ELP Highlight – December 2016

Name: Craig Jemmottcraig-jemmott
Age
: 45
Hometown: Queens New York

Teen Challenge Center: Arizona Tucson Men’s Induction Center. 2013 Graduate from Teen Challenge of Arizona

My Testimony: At the age of 29, my life took a huge turn that lasted 12 years before I found Teen Challenge. My addiction to crack cocaine took me to places that I never ever dreamed of going. It was at Teen Challenge where God met me, right where I was at, and through His grace I will be forever changed.

The Purpose and Calling God has Given Me: My purpose is to love the unlovable and to reach the unreachable with the gospel of good news in our Lord, Jesus Christ. The calling is to be a shepherd to a flock.

The ELP’s Impact on My Leadership: Level 1 of ELP has shown me the importance of being an Armor Bearer, Team Player, and making healthy boundaries in my personal life and work environment which resulted in teaching me the value of being a “Servant Leader.” While serving as the Intake Coordinator, I learned how to organize my work day as the result of taking the ELP Administrative Career Track. This helped me to become the organized leader that I am today.

 

Level II Link

Current Course

This month we start a new core course called Ethics and Integrity and our text: IntegrityIntegrity PIC by Dr. Henry Cloud. Integrity is more that simple honesty; it is the key to major successes. This book seeks to answer the question why some people, no matter what the circumstances, are able to pull everything together to have success. The study helps develop the six qualities of character that define integrity. According to the writer, talent and brains may help, but the real factor is the makeup of the person. All of us can grow fruitful relationships and achieve our purpose, mission and goals.

Your first post for Integrity will be up on the discussion forum by Tuesday, December 19th. 

Reminder: Please submit your Study Guides for Ordering Your Private World to the ELP office, by December 31st. 

ELP Reps Link

WELCOME! 

This month we welcome Kyle Brown as the new Rep for Prayer Mountain Boys, Chris McKinney as the Rep for Fort Myers Men’s Center, Haley Lonadier from Louisiana Teen Challenge, Andre Hochlenert as the Rep from Western Kentucky Men’s Center. Kyle, Chris, Haley and Andre, thank you for answering the call to raise up Gen-Next!

Level I Adult

We will continue this month’s core course with, Boundaries and our text: Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. This course is designed to help our emerging student leaders learn how to have proper boundaries in their lives. Having clear boundaries is essential to a healthy, balanced lifestyle. A boundary is a personal property line that marks those things for which we are responsible. Emerging leaders will discover firsthand how sound boundaries give them freedom to walk as the loving, giving, fulfilled individual God created them to be.

If you have students who are working on their elective track, please update the “ELP Monthly Order Form and and Tracking Sheet”, accordingly.

Level I Adolescent

Our course for the Adolescent track is Building Relationships and our text: Habitudes #Habitudes 22 “The Art of Connecting with Others” by Dr. Tim Elmore. Habitudes are images that form leadership habits and attitudes. This book is part of a series of three. It will enable you to leverage personal power instead of mere positional power. We believe leadership is a 360-degree proposition. The leadership journey begins with self-leadership. We must lead ourselves before we lead anyone else. Next, we learn to lead up-in relationships with those over us.

Monthly Book Orders and Grades

Southeast region Rep’s can go to Google Drive and search for ELP Monthly Order Form and Grade Sheet Edited. Look for your center’s name in the tabs at the bottom and fill in your information. No need to save or email the spreadsheet (Google Drive saves it and we can access the info from my Drive). If you place an initial order on the form and update the order later (i.e. add 2 more books) after we have ordered your books, please send and email to andree.aiken@teenchallenge.cc.

All new applications must be in by the 10th of the month for students starting the 15th.

Culture of Blessing

In our last article, Dustin Nance re-hashed the dynamics of conflict in the Teen Challenge context from our ELP Summit, challenging us in what can be our natural or first response to strong behavioral issues with our students. Many times, he explained, our students with strong behavioral outbursts have much more going on beneath the surface, and these outbursts need to be met in those moments with compassion and gentleness, not aggression and immediate correction.

To continue to expound on this ever-relevant issue in our field, we continue this month with more of what John Maxwell teaches on this topic. He calls it “Pass the Blessing, Please!” Oftentimes, he urges, people deal with difficulties beneath the surface because they are hungry for “the blessing.”

In Old Testament times, patriarchs of our faith would express “the blessing” in many different forms. Maxwell states that these occur by:

  1. Meaningful touch: Patriarchs laid their hands on their shoulder or embraced them.
  2. Affirming Words: Patriarchs spoke words of encouragement to them.
  3. The Expression of High Value: Patriarchs shared the value they added to others.
  4. The Description of a Special Future: Patriarchs used word pictures to share their potential.
  5. Genuine Commitment: Patriarchs committed themselves to see it come to pass.  

As we can see, there are many ways to express “the blessing” to our students, or to anyone to whom the Lord has granted us of having influence upon.

I recall, as an ELC student, sometimes during our group devotions, one of our staff started the devotion by encouraging outwardly the person sitting next to him, verbally and publicly sharing of that person’s worth and specific value they added to our campus. After he was finished, he asked that person to continue to do the same around the room. It was incredible to say the least to watch what unfolded, and many times as one person would look to the next person they were going to encourage, oftentimes tears would come before words. What was happening? People were connecting with the value of those they were serving alongside. What would happen if we did this everyday, naturally? I would think. What would our campuses look like if this was the norm, and not the exception?

Of course, this helped cultivate an organic culture of encouragement and helped our campus greatly, and spawned individuals to gain clarity of their beneath the surface issues, helping the roots of behavioral challenges and unresolved conflict, which improved issues on the surface.  

Of course, there are many ways, as Maxwell states, to “Pass the blessing” I would encourage you to learn even more the students and leaders you work with on your campus, quick to accept the responsibility to bless them often in the ways they are hungry for. As they say, we are in “The people business” and our highest honor is that we get to work with people, every one of them with dignity, value and worth.  Our tasks and to-do lists are not more important than the people we serve and lead. They themselves are the primary objective, not our tasks, no matter how big they may seem. Every person receives affirmation and blessing in different ways, but where genuine desire to bless them is present, God is near to help us and lead us by His Spirit as we do so.

Written by: Dan Williams dan-and-holly

ELP Highlight – Oct 2016

Name: David BullisDavid Bullis

Age: 28 years old

Hometown: Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Teen Challenge Center: Pensacola, FL Men’s Center

Graduated From: Teen Challenge International Mid-America

Testimony: Growing up, I came from a Christian family but never actually got saved or took it serious. When I was 16 my biological father passed away and shortly after that, I began smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. This began a 10 year struggle with addiction and I would eventually experiment with everything except for heroin, with cocaine, benzos, weed, and alcohol being my drugs of choice. On November 24, 2014 I got my second DUI and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. While there I finally got saved and gave my life over to God. Upon being released on Christmas Eve, I entered Mercy House in Hurley, MS and then transferred to the Teen Challenge in Cape Girardeau, MO after completing induction. After graduating there I came to Pensacola Teen Challenge where I am currently serving in the Education department.

The Purpose and Calling God has Given Me: I believe God has called me to work at Teen Challenge and give the same gift I was given to others who are struggling with addiction.

The ELP’s impact on my leadership: It has made me a more patient and understanding person. It has also strengthened my relationship with God.

Root and Fruit of Behavior

Last time I wrote about the importance of conflict resolution and how confrontation is going to happen. It’s a good thing if we’re intentional about it and treat people with love. The next step as a leader is to recognize that often times we are confronting a symptom to the real issue…an issue stemming from deep wounds of the heart.

I referenced a story at the ELP Summit & Staff Day, remember that man in Teen Challenge that was eating dinner after a long day of work and study reading his mail? The one that burst into a fit of rage upon opening a letter from his wife. Curse words, tables and chairs being tossed around angrily…picture that…it’s at that point as a leader we make a choice on how to best handle that person. Do you match their level of aggression and demand respect? Or do you ask yourself the important questions like; was the food just that bad? Did their football team lose? There is an obvious behavioral issue here, but what’s really going on? The important question to ask yourself is, what is going on inside that person and what does he need from me at this moment – confrontation or love?

He just received life altering news and doesn’t need confrontation, he needs your understanding and love. You can teach him how to respond to hard things and confront him on his behavior, but in that moment he needs to know nothing but that the Father loves him and sees his pain.

John Maxwell uses this diagram to show there are surface habits and behaviors that give us a window into the heart of the real issues at play. He argues that ultimately, it all stems from an issue with self-worth. If you believe you have no value, you will naturally find unhealthy ways to compensate for it.

I heard another story recently of a staff member who went to his leader and wanted to release a student that continued to have behavioral issues. The staff was very upset that the student would call himself a Christian and still cause the problems he was. The leader responded with a simple thought, “That’s why he’s here!” You see, we as leaders and stewards of this great call to give hope to hurting people, cannot be surprised when students don’t react as they should, or outbursts happen. It may demand more effort for us at that moment, but how you respond in those moments as a leader will speak to that student for years to come. Did you respond with love and understanding? Did you confront with love? Or did you throw a discipline at him and kick him out?

Don’t get me wrong, I am for boundaries and use them to guide and direct people towards a disciplined life before God on a regular basis. However, I would like to challenge us as leaders to always be mindful that discipline is only beneficial if it’s pointing people back to Christ. If not, we are training people to act right, not be right. That’s behavioral change and it only lasts for a short season. We want to be people that speak to the root of the issue and guide people towards healing and a life in Christ.

This week, identify that person who is a consistent source of conflict and diagnose the need. Do they need to be confronted? Or do they need to be loved on? As leaders we must rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment and wisdom to see these times as opportunities to guide someone towards Christ whether through healthy confrontation or blessing them.

Article by: Dustin Nance – Divisional Leader, Training and Hope Outreach – TCSE

Level II Link – Oct 2016

Welcome

We have three new staff joining us in Level II – Michelle Peltier, Rachel Massieu and Michelle Surette! Michelle graduated TC Arizona and is currently working at our Pensacola Men’s Home, Rachel is a graduate of Columbus Girls Academy and the Emerging Leaders College currently working at Southwest FL Women’s and Michelle Surrette is a graduate and staff of Davie Women’s Home. Michelle, Rachel and Michelle – welcome to Level II! Looking forward to our times of connection while learning together.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to our recent graduates – Todd Adams (P-cola/Tallahassee), Elissa Hollingsworth (Davie), Laurie Lusink (Davie), Stephanie McGreevey (Women at the Well), Mike Spivey (Jacksonville), Sean Lee (Jacksonville), Jacquelyn Frenchwood (Shenandoah Valley), David Moseley(Shenandoah Valley) and Novella Franich (Shenandoah Valley)! I am so proud of you all!

Current Course

This month we start a new core course Conflict Management and our text: The Peacemaker by Ken Sande. Peacemakers are people who breathe grace. They draw continually on the goodness and power of Jesus Christ, and then they bring his love, mercy, forgiveness, strength, and wisdom to the conflicts of daily life. God delights to breathe his grace through peacemakers and use them to dissipate anger, improve understanding, promote justice, and encourage repentance and reconciliation. I will email you the pdf workbook for this course. Your first post will be up on the forum by Monday, October 17th. 

ELP Rep’s – Oct 2016

Welcome

This month we welcome Lauren Schiller as the new Rep for Pensacola Women’s Home and Holly Williams as the Rep for the Emerging Leaders College. Lauren and Holly, thank you for answering the call to raise up Gen-next!

Level I Adult

Our upcoming course is Boundaries and our text: Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. This course is designed to help our emerging student leaders learn how to have proper boundaries in their lives.  Having clear boundaries is essential to a healthy, balanced lifestyle. A boundary is a personal property line that marks those things for which we are responsible. Emerging leaders will discover firsthand how sound boundaries give them freedom to walk as the loving, giving, fulfilled individual God created them to be.

Level I Adolescent

Our course for the Adolescent track is Self Leadership and our text: Habitudes #1 “The Art of Self-Leadership” by Dr. Tim Elmore. Habitudes are images that form leadership habits and attitudes. This book is part of a series of three. We believe leadership is a 360-degree proposition. The leadership journey begins with self-leadership – learning to lead ourselves well!

Monthly Book Orders and Grades

Southeast region Rep’s can go to Google Drive and search for ELP Monthly Order Form and Grade Sheet Edited. Look for your center’s name in the tabs at the bottom and fill in your information. No need to save or email the spreadsheet (Google Drive saves it and we can access the info from my Drive). If you place an initial order on the form and update the order later (i.e. add 2 more books) after we have ordered your books, please send and email to andree.aiken@teenchallenge.cc. All new applications must be in by the 10th of the month for students starting the 15th.