Posts Tagged ‘church leadership’
Can you put it all on a single table?
Ran across this quote on Seth Godin‘s site:
Tim Cook at Apple: “This is the most focused company I know of, am aware of, or have any knowledge of… We say no to good ideas every day.” Cook then pointed out to analysts that every single product the company makes would fit on the single conference table in front of him. “And we had revenue last year of $40 billion.”
What a challenge for churches. Can you put every single one of your ‘products’ on a single table? And is there that stamp of deepness, excellence on every single one of those items?
Much to ponder…
Tuesday Morning with my Leaders
Last month we looked at Mark 10. This month, Mark 11:1-26.
These were some of the thoughts shared this morning…
The same people that sang praises and Hosannas would sing Crucify in 6 days. Easy to blame fickleness on culture but these people weren’t just ‘culture.’ They were ‘believers’ of a sort, believers that Messiah had come and the time was now. Their expectations obviously weren’t met, hence the rejection of Jesus later in the week but the temptation to ‘revolt’ when my expectation isn’t met is there for me as well. Sometimes…often times…it is a good thing my expectation isn’t met. In the words of C.S. Lewis – I dream too small at times.
Jesus’ first order of business after the hype was the Temple Courts, not Pilate. This had to be the ultimate failed expectation of the crowd – Jesus going to clear the Temple Courts instead of the governmental office, Pilate, and the army. The Temple was home of worship, ‘good’ leaders, ‘moral’ leaders, their only sacred space in a world that had been taken over by the Romans. Why pick on the Temple leaders? Revolution was going to be different, not political or exterior but interior, spiritual, deeper, more dangerous than just kicking out Rome.
Jesus knew what he was going to do but waited one night before He did it. He curses the fig tree (more on that later) then goes to the Temple, sees that it was late and decided to come back in the morning. So Jesus whipping the Temple Courts into shape wasn’t a reactionary moment but a planned, thoughtfully bold move to rebuke and teach.
The cursing of the fig tree was visible reminder to the disciples of what is expected of them as leaders. Produce fruit. Doesn’t matter that the tree was in season or not, it was supposed to have shown some kind of hope to bear fruit. The Pharisees are linked to this tree – looks aren’t important – fruit is. The only way to produce fruit is to stay connected to the vine.
Faith and forgiveness are linked…somehow. Why does Jesus link his teaching on faith that moved mountains to forgiveness? What is the connection? Do our prayers lack power not so much because we lack faith but because we haven’t practiced forgiveness? As leaders, we will constantly deal with people failing to meet our expectations as well as us failing to meet theirs. Only way that situation is redeemable and fruit can be made in the middle of it is we have a culture of forgiveness. Maybe my prayer as a leader lacks power because I haven’t let go of some ‘injustice’ or failed expectation.
There is a time to be thoughtfully bold. Jesus moved boldy but not recklessly. It was a calculated risk. There was no other action he could have done to better communicate the kind of revolution he was really starting – one of the heart, not of policy. There was no better course of action to completely and utterly shatter the expectations of those following. Three things that strike me about clearing the Temple Courts. First, it was timely. Start of Passover Week, high crowds, high teaching moment. Second, it was bold.
But those two alone aren’t enough. It was morally right. That’s the key – it was the right thing to do, knocking down unnecessary barriers for those to get to God.
Loving this journey with the crew.
What’s Next or What’s Now?
A new read of mine is Perry Noble’s blog. He’s the lead pastor at a church called New Life in Carolina. HUGE mega church but he’s always an entertaining read. This morning he was a slap upside the head – doh! kinda read.
Here’s the line from his morning post that banged me up pretty good:
I personally believe that if church leaders are going to LEAD their churches to accomplish their full potential we are going to have to stop begging God for more opportunities and actually begin to maximize the ones He has already placed in front of us. Why would He trust us with what’s “next” if He can’t trust us with what’s now?
He’s right. And those words were crucial for me to hear…this morning…today. He won’t trust us with what is next if He can’t trust us with what is NOW.
I know Perry was talking about church leadership…and it’s easy to see the application. Focus on the basics, the ‘big rocks.’ Do what you CAN do now the best that you can. Don’t get distracted with other ‘good’ things if you can’t do the main thing well. I think every ministry team can use that in their area.
But what really got to me this morning was how it applies in our families. I’m prepping the next sermon in the Ephesians series and it’s the children/parents, slaves/owner passage. Train up your child in the LORD, NOW. Not next or when you have time or when it gets easier (it doesn’t) or when they are older. Focus on the NOW.
Let God take care of the NEXT.
The Past 30, The Next 30
30 days is a deceiving amount of time. Not enough or too long?
The Past 30
We celebrated 6 new believers. Had 4 new families join. Went Down Under with VBS. We revamped our student ministry. We invaded McCarter Elementary with over 1,000 school supplies. We made close to 100 nap mats for McCarter Kindergarten. We were invited to the first day of school over there to help pass them out. We hired a worship leader. Baptized 3 more new believers. Started training the next set of Life Group leaders in our Turbo Group. Almost done with the Bylaw revision. Said good-bye to Brandon (youth intern) as he goes off to finish his degree.
The Next 30
We’ll be done with the Bylaw revision. Done with the Turbo Group. Have at least 2 new Life Groups for people to connect to WH through. Have our new members class up and running. We’ll start our “I Want A New Marriage” series. And as impressive as each of those things are…it’s not really what I’m most amped about.
Yesterday, I challenged our congregation to spend the entire month of September in prayer about participating in eliminating the remaining debt at Western Hills. We want to start spending that money on ministry instead of sending it to the bank. After praying with our leaders for the past few weeks, I’m convinced now is the time to get rid of the remaining 73k in debt. It’s time because of the economy, because we are at a tipping point in our church, and because we’ll never a lasting impact on our community as long as we are in debt.
Here’s the truth of matter though – I’m just as excited about this month of prayer as I am the actually harvest. It’s 73,000 dollars. In God’s economy, that’s not a lot. I’m convinced He has the resources to deal with it. I’m more excited about what happens when God’s people humble themselves before the Lord to listen to HIS voice. I KNOW God is going to speak to us about more than just our finances.
That’s what is going to be amazing about the next 30 days. Listening to God…
Room Full of Leaders
Last night our house was invaded by twice as many people as we expected for our Turbo Group. Basically, it’s a room full of people who are passionate about God and people and want to be better at leading our Life Groups. We talked about the need for community, the obstacles of having it, the 5 key disciplines that have to happen in a Life Group for community to happen.
It was a humbling start to the process of creating a culture that reproduces fully-devoted followers of Jesus. At church that morning, we took the sign up list which only had 12 names on it and started adding up who told us they were coming. It topped out at 31. Amy asked me – how in the world are we going to get 31 people in our house? In the same room?
“I have no idea. I’ve never had 31 people want to show up for something like this. Are these people normal?”
No, they’re not normal and that’s exactly the way we like it.
Vick, Second Chances, and the Church
By now you’ve heard that the Philadelphia Eagles have signed Michael Vick. Yes, that Michael Vick. And the PR coming out of the NFL, locker rooms, management is a unified — “Everybody deserves a second chance. I’m glad he got one.” This comes on the same week that Dante Stallworth was suspended for at least a year from the NFL for killing a man while driving drunk. Will that same message come through next year for him?
As I’ve watched and listened to the press this week, my thoughts have consistently returned to the Church and how we treat our ‘prodigals.’ The NFL may just be modeling something for us…
While the rest of the media and league were concerned with if Vick should even be given this chance and the fallout if any organization took him on…Vick, Tony Dungy, and Roger Goodell were working behind the scenes to make sure that IF this was going to happen – the context would be perfect for success. Money wasn’t the issue, culture was the issue.
Look at the particulars of the situation. Andy Reid is a straight-up coach, has had to deal with his own family demons, he’s well-respected in the league, and he didn’t blink about benching Donovan McNabb. There are no star treatments in Philly. Vick will get a fair shake and he won’t be treated like a star.
There’s no QB question as to who the face of the organization is in Philly – Donovan is the man. Vick will be a role player at best. End of story. Philly doesn’t worry about selling tickets, they already do that. It’s a blue collar town. Vick has allowed Tony Dungy full access to his life, a mentor. I promise you this alone has MASSIVE weight in the NFL. Dungy may be the most respected man inside (and outside) the league. Reid and Eagle ownership have given Tony Dungy all-access to the Eagle’s organization and to Vick.
Vick, Dungy, and Goodell have done everything they could to set Vick up to win. Should he even be given this chance? A chance to resume a normal life, to work, and get on with his life? Absolutely. A chance to be the leader and the face of a franchise? Never again. And that is exactly what those three have done…the pressure to lead a team or be the face of an organization is not on Vick. The responsibility shouldn’t be on him either, he blew that chance. But he can still contribute.
Now the ball is in Vick’s hands. And the cost is minimal to the Eagles and the NFL. If Vick fails this time, it will cost him everything. It won’t sink the Eagles or the NFL. They are going to do all that they can to help him but ultimately he has to make the decisions and keep walking the path.
It’s almost the perfect example for the church. How To Restore A Fallen Brother/Sister… Surround him with a mentor that will speak truth into their life, no holds barred. Get with the leadership to make sure everyone is on the same page. Put person back in context with minimum risk to the organization, maximum opportunity for the person. Have clear roles and understanding in that context. Have a clear leader to report to. Have clear consequences if it doesn’t work out. Have maximum vulnerability and authenticity in that context. Take the risk together.
Leadership Summit Preview
Went to Leadership Summit lunch today. It was a preview of this year’s Leadership Summit.
Highlights of the day for me…
Riding with David Manner.
David Manner is our interim Worship Pastor. He’s also a long-time acquaintance that is fast becoming a deep friend. Great think time.
Reconnecting with Merl Mees
Merl was pastor at Western Hills for 17 years. I almost went to work with him/for him/on him. We laughed pretty hard today and he’s one of those guys you can hit 900 mph with almost instantly. Every time I talk to him, I learn something. The fact that he gives me that kind of access still astounds me.
Hearing Tim Keller will be at the Leadership Summit
Tim Keller preached the one sermon that rocked me most – Seek to prosper the city. He’s got another one in the works concerning Luke 15 and the two prodigal sons.
Bono, part 2
Bono will be at the Leadership Summit again this year. His first trip was in 2006 and he ripped the church for ignoring AIDS and Africa. Bill asked him back for a report card check. Bono agreed and sent a video tease as well.
“I knew the church was a sleeping giant, wondering what or who would wake her. What I wasn’t prepared for was how fast the giant could move.”
I’m planning on going…who wants to go with?
August 6-7, 2009.
Why I’ll never ship with DHL
I order some software from Apple and they shipped it with DHL. It’s hard for me to say anything negative about Apple in general because they are so awesome. But this is one of those times.
I’ve been tracking the package via DHL’s online tracking system. It hit Topeka today and I was trying to work out with the courier a time to meet them since our office is closed. Here’s where the trouble began. I entered my tracking number and the package was gone. Not gone as in – we’ve already delivered it – but gone as in – it doesn’t exist.
I call. They only do international shipments, not domestic. The domestic service doesn’t take phone calls, only emails. The international only takes phone calls. Think about this for a moment and you will see the ridiculousness of this policy.
The email ‘service’ will respond within 24 hours.
That is so helpful. NOT.
So I get online to use the helpful chat service. They can’t find the package. Doesn’t exist. It does, I’m looking at the screen right now, how can you not see it? Let me send you the email with the screen shot AND the email I have from Apple. They can’t take email or phone calls – just the chat.
Then they ask if I would take a customer service survey. And I took said survey. They didn’t have numbers low enough.It just angers me deeply. I need help. I need their help, have paid for their help and then they act like it’s my fault that I’m not getting the help I need.
I thought about the church and this situation as well. How many times has that same mentality been communicated? A guest walks in not knowing where to go, where to take the kids, where to sit, where to get coffee and 15 people pass them before offering to help, offering to walk with them. Churches so set in their system of doing things, they now exist to serve themselves instead of the ‘customer.’
Last night, Stephen and I changed up the seating in our worship center/auditorium/theater/coffee shop place. We did it at first to be a bit more creative in our series but then as I walked around I realized our guests are probably going to like the new set up better than the old. Not because it’s different but because it’s more cozy, less formal, less threatening. It feels more akin to a theater in the round than just straight rows of chairs. I started thinking of the places I sit in straight rows of chairs…funeral homes, weddings, school board meetings…I’m sensing a pattern, here.
So the next time I meet a new church goer…I’m going to be the ANTI-DHL.
Monday’s Aren’t Great…unless you have them off
I closed the office yesterday. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday is worthy of the office being closed. Especially for a church.
But normally Mondays aren’t a great day for pastors. Drained from Sunday, dealing with all the ‘what ifs’ and realizing that you get to start it all over again this week.
I remember Mondays being particular hard for Al – my senior pastor in Emporia. Especially in the winter. Al was the author of some of the greatest advice I’ve ever received. I asked once if he felt that bad, why didn’t he just take Monday off.
If I feel this bad, I might as well work.
I used to think – what’s so horrible about Mondays? I don’t get it. I think I’m getting it now.
It’s not the blank sheet of paper that represents next week’s sermon. At least for me it isn’t. I love that part of this calling – the studying, the crafting, the digging, the listening, the wrestling with God during the week. That’s the great part. I’m guessing that most teachers/pastors would agree.
It’s not the touches of ministry – grabbing coffee with someone who is struggling to hear God, grabbing face time with a leader who is trying to be more effective in ministry, praying with a family who is facing a health crisis, or listening to someone tell their story. Those can be time consuming but more often than not – it feeds your soul.
It’s the ‘organizational junk.’Â The nuts and bolts of the machine that we call ‘church.’Â The by-laws are out of date, need to be rewritten, our organizational structure needs changed, the processes of ‘said’ ministry needs to be revamped.
Every church I’ve ever been in has had it. So it’s not exactly this great big secret.
That is what looms so large on Monday mornings…or Tuesdays if you happen to have Monday off. Those things seem larger than what they really are on those mornings. If I’m not careful, I’ll let it consume me an steal me from what I’m really called and equipped to do. If we’re all not careful, they’ll take center stage and begin to define us instead of us defining them.
Wondering Aloud On A Wednesday Afternoon
I wonder what would happen in a church if for 365 days her key leaders did nothing but did life with 3 or 4 others? They would worship together, they would get together once a week to eat and ask each other hard, vulnerable, raw questions, and they had 1 ministry they poured into? Ministry being defined as serving others in the name of Jesus. Could be inside or outside the church walls but just 1.
I wonder what would happen if we did that at Western Hills?
I’m not ready to pull the trigger on the idea yet. Just thinking out loud – which is risky in doing, especially with a ‘live studio congregation.’
People here aren’t all that different than people there. Generally speaking, we are frazzled, hurried, hassled, irritated, running around from one event to the next. There is no rhythm with Christ. It’s sports, kids, work. The activity was supposed to make us better, more productive, happier but it’s having the exact opposite effect.
The question I wrestle with is this – what are we saying in our role as a spiritual voice in the middle of this? What are elevating as ‘right’ and ‘good’ – not just with our words but our calendar, our pace? Are we making it easier for people to listen and respond to the Spirit?
No answers coming clear today.
Questions for Churches
I’ve had a couple of you email me asking me what questions did I ask Western Hills.
Here they are…
If you were forced to describe Western Hills (as she is today) in a single word, what word would each of you use? What words would you use to describe what you would like her to be?
What has been the biggest lesson learned in the last year?
As you dream about the future, what do you think is the greatest opportunity ahead? What do you think will be the greatest obstacle in getting there?
If money were no object, what would be the one thing you would want to do this next year?
What does ‘success’ look like for your church?
How are decisions made at Western Hills?
Tell me of a ministry decision where there was sharp disagreement and how that was worked out.
What kind of voice does your current staff have in the hiring of the next pastor?
If for some reason Western Hills burned to the ground, how would the community around you be affected?
Every church and culture has a set of unspoken values and ‘rules.’ What unspoken insights does the next pastor need to know?
How is Western Hills currently involved in both local and foreign missions?
What would you say are the biggest needs of your city? How is Western Hills addressing those needs?
Relational Nature of Church?
This is becoming one of those posts that is gaining a life of its own. In the comments I made this observation – the double edged sword of working with non-profits.
Volunteers are the life blood of any non-profit. A good volunteer can be worth two paid workers. They are there because they believe in the mission (ideally) of the organization. It’s impossible to put a price tag on that kind of dedication.
The flip side of this is that you can’t fire a volunteer. Not without some heavy consequences. Why would you want to get rid of a volunteer? Same reasons companies fire workers – unproductive, cancer on the team, personality conflicts, can’t get on board with vision, whatever. To remove a volunteer comes at a high cost in terms of relational equity and emotional energy
What makes this situation even more dicier is this – most leaders in non-profits lead with benefits, not mission. What I mean is we ‘manipulate/recruit people to serve by extolling all of the benefits of serving, not the mission itself.
When this happens – we set ourselves up for failure because at some point, everything changes. A program or trip that once was the greatest thing in the world is no longer needed or useful. Or has to be drastically overhauled. Now we are ‘taking away’ in their minds the core of why they volunteered. They never saw the program as a tool to accomplish the mission. They saw it AS THE MISSION. And some of that confusion has to fall on us – we cast it in that light to start with.
Don’t get me wrong – the relational aspect of ministry is one of the richest, deepest experiences ever. It’s awesome and I have friends all over the country that are close to prove it. But it’s not THE MISSION of ministry. It’s an awesome benefit and at times it IS why we keep doing what we’re doing, especially in those dark times.
But the ultimate point of what we do is to connect people to Jesus and as leaders our biggest contribution to this is keeping this in front of our people, all the time in ways they get it and has meaning.
Going To Topeka, Kansas
After a long process of hide and seek with God, we’re heading to Topeka, Kansas for me to be the Lead Pastor at Western Hills Baptist Church.
We told the students and our ministry team leaders this past week. The slow leak is happening on Facebook. We’re telling the rest of the congregation this morning.
It wasn’t part of “The Plan” to leave Pinecrest, Parker, or this beautiful state. But someone famous once said “We make plans and God laughs.” Or maybe someone famous didn’t say it and it’s one of those quotes that really isn’t a quote, everyone just thinks it’s a quote.
The long journey of how we got to Western Hills is told here. We’ve experience polar opposite sets of emotions through this process but we’re confident this is God’s call.
There will be a lot of dinners, lunches, coffees, thank yous, tears and laughter in the next few weeks ahead.
Our last Sunday at Pinecrest will be December 28th (our 17 year wedding anniversary).
Where Are The Workers?
Our student ministry is growing. I mean…really growing.
Last night we had close to 50 students, by far the largest night we’ve had at Pinecrest.
We had 3 volunteers. 3. THREE.
Granted, we were missing two because of Canadian Thanksgiving. (All this time I thought of Canada as our 51st state. Now that I have a Canadian on the team, I’m learning they are a sovereign country and have their own holidays in which families actually get together. It’s a shock. But I digress.)
Last night a well-meaning individual suggested to just “stand up in front of the church and ask for volunteers.” After all, we need workers, right? How much do you compromise just because you need the warm body?
Last night was crazy but it worked. Get the wrong person on the team and all of a sudden crazy turns into disaster. Crazy – we can deal with. Disaster – not so much.
We’ll take inexperienced people who are teachable. I have some great workers that can mentor/train for a season before throwing them to the deep end. But I can’t have people who already know all there is to know about student ministry and walk around like the Gestapo.
Or can I? Is that part of leadership? The vets shaping and discipling the Gestapo youth worker into something more, something deeper than what is there at the present? Do you take the chance of conflict for the possible reward of a great volunteer? Have I critiqued my own answer with these questions?
Oasis: Intial Impressions
After the conference I was struck with a couple of things.
First – and I don’t say this judgmentally but a “it is what it is” thing – there seems to be more and more under-equipped pastors serving in our churches.
That’s not a slam on youth pastors. It’s a slam on two things – our seminaries/colleges and senior/lead pastors. Seminaries/Colleges are easy targets and I’ve come to the realization that there are some things they can do well (teach sound theology, Bible, skills, how to study, academics) and there are some they just don’t get and won’t get (practical life on life experience, leadership training, common sense).
The bigger slam is on the leadership culture and team of the local church. When a church hires a new youth pastor (any staff really), the primary job of that lead pastoral/elder team becomes developing and deepening that person you just hired. It means relational investment, professional investment. It means that a lead pastor’s primary job is NOT all the other stuff but investing in the life of his team and creating a culture around that team that develops people, not run the church.
And that’s what I heard this week…a bunch of guys in churches where the focus of the pastor/team is running the church, not developing people. And it’s killing their souls.
For me – it was a huge eye-opener and a moment of thanks for guys like Gene Wilkes, Mark Schartzman, and Ray Schwartz. Yes…we “run” the church but those guys spent just as much time in developing people. Especially, Mark Schatzman.
Second, because of this void, most church staffs are just as broken and dysfunctional as the families they serve. If a pastor can’t be real around the office because he has to walk on eggshells…that church is in deep weeds.
Third, this lack of leadership and authentic community around the staff team is the greatest crisis facing our churches – not the economic situation, political climate, or post-christian/modern/emergent/e-i-e-i-o garbage.
thoughts? comments?
Tale of Two Services
Never in my life have I crashed landed a plane like I did yesterday.
First service was awesome. Great energy, great interaction, and the sermon – if I do say so myself – was very good. (Hopefully, this is the one they put on the web.)
Second service was where the crash happened.
It started well with the music, crowd involvement was not as high as first service but that’s normal here. One of the framing questions we asked during the music was for our people to write their own definition of worship. To start the sermon, I asked for folks to share their definitions with the rest of us.
That’s when I first noticed it. Music. Light, but distinct. Music playing in the monitors. It happens every now and then so I figured the sound guys would hear it and fix it.
After the definitions, it was still playing but no one else seem to hear it. Maybe it was the music from our Kids Church – in which case it will stop in a few minutes.
I keep talking. I still hear the music every now and then. Right when I think they’ve fixed it, I hear it again. I hit one of those pauses in the sermon to let the room think about this awesome point that I just made but I can’t think about this awesome point because I then hear Lincoln Brewster rip open a guitar lead in the monitors behind me.
I look up to the sound guys and they are scrambling eggs. They are pushing buttons, twisting knobs, the audience turns around.
“We got it fixed. We got it!”
We still hear music. “I don’t think so because we can still hear music.”
I try to get back into the rhythm of the talk and I look at my notes and it’s white paper to my eyes. I’ve got nothing. I try to remember what I had just said. I’ve got nothing.
I look into the audience. I’ve got nothing.
So instead of trying to fake my way through it…I just told everyone – “I’m so distracted and lost right now. I’m going to pray for a few minutes, if you don’t mind.” I stayed on the stage, prayed out loud…”
“Father – I am completely and utterly lost in my notes and in my thoughts. For whatever reason, I let this irritating little music get the best of me and I’m done. I’ve got nothing else. So, would you show up in a big way in the next 5 seconds and get rid of the music, refocus my mind, and put your word in my mouth.”
I don’t really remember anything else about the service. The good news is that given the kind of atmosphere we have at Pinecrest, it probably wasn’t as horrible as I thought it was. We’ve had “oops – hit the restart button” moments before and it phases no one. We just kinda laugh and plow on. It’s just different when you are in one of those moments…right?
A sincere apology to all who read this blog and was in second service yesterday.