January 25. What Does Your Team Value More, Money or Affirmation?

As leader, how do you affirm your team? It is one of the most important activities we lead in. If we do not spend any effort affirming our team, then either our team will get affirmation from another source, or they will not get it at all. Which of those alternatives sounds most valuable to you?

Affirming them ourselves is more valuable than the other approaches. We can enhance the value of being on our teams by doing the affirming. Will you affirm only once this year at an employee review? Is it your plan to affirm on a birthday when others might be doing it also?

Are you going to make it only your responsibility to affirm or can we shape our entire organization to do the affirming? What would an organization look like that was leveraging and multiplying affirmation across the entire spectrum of the entity?

As you think about that question you might ask yourself if your organizations are doing it? Affirmation is something learned and therefore must be taught. In my experience, not everyone has been taught about the power of affirmation and hence, they may not be proficient at it.

If we want more affirmation, then we might need to create a training system to promote it among our team. What is the first step that you might take this week to improve the quantity and quality of your affirmation status?

As Christians, why do we attend worship? Is it for the companionship of the other people who might be able to share in our pain or suffering? It could be that we want to celebrate joy that we have experienced. Maybe we attend worship to learn.

For some, the only place that they have been exposed to the word of God in the Bible is in a worship. Perhaps we go to be moved by music and singing. Could we go to God in worship to praise him for his gifts?

It could be that we go to express our anger with God, or it might be that we go to ask his forgiveness. Could it be that we go to be encouraged by being with others who we share at least one thing in common? I think that the answer is yes.

Yes, to all the above as reasons we attend worship. We read, “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” Matthew 18:20 NLT. Regardless of our reason to do it, we know that wherever two of us are gathered, Christ will be there also.

You might go to worship for a reason today that is different than that of the person you might sit next to. I think that is ok, but we have gathered with Christ when we do so. That is the most important part of worship. It is us being there, doing worship to be with Jesus.

The rest of the reasons take you there and make you a part of the community. If that is why we attend worship, we might consider worship to be a priority. If it is a priority, then you decide how often to do it. We can affirm in our life the relationship by the time we spend doing it.

What can you do to increase your time in worship in each quarter of the year? What is the first thing you can do about it in the next seven days?

Let us pray, Heavenly Father, we know that wherever two of us gather, that Christ is with us. Thank you for your gifts of joy and laughter, of companionship and forgiveness. May our voices be lifted on high praising your name.

It matters not whether it is to a hymn created in the psalms or to a drumbeat with an electric guitar as backup. May we gather in worship to glorify and praise you today and tomorrow. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen,