By Mark Sherwood

Throughout my airline travels, I have routinely listened to the flight attendant give pre-flight instructions regarding safety and exit procedures. Yes, I actually pay attention because I understand its vital importance. One piece of instruction that has always struck me as profound is the guidelines given pertaining to the oxygen mask. You have heard them…”In case of a loss of cabin pressure, an oxygen mask will be deployed from the ceiling.” The flight attendant then makes a point to explain to all adults, who are traveling with children, to put their masks on first and THEN place one on the child. This makes perfect sense to me as the child may not be capable of helping themselves or taking care of the adults. In a broader sense, this practice applies not only to oxygen masks on airplanes, but also to a larger life principle of adults leading the way.

As many of you know, I have a huge heart for kids. Some of the kids’ circumstances in which I have witnessed are both saddening and shocking. I want to do something to help each one. Sometimes the circumstances relate to hunger, shelter, clothing, or simply a need for love. But, honestly, I want to fix them all, and it breaks my heart that I cannot do it all. What I have realized, however, relates back to the oxygen mask instruction. You see, as adults, we must lead the way. Whether we are parents, grandparents, or simply just over 18, we are examples. Some young person, somewhere, is watching intently our every move. They are watching what we say, and more importantly, what we do. Can we fix every issue and solve each problem? NO!  But, we can do the best we are able, where we are, with what we have.

Adults, the best way to save children, teach them, and encourage them is by becoming a real life example. Though there are many lessons we ALL can learn from children, the primary responsibilities of us (the adults) are to be the teachers, examples, mentors, and role models.

Here’s to being 4Ever Fit!

May 2013

Dear Friends,

What a privilege and blessing it is to call you my friend! Many of you have already been following my journey and ministry. Your encouragement, prayer and support have been a great blessing to me, and I sincerely thank you.

To those who are new to me and 4E Foundation – Welcome! You are already a blessing as well.

Allow me to take a moment to share a little about me, and what God has been up to in my life recently with this new and exciting transition. . .

For the last 24 years, I have been a bi-vocational minister serving my community as a police officer. It has been a great honor to do so, and I have the utmost respect and appreciation for all first responders. Let us never forget to regularly thank them in all that they do for our communities and Nation.

Recently, the Lord directed me to retire from police work and fulfill His calling on a full-time basis. He has laid on my heart a specific vision and purpose which I will explain further below. I am very excited and it is my heart’s desire to fully honor the Lord with it, and serve Him whole heartily and faithfully.

Ministry Purpose of 4E

4E exists to encourage, build up and grow the church through sharing God’s love in a demonstrative and overt manner. 4E focuses on both in-reach and outreach:

•  In-reach is based on the biblical teaching with a focus on encouragement. Specifically, the Lord has directed me to carry the banner of physical health to the world as well as the body of Christ.
• Outreach is based on educational seminars, strength evangelism events, world-wide mission trips, and 4E Television.

Upcoming Ministry Engagements

This year, God greatly blessed me with the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic and with upcoming scheduled trips to South Africa and the Philippines as well. It is always a great and humbling privilege to partner and serve with other believers in Christ around the world in sharing the gospel. In addition, God has provided numerous speaking engagements in 12 states in which I greatly look forward. I am always very encouraged and in awe of how God so faithfully and lovingly works in the lives of others, and I am so blessed to be a part of it! I look forward to sharing with you God’s faithfulness in each ministry engagement with updates each month.

Prayer and Ministry Needs

With each ministry opportunity that God allows, I am deeply humbled and reverent. It is my utmost desire that God is fully honored and gets all the glory as I serve Him and strive to encourage and challenge others towards a deeper relationship with Him.

• I ask that you pray for my safety in travel and for God’s continued wisdom, guidance and provision. Also pray that I am vigilant as His servant with that which He has entrusted.
• Ministries, such as 4E, are non-profit and dependent upon the support of those who share and embrace the vision. The cost for mission trips and television can be staggering at times, but God will provide the need. As God uses people to supply these needed funds, the blessing of the fruit of His work is shared in a partnership. As a friend of this ministry, I ask that you prayerfully consider monthly financial support. It is my pledge to ensure you are informed as to how the gifts are utilized. To support, click here http://my.simplegive.com/dl/?uid=4ef9907258. Your gift is tax deductible.

Friends, thank you again for your prayers, encouragement and support as I allow God to use me for His glory in ministry. YOU are greatly appreciated!

In closing, know that you were created not only ON purpose, but FOR a purpose! God made you to commune and fellowship with Him. He desires a deeper, more authentic relationship with YOU. Jeremiah 29:11 states “For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future.”

Thank you for partnering with me, and I pray you are greatly encouraged in the Lord!

Blessings,

Mark Sherwood

www.marksherwood.org

mark@4verfitlife.com

855-EVERFIT

                                               4E supporting churches

Discovery Church www.discovertheone.com

Abiding Word www.AWFchurch.com

Dream Church www.dreamchurchonline.com

New Hope www.todaysnewhope.com

New Creation Church www.newcreation.net

Faith Fellowship www.ffcba.org

Trinity Church www.trinity-church.com

This is 4E TV, and Mark’s guest is Sam Caster. Hear Sam’s personal story and amazing journey toward addressing a huge world problem. You will be blessed, uplifted, and encouraged by this episode.

By Mark Sherwood

This article is the fifth in a series of five on the subject of pre-habilitating your life. As you may recall, the last article centered on pre-habilitating your business. This one focuses on pre-habilitating your church or ministry. Even though the implication may be for only ministry leaders or pastors, there are many applicable principles for your individual ministry (i.e. your actual life).

To ensure we maintain our foundation, pre-habilitation is a form of strength training designed to prevent injuries BEFORE they occur. However, this term can be effectively used in your personal life, family, employment, business, and church.  Pre-habilitation defined:  “It is the management style of incorporating proactive and preventative measures or actions designed to prevent mistakes, delays, deficiencies, and the development of unwanted business culture BEFORE they occur.”  – Mark

Those of us involved in ministry, whether full-time or part-time, want our ministries to be both exemplary and effective.  We must balance the following discussion with this disclaimer…People will get mad, and it is impossible to please everybody. To that end, let’s examine the elements of pre-habilitation as it applies to your church or ministry by asking a few thought-invoking questions:

1. If you could prevent some      of the church/ministry splits that happen so frequently in America’s      church, would that appeal to you?
2. If you could promote an      environment of consistency and integrity in your church/ministry, would      you do it?

1. If you could reduce staff turnover and promote staff loyalty, would that interest you?

I know the answer to each of these questions is a resounding YES!

The solution to preventing, avoiding, and escaping the aforementioned conditions, lies foundationally in the concept of pre-habilitation. Let’s pre-habilitate your church/ministry! We may not be able to avoid the ‘current’, but we can pre-habilitate our future to a great extent. Let’s ‘pre-habilitate’ questions 1-3 in order:

1. Pre-habilitating the frequent church splits can be a bit complicated. The complicated segment is dealing with the complexity of people.  The answer, however, is found in two basic principles: A. Don’t spend too much time dealing with disgruntled people. People will get mad – it is just the nature of ministry. You will have opposition. However, it you spend too much time trying to convince the disgruntled few, you will lose the content and happy majority. B. If people want to leave, LET THEM LEAVE. They most likely left some other place to grace you with their presence. Be nice, polite, consistent, and loving, but AT THE SAME TIME, let them leave if they choose.
2. Pre-habilitating a consistent and integral environment begins with practicing that in your own area of greatest influence. Teach people what to expect in your home and inner circles by modeling consistency and predictability. Don’t be scattered and lack schedule. If you do, it will invariably show up very pronounced in your public ministry. Return phone calls and emails in a timely manner. If you blow people off by using the old “I am too busy in ministry” excuse, you will lose people. Listen, ministry is about example more than words. If you are too busy to get back with someone in 48 hours, have someone (maybe an administrative assistant) touch base with those trying to reach you. Believe me, this practice alone will pay huge dividends towards forming a strong foundational and consistent environment.
3. Pre-habilitating staff turnover and promoting staff loyalty is very similar to number 1 and 2 (directly above). However, just realize you are MUCH closer to this group (meaning they know YOU better and that makes you much more vulnerable). Protect integrity with this group. DO NOT act flaky with them. Promote and acknowledge often the behavior you want repeated. Be consistent with your expectations.  If they begin to act disgruntled, confront it with love immediately. Don’t let it sit and fester because it will spread. If a staff member wants to leave, help them leave. That’s right, help them leave! Maybe God is calling them elsewhere. Allow God to have His way as you lead your staff.

Obviously, there is MUCH more in this area we could cover. Perhaps, I will address it again soon.

There you have it.  We have utilized pre-habilitation as a management style in your church/ministry to prevent some of the most dreaded consequences.

Here’s to being 4EverFit!

www.4everfitlife.com

By Mark Sherwood

This article is the fourth in a series of five on the subject of pre-habilitating your life. As you recall, the last article centered on pre-habilitating your employment. This one focuses on pre-habilitating your business.

To ensure we maintain our foundation, pre-habilitation is a form of strength training designed to prevent injuries BEFORE they occur. However, this term can be effectively used in your personal life, family, employment, business, and church.  Pre-habilitation defined:  “It is the management style of incorporating proactive and preventative measures or actions designed to prevent mistakes, delays, deficiencies, and the development of unwanted business culture BEFORE they occur.”  – Mark

It is a common goal or dream of many to progress professionally into a management position or individually to business ownership. To that end, let’s examine the elements of pre-habilitation as it applies to your business by asking a few thought-invoking questions:

1. If you could prevent      having a ‘communication gap’ between management and your first-line      supervisors, would that appeal to you?
2. If you could avoid fairly      constant employee turnover and build great loyalty, would you do it?

1. If you could reduce employee sick time and lower worker’s compensation claims, would that interest you?

Hopefully, the answer to each of these questions is a resounding YES!

The solution to preventing, avoiding, and escaping the aforementioned conditions, lies foundationally in the concept of pre-habilitation. Let’s pre-habilitate your business! We may not be able to avoid the ‘current’, but we can pre-habilitate our future to a great extent. Let’s ‘pre-habilitate’ questions 1-3 in order:

1. Pre-habilitating a potential ‘communication gap’ is fairly easy. It starts with communication. Communication should take place not only through inter-department memos and emails, but through person to person communication. Hold bi-weekly team meetings at a pre-determined time. Have a clear-cut agenda and do not ‘chase rabbit trails.’ The meetings should focus on information, job-well-done reports, and complaints. Every person should be given the opportunity to speak. Any questions about management decisions should be answered by the team leader. If an answer is not available, the team leader should have the answer for the next meeting. Open and regularly scheduled person to person communication is the key to pre-habilitating the ‘communication gap.’
2. Pre-habilitating employee turnover and disloyalty is found in the process of value and consistency. People want to be valued and appreciated. At the same time, people want to know what to expect.  The best way to drive people away from an organization and foster an environment of distrust is to never acknowledge people as people. Employers should make it a habit to frequently visit the workplace. Talk with your employees and ask about their families. If someone in your business does an excellent job, quickly and publicly praise them. Praise the behavior that you want repeated. On the other side of the coin, if someone really messes something up, act quickly, decisively and consistently. Don’t give your employees reason to claim unfairness or unequal treatment.
3. Pre-habilitating use of sick time and worker’s compensation claims can be accomplishment with a company-wide wellness culture. This is a culture practiced and established by leadership. A wellness plan will be far less effective if not top-down AND bottom-up driven.  The plan should be voluntary and participatory-based. Families and dependants should be included. The workplace should be ‘illness-proofed.’ Avoid bringing donuts and cakes to meetings. Make walking and activity normal business practices. Let the employees see you, the boss, being publicly active. Remember, if you lead your business in wellness, your employees will follow.  Over time, it is agreed that increased activity and better nutrition improves wellness.

There you have it. We have utilized pre-habilitation as a management style in your business to prevent some of the most dreaded consequences.

Here’s to being 4EverFit!

www.4everfitlife.com

Mark Sherwood, CEO of 4E Fitness and President of 4E Foundation, shares this exciting program focused on living for the NOW. His guest is Alex Iser, CEO of Phone Doctors. Alex is very successful in business and shares his personal story, which is extremely powerful. Prepare to be encouraged and blessed. This is a MUST see.

By Mark Sherwood  www.4everfitlife.com

In my role as a wellness and fitness instructor, I am constantly harping on my clients and listeners to set clear, reasonable, and attainable goals. Goal setting is extremely important as it provides a roadmap for success. Clear, reasonable, and attainable goals are set in time increments – one month, three months, six months, etc. Reaching these micro-goals along the path to your macro-goal ensures you are on the correct course. I cannot underestimate the importance of goal setting as it provides clear targets in which to aim or focus. But what if one were to aim at an incorrect goal because of misinformation or lack of knowledge? Can you imagine what one would think upon arrival at an incorrect goal? There would be no satisfaction and no joy – only sadness and disappointment.

Goals are important in life as well. It is critical we have both micro and macro goals whether they be family, employment, relational, or financial. These goals should be set based on as much information as one can uncover. They should be well-formed and well thought out.

Unfortunately, I have discovered a truth about many of today’s more common goals. You see, I have pursued incorrect goals and upon arrival, found myself completely disappointed. This article would spill into a novel should I begin to spell out each of my missteps. Many today set their goals based on finances (or ‘treasures’ as my favorite book utilizes) and/or the attainment of success. Allow me to point out definitions of each.

Treasure – A quantity of precious metals, gems, or other valuable objects.

Success – 1. The accomplishment of an aim or purpose. 2. The attainment of popularity or profit.

When we put much of our life’s effort into attaining these ‘goals’, we will become sadly disillusioned. Neither will bring fulfillment and happiness. Many say that money can make one complete. However, more money will only make you more of what you already are. 

So what is a correct goal? What is the target in which we should aim?

I learned the answer from a child. You see, I spoke at a school about a year ago. There was another event held later that day in which I spoke as well. The young lady was present at both. To cut to the chase and abbreviate the story, the young lady saw me at another recent event. I must admit I didn’t recognize her (I speak to a LOT of people). But, WOW, she knew me. In the midst of the crowd, she approached, hugged me, looked me in the eyes, and said, “Thank you.” She went on to tell me I gave her hope and encouragement. I saw a gleam in her eyes that I will never forget. Being an emotional guy, I began to cry. The look in her eyes communicated clearly the answer we all need regarding goals and targets.

At THAT MOMENT, it hit me right in the heart. The CORRECT goal is to pursue giving others hope and encouragement. When one strives to achieve that goal, the real ‘treasures’ will pile up and ‘success’ is experienced in the most profitable way.

To give hope and encouragement is to build an overflowing treasury and a legacy of success.

Friend, BE ENCOURAGED TODAY AND HANG ON TO HOPE!  

By Mark Sherwood

This article is a third in a series of five on the subject of pre-habilitating your life. As you recall, the last article centered on pre-habilitating our families. This one focuses on pre-habilitating our jobs.

As a reminder, pre-habilitation is a form of strength training designed to prevent injuries BEFORE they occur. However, this term can be effectively used in your personal life, family, employment, business, and church.  Pre-habilitation defined:  “It is the management style of incorporating proactive and preventative measures or actions designed to prevent mistakes, delays, deficiencies, and the development of unwanted business culture BEFORE they occur.”  – Mark

As we examine the elements of this style as it applies to our employment, let’s begin, as usual, by asking a few questions:

1. If you could prevent having a difficult working relationship with a co-worker, would that appeal to you?
2. If you could avoid the challenge of a less than desirable relationship with a boss, would you do it?
3. If you could escape the drama of gossip affecting your job, would that interest you?

Hopefully, the answer to each of these questions is a resounding YES!

The solution, to preventing, avoiding, and escaping the aforementioned conditions, lies foundationally in the concept of pre-habilitation. Now is the time to pre-habilitate our jobs! We may not be able to avoid the ‘current’, but we can pre-habilitate our future to a great extent. Let’s ‘pre-habilitate’ questions 1-3 in order:

1. Pre-habilitation of working relationships begins with healthy boundaries. Healthy boundaries are marked and defined early on. If the boundaries have been muddied and are unclear, it is more difficult (but NOT impossible), to re-establish.  Healthy boundaries mean not sharing too much personal information with co-workers. Keep it mostly (if not all) business. Try to avoid visible emotional swings that promote your own loose lips.  If a co-worker wants to talk personal, it is polite to listen but with limits. Remember this is your job. If you are not a licensed professional counselor, don’t try to solve the problem. Listen, don’t say too much, and when their talking is concluded, politely excuse yourself from the conversation and get back to work. Limit getting too close to one person. Be equally friendly to all in your immediate environment, but do your best to keep your words few and your work plentiful.
2. Pre-habilitation of a less than desirable employer-employee relationship begins with hard and consistent work. Arrive at work ON TIME. At least 15 minutes early is on time. There is nothing more a boss dislikes than a chronically late employee. It sets the tone for an entire organization. If you want to have ‘boss problems,’ just make it a practice to be consistently late.  Another pre-habilitation concept is to NOT leave early. If you get paid for 8 hours, work 8 hours. This is reasonable and expected. This should not be something you are made to do rather something you choose to do because of your integrity. Don’t over extend lunch breaks. In other words, simply be ON TIME all the time. And lastly, don’t share your opinions with the boss or others unless specifically asked. If the boss wants your opinion, let him/her ask for it. Let your work product do the talking.
3. Pre-habilitation against gossip on the job is the easiest and most difficult at the same time. We all have a tendency to share information. The bottom line is this: If you don’t have something good to say about someone, don’t say it. When idle and unsubstantiated chatter begins, the story changes. It can destroy lives, reputations, and your employment. Get the facts before you speak. If the facts are not your business, stay OUT of it. If you do find out something that is a negative about someone, keep it to yourself. If the person in whom you are speaking is not present, the conversation does not need to take place. If it does, excuse yourself and choose to not be a part. Obviously the only caveat to this would be an internal, supervisory-directed investigation into a matter.  A common sense approach applies in this area as well as the golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

There you have it. We have utilized pre-habilitation as a management style in our employment to prevent some of the most dreaded consequences.

Here’s to being 4EverFit!

www.4everfitlife.com

By Mark Sherwood

This article is a second in a series of five on the subject of pre-habilitating your life. As you recall, the last article centered on pre-habilitating our personal lives. This one focuses on pre-habilitating our families.

As a reminder, pre-habilitation is a form of strength training designed to prevent injuries BEFORE they occur. However, this term can be effectively used in your personal life, family, business, employment, and church.  Pre-habilitation defined:  “It is the management style of incorporating proactive and preventative measures or actions designed to prevent mistakes, delays, deficiencies, and the development of unwanted business culture BEFORE they occur.”  – Mark

As we examine the elements of this style as it applies to our families, let’s begin, as usual, by asking a few questions:

1. If you could prevent having the horrible disappointment of communication problems with your spouse or significant other that resulted in over-the-top misunderstanding, would that appeal to you?
2. If you could avoid the pain of hearing shocking information about your child’s unexpectedly negligent or bad behavior, would you do it?
3. If you could escape the trauma of experiencing divorce, would that interest you?

Hopefully, the answer to each of these questions is a resounding YES!

The solution, to preventing, avoiding, and escaping the aforementioned conditions, lies foundationally in the concept of pre-habilitation. Now is the time to pre-habilitate our families! We may not be able to avoid the ‘current’, but we can pre-habilitate our future to a great extent. Let’s ‘pre-habilitate’ questions 1-3 in order:

1. Pre-habilitation of communication problems begins with setting aside a time to simply ‘talk and listen.’ Schedule a mutually convenient time with your spouse or significant other to discuss the day. This can be done in the evening before bed. I recommend allotting 10 minutes each to talk. During the 10 minutes, the other person is only to listen. This can be a time to discuss highlights, issues, needs for clarification, or expressions of gratitude. Make the ground rules clear, and make sure each person understands those rules. This is a time that must be carefully guarded. It is an appointment that must not be canceled absent exigent circumstances.
2. Pre-habilitation of being surprised about disparaging information about your child in similar to how you would handle communication with your spouse. This however, is a totally different level.  I recommend scheduling a daily family dinner time. This is a time in which the TV is off, dinner is on the table, and the family is enjoying a meal together. Each child is given the opportunity to share the events of their day – highlights, problems, struggles as well as issues with friends, teachers, and yes – parents. There should be no interruptions when the child speaks. However, a clear time limit must be held as other children need time as well. The parents can manage this effectively. If there are serious issues that need to be discussed in private, make time and opportunity for that to occur at the first available moment.
3. Pre-habilitation against divorce occurs at the outset of any pre-marriage relationship. Marriage is not like testing a car. It is serious business with amazing results from success and disastrous heartaches from failure. I recommend dating someone for at least 2 years. This may seem strange, but time will prevail in uncovering weaknesses and vulnerabilities. In accepting and loving these weaknesses and vulnerabilities, a deep love relationship can be forged. There should be common interests and parallel beliefs regarding faith. Having opposing faiths can drive a nearly insurmountable wedge. I also recommend a stringent counseling process, especially if this is the first marriage.

There you have it. We have utilized pre-habilitation as a management style in our family to prevent some of the most dreaded consequences.

Here’s to being 4EverFit!

www.4everfitlife.com