I recently did a team building activity with a group of people in an interdenominational organisation who are not familiar with the 3 Color material, which I have been encouraged to share here as it was a huge success.
In my preparation I printed each of the fruit on a sheet of paper with a brief explanation and scripture verse eg
It’s common these days for words to end up attracting a meaning that is the opposite of what was originally intended. “Wicked” for some now means “fantastic” and something can be both “cool” and “hot” depending on the crowd you’re with. It might come as a surprise that the Church has been at this sort of thing for years.
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)
Proverbs 27:12 (NIV)
12 The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.
Improving the health of a church requires that leaders be prudent.
Proverbs 13:10 (NIV)
10 Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.
Proverbs 13:10 (NLT)
10 Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise.
Proverbs 10:17 (NIV)
17 Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
If you want to give your church a real headache then here is some very useful advice:
I was directed to TED.com as part of my 28 days... work in the Rational Style, my native style. I came across a talk by the Turkish novelist Elif Sharak. Where I connect with her presentation is through my own conviction that our Bible is a literary work, and must be understood and interpreted on literary terms. Heretical as it may sound, I believe that much (by no means all) of our scriptures are fiction, or at least remembered history with fictional embellishments.
The Message Bible, a recent bíble translation into day-to-day English, done by old Presbyterian Pastor and Scholar Eugene H. Peterson, is my favorite bible for several years by now. Even though I am German I prefer it to all German translations I know. (I have read 6 German translations completely so far.)
I am rational, and focusing on my own style for 28 days... I am thinking about what the book says on pg 97 (rational style), only when explanations are sufficient, does faith have a solid ground. Last week I started reading Matthew for the first time with a small group that has also read 3 Colors. Matthew starts out very rationally and it is helping me with my quest to "know" Jesus. I need to know the details and facts for it all to make sense in my mind...
A couple of weeks ago I completed the 3 Colors of Ministry Test and the results came up as Evangelism as top manifest and Suffering as top latent. Proceeding this I read 2 Timothy 4:5 which related very much to these results and to other aspects in my life.
It said: "...you should keep a clear mind in every situation..." This is something I never do well, being emotional frequently often means that I do not always make the best decisions.