They often say that a baby is like a blank canvas, ready to be painted with life’s experiences. However, this canvas isn’t entirely blank, as certain factors like illnesses can be passed down from generation to generation. Nevertheless, the idea that a baby is a vessel waiting to be shaped remains compelling.
If we consider this notion, it leads to intriguing reflections on the story of Jesus. When Jesus, the divine being, laid down his divinity and became a baby, it can be seen as a form of symbolic death. The Jesus who presumably had a distinct personality ceased to exist in the same way, and he was then raised in a human context. His character would have been influenced by his surroundings, but with a unique twist – his development wasn’t solely shaped by humanity, but also guided by God.
What makes this story extraordinary is that Jesus wasn’t influenced by mere mortals but by the divine. Additionally, he would have been taught by angels, adding another layer to the shaping of his character. It’s plausible to imagine that his character, while shaped by the human experience, carried a divine essence that set it apart.
As the narrative goes, when Jesus, after his human life, was restored to his full divine power, it’s mysterious to ponder what it felt like when all the knowledge and experiences from his previous existence came flooding back. This enigmatic transformation and combination gives rise to the concept of the creation of a “God-man” – someone who has now experienced both the limitations of humanity and the boundless power of divinity. How awesome, how wonderful and what a sacrifice.
In essence, Jesus underwent a symbolic death twice – first by laying down his divinity to become human and then by returning to his divine form after his human death. This profound journey is often viewed as the creation of a bridge between the divine and humanity, connecting two realms in a way that transcends ordinary understanding.
In the cosmic symphony orchestrated by God, the seventh day stands as a unique and sacred melody—a day chosen by the Almighty Himself. This divine selection is not subject to human redesign or alteration by earthly authorities. Its significance transcends the whims of convenience and personal inclination.
Scripture warns of a time when great words will be spoken against the Most High, and the saints will face weariness and persecution. In the midst of these challenges, attempts will be made to manipulate times and laws. However, God, in His unwavering wisdom, has firmly established the seventh day as His Sabbath, beyond the reach of human judgment.
The Sabbath, declared in the divine tapestry, remains a symbol of God’s sovereignty and authority. It is not a day shaped by human preferences but is expressly set apart by the Creator. As we navigate the complexities of life, let us anchor ourselves in the understanding that the seventh day, the Sabbath of the Lord, is an integral part of God’s divine plan.
Sabbath Reflection
Understanding the historical and prophetic aspects of why the seventh day holds significance can empower us to share this vital truth with others. Take the time to revisit the roots of Sunday worship and reinforce your knowledge, so you can confidently convey the importance of honoring the true Sabbath when the opportunity arises.
Our days can be so busy that we forget how fragile life really is. It’s easy to allow little things to creep in and steal our peace and joy. Maybe something doesn’t go our way, or someone says something upsetting. Even traffic can cause us to lose focus if we let it. We have to remember that each day is a gift. If we choose to focus on what’s wrong, we’ll miss the beauty that each day has to offer.
Don’t let the precious moments of life pass you by. Don’t wait for holidays and birthdays to show people that you care. Remember, each day is unique and irreplaceable. You have been given time that can be invested or wasted; hours that can be used or misused.
Today, the prayer of the psalmist still applies, “teach us to number our days.” He was saying, “teach us to value every moment we’ve been given.” As you daily keep a proper perspective, you’ll gain a heart of wisdom. You’ll draw closer to God and experience the full blessings that He has for you each and every day!
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
(Psalm 90:12, NIV)
Let’s Pray
Yahweh, thank You for the gift of today. Father, I choose to focus on the blessings of each moment instead of allowing the little things to steal my joy. God, keep me close to You always, as I submit every area of my heart and mind to You, in Christ’s name! Amen.
On Monday night, a family of 5 who were travelling home to Oxford were in a tragic accident, 3 died on the spot and the father and the youngest are in a critical condition. Sometimes, our days can be so full and busy that we forget how fragile life really is. It can be easy to allow little things to creep in and steal our peace and joy.
Things may not go your way, someone may say something that’s upset you, and traffic can cause you to lose focus. You have to remember that each day is a gift. If you choose to focus on what’s wrong, you’ll miss the beauty that each day has to offer. I encourage you to not let the precious moments of life pass you by. Don’t wait for holidays and birthdays to show people that you care. Remember, each day is unique and irreplaceable.
Today, you have been given time that can be invested or wasted, hours that can be used or misused. That’s why the psalmist prayed to God, “teach us to number our days.” He was saying, “teach us to value every moment that we’ve been given.” As you keep a proper perspective daily, you’ll gain a heart of wisdom, and experience the full blessings that God has for you each and every day of your life!
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, NIV)
Let’s Pray
Yahweh, thank You for the gift of today. Father, I promise to focus on the blessings of each moment instead of allowing the little things to steal my joy. Help me to make the most of each day and not let them waste away. God, please keep me close to You always as I submit every area of my heart and mind to You, in Christ’s Name! Amen.
There are always reasons to get upset and be stressed out. The storms of life come to every person, you are not unique or too good. No matter how good a person you are, you’re going to have some “rain” in your life. When these storms come, a lot of people use their faith to try to control their circumstances, but I’ve found it’s better to use my faith to control myself in the midst of my circumstances.
If we can just remain stable in the storms of life and stay in peace, we give God permission to act on our behalf. Remember, God never said that we wouldn’t have difficulties, but He did promise we could have peace in the midst of the storms.
Today, when you face adversities, one of the most powerful things you can do is simply stay calm. When you are at peace, you are displaying your faith in God. By your actions, you’re saying, “God, I know You’re still on the throne. I know You’re bigger than this problem.” So keep the peace in the midst of your storms today. Trust that He is working behind the scenes. Keep your heart open to Him, because soon He will deliver you!
“…he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” (Matthew 5:45, NLT)
Let’s Pray
Yahweh, thank You for peace in the midst of the storms of life. Father, I choose to hold my peace knowing that You are working for me. God, I trust You, I trust Your timing, and I trust that You are working everything together for my good because You love me, in Christ’ name! Amen.
Lately, I’ve found myself constantly praying for God to change my situations.
As if he doesn’t realize how messed up the world is. How broken we are. How chaotic 2020 has felt. I ask Him to change the circumstances surrounding me as if He’s just sitting up in heaven watching Netflix completely unaware of what’s happening in this world He created. As if He’s forgotten about us down here. But He hasn’t. He knows what’s happening. Nothing that happens in this world happens without his consent. He’s allowing it to continue to happen because He’s not done doing what He’s planning to do with it. Are you following?
Now let’s turn to the Old Testament superstar of struggle… Job. His story is unique in that we get a little glimpse at the dialogue between God and Satan. Satan and his angels come to God and get this… he had to ask God’s permission to mess with Job’s life. God literally gave His consent for the enemy to do whatever he wanted with everything Job had, but with an important condition: “…but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” (Job 1:12b)
For those of you that aren’t familiar with the story, Satan proceeded to take away everything Job had including all of his livestock and fields, his wife and children, and even his health. He left Job broke and alone, but through all of Job’s struggles and heartache, God was never worried because He still held Job’s life. God’s protection was on him the whole time.
So now that we’ve seen God’s side of it, let’s look at Job’s perspective. How did he respond? Well Satan’s plan here was to get Job to curse the name of God, but Job wouldn’t do it. Even after everything was taken from him and his three friends blamed him for his misfortune and gave him a bunch of bad advice, Job still praised God. His faith was not shaken. He prayed things like this:
“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” – Job 23:10
and this…
“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” – Job 42:2
Even when he had nothing, Job still held on to the faith that God would use all of those awful circumstances to refine him like gold. He still acknowledged God’s power and honored Him. I want to pray like Job.
Instead of praying for God to change my circumstances, I want to pray that God will never stop using my circumstances to change me. I challenge you to do the same. Instead of praying for God to “fix” things so they can go back to our broken version of “normal,” let’s ask Him to keep shaking things up until they’re better, new, and more reflective of His kingdom.
“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…'” – Matthew 6:9-10 (emphasis mine)
Let’s ask Him to change our hearts in the face of uncertainty rather than asking Him to make COVID-19 go away. Let’s ask Him to cover our family with peace in the face of loss rather than blaming him for taking our loved one away. Let’s ask Him to change the hearts of those corrupted by power and authority instead of acting in violence in response to offense. Let’s ask for the coming of His glorious kingdom rather than asking for a perfect life in our own little bubble.
Because here’s the thing: circumstances will always change and more often than not, they will be inconvenient, uncomfortable, and difficult. So let’s stop complaining and wishing for an easier life.
Sooner or later, you’ll have to respond, and it’s how we respond that matters. It’s how God is using it to make us look more like Him that matters. It’s how it fits in to the bigger picture of the redemption of God’s creation that matters.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” – Thessalonians 5:16-18
So, let’s not get swept up in trying to pray away our problems. Let’s take up a different stance, and pray through them, because that allows God to change us, grow us, and mold us to better reflect His glory.
Remember, nothing in this world happens without God’s consent. Your bad day didn’t sneak past His radar while He was enjoying His morning coffee. He allows our circumstances to be difficult because He wants us to be a little uncomfortable, because that’s when we turn to Him and lean on Him so He can remind us of His power and glory. So let’s embrace whatever circumstance we find ourselves in and commit to seeking out the Lord and His goodness. Because no matter how broken we are, He is always good.
As Christian parents, Julie and I decided to bring our children to Christ to be blessed moments after they were born. I remember clearly in that miracle moment following the births of our children, lifting them up to Christ for His blessing. We still bring our children to be blessed in prayer.
Matthew 19:13 says,“One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so He could lay His hands on them and pray for them.”
What I love is that children were received by Jesus. He was more than willing to take time and pray for them.
After birth, the spiritual prayers of righteous people are important for their lives. James 5:16 (NLT) says “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”
Laying His hands on these children was a way of identifying with them in order to symbolize the bestowal of blessing from God and dedication to God (Genesis 48:14; Numbers 27:23).
As I was reading the POSB commentary recently on this passage, I was prompted to think of the reasons why we bring our children to Christ to be blessed. These six reasons express the deepest prayers I have for my own children, even though they are now adults with children of their own.
WE BRING OUR CHILDREN TO CHRIST BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT CHRIST IS THE ONLY SAVIOUR OF THIS WORLD
Not science, technology and medicines as wonderful as they may be.We believe that their only hope in this world is through relationship with Christ. Jesus made it clear. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but through Me” (John14:6).
1 Timothy 2:5 says “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”
We bring our children to Christ because we have personally experienced what it means to become born again into the family of God ourselves and know the reality of Salvation and new life in Him. We want them to be blessed with new life in Christ
WE BRING OUR CHILDREN TO CHRIST BECAUSE HE WANTS TO BLESS THEM
In Matthew 19:14, Jesus says, “Let the children come to Me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”
We refuse to allow them to grow up neglected, ignored, by-passed, and pushed aside, given no direction and left to fend for themselves. We care enough to want the best for them, too.
We want them trained up in the ways of God, not squashed by the world’s values by being left unrestrained to express whatever sinful desires they like and indulged to the point of being totally selfish.
Because they belong to God, He wants the best for them. I want so much for them to look outside themselves and acknowledge that they need the help of God for the challenges they face in life. He wants to bless them with guidance.
WE BRING OUR CHILDREN TO CHRIST SO THAT THEY WILL HAVE GOD’S PERSPECTIVE CONCERNING THEIR IDENTITY AND FUTURE.
He knows them better than they know themselves. They are unique and God has a unique destiny and purpose for them. We want them to learn that they are created by God for a purpose and that they make a difference in the world for Christ.
WE BRING OUR CHILDREN TO CHRIST SO THEY LEARN TO BE PEOPLE OF FAITH IN GOD AND BELIEVE IN HIS WORD
Not simply look towards the popular opinions of the media. I don’t want the world and its influences to shape their thinking.
The TV and social media might be useful in their lives but I don’t bring them to the TV or computer to be blessed. I believe in helping them to shape their spiritual values and beliefs on what the Bible says. And this will be a blessing.
We want them to grow up with discernment about what is sin and not simply embrace the world’s popular values. We refuse to contribute to them becoming weak spiritually and feeling as if they have to accept anything and everything the world offers. We don’t want to leave them struggling to swim and sink in the cultural assault of a valueless society.
We are not so preoccupied with life that we don’t see our responsibility and the importance of raising our children in the ways of the Lord.
WE BRING OUR CHILDREN TO CHRIST TO BE BLESSED WITH HIS LOVE
That they know God’s love and learn to love others, which incidentally, is not necessarily accepting the lifestyle choices of others.
WE BRING OUR CHILDREN TO CHRIST BECAUSE THEY BELONG TO GOD
Although God entrusted them to us, we want to acknowledge that they are His, which is why we raise them according to the principles of the Bible.
In Isaiah 64:8 (NLT), Isaiah sees a people that have deliberately chosen to be shaped by the world’s values, and he says “Yet You, Lord, are our Father.We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”
CHILDREN ARE A GIFT – AN AMAZING BLESSING FROM GOD
The invitation is that we might bring our children to Christ that they may be crafted with a distinctive identity and future, not in our image but in the design and purpose of God for their lives.May the blessing of the Master Potter uniquely shape the lives of our children with His blessing, to be all they were intended to be.
Modular homes sometimes referred to as “factory-built construction“, encompass a category of housing built in sections typically at a factory location. These houses must conform to local and regional building codes for the country the buyer plans to situate the dwelling.
Just like site-built housing, construction teams build modular homes tolast and increase in value over time.As the factory finishes building sections of the house, each piece is transported to the homeowners build site on large truck beds.Local building contractors then assemble the house and inspectors ensure the manufacturer has built your residence to code.Most customers find that modular housing is less expensive than site-built homes.
1. Benefits of Construction
One of the benefits of construction is that manufacturers build them indoors in an enclosed factory setting, where the materials used to build the homes are not subject to adverse weather during construction.
Most building contractors can finish erecting a house in as little as 1-2 weeks, though it may take up to 4 weeks or more for local contractors to finish building the dwelling on-site once it has been delivered.
2. Differences Between Modular and Site Built
Modular homes are not the same as site-built homes, which contractors create 100% at the build site.That means the contractor must collect all the materials for a house and built it on-site. Like a modular home, the site-built home must conform to all regional, state and local building codes. Many refer to site-built construction as stick-built homes. Stick built housing is also well-built and designed to last a lifetime.
3. Difference Between Modular and Manufactured
Manufactured housing is another form of factory construction. Many consumers have mistakenly referred to these homes in the past as mobile homes. Others refer to manufactured homes as trailers. Manufacturers do build these houses in a factory like modular homes on a steel chassis.
The manufacturer then transports sections of the home to the building site as completed.These dwellings are usually less expensive than both modular housing and site built housing, in part because they don’t come with a permanent foundation.Trailers and mobile homes are more likely to depreciate than modular or site built homes.
4, Advantages of Modular Construction Over Site Built
Modular homes offer many advantages over traditional site built dwellings. Many consider modular homes a hybrid breed of housing.Not a manufactured house and not a site built house, these homes offer consumers multiple benefits including costs savings, quality and convenience.In many ways modular homes surpasses site built housing in quality and efficiency.
Modulars have grown up. They are more and more becoming a mainstreamselection for first time and secondary homebuyers.Most people now realise they don’t’ have to give up design quality or customization to buy a prefabricated house.One of the biggest misconceptions people have of prefabricated housing is they are look alike.“Boxy” is not a word that can begin to describe prefab dwellings. In fact, more suitable descriptions of these buidlings would include: “Elegant, durable, customised and high-class”.Many people find they can afford to include more specialization and customization when they buy a factory built house over a traditional stick built construction.
5. Cutting-edge Designs
Looking for a building design with a little pizzazz?You need to check out the latest architectural designs associated with prefabricated buildings.Firms are now building more elegant and unique designs to meet the increasing demands of selective customers.People are selecting modular designs over stick built designs to build their dream homes.
6. Customised Design and Modification
There are hundreds of companies that offer modular prefabricated construction kits and plans, and most employ various architects and specialized designers to help customize yourhome.That means you have more choices and a wider selection of designers to choose from.If you don’t find a style you like with one designer you can often move onto another, without even switching manufacturers.
7. Huge Range of Selection
Its always best to select a home that matches your lifestyle and design preferences.
8. Rapid Customisation
These are often the ideal selection for homeowners in need of a speedily designed homes.You simply can’t build a dwelling faster.Site built housing can take months to design and build.A manufacturer can design and place a prefab house in a few short weeks. You can pick from just as many different styles as you would a site built home if not more, but don’t have to wait weeks for contractors to build your custom house.
9. Precise Budgeting and Timing
Yet another benefit of these designs is the lack of guesswork involved.You don’t have to worry about how something will look.You know that everything will arrive to the build site complete and you will know the exact outcome. You also don’t need to worry about unexpected expenses, which is commonly the case with site built homes.With a prefabricated house, you know exactly what your home will cost and can control that cost from the point of buying to final construction.This isn’t the case with stick built housing. With stick built housing you also have to worry about surprises in the middle of construction.It isn’t uncommon for example, for a contractor to quit in the middle of a project.If this happens you have few choices.
Your home will sit partially built until you are able to find a new construction team.This alone may cost you valuable time and money.
10. Improved Energy Efficiency
Many prefab houses also come with what manufacturers call the “Energy Star” certification.This is a national company that promotes energy efficiency.Buildings with this label use 30-40 percent less energy yearly than traditional stick built housing.
This saves you time and money.Some key features of prefabricated housing that help improve energy efficiency include tight installation,high performance and weather resistant windows, controlled air systems and duct systems, upgraded air-conditioning and heating units and use of efficient lighting and heating appliances.As a bonus, these features not only save on annual energy costs but also improve the quality of your indoor air. Think energy efficiency isn’t significant?Think again.Over the lifetime of your house you could save thousands of pounds in energy bills by buying a prefabricated dwelling.
11. Design Modification is Easier
Most prefab homemakers now use computer aided design systems when conducting operations.This adds to the efficiency of construction and improves the appearance and architectureof homes.Prefabricated construction ranges from plain vanilla styling to intricate and complex modern designs.
12. On Time and on Budget
Perhaps the two biggest features or benefits of prefabricated housing that manufacturers hone in on are the speed thatthey can be built with and the competitive pricing they can offer on the final product.This is one reason that modular homes are gaining popularity.
13. Appreciate in Value
These dwellings also appreciate much like sitebuilt housing designs.Most homeowners are interested in building value in their house over time.Prefab housing afford you the opportunity to do this (keep in mind however much appreciation is dependent on real estate location).Select a good build site and your house will gain significant value over time. Other factors may also affect appreciation including landscaping and how well the house is cared for year after year.These factors also affect site built housing.Unlike mobile homes, which depreciate, a modular homeowner can expect to gain value from their home year after year. Study after study suggests that modular homes appreciate just as well as site built homes.They are also just as easily insured and financed.
As far as risk goes, you are no more at risk buying prefabricated housing than site built construction.
Modular Home Facts
Modular homes appraise the same as their on-site built counterparts do.
Modular homes can be more easilly customised.
Most modular home companies have their own in-house engineering departments that utilize CAD (Computer Aided Design).
Modular home designs vary in style and size.
Modular homes are permanent structures – “real property.”
Modular homes are considered a form of “Green Building.”
Modular homes are faster to build than a 100% site-built home.
Home loans for modular are the same as if buying a 100% site-built home.
Insuring your modular home is the same as a 100% site-built home.
Modular homes can be built to withstand 175 mph winds.
Modular homes can be built for accessible living and designed for future conveniences.
Would you consider a modular home for yourself, or are you more of a traditionalist?
The term ‘Modern Methods of Construction’ (MMC) embraces a range of technologies involving various forms of prefabrication and off-site assembly.
MMC is increasingly regarded as a realistic means of improving quality, reducing time spent on-site, improving on-site safety and addressing skills shortages in the construction of UK housing.
Bridge Crossing Modern Design
The variety of systems now available potentially allows the designer enough choice to sidestep problems deriving from constraints posed by the use of any one method. MMC systems, from closed-panel timber framed systems to bathroom pods are a palette from which designers can make choices. They are not necessarily stand-alone solutions that anticipate all the needs of an individual site and can be mixed and matched as appropriate.
These limitations are not obstacles to achieving the good design in MMC-based schemes, but may hinder the incorporation of more complex and innovative types of MMC from which greater overall benefits may be obtained which are considered under the following headings:
1. COST UNCERTAINTY
There is no doubt that, given products of comparable performance the key issue in purchases of MMC construction systems is the price. At present not enough is known about the potential costs of using volumetric and closed panel systems to enable confident specification at an early date. This inhibits designers from exploring the full potential of MMC systems. This is particularly true of the less repetitive, small, one-off scheme, where a smaller margin of benefits is gained from using MMC. The principal barrier to the uptake of MMC, therefore, seems to be the perception of cost uncertainty with respect to using more complex systems. Without doing substantial project-specific research, consultants and their clients simply do not know with enough degree of certainty how much the volumetric or closed panel systems are likely to cost, and what would be the savings to overall project costs produced by potential speed gains to offset against increased capital expenditure.
This is due to the complexity of assessing the ratio of cost of repetitive elements where pricing is relatively straightforward to the cost of adjusting elements or building in another method for the abnormal condition. Decisions to use innovative systems are likely to be made once designs are well progressed to enable teams to be more certain of costs. This can increase the potential for change or result in design compromise as the designer attempts to incorporate the specific limitations of a particular system in their design.
In an attempt to improve this situation, the MMC consultant and or clients could pull together a directory of MMC expanded to include cost comparison data. The huge range of variables involved inevitably makes this difficult, but a database of current construction cost information would be an invaluable resource.
Contemporary Building Facade
2. PLANNING PROCESS AND EARLY COMMITMENT TO A SYSTEM
The time it can take to obtain planning permission has obvious implications both for project cost but also, in some circumstances, for architectural design innovation.
Most of the more complex types of MMC have an impact on dimensioning, the choice of external finish and detailing may have some effect on the buildings mass. Therefore, the construction system should be chosen prior to a planning application to avoid abortive work, redesign or amendment, or even resubmission for planning permission.
However, developers whose money is at risk, frequently hold off deciding on the construction technique until the last practicable moment, in order to get any advantage from fluctuations in material or component pricing.
Given the potential for lengthy duration of planning applications, this means that there is little incentive to prepare initial designs for planning with a prior decision to incorporate MMC firmly embedded. In cases where the developer has a financial or business link with the supplier, this is less likely to be the case. As the majority of commercial or residential developments involve some kind of arrangement with a developer, agreement on construction systems is often left to the stage after planning.
3. TIME INVESTMENT
Another very significant factor is the time investment required at the early stages of projects. This is needed to develop the design when the project is still at risk. There is a direct relationship between the scale and complexity of MMC component and the amount of time required to develop a design at an early stage.
The introduction of advanced or complex MMC techniques into the design process is potentially costly to the design team. A significant amount of research is needed to explore alternative systems, to obtain verification of suppliers’credentials, investigate mortgage and insurance issues, visit previous sites, talk to system suppliers, obtain technical performance guidelines, understand junctions and interfaces, coordinate other consultants, obtain building control input and so on.
For a consultant, the only way of investing in this research is either through timely payment of increased fees by a visionary understanding client or through the anticipation of increased future productivity through repetition when a project is phased, or large enough, or likely to be followed by another similar project.
The potential of learning a system and then being able to repeat lessons learned efficiently is a powerful incentive for both client and consultant. By contrast, HTA’ s project at Basingstoke is an example of a phased project with a three to four-year duration allowed the design team to repeat various elements of the design, and the manufacturer to develop improved solutions to technical and supply problems.
HTA’ s project at Basingstoke
4. INSUFFICIENT COMMUNICATION
Improved dialogue at the outset of the project is vital if design quality is to be maximised. Constraints and opportunities implicit within a particular system are more easily incorporated into design if partners communicate pre-planning. Increased early communication can be fostered through improved long-term partnering relationships.
Clients should also partner with a range of suppliers and architects so that choice and flexibility is not restricted.
5. INEXPERIENCE
Generally, the inexperienced client or design team will have to do more research, with the result that there is likely to be significant design development without a specific system being incorporated.
This is a disincentive to using a more complex system involving a higher proportion of MMC, where early decision making and knowledge of a system’ s capabilities have a decisive influence on the nature of the architecture. However, encouraging the take up of MMC through the use of a dedicated funding mechanism may assist clients in finding time for research into suitable MMC techniques.
Dome Construction Berlin
6. SUPPLIER’S ROLE
Site capacity studies and early stage pre-planning design studies could be undertaken directly by system suppliers on behalf of clients, cutting out the usual procedure of commissioning design work by independent consultants.
7. ASSUMPTIONS
There are a number of assumptions that are generally held about certain types of MMC that may have been valid at one time but are no longer true today. There is a need for reliable and up to date information comparing system criteria, performance data, timescales, lead in times, capacity, construction time, sequencing issues, limitations, and benefits.
Therefore it would be helpful if a forum for discussion and experience exchange was set up.
8. DEMONSTRATING THE BENEFITS OF MMC
There is still a large amount of skepticism about the need to go very far down the line with MMC. This is reflected in the acceptance of the desirability of maintaining or indeed enhancing the pool of traditional craft skills throughout the UK.
A balanced view is that there is a demonstrable need for the wider use of MMC which is recognized by both industry and government. The best way for clients and the public generally to become more confident and knowledgeable about the quality of design achievable through MMC is to see it demonstrated.
9. FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
There is no doubt that spreading the burden of investment through the life of a project helps to ensure a higher standard of specification and hence quality. In the Netherlands, a ‘ Green Financing’system has been developed by the Dutch government that provides favorable loan finance when certain sustainable standards are reached. In the UK, the Gallions HA has pioneered a study of this, based on a scheme in Thamesmead, ‘ the Ecopark project’.
Eco Park is an eco-friendly business park built on the False Bay coast. This business park is at the cutting-edge of sustainable design and offers a unique working environment in a secure, well-managed facility.
Change management is an approach to transition individuals, teams, and organisations to a desired future state. For over three decades, academics, managers, and consultants, realising that transforming organisations is difficult, have avoided the subject.
My Way or the Highway
Major organisational change is profoundly difficult because the structure, culture, and routines of companies often reflect’s persistent and difficult-to-remove ways of working, which are resistant to radical change even as the environment of organisations change.
What started out as a financial buzzword in the early nineties has become fundamental business practice, with executives recognising the need to keep abreast with the competition in a rapidly developing corporate new world.
Navigating change
Globalisation and the constant innovation of technology result in a constantly evolving business environment. There is an ever-increasing need for Change Management Lead’s / Senior Managers who can help organisations successfully navigate change in today’s business environments. The focus of this movement to date has been on how to partner with organisations to define education, training and communication platforms that help to support the change initiatives and concerns of company employees. The critical aspect is a company’s ability to win the buy-in of their organisation’s employees on the change initiative.
While a project team is important for success, a senior level advisor is invaluable and can work with an organisations leadership team to avoid common pitfalls that change management projects often fall into. There are four key areas where an Advisor should act as this resource as follows:
1. Defining A Strategy
Executives should start by asking themselves what exactly needs changing and why? Organisational change directly affects all departments from entry level employees to senior management and must be aligned to a companies strategy. Too many programs are heavy on the jargon and light on the substance. Executives are often sold on an idea only to realise as the change initiative begins that they need a different outcome, tool or process to be successful.
In this situation the strategy for change needs to be re-aligned with the organisation and its goals.
An outside senior advisor with a unique perspective of the organisation will play an important role in helping an executive to explore and shape the strategy they are defining and highlight whether it will truly create the outcomes they desire. This upfront partnership can save money on the back end of a project, by avoiding costly re-scoping of initiatives.This relationship between senior advisor and executive should therefore begin as early as possible in the process.
2. Coalition Building
Its important to give people multiple opportunities to share concerns, ask questions, and offer ideas and to make following up with answers and updates a top priority. Executives must reach out across their functional work streams to build a large cohesive team to support the project once the correct strategy has been set and the urgency for the project has been established. A good senior advisor will be able to guide an executive though these interactions.
As a senior change management professional, it is important that you help leaders of the organisation craft the correct message. While leaders often know what it is they want and see the urgency for themselves, the outside view that a coach provides can support the development of a team around the initiative and help to navigate the strategic and political interests in linking the change to the interest of multiple team members.
The more people are involved in the process, the fewer will be acting as internal saboteurs.
Communication Is Key to Successful Change Management
3. Communication
Don’t confuse process visioning, planning and endless powerpoint presentations with communication.
Change is uncomfortable, and adapting to change is messy. A Gantt chart can not capture the hard side of change management. Why? Because tasks are easy to list, but behaviour and long-held habits are not easy to change. Gather outside information, solicit perspectives, and adapt the approaches for your organisation and group.
The importance of communication within an organisation around the change cannot be underestimated. Executives often fall short on communication in two main areas, not communicating the right message and not communicating it frequently enough across an organisation. It is often thought that everyone else in the organisation is on board and understands the change, however, the reality for an executive is not the reality for another worker who may have lost a job because of a well intended change initiative. A senior advisor can apply consistent pressure to the leader of the change around the need for communication and its messaging.
Quantity Is Fine, but Quality and Consistency Are Crucial
4. Share Relevant Information Quickly
Most CEOs and managers are quoted as saying, “You can’t communicate too much,” Part of the communication will be the support the urgency in messaging. “My way or the highway” is often used, but is not an effective communication strategy. Senior Advisors can work with executives to tailor their message to each area of the organisation in order to define content that is important to them.
A study by Towers Watson shows that “only two-thirds (68%) of senior managers say they are getting the message about the reasons behind major organisational decisions. Below the senior management level, the message dwindles further to (53%) of middle managers and 40% of first-line supervisors understanding reasons behind major organisational change.
The forwarding and cascading of information does not work as consistent communication around the change will be necessary at all levels of the organisation using a variety of communication pathways and vehicles.As a trusted advisor it is important to encourage executives to lead by example in both their messaging and communication of the change agenda.
Only 25% of Change Management Initiatives Are Successful over the Long Term
Maintaining The Change
Many leaders and managers underestimate the length of time required by a change cycle. It is paramount that as the change effort reaches its completion that leaders of the change recognise that the process does not end there. The role of a Senior Advisor will be to guide them to the idea that work must be undertaken to maintain the change over time. Maintaining change does not mean that an executive must own the initiative forever, just that they take the necessary steps to ensure that change has a lasting impact by integrating the change into the corporate culture and measuring the benefits and highlighting areas for future improvements.
The outside unbiased view is that a Change Management Lead is crucial to the success of a change management program.
This article provides food for thought rather than counsel specifically designed to meet the needs of your organisation or situation. Please use it mindfully.
Anyone who has responsibility for the work of others understands the unique challenges that come with managing people.
Over the years, various thought leaders have come up with pearls of wisdom in the form of quotations that when given some thought, have a lot to teach us. Sometimes a simple quote is just the thing to lift our spirits, to make us smile or to give us the energy to keep going when we’re feeling low.
Here are 43 such quotes to make us better Christian leaders.
“The Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self.” – Unknown
“In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way.” – Unknown
“The good news is, God has provided us with a LifeBook to help us – the Bible.” – Unknown
“Encouragement is the oxygen of the soul.” – John Maxwell
“There’s only two things you can start without a plan: a riot and a family, for everything else you need a plan.” – Unknown
“Rejection is an opportunity for your selection.” – Unknown
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – John Maxwell
“Leadership is getting people to work for you when they are not obligated.” – Fred Price
“Running a project without a work breakdown structure is like going to a strange land without a roadmap” – J Phillips
“You don’t have to hold a position in order to be a leader.” – Henry Ford”
“Have a good plan, Execute it violently, Do it today” – General Douglas McArthur
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that is has taken place.” – Unknown
“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” – Winston Churchill
“A project without a critical path is like a ship without a rudder.” – D. Meyer
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
“What’s measured improves.” – Unknown
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint Exupry 1900-1944, French writer and aviator
“If it is not documented, it doesn’t exist. As long as information is retained in someone’s head, it is vulnerable to loss.” – Unknown
“It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things.” – Machiavelli 1446-1507, Italian statesman and philosopher
“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra.” – Unknown
“Luck is for the ill-prepared.” – Unknown
“Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I’ll understand.” – Chinese Proverb
“Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating the talents of those who work for us and pointing them towards a certain goal.” –Unknown
“PMs are the most creative pros in the world; we have to figure out everything that could go wrong before it does.” – Fredrik Haren
“Why do so many professionals say they are project managing when what they are actually doing is firefighting?” –Unknown
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” –Unknown
“Ensure your documentation is short and sharp and make much more use of people-to-people communication.” –Unknown
“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” – Henry Ford
“Leadership offers an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life, no matter what the project.” – Bill Owens
“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” – John C. Maxwell
“Leaders have two characteristics: first they are going somewhere, and second they are able to persuade other people to go with them.” – John Maxwell
“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” – Kenneth Blanchard
“The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.” – Warren Bennis
“The best example of leadership is leadership by example.” – Jerry McClain
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
“The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve.” – John Stott
“We can be tired, weary and emotionally distraught, but after spending time alone with God, we find that He injects into our bodies energy, power and strength.” – Charles F. Stanley
“Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” –Unknown
“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” – Mother Teresa
“The greater your knowledge of the goodness and grace of God on your life, the more likely you are to praise Him in the storm.” – Matt Chandler
“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential” – Winston Churchill
“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” – John Piper
If you know a great quote or scripture that will inspire others to lead their churches better, please feel free to share it in the comments below.
A good idea is great. A good idea that’s executed perfectly can change the world. But a simple idea alone is useless.
A Good Idea That’s Executed Perfectly Can Change the World
There’s an idea that flops and an idea that becomes the next biggest thing. It’s all about how it’s executed. If it doesn’t come with a plan, or if it appears too difficult to introduce, someone else will do it, leaving you with a has-been idea that can no longer be implemented. This is why every ‘brainwave’ ‘eureka’ moment idea needs to be teamed together with a worthy execution”¦if not, don’t expect much.
Pushing an innovative idea forward into something else remains one of our biggest challenges. Admittedly, it can be a super exhausting process, which is why it’s always a great idea to invite the crowd to not only come up with the wonderful ideas, but to also help develop them as well.
There are a few key stages that need to be followed when it comes to getting your crowd in on the idea decision-making and development game.
1. Create a Unique Team
Almost anyone can research and refine new innovative ideas. However, you can take it a step further and invite the crowd to join in the fun and be a part of your team. This will give your idea more validation. It will also decrease any potential risk, and at the same time it could be a huge timesaver when it comes to marketing and finances.
In short, each and every idea should be unique enough to sway people to join a team that supports the idea.
2. Fine Tune that Idea
They say that behind every great idea catapulted onto the market, there was an equally great plan. Every idea requires some sort of plan. It could be just a basic one that briefly outlines the various possibilities connected to it, or it could be a more complex plan that delves into the intricacies of it.
A good plan should include a business plan. This might seem like a given, but you’d be surprised as to how many people don’t have a good business plan to back up their ideas. Plans should also include target audiences, marketing ideas and much more.
You need to approach every idea in a methodical way. You’ll need a unique set of criteria that pertains to one idea – it’s not a case of one-size fits all. You’ll need to answer any question that arises, and until this is done, you can’t move forward and successfully turn your idea into reality.
Use and involve your crowd. Ask them to research various aspects of the idea, and then have them report back and share their ideas and findings with the rest of the group.
3. Don’t Stand for Mediocre
There are literally hundreds upon hundreds of okay ideas. There are even hundreds of great ideas. But, an average or good idea is not enough, which is why it’s absolutely essential to select only the best of the best ideas. It doesn’t matter if it’s only one mind-blowing idea because as the old adage goes, quality is better than quantity.
Quality Is Better than Quantity
The good and even the great ideas might struggle. Such ideas are difficult to get funding for, and it’s more challenging to prototype and deliver them. If you want to make your idea come alive, you need to have defined criteria, which allows for choosing the best idea to follow up on. After the criteria has been established, it’s time to use the crowd again aka Christian community. Ask them to respond accordingly and honestly – does the idea meet all the listed criteria?
If yes, that’s great, you’re moving towards success. If not, it’s back to the drawing board to get it right.
You need to act now and remember this: it’s okay to simply start by putting just one outreach idea into action.
What kinds of challenges do you and your team face when trying to develop your ideas further?
