 Okay. So we'll pray and then we'll start. Okay. Father, we thank you. Thank you for this day. Thank you for this time, Lord. Thank you that you are with us. You are for us and you are the one who leads us into all truth. Father, we thank you for the Lord, wonderful practical wisdom that is there in your word and Lord, we thank you for all the wonderful things that you've been looking at, Lord, and learning all these days. And even as we continue to do that, Lord, we pray that you, Lord, equip us and strengthen us in the area where we feel that we lack the expertise, Lord, where we feel that, Lord, that we need a little more help. And Lord, I pray that you would enable us to strengthen those areas, Father, God. And yes, Lord, we just commit that into your mighty hands and we commit today's class also into your mighty hands, God. We thank you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Sorry about that. I think I'm getting something from the kitchen. Okay, so we've been looking at working with people. Okay, so last class we were looking at people just like all other resources, like all other things that are valuable, which God entrusts to us. People are again a treasure. When you look at people through God's eyes, we see that they are precious to him and he values people. And people are a resource because when God gives us a vision, God gives us sense people to be part of the vision. And the thing is that it's good if we recognize that. And so the greater the task, the more help that we need, the more people to finish the task. And the way God works is always he sends people across our ways and in fulfilling the vision that God has for us, to help fulfill that vision, God sends people and as people join together with one heart, one mind and work to fulfilling that vision, their own personal life vision and calling gets fulfilled as well. So that's the beauty of the way in which God uses us in ministry, where we partner with one another and in doing so our own life's vision that he has called us with is confirmed or is fulfilled. So today let's continue with where we left off about resource being people and so being able to have that skill, the ability to deal with people, to manage people. People are a resource and we need to value, we need to steward that resource, we need to manage that resource. So we looked at several things in the last class, we looked at how in order to work with people, we need to first understand the value of people, we need to understand that people are important, we cannot, the ministry is about people, any work that you take, we have to interact, deal with people and they are also key to our success in the sense where we are maybe lacking in skill or expertise, people will have the skill and ability and that's how teams work, that's how successful teams are successful that where everyone's skills and abilities are valued and they work together. So in order to work together with people, now it's not easy. People have very strong opinions maybe, strong likes, strong dislikes about certain things. So to work together we need to have a common vision. So we talked about vision and how important for people to be part of the vision, to recognize the vision, to recognize that this is the vision. So for me, which means that we as maybe spiritual leaders need to communicate that vision. This is what the vision of the church, the ministry, this is the big picture where all of us are heading to. We need to communicate that, share that, reiterate that, which means repeat it so that people don't forget it and also work towards the vision. So we need to be able to communicate that, repeat that and make sure people remember that. So that's the thing and so if people are not aligned to the vision, then it's better that they don't join and otherwise it's going to be difficult. So they themselves will stop because they don't see eye to eye, they don't agree with that emphasis or this is what the ministry is about. So maybe they have called to do something else. So we saw the importance of vision, we saw the importance of delegation. One was organizing, which means organizing people, getting them around that common goal, around that common vision, communicating that to them, making sure they remember, etc. Then we saw the whole thing of delegating. So when it comes to people and we need to learn to delegate, what does it mean to delegate? It means to transfer responsibility, transfer tasks and hand over some of the things that you are doing so that you can do that one thing that only you can do. And you can do it well so that the others can take care of. In delegation, we are creating opportunities for people to serve. In delegation, we are allowing people to grow in their ministry, in their skill, grow in leadership maybe. If you delegate that leadership to take care of a team, when you give them the responsibility, they are growing up to be leaders. And so many wonderful things happen because we delegate our responsibility. And we also looked at how we should delegate. We looked at about nine things, how we should actually go about delegating. And we looked at that. And we also looked at motivation. And I think that is where we stop. We need to motivate people. When it comes to dealing with people, we need to be able to motivate them. What does it mean to motivate? It means to give reason or provide reason for people or per person to do something. It's about getting people to move and act. Maybe they have stopped for some reason or they have slowed down for some reason. Or they have passed serving or working towards the goal. They have stopped. They are slowing down. So they need to be motivated, which means that we need to again provide the reason, maybe refresh the vision and provide the reason for them to again pick up and pick up speed and carry out the tasks. So that's motivation. It's like giving people a pet talk at times. I'm sure you've seen in a cricket match or any sport, people just huddling around the captain. And if you've been watching the IPL, that happens at the start of the game. The whole team that is going to be fielding, bowling, they're just around. And then captain gives them a strategy and says, OK, we're going to do this and we're going to do this well. We're going to win this game. There's a motivational talk or a pet talk for the team. So we need to be able to motivate the team, give them reasons. And reasons to take action, reasons to move so that they do the task. So we looked at four things when it comes to motivating people. Firstly, we said, we cannot always give them a difficult task or long hours to put in. We cannot always do that. So you give them an end date saying, this is a start date. This is the end date. And during this time, we want to put in maximum effort so that we get this output. We need to be able to, maybe we need to work long hours. Maybe we need to put in more effort so that we can get this output by this date. So maybe the next two weeks are going to be very crucial. Or you're preparing for a game. This month is going to be crucial because we are preparing for this big game. And get our strategies right, exercising, food, diet, everything. Whether it's in sports or work or ministry, it's the same way. You're motivating the team to put in something extra so that the output will be good. So in doing so, we cannot always extend that extra that they need to put in. So we can give them an end date or the time for that extra that you want out of people. Secondly, we always said, if we share in the effort, there are times when we cannot. Maybe there are some days that we can. If we share in that effort and share in that sacrifice, then that will motivate people also. If we share the load, and I was talking about how when I was in sales, the recent manager would come with us for those difficult customers, for those big customers. And having him with us would really motivate us and knowing that he's there to support us. So sharing in that load, taking on some of the responsibilities would really motivate people. And the third thing is to appeal to the values or appeal to the sense of reward. Enable people to see the end result. What is that reward? What is that? Give them that sense of belonging and enable people to focus on that, to look at those values, to look at the rewards and that will motivate as well. Some people say we need to put some fear. If you do not do this, then this is the consequence. Well, that will also motivate people because people don't want to face the consequence of not doing something. Some people only say, if you don't do this, you won't get paid or you don't do this. You can't continue on the job. Now that will also, it's a negative motivator. It will motivate people to do it because they don't want to lose the job or they don't want to lose the money or the pay. But that can be only for a short term and you don't want to do that. You don't want to lose the person and end up them finishing the task but losing them as a person, as a team member. So, yes, we need to communicate the consequence of not doing certain things and that will help, but do it in a positive manner. Okay, then give people multiple reasons. When we achieve something, when we do finish this, what is going to happen and that will always motivate people. So, we looked at another word which is inspiration. Okay, if you remember, inspiration. So, we can enable people or motivate people, we can also inspire. We need to also inspire people. Inspiration, it involves changing the way people think and feel about themselves. We just put this here. It involves changing the way people think and feel about themselves so that they want to take positive actions. It taps into people's values and desires. So, this works for the long term. It's inspiring people. It's inspiring appeals to what they aspire they want to be. So, when people are inspired, then they become starters or they do the tasks themselves. You don't have to be there to constantly push and monitor because they are inspired to do it. So, here are some things how we can inspire people. Firstly, like Paul says to Timothy, be an example. So, he says in 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 12. So, that's 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 12. So, he says be an example. Let no one despise your youth but be an example to the believers. Now, believers were different people, different gender. They were older men, they were younger people. So, to all of them, be an example. So, no matter what the composition of your team is, be an example to them. And he lists certain things. Be an example in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. In all these words that you speak, in your behavior, in your love, in expression of love, in spirit, in really your motives and attitudes, in faith. Your lifestyle of faith, in purity. Everything to do with character and be an example. So, the thing is, we inspire people by our example. Like when we say that we need people to be at a certain place at a certain time. We want them to be punctual. We want their work to be excellent. And we want them to behave in a certain way. Like we don't want people to gossip and etc. Be an example. So, when people see the change that we want them to have in our own lives. That change that we want them to see in their lives when they see it in our lives. And they see it consistently. Then they are inspired to be like us. So, be the change that you want to inspire in people. Share testimonies. Share success stories. Share what can happen when ministries or when you are... Let's say we share stories of what ministries have done. What churches have done. Or what organizations have done. And the kind of success they have achieved. And why they achieved. Share those instances or those stories. You share them with people. So, this is what is possible. So, what happens is when you share the stories. It brings people to the fact that this is real. And this is possible. Maybe in their mind they are thinking, I don't want to do it. This is not possible. This will never work. So, when we share those stories, inspiring stories. It brings them to the point of believing. And also believing that it is possible. So, how do we inspire? First, you be the change. You be the example. Secondly, you share those success stories. You share those real stories of how things were done. How things were achieved. How things were accomplished. That will inspire people. Thirdly, have strong set of values. And appeal to the values in people as well. So, which means that values like timeliness, excellence, moral integrity. We create those values. We create that in the organization or in the team. By steaming those things, steaming those qualities. Like you say, this is what we want. You recognize those values. And model those values for them. So, when we do that, then you appeal to those things. Let your work be excellent. Let your work be timely. Let your work be of this nature. Let your mystery be like this. Let your life be like this in character and purity. We appeal to those values and we inspire them. There's two other things when it comes to inspiration is to be able to trust. We are empowering people when we trust them. Yes, first of all, when we choose people, we need to, of course, make sure that they are the right people. And so that they are trustworthy. But also when we actually trust them, when we give them responsibility, when we trust them with a task, then what are we telling them? We are telling them that you are worthy of trust. We believe that you can do this. You are able to do this and so on. And that inspires people to move. That inspires people to move to action as well. So, when we trust people. And the last thing is to challenge. It means that go beyond, enable people to stretch beyond what they are doing right now. Challenge the people saying, okay, this is possible, but then you need to stretch now. You need to put in that extra, you need to stretch to challenge people. And then when they realize that, you know, that it is possible and then they will also stretch and exert and put in effort, maybe stretch with their creativity and stretch with the sacrifice. And that will also exceed, you know, what they thought was possible. That will help them to achieve that and that will inspire people. So we motivate, we inspire and we do this when it comes to managing people, when it comes to dealing with people. So we don't do it as a way to manipulate. We need to understand that. Okay, so manipulating is, you know, it's like you're putting a reward in front of them. You know, I'm sure you've seen that. I thought I should get that picture. I don't have it. The picture of, you know, someone riding like a horse or a donkey and putting a carrot in front of it, like a stick. And that stick, there's a carrot that is, there is always there. So the animal is moving forward to get the carrot. And, you know, so don't manipulate in that manner. Rewards, motivation, inspiration should not be to manipulate people. But really, you know, it should enable, it should come, it should enable them, it should be beneficial for them. So because you're enabling them to achieve, you know, achieve their tasks and enabling them to, or giving them the reason to be able to go beyond their best. And so a sense of accomplishment and achievement. And when one is able to achieve something, there is a sense of satisfaction. You know, I'm sure many times we do a task. And just the fact that we've completed the task and we've done it well, there's a sense of accomplishment, a sense of contentment. We're satisfied, right? And so that is what we bring about when we motivate and inspire and reward and recognize people for their tasks, right? So that's the thing. So when it comes to motivating, probably this is, this is quite nice. When there's an immediate short-term and specific goal, we motivate, right? We motivate, give reasons and the things that we saw. But when you want to shape people's identity and their long-term aspirations, we do inspire. Okay, so both go hand in hand, both are required when it's, when you're leading, excuse me, when you're leading people, right? Okay, so any questions or anything that you want to clarify here? You looked at motivation, inspiration. Have you tried motivating people? What were some challenges, some difficulties that you faced? Excuse me. Any challenges that you faced, maybe in motivating people or in terms of delegation? What were some difficulties that you faced? Maybe we, you know, anything that you want to talk about? Any real-life situations? Okay, no doubts, nothing at all. Okay, okay. Then let's look at the next one, which is evaluation. Okay, so why do we need to evaluate people's tasks, people's work? In other words, in work organization, we call it work appraisal, like performance appraisal. Performance appraisal, which means it's a review of your work. Okay, so work review. To do this maybe twice a year or maybe, yeah, maybe three or four times a year. Some organizations do it every quarter, right? January, February, March, end of March, there's a review. April, May, June, end of June, there's again a review. How's the work? What is happening? Are we moving towards what we said that we would accomplish? What is the effort put in? Is there any difficulty, anything at all? Right, so we look at, evaluate the work. We do a review, we stop and find out, okay, how are things going? Is there, so this work review appraisal is very important for us to know that things are going well or for us to find out what is not going as well as planned, right? What are some challenges, what are some things? And then, so this is regular appraisals would really help the person, help the team would, and as a leader, would help you, help us to know where things stand. Okay, if there's a problem, we know there is a problem and what we should do in order to solve that problem or difficulty. So it helps to have an appraisal. But an appraisal is possible only when we are clear about the tasks, okay? So in the beginning, we've shared with the person, okay, this is what you're responsible for, these are your tasks. And this is what we need to do this year. Okay, this year, we want to do these tasks. It could be, okay, we want to reach so many people, okay, or we want to do so many outreaches. We want to maybe write so many books, right? Or we want to create so many videos, teaching videos, or we want to write so many songs, something like that. So an appraisal or evaluation will be, you know, at the end of three months, you know, you sit down and you check and you see, you know, how are things? Have you been able to move towards the completion of the tasks? What are the difficulties? Okay, maybe illness, maybe lack of resource, lack of training, lack of people. All those reasons will come up, or actual reasons will be, or difficulties will come up during a review. Okay, so we're able to take course correction. Okay, so course correction, meaning, okay, what is it, what are those changes that I need to make? It means that if you are going from point A to point B and we are actually, instead of going to B, we are actually going towards C, right? So we need to get back to B, okay, but C is this way, we need to get back to B. So what are those things that we need to do? Okay, so maybe the people need training, maybe we need, you know, one more person to the workload is more. Maybe there are, you know, certain tools that are required, right? Certain equipment that is required, certain tools that are required. Maybe there are some things that need maintenance, that need to, that needs repairing, right? Because of which it's slowing down, or maybe it was just negligence. Okay, that could be the thing too, you know, I've not been doing my work. Okay, I need to do this amount of work every day in order to go to point B. But if I don't put in that amount of work, then I will obviously not be able to reach point B, right? So you can have that conversation and say, you know, you're actually not, you know, not putting in the work. Why is this, you know, why is a sudden lack of interest or lack of, you know, effort? Why is this lack of interest? Why? And the person might say, okay, maybe, you know, illness, some difficulties in the family, or maybe genuinely say, you know, I think I've had enough, right? I don't think I'm cut out for this job, maybe, or for this role in ministry. Maybe I need to do something else, right? Or various reasons, I need to be trained, you know, to do this particular thing, I need some training. And I feel that I need, I'm not adequately trained and so on. So to be bringing that, we're able to bring in that, suggest those changes. Or to just simply say, you know, you need to be more disciplined, right? You're starting your work late, and therefore, you know, the rest of the team is not there. And by the time you contact them, they've already left, or they're on to doing something else. So you need to change your way of working and all that. So that happens when there's a evaluation. The evaluation also helps with reward, right? Recognition. Okay, so when we evaluate and see that the person has done a good job, a great job, then we can reward accordingly. Okay, like Paul, again, Timothy says, you know, let the elders who rule well. This is chapter five. First Timothy chapter five verse 17. Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. Okay, so how can we know that the person is doing a good job? They're ruling well, and they're laboring, right? Especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. How can you know unless we have a system to review a process to evaluate? Or just a simple thing that we do it from time to time. Maybe it's just a meeting and you talk about it. That's again a process of evaluating, right? So unless we have that, we will not know. Unless we observe, we will not know. So this can be something that's part of the team, that's part of the process, and you lay it down and you can do it from time to time at regular intervals. You're able to evaluate and you're able to reward accordingly in the right manner. You know, rather than doing it arbitrarily, right? In the sense, okay, I just feel that this person is doing a good job. When you actually evaluate, only then we will know that whether the person is doing a good job or not, right? When you see, okay, what is the... In this area, you have 10 areas to look after. Okay, what about area number one, area number two, area number three? What has happened? Then we will have a clear picture, a very accurate picture of the effort put in of the result, right? Otherwise, it'll just be our feeling. You know, this nice person and I feel that he or she is putting in effort. I've seen that person work. Whenever I see that the person is working, that may not be accurate, right? And because we're dealing with people, it needs to be... You know, we're dealing with multiple people, maybe. Maybe there are five who need to be maybe recognized and rewarded or evaluated. So we need to have an unbiased, unprejudiced, unbiased process. So which means that, okay, we have that process of checking, evaluating, and that's the process, same for everyone, right? So I'm sure you must be learning more in church administration, right? On this performance appraisal. You have that course, right? And you're doing that course right now? Or was it last year? Church administration, is it this semester? Are you doing it right now? In the semester. The semester, right? Okay, yeah. So, yeah, so the details of it, you know, you see that in that course, right? Okay. So let's look at one more thing when it comes to people. When it comes to people, again, you know, based on this evaluation, maybe, you know, you realize that this person is really not aligned to the vision. And this person's efforts are not really helping the organization, right? And this person, even after repeated conversations, repeated reminders, they are not willing to put in that effort. It's not that we have not given the tools, we have not given the training, we have not given the resources, we have given all that. But despite that, they simply do not want to, you know, maybe they're not interested. Maybe their calling is something else, maybe their interests are something else, maybe they need to do something different in life. So we need to let them pursue that, let them go. Okay. And it's a difficult decision, obviously, because they might have been there for some time, and we need to let them go, we need to have that hard conversation, we need to talk with them to say, see, this has happened, and we have had this conversation before, that if, you know, you're not able to do this, or if you're not interested, if you're not seeing change, then there has to be consequences, right? We need to let you go. So we need to be able to have that hard conversation. Or maybe there is a role change saying, you know, you don't have to do this anymore. Okay, so out of those 10 things that you're doing, you know, these five things you haven't been doing, right? And even after repeated things, even after repeating, so take it away, we don't want those five things to suffer. We are accountable to God. He's the one who's interested this to us. So these five things should not suffer. So I'm going to give it to another person who can, who is interested and who can do it. But you look at only these five things. But the remuneration, right? The salary will have to, you know, proportionately, we'll have to reduce that because it's, now we are, we are now removed some of those responsibilities, removed some of those tasks. So initially when we took you in for this particular role, it was for these things. So your reward or your salary was also keeping in mind that you will do these 10 things. But now that we have removed these five, we need to also, you know, sufficiently reduce the amount of salary so that it's realistic. Okay. So that is again another conversation. You know, maybe, maybe that person is good in other things, certain other things. And then, you know, just because you're reducing or taking off that responsibility, maybe, you know, their remuneration can be proportionately reduced and they can continue. Okay. So things like that, this conversation, whether it's to letting go or whether it's a change in the role, you know, that is something that we need to have that conversation as a result of that appraisal. Okay. So this also, it's good to, you know, it's good to clarify. It's good to have it, you know, have it, have that thing discussed with the person. Now, you know, I know in the secular organizations, it's very, very clear, right? It's there in black and white. And we can do the same thing with the ministry also because we are holding the person accountable to the task. And we can do it, you know, in an honorable manner. It doesn't have to be, you know, shouting and complaining and screaming and all negativity. And, you know, people, you know, feeling hurt and broken and all. It doesn't have to be that way, right? It can be in a very, that is the importance of having a system in place, right? We have that process in place. People understand it, understand the consequence of not doing that. Okay. If we need training, we provide all that, right? So we do that to help people succeed. Okay. When it comes to managing people, we do all that to help people succeed and be the best at what they can do. However, when that does not happen, we also, you know, have a process in place. Have people understand that process and do that. Carry it out saying this will have to be followed because certain things were not met. And we do it in an honorable manner, right? And yes, there will always be, you know, there will always be emotions. There will always be, you know, things, challenges that way. But we can always talk about it and discuss it and agree on things and do it in an honorable manner, right? Okay. Right. Okay. And yeah, sometimes we just need to understand, you know, I'm on page 34 that while we are doing this, we are, you know, we are dealing with the resources of the organization. We are being accountable to what has been entrusted to us. You know, this is also a sign of accountability. Okay. Accountability to God with the resources that he has given us. You know, sometimes we think that especially when it comes to, you know, maybe NGO or a ministry or any organization of that sort that anything is okay, right? Anything is okay. And we cannot let people go or we cannot have this conversation with people. But that's actually false. Or we should not look for productivity, right? Or excellence in people. That's false because, you know, we see that, you know, we see this in John chapter 15. It says that every John chapter 15 and verse 2, the Lord is saying, I'm the wine and my father is the wine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. Okay. So he's doing something so that it bears more fruit. Okay. So that branch is full. So what is it? It means that the father is actually looking for fruit and he's doing something to cause that branch to bear more fruit. Okay. But look at that. Every branch that does not bear fruit, he takes away, you know, but it is after doing that process of causing the branch to bear fruit. That's the process of pruning. Does something to the plant so that it bears more fruit. But even after that, if there's no fruit, that branch that does not bear fruit is taken away. Okay. So that's the thing, you know, that the father himself is looking for fruitfulness. Okay. So in ministry to expect fruitfulness, to expect productivity is not wrong at all. Right. We are, we as stewards are being accountable. The word steward itself is right. All these resources are given like time, money, people, right, are, you know, we are accountable. We are accountable if we are accountable for how we should use our time and we make the best use of it. If we are accountable, held accountable for how we are, you know, with the resources like materials and money and other things, physical things. If we are held accountable for that. Yes, we are in the same manner, even when it comes to people. And, you know, which are again precious people who are precious and resources. And we also are accountable for how and what they produce and how we deal with people. Right. So people cannot be, we need to look for fruitfulness, productivity. And, and it doesn't mean that, you know, just because people are there, we, you know, we will keep rewarding with respect to what they do. Okay. If they don't do, if they're not interested, if they don't come, if they are not obeying the rules, if they're not, then obviously we cannot keep rewarding because we are accountable. We will be held accountable. Okay. So we need to understand that. Okay. And not be fearful and not have, you know, misapply agape. Right. Sometimes we misapply agape. And therefore we don't want to correct. We misapply agape and we don't want people to tell people stop. What you're doing is wrong. We misapply that. So, so the right application of it is truth with love. Speak the truth with love. So truth sometimes does not appeal to people. It's not, people are not comfortable with it saying that, Hey, this is what you're doing. And what you're doing is wrong. You need to change. But you say it in love, say it firmly. And we need to do that. Right. So, okay. So we looked at people. We looked at several things. You know, right from getting people organized, delegating, motivating, evaluating, and even, you know, when it comes to letting go. Okay. So, so I hope that this is useful. This is helpful. And once you start leading, or maybe you're already at the leadership position, like some of you are. We can, you know, we need to use this. You'll find this valuable using these skills. Okay. So we'll stop here. Next class, we'll look at another important aspect, which is resolving conflicts. Okay. When it comes to managing people, it's an extension of the session. When it comes to managing people, definitely, you can be assured that there will be a conflict or, you know, it's a given. Right. And because of stress, because of, you know, people's opinions, different things, there are conflicts of various nature. Okay. So you might say, in church, can there be conflicts? Of course. Right. The Corinthian church is a great example where there was, you know, division and so. But we need to have the skill to resolve conflicts and to have a plan. Okay. How do we go about resolving these conflicts? So we cannot say that there will be no conflicts. So I will not have a plan. You know, there will be conflicts when it comes to people. Right. If you just have two people, that's enough for some kind of a conflict. So we need to have a plan. How do I resolve conflicts? How do I go about resolving conflicts? What are, you know, the types of conflicts and how can I go about resolving? Can I have a plan? Can I have a strategy to resolve the conflict? So this will be very, very useful again, because we are dealing with people as much as we need to motivate and inspire, delegate to be able to resolve is also something, resolve conflict is also something that we need to learn. Okay. So we look at it in the next class next Thursday. Okay. Thank you. God bless. Have a great week. Thank you. Thank you, sir.