The 7 B's of Relationships

Life's really all about relationships. We have relationships with family, relationships with friends, relationships with enemies, a relationship with God. Relationships are important. We were created for relationships. The problem is not our need for relationships, but our inability to form decent relationships.

One of our values at The Point is Authentic Community. That means that we have real relationships, that means that we care enough to pursue new relationships.

To be effective for the Kingdom we've got to get better at developing relationships with people. In The Fred Factor, by Mark Sanborn, Mark gives the 7 B's of Relationships. I thought I'd pass them on to you.

1. Be Real. Sounds simple, but so often we end up being someone other that who God created us to be. Genuineness, transparency and authenticity are the first steps to good relationships.
2. Be interested (not just interesting). This is huge. If you're like me then you like to toot your own horn so that you look impressive. That doesn't do much for relationship building. But being interested in others, caring for others and showing interest in their life, family, job, etc. is a huge contributor to real relationships.
3. Be a better listener. I like for people to listen to me, but in order to build a relationship with another person I need to put them first. I think this is one reason James says, Be quick to listen, slow to speak....
4. Be empathetic. After you listen you can better put yourself in another person's shoes. We don't know what others are going through.
5. Be honest. I love how Sanborn says it: Say what you'll do, and do what you say. In other words, don't make promises you can't keep. Don't create expectations you can't fulfill. Avoid overrepresenting and overpromising. Be a man, woman, or organizations of your word. That's integrity.
6. Be helpful. Who have you helped today? Enough said.
7. Be prompt. This is a big one for a time Nazi like me. Being on time for appointments, meetings, small group, worship, school, whatever says to others that you value them or what they are doing.

In our quest for Authentic Community let us be known as people who care enough to take the first step to developing relationships with others.