INTELLIGENT PEOPLE ASK QUESTIONS

I have just spent a week down in Sydney at our networks Church Planting School. It is a huge thrill for me personally to have input into future church plants or transitioning churches. Sitting down over coffee talking church gets my heart pounding, being around other church builders gets my heart pounding. But every now and then you come across the one or two that just don't get it. They don't ask the right questions and they don't listen to the right answers. There are many reasons why some people grow healthy churches and some never get them beyond a home group size but there is one reason that again was revealed to me this past week. Its found in the following verse from Proverbs:

Proverbs 15:22 (NLT)
Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many counselors bring success.

Some people just don't ask for counsel. They are afraid of being challenged or hearing something negative about what they are doing, so they avoid it, thus staying internally small.

The counsel we never got could have made the difference on whether or not we were a success or failure.There are some people that I feel I could go up to and give advice on certain things anytime and anywhere. There is a feel about them that they are open to discuss their situation and open for input in any way. Some people ooze teach ability and humility that invites counsel.
But there are others that I would never dream of giving advice or counsel to.
They never ask you what you think about their circumstance. They always have a reason to justify why they are the way they are.
They have a leave me alone, I don’t need your help feel. Back off I am in control.

Sometimes people around you have had placed in them through experience the very thing that your plan is dying from the lack of.

There are some who say that they are seeking counsel when all hey are doing is looking for approval for what they have already decided to do, there is a big difference.

So how about you?

Are you openly seeking counsel so that your plan, your life, your relationships can be the best or do you shrink back whenever someone questions your plans?