Seven Habits of Highly Effective "Christians"

I think every person should read Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” before reading the bible or becoming devout Christians (or devout anything for that matter!). I read this book in college for a communications class and I’ll admit… I think it changed my life! I’d be willing to bet that we’d have more preterists in our midst if Christians started taking up these seven “Berean” habits. How about some discussion on what these seven habits mean to our preterist perspective or to how we got here? Here is a summary from Wikipedia on these habits (my thoughts italicized):

  1. Be Proactive. Here, Covey emphasizes the original sense of the term "proactive" as coined by Victor Frankl. You can either be proactive or reactive when it comes to how you respond to certain things. When you are reactive, you blame other people and circumstances for obstacles or problems. Being proactive means taking responsibility for every aspect of your life. Initiative and taking action will then follow. Covey also shows how man is different from other animals in that he has self-consciousness. He has the ability to detach himself and observe his own self; think about his thoughts. He goes on to say how this attribute enables him: It gives him the power not to be affected by his circumstances. Covey talks about stimulus and response. Between stimulus and response, we have the power of free will to choose our response. (Is the rapture crowd (reactive) maybe blaming Adam for all the chaos in the world today???)
  2. Begin with the End In Mind. This chapter is about setting long-term goals based on "true north" principles. Covey recommends formulating a "personal vision statement" to document one's perception of one's own vision in life. He sees visualization as an important tool to develop this. He also deals with organizational vision statements, which he claims to be more effective if developed and supported by all members of an organization rather than prescribed. (Did God begin with the end in mind? YES HE DID! Tim Martin’s new book, “Beyond Creation Science” helps clarify this!!!)
  3. Put First Things First. Here, Covey describes a framework for prioritizing work that is aimed at short-term goals, at the expense of tasks that appear not to be urgent, but are in fact very important. Delegation is presented as an important part of time management. Successful delegation, according to Covey, focuses on results and benchmarks that are to be agreed upon in advance, rather than prescribed as detailed work plans. (Should discovering truth about bible prophecy come first? If we have been wrong about something for our whole lives, shouldn’t we focus our efforts on fixing that problem first before we move on to other aspects of Christian life?)
  4. Think Win/Win describes an attitude whereby mutually beneficial solutions are sought that satisfy the needs of oneself, or, in the case of a conflict, both parties involved. (Preterism is definitely Win/Win, is it not?)
  5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood. Covey warns that giving out advice before having empathetically understood a person and their situation will likely result in rejection of that advice. Thoroughly reading out your own autobiography will decrease the chance of establishing a working communication. (This is the true Berean protocol for understanding truth. How many people at your local mega-church understand preterism? Do you understand preterism?)
  6. Synergize describes a way of working in teams. Apply effective problem solving. Apply collaborative decision making. Value differences. Build on divergent strengths. Leverage creative collaboration. Embrace and leverage innovation. It is put forth that when synergy is pursued as a habit, the result of the teamwork will exceed the sum of what each of the members could have achieved on their own. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” (Can anyone say, “Emerging or Emergent Church Movement?” I love this!!! If you live in Southwest Montana, lets get together and Synergize!)
  7. Sharpen the saw focuses on balanced self-satisfaction: Regain what Covey calls "production capability" by engaging in carefully selected recreational activities. (Hey, Praise the Lord everyone! I’m sharpening my saw by taking the day off from work!!! Yeeehaw!)

Any thoughts? I think this is awesome... I could write a whole new book that uses these habits to lead a Berean down the pathway to preterism!!!

1 comments:

Pure Prairie Soap said...

Excellent. Well said.