The death of Travbox

After 3 years of great blogging, travbox will cease it's operations from today.
I have not lost any desire for blogging, i've just moved blogs.
This is my new blog.

It's part of SU's new website and i'll be blogging most days there.
See you in the blogosphere soon.

The pain threshold

My friend talking to me the other day he was teaching me about how he develops volunteers from average reluctant followers to great leaders.

C n G reckons there are 4 boundaries that will stop you developing someone unless you overcome them.











Purpose: What is my purpose? If i am not clear about my purpose then i will not develop people. If i don't know where i'm going then why would anyone want to follow...why would people find my cause interesting when i am not clear or convinced by it. I will not recruit followers, I will not make leaders out of followers i don't have.

If i do not have a clear purpose. I will not attract let alone develop leaders.

Capable: Are they capable of becoming a leader? Base your decision on their capability not on you're prejudice. People often decide that people can't do things because their too old, young, inexperienced, to left or right, too loud in meetings, too softly spoken and because they drive a different car to you. Rather you should ask:

Can they comprehend a spoken word?
Can they feed themselves?
Can they speak a logical sentence?

...then there's no reason why they couldn't be a great leader.

If i don't believe in people i will not develop anyone

Fear: how afraid i am of this failing. How afraid i am of them failing.
What's the worst thing that could happen?
Will no one turn up?
Will someone cry?
Will this person have to be released from this role?

If our purpose really matters then the worst thing is not failing or being sacked the worst thing is not achieving your purpose.

If i am too scared of failing i will not develop anyone

Greed:
How much do i want this?
Do i need to do this more then the people i'm trying to help?

If i can't let it go then i'm a hog and i will not develop anyone


Closing thought:
We think that putting responsibility/pressure on volunteers scares them off....They're not giving up their time and money because they were hoping for things to be easy. They're volunteering because they care....and if you give them more reason to care then you shouldn't be suprised when they start sacrafricing and changing the way they live to step up to their potential as a vounteer leader.

Ouch!

In 2003 when i ran lake wendouree i did it in 26 minutes. (it also had water in it then)

I haven't run much of late....it showed.....it took me 41 minutes to heave around the 6 k track.

Making the Most of it

My 3 week adventure is nearly over, i've been to Warrnambool and Bendigo and now i'm off to Pyramid Hill in Northern Victoria to run a 2 day kids program.

Some awesome things have happened, but 3 things stick out to me.

1. God can make a huge difference with a very small gift.
Some of the teams had their best impact ever, but not with their best talent or best teams ever. This is not to say the worse the team the better the result. I think we should realise that from God's perspective all of our gifts are probably very small. I think he's interested in our heart toward him and our realiance on needing him.

2. God doesn't solve all your problems in 19 seconds.
I was so pleased particularly with Warrnambool mission because finally. FINALLY. We had a good number of locals on our team (about a third). 4 years ago we had none and i tried to get 10 locals on the team, i got none. The next year we got 4, then 7 and now we had approx 16. I'm not sure why we didn't experience breakthrough sooner and i'm not pleased that it took 4 years but i definately think i've gained something from the waiting and failure. Incidently i'm certainly more grateful for our Warrnambool friends then i would have been if they came along in the first year.

3. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now
...I like this quote...it reminds me that if you want a better world start working now with what you have and make the most of it. Dont live in negativity and critism of others, it doesn't help anyone. We can all start somewhere and i think the best time to start making a difference for God isn't when your ready or mature but right now.

I'm out of my mind until Jan 24

Normally at this time of year i head away to Warrnambool to participate in Champion City and Ignite (Kids and teenage Christian programs with Scripture Union). Tommorrow i'm heading off to Warrnambool to again be involved in that, i'm very excited to be with a group of people who want to make a difference in the world with God.

....the people i'm going with are far from perfect Christians...most of them are very young Christians, some of them aren't as mature as they could be, some of them don't know as much about the Bible and God as many other Christians....

....But they've got a lot more heart then many other Christians....they're keen, motivated and willing to give up time and effort to make a difference.

....I wonder why Jesus picked a bunch of randoms to be his close followers....i suspect there were more suitable people around....but i've discovered often the suitable people are too busy doing important things to be following God.

...i'll be in Bendigo then Pyramid Hill doing pretty much the same thing the following 2 weeks.

....I won't be around until late January...I reckon this'll be a very exciting adventure the next 3 and a half weeks. Stressful and challenging probably...but God will be there and he'll energize me and motivate me and he'll make a difference that will last longer then me.

Prayer: Does it make any difference?

I'm in Newcastle with Cara's family....i've seen dolphins and gone sailing but most of the time i've been sleeping in, watching cricket and being a lazy bum.

I was given a book for Christmas written by Phillip Yancey called Prayer: Does it make any difference

It's a thoughtful book....and the author included this Franciscan Benediction



May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half truths and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression and exploitation of people
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain to joy

And May God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in this world
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor

Trav and Christop talk drugs

Firstly i wrote some stuff to Christop:
i've been thinking a bit about it ...like is the best way to deal with the drug culture to push for tougher enforcement (i.e. John Howard style "Tough on drugs")? my friend who does drugs thinks education is a better way, although i'm not sure he's got the same goal in mind as me :)

Then Christop wrote some stuff back:
zero tolerance certainly scares people away from using particular drugs. People are less likely to use illicit drugs because they could get in trouble with the law. People are less likely to use illicit drugs because they can't be sure what they're putting in their bodies. People are less likely to use illicit drugs because of the shocking depictions of drug abuse in ads like these these.
However, zero tolerance doesn't stop people from using drugs, and is more often counterproductive. While it often discourages most people from using particular drugs, these are actually the people who aren't likely to use those drugs anyway. Zero tolerance actually that the people who are most likely to use particular drugs will be more likely to use them. For example, the television advertisements I linked to earlier and the posters in the photo I've attached will shock most people who see them, but for the people most at risk of becoming illicit drug users these kinds of sensationalist ads will actually work as advertisements for the drugs that they are meant to deter people from. The depiction of chaos and danger that deters a majority of the population, is a drawcard to others.

and then he said....
Zero tolerance is also counterproductive because it leaves production and distribution of particular drugs in the hands of criminals. One thing that would change if drugs such as heroin and methamphetamine were decriminalised would be the price of drugs. Retail prices of drugs would be much lower (and more stable) because the risk involved in producing and distributing an illicit drug would be eliminated. This would mean that users wouldn't have to spend every moment of their time trying to get money together for their next deal. It would mean that people who use these drugs wouldn't have to resort to other illegal activities such as theft, prostitution or drug dealing in order to pay for their drugs. Both of these factors would allow people who use these drugs to live more stable lives, and give them a much better chance of getting off the drugs.
The monopoly criminals currently have on the production and distribution of certain drugs also means that people don't know what the are using. The drugs they're using could be mixed with talcum powder or plaster or horse tranquilliser. As well as causing damage to people's veins (if they use introvenously) this can increase the risk of overdose. The uncertainty of what is actually being put into the user's body also increases stress, which helps to maintain the dependency.
Basically, I think that drug abuse should be treated less as a criminal issue, and more as a public health issue.

And then i said
hmmmm i understand what your saying about zero tolerance being a drawcard.
Those ads were certainly enough to put me off using ice (not a hard task mind you)
i'm sure i'm not the only one who'd feel uncomfortable about drugs being legalized but you make some good points about what would happen if they were legalized. I'll keep thinking about it, i haven't thought much about it before.