If You Want More [Fill In The Blank], Then Do More

Have you ever had a message that kept showing up in different places? It's as if you're going to keep hearing it until you actually listen. For me, that message turned out to be the law of GIVING.

Jimmy Evans
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of listening to Jimmy Evans talk about this very thing. In a sermon titled  "How Much Do You Want?," Mr. Evans provides a Biblical perspective on God's promise.

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” [Luke 6:38 (NKJV)]

This verse provides two important points: 1) Give and it will be given to you 2) Give a little, receive a little. Give a lot, receive a lot. Therefore, your measure of blessings is determined by your measure of giving.

Bruce Sallan
In another example, my Twitter friend, Ann Tran, shared a link to a blog written by Bruce Sallan. The name of the article is "Why I Comment All The Time" and it outlines the best way to increase interaction, learning, and friendship.

The takeaway: Comment on other people's blog and you will get comments on yours. At the time of this post, he had 61 comments and counting.

Ileane Smith
One final example of someone who is putting the law of giving into practice is my friend Ileane Smith. Ms. Ileane is known for her comment love, retweets, and guest posts. She gives, gives, and gives some more. In return, she receives tons of support, comments, and retweets.

In an interview with Tom Shivers, Ileane shared her winning strategy on getting blog comments and building relationships. In short, comment on other people's blogs and be a friend to others.

Closing Thought
As I prepare to end this post, I want to stress how life changing this one truth can be and challenge you to give it a try for one week. Give more [fill in the blank] and see if you don't get more in return. My guess is that you cannot out give the Giver. Once you do, come back and let me know the results in the comment section below.

Remember:
If you want more followers in your social network, then follow more.
If you want more money in your wallet, then give more.
If you want more comments on your blog, then comment more.
If you want more friends in your life, then be a friend more.
If you want more likes on Facebook, then like more.
If you want more respect, then respect more.
If you want more love, then love more.
If you want more listeners to your podcast, then listen more.
If you want more subscribers to your newsletter, then subscribe more.
If you want more engagement on or offline, then engage more.

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Jimmy Evans Speaks At C3 Church: How Much Do You Want?

Speaker: Jimmy Evans

How Much Do You Want?
Jimmy didn't grow up in poverty, but he grew up next to it. Each Saturday, he would go buy doughnuts and sell them in his red wagon. Later, he worked at a car wash.

He got married to his wife in 1973 and one Sunday he went to church with his family. At this point, he was making around $600 a month. The Pastor talked about giving and Jimmy said I cannot believe that the Pastor asked for his money. "I'm never coming back!" he says. His wife said that she liked the message and wanted to give $40 to the church.

At this point, he had two options: 1) Give and go bankrupt or 2) Don't give and God strikes him dead [crowd laughs]. Finally, he gave in.

He continues to explain that giving that money scared him tremendously. He says that he had a spirit of poverty.  At this point, his plan was to give ONCE he got a lot of money. The family was in poverty, he stressed.

Over the next two weeks, after he gave tithes, he explained that they had extra money in the bank. This NEVER happens. Jimmy's wife, Karen, asked again if they could give. Pastor Evans said, "Wait, we made it through two weeks, let's not push it." Karen continued to give Sunday after Sunday and the family was blessed.

The original message about tithing changed his life. If he had known the power of tithing earlier, things may have been different.

How many people believe the Bible? he asks. [Hands go up] Pastor Jimmy reads from the Bible:

28 Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.”
29 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[a] or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, 30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. [Mark 10:28-30 (NKJV)]

In the context of money, Jesus says that it's easier for a camel to walk through an eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

As a child, Jimmy says that he gave up friends but later earned many friends throughout the globe. When young, he left his parent's business to work for the church. He was scared, but God reassured him that he wouldn't lose anything. Later on, his Dad and Mother came to the Lord.

Houses, land, relationships, or whatever you give up in this life, you will get 100 fold in the next life.

38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” [Luke 6:38 (NKJV)]

If you want friends, be a friend. If you want encouragement, encourage other people. Do you want a lake or an eyedropper of blessing? God uses the measuring cup you hand to him? How much do you want?

According to your standard of measure, that is the amount of blessings you will receive in return.

Give and it will be given back to you in your standard of measure. What is your standard of measure?

Looking back to 1975, Jimmy felt sorry for himself (Boo hoo!) because he was in poverty, but God wanted to help him.

35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” [Acts 20:35 (NKJV)]

Jesus said, "You're more blessed if you give then when you receive."

Jimmy referenced a book that researched giving. In the study, done over a course of 50 years, they learned that those who give will live longer. Giving reduces depression.

This one doctor was very materialistic. His kids were spoiled. Another family, a doctor, the man's children worked for what they got, work the mission field, and volunteer at church. When you compare both children, the happier kids were the ones that gave.

Receiving doesn't make you live longer. It's when you give. Even the simple act of praying for others in old age reduce depression.

Jimmy talks about an old guy at his church. This man, in his mid-eighties, brings his wife to the front of the church and prays for others each Sunday. This man, who can barely walk, is happy.

If you're a giver, you will live longer.

18 The wicked man does deceptive work,But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward. [Proverbs 11:18]

24 There is one who scatters, yet increases more;And there is one who withholds more than is right,But it leads to poverty. [Proverbs 11:24]

10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.

11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the Lord of hosts; [Malachi 3:10-11]

5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.
6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: [2 Corinthians 9:5-8]

Even in this economy, the principle of GIVING will change your life. Giving will affect your life, health, and wealth. How much do you want?

Why Does God Bless Giving?

Like any good parent, God awards behavior they are trying to encourage.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. [Hebrews 11:6]

9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
12 For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
13 Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; [2 Corinthians 9:9-13]

God wants us to be givers. 
For God so loved the world that he GAVE his only begotten son. Jimmy talks about waiters at restaurants where they hate Sundays at lunch because Christians are cheap with their tips. Jimmy gives a minimum of 20%.

Because it keeps us close to God.
Givers don't backslide. Money promises you the same thing God promises. You cannot serve two masters (God or Money).

Giving allows us to bless others through us
God wants to bless the world. God wants to work through generous people. He's looking for people who have compassion for others, have a heart for others. You are either a river or a dam. God gives to rivers, not dams.

Jimmy talks about growing up poor. He thought his wife, Karen, was rich. She wasn't. Karen's father worked in the insurance business and he promised God that he would give 50% of anything he earned. As a result, God gave him millions upon millions of dollars.

When you are a giver, you live guilt free. God is looking for a river. If you are a dam, all you're going to do is lock it up. You'll put security in that money.

Jimmy prayed years ago, "If you'll help us, we'll help others."

His marriage, early on, was horrible. People came to him for marriage counseling. He never understood why, but he took the job. Years later, God has provided him a television show that will reach millions.

Three powerful truths about giving

1. Giving tells God in absolute terms what we will do with more!
2. Giving tells God how much more we can handle and be obedient with it.
3. Giving allows God to prove his power in love like nothing else.

Jimmy talks about a time where he gave EVERYTHING. He sold stocks and the like. He didn't sell the house or car, but everything else. It was scary, but unbelievable. Two years later, he got his dream house for free. Give and it will be given back to you. If you build God's house, he will build your house.

Closing Prayer

Father we come tonight and commit to being givers of love, encourage, money, and health. We want to be a river and not a dam. We'll always use it for your kingdom. I pray over a spirit of poverty and greed. I pray for this church.

If you are ready to commit your life to Jesus. Say that I repent and fully surrender to you. Lord Jesus, I confess you as my Lord. I believe God raised you from the dead. I believe you paid for my sins. I'm forgiven and I'm on my way to Heaven. I repent. I come to you right now and I commit my entire life to you. I pray that you would use me and show my purpose in life. Show me your Holy Spirit, the power to change, and to do the right thing. This moment forward my life is yours. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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Forever Conference At C3 Church: Jimmy Evans

Speaker: Pastor Jimmy Evans

Tips
To get the most out of a marriage conference, listen for yourself and not for your spouse.

Remember that God created a marriage in Eden (paradise).

Four Elements of Paradise

1. Beauty
2. Abundance
3. Sensual Pleasure
4. Peace

When Jimmy and his wife got married, they didn't have a peaceful marriage. Early on, people came to him for marriage counseling, but what they didn't know is that he and his wife were on the brink of divorce.

God wants you and your wife to have peace. 

Foundations of Peace in a Marriage

1. Prior Agreement 

Every couple that gets married does so to live a happy life together. 

One thing that he learned in his pre-marriage counseling, is that many people never had those deeper conversations. What he did in his 4-5 sessions is facilitate those discussions. In one of the sessions, "Marriage Expectations," he asked questions about how many kids they wanted, a stay at home wife, whose family would you spend the holiday's with, who would do the housework, who will initiate sex, and how the money would be spent.

You would never believe how many people never had those kinds of discussions. Can two people walk together if they don't agree? No!

Three Levels of Communication

1. Proactive Communication - Talk about things before it happens.
2. Reactive Communication - Talk about things after it happens.
3. Radioactive Communication - Because you don't proactively communicate and you are reactive, this leads to a radioactive communication (aka Someone is going to get hurt).

Four Steps To Agreeing Beforehand

One of the first things you need to know about marriage is that we are ALL messed up. Isn't that good news? Everyone is struggling with something, so join the club. 

So how do you get to that peaceful place?

2. Clear Out The Radioactive Issues

Tip: You have to give your spouse the room to complain.

Jimmy talks about a time that he complained about a broken tool. When he went to the store, they told him to simply pick out another one. He loved that store.

Pastor Evans talks about going to another store and returning a shirt that didn't fit. When he returned the shirt, they said they wouldn't take it back because it was worn. Jimmy then asked to speak with the manager. The manager comes and smells the armpit of the shirt and said, "Give him another shirt." Why would anyone go to that store?

Four predictors of Divorce

The University of Washington found that there are four predictors of divorce. They are: 

1. Criticism
2. Defensiveness
3. Contempt
4. Stonewalling

"You are not a good spouse until your 

mate tells you that you are"

Both spouses are the problem in a relationship.

Giving your spouse the right to complain does not mean the right to criticize. That's damaging. Complaining is about ME, but criticizing is about the other person and what they're not doing right.

"Yesterday you were angry at me and I felt bad because I didn't know what I did." Pastor explains. As a result, his wife didn't feel attacked and explained the back story. 

If you feel like I'm disrespecting you then you have the right to complain. You can say whatever is on your mind and you will not pay a price. If you ignore a problem it sits, it doesn't evaporate.

The most important thing is pleasing Jesus and the second most important thing is my wife. Therefore to clear out the radioactive issues, you have to sit down and talk. You may have to go outside the house to receive help. Not your parents or your buddies, but with a pastor or counselor. 

"Stop Reacting to Issues!"

Have a Vision and Plan Retreat at Least Once a Year

Pastor Evans talks about a guy named David who had a better marriage than him. While playing golf, David told him about a vision retreat. A vision retreat is where the couples go away for a weekend and pray for the issues in their life until God gives them a vision. During this weekend, they would pray for their kids (individually and by name), money, and the like. By the time Noon came around, they would go outside and have fun. As a result of this, they didn't fight for months. They felt like they were in sync with one another. 

Jimmy talks about a resource called Mountaintop of Marriage: A Vision Retreat Guidebook.

The Devil doesn't want you and your spouse to agree.

Have a Regular Time of Communicating Face to Face Without any Distractions
Jimmy talks about a time without cellphones. In a marriage, there is a time and a place for technology; however, couples need time alone without distractions. Jimmy and his wife take an hour and a half to talk on a daily basis.

"We come first!" 

If you feel like you don't have enough time in your day, then prioritize your calendar to include alone time. In his house, they talk before they watch TV. Jimmy knows their conversation is done when his wife turns on the television.

3. Purpose Brings Peace 
Sometimes we get caught up in the smaller issues of life and fail to focus on the bigger picture. We exist as a couple to produce Godly offspring.

There will be a time when you're going to ask why you're still in that relationship. The right answer is because of God.

A 41 year old teacher left his family for an 18 year old student. His family was devastated. The couple said, "We know a lot people will be hurt by this but we are following our heart." Jimmy says he's not following his heart [crowd laughs].

Reason 1: God
Our marriage is about God. It's not about me or my needs being met. Look at what God has done in our marriage. "If you'll help us, we'll help others." Jimmy prayed. He never knew God would take him up on that offer [crowd laughs].

Reason 2: Local Church
Another reason for your marriage is to provide your gifts to the local church. Jimmy believes the local church is the hope of the world. If he got out of fellowship with the church, he would have fallen. Your friends are whom you will be like. Therefore, friends in the church, while not perfect, will help you. Church will keep you centered. The further he gets from church, the more unsaved he feels.

Reason 3: To Help Others
Another reason for your marriage is the grace. Nobody can help a person like a person who has been helped. God wants to help you so that you can help others.

4. Secret to Peace and Marriage is Partnership
Marriage is about the law of possession. Couples share everything.

Jimmy talks about a rich man who got married. His wife said that the only place that's comfortable in that house is the kitchen. He talked to the husband and said that marriage is about sharing. Everything we do, we do together. When he wanted to get a pilot's license, he asked his wife first. She said, "Yes."

He doesn't talk about who is the boss in the family because Jesus is the boss. Together they share children, grandchildren, and even money.

How Dominant People Dominate Others

• Dominance
• Intimidation
• Manipulation

Jimmy asked the audience by a show of hands, how many of you were raised in a household where one parent was more dominant than  the other? [70% raised their hands]

How many of you think that dominant relationship negatively affected the marriage? [Majority of hands raise again]

Two dominant people cannot marry because there would be a homicide. Two passive people cannot marry because they would starve. 

People tend to marry to the degree that they're dominant/passive.

In his marriage, neither of the two dominate the other. They do everything together. When a passive person begins to demand respect, it rocks the other person's world. Stand up for yourself. If you're the dominant person, sit down.

As Karen (his wife) began to speak her mind, he wore her out. God took her side and his blinders fell off his eyes. He realized how poorly he treated her.

You read other books, the Bible reads YOU!

Grace without truth is meaningless, truth without grace is mean.

Prior Hurts/ Inner Vows

When we're hurting, we comfort ourselves. Let your yes be yes and your no be no. As kids, when we're hurt, we tend to make inner vows. "I'll never let a woman treat me like that again!" That's a destructive way to think.

Your father may be weak and you've become a monster (or vice versa). We go to the extremes in trying to protect ourselves. 

Jimmy tells a couple of stories about guys that go to the extreme in their marriages because of something their parents did (dominating mothers) or didn't allow (soda in the house).

An inner vow is evil and it makes it hard to change (or listen). We've all done it. Marriage is a partnership. You cannot dominate the other. If you have pain, give it over to God. Ask God for help.

Partnership

We're going to do everything together.

Prayer

Your worry list is your prayer list. With prayer and more prayer, give it to God. Guard your heart and your mind. When you pray, the promises will guard your heart. 

Stress robs you of your inner energy. When you have stress and anxiety, you will fight more. If two of you on Earth will agree together (and pray), it will be done for you.

You can have peace in your marriage. By God's grace, he and his family have seen God move in a powerful way. If he can do it, so can you. 

Closing Prayer

Lord we agree to agree. We've been reacting to issues. Give us the grace to be proactive and never again react the way we have. We commit. Show us the reasons you've put us together. We pray that we become partners. We're going to share every decision. We're not going to dominate or bully each other. We 're going to pray about every issue in our family. We're going to trust you. There are so many things we cannot do, but we trust you. Amen.

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A Four-Step Plan To Blogging A Long-Form Piece Of Work

In this article, I would like to explore the idea of writing a more comprehensive article based on past work. For years, I have played around with the idea of writing my dissertation through blogs. If I can write a dissertation, then I may even be able to write a book. The possibilities are endless.

For weeks, I've been writing about the history of Kappa Alpha Psi and I'm wondering how I'm going to start combining them into a more unified entry. What's the process for doing that? Below, I've outlined my plan for achieving that goal.

Chunking
So far the work has been in short increments. I spend about an hour in the morning reading and then writing a few paragraphs. According to Roger Parker, this step is called Chunking.

Blogs help authors write books because they break big tasks–i.e., writing books–into a series of short, easy-to-complete tasks (i.e., weekly blogposts.) It’s hard to sit down and write a chapter containing, perhaps, 5,000 words. But, it’s relatively easy to commit to writing 350 to 500 words once or twice a week 

Tagging
Here on Blogger the word is "Label," but the idea is to group the post by keywords. This is a neat way to organize my writing into similar buckets of information. As I prepare to write a new article, I can quickly review past work and build on it. Additionally, by allowing the system to count the number of articles I have in each topic, I can see where I have amassed content and where I may need some attention (see my "Topics" drop box for an example) --->.

Building
Once I have numerous posts on a similar topic, I'd like to begin combining them somehow. In a previous post, I thought about creating a 'Top 10 List' or "Best Of" series, but that doesn't work so well in a dissertation style project. Instead, I need to write a new post that builds on my previous writing. This strategy allows me to take the best parts of each past article and add something new.

I still struggle with the idea that I should be working on a single document (i.e. Book, white paper, dissertation, etc.) versus recreating duplicate work with additions (i.e. blog articles). However, I can see with each iteration, the latest document should be much better than it's predecessor or individual parts.

Publishing
While I haven't experienced this step yet, I imagine a few comprehensive blog articles that has been built upon solid writing should provide me with enough content to actually publish a single document.

In my head, I see this as a step process. Once I finish my research on the history of Kappa Alpha Psi, I can put it together as a single document on my page. I can see it becoming a PDF document that eventually gets stored under a "Library" tab.

With each new published document, I am essentially writing the first draft of a section or chapter. Neat, huh?

What Makes Each Product Different?
I've asked myself that very question. If I write a blog article on damondnollan.com, why would anyone want to read them in a combined state?

In my mind, each time I transfer past work into a new format, I have the opportunity to rewrite it. As an example, I've borrowed from a couple of my older posts, but I changed the wording to better fit this project. The same would be true when transferring blogs into published documents and again from published documents into ebooks (..and so on and so forth).

Additionally, I can see some readers would prefer to own a single product versus trying to sort through 30 individual posts. Isn't that why we buy books to begin with, it's convenient.

Final Thought
Well, that's it! That's my game plan for moving forward with the dissertation. I continue to chunk, tag, build, and then publish.

What do you think? Does it sound doable? Have any experience writing long-form documents through a blog? If so, I'd love to hear your story in the comment section below.

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1934 Was Not An Easy Year For Kappa Alpha Psi

Elder Watson Diggs

The Great Depression continued to affect members of Kappa Alpha Psi. By 1934, the Fraternity initiated over three thousand men through sixty-nine chapters; however, only twenty percent of the membership were active. One explanation for inactivity is due to the high unemployment rate within the country, which made survival the highest priority.

On college campuses, the problem was no different. Fraternity members that lived within active chapter houses could not pay their rent.

The Alpha Chapter is a good example. While it looked good, fixed and fully furnished, occupants had not paid rent in over two years.

I can only imagine the challenges everyone faced during this tough time in our history. As a leader, how does one maintain an organization when everyone seems to be suffering? The Grand Chapter, while trying to determine the status of its chapters, found communicating with Province and Chapter Polemarchs difficult because individuals wouldn't respond.

At the local level, morale had sunk so low that some chapters, like Wilberforce Alumni, talked about divorcing the Grand Chapter. The frustration and confusion among members resulted in a loss of confidence in the Fraternity's ability to recover.

In response to the growing problems, the Grand Polemarch, Jesse Jerome Peters, instituted a rehabilitation program dedicated to stressing the basic principles of the Fraternity. Using a quote from Elder Watson Diggs, "A Kappaman must be good; upright, moral and manly," Peters wanted to stress that these characteristics were only given to those members who practiced them. This meant aligning oneself idealistically and financially. Without both, the Fraternity could not survive.

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