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Saturday, December 20, 2014

Count Your Blessings! All Year!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!




My latest blog post!


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 Discover your purpose and passion 

 

  A 15 minute video by Francis Chan

 

 

 

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Interested in transforming your neighborhood? In Milwaukee?

 Some "old" news, but updating from my LINKEDIN Profile.

Training of Trainers Neighborhood Transformation (NT) or CHE Seminar in Milwaukee, Feb. 23-25th. 2012. Yes, we had over 30 attendees, but we were not able to get inner city pastors to attend.  ?????????

Interested in having Neighborhood Transformation training, and having this training in Milwaukee in 2015?
Keep reading for an update. Let  me know if you are interested!  

Our involvement as volunteers with the American Red Cross in Milwaukee and seeing first hand the needs renewed my interest in Neighborhood Transformation and the possibility of having Stan Rowland (founder of N.T. ) come back to Milwaukee in 2015 for a Seminar/Workshop.

Let me help your church learn more about this ministry and get involved!

My interest in Milwaukee and poverty led me to: Neighborhood Transformation, a strategy which helps churches minister in a wholistic manner to people in urban poor neighborhoods. It empowers people to take responsibility for their own lives. Helps neighbors to help their neighbors and moves them from welfare and relief to empowerment. Focuses on assets found in the neighborhood which fosters local ownership instead of being based on problems which they expect outsiders to fix for them.

Neighborhood Transformation (NT) trains church lay-people how to enter a nearby poor neighborhood, develop relationships, identify assets already found in the neighborhood in individuals and groups. Then, by working with the local people, this information is used to improve the living conditions.

Videos on steps to implement 


Please check out the Neighborhood Transformation website

http://neighborhoodtransformation.net/

 

Some other great videos on Neighborhing. 


Founder of Neighborhood Transformation, Stan Rowland has a BLOG:  http://urbancheguy.wordpress.com/


Sunday, December 7, 2014

What is your mission in life?

Read an interesting article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this morning: "Spiritual Inspiration". About Roma Downey and the new film she is in, "Women of the Bible".

She also runs an organization to help displaced Christians in Syria, Iraq and neighboring areas called "The Cradle of Christianity Fund."

She feels fortunate that she has been able to combine what she believes in with what she loves to do. Not everyone gets to do that.


"We must have clarity about the mission. I look for people I respect who are practical-minded. I want to be sure it's the sort of project that I can bring something of value to, and in which I'm being involved in a meaningful way. So I always ask myself: Is it a mission I believe in? Do I believe in the people who are in it? and Does it use my talents and gifts in a way that engage me?"

There's a lot of noise going on in the world. We need to listen to God speaking to us and that it is God that is speaking.

Maybe the real question should be, "What is your vision for your life?"  Or "What is your vision for your city or neighborhood?"

When I stand before Jesus one day, I want to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant". Isn't that what you want to hear?

Are you using your "Strengths" and "Abilities" in what you are doing or volunteering in?  

 


Thursday, December 4, 2014

Agricultural missions in action


We will be presenting a variety of faith based organizations who are actively using agricultural as a means of ministry.

This is the first of many:

ECHO exists to reduce hunger and improve lives through agricultural training and resources. A non-denominational Christian organization, its international headquarters is located on a tropical agriculture demonstration farm in North Fort Myers, Florida.
ECHO 




 

Chapin Living Waters exists to help poor people in developing countries grow vegetables when there is insufficient rain. We offer simple, sustainable technologies for subsistence farming, bringing hope to the poorest people and the opportunity to solve their own problems.

_http://www.chapinlivingwaters.org

 

 

   Videos on Chapin Living Waters site 

 

http://www.chapinlivingwaters.org/#!video-demos/c1br5


 /___________________________________________
Man of Peace Development




Chapin Living Waters


JL, Patt & Friends is working with Double Harvest and other partners to develop an agricultural project to assist Haitian and Bahamian families with food to eat and jobs.


J L Williams

Double Harvest

Chapin Living Waters

Fellowship of Christian Farmers
___________________________________________




Samaritan's Purse



Samaritan's Purse

 Agricultural projects

If you got down this far...you may be interested in my agricultural background:

Part of my Linkedin Profile.:


●   With the perfection of the art and science of lettuce growing, we became the     grower/supplier of choice for both Kohl’s and Sentry (Godfrey Co/Flemming Co.), the two top food chain stores in Wisconsin at the time. Marketing was not a challenge.

●   Had a high tech irrigated lettuce farm in the City of Glendale (Suburb now of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

●   Specialized in growing Bibb, Romaine, Boston and Leaf lettuce. Had the highest quality lettuce by applying foliar applications of key minor elements as needed and keeping soil nutrients and PH at optimum levels.

Attended the first Ag Expo in Tulare California in Feb 1968 to see and learn about the latest technology for growing lettuce. Also toured the lettuce growing areas from San Diego to San Francisco. Many years later attended the same event as a volunteer for Chapin Living Waters manning their booth...shared with Jain Irrigation Co. 

www.chapinlivingwaters.org   
Also, maintained Chapin's website from 2006-2014 as a volunteer and represented them at several conferences.

   Two challenges to a profitable crop were too much or too little water.

●    As a result we designed and implemented a drainage system that drained the excess water from the soil in early spring at least 2 weeks earlier than without the system, thereby drying and warming up the soil early and producing our first crop while supplies from the South and West still had a high price.

●   For lack of rain, we had an irrigation system that supplied water when and where we needed it.

●   Designed and built 3 “Plastic Houses” so we could get a head start on the season by transplanting lettuce into the field in mid April and thereby harvesting our first crop by June 1st, favorably competing with higher priced lettuce from “warmer” climates.

●   As a result of the above, we produced two and sometimes three crops of lettuce a year!

●   As a result of economic expansion of the City of Glendale, and installation of sewer and water to our property, and with high taxes, we were forced out of business.  Developed farm into Industrial Park.


More on my early lettuce business 

 

                                             Plastic Houses
Add caption


Boston Lettuce











Friday, November 28, 2014

My Volunteering and my Financial Giving: Any connection?

 My strong belief is that if you are a believer and member of a local church, you should be supporting your church. That should be priority #1

I believe that our first priority  is to use our God given gifts and abilities in our local church.  Whatever our passion for ministry is, we should make every effort to use it for God's glory in our church. Sometimes that may be a challenge...Then we may have to search outside the local church to see where we can be most effective in our ministry. There should be a balance. A local church can't do everything!



So is there any connection between  our volunteering and giving?
Should there be?



If we have a passion for a certain ministry that operates on a national or global scale, we can make an effort to see if they have a local chapter in our city where we can volunteer.. 

 

  If you are passionate about this organization...let them know! Tell them you want to sit down and talk! See if they are interested in using your skills, etc. 



 If one has been giving to an organization...maybe they can use your  Passion, Skills, Abilities, Strengths and past experience to further their mission!

Am I interested in volunteering with this organization?
Why?

We can even volunteer if the organization is thousands of miles away!
 How?

Have I contacted them to see if they would be interested in me helping them in some way?

Call them. Find out! 

Do I know my S.H.A.P.E?  Spiritual Gifts, heart or Passion, Abilities, Personality and Experiences? Have I taken the S.H.A.P.E. Assessment?

 How passionate am I in using my S.H.A.P.E with this organization?
What am I going to do?

My SHAPE      More info on what my shape is.

_________________________________________________________________

How to make wise choices in your charity giving.


Due Diligence Checklist
From The Eternity Portfolio: A practical guide to investing your money for ultimate results.
Permission given to use by author Alan Gotthardt
Met with him in Atlanta last year. 2013
Alan is updating his book and there will be a revised edition in the fall of 2014!
Richard’s comments are in RED.
This book specifically addresses how to be a good steward and using God’s money wisely in a non profit Christian ministry. However, these ideas can be applied to a secular investment also. Some of the points do NOT necessarily apply to a business investment.
These principles apply to making substantial investments in an organization, whether it is in the 100’s, thousand’s or millions of dollars!
Again, the comments in RED are solely Richard Dassow’s and NOT Alan Gotthardts. 

When you’re considering whether to fund a specific organization, there are many issues to consider. Here’s how to get started!
Review marketing/collateral information such as the organization’s website, brochures, annual reports, and presentations. 

Is the following symbol on their website?

 ECFA logo

Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) accredited institution. ECFA accreditation is based on the ECFA Seven Standards of Responsible StewardshipTM, including financial accountability, transparency, sound board governance and ethical fundraising.

If possible, conducted a site visit or vision trip to examine the operation firsthand.
For large gifts, meet with leadership to better understand who they are and where the organization is headed.
 Have they approached you for an investment or did you search them out? What are your goals and motivations in making an investment in this organization?
 
Either through a face-to-face meeting, telephone call, or collaterral information, try to get a sense for the following:

 1. Organizational Purpose


1.       What is the mission of the organization?
          How clear is the mission statement? Has there been mission drift?
What specifically are the major problems/issues it is trying to address?

2.       What makes this organization unique?
Have they established a clear need? Is the organization Passionate about what they are doing? Their mission. Is the Ex. Director passionate?  What are their resources? How is Need, Passion and Resources combined for exponential growth? Do they have the right people on the “bus”, the wrong people off the “bus” and the right people in the right seats? 

3.       What is the scope of the organization’s activities (local, regional, global, country-specific)?

4.       Are there well-developed, high-level goals that have been established to mark progress and give guidance to staff and donors?
           How do they measure performance?

B.      PEOPLE
1.       How well do I know the leadership?
Are they visionary? Capable of leading? Passionate about the mission? Do they value relationships?
Is the Ex. Director passionate?  What are their resources? How is Need, Passion and Resources combined for exponential growth? Do they have the right people on the “bus”, the wrong people off the “bus” and the right people in the right seats? 

Is their a list of Board members & their bio's on the site?

2.       What qualifications do those in leadership have?

3.       Does the board of directors represent a cross section of skills and qualifications needed to successfully guide an organization of this type?  Is there a job description for the board members? 
Is the board limited to policy making or do they do a lot of the work? If so, is this good or bad? 
Are the board members investing financially in the ministry in a significant way?  Do we know what percentage of the total funds come from board
 members? How important do we think that is?

4.       Do the staff members understand the organization’s missions and exhibit a genuine concern for their area of ministry? Do they seem content and motivated?  How do I know this? Have I talked to them? Taken some of them to lunch? Is this important? Why?

C.      PHILOSOPHY
1.       How receptive is the organization to feedback and questions?
Do leaders appear transparent about problems, successes, and failures? Are staff interested in even talking to us? How important is that to us? Obviously with a small donation it may not be important.00… but if we have a significant financial investment to make it is or should be! Can we make a designated or restricted gift…and work with them in the planning?
How about accountability? Can we structure the funds to be released as progress is being made? Are they open to this? How involved to we wish to become? 

2.       How are donors treated? Is there a demonstrated accountability for the faithful use of funds? How are volunteers recruited, trained, and utilized?

3.       Does the ministry seek to create leveraged results for the kingdom (i.e., multiplication)?

4.       Do there seem to be any “integrity fault lines” running through the different aspects of the ministry? It’s fund-raising? Programs? Communications?

D.      PROCESS
          1.       Is there a written strategic plan for the ministry?
                   A 5 and 10 year plan?
          2.       As it carries out its mission, how is the organization
perceived within the community?
3.       What are some of the new initiatives or activities the organization is undertaking? 5, 10, 15 year plan.
4.       Where does the financial support come from? A small group of major donors or a broad audience? How willing are they in sharing this? 
          5.       Are thee audited financial statements?
6.       Does the organization appear to be staffed appropriately to execute the mission?  Good to Great concepts?
 
E.      PERFORMANCE
1.       How does the organization measure its progress toward accomplishing the mission?
Are there specific targets and objectives for the leadership as well as staff within the organization?

2.       Does the organization communicate regularly and effectively with the donors? What is the frequency?

 3.       Is the organization accomplishing its mission?

11.   PROJECT ASSESSMENT
                    If we are investing in a specific project.
A,      ORGANIZATONAL FIT
1.       Does this particular project  address one of the core objectives of the ministry? In other words, is it part of a focused, concentrated effort toward accomplishing the organization’s purpose, or does it go outside of core competencies and mission?

2.       Is this project or activity already being conducted successfully by another organization, and if so, are there reasons to duplicate?

          3.       How much of the funding is already committed?

B.      PROJECT REVIEW
1.       Is this a onetime investment for a project that will become a 
self-sustaining activity?

2.       Other than in the area of funding, where are the faith hurdles? In other words, where must God supernaturally create the results for the project to be successful?

3.       Do the financial projections seem reasonable? Are they too optimistic? Do they leave anything out? Is there a plan for contingencies?

4        Are there specific, measurable objectives to be accomplished?

          5.       How will progress be reported?

III.   FINAL ASSESSMENT
1.       Have I (we) spent sufficient time seeking God’s will through prayer Bible study, and wise counsel? Do I (we) have any wrong motives or conflicts of interest that should prevent this investment?

2.       Assuming all indications are positive, are there any nagging questions or concerns that should be resolved?

3.       Whether or not this appears to be a great opportunity, do I (we) feel specifically led to be involved at this time?
          Have I (we) asked the 4 questions from Ben Carson’s book: TAKE THE RISK; Learning to Identify, Choose, and Live with Acceptable Risk.

Additional Resources:
Generous Giving   www.GenerousGiving.org

Paul Polak:  Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail.   
 http://www.amazon.com/Out-Poverty-Traditional-Approaches-Hardcover/dp/1605092762

Quote from his book;  P 186  One major flaw in the way current donors deliver the funds they invest in poverty-eradicaton initiatives."

"What Donors Can Do to End Poverty"
"Development donors don't insist that every investment produces measurable positive impacts and that these impacts can be scaled up to reach millions of people." 
Take the Risk: Learning to Identify, Choose and Live with Acceptable Risk.
Money, Possessions, and Eternity, Randy Alcorn. 

Foundation For His Ministry: 2 Video's about what God is doing in Mexico








A Christian ministry serving the least in the Baja and Oaxaca Mexico.


Start your journey to this area by planniing a trip!

 

Tweets on Twitter







Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Why should I discover my S.H.A.P.E ?


Discovering your SHAPE helps you find your most productive and joy filled volunteer position in  your church and the world.


Saddleback Church pioneered this assessment over 10 years ago.

Now this assessment is online and it gives a great indication of where you would be most happy and joyful serving.

There are several websites that offer this online survey.
They are approaching this from a Christian worldview.
Gives you a great analysis on how to use your SHAPE in a Christian non profit.

S is your Spiritual Gifts.
H is your Heart or Passion
A is your Abilities
P is your Personality
E is your Experiences.

When I was on staff at Eastbrook Church in Milwaukee, we did this in our New Member Class and did it by a paper survey. Now it is ONLINE. You can google S.H.A.P.E and get several churches that have this on their website. 


One way you can get connected into the life of your church and grow closer to God is through serving.
  
 What does CALLING have to do with this?

Bruce Bugbee sharing his passion!



Link on more on "Strengths" and "Abilities" another piece of the puzzle. http://strengthsforyou.blogspot.com/



View Richard Dassow's profile on LinkedIn

Thursday, November 20, 2014

More on Strengthsfinder 2.0 from a friend

The following is some new info that pertains to knowing your strengths and the person you are interacting with. It can be a great help in building trust.

I received this from a Linkedin Connection Paul Hayes. Paul gave me permission to quote him.

"In the DFW area, there are a lot of churches that are utilizing StrengthsFinder as part of their ministry. I don't have the exact figure, you can probably find it on the Gallup website somewhere, or if you post in one of the LinkedIn SF groups, someone will probably know and reply, but my understanding is that the likelihood of someone else having the same order for the 34 talents is infinitesimally small. I don't trust my memory, but the figure less than a dozen in the world's population sticks in my mind for some reason.

Awareness of this instills into people that we are all unique creations of God; what is unique about each of us aligns with the purpose we were put here for; and when we find what our passion is, the likelihood that we are also finding the purpose God has planned for our lives will also be found. Additionally, like any other organization, knowing the strengths of each member helps the organization deploy talent most effectively, just as would be the case in a business. It also is an effective tool for life changes support such as ministering to those seeking work, marriage and divorce, grief counseling, etc.

The other thing is what I call 'out bounding your strengths'. We all enter into situations where we ask others to make significant decisions based, in part, on their judgment and trust of who we are. For example, when you might be asking a major donor to fund an endeavor of your ministry or The Red Cross.

Using the 3 page summary report of someone's top five is a good way to frame that perception. In business, during the times when I have been asking someone to spend $100,000 or more at one time, I always include that as the last section of the proposal.

I usually introduce it by saying if I were being asked to spend what I am asking them to spend, I would want to truly know who I was dealing with, and this is not only who I perceive myself to be, it is who Gallup's assessment given to over 12 million people perceives me to be.

I urge them to take $10 and an hour of their time to determine if they think who that assessment perceives them to be is accurate or not, because if they consider that to depict who they are, then they can have confidence the following depicts who I am.

It puts StrengthsFinder before influencers who can spread it to more people, and it does so in a matter of fact way about it being something real. In effect, it is doing with StrengthsFinder the same thing that a life of example is ultimately a ministry.

 I did not get more than the top five till about a year and a half after taking the assessment for the top five report. When and if you ever decide you want to delve deeper into your strengths, you can go back to the purchase page and purchase the full 34 report for $89. It is generated from the same answers that generated your top five report. As soon as you pay, you have the full 34 report. When you have the list going deeper, you see ways that top fives combine with lesser strengths. For instance, my belief about only being able to receive through giving is something I attribute to my #14 Connectedness, #9 Relator, and #7 Empathy much more so than anything in my top five, yet that is an essential core of who I am. Such things are why eventually it is nice to have the full 34."

Thanks Paul for your insights and wisdom! 

In a previous post, I mentioned S.H.A.P.E. 
Would be interesting to see how our "Strengths" work together with our "S.H.A.P.E."
    
          View Richard Dassow's profile on LinkedIn
      
   

What is your S.H.A.P.E ?

Discovering your SHAPE helps you find your most productive and joy filled volunteer position in  your church and the world.


Saddleback Church pioneered this assessment over 10 years ago.

Now this assessment is online and it gives a great indication of where you would be most happy and joyful serving.

There are several websites that offer this online survey.
They are approaching this from a Christian worldview.
Gives you a great analysis on how to use your SHAPE in a Christian non profit.

S is your Spiritual Gifts.
H is your Heart or Passion
A is your Abilities
P is your Personality
E is your Experiences.

When I was on staff at Eastbrook Church in Milwaukee, we did this in our New Member Class and did it by a paper survey. Now it is ONLINE. You can google S.H.A.P.E and get several churches that have this on their website. 

Here is the link for Eastbrook Church. http://www.eastbrookchurch.org/10809/ministry/ministry_id/394593/Serving
The link gives a great explanation of each item of S.H.A.P.E.
After taking the survey, you get a printout and can also come back later and update your info you entered. 

Serving eastbrookchurch.org

One way you can get connected into the life of your church and grow closer to God is through serving.
  
 What does CALLING have to do with this?

 Come back for more on your "Strengths" and "Abilities"




View Richard Dassow's profile on LinkedIn

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

What's your calling?




Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Dr, Tina Brookes: Keynote Speaker at the 2014 Wisconsin Red Cross Disaster Training Conference.



Steps to Self-Care

Dr. Tina S. Brookes



As care-givers, Red Cross employees and volunteers face many unique stressors and demands that will take a toll over time. At the Wisconsin State Red Cross Disaster Conference Dr Tina Brookes offered a keynote on “Steps to Self-Care”. Dr. Brookes is the CEO of KardiaKeepers and Co-Founder of The Academy-National Institute for Crisis Response Training in NC



Dr. Brookes reminded us that one important step to self-care is realizing that “You Can’t Put the Stink Back in the Skunk!” Too often we spend all of our time focusing on regret for the mistakes that are made instead of using them as opportunities for learning. Dr. Brookes suggested that if we are responsible for a mistake we should  make every attempt to clean up the ‘stink’ and then move on! Sticking around and just smelling bad is no help to anyone!



Dr. Brookes recommended that we make every effort to practice self-care measures daily including partaking of nutritious meals, enjoying light exercise, and purposefully using deep breathing  to relax.  She said to identify now a support group that we can count on to be available for us when we need them.  And, to identify some of our favorite memories that bring us delight and remind us why we do the hard work of caring for others. Dr. Brookes suggested to have the list ready now, before we need it, so we can pull it out later whenever we need encouragement to keep on keeping on!

 
The work of a Red Cross employee or volunteer is significant indeed. We can best support others if we are practicing steps to self-care ourselves!

Dr. Brookes will be teaching  at The Cove Thurs-Sun with Samaritan's Purse.
http://www.thecove.org/home 





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