Interview with Jo Saxton

Had the chance to catch up with Jo Saxton recently.

Jo is an author, speaker, and director of 3DM, a movement/organization helping churches develop a discipling and missional way of being the church. Originally from the UK, Jo was a college pastor at St. Thomas Church, Sheffield, planting congregations amongst college students and young adults. Since moving to the U.S. six years ago, Jo has served on church teams discipling young leaders and planting missional communities ranging from the suburbs to the inner city. Jo is the author of Real God, Real Life that released in 2010. She’s married to Chris, a Lutheran pastor and they have two amazing daughters, Tia and Zoe. They live in Southern California.

I consider Jo to be one of the leading voices when it comes to missional leadership and discipleship, and she brings a unique perspective towards missional community because of growing up in the UK.

A few links of interest

- Recent Catalyst Podcast includes a conversation between Tim Keller and Gabe Lyons. You’ll want to check it out.

- Do yourself a favor and go see the new Soul Surfer film that features the story of Bethany Hamilton, starring Carrie Underwood, Dennis Quaid, and Helen Hunt.

- 5 weeks until Catalyst in Dallas! Can’t wait. If you are planning to attend, make sure and register this week. And you can use rate code FOB to save an additional 15% off your ticket price.

- Current reading list includes: Today We are Rich from Tim Sanders; Jesus, My Father, the CIA and Me from Ian Cron (advanced copy… doesn’t release until June); Poke the Box from Seth Godin, and re-reading Five Dysfunctions of a Team from Patrick Lencioni

- Good article on how to reach Generation Z, those born between 1992 and 2010.

- Check out this great TED Talk from Morgan Spurlock;

The evolution of communication

Communication happens all the time, and has happened for a long time. Literally since the beginning of time. My take in terms of the advancement over time of the way we communicate.

1. Face to Face (verbal and non-verbal)

2. Written

3. Print

4. Phone

5. Radio

6. TV

7. Fax

8. Computer

9. Internet

10. Smart Phone (texting)

6 out of the 10 have been created in the last 100 years. What am I missing? What’s next? Person to person without being face to face and through no device?? Telepathy?

Craig Groeschel is WEIRD

yep, that’s right. I said it. And I can back it up!!

Craig Groeschel believes weird is good, and he’s got a new book to prove it. The brand new book is entitled Weird: Because Normal Isn’t Working. I’ve gotten to know Craig over the last several years and consider him a great friend. And I can tell you, this book is one of my favorites.

In case you didn’t know, Craig is the founding and senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv, one of the most influential and innovative churches in the country, and around the world.

In the book, Craig gives advice and perspective on everything from debt overload to tech overload, and explains why normal isn’t working anymore for so many Americans.

Do you want a meaningful life? Do you want to live a radical lifestyle? Then Craig’s weird is for you- a different from what everyone else does weird with the goal of living according to God’s grace and the truth of His Word. A Jesus kind of weird. “After all” he writes, “no one was weirder than Jesus.”

Weird is good. And weird should be normal for us who call ourselves followers of Jesus.

I highly recommend this book! Buy it today.

Craig will be speaking at Catalyst in Dallas on May 12-13, and at the next Catalyst One Day event in Houston on August 25.

How High is Your EQ?

Measuring your IQ has been a standard for years and years. We determine how “smart” someone is by their IQ score.

How about your EQ? Your emotional quotient. Your level of emotional intelligence. Your ability to read people, connect relationally, create long term friendships and relationships, etc.

Why is it that some folks just seem to have that sixth sense when it comes to connecting with people? Why is it that the one staff person can always talk the cranky accounting person into approving the difficult invoice that no one else can get pushed through? Certain folks seem to always get a yes, when you’ve tried and tried and get nothing more than a no.

This comes back to your EQ level. High EQ leaders typically are persuaders. They tend to move into influential positions more quickly and stay there.

There’s no question that the higher your level of influence, the more relational equity you need to have. Most notable leaders throughout history have high EQ scores.

High level deals require high level EQ. High level positions require high level EQ. High level opportunities usually require a leader with high EQ. To make it work you gotta be able to connect.

The greatest salespeople in the world have off the chart EQ scores. They can easily connect with you and ultimately make you feel so positive about a conversation or a product or service that you just can’t help but say yes.

The dominant voice on Emotional Intelligence over the last several years has been Daniel Goleman. Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence: Why it can Matter More than IQ is the classic EQ book. I highly recommend it.

Remember to work on your EQ as much as your IQ. Find others around you who are incredible at reading people and connecting with people and learn from them. Ultimately, just remember that your EQ factor is just as important as your IQ factor.

Free e-book from Tony Morgan

Go immediately and download this FREE e-book from Tony Morgan. Catalyst has partnered with Tony to make this resource available for free to leaders.

The e-book is titled Developing a Theology of Leadership. It’s a great source of inspiration and practical application on the why of leadership.

Thanks Tony for making this great resource available!