Simply Community Servants

 

Recently, the topic came up about the way titles are being thrown around in church and religious circles. For most of our ministry life we have been called “pastors” Chris and Carol Green, and we have accepted that because we have understood the cultural and societal perceptions of those roles in a local church or faith community. That title reflects a responsibility, but we don't wear it as badge to set ourselves above others.

Sometimes you will hear us refer to our work and assignments in our community as apostolic or prophetic, but we have absolutely refused to refer to ourselves as Apostles Chris and Carol, or Prophet Chris and Prophetess Carol.

Just to set the record straight, the only title we see for ourselves is Community Servants. Beyond that, we’re totally fine with being referred to as brother or sister, uncle or aunt, grand pa or grand ma, dad or mom, Mr. or Mrs., or just simply calling us by our given names.

Of course, in some settings, people may feel obliged to refer to us according to our life, educational, ministerial or professional roles, accomplishments, job titles, or other forms of distinction. It's their way of showing respect and honor. We get that. However, for the most part, we echo the words of Paul when he wrote:

“So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries. Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.  As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.” ---1 Corinthians 4: 1-4

No matter what we accomplish or attain in this life, we want to be known by one description. Chris and Carol are mere Servants of Christ, ministering to their community. We pray the same for you.

Contributing Authors to Global Icon's International Best-Seller

Ghana, West Africa: Professors Chris and Carol Green are contributing authors, along with 30 others, in the new international best-selling book, ROYALTY THAT VALUES ALL : A FORCE FOR CIVILITY. 

This book and it's primary author, Dr. Psalm Ebube, presents THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF HRH KING, DR. Clyde Rivers, King of Development for the African Country of Ghana.

Each contributing author and leader, from around the world, shared their thoughts and imprints in this book that also describes Clyde River's life journey with people, his mentorship, leadership, and royal influence in over 125 nations.

Already the book has hit #49 in the category of International Best Sellers: Best Biographies of Educators; 

It's #3 in the Best Selling New & Future Releases in Biographies of Educators;

It's #10  in the Best Selling New & Future Releases in Biographies of Royalty; and it's #10 in Educator Biographies.

HRH King Dr. Clyde Rivers is one of the world's most revered and popular civility leaders and public figures. He is a man synonymous with the golden rule of philosophy. Today, he is seen and highly celebrated as a symbol of world civility, an ambassador for civil rights, and a heroic mentor whose influence and image of moral integrity and leadership values extend far beyond his country of residence. 

This iconic man has influenced thousands of high-profile personnel, and his impact on the global system is what the system cannot forget. He is the pioneer of  Honor for Africa. He is unique. His humility is almost unbelievable. His wisdom and intellect has made him stand out. There is none other like King Dr. Clyde Rivers. 

His journey led to his enthronement as the 'Development King at Large' for the Ekumfi Kuotukwa Kingdom in Ghana, Africa, a kingdom that was established in the year 1348. His official throne name is King Okogyeman Kobina Amissah I. 

This has truly been a life-changing experience, as Psalm and all the contributing authors who have had personal encounters with Clyde Rivers, bring a fresh and first-hand perspective to this landmark publication. They vividly convey both the pains and the inspiration that have characterized the life of this legendary and remarkable world civility leader.

This book gives the reader an overview of the global reach of I Change Nations™ and the influence of its Founder and President, King Dr. Clyde Rivers, who's reaching the world with the message of the Golden Rule, Civility for All , People Treatment, Honor, and Civil Discourse.

Release New Book: Responding with CARE

How do you hold a conversation with people who have a political, social or religious view that is different from your own?  How do you build so much inner capacity for CARE, that you find it hard to cancel people?

In this powerfully relevant book for our times, the creators of the CARE-Ready Life Coaching® model and its mindset-changing initiatives and education, reveal their highly recommended, tested, and proven people-connecting strategies. 

The Greens build a strong case for adopting the principles of CARE (Civility and Compassion, Awareness and Accountability with Respect and Empathy) in our personal and professional lives.

Their innovative "Listen, Lift, Launch" approach was built from years of successfully empowering those who live and work in diverse and under-served communities.

Coaches, mentors, counselors, pastors, community leaders and neighborhood helpers have been elevated higher than the “assess and treat” approach to helping or confronting people.  Instead of trying to fix, reconstruct or debate with people, one can engage the principles of CARE: listening for understanding, lifting through skilled spiritual guidance, and launching people into new possibilities. 

With its Foreword written by La-Verna J. Fountain, a highly sought after communications and conflict resolution specialist who works with large scale organizations, this book has been over 30 years in the making. 

The Greens encourage you to add the CARE-Ready Handbook to your library by ordering your copy from Amazon Books at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09LB2MXX4

STEP Forward Life Institute Highlighted in Global Magazine

Chris and Carol Green, along with ten other leaders and organizations from all over the world, were featured in a global magazine.

"We continue to make connections with leaders around the world through a new and powerful philosophy and methodolgy that seeks to change the way we approach education in the 21st century," the Green's stated.

Their STEP Forward Life Institute, which administers their exclusive  CARE-Ready Life Coach Certification program, was included in an internationally released online publication.

Productive Business Magazine highlights and shares productive business stories worldwide. This issue focused on "Searcherdemics"  highlighting the journey of a "New Global Education System.”

Click the link below to read. (We're on page 6)

Productive Business Magazine Link

Five Keys to Navigating Awkward Conversations

The awkward conversation has to be one of the most challenging scenarios in our lives. Most people don’t like confrontation or conflict anyway. It doesn’t matter if the issue is a difference of opinion, the need to bring up an embarrassing matter, or to give bad news, most of us struggle with the basic uncomfortable nature of this type of conversation. Some people have no filter between their thoughts and their mouth, so there’s no such thing as an awkward conversation, at least to them. They don’t usually concern themselves with how they are abrasively impacting others. 

On the other end of the spectrum, others have a hard time being assertive in the best of times, and when it comes to an awkward conversation, it creates a near impossible wall for them to scale. From our many years of personal and professional experience with awkward conversations that have ranged from family members to clients, we offer these five keys. 

1. Pause: Whether you find yourself in a sudden and unexpected moment of awkwardness or if you’re anticipating a conversation, it’s important to first pause, step back and consider your thoughts and feelings. Awkward conversations are filled with feelings and multiple reactions. Those feelings can include embarrassment, anger, anxiety or frustration. Responses can include shock, defensiveness, denial, retaliation, or indifference.  Taking a pause is about self-awareness. It’s about recognizing and regulating your own feelings so you’re not swept away in the tide of awkwardness. 

2. Enlightened engagement: This is all about having the presence of mind to not only prepare yourself, but to also give some type of notification to the other person that the conversation is coming. Offer a simple text, email or quick comment like, “There’s something I’d like to talk with you about today.” 

With your self-awareness elevated, confront the unknown of the awkward with confidence. When you engage the person, be clear, be concise, be cautious, and be conclusive. Engage the person with CARE (compassionate awareness with respect and empathy). When your engagement is from this higher perspective, you can be mindful to determine where the conversation should take place, as well as when. 

However, if the awkward conversation is a spontaneous moment that breaks out in front of customers, in the office, or in the living room, you can diffuse a potential disaster by saying, “Let’s talk about this over here,” or “Can we step outside for a minute?” 

Enlightened engagement will cause you to be so self-aware and socially aware that you won’t be easily driven by your own fear of the unknown within the awkward. Instead you’ll be guided from a perspective of wisdom and concern for the person with whom you must speak. This can still hold true, even if the person is hostile and responding in a very negative manner. 

3. Ask Questions:  Do not assume that you know the answers, even when it seems obvious. Depending upon your relationship, ask questions like, “Are you aware that….?” or “Please help me understand why….” 

After you hear their response, be prepared to ask the second question. Sometimes we ask one question. The person answers, and then we react. However, we suggest that you ask a second question just to make sure that you are clear and understand their perspective.  It’s not about asking questions until you get the response that you desire. You don’t ask until they say something that you agree with. If you do that, you’ll turn it into an interrogation instead of a conversation. You are asking questions until you are sure that you understand their point of view. If you feel they are being untruthful or omitting some part of their story, please know that you’re not a judge and this is not a hearing. You’re simply giving them an opportunity to present their view. 

4. Listen to Learn: If you’re going to ask questions, then you must actually listen. We humans do not listen very well. We pretend to listen, we selectively listen, or we listen for pauses and breaks in the dialogue in order to state our opinions. Active, empathetic and facilitative listening is absolutely essential for navigating the awkward conversation. If you can provide reflective listening feedback during an awkward conversation, you can take away the power of the awkward and empower yourself and the other person to actually have a healthy, mutually-beneficial conversation. Your listening and feedback will communicate that you’re making a sincere effort to understand them and the situation surrounding the conversation. 

5. Respond: Instead of being reactionary, you can make a thoughtful response rooted in compassion, concern, and curiosity (a genuine desire to understand). Most people tend to merely react to the revelations that come out of an awkward conversation with a criticism or an immediate correction of the other person. We’re not saying that these won’t be part of your conversation, but they should not be your first responses. The punitive reaction will yield limited, if any change. However if a critique (without criticizing), correction or advice comes from a position of compassion, concern, and curiosity, you have a better chance of building bridges rather than erecting more walls in the relationship. 

Chris and Carol Green are the founders of C and C Connections, LLC and creators of the CARE-Ready Life Coaching model.