 Good morning, everyone. Welcome to a new week. Let's begin this time with a word of prayer. So, maybe one of us can now please read the prayer. Anybody can leave. Parvati, thank you for this time. Thank you for your presence. Thank God that you would minister to us. Let your hand rest upon us, God. As we consider to learn this morning, you would teach us your strategies that we need to build on ourselves, so God. And help us to apply this in our personal lives, Lord Jesus. Help us also to minister according to these standards that you are teaching us, God. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Thank you, John. Alright, so last week we did chapter 7. We talked about innovation and creativity. And our God is a God who gives us strategies. He gives us ideas, the ability to innovate, to think, to give us strategies. And we looked at scriptures as well, how God gives strategies to the people of Israel and even in the New Testament in the early church. God was there with them, right? So, in our workplace, in our ministries, keep asking God, keep growing, keep developing. Now, we're going to a very important topic, which is chapter 8, talking about people, processes, performance and rewards. Now, the first thing we think about when we say people, when we talk about ministry, when we talk about business, whether it's small scale, large scale business, what is the first thing that comes to our mind? At least for me, the first thing that comes to my mind is people. Ministries about people. It's not about the programs, the events, all that is there, but it's done for the people. So, whether it's ministry or business, people are important. The people that we work with, the people that we are serving is very, very important. And where there is people, we must understand there's going to be conflicts, there's going to be, there's need to be teamwork, there need to be a way to resolve conflicts, there must be employee motivation, there must be performance evaluation. Not everyone are wired the same, everyone come with different abilities, different capabilities, different thoughts, different mindsets. And so, when you talk about people, there's so much that we can learn, right? Especially in ministry, you may have people who are always with you, they're with the vision, they have people who have a lot of questions, they have a lot of, why is this being done this way, why is this being, so people are wired differently. So, let's look at a few fundamental principles when it comes to dealing and treating people, right? Now, these are biblical principles and can be used, and must be used both in ministry and in business, okay? So, let's look at this, pair fairly based on contribution and value to the organization. Closions for one, masters give your born servants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a master in heaven. Now, before I go ahead, I just want to bring this forward. Now, there will be, you may not be in a place where you don't decide a person's pay or wages, right? That's all right. But what is the, what is the some principle that we can gain from here? Treat people in a way that is right, that is pleasing to God. Now, in terms of if you are in a position to talk about pay for your employees, pay them for the work they do and pay them fairly, right? As long as there is mutual understanding that the remuneration that is being paid is good, it's fair, it's just, we are doing what the scripture says, right? Now, there are times when people come with loads of experience, 10 years, 12 years of experience. Yes, the, you know, the pay or the remuneration can change, can vary, but that is not the indicator that, you know, this person's got 10 years experience, so I have to give him so much. It's also about the value they bring to the organization, the work that they're able to do, right? Now, for example, you have a 25-year-old and a 40-year-old applying for the same position, but the 40-year-old has 10 years of experience, which is very important, right? That's an intangible asset, but the 25-year-old is willing to learn, is willing to, you know, just give everything that he or she has for the organization, but if we don't pay that 25-year-old well, what's going to happen? He or she may not put in their full effort, right? They may not, you know, have the experience, but you never know that 25-year-old may be able to grasp things that are happening in the market in a greater way than the one who is much more tenured, right? So never permit a culture of entitlement to set in, right? The moment people operate, you know, from the idea that they have the right to be in that organization, they deserve the role, they deserve the position in that organization, what happens? They are operating out of a sense of entitlement, right? They're operating out of a sense of entitlement. Now, what happens when we operate out of a sense of entitlement? It impairs our performance. That is lethargy. It demoralizes others, right? So everyone in the organization, whether they are five years, two years in the organization, or whether they are 20 years in the organization, everyone must be paid in terms of what they can bring to the organization, right? Yes, there are organizations, like if you look at the corporate sector, there are organizations and companies which offer, you know, higher pay for certain companies. They offer higher pay, you know, they say, hey, why don't you join here? I'll give you a higher pay. The organization is there, right? But again, we talked about it previously, right? It's not only about money, but the intangibles, what you're able to bring to the company, your relationships with your bosses, your relationship with your co-employees, the way that you're able to perform, are they, you know, all these different aspects are involved, right? So when we are in a position to, you know, recruit and have people in your organization or ministry, pay them fairly according to what they bring to the organization, right? Second one, ensure people are paid on time. Leviticus 1913 says, do not raw, but take advantage of anyone. Do not hold back the wages of someone you have hired, not even for one night, right? Now, usually, most companies and most places, we have a cycle of a one month salary payments, or if you look to the West, I don't know how it is in Africa and other countries, but most of the countries follow this routine of either the two-week cycle or the monthly cycle. So in India, it's mostly the monthly cycle of salary payments. But here's the thing, it is important that people are paid on time because people have commitments. They have family who depend on them and they have family members. They have children there. And the Bible says, when we don't pay people on time, it is against God's plan. It's regarded as a sin. And because it's Deuteronomy 24, 14 and 15, do not cheat poor and needy hired servants, whether they are Israelites or foreigners living in one of your towns each day before sunset. If you pay them for that day's work, they need the money and have counted on getting it. If you do not pay them, they will cry out against you to the Lord and you will be guilty of sin. Now, there are times when the organization may be going through challenges, just not coming in, there's no influx of cash or there could be a delay in the payments of salaries. But that time, in those times, let the staff know that this is what is happening. Please bear with us. We will have your salary being paid. But I've heard of many, many organizations where if a person puts down their papers and I know people, they put down their paper, they have three months of time which they have to work, three month period. And the organization either wouldn't pay them, they would say, you did this, you did that. And so it becomes a challenge. Now, the Bible says it is a sin. We are not a whole back. And now, even in ministry, we may have people coming doing some small labor or helping out in the church, or there may be people who are vendors that we may use, anything. Like for example, at ABC, we have a lot of things that we hire out. So from our LED screens to we have a lot of vendors, our cameras. So a lot of hiring happens. But we make sure that people are paid on time. And one of the things that we do is we pay them beforehand, so that we know that they are happy with us. And there's a trust that has already been built. So many times when we make these payments, we've already paid them for it. Now, they come with a whole heart to serve. Whatever they're doing, they do it so well. Why? Because we've honored their request. Pay vendors, pay consultants and other services, pay them on time. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due. Do not withhold good. And let us make this a practice. Whether we have in ministry or whether we are in business, whether we are even talking to the people around us. People in business around. We must not hold back or we must not hold back things that belong to them, which they deserve. And the serious part is it says that God looks at it as a sin. Next one. Don't exploit people. Don't hold back their wages. Jeremiah 20 to 13. Doom to him who builds palaces, but bullies people who makes a fine house but destroys lives, who treats his workers and won't pay them for their work. Now, Jeremiah is writing this to Israelites who have gone into captivity. Now, we must understand there were some rich Israelites of war. So there were people who are also working under the Jews who were rich. There were people working under the Babylonian rule. Now, to them, Jeremiah is saying God, Doom to those who build palaces but bully other people who treats his workers and won't pay them for their work. He's saying, okay, you go work in the field. They come in the evening. I'll pay you for that. And then when evening comes, hey, I promised 10 dinaris, but I noticed that you took a, you know, the ground was not tilled properly. You did not, you know, do the work effectively. I see that it's still. So I'm not going to give you 10 dinaris. What is that? That's exploiting people. Right? That's cheating people. Now, yes, you can correct them. Right? As an employer, you can correct them. See, I expected this to be done in this time, but it was not done. But however, I'm giving you what I promised, but going forward, you'll be paid according to what work you have done. So that is okay. But don't hold back. They just exploit people. Now, especially this happens in our nation. I don't know about other nations, but in India, we have these small vendors, vegetable vendors, fruit vendors out in the streets. And, you know, we try to go there. We purchase whatever fruits, vegetables. And most often, most often people begin to bargain and say, hey, don't make it, you know, 10 rupees lesser or make it 20 rupees lesser. And it's something that I personally don't do because the reason I don't do it is because I believe that, you know, they're doing a small business. They're not going to make much out of it. Right? They have a family. They have a work. They probably have wives. They have children. They have expenses. And they need the profit out of it. The moment I go bargaining about it, how am I going to be a blessing to them? You know, they may give it. Okay, we ought to take it since I need some kind of business. But what's going to happen? You know, it's like exploiting them. It's obvious they're doing a business. They're selling it at a higher rate than what they bought it for because it's a business, right? They have to make some money out of what they're doing. And so, you know, this is something that I always tell people, especially people that I know very close to me, I tell them, go back into these, you know, these small vendors out in the streets, you know, they're selling. I'm bugging at them. It's not much that they get in life. What they have is what they survive on. It's their daily bread. So in return, be a blessing to them. They say this is, you know, 50 rupees. Give them 100 rupees if God has blessed us, right? Give them extra. Be a blessing to them. Don't exploit people, right? Never, never, next point. Never exploit the poor and the powerless. Deuteronomy 24-14. You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who's in your land, within your gates, right? One of the dangers of wealthy people is what they do is they exploit the poor, right? So they look at the poor, the powerless. Hey, he can't do anything. So I'll pay him next week. Or I'll pay him when I get the money. Or I'll pay this person for his work. Let him keep asking. What is this? This is called oppression. And God's instruction is that we must not oppress or exploit the poor and the needy. Never do that. If it is in our ability to give what we have promised to a person for their pay, for their work, what they have done, do it. Don't hold back, right? Look at these couple of verses in Proverbs. Proverbs talks a lot about it. Proverbs 22. Two verse 22 and 23. Do not drop the poor, because he's poor. Now oppress the afflicted at the gate. For the Lord will plead their cause and plunder the soul of those who plunder them. Proverbs 14. 31. He who oppresses the poor, who reproaches his maker, but he who honors him have mercy on the needy. Look at this. Proverbs 22. 16. He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches and he who gives to the rich will surely come to poverty. So basically all these verses say, exploit the poor. No, they can't take you to court. They can't take you to, you know, they can't come and fight with you and say, hey, you know what you said this, but they're poor. They're needy people. They're helpless. Never exploit them. And thank God, you know, you and I as believers, I'm sure we won't do that, right? Because the Holy Spirit is in us and we have learned to walk in love and we know that our heart needs to be right before God. But sometimes unknowingly, we may, you know, hold back good from people. So let's not do that. Whether they're poor, whether they're needy, let's be a blessing to them, right? Let's look at the next one. Higher right, retain and review, right? Proverbs 26, 10. An employer who hires any fool that comes along is only hurting everybody concerned. You know, these two versions are like Good News Bible and the message translation. They both very stern and very accurate in the way they bring things across. Look at this. An employer who hires any fool that comes along is only hurting everybody concerned, meaning he's hurting the entire team and he's hurting the entire organization. So what's the important point that we can take from here? Hire people, hire the right people, hire people who can be a benefit to your organization, who can affect your organization, who can upskill and make your organization more effective, hire the right people. Now, of course, you know, people send in their resumes or you go through the hiring process. Now, whether it is church, whether it is ministry, hire right, how do we do that? You can have certain things set in place, right? Now, I remember, you know, before I joined Bible College and all that, I remember that there was in the corporate sectors, there were, you know, these rounds of interviews. It was not like, oh, because you know something, you can get into the, even if it was a call center, basically just talking to people. They had like three rounds. The first one was, you know, they would talk to you, get to know you. How is your talking skills, right? How is your communication skills, all of that, right? Second round would be a round with the, probably how to use the computer or how to work on Excel and Word doc, or they would give you some, you know, writing test, basically a test on the attitude test is what they call it. So that used to be the second round. And the third round would be the round with the ops. It's called the ops interview. I don't know what's happening now at the corporate sector, but the third round would be called the operations interview. So that would be the main interview. So you're talking with the, you know, the bigger heads of the company and then they ask you, what do you want to do in this organization? What can you bring into this organization? It's three rounds. So it's a process. And after the third round, they say, okay, we'll email you, let you know whether you got in and then you hire those people. But sometimes in ministry, what we do is we think, okay, no, we can just take people however they are. No. Now, when you look at things, how ministry is turned out, you know, everything's going online, everything is, you know, upskilling, everything, you know, in ministry, everything is, the standards are raising higher and higher. So you need a good IT team. Just because a person is a believer and he knows a little about IT doesn't mean they can get in. You need to have the skills to, you need to have a good media team, ministry team, pastoral team, all the other teams within the church, you need to have it. Right? Same thing in an organization. Have a sound recruiting process. Don't just hire arbitrarily. Get to know people, get to know their background. Why did they want to join the organization? Right? You know, there are times when over the last, I would say last two or three months, we were looking out for, you know, a member care coordinator here at ABC. So, you know, some of us from the pastoral team, we interviewed a few folks, very good believers, very nice, very genuinely want to serve the Lord, they have a heart. And I remember this one interview, this happened, I think, late 2022, maybe November 22. And we were in the interview and, you know, one of the pastors asked this person who was applying for the job, good believer, worked in ministry for about, you know, six, seven years. And, you know, and so the pastor asked the question, what is member care ministry according to you? I suppose he had no idea what it was. He's applied for that position and for a member care coordinator, but he had no idea what it is. He said, no, I have to just give for the members and he just gave some answer, which is not accurate at all. So what is the first thing he realized? He's not gone into the website. So he's not got into details. He's not gone and checked. What is it? What is the role description? He's just applied for it, but he's not gone through the role description. Then we asked him what you want to be, you know, what is it that you want to do? He said, I want to be an evangelist. Now God is calling you to be an evangelist and this job of member care is only to be given a laptop with the phone and you have to call church members, talk to them, pray for them. So it's completely different. He said, my calling is to be an evangelist but he's applied for a member care. So what will happen if we hire just because he is a believer, very good believer, serving in ministry for many years, but if we hire him, what will happen? Over time, maybe over a year, he'll feel, oh, you know, hey, this is not what God has called me to do. I don't think even a year in six months he may just leave because that's not his calling. If he feels sad and higher, oh, he's in ministry, it's only going to affect the organization. We're going to spend all the effort of training this person, taking time, training this person, going through everything in the process of, in terms of member care and then in six months if he leaves, it's going to affect the organization. So hire right, retain the best. There are some people whom you have to do everything you possibly can to retain in an organization, right? But you cannot force people to stay, right? When people leave an organization, let it be an opportunity to learn how we can make things better, right? And usually, most organizations, most companies have an exit interview. In the exit interview, they would ask, you know, how was your work for the past five years, 10 years, whatever. What did you learn? As an organization, how did you like our organization? Do you have any feedback for our organization? In terms of how we are treating people, in terms of our communication standards? And so there's usually an open and an honest exit interview. But here are two important points. One, have a structure of hiring, whether corporate, whether ministry has a structure. And two, hire with regards to the potential that they have. Right? Next point. Treat people the way you like to be treated. Look 6, 31 and 36. Do for others just what you want them to do for you. Be merciful just as your father is merciful. And this is a simple, but a powerful principle by working with people, right? You treat others the way you want to be treated. I want to be treated in a very loving way, in a good way. People should accept me for the way I am, for the way I dress up, for the way I speak. Now, I need to also accept the others. I need to treat people the way I'd like people to treat me. Right? If I make a mistake, how do I want people to connect me? Right? Is it to connect me in public? Or is it to ridicule or mock me or condemn me? Or is it to bring out my correct me in love and help me to overcome that challenge and to become stronger in that area? Right? So treat people the way you want to be treated. If you treat an employee well, remember that employee will give you 100% to the organization. You treat your people well in the church, in a church, in a ministry. If you treat them well, and I say treat them well, you respect them, you honor them. They may be rich, poor, they may not have too many skills. That's all right. But if you treat people well, they will give 100% to the church, through the organization itself. Now it would be wrong for the employee to keep expecting goodness and mercy shown to him and not fulfill their role with good performance, hard work, commitment and loyalty. I can't keep saying, okay, let's be good, let's be good. Yes, we'll be good. But I can't keep showing mercy is shown, goodness is shown, yes. But there's always a time when for the interest of the organization or the company, we have to make sure that we treat employees well, even if they fail, to give back to the organization, but help them in productivity and their performance and then take appropriate actions. And so, for example, somebody is in your organization, you've been connecting them for the past six months and you're not seeing any productivity. Just call them, talk to them. And then again, tell them, see, this is the second time I'm going to talk to you. I'm not seeing any productivity. I'm seeing that the way that you're working is still the same. So I'm going to give you another three months. Let's see if I want you to become productive, give them action steps to follow, see if they're able to follow those steps and then take appropriate action. Worn but never threatened or abused. Efficiency up to six was eight and nine. Remember that the Lord will reward each of us, whether slave or free, for the good work we do. Masters behave in the same way toward your slaves and stop using threats. Remember that you and your slaves belong to the same master in heaven who judges everyone by the same standard. Now, yes, we have earthly bosses and earthly leaders that we must work under, but ultimately God is our boss. God is our employer and Paul writes it in many ways, do everything as if you're doing it out to the Lord. But do not threaten or abuse your employees, not threaten or abuse your team members or the people who are working with you. In ministry, there is plenty of threatening and abusing that's happening. And it's sad to say that some of the ministries are threatening believers by saying if you don't give to God, this is what can happen to you. This is what in the future you may have go through this and that. What is that? It is threatening. And then if people don't give, sometimes these leaders, they abuse them. The reason you are poor is because you're not giving the reason you're like this. And what's happening? It is demoralizing people, yes? Because a threat can inflict pain, injury, damage, and it can really bring somebody down. But we can warn people. Now all through the Old Testament, we see this now, what does God do? He's warning the people of Israel, but he never threatens them. He doesn't abuse them. A perfect example of Jeremiah. He was there before, during, and after the fall of Jerusalem. We don't see God threatening Israel and abusing Israel. He doesn't do that. That's not in his nature. He warns them, hey, you know, you need to make things right. Otherwise, I'm going to let my hand off and the Syrians are going to come and destroy you. I'm telling you, don't do this. But even through that warning, what does he say? Later on, Jeremiah 28, 29 onwards, he says, I have plans for you. He doesn't threaten. God doesn't threaten and say, the people of Israel you saw, now you're in captivity. Now, if you don't turn back, the captivity will keep increasing and it will be a people like this on you. But he says, in all of this, I warned you, look at Hosea. Hosea says, come, let's return to the Lord. We have bruised him. We have hurted him. And he has also allowed things to happen to us that he's willing to heal us. So the nature of God himself is a God of love. And so if we are his children, whether we are employee or employer, we do not mourn. I mean, we do not threaten. We do not abuse people. That's not something that we must do. Yes, we can mourn people. We can, for example, many years back, there was this volunteer and this volunteer in church was, he had a problem every now and then he wouldn't drink. He's been serving for years, but I remember telling him, hey, you can't be a volunteer and be involved in this. People will find out. People will say, hey, what is this happening? And it's not in our guidelines. You need to take a break. Either you stop drinking and smoking or two, you could take a break from volunteering. But he said, I will stop. But every now and then some of the others would come and say, hey, I'm getting this smell and this odor from him. Either he's been drinking or smoking. And many times we may, as leaders, have to come to a place to mourn. And you tell them, hey, if you're not doing this now, mourn. When I say mourn, it's not like, there's a way of doing it, right? So we can just say, I've noticed that I've given you two, I've spoken to you two times. I don't see a change. So I would request you to step down to the volunteering team for now. Get your life straight. Just go back to God. Ask God to help you. Then you can come back and join any of the volunteering teams and serve again. So that way we are not threatening. We're not abusing him or her. But what we're doing is we're just hitting it straight. And we're saying, if you don't change, you cannot be serving or volunteering in this area. So there's a way to do things. Won't people not threaten or abuse them? Next one. Empower people for high performance. Empower people for high performance. There's a lot that we can learn from God's design, from God's creation. I look at Proverbs 30, 24 to 28. There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise. What are those four things? The ants are people not strong yet they prepare their food in the summer. The rock badgers are a feeble folk yet they make their homes in the crudges. The locusts have no king yet they all advance in ranks. The spiders killfully grasp with its hands and it is in the king's palaces. You see, there's so much we can learn from creation. There's four examples. The ants and locusts both teach us about empowerment, teamwork and high performance. There's something interesting about ants. They are very powerful. They have a vision. I'm sure you've seen these one or two red ants moving around at your home. They're not just moving around. It's not that they lost their way. You know what they're doing? They are searching for food. Now, when they've searched for the food and when they've found it, they go back and bring the entire team. That's why you see that line of ants. Initially, one or two ants have gone searching for it. No matter what you do, you break the line. They'll come back to us. They know what teamwork is all about. High performance. They know how to get things done. Now, they don't have a team leader. They don't have hierarchy. They all just work together as a team. I'm sure we all know this. Go to the ant. Consider her ways and be wise, which having no captain, no overseer or ruler provides her supplies in the summer and gathers her food for the harvest. There is no command center to tell the ants what to do and yet things get done, whether it is collecting food, building a nest. They teach us about the power of spontaneous teamwork. Now, every ant feels empowered because there's no leader. There's no overseer. There's not like one ant standing and watching everyone. Everyone are working together. And the ants are working hard in the summer because they know when the winter comes, they will not be able to and I have to do this to survive. So everyone in their mindset is that summer I have to work. I can't do this alone. I need my fellow ants to help me and only then we can all have food for the winter. So if I don't do this, I will not have food and if I don't have food, I will die. So consider the ant. They are so wise. Locusts are normally solitary meaning they don't work in teams. But under certain conditions, like when there's heavy rain or drought, they come together in storms and a swarm of locusts can have millions of them. Remember the plague of locusts? Usually you don't find locusts in swamps. They're always one here, one there. But when they move together in the swarm, there is no leader. There is no captain. And no one locust is important. They are all united. Yet they move in an orderly manner. Great flexibility. They are unstoppable and they can break a great devastation. So we're seeing here the importance of high performance. Now in ministry, we need to be high performance. We need to push ourselves. Push ourselves. Even now, try to push yourself. God, I gotta do this. You look at what you want to do. They have a vision. Like whatever ministry that God has called you for. Now remember as a Bible college student, the day I joined Bible college, I said to God, God, I want nothing. But your presence. I want nothing but to grow in you. I don't care. It doesn't matter about what food is there. Whether there is food, there is no food. Whether the food is tasty, it's not tasty. It doesn't matter whether, you know, all these other things. It doesn't matter at all. I said God, two years. I'm going to give my heart, my soul, everything that I can. I just want to learn. I want to grow. I want to do this. And I knew that nothing can stop me. Because I just wanted to do it. I'll spend many, many, many. Remember those one hour breaks, you know. Quickly finish up lunch. And then, you know, the next, you know, probably 30 minutes, sit and try and read something. Or, you know, practice some songs on the guitar. Something fruitful. And I remember just pushing myself to learn to go out of my comfort zone. And there will be times when, you know, God will push us. But it's not always about being comfortable. Every time God will push us. And when he pushes us, he gives us the grace to do it. Right? Now, at times we, he may ask us to spend more time in prayer, more time in reading the word. Now, if you are in the corporate sector, he may ask us to spend more time in, you know, innovations and strategies and, you know, just seeking him for greater ideas and better ways to implement these ideas. So if we want high performance, yes, there's a natural thing that we must do, but we must also look to God. Because he is the one who can give it to us. He grants us the grace and will be able to do it. Right? And I remember when I was, you know, finishing my second year course, I just felt, oh man, it's two years went so fast. I wish I could, you know, even before graduating, we just graduated and then the new batch came and then immediately we were teaching the new batch. So then I knew if I have to teach the next batch and, you know, I hadn't even finished my final semester exams and we were already given the subjects to teach with the next semester. So I was a student and we were already given subjects to teach with the next. So the first years who come into the next semester, so I was talking to myself. And it's easy to preach. It's easy to, you know, take a couple of verses, preach 30, 40 minutes, you can do that. I've done it. But teaching. I realized, oh man, I need to learn so much more. I'm just finishing my two years course. I need to learn so much more. God, help me. And that should be there in us. Like a desire for high performance to just get better and better in what we're doing. Right? Finally, let's look at this one point and then we'll close. Remember, sweetness of the lips increases learning. It's probably 16, 21 and 24. The wires in the heart will be called prudent and sweetness of the lips increases learning. Pleasant words are like a honeycomb. Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. Learning takes place best in supportive, positive and encouraging environment. Now we cannot force people to learn. When we're in an environment where people are encouraged to learn and encouraged to, you know, and they're supportive, they're positive, then it is wonderful. Create an environment where people are encouraged to ask questions. People can critique others' works, meaning they can ask questions, find out why is it done in this way, challenge the status quo, think outside the box, bring out different perspectives, and all of this done in a healthy, positive manner. As a leader, encourage continuous learning. We talked about that, right? The moment I say I don't learn, the moment I stop learning, I stop being an effective leader. The moment I stop learning, I stop becoming an effective leader. If you really want to grasp something and if you really want to communicate something to your team and you want to do it in a way that they will grasp it, speak politely, gently, positively in an encouraging manner. Sweetness of the lips increases learning. Pleasant words are like honey. They encourage, they refresh, they inspire a person. So we couldn't finish this chapter, but we will finish it next week. Any questions? Any questions? Questions? Okay. Shall we just close and pray quickly? Let's pray. Father, we want to thank you for this time. We thank you for teaching us from your scriptures about how we have called us to be, to love one another, even as we work in the corporate sector or in ministry, help us to be people-oriented, help us to be kind, loving, generous, merciful, just as you are to us. We pray God that you grant us the wisdom to handle, to deal with people and to be a blessing of God. We thank you for each and every student. We pray a blessing over their lives, even as they learn the different courses. I pray God, Holy Spirit, that you will just minister to them and speak to them more. We thank you and praise you. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Amen. God bless you all. Have a wonderful week. I'll see you on Wednesday. God bless. Thank you, Pastor. Thank you. God bless.