we are leaders or if we are leading this group of people, then we need to organize them according to the roles and responsibilities, okay? So even a step before that would be to recruit or get in the right kind of people, okay? Based on their qualifications, based on their, you know, skills and abilities, right? That's one thing. So let me just put it here, okay? How to, when it comes to recruitment, okay? We look at qualifications, you know, we look at experience, of course, qualifications, qualifications, we look at, you know, we look at experience, we look at, you know, when it comes to their abilities, we also look at integrity and so on, right? So we look at their temperament, character, and so on, okay? These are some of the things that we look at when we recruit them and we take them on, enroll them for a particular task now. These could be, you know, since we're typically talking about ministry, this could be volunteers, this could be staff. So either one of those, right? They could be volunteers saying, I'd like to help. So in that case also, you look at the qualification experience, their character, their skill sets, right? Let me just put that also, skills, abilities, right? What are their skills? What are their abilities? You consider that and you look at the work that needs to be done and does it match, right? Does it help? But even before that, you know, if it's going to be, let's say, a staff position, we should not forget this about vision. What is their personal life vision or call? And does it align with the vision of the ministry or organization? Okay. Is it in line with that? So if somebody's, you know, vision is to travel, keep on traveling more to different places, move to different places, and the organization is interested in doing something locally, then obviously there's a misalignment in the vision, right? So there itself there's a mismatch and much as that, the organization would want the person to focus in that place, in that town, whereas the person is constantly looking out and saying, you know, I want to go here, there and everywhere, right? So if it does not match, if the organization also feels that, okay, you know, we need to do this work and strengthen that work in place A, place B, and place C, and so on. If the organization also feels that way, then it's great. But if the organization does not feel that way, then there is a mismatch, right? So there itself it's a, it's nothing right or wrong, it's just that it's a different call. That is all, right? So there itself you make a choice, you make a decision that this can be helped elsewhere, maybe in some other organization, they'll do a great job, they have great skills, they have great attitude, they have great abilities, but with regard to vision, it doesn't blend, right? It doesn't match, so it doesn't, since there is an alignment that's not there, it's best that they serve elsewhere and they'll be happy and you'll also be happy, right? Excuse me. So that's the first thing, right? Then how to organize, right? Excuse me. So with regard to the role for which they have been taken in, whatever tasks that they need to do, we need to organize the people, organize them into teams, organize them into ministries, get them to know the tasks and so on. Excuse me. So the main thing, this could be a reiteration of something that we've already known about the fact that people should understand and know the vision. So as a leader, it's good that we define the vision. So what is the vision of the organization? Is it clear? So because when we clarify the vision, it provides direction. Okay, vision gives direction, vision gives guidance. It provides a person with clarity, okay? It provides a person with the goals and the mission even. What should be done? So the vision, when we make it as a statement and it is clearly defined to the people in the organization or in the ministry, it provides direction, right? It provides the guidance. Like for example, let's look at this verse, Proverbs 29 and verse 18. Let me just put it here. What does it say? It says that where there is no revelation or vision or clarity, the people cast off restraint, but happy is he who keeps the law. When there is no clarity of purpose, it results in unclear action. That's not the verse. But when there is no clarity of purpose, it results in unclear action and unclear direction. So there is no direction. There is lack of direction. So a clear God-given vision, if it is communicated, then it provides direction, provides guidance. It also gives clarity to what needs to be done. So we need to communicate that vision. It cannot be just in our mind or it cannot be in the mind of just one person or the heart of one person, but it needs to be communicated to everyone. Everyone needs to know this is the vision. So that's part of getting people organized. Not just for the task. You train them for the task or you get them ready for the task or responsibility. You might say, your responsibility is to come to the office, to keep the office open, to take care of the office, to manage everything in the office, to take the phone calls in the office, etc. We might give them those instructions. That is part of organizing the people, but also for them to know the big picture. The vision is a big picture. What is the organization or the ministry about? Why are we doing this? What are we doing this? How do we go about doing this? The big picture. Now, I'm sure you've studied that and I'm sure you've seen that again in church administration. I'm sure this would have been reiterated, so I'm not going to spend much time on it. But just the thing that it needs to be communicated, people need to understand it and also people need to know it, not forget it, which means we need to repeat it maybe several times during the year so that they understand and work towards it. When it comes to people's skills, this is how we get them organized around a common goal. People know the vision, understand the vision, the vision is communicated, the vision is maybe repeated several times during a certain time frame and people understand the vision. Now, this need not be done in a formal way. It can be done in a very fun way also so that they get to... It can be a game, it can be several ways. It can be every time the organization meets or the entire team meets to reiterate that. So that would be one way of getting people ready or organizing them around a common goal. So they know this is the common... This is the thing that everybody is going for. This is the picture that everybody is moving towards. This is the goal that everybody is... This is the destination that each of us is moving towards. So that is clear. So all our efforts are clear. Efforts are not put in going in another direction where everybody is heading in this direction. So the efforts are also put... You put in your best effort to make sure that we go in that direction. So it gives us the boundary, it gives us the framework and we move intentionally towards that. This is very crucial. This is basic, this is crucial for getting people to move together, for getting the team to move together. We understand that. The second thing when it comes to a skill that we need to acquire or sharpen when it comes to having a team or with people is to be able to delegate. Now we know that as a visionary or a spiritual leader, God sends people across and we recruit, have people in our team to help us to work things out. But the thing is we need to be able to transfer some of our responsibilities, some of the tasks, some of the responsibilities that we carry. We need to be able to hand it over to others and which we call as delegation or delegating of responsibilities so that they carry it out. So that they do that task, do that work. So it's just transfer of tasks, responsibilities. That is transferred from one person that is from you to another or maybe from one person to another. So these could be specific tasks for a specific period that people could do it so that when we transfer, when you transfer, that time is freed up so that you can do the things that you are specifically gifted and called to do. So initially maybe you're doing all the work. You're doing the accounting work, you're doing the admin work and also you're doing the spiritual work of ministry and so on. So when we transfer a person, then we need to be able to delegate. You look at the skill, you look at the ability and then we need to be able to delegate it to others. Now the delegation might happen several times as we journey on as a team. So here are some skills for us to, here are some things for us to keep in mind when it comes to delegation. The delegation is simply that. You transfer some responsibility, some tasks that you yourself have been doing to others so that they do it, they carry it. Now you are free to focus your energy, your time on something else that is also important to be done but which only you can do. So first thing when it comes to delegation is that I need to know what to delegate. Because not every task can be delegated. Because let's say if you are a manager, if you're a leader, then certain things you need to do when it comes to maybe recruiting people in the organization, maybe you need to handle that when it comes to training certain people, you need to do that. Maybe reviewing the performance of people, maybe that's your key responsibility. So know and choose what to delegate. Certain things you cannot delegate. That's your responsibility. Maybe as a leader, that's your responsibility. So know what to delegate. Also knowing what is the person's strength and weakness will enable us to delegate in the right manner. So what is the thing? You need to know the person's strengths and also the goals, their weaknesses. So that's the second thing. Let me just put it here. What are the goals of that person? You've given a task and they have certain goals. Now, is that very different from the tasks that you're delegating? Well, if it is so, then maybe it's a short-term thing. But if it's a long-term work or something that you're delegating, then it has to be in line with that goal. Whatever they have been recruited for, that is their goal. And it's best if we delegate something which helps them reach that goal, which goes in line with that. So we do it based on their strength. Maybe if it's some accounting work and they are not at all good with accounts, it's best if they struggle with accounts, then it's best that we don't delegate it to them. Delegate it to someone else who's got the gift, whose strong point is maybe numbers and facts and figures. So it's best to delegate to them. The other thing to remember is you define the result. So we can't say, okay, now you do this and you continue doing this. But without actually defining, what is the quality? What is the result? What is the outcome that you require? Saying that, okay, this is what I want done. I want these things to be cut. So that could be something. I want these wooden pieces to be cut to this shape. This dimension, it should be 10 centimeters by 12 centimeters or 10 inches by 12 inches. I want these cut in this manner and I want these to be cut by this particular time. Okay, by evening, I want this to be cut. So you are delegating, you are also defining very clearly what should be done. What is the result? And when we delegate the task and we don't, the responsibility, okay, you take care of this. Let's say you take care of the food. You take care of this. So what should be taken care? That should be clearly defined. Just like a role and responsibility that we actually very clearly define to the person. Even in delegation, we define clearly, very clearly explain this is what is expected. Okay, then what happens is the person will do it very, very well. The person, what I must do, therefore I will do. If the person does not know what is expected, he might, he or she might put an effort and it might come out a different way altogether. Okay, so if you're expecting 10 that's doing maybe seven, then obviously there is a gap. You're expecting 10, which means you need to define and say, I'm expecting 10. I'm expecting this length, I'm expecting this breadth and it needs to be cut. There should be no, the edges should be, whatever the specifications are, we need to give clarity of objective and that will help. Okay, let's look at the fourth one. Okay, the fourth one when it comes to delegation, fourth thing that we need to keep in mind is provide the resources. Okay, to provide the right resources, meaning resources could be, you know, the gadgets, the tools that they need to get done. If we say I'd like you to cut these wooden pieces, you know, you have those logs which are there and I would like you to cut the wooden pieces and we don't give the person a tool, you know, like a saw or axe. We don't give that person the tool, then we are not obviously equipping them to do it. Right, so provide the right resources, provide the tools, maybe the training, maybe you've, you know, give them something in their hand and say, okay, you know, you use it. The person doesn't know how to use it. Okay, sometimes it happens, right? Maybe sometimes it's, I think it happens and it's okay. Now there's the projector, there's the laptop. We don't have time. Now you use it. Okay, now put the songs, project the songs. Now that person will struggle, right? Sunday morning he's just come and he says, okay, I'm a volunteer. I am here to help. And then we say, okay, so the person is searching and never tried doing that, not because we've not provided them the training. Okay, so tools, training, we need, these are, you know, we need to give the right resources and also the authority. Okay, suppose we say, okay, you do this task, they need to be able to have the authority to do it. Let's say if we ask them to do the task and then someone says, hey, you don't have permission to do this, right? Someone else says, you don't have the permission. You know, you need to check with this person, that person to be able to do this. Then we have not really authorized the person, right? We have delegated the task, we have defined the task probably and maybe we've even given them the tools, the training, but we have not authorized, we've not given them the authority, okay? So, so which means that we need to tell people as well saying this person is going to do this, okay? This person so and so, John is going to handle, you know, projector from now on. Okay, so John will come in early, he will take the projector, he will take the laptop, he will come, he will set it up and he will do it. Okay, so when John comes, please give him the laptop, please give him the projector, okay? So you authorize that person. You authorize John to be able to use those resources and you authorize him or her to go there and carry out the task, right? Okay, then the other thing we've been looking at for, okay, we can establish a clear communication channel. Okay, what does that mean? That means that once it's done, you know, we need to allow the person to be able to get back to us if they have any doubts, any questions, anything at all, right? For them to get back to, they need to be able to ask questions, they need to feel comfortable asking questions and so on. So if you don't want them to ask you questions, who else can they clarify? Who else can they interact with in order to be able to do that? So we need to tell both those people, right? The ones to whom you have delegated the task and the ones to whom, you know, they can check with or, you know, ask questions, clarify doubts and say, okay, this is what it is. So establishing a clear communication channel is very, very important. Okay, let's move on a little quickly. The other thing is also that we need to allow for, in a sense, looking at perfection. Yes, the goal is we need to train them, we need to equip them so that they don't fail, right? But the thing is, if that person does, okay, it will actually enable the person to learn from it, make that person even stronger. And also the person also might come out with creative ways of doing the same task, experiment with it and do the task even better, right? But if we give them that space or allow saying, you know, it's okay, you know, we're not looking, if you're looking at, you know, you do your best. Now that's a good instruction. You do your best, be excellent in what you're doing. But give them that space for, you know, if you fail, that's fine, you know, you learn from it, you get up and you start doing it. This quality is very much required. Let me just put it here, that we need to be patient. Because, you know, as a person who might be skilled, maybe gifted and also experienced for many years, we might be able to do that same task in, let's say, 20 minutes. Okay, for example, you know, let's say, you know, making tea, okay? So tea leaves, sugar, water, you know, the gas stove and then milk, cup, spoon, all that, you know. Now you know mentally, okay, to make tea, because I've all done it all my life, this is what I just take that and, you know, do it. But suppose a person is doing it for the first time and you've, of course, you've explained all that, but they're doing it for the first time, they might not be able to do or make tea as quickly or as effectively as you made it, right? They might be thinking, okay, now I've done this, now what next? Okay, well, you know, they might have those moments which might slow them down, but we need to be patient, okay? We need to have that quality of being patient and they will speed up, right? As and when they get better at the job, they will speed up, okay? They will get better at it, they will be effective and do it and do it faster, maybe. And give them the C feedback. This is also very important when you're delegating that. We give them feedback about how they are doing, how they are not doing, okay? And also, you know, give the C feedback from them, okay? Okay, did you feel, did you feel there was a problem? Is there anything that can change? Is there anything that we can do better? What did you feel, right? So they can, what did you learn? So give feedback and also receive feedback from them. It will be valuable. They might say, okay, you know what? These people are not interested in this, drinking this tea at all. Let's not give them tea. A lot of tea is getting wasted, okay? Let's give them something else. Everybody's asking for coffee and, you know, so much milk is getting wasted every day, right? So they might be able to give feedback saying, you know, this is not working, right? So that will help as well, okay? And lastly, is to give credit or reward the achievement or give the recognition where it's required, where it's due. Recognize the person, reward the person, compliment the person. And so that they know that they've done the right thing, they've done the task well, and they're also motivated to do it even better the next time, okay? So reward and recognition. So we looked at, you know, several things that we need to keep in mind when we delegate, right? So these are quite important things for us to, maybe you can go back to again. I'll also share a document with all these points. So these things, you know, to keep in mind when we delegate. And, you know, why do we hesitate to delegate because we feel that they might not do the job as well as we do, right? We hesitate to delegate because it might take time and it needs to be done quickly, right? These are some reasons, oh, we might have some fear. Oh, if I delegate it and they do a good job, then, you know, all recognition will go to them. Several reasons why people don't delegate. But the fact is that when we delegate, it actually frees up our time to be effective in the things that we are called to do. You know, maybe there are certain routine things. You know, maybe there are certain tasks that are, as a matter of routine, you do over and over and over again. And, you know, these are things that you don't have to, right? You as a leader can focus on other things that others cannot do, right? It's a specialized field and you need to do it. And so you can focus on that. You'll have the time to focus on that, okay? So that's delegation, right? Any questions here? You know, if you've tried to delegate, if you've, you know, maybe found it a challenge, maybe we can discuss that. Did you, you know, maybe you tried delegating and then things didn't turn out well, or maybe you delegated and then it was fantastic. You know, we can talk about that. Okay. Any questions, any clarifications on delegation? I'm sure, you know, maybe some of us have not been in work scenarios. Maybe, or maybe in places where it has been delegated to us, right? Things have been delegated to us. Maybe we didn't have opportunity to delegate it to others, right? So maybe it was delegated to us. So that's, that's fine. But you can understand it, you know, understand, these are some things for us to learn and keep in mind. When we reach a place of delegating it to others, right? So it's important for us to understand these things. Okay. But I'm sure, you know, in college or in a group setting or a group activity, maybe, you know, you've had things where you've had to delegate. You know, there is a group project, group activity. So one person had to do something. The other person had to do something else. And I'm sure, you know, you kind of, you know, delegated things. So in that also, you know, you would have faced some challenges. One person didn't do the job, right? One person delayed doing the job. Or one person did the job, but it was very half-hearted effort. And the whole P suffered because of that. You may have had those kind of experiences, right? So, you know, these are things that we can actually employ. You know, these are skills for us to, you know, sharpen and grow in things to keep in mind when we're delegating, not to blindly just hand over the task. Think about it, you know, can this person handle it? Does this person have the skills? And then there is always this thing of trust, right? Or this leap of faith sometimes, where you say, okay, let me give this opportunity. And let's see how this person does it, okay? So maybe it's not a very critical task. Like even if something goes wrong, you can always manage. So, you know, when you don't know the person, you know, when we are not sure we can, you know, such tasks we can always, you know, delegate it, right? See the outcome of it, okay? Okay, let's move on. So we looked at, you know, organizing people to a common goal, delegating tasks. And third thing is to motivate, okay? Motivate people in order to achieve those goals, okay? Because we are, everybody's working towards a common goal. And there might be times that people are not giving their best, okay? People are not giving their best for various reasons. And, you know, as a team member or as a team leader, as a special leader, you know, we need to be able to motivate others, okay? So which means to encourage, to give them reason to do the job, okay? To do the job well, to finish the task well. So what does it mean to motivate? What does it mean to motivate? Okay, so let me just put this here. It means to provide someone with a reason for doing something, okay? To give them the reason to do something, to do something really well, okay? It's about getting people to take action. So they are not doing it, right? They're not doing what they're supposed to be doing. They are supposed to be reporting at a certain time and carrying out five different things during the day. Now, they are not arriving on time and they're not doing, they're doing only two of those five things that they said they will do for which you are also paying them. So would you motivate them, okay? Obviously, you need to motivate them. Give them reasons or strong reasons why they should complete the task, right? Give them strong reasons why they need to, they need to get going, right? Take action and do the things. That is to motivate people, okay? What really helps in motivating people is sometimes what we do is we ask people, there's a heavy demand, okay? It's a very demanding task, okay? There's a very heavy responsibility that requires a lot out of people, okay? Maybe they are slowing down because of that, okay? So we need to understand, limit the amount of time or effort that you're asking for, okay? So always give an end date saying, okay, I know this task needs to be done and you might have to work late into the night in order to be able to do it. But take this week and put that extra effort. You will be able to get the job done. Take this week. So this week, I want you to either come early or leave late, but this week, these five or six working days, you need to do it. So then when people know, okay, when the person knows that, okay, this is the end date. It's not forever and ever, but this is for this week to get this task done. Therefore, I'll do it, okay? So you clearly tell them it's for this week. This is the start date, this is the end date, okay? So I'll, you know, yes, we'll get it done. Another thing that will help motivate people is if I, as a leader, if I share in the responsibility, if I share in the task that is required by sacrificing, you know, certain things of my own, maybe when you're saying, you know, stay back, come early, if I'm also able to do that, sometimes, you know, it's not possible, but if I also do that, then that will really motivate the team, highly motivate the team. I remember when I was working in sales and, you know, we needed to get some, you know, people would do a presentation with some very important clients and we needed their order, we needed their sale. Our regional manager would always come along, right? He knew a lot was at stake. He knew that the pressures that we were facing. And also, he would come along. He would come and he would, you know, be with us to make the presentation, to do the negotiation. And that would really, you know, motivate us, right? So we would feel encouraged. We would feel that he's coming with us. He's setting things up, you know, away, rescheduling things and some important appointments and he's coming with us to help us do our job well, right? So I need to do my best. I need to, you know, get things in place. I need to do my best. So I personally will be, you know, the team personally will be motivated to do their best. Okay. So, yeah, so to be able to share in the sacrifice. Okay. I think we're out of time. We look at two more things. How we can motivate others. And also the difference between motivation and inspiration, right? Motivation is for short term. Inspiration is for long term. Right. We look at that also in our next session. Okay. Right. Okay. Thank you. And God bless. We'll meet again next class. Thank you. Right. Bye-bye.