Heaven in Spain

12/04/2025

I have benefitted personally and professionally from Daniel Goleman’s framing of five Emotional Intelligences (EI). In the Christian context, we can think of EI as the fruits of the Spirit plus a whole bunch of other positive internal qualities. EI not only helps with leadership capacity, but has been found, amongst other things, to increase life satisfaction.

EI starts with self-awareness and self-regulation. Every person has unique diversity that it is important for each of us to discover. We have personal diversity (e.g. age, race, ethnicity, gender, physical abilities and qualities, natural abilities, sexual and affection orientation), positional diversity (e.g. education, work experience, income, marital status, values, religious beliefs, geographic location, parental status) and interactional diversity (e.g. emotional position, motivations, personality type, life experiences, work roles, values, leadership style).

This diversity helps us to make unique contributions to others in our professional and personal environments. It also, however, introduces blind spots, immaturities, weaknesses and biases.
We can increase our self-awareness by asking for feedback about our actions and behaviours from people we are interacting with and doing a SWOT analysis of ourselves. Doing self-assessments is also an option. However, they are only helpful if you already have a degree of self-awareness!

Perhaps the best way to develop self-awareness is to keep a diary where you write down your behaviours, your feelings and people’s reactions on a daily basis. If, for example, we see a pattern that we feel a certain adverse way is different situations with different people, then we are more likely to take ownership of those feelings and not blame others.

To help us increase our self-awareness, there are also recognised common biases we should be aware of that we all potentially carry including the fundamental attribution error (FAE) and the self-serving bias (SSB). The FAE is when we blame another’s performance failures or problems on internal factors rather than external factors. The SSB is when we blame our personal performance failures or problems on external factors and attribute our successes to internal factors. Like any bias, we counter them by reframing the situation. Eg. to counter the SSB, we should consider what internal factors are contributing to our failures and what external factors are contributing to our successes

There seems to be a mantra in society that we all should value every part of the (negative) aspects of diversity of a person. And that we should be free to “be who we are” in all situations. For example, we may be an intolerant person or have an over-inflated view of our opinions or fail to listen to others. But since this is the way “we are”, others should just accept this. We can develop a mindset where our hurtful behaviour is justified in the interest of defending our individuality

However, this attitude neglects Goleman’s second EI of self-regulation. This essentially is the ability to keep your impulsive feelings and emotions under control, especially when they are hurtful to others. To receive the benefits of our increased self-awareness, this second aspect of self-regulation should be just as strong.

There seems to me to be far more self-justification than self-regulation….

As managers, we have the major influence in the productivity and satisfaction of those who work in our teams. We can not only influence them to fulfil their potential at work, but we can also bring the influence of Heaven to their lives. This book will help you to apply biblical principles to yo...

30/03/2025

A few years ago, two questions arose within me about the church. The first question was “What type of church did Jesus have in mind when He said “He would build His church”?”. The second question was “Is the church I am currently involved in within the scope of what he was thinking?”

The answer to the first question needed further thought and study. The answer to the second question was an instant “I hope not!”. That church was dominated by internal matters including nepotism, self-protection of the founder and a disproportionate finances/ facility building focus.

Jesus is recorded as saying very little about the church, the main statement being in Matthew 16. The two essences of a church He said were
1. Believers are gathering together
2. They are helping other people to enter the kingdom

I have changed my view on what a church is based on these two criteria. It potentially includes other Christian groups (eg “para” churches), informal groups and businesses. It also excludes some organisations that are labelled as churches, if they, like the Pharisees, are preventing people from entering the kingdom.

What is our personal distinction between a church and other social organisations? - tax exemption status? Because of church history and culture, we each live with a mindset about what church should look like – services, programs, priests etc. But what if an organisation had no paid staff, no facilities and no programs? Can it really be a church? (As budgeting represents our priorities, these are the three dominant priorities of most churches). However, the underground church in Iran has none of these three priorities, yet is the fastest growing church organisation in the world. (Also predominantly led by women)

The questions should not be “what is the name/ denomination of the church I am involved with and what expressions of a their program am I attending?”, but should be “Is this group helping me to help others enter the kingdom?”. Church should always be seen as a strategy, a means to an end, not the end in itself

15/03/2025

Somewhere around the 1950’s many church leaders began to realise that you can build larger churches if you base your church’s organisational design and leadership strategy on the practices of large corporations and the military. What this meant, amongst other things, was the emergence of the importance on vision, hierarchical organisational structures and control measures within the organisation. In some cases, larger churches were built. It also introduced an exaggerated focus on leadership as leadership capacity is one of the key determinants of organisational size.

However, leadership is only one of the seven motivation gifts of Romans 12 but gets more focus than the other six combined.
Most of what Christians today think of leadership comes from the church leaders who operate out of this corporate leadership model. We automatically confine leadership conversations to the type of leadership that exists in hierarchical structures

The problem is that large churches are not what Jesus came to earth for. He didn’t ask us to pray “thy church come” but to pray “thy kingdom come”. His message was devoted to helping people to understand and enter the kingdom of Heaven. The pursuit of building large churches is fine is that corresponds to more people seeing, entering and inheriting the kingdom. Most often it does not. It normally corresponds to more energy (money, time etc) being fed into sustaining the organisation, more authority being given to those higher up on the organisation and more disappointment when those “higher up” show the sort of frailty that is common to humans

As a Christian leader, you have to pause and think about what Jesus said in Matthew 20:25-26 – “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.”

True kingdom leadership does so without the use authority (explicit or implied) and through serving others. Unfortunately, the success of organisational growth depends on making sure people are aligned (a use of authority) as well as getting people to do what you want them to do (getting them to serve you). Now I have heard church leaders say that you are serving people by getting them to play a role in a (your) vision bigger than them. Maybe.

If we are revisiting our understanding of kingdom leadership, we can first ask ourselves the two questions that arise – (1) Am I using authority over people? and (2) Am I truly serving people or myself? If we are a church leader, then we can also start by putting energy into people to pursue their kingdom calling whether or not it helps the organisational metrics of the church. Otherwise we risk being the type of leader that Jesus referred to in Matthew 23:13 “For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in”

07/03/2025

The recently late Gene Hackman (playing Royal) in the movie “The Royal Tennebaums” gave a scathing and uncaring criticism of his young children’s play they had written, directed, produced and starred in, ending his criticism with the phrase “that’s just one man’s opinion”. It is a phrase that I have adopted when asked my perspective about a matter (also to potentially start a conversation if the other person has watched the movie).

Each of us carry unique perspectives that are based in our unique diversity mix, amongst other things, of upbringing, personality type, experiences, emotional intelligence and national culture. This unique perspective adds depth to others at work and in our personal lives. However, it also brings bias, which can be mixed blessing. For example, I have a high value on personal autonomy which makes me function well as a pioneer but not so well with a boss or someone else trying to control me. Being aware of your biases is the first step in managing our impact on others.

Bias extends to the expression of our faith. Even if we believe that the writers of Scripture were divinely inspired, the canon was divinely selected, the English translation of the version we use was divinely directed, we are still subject to biases of our interpretation. These biases are driven from the things already mentioned with the addition of our denomination’s history, practices and culture. Our understandings and judgements arising from our Bible knowledge are therefore “just one man’s opinion” as well

In addition to our unique biases, there are recognised common biases we should be aware of. Being aware of them helps us to manage ourselves better whilst having them. Two of these are what are called the “self-serving bias” (the tendency to blame external things for our problems) and the “fundamental attribution error” (the tendency to blame internal things for other’s problems). These biases are important to understand in both professional and personal relationships. Like any bias, the best way to counter them is to deliberately consider the situation in reverse. For example, to deliberately consider what is external to others that may be contributing to their problems, and what is internal to us that may be contributing to our problems.

These aspects of bias feed into the issue of judgement, which is, in my opinion, one of the most misunderstood issues in Scripture. And this misunderstanding has caused great damage to people. The misunderstanding arises because there are three different Greek words that are translated into the English word “judgement”, and to the different audiences to whom those different types of judgment should be directed. These “judgement” words are “krino” (meaning to have/express an opinion), “diakrino” (meaning to have discernment) and “anakrino” (to ask questions). We are directed to “krino” ourselves and not others, “diakrino” what others say (and keep it to ourselves) and “anakrino” others (ask them questions, be inquisitive).

It seems that in some churches, there is an unchallenged culture of judging (krino) others. It seems to be seen as a role of the church. However, Scripture clearly says it is not a person’s role to do so. We are not equipped to do it nor have we been given that role. Billy Graham wisely said “God’s job is to judge, the Holy Spirit’s role is to convict and it is my role to love”. The only way we should ”judge others” is to ask questions, seek understanding and not cast our opinion of them nor look for problems that are internal to them.

You hear people say that they can judge righteously. However, there are two essential pre-requisites for being a righteous judge. (1) Being omniscient (and the issue of our biases are just one of the reasons we are not) and (2) being without sin (Good luck with that). The outcome of all this – be kind to others and seek understanding!

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28/02/2025

There is no such thing as a godly extremist. It is an oxymoron. This is what Ecclesiastes 7:18 says - “Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes”. An extremist can be defined as “a person who favours or resorts to immoderate, uncompromising, or fanatical methods or behaviour”. We find extremists in all pursuits, but we currently mainly see them active in the political or religious arenas. And, of course, extremism is a relative concept. For example, someone on the political extreme right can view a moderate as an extreme leftist. And not all extremists are bad for the world. Martin Luther King was labelled by some as one.

One of my first pursuits after my conversion experience to study the Bible. I did so for four hours a day for a year. I had been told it was internally inconsistent and inconsistent with Science, so couldn’t be believed. I wanted to find out for myself if it was. As I studied it, I noted all potential inconsistencies and attempted to resolve them. I discovered that most of them were a result of particular and unnecessary interpretations of Scripture. However, as I studied, I discovered something even more important. That supposed “inconsistencies” can both be true. Many apparent inconsistencies are simply different truths to be held in tension. The most obvious doctrinal tension is, of course, holding both to the doctrines of free will and predestination.

Extremists give up on this tension and hold to one package of truth. Life is simpler that way. They surround themselves and only listen to others who adhere to the same version of truth. They demonise and belittle others who live with the tension. Wholistic truth is never found in the extremes, so we should always remain open minded to consider an alternate point of view (We may not consider it for very long).

Extremists take a position and are uncompromising in it, no matter what the cost. When extremists gather together in groups, they tend to get more extreme as they encourage one another. Like the proverbial frog in the kettle, they end up being uncompromising in more and more extreme and damaging beliefs. This is the nature of cults. Christian cults often start off with noble goals of community, egalitarianism and help for the needy. However, with increasing power given to leadership, isolation, self-reinforcement of beliefs and demonisation of those not in the group; they end up being very destructive to the people involved

One of the (possibly accidental) advantages of compulsory voting in Australia is that political parties need to engage the moderates to get elected. In the US, without compulsory voting, political parties increasingly target their left or right constituencies, which results in causing political division and extremism. I find it odd that some Australian political candidates think that copying US political strategies will work, promoting extremist ideologies, forgetting that most people are still in the middle.

Life is more complicated living with the tension of truths, but it does help us keep an open mind to others.

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20/02/2025

One of the key distinctions that all organisations need to understand is the difference between “means” and “ends”, that is between strategy and vision. Vision is the “end” we are trying to achieve and strategy is the “means” by which we will achieve it. All organisations should consider whether people are actually better off as a result of their goods and services (the most important “end”) and not simply focussed on how much they are doing and how well they are doing it (the “means”). This “are people better off” outcome philosophy undergirds the long term success of all organisations

This key distinction can be confused by church leaders when they are focussed primarily on how the programs of the church are faring. However, all “Christian” vision (churches, christian businesses, missions etc) should always be directed towards helping people experience the kingdom of Heaven. Church services, church growth and even church health should always be seen as strategies to achieve the end of people experiencing the kingdom. Church vision should never be aimed at a church’s organisational metrics like attendance at services/ programs, facilities or money

A good starting point for understanding this kingdom experience is contained in Romans 14:17 - “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”. We should ask ourselves whether all of our activity in churches (strategy) is helping people (church members and the community) to experience righteousness (that is faith, in Jesus) as well as peace and joy. (Please note the distinction between righteousness and holiness here. Righteousness is the door to the kingdom and holiness aid our journey in the kingdom) Remarkably, some churches seem to pride themselves, through judging others, in creating arguments, controversy and anger in the community. If we are not helping people to experience this righteousness, peace and joy, then perhaps we should re-examine the means (our church’s culture and activities)

This orientation changes our view of a church’s success to two major outcomes. Firstly, how much church members are personally experiencing the kingdom and secondly, how well their kingdom qualities are helping others (especially including the community) to also experience the kingdom. This necessarily shifts the success conversation to a cultural one. This cultural focus aligns with Jesus taught about the kingdom of heaven being “like leaven” and comes to a person when a kingdom person rubs off on them

“Kingdom Culture” will help you to more fully understand the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven. It will assist you to enter more of the Kingdom and equip you to help others to do so as well. It will help you to participate in the Kingdom transformation of individuals and enterprises. It will help:...

08/05/2024

¡Última llamada! Si quieres participar en el curso gratuito de ESCUELA del REINO que comienza mañana jueves 9 de mayo ¡apúntate ahora mismo!
Toda la info e inscripción en www.heaveninspain.com

02/05/2024

En una semana dará comienzo nuestro próximo curso, enteramente en español, sobre el tema de “Las Llaves del Reino - 8 Prácticas para adentrarte día a día en el reino de Dios”.

Exploraremos las enseñanzas de Jesús sobre cómo entrar al reino descubriendo las prácticas que nos ayudan a cumplir el propósito de Dios y nos permiten disfrutar de la vida abundante a la que nos ha dado acceso.

Tema: Las llaves del reino, 8 Prácticas para adentrarte día a día en el reino de Dios
Fechas: Cada jueves durante 6 semanas, desde el 9 de mayo
Horario: A las 21:00 (máximo 90 minutos)
Facilitadora: Mariberta Byler (solo en español)
Colaboradores: Aitor de la Cámara, Loida Fernández, Anna Martínez, Aaron Lewis, Connie Bentson, Adriá Martínez, Kesia Rut, Simón Menéndez, David Pérez, Diana Stanciu y otros por confirmar (info sobre cada uno en la página web)

Ideal para:
Avivar tu fe y experiencia como discípulo/a de Jesús
Participar con tu grupo de estudio bíblico, grupo pequeño o pandilla de amigos

Como los 8 cursos que hemos llevado a cabo hasta ahora, este también es gratuito. Simplemente necesitas realizar una sencilla inscripción online.

Toda la información: https://www.heaveninspain.com/llaves_del_reino.html

29/04/2024

Te compartimos la recomendación de Alfonso Cherene (Juventud con una Misión. Hope House Galicia) al curso de Escuela del Reino "Las Llaves del reino: 8 prácticas para adentrarte día a día en el reino de Dios".

“Este curso te llevará hacia un viaje interior personal. Pues es práctico, no agobiante y cercano. Lo recomiendo con confianza.
Te será de gran ayuda para hacer una "puesta a punto " personal y ojalá desatascar áreas necesarias de tu vida para tu madurez, crecimiento y para que seas más fructifero.
A menudo fallamos en la revisión. Asumimos unos valores, conceptos y creencias internas sin tomar el tiempo debido para contrastarlas bíblicamente con las del Reino de Dios y la vida de Jesús.
Conozco a los que imparten el curso y de cómo buscan vivir con integridad lo que enseñan.
Te deseo un feliz viaje en muy buena compañía.”

https://www.heaveninspain.com/llaves_del_reino.html