B E H I N D / T H E / B A R

We’re wrapping up our discussion on Influence today.  Before we move to the last key to influence, let’s look at the other keys:

A person of influence will:

1.  Be Involved in the lives of others.

2.  Notice what’s happening in the lives of people around them.

3.  Maintain a Faithful presence in the lives of those we hope to influence.

4.  Love people with a genuine kind of love.

5.  Expect that some people will Use you for their own personal advantage.

6.  Embrace people rather than exclude them from your life.

7.  Relate to others in a Non-Condemning way.

8.  Live Confidently in the knowledge that you have something to offer.

And now the “E”

Effort

I’ve never been one that likes to simply just talk about doing something.  If it needs to be done, I’m generally of the mindset to pull the trigger.  Let’s get the show on the road.  Don’t wait around, wasting more time talking.  I realize that not everyone is that way.  Some people need to fully understand all the steps that are going to be necessary to accomplish a specific task.  I get that.    But at some point, we have to make an effort.  We just have to jump.

I’ve had countless conversations with people who would tell me that they have a desire to influence those who are homeless, disenfranchised, or broken. They have a desire to share the love of Jesus with others.  They truly have the “want to.”   Generally, my response to those conversations is “that’s awesome, now what are you going to do about that?”

This morning I prayed that God would give me the opportunity to share His goodness with someone else.  Four hours later I found myself on the playground with my little boy, talking to a man who appeared old enough to be my father.  He was there with his four year old daughter.  He wanted to talk, and at first I wasn’t all that interested in talking.  But I had a gut check when that little inner voice said to me, “I thought you prayed for this opportunity.”  (Gulp).  Ok.  So we began talking.  The conversation ended with me praying on the spot for this man to experience the goodness of God.  As we were about to drive away from the playground, he waved me down, ran up to my car and said, “Hey can I come to your church?”  Is the Pope Catholic?  I gave him our address and fully expect to see him one Sunday real soon. Who saw that coming?  Not me, even though I prayed specifically for that opportunity.  And to think, I wasn’t really interested in talking at first.  But I realized, I had better make the effort.  I’m so glad I did.

The most effective way to be a person of influence in someone else’s life is to simply make the effort.  Look, we can talk about being involved, we can blog about faithfully loving others, but unless we put legs on our words, we will never influence anyone.

So my final challenge to you with regard to influence, is to simply make the effort.

Ready?

Set.

Go!