LEADERSHIP
HOW TO TAKE A STAND
12/07/11 11
It seems that life is full of times when we need to take a stand. If you peruse the latest news you see all sorts of issues involving people taking a stand. The “Occupy Wall Street” people have been taking a stand for more than two months. Now authorities seem to be taking a stand against them. The Penn State Football program is in chaos because they didn’t take a stand when they should have, so now they are taking a stand and the whole thing is a mess. The NBA was at a stand-off—billionaires and millionaires taking stands against each other. The Congressional “Super” committee deadlocked as both sides refused to back down from their stands.
Personally we often find ourselves needing to take a stand. It might be boundaries at home, curfews for the kids, communicating what we can and can’t do with the boss, or holding those who work for us accountable. As church leaders taking a stand is simply a regular part of life and ministry. We often find ourselves in the unenviable position of taking a stand.
Malcolm X is credited for the line: “If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.”
And Martin Luther put it this way, “Here I stand; I can do no other.”
Darius’ stand was purely political, spurred on by insecure politicians and it ended up making the king look bad. I understand that we have to be aware of politics in our world and in our organizations, but whenever I have taken a political stand, I have made myself look bad.
There’s an interesting note in Daniel 5 where Daniel has an opportunity to take a stand on money. But he passes:
Daniel answered the king, "You can keep your gifts, or give them to someone else. But I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.—Daniel 5:17 (TMV)
I have taken a stand on money a few times in my life. And I have regretted every one of those stands. I have looked foolish, selfish and even a bit ridiculous.
I got a kick out of the NBA lockout negotiations when a few weeks ago it came out that the owners were taking a stand at wanting 50% of revenues and the players were taking a stand at 52%. It became so heated that talks broke down, both sides left and terms like “nuclear winter” “cancelling the season” were being thrown about. Hmmm, 50 vs 52, what could possibly be a solution? It was clear neither side was smarter than a fifth-grader because it took them several more weeks to agree on 51%.
Jim Rome concludes, “As soon as you say, ‘It’s not about the money,’ we know it’s all about the money.”
I don’t see ultimatums from Daniel, or even his friends. Daniel’s tone is very soft when he takes a stand on vegetables in chapter 1. And in chapter 6 he doesn’t say a thing before being thrown into a fiery furnace. He shows that we can take a stand without laying down ultimatums. The kings who throw down the gauntlet in the Daniel story are the ones who look bad.
Be careful!
Dumb joke #1: Two unemployed guys are talking. One says, "I'm going to become a lion tamer." The other replies, "That's crazy, you don't know nothing about no lion taming."
"Yes I do!"
"Well, OK, answer me this. When one of those lions comes at you all roaring and biting, what you gonna do?"
"Well, then I take that big chair they all carry, and I stick it in his face until he backs down."
"Well, what if the lion takes that big paw, and hooks the chair with them big claws, and throws that chair out of the cage? What do you do then?"
"Well, then I take that whip they all carry, and I whip him and whip him until he backs down."
"Well, what if that lion bites that whip with his big teeth, and bites it in two? What you gonna do then?"
"Well, then I take that gun they all carry, and I shoot him."
"Well, what if that gun doesn't work? What will you do then?"
"Well, then I pick up some of the poop that's on the bottom of the cage, and I throw it in his eyes, and I run out of the cage."
"Well, what if there ain't no poop in the bottom of the cage? What you gonna do then?"
"Well, that's dumb. Cause if that lion comes at me, and he throws the chair out of the cage, and he bites the whip in two, and my gun don't work, there's going to be some poop on the bottom of that cage, you can bet on that."
Be careful, when we take a stand, there is often, well…poop. So, proceed with caution!
Abraham Lincoln advised, “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.
2. Ask for Permission
Daniel 1 shows that a great way to take a stand is to ask permission to take that stand:
But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods….
Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.—Daniel 1:8-13 (NLT)
Often we can accomplish more with a “suggestion” than with an ultimatum.
“Boundaries” authors Henry Cloud and John Townsend say that a great way to get started on boundaries is to simply ask for permission: “Do me a favor, let me say “No’ this time.”
We don’t have to announce to our in-laws, “We are never going to your house for the holidays again!” We can simply ask, “Do us a favor, let us say ‘No’ for this year.”
3. Value the relationship
When Daniel was protected from the fiery finance we read:
The king was overjoyed—Daniel 6:23 (NLT)
It is amazing to me that in both cases where Daniel took a stand, the authorities he took a stand against ended up on his side. Daniel was able to take a stand without losing the relationship.
I guess I always felt that taking a stand must mean that the relationship was now on the line.
Winston Churchill said, “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
But Daniel shows that taking a stand doesn’t necessarily mean creating enemies. He took a stand and made friends in the process. Which leads to the next point:
4. Get some friends
The story of Daniel reminds us that it is a lot easier to take a stand when we have friends like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego taking a stand next to or near to us.
Dumb joke #2: A rather well-built man saw an advertisement for a job at the zoo. When he went there, he was horrified to find that the only job they had open was for somebody to play the part of a monkey. A lot of children were coming in the next few days, and the zoo, having no monkeys, needed someone to impersonate one. Since money was tight, the man decided he would take the job. He arrived before sunrise, got into the monkey outfit, and slipped into his cage. Finally, day dawned, and the children came. All he had to do was pensively pace the floor, look rather adept at swinging between trees, and eat the peanuts and bananas whenever they were fed to him. After eight or ten hours, he became thoroughly exhausted. The bananas were getting the better of him. As he swung from one tree to another, rather nauseated, he slipped and fell into the lion's den next door. He shouted, "Help! Help!" The lion leaned over and said, "If you don’t keep quiet, we'll both lose our jobs."
That great theologian Eminem says, “I'm not afraid to take a stand. Everybody, come take my hand. We'll walk this road together, through the storm, whatever weather, cold or warm. Just lettin’ you know that, you're not alone. Holla’ if you feel like you've been down the same road.”
I must admit that I don’t often quote Eminem and I don’t even know the tune to that rap, but he packs a point—taking a stand works best as a team sport.
That is why we have a GHC Network: We are here to support each other, to help each other, and to take a stand with each other.
5. Let God Be God
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”—Daniel 3:16-18 (NLT)
Too often we make demands on God when we take a stand. These men knew God was able to do anything. He could save them, but even if he decided not to, they were okay because they trusted God to do what he wants.
Recently the St. Petersburg Times reported the death of a Ukrainian man who was mauled by a lioness at the Kiev Zoo. He encountered the animal on purpose, believing that God would protect him. A zoo official said the man lowered himself by a rope into a concrete enclosure holding four lions. Shouting, "God will save me, if he exists," the man took off his shoes and strode toward the animals. One lioness came to meet him. She knocked him down and quickly severed his carotid artery. Zoo officials stated that the incident—which occurred in front of a large crowd—was the first of its kind.
God has my back, he has your back. But let’s recognize that taking a stand may end up with us in the lion’s den, in the fiery furnace, or in bigger trouble. God can save us and protect us, but that’s his choice, not ours.
6. Go for it.
I like this quote from Lynne Twist: “When you take a stand, it actually does shift the whole universe and unexpected, unpredictable things happen.”
Daniel’s stand on what he would eat set him up for a promotion, and his stand on trusting God only set the pace for future greatness. We all face situations where we have to take a stand, it might not be comfortable, but we have to do it.
Sometimes we have to take a stand, when that time comes, go for it.
Personally we often find ourselves needing to take a stand. It might be boundaries at home, curfews for the kids, communicating what we can and can’t do with the boss, or holding those who work for us accountable. As church leaders taking a stand is simply a regular part of life and ministry. We often find ourselves in the unenviable position of taking a stand.
Malcolm X is credited for the line: “If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.”
And Martin Luther put it this way, “Here I stand; I can do no other.”
SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO TAKE A STAND.
The question is how? How can we take a stand?
One of the best examples I know of properly taking a stand is the prophet Daniel. In the first six chapters of the book of Daniel we see some great examples of how to take a stand. Daniel is presented with customs outside of his culture and faith, so he takes a stand. His three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego have to take a stand against worshipping a gold statue, and Daniel has to take a stand about to whom he can pray.
Sometimes we have to take a stand. Here some suggestion on how from Daniel:
1. Be Careful
Be bold in what you stand for, but be careful what you fall for.
The story of Daniel gives us great insight on what to stand for—and what not to stand for. King Darius, in chapter 6, makes a huge mistake by taking a political stand on something silly.
All of your officials, leaders, advisors, and governors agree that you should make a law forbidding anyone to pray to any god or human except you for the next thirty days. Everyone who disobeys this law must be thrown into a pit of lions. Order this to be written and then sign it, so it cannot be changed, just as no written law of the Medes and Persians can be changed." So King Darius made the law and had it written down. —Daniel 6:7-9 (CEV)
When the king realizes his political stand had endangered Daniel, we read:
The king was deeply troubled—Daniel 6:14 (NLT)
Sometimes we have to take a stand, and sometimes we don’t.
Winston Churchill put it this way: “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
And Thomas Jefferson had a great line: “In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.”
The book of Daniel suggests we be very careful about taking stands. Here’s some issues to watch out for:
Darius’ stand was purely political, spurred on by insecure politicians and it ended up making the king look bad. I understand that we have to be aware of politics in our world and in our organizations, but whenever I have taken a political stand, I have made myself look bad.
There’s an interesting note in Daniel 5 where Daniel has an opportunity to take a stand on money. But he passes:
Daniel answered the king, "You can keep your gifts, or give them to someone else. But I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.—Daniel 5:17 (TMV)
I have taken a stand on money a few times in my life. And I have regretted every one of those stands. I have looked foolish, selfish and even a bit ridiculous.
I got a kick out of the NBA lockout negotiations when a few weeks ago it came out that the owners were taking a stand at wanting 50% of revenues and the players were taking a stand at 52%. It became so heated that talks broke down, both sides left and terms like “nuclear winter” “cancelling the season” were being thrown about. Hmmm, 50 vs 52, what could possibly be a solution? It was clear neither side was smarter than a fifth-grader because it took them several more weeks to agree on 51%.
Jim Rome concludes, “As soon as you say, ‘It’s not about the money,’ we know it’s all about the money.”
I don’t see ultimatums from Daniel, or even his friends. Daniel’s tone is very soft when he takes a stand on vegetables in chapter 1. And in chapter 6 he doesn’t say a thing before being thrown into a fiery furnace. He shows that we can take a stand without laying down ultimatums. The kings who throw down the gauntlet in the Daniel story are the ones who look bad.
Be careful!
Dumb joke #1: Two unemployed guys are talking. One says, "I'm going to become a lion tamer." The other replies, "That's crazy, you don't know nothing about no lion taming."
"Yes I do!"
"Well, OK, answer me this. When one of those lions comes at you all roaring and biting, what you gonna do?"
"Well, then I take that big chair they all carry, and I stick it in his face until he backs down."
"Well, what if the lion takes that big paw, and hooks the chair with them big claws, and throws that chair out of the cage? What do you do then?"
"Well, then I take that whip they all carry, and I whip him and whip him until he backs down."
"Well, what if that lion bites that whip with his big teeth, and bites it in two? What you gonna do then?"
"Well, then I take that gun they all carry, and I shoot him."
"Well, what if that gun doesn't work? What will you do then?"
"Well, then I pick up some of the poop that's on the bottom of the cage, and I throw it in his eyes, and I run out of the cage."
"Well, what if there ain't no poop in the bottom of the cage? What you gonna do then?"
"Well, that's dumb. Cause if that lion comes at me, and he throws the chair out of the cage, and he bites the whip in two, and my gun don't work, there's going to be some poop on the bottom of that cage, you can bet on that."
Be careful, when we take a stand, there is often, well…poop. So, proceed with caution!
Abraham Lincoln advised, “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.
2. Ask for Permission
Daniel 1 shows that a great way to take a stand is to ask permission to take that stand:
But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods….
Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.—Daniel 1:8-13 (NLT)
Often we can accomplish more with a “suggestion” than with an ultimatum.
“Boundaries” authors Henry Cloud and John Townsend say that a great way to get started on boundaries is to simply ask for permission: “Do me a favor, let me say “No’ this time.”
We don’t have to announce to our in-laws, “We are never going to your house for the holidays again!” We can simply ask, “Do us a favor, let us say ‘No’ for this year.”
3. Value the relationship
When Daniel was protected from the fiery finance we read:
The king was overjoyed—Daniel 6:23 (NLT)
It is amazing to me that in both cases where Daniel took a stand, the authorities he took a stand against ended up on his side. Daniel was able to take a stand without losing the relationship.
I guess I always felt that taking a stand must mean that the relationship was now on the line.
Winston Churchill said, “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
But Daniel shows that taking a stand doesn’t necessarily mean creating enemies. He took a stand and made friends in the process. Which leads to the next point:
4. Get some friends
The story of Daniel reminds us that it is a lot easier to take a stand when we have friends like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego taking a stand next to or near to us.
Dumb joke #2: A rather well-built man saw an advertisement for a job at the zoo. When he went there, he was horrified to find that the only job they had open was for somebody to play the part of a monkey. A lot of children were coming in the next few days, and the zoo, having no monkeys, needed someone to impersonate one. Since money was tight, the man decided he would take the job. He arrived before sunrise, got into the monkey outfit, and slipped into his cage. Finally, day dawned, and the children came. All he had to do was pensively pace the floor, look rather adept at swinging between trees, and eat the peanuts and bananas whenever they were fed to him. After eight or ten hours, he became thoroughly exhausted. The bananas were getting the better of him. As he swung from one tree to another, rather nauseated, he slipped and fell into the lion's den next door. He shouted, "Help! Help!" The lion leaned over and said, "If you don’t keep quiet, we'll both lose our jobs."
That great theologian Eminem says, “I'm not afraid to take a stand. Everybody, come take my hand. We'll walk this road together, through the storm, whatever weather, cold or warm. Just lettin’ you know that, you're not alone. Holla’ if you feel like you've been down the same road.”
I must admit that I don’t often quote Eminem and I don’t even know the tune to that rap, but he packs a point—taking a stand works best as a team sport.
That is why we have a GHC Network: We are here to support each other, to help each other, and to take a stand with each other.
5. Let God Be God
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”—Daniel 3:16-18 (NLT)
Too often we make demands on God when we take a stand. These men knew God was able to do anything. He could save them, but even if he decided not to, they were okay because they trusted God to do what he wants.
Recently the St. Petersburg Times reported the death of a Ukrainian man who was mauled by a lioness at the Kiev Zoo. He encountered the animal on purpose, believing that God would protect him. A zoo official said the man lowered himself by a rope into a concrete enclosure holding four lions. Shouting, "God will save me, if he exists," the man took off his shoes and strode toward the animals. One lioness came to meet him. She knocked him down and quickly severed his carotid artery. Zoo officials stated that the incident—which occurred in front of a large crowd—was the first of its kind.
God has my back, he has your back. But let’s recognize that taking a stand may end up with us in the lion’s den, in the fiery furnace, or in bigger trouble. God can save us and protect us, but that’s his choice, not ours.
6. Go for it.
I like this quote from Lynne Twist: “When you take a stand, it actually does shift the whole universe and unexpected, unpredictable things happen.”
Daniel’s stand on what he would eat set him up for a promotion, and his stand on trusting God only set the pace for future greatness. We all face situations where we have to take a stand, it might not be comfortable, but we have to do it.
Sometimes we have to take a stand, when that time comes, go for it.
COACHING CHANGES
11/10/11 11
Here are some of my favorite quotes about coaching:
“Coaching is not easy. It's like a nervous breakdown with a paycheck.”--Pat Williams
“Coaching is easy. Winning is the hard part.”--Elgin Baylor
“All coaching is, is taking a player where he can't take himself.”--Bill McCartney
“Coaching is nothing more than eliminating mistakes before you get fired.”--Lou Holtz
“Players suffer coaching changes all the time; it's life.”--Michael Wilbon
From time to time teams need to make some coaching changes. The Growing Healthy Churches Network has decided to streamline our coaching system. We’re putting the bulk of the burden on the client to make sure he or she is getting what they need from the relationship. I will be talking further about these coaching changes at our upcoming GHCN Clusters.
In the meantime, here is a new Job Description for GHC Coaches and Planters/Clients:
THE COACH
● Contact the church planter/client at least once per month
● Ask these questions: How are you doing? (family, physically, spiritually, emotionally...) What are your wins? Where are you struggling? What will you do about it? (Accountability and starting point for next meeting) How can I help you? How can I pray for you?
● Consistently attend clusters and events to promote face to face contact
● Be available to the planter
● Communicate special needs to the GHC Network staff
THE PLANTER
● Choose your coach
● See that the coach is paid (Let the GHCN staff know who you have chosen as a coach, or fulfill your “Pay as you go”, or other contract arrangement.)
● Consistently attend clusters and events to promote face to face contact
● Take the initiative to contact your coach
● Communicate special needs to the GHC staff
● Change coaches when needed
THE TEAM PARTY
07/06/11 11
Larry Osborne tells about how the Pony Express made a decision to take care of the horses, even if it meant that the mail ended up being late. They realized that without the ponies there would be no mail, so pony-care was crucial. Osborne concluded that in ministry, we need to “take care of the horses”--care for our leaders, volunteers and staff, because without them we wouldn’t be able to minister.
So, how do we take care of staff, leaders, and volunteers?
For many years I went with the Carl George, “meta-church” model of having a monthly Vision/Huddle/Skill (VHS) time. We would gather as many workers and leaders as we could for an evening meeting where I would go over the Vision, then different ministry areas (youth, children’s ministry, development, small group leaders…) would Huddle up to discuss their ministries, and we would end with someone leading a teaching time on developing ministry Skill.
I used this format for two church starts, and we had a VHS meeting every month. Nehemiah teaches that vision leaks so we kept plugging away at the regular leadership/worker meetings.
One of the issues we struggled with was requiring our participants to be at another meeting in addition to attending church, being involved in a small group, and involvement in their particular area.
So, we shortened the meeting time, and brought the name and format up-to-date by calling it, DVD: Dreaming/Vision/Debriefing. We dropped the skill time and went with more of a vision and huddle time.
But we tended to have sporadic attendance. Some months we had a good number of leaders there, but often it was the responsible folks who always showed up and probably needed another meeting less than anyone.
So, we made another shift. We decided to try a right after the last service on Sunday approach--people, most leaders and workers were already available anyway. And again we changed the name. We borrowed the term OTA from the National Football League. They have OTAs during the off-season to keep players connected. OTA stands for Organized Team Activities.
When we moved the leader care meeting to right after our last service on Sunday attendance jumped. We were on to something. But no one but me liked the lame name and no one at all understood what OTA meant.
So, we continued to tweak. Our youth pastor suggested that we used the term party and so we changed the format to more of a party theme and used the term, “Team Party.” Attendance skyrocketed. More leaders and servers felt cared for, and the buzz from leaders and workers has continued to grow.
Here are some of the things we’ve learned.
Convenient Time. We start immediately after the second service. Our special projects team transforms our sanctuary into a party room before everyone is out--we start within five minutes of the last “Amen” at the last service with a prayer for the food.
Food is Key. Whoever heard of a party without food? We’ve done leadership care meetings in restaurants all over our town so maybe good food is a value for us. It is easier now that we’re in a 24/7 facility as our café team always serves something we can use in the promotion of the event, like a barbecue or food from a favorite local eatery.
Clear Invitation. It took me fifteen years to figure out that people never understood what VHS, DVD or OTA stood for. They know what a team party is, a party for the team. So we invite anyone who is serving, anyone who is leading, anyone who wants to serve or lead, and anyone who wants lunch.
Fun Atmosphere. We have party music playing. We start introductions while folks are standing in line getting their food. Everyone introduces him or herself and announces what ministry they serve in or if they are a free agent.
Vision Reminder. I do a short (ten minutes) presentation on what our vision is. We do our team parties at the beginning of every quarter and we emphasize the big events of the quarter. I try to get us back to our mission as well as give everyone a list of upcoming messages and highlights.
Celebrate Wins. Too often we forget to take the time to celebrate the big and small victories in ministry. At every team party we take time for the team to identify the wins from the last quarter. These parties give us an opportunity to celebrate corporately some of the cool stiff God is doing that we may otherwise miss. Each ministry director and staffer is commissioned to come with at least one story of victory to share, and we open this up to everyone too. The positive momentum gained from this part of the party is enough in itself to make throwing these parties worthwhile. We use the parties to present special awards and even random giveaways to our workers too.
Highlight Opportunities. At the team party each staffer and area director is asked to announce entry level positions in their ministry. And we talk about areas of ministry where we are looking for leaders as well. The Team Party has been a primary recruitment place, and a great venue to connect leaders and potential servers.
Keep Tweaking. I suspect what works in caring for leaders is rather fluid. Things change, culture changes, so the approach needs to keep changing. We’ve gone through several phases and we figure we will keep tweaking in the future.
So, how do we take care of staff, leaders, and volunteers?
For many years I went with the Carl George, “meta-church” model of having a monthly Vision/Huddle/Skill (VHS) time. We would gather as many workers and leaders as we could for an evening meeting where I would go over the Vision, then different ministry areas (youth, children’s ministry, development, small group leaders…) would Huddle up to discuss their ministries, and we would end with someone leading a teaching time on developing ministry Skill.
I used this format for two church starts, and we had a VHS meeting every month. Nehemiah teaches that vision leaks so we kept plugging away at the regular leadership/worker meetings.
One of the issues we struggled with was requiring our participants to be at another meeting in addition to attending church, being involved in a small group, and involvement in their particular area.
So, we shortened the meeting time, and brought the name and format up-to-date by calling it, DVD: Dreaming/Vision/Debriefing. We dropped the skill time and went with more of a vision and huddle time.
But we tended to have sporadic attendance. Some months we had a good number of leaders there, but often it was the responsible folks who always showed up and probably needed another meeting less than anyone.
So, we made another shift. We decided to try a right after the last service on Sunday approach--people, most leaders and workers were already available anyway. And again we changed the name. We borrowed the term OTA from the National Football League. They have OTAs during the off-season to keep players connected. OTA stands for Organized Team Activities.
When we moved the leader care meeting to right after our last service on Sunday attendance jumped. We were on to something. But no one but me liked the lame name and no one at all understood what OTA meant.
So, we continued to tweak. Our youth pastor suggested that we used the term party and so we changed the format to more of a party theme and used the term, “Team Party.” Attendance skyrocketed. More leaders and servers felt cared for, and the buzz from leaders and workers has continued to grow.
Here are some of the things we’ve learned.
Convenient Time. We start immediately after the second service. Our special projects team transforms our sanctuary into a party room before everyone is out--we start within five minutes of the last “Amen” at the last service with a prayer for the food.
Food is Key. Whoever heard of a party without food? We’ve done leadership care meetings in restaurants all over our town so maybe good food is a value for us. It is easier now that we’re in a 24/7 facility as our café team always serves something we can use in the promotion of the event, like a barbecue or food from a favorite local eatery.
Clear Invitation. It took me fifteen years to figure out that people never understood what VHS, DVD or OTA stood for. They know what a team party is, a party for the team. So we invite anyone who is serving, anyone who is leading, anyone who wants to serve or lead, and anyone who wants lunch.
Fun Atmosphere. We have party music playing. We start introductions while folks are standing in line getting their food. Everyone introduces him or herself and announces what ministry they serve in or if they are a free agent.
Vision Reminder. I do a short (ten minutes) presentation on what our vision is. We do our team parties at the beginning of every quarter and we emphasize the big events of the quarter. I try to get us back to our mission as well as give everyone a list of upcoming messages and highlights.
Celebrate Wins. Too often we forget to take the time to celebrate the big and small victories in ministry. At every team party we take time for the team to identify the wins from the last quarter. These parties give us an opportunity to celebrate corporately some of the cool stiff God is doing that we may otherwise miss. Each ministry director and staffer is commissioned to come with at least one story of victory to share, and we open this up to everyone too. The positive momentum gained from this part of the party is enough in itself to make throwing these parties worthwhile. We use the parties to present special awards and even random giveaways to our workers too.
Highlight Opportunities. At the team party each staffer and area director is asked to announce entry level positions in their ministry. And we talk about areas of ministry where we are looking for leaders as well. The Team Party has been a primary recruitment place, and a great venue to connect leaders and potential servers.
Keep Tweaking. I suspect what works in caring for leaders is rather fluid. Things change, culture changes, so the approach needs to keep changing. We’ve gone through several phases and we figure we will keep tweaking in the future.
IF YOU WANT TO MAKE GOD LAUGH…
12/01/10 10
Top Ten Bad-Economy Names for Famous Businesses
Down 'n' Out Burger
Dead Lobster
7-Chapter-Eleven
JC Penniless
BevNoMo
BM
Sears Nobucks
Fry's-with-that Electronics
Jos A. Bankrupt
Home Repo
The economy stinks. It’s a different world than it was two years ago or five years ago or ten years ago. Many, if not most of our plans have changed dramatically. So, how do we plan for the future?
Q. How does a typical man show that he is planning for the future? A. He buys 2 cases of beer instead of one
There’s got to be something better than that. What can we do to make sure our plans for our lives are fulfilled?
I’ve been studying the book of Ezra lately. It has become one of my favorite books of the Bible. And it tells us a lot about our plans, God’s plans and the future plans.
Here’s a little background. In 586 BC the Babylonians captured Jerusalem and exiled many of the Jews. The Persian empire then began to gain strength and in 539 BC they overran the Babylonians and essentially took over. The Persians had a different approach toward conquered peoples under their King Cyrus--he allowed many of them to return to their homelands. These events prompted the Bibles’ book of Ezra which details the return of the Jews to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.
Anyway, the book of Ezra begins this way:
“In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom: ‘This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are his people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you!”--Ezra 1:1-3
“Then God stirred the hearts of the priests and Levites and the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. And all their neighbors assisted by giving them articles of silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock. They gave them many valuable gifts in addition to all the voluntary offerings.”--Ezra 1:5-6
The book of Ezra begins with the king and the people coming up with this great plan to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.
Then the rest of the book of Ezra is a series of upset plans.
Chapter 3 describes how they started building the foundation--it ended up taking two years just to do the foundation--longer than they expected. Chapters 4 and 5 of Ezra describe constant opposition of the project.
“Then the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work. They bribed agents to work against them and to frustrate their plans. This went on during the entire reign of King Cyrus of Persia and lasted until King Darius of Persia took the throne. Years later when Xerxes began his reign, the enemies of Judah wrote a letter of accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem”--Ezra 4:4-6
Cyrus began his reign in 538 BC. Darius reigned from 521-486 BC. Xerxes began his reign in 486 BC. So this opposition lasted over 50 years. That was not in the plans.
Chapter 4 ends this way:
“So the work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem had stopped, and it remained at a standstill…”--Ezra 4:24 (NLT)
I highly doubt that even the most skeptical of people who went to rebuild the temple would never have planned on the work being shut down. It stayed shut down all through chapter 5 as the neighbors and city government seem to have won. Plans were dashed.
It was over.
Then comes chapter 6--one of my favorite passages in the Bible:
“So King Darius sent this message: ‘Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River…—stay away from there! Do not disturb the construction of the Temple of God. Let it be rebuilt on its original site, and do not hinder the governor of Judah and the elders of the Jews in their work.”--Ezra 6:6-7
God used the King of Persia to tell the local officials to let the work continue. That was unplanned. But wait, there’s more:
“Moreover, I hereby decree that you are to help these elders of the Jews as they rebuild this Temple of God. You must pay the full construction costs, without delay,,,so that the work will not be interrupted”--Ezra 6:8
God moved the king to tell the city--“Let them build, and you pay for it!” They hadn’t planned on that either. But wait, there’s more:
“Give the priests in Jerusalem whatever is needed in the way of young bulls, rams, and male lambs for the burnt offerings presented to the God of heaven. And without fail, provide them with as much wheat, salt, wine, and olive oil as they need each day. Then they will be able to offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the welfare of the king and his sons.”--Ezra 6:9-10
The king ordered the locals to not only let them build, and not only pay for it, but to also provide everything the Jews needed to take care of their religious services. A new plan. But wait, there’s even more. This is my favorite part!
“If any of you don't obey this order, a wooden beam will be taken from your house and sharpened on one end. Then it will be driven through your body, and your house will be torn down and turned into a garbage dump. I ask the God who is worshiped in Jerusalem to destroy any king or nation who tries either to change what I have said or to tear down his temple. I, Darius, give these orders, and I expect them to be followed carefully.”--Ezra 6:11-12 (CEV)
How can we plan for the future?
Here’s one of the main ideas of the book of Ezra:
IF YOU WANT TO MAKE GOD LAUGH SHOW HIM YOUR PLANS
A hinge verse from the book:
“From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished.”
--Ezra 5:16
So God has our plans under construction
James put it this way: “Look here, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.’ How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog--it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.’ Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.”
--James 4:13-17 (CEV)
Comedian Stephen Wright says, “I’m a peripheral visionary. I can see the future, but only way off to the side.”
And Tony Snow added, "We want lives of simple, predictable ease—smooth, even trails
as far as the eye can see--but God likes to go off-road.”
God laughs at our plans.
God’s plans are better than my plans
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
--Jeremiah 29:11
My plan was to go to Cal Berkeley, get a job on Madison Avenue and live happily ever richer. God’s plans landed me at UCLA, in a drug fraternity, confronted with the gospel, and headed into ministry. God’s plans are better than mine.
God’s plans are bigger than my plans
Cyrus and the Persians and the Jewish remnant had a plan to rebuild a temple. God’s plans involved writing parts of the Bible!
“Whatever you do, wherever you live, if you belong to Jesus Christ, the call from heaven has come to you to the highest honor a human being can experience. The Son of God is spreading His love, His lifestyle, and His life-saving message across this planet and you know what? He has summoned you to join Him in His glorious Administration. Don't settle for anything less.”--Ron Hutchcraft
God’s plans are more exciting than my plans
The original plan in Ezra involved a rebuilding project. God’s plans involved ups and downs and sharp wooden beams suitable for impaling! He is so much more exciting than we are.
We want to go on the carousel when God has us slated for Mr Toad"s Wild Ride.
More than that, our plans are like, “Its a Small World.” We’ll get in the boat and step off solid ground for a while, and maybe we’ll experience something new. But God’s plans involve “Splash Mountain.” We’re going to have highs and lows and twists and turns and probably end up drenched.
And there will be pictures. There are no pictures at the end of “Small World.” When we get off “It’s a Small World” we only think of how we can get that silly song out of our heads. But at the end of “Splash Mountain” there are pictures of our reaction. People are laughing and re-living it and congratulating those who got soaked.
In heaven I expect pictures. God will say, “Check out the look on your face when I threw a wrench into that silly plan of yours! You were scared to death!”
God’s plans are more expensive than my plans
God laughs at our plans because He knows His way is going to cost a whole lot more than we budgeted for!
There’s this notion that all God wants is our money. I suspect there is some truth to that because His plans rarely involve small sums, extra money or rainy-day funds. He wants us to do things that mean sacrifice, large donations and giving it all.
God’s plans have different timing than my plans
We want what we want now. God’s plans involve going off road and long delays--even 50-year waits. Jesus showed up four days late for Lazurus’ funeral--but Hid timing is always perfect.
If you want to make God laugh just show him your plans. Chances are they are smaller, cheaper, more boring and a whole lot worse than His.
So, back to the original question, how do we plan for the future?
Some suggestions:
1.Be open to God's plans
Ask God to move my heart
“My God was on my side and I was ready to go.”--Ezra 7:28 (TMV)
2. Do something
“Ezra, it’s up to you to do something! We will support whatever you do. So be brave!”--Ezra 10:4 (CEV)
There’s an old saying that it’s easier to steer a moving car than a parked one. Let’s start moving, and let God steer us or even turn us around if he wants.
3. Give
“ All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings”.--Ezra 1:6
One thing I love about the book of Ezra is everybody gave--everyone.
Let’s give to God and keep giving because God’s plans are expensive.
4. Be patient
God has me--and you--under construction. His plans take time. But He always comes through. So, let’s get ready, let’s open our loves to God, and let’s wait for him to come through. He always does.
Down 'n' Out Burger
Dead Lobster
7-Chapter-Eleven
JC Penniless
BevNoMo
BM
Sears Nobucks
Fry's-with-that Electronics
Jos A. Bankrupt
Home Repo
The economy stinks. It’s a different world than it was two years ago or five years ago or ten years ago. Many, if not most of our plans have changed dramatically. So, how do we plan for the future?
Q. How does a typical man show that he is planning for the future? A. He buys 2 cases of beer instead of one
There’s got to be something better than that. What can we do to make sure our plans for our lives are fulfilled?
I’ve been studying the book of Ezra lately. It has become one of my favorite books of the Bible. And it tells us a lot about our plans, God’s plans and the future plans.
Here’s a little background. In 586 BC the Babylonians captured Jerusalem and exiled many of the Jews. The Persian empire then began to gain strength and in 539 BC they overran the Babylonians and essentially took over. The Persians had a different approach toward conquered peoples under their King Cyrus--he allowed many of them to return to their homelands. These events prompted the Bibles’ book of Ezra which details the return of the Jews to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.
Anyway, the book of Ezra begins this way:
“In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom: ‘This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are his people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you!”--Ezra 1:1-3
“Then God stirred the hearts of the priests and Levites and the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. And all their neighbors assisted by giving them articles of silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock. They gave them many valuable gifts in addition to all the voluntary offerings.”--Ezra 1:5-6
The book of Ezra begins with the king and the people coming up with this great plan to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.
Then the rest of the book of Ezra is a series of upset plans.
Chapter 3 describes how they started building the foundation--it ended up taking two years just to do the foundation--longer than they expected. Chapters 4 and 5 of Ezra describe constant opposition of the project.
“Then the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work. They bribed agents to work against them and to frustrate their plans. This went on during the entire reign of King Cyrus of Persia and lasted until King Darius of Persia took the throne. Years later when Xerxes began his reign, the enemies of Judah wrote a letter of accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem”--Ezra 4:4-6
Cyrus began his reign in 538 BC. Darius reigned from 521-486 BC. Xerxes began his reign in 486 BC. So this opposition lasted over 50 years. That was not in the plans.
Chapter 4 ends this way:
“So the work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem had stopped, and it remained at a standstill…”--Ezra 4:24 (NLT)
I highly doubt that even the most skeptical of people who went to rebuild the temple would never have planned on the work being shut down. It stayed shut down all through chapter 5 as the neighbors and city government seem to have won. Plans were dashed.
It was over.
Then comes chapter 6--one of my favorite passages in the Bible:
“So King Darius sent this message: ‘Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River…—stay away from there! Do not disturb the construction of the Temple of God. Let it be rebuilt on its original site, and do not hinder the governor of Judah and the elders of the Jews in their work.”--Ezra 6:6-7
God used the King of Persia to tell the local officials to let the work continue. That was unplanned. But wait, there’s more:
“Moreover, I hereby decree that you are to help these elders of the Jews as they rebuild this Temple of God. You must pay the full construction costs, without delay,,,so that the work will not be interrupted”--Ezra 6:8
God moved the king to tell the city--“Let them build, and you pay for it!” They hadn’t planned on that either. But wait, there’s more:
“Give the priests in Jerusalem whatever is needed in the way of young bulls, rams, and male lambs for the burnt offerings presented to the God of heaven. And without fail, provide them with as much wheat, salt, wine, and olive oil as they need each day. Then they will be able to offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the welfare of the king and his sons.”--Ezra 6:9-10
The king ordered the locals to not only let them build, and not only pay for it, but to also provide everything the Jews needed to take care of their religious services. A new plan. But wait, there’s even more. This is my favorite part!
“If any of you don't obey this order, a wooden beam will be taken from your house and sharpened on one end. Then it will be driven through your body, and your house will be torn down and turned into a garbage dump. I ask the God who is worshiped in Jerusalem to destroy any king or nation who tries either to change what I have said or to tear down his temple. I, Darius, give these orders, and I expect them to be followed carefully.”--Ezra 6:11-12 (CEV)
How can we plan for the future?
Here’s one of the main ideas of the book of Ezra:
IF YOU WANT TO MAKE GOD LAUGH SHOW HIM YOUR PLANS
A hinge verse from the book:
“From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished.”
--Ezra 5:16
So God has our plans under construction
James put it this way: “Look here, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.’ How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog--it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.’ Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.”
--James 4:13-17 (CEV)
Comedian Stephen Wright says, “I’m a peripheral visionary. I can see the future, but only way off to the side.”
And Tony Snow added, "We want lives of simple, predictable ease—smooth, even trails
as far as the eye can see--but God likes to go off-road.”
God laughs at our plans.
God’s plans are better than my plans
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
--Jeremiah 29:11
My plan was to go to Cal Berkeley, get a job on Madison Avenue and live happily ever richer. God’s plans landed me at UCLA, in a drug fraternity, confronted with the gospel, and headed into ministry. God’s plans are better than mine.
God’s plans are bigger than my plans
Cyrus and the Persians and the Jewish remnant had a plan to rebuild a temple. God’s plans involved writing parts of the Bible!
“Whatever you do, wherever you live, if you belong to Jesus Christ, the call from heaven has come to you to the highest honor a human being can experience. The Son of God is spreading His love, His lifestyle, and His life-saving message across this planet and you know what? He has summoned you to join Him in His glorious Administration. Don't settle for anything less.”--Ron Hutchcraft
God’s plans are more exciting than my plans
The original plan in Ezra involved a rebuilding project. God’s plans involved ups and downs and sharp wooden beams suitable for impaling! He is so much more exciting than we are.
We want to go on the carousel when God has us slated for Mr Toad"s Wild Ride.
More than that, our plans are like, “Its a Small World.” We’ll get in the boat and step off solid ground for a while, and maybe we’ll experience something new. But God’s plans involve “Splash Mountain.” We’re going to have highs and lows and twists and turns and probably end up drenched.
And there will be pictures. There are no pictures at the end of “Small World.” When we get off “It’s a Small World” we only think of how we can get that silly song out of our heads. But at the end of “Splash Mountain” there are pictures of our reaction. People are laughing and re-living it and congratulating those who got soaked.
In heaven I expect pictures. God will say, “Check out the look on your face when I threw a wrench into that silly plan of yours! You were scared to death!”
God’s plans are more expensive than my plans
God laughs at our plans because He knows His way is going to cost a whole lot more than we budgeted for!
There’s this notion that all God wants is our money. I suspect there is some truth to that because His plans rarely involve small sums, extra money or rainy-day funds. He wants us to do things that mean sacrifice, large donations and giving it all.
God’s plans have different timing than my plans
We want what we want now. God’s plans involve going off road and long delays--even 50-year waits. Jesus showed up four days late for Lazurus’ funeral--but Hid timing is always perfect.
If you want to make God laugh just show him your plans. Chances are they are smaller, cheaper, more boring and a whole lot worse than His.
So, back to the original question, how do we plan for the future?
Some suggestions:
1.Be open to God's plans
Ask God to move my heart
“My God was on my side and I was ready to go.”--Ezra 7:28 (TMV)
2. Do something
“Ezra, it’s up to you to do something! We will support whatever you do. So be brave!”--Ezra 10:4 (CEV)
There’s an old saying that it’s easier to steer a moving car than a parked one. Let’s start moving, and let God steer us or even turn us around if he wants.
3. Give
“ All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings”.--Ezra 1:6
One thing I love about the book of Ezra is everybody gave--everyone.
Let’s give to God and keep giving because God’s plans are expensive.
4. Be patient
God has me--and you--under construction. His plans take time. But He always comes through. So, let’s get ready, let’s open our loves to God, and let’s wait for him to come through. He always does.
STICKY QUOTES
11/02/10 10
We took our church staff to the “Sticky Team” conference in San Diego last week, and spent time with a couple GHC Network Church planters there. The event was well done. Here are some of our favorite quotes from the time:
From Wayne Cordeiro:
The true test of a servant is how you respond when you're treated like one.
It's not a lack of resources that kills a church, it's a lack of resourcefulness.
Servants have to be great: Great in patience, great in forgiveness, great in love. Pass thru the service entrance.
I can learn 50% of spiritual growth through studying, reading and listening to sermons. But the other 50% of spiritual growth only comes through serving.
Career is what I'm paid for, but calling is what I'm made for.
People are waiting for a genuine touch from Jesus--Luke 8:40. The whole world is waiting for Jesus. I don't want to keep them waiting.
From Larry Osborne:
Winning teams guard the gate, losing teams let anyone in. Never ignore a lack of character because of an abundance of giftedness. Never ignore a lack of people skills because of an abundance of Bible knowledge. Never let a contentious Christian on your leadership team. And cut out the cancer of disunity as soon as possible.
Winning teams make unity a priority, losing teams treat unity as an afterthought
Winning teams focus on their mission, losing teams focus on their successes
Winning teams focus on empowerment. losing teams focus on excellence and tenure. Winning teams find a way to keep their eagles
Winning teams adapt for the future losing teams long for the past.
Be a Barnabas: Generous with your stuff; very quick to forgive; focusing on anointing not pedigree, resumes or tenure; defending the right to be different; and willing to take second billing.
Empowerment will always be in tension with excellence.
From Brad Graves:
If people can't trust you, then God won't trust you with his people.
Things in your life you feel you can't share are already spun out of control.
The resources and strategy for your church plant are on the field already (Luke 10:1-9).
Too much money will saturate a church planter and cause him to relax. Too little money will starve him and cause his to not take risks. Find the right level of support.
From JD Larson
An expectation that goes unsaid will always go unmet.
From Michael Lwin:
With vision, the “who” often comes before the “what.” Our team came before our vision.
We ask every family in our church to give up at least one family vacation for a mission trip.
Instead of setting S.M.A.R.T. goals, why not dream audaciously?
Think you don’t have enough leaders? They are there. Your future staff are in your volunteers.
From Charlie Bradshaw:
Things surrounded by unpleasantness are seldom surrounded by people. Create pleasant, fun environments.
All staff are Important but not all are the same - only hold the hands of the 5-10% who need it
Find out what their need is and do it.
The best time to fire someone is before you hire them. Have two to three interviews to see the real person. Get as many people involved as possible, with as many females as possible - for intuition.
Sticky is not always good - if someone is on the bus and shouldn't be there or is in the wrong seat it will hurt morale.
When there's a problem look at Satan first and the people second.
Traditions are okay, but routines are deadly. They become white noise. Change demands attention and newness motivates. The worst method is the one you use all the time.
Three things lead to happy campers: Respect; Honesty; Clear communication.
From Chris Brown:
If King Saul had taken the approach that David “was my hire!” and shared leadership, instead of becoming jealous, 1 and 2 Samuel might be known as 1 & 2 Saul.
This conference was an excellent reminder about empowering others and taking team unity seriously. Our tam appreciated it and came back with some specific implementations tools. We recommend it!
From Wayne Cordeiro:
The true test of a servant is how you respond when you're treated like one.
It's not a lack of resources that kills a church, it's a lack of resourcefulness.
Servants have to be great: Great in patience, great in forgiveness, great in love. Pass thru the service entrance.
I can learn 50% of spiritual growth through studying, reading and listening to sermons. But the other 50% of spiritual growth only comes through serving.
Career is what I'm paid for, but calling is what I'm made for.
People are waiting for a genuine touch from Jesus--Luke 8:40. The whole world is waiting for Jesus. I don't want to keep them waiting.
From Larry Osborne:
Winning teams guard the gate, losing teams let anyone in. Never ignore a lack of character because of an abundance of giftedness. Never ignore a lack of people skills because of an abundance of Bible knowledge. Never let a contentious Christian on your leadership team. And cut out the cancer of disunity as soon as possible.
Winning teams make unity a priority, losing teams treat unity as an afterthought
Winning teams focus on their mission, losing teams focus on their successes
Winning teams focus on empowerment. losing teams focus on excellence and tenure. Winning teams find a way to keep their eagles
Winning teams adapt for the future losing teams long for the past.
Be a Barnabas: Generous with your stuff; very quick to forgive; focusing on anointing not pedigree, resumes or tenure; defending the right to be different; and willing to take second billing.
Empowerment will always be in tension with excellence.
From Brad Graves:
If people can't trust you, then God won't trust you with his people.
Things in your life you feel you can't share are already spun out of control.
The resources and strategy for your church plant are on the field already (Luke 10:1-9).
Too much money will saturate a church planter and cause him to relax. Too little money will starve him and cause his to not take risks. Find the right level of support.
From JD Larson
An expectation that goes unsaid will always go unmet.
From Michael Lwin:
With vision, the “who” often comes before the “what.” Our team came before our vision.
We ask every family in our church to give up at least one family vacation for a mission trip.
Instead of setting S.M.A.R.T. goals, why not dream audaciously?
Think you don’t have enough leaders? They are there. Your future staff are in your volunteers.
From Charlie Bradshaw:
Things surrounded by unpleasantness are seldom surrounded by people. Create pleasant, fun environments.
All staff are Important but not all are the same - only hold the hands of the 5-10% who need it
Find out what their need is and do it.
The best time to fire someone is before you hire them. Have two to three interviews to see the real person. Get as many people involved as possible, with as many females as possible - for intuition.
Sticky is not always good - if someone is on the bus and shouldn't be there or is in the wrong seat it will hurt morale.
When there's a problem look at Satan first and the people second.
Traditions are okay, but routines are deadly. They become white noise. Change demands attention and newness motivates. The worst method is the one you use all the time.
Three things lead to happy campers: Respect; Honesty; Clear communication.
From Chris Brown:
If King Saul had taken the approach that David “was my hire!” and shared leadership, instead of becoming jealous, 1 and 2 Samuel might be known as 1 & 2 Saul.
This conference was an excellent reminder about empowering others and taking team unity seriously. Our tam appreciated it and came back with some specific implementations tools. We recommend it!
THE POWER OF ENCOURAGEMENT
09/02/10 10
“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”--Acts 17:6 (NKJV)
The first century believers turned their world upside down. I’ve been spending time this year looking through the Book of Acts, seeing how the early believers turned their world upside down and wondering how we can too. So how did they do it and how can we do it?
The book of Acts gives several insights into what empowered God’s people to do great things. Clearly they were filled with the Holy Spirit--turning the world upside down was a God-thing. They also were constantly together--they didn’t try to do it alone. There was a spirit of tenacity-- they knew how to shake off adversity--even the worst situations. The way they handled conflict also spurred them on. But there was another significant characteristic of the first century followers that spurred them on to turning their world upside down. Acts 11 outlines that key:
“Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God,
but only to Jews. However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord. When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith.
And many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people.
(It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)”
--Acts 11:19-26 (NLT)
Acts 11 is one of those fairly obscure but amazingly significant turning point chapters in the Bible. In this passage Christianity changes from a Jews-only sect to a worldwide movement; it transforms from a Jerusalem thing to an everywhere thing; from contained to viral. The author, Luke, notes that it was here in Antioch that Christianity really got it’s liftoff--the believers weren’t called Christians in Jerusalem, it was in Antioch that things exploded. Read More...
The first century believers turned their world upside down. I’ve been spending time this year looking through the Book of Acts, seeing how the early believers turned their world upside down and wondering how we can too. So how did they do it and how can we do it?
The book of Acts gives several insights into what empowered God’s people to do great things. Clearly they were filled with the Holy Spirit--turning the world upside down was a God-thing. They also were constantly together--they didn’t try to do it alone. There was a spirit of tenacity-- they knew how to shake off adversity--even the worst situations. The way they handled conflict also spurred them on. But there was another significant characteristic of the first century followers that spurred them on to turning their world upside down. Acts 11 outlines that key:
“Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God,
but only to Jews. However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord. When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith.
And many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people.
(It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)”
--Acts 11:19-26 (NLT)
Acts 11 is one of those fairly obscure but amazingly significant turning point chapters in the Bible. In this passage Christianity changes from a Jews-only sect to a worldwide movement; it transforms from a Jerusalem thing to an everywhere thing; from contained to viral. The author, Luke, notes that it was here in Antioch that Christianity really got it’s liftoff--the believers weren’t called Christians in Jerusalem, it was in Antioch that things exploded. Read More...
FACING TOUGH CHOICES
07/25/10 10
Two cowboys bought a couple of horses that they used to make some money during the summer. But when winter came, they found it cost too much to board them. So they turned the horses loose in a pasture where there was plenty to eat and made plans to pick them up the next spring. “How will we tell yours from mine when we pick them up?” one guy asked. “Easy,” replied the second. “We’ll cut the mane off mine and the tail off yours.” But by spring, when the men returned, the mane and tail had grown back to normal length. “Now what are we going to do?” asked the first. “I have no idea,” the second guy said, “So I guess I’ll take the black one and you can take the white one.”
We all have choices to make in life, but unfortunately not all of them are as clear as black and white. Many decisions are just plain tough.
Arnold Schwarzenegger recently revealed, “Running for governor was the most difficult decision I've made in my entire life, except the one I made in 1978 when I decided to get a bikini wax.”
In the past year, I faced some extremely hard decisions as Lead Pastor of Discovery Church. Here are some of them:
Hiring a family member as Youth Pastor
Hiring staff, firing staff and seeing some staff resign
Replacing long-term staff members
Letting go of land we’d been in contract on for 3+ years
Buying another piece of land
Remodeling the house on that land
Adopting a multi-site approach
Hiring our first multi-site campus pastor
Moving from a hotel to a theater
Hiring an architect/contractor for our land development
How to finish one and start another giving campaign
As I dealt with those decisions I began to realize that so much of the leadership role is tackling tough decisions. Church planters. Pastors and ministry leaders seemingly always have a hard choice they are facing. So, how do we face the hard choices?
Judge Ralph Currin of Pendleton, Oregon recently came up with a unique way of making tough decisions. For one entire day in his traffic court, Judge Currin listened to officers and defendants present their cases. Then the judge would flip a coin in the air and ask the defendants to call it. Interestingly enough, in all but one case, the defendants called the coin flip correctly and were found not guilty. A stunned review panel now faces the tough choice of what if any action to take against Judge Currin.
When we’re facing tough choices is there a better way to decide than to flip a coin?
Recently I was studying through the book of Proverbs looking for help in decision making. Here are seven strategies from Proverbs on how to face the tough choices in life.
Strategy number one for facing tough choices is Humility.
“When pride comes then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”—Proverbs 11:2
“Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”—Proverbs 26:12
“He who walks trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.”--—Proverbs 28:26
Solomon suggests that the really tough decisions have to be met with a humble attitude. Sure, we need God-confidence, but if we think we know-it-all, we’ll be in trouble.
“Money” magazine reported a while back about a group of people who were asked which is longer, the Panama Canal or Suez Canal. Then they were asked how certain they were about their answer. Among those who were 60% certain, 50% got the answer correct, so that group was 10% too certain. But among those who said they were 90% certain, only 65% got the answer right—they were 25% too sure. The report made the point that the more convinced we are of our knowledge, the bigger the gap between what we think we know and what we actually know. The more we think we know, the less wise we may actually be. Wisdom comes through humility.
John Wooden put it this way: “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
In his book, “Good to Great” Jim Collins uncovered a common denominator on great leaders. He calls is, “extreme personal humility.”
When we face tough choices, adopting a humble spirit helps.
Strategy number two for facing tough choices is Homework.
“The plans of the diligent lead to profit.”—Proverbs 21:5
“The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways.”—Proverbs 14:8
“The wise look ahead to see what is coming, but fools deceive themselves.”—Proverbs 14:8 (NLT)
“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.”—Proverbs 27:12
Solomon encourages us to do our homework before pulling the trigger on a big decision.
An aspiring politician gave the speech his best shot. When he finished the candidate looked out on the crowd and asked, “Are there any questions?” Someone in the back yelled out, “Who else is running?”
Patrick Morley wrote, “When do we make poor decisions? When we don’t have our facts straight…Keep collecting data. Write it down so you don’t forget it. Talk to wise counselors, get other people’s perspective. Talk to experts who have skill.”
We need to do the hard homework as we face big choices.
Strategy number three for facing tough choices is Patience.
“It is not good to have zeal without knowledge or to be hasty and miss the way.”—Proverbs 19:2
“A patient man has great understanding.”—Proverbs 14:29
In my early ministry days I made a few bad choices simply because I had “zeal without knowledge.” I’m starting to realize that slowing down, taking some time, getting away from the decision for a bit, and going slow make for better decisions.
Les Parrot, in his book, “3 Seconds” makes this observation: “If you’ve ever taken a multiple-choice exam like the SAT, you’ve probably been told not to change your first choice, even if, on second thought, you think an alternative answer is probably correct. The common wisdom here is that your initial instincts are the best. But research actually shows this isn’t a good strategy. In fact, thirty-three studies over seventy years suggest that sticking with your first instinct is not a smart approach. Researchers found that when test-takers second-guess and change their answers, it’s most often from incorrect to correct,”
--Les Parrot
A Chinese proverb says, “One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life.”
A Dutch proverb added, “A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel full of brains.”
It doesn’t matter if we’re Chinese or Dutch or whatever, if we’re impatient we will tend toward making bad choices. Tough decisions need time, distance and prayer.
Strategy number four for facing tough choices is Stability.
“A wise man keeps himself under control.”—Proverbs 29:11
“A crushed spirit who can bear?”—Proverbs 18:14
Years ago I ran across what is known as the “Peak to Peak Principle.” This principle basically says that we should make the major decisions in life when we’re at an emotional peak, rather than when we’re at an emotional valley.
When we’re depressed, disillusioned, discouraged and down we should avoid making major life-changing decisions. We will probably make a bad decision because of our emotional state. The time to make major decisions is when we’re up, when we’re at a peak—because from that peak we can see the next peak. We will have a better perspective.
I’ve seen too many colleagues make disastrous decisions when they are down. That helped me this past year. I had my share of tough days and weeks. But I wouldn’t allow myself, actually m,y wife wouldn’t allow me to make big decisions when down. Wait until the peak to make the tough choice.
Strategy five for making tough choices is Discernment.
“The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.”—Proverbs 14:6“
A discerning man keeps wisdom in view…”
—Proverbs 17:24
The word “discern” is used fifteen times in the book of Proverbs.
Discernment is clearness of mental sight. It’s the ability to see clearly enough to make tough calls. It’s an inner knowing.
And discernment comes in three different ways. First, discernment is a personality trait. Have you ever taken the Myers/Briggs type indicator? One of the grids that tool uncovers is a discernment grid. Some folks are naturally a bit more discerning, a bit more intuitive than others.
Second, discernment is a spiritual gift. 2 Corinthians 12:10 talks about the “gift of discernment.” Some people supernaturally have discernment.
Third, and this is critical, discernment is a learned skill. Paul prays in the book of Philippians that we would be more discerning. John encourages us to “discern the spirits” in 1 John and Proverbs tells us to grow in discernment. So even if it isn’t natural to us or supernatural to us we can develop it.
How do we develop it? By facing tough choices! Perhaps the real tough decision we’re facing is not this one, but the next one. We simply need to keep growing and growing and as we do, we’ll get better at this.
The sixth strategy for facing tough decisions is Advice.
“Wisdom is found in those who take advice.”—Proverbs 10:8
“The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.”—Proverbs 12:15
“Listen to advice and accept instruction and in the end you will be wise.”—Proverbs 19:20
“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”—Proverbs 15:22
Bill Cosby quipped, “A word to the wise ain't necessary, it's the stupid ones who need the advice.”
An C. K. Chesterton admitted: “I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.”
Taking advice is not easy. An article in The Chicago Tribune, entitled, “Most People Immune to Sound Words of Wisdom” said: “It’s a shame really, that human beings are so lousy at taking advice. There must be some sort of biological nerve ending in our brains that send s off an alarm whenever advice filters into our consciousness and tells us, ‘Reject, blunder on your own.’”
One of the keys to the effectiveness of GHC and the GHC Network is our mentoring and coaching systems. We don’t have to face tough decisions alone. There is someone, or even a group of someones, who have probably already faced a similar choice in their life and ministry. If I can get connected and stay connected to them, I’m going to be much better off when I face the biggies.
One last strategy number for facing tough choices is Prayer.
“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord…for victory rests with the Lord.”—Proverbs 21:30-31
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”—Proverbs 3:5-6
Roberta Hestenes hit it on the head when she said, “When the fear of God is gone, the decisions of daily life are threatened.”
Perhaps God is allowing me to face the tough decisions because he really wants me to turn to Him and rely on Him more. We can’t do it without him.
Its been said that we’re not born winners and we’re not born losers, we’re all born choosers. And if we take Solomon’s suggestions and work on humility, do our homework, have some patience, move toward stability, develop discernment, listen to advice and make sure we’re praying …we’ll chooses wisely—even in the tough choices.
We all have choices to make in life, but unfortunately not all of them are as clear as black and white. Many decisions are just plain tough.
Arnold Schwarzenegger recently revealed, “Running for governor was the most difficult decision I've made in my entire life, except the one I made in 1978 when I decided to get a bikini wax.”
In the past year, I faced some extremely hard decisions as Lead Pastor of Discovery Church. Here are some of them:
Hiring a family member as Youth Pastor
Hiring staff, firing staff and seeing some staff resign
Replacing long-term staff members
Letting go of land we’d been in contract on for 3+ years
Buying another piece of land
Remodeling the house on that land
Adopting a multi-site approach
Hiring our first multi-site campus pastor
Moving from a hotel to a theater
Hiring an architect/contractor for our land development
How to finish one and start another giving campaign
As I dealt with those decisions I began to realize that so much of the leadership role is tackling tough decisions. Church planters. Pastors and ministry leaders seemingly always have a hard choice they are facing. So, how do we face the hard choices?
Judge Ralph Currin of Pendleton, Oregon recently came up with a unique way of making tough decisions. For one entire day in his traffic court, Judge Currin listened to officers and defendants present their cases. Then the judge would flip a coin in the air and ask the defendants to call it. Interestingly enough, in all but one case, the defendants called the coin flip correctly and were found not guilty. A stunned review panel now faces the tough choice of what if any action to take against Judge Currin.
When we’re facing tough choices is there a better way to decide than to flip a coin?
Recently I was studying through the book of Proverbs looking for help in decision making. Here are seven strategies from Proverbs on how to face the tough choices in life.
Strategy number one for facing tough choices is Humility.
“When pride comes then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”—Proverbs 11:2
“Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”—Proverbs 26:12
“He who walks trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.”--—Proverbs 28:26
Solomon suggests that the really tough decisions have to be met with a humble attitude. Sure, we need God-confidence, but if we think we know-it-all, we’ll be in trouble.
“Money” magazine reported a while back about a group of people who were asked which is longer, the Panama Canal or Suez Canal. Then they were asked how certain they were about their answer. Among those who were 60% certain, 50% got the answer correct, so that group was 10% too certain. But among those who said they were 90% certain, only 65% got the answer right—they were 25% too sure. The report made the point that the more convinced we are of our knowledge, the bigger the gap between what we think we know and what we actually know. The more we think we know, the less wise we may actually be. Wisdom comes through humility.
John Wooden put it this way: “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
In his book, “Good to Great” Jim Collins uncovered a common denominator on great leaders. He calls is, “extreme personal humility.”
When we face tough choices, adopting a humble spirit helps.
Strategy number two for facing tough choices is Homework.
“The plans of the diligent lead to profit.”—Proverbs 21:5
“The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways.”—Proverbs 14:8
“The wise look ahead to see what is coming, but fools deceive themselves.”—Proverbs 14:8 (NLT)
“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.”—Proverbs 27:12
Solomon encourages us to do our homework before pulling the trigger on a big decision.
An aspiring politician gave the speech his best shot. When he finished the candidate looked out on the crowd and asked, “Are there any questions?” Someone in the back yelled out, “Who else is running?”
Patrick Morley wrote, “When do we make poor decisions? When we don’t have our facts straight…Keep collecting data. Write it down so you don’t forget it. Talk to wise counselors, get other people’s perspective. Talk to experts who have skill.”
We need to do the hard homework as we face big choices.
Strategy number three for facing tough choices is Patience.
“It is not good to have zeal without knowledge or to be hasty and miss the way.”—Proverbs 19:2
“A patient man has great understanding.”—Proverbs 14:29
In my early ministry days I made a few bad choices simply because I had “zeal without knowledge.” I’m starting to realize that slowing down, taking some time, getting away from the decision for a bit, and going slow make for better decisions.
Les Parrot, in his book, “3 Seconds” makes this observation: “If you’ve ever taken a multiple-choice exam like the SAT, you’ve probably been told not to change your first choice, even if, on second thought, you think an alternative answer is probably correct. The common wisdom here is that your initial instincts are the best. But research actually shows this isn’t a good strategy. In fact, thirty-three studies over seventy years suggest that sticking with your first instinct is not a smart approach. Researchers found that when test-takers second-guess and change their answers, it’s most often from incorrect to correct,”
--Les Parrot
A Chinese proverb says, “One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life.”
A Dutch proverb added, “A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel full of brains.”
It doesn’t matter if we’re Chinese or Dutch or whatever, if we’re impatient we will tend toward making bad choices. Tough decisions need time, distance and prayer.
Strategy number four for facing tough choices is Stability.
“A wise man keeps himself under control.”—Proverbs 29:11
“A crushed spirit who can bear?”—Proverbs 18:14
Years ago I ran across what is known as the “Peak to Peak Principle.” This principle basically says that we should make the major decisions in life when we’re at an emotional peak, rather than when we’re at an emotional valley.
When we’re depressed, disillusioned, discouraged and down we should avoid making major life-changing decisions. We will probably make a bad decision because of our emotional state. The time to make major decisions is when we’re up, when we’re at a peak—because from that peak we can see the next peak. We will have a better perspective.
I’ve seen too many colleagues make disastrous decisions when they are down. That helped me this past year. I had my share of tough days and weeks. But I wouldn’t allow myself, actually m,y wife wouldn’t allow me to make big decisions when down. Wait until the peak to make the tough choice.
Strategy five for making tough choices is Discernment.
“The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.”—Proverbs 14:6“
A discerning man keeps wisdom in view…”
—Proverbs 17:24
The word “discern” is used fifteen times in the book of Proverbs.
Discernment is clearness of mental sight. It’s the ability to see clearly enough to make tough calls. It’s an inner knowing.
And discernment comes in three different ways. First, discernment is a personality trait. Have you ever taken the Myers/Briggs type indicator? One of the grids that tool uncovers is a discernment grid. Some folks are naturally a bit more discerning, a bit more intuitive than others.
Second, discernment is a spiritual gift. 2 Corinthians 12:10 talks about the “gift of discernment.” Some people supernaturally have discernment.
Third, and this is critical, discernment is a learned skill. Paul prays in the book of Philippians that we would be more discerning. John encourages us to “discern the spirits” in 1 John and Proverbs tells us to grow in discernment. So even if it isn’t natural to us or supernatural to us we can develop it.
How do we develop it? By facing tough choices! Perhaps the real tough decision we’re facing is not this one, but the next one. We simply need to keep growing and growing and as we do, we’ll get better at this.
The sixth strategy for facing tough decisions is Advice.
“Wisdom is found in those who take advice.”—Proverbs 10:8
“The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.”—Proverbs 12:15
“Listen to advice and accept instruction and in the end you will be wise.”—Proverbs 19:20
“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”—Proverbs 15:22
Bill Cosby quipped, “A word to the wise ain't necessary, it's the stupid ones who need the advice.”
An C. K. Chesterton admitted: “I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.”
Taking advice is not easy. An article in The Chicago Tribune, entitled, “Most People Immune to Sound Words of Wisdom” said: “It’s a shame really, that human beings are so lousy at taking advice. There must be some sort of biological nerve ending in our brains that send s off an alarm whenever advice filters into our consciousness and tells us, ‘Reject, blunder on your own.’”
One of the keys to the effectiveness of GHC and the GHC Network is our mentoring and coaching systems. We don’t have to face tough decisions alone. There is someone, or even a group of someones, who have probably already faced a similar choice in their life and ministry. If I can get connected and stay connected to them, I’m going to be much better off when I face the biggies.
One last strategy number for facing tough choices is Prayer.
“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord…for victory rests with the Lord.”—Proverbs 21:30-31
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”—Proverbs 3:5-6
Roberta Hestenes hit it on the head when she said, “When the fear of God is gone, the decisions of daily life are threatened.”
Perhaps God is allowing me to face the tough decisions because he really wants me to turn to Him and rely on Him more. We can’t do it without him.
Its been said that we’re not born winners and we’re not born losers, we’re all born choosers. And if we take Solomon’s suggestions and work on humility, do our homework, have some patience, move toward stability, develop discernment, listen to advice and make sure we’re praying …we’ll chooses wisely—even in the tough choices.
RESOLVING DIFFERENCES
07/16/10 10
“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”--Acts 17:6 (NKJV)
The first century believers turned their world upside down. So how did they do it and how can we do it?
The book of Acts gives several insights into what empowered God’s people to do great things. Clearly they were filled with the Holy Spirit--turning the world upside down was a God-thing. They also were constantly together--they didn’t try to do it alone. There was a spirit of encouragement that kept them moving. And they knew how to handle adversity--even the worst of times. But there was another significant characteristic of the first century followers that spurred them on to turning their world upside down. Acts 15 outlines one key to turning the world upside down:
“While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers: ‘Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.’ Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently.”--Acts 15:1-2
The first century church was not without its disagreements. Acts 15 describes an issue that caused a major clash: some thought everyone basically had to become Jewish in order to become a Christian. This was a significant, historical issue--and perhaps the first major theological, emotional and intellectual dispute in the church.
Check out the happy ending:
“‘This letter is from the apostles and elders, your brothers in Jerusalem. It is written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings! ‘We understand that some men from here have troubled you and upset you with their teaching, but we did not send them! So we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm what we have decided concerning your question. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.’ The messengers went at once to Antioch, where they called a general meeting of the believers and delivered the letter. And there was great joy throughout the church that day as they read this encouraging message.”--Acts 15:23-31 (NLT) Read More...
The first century believers turned their world upside down. So how did they do it and how can we do it?
The book of Acts gives several insights into what empowered God’s people to do great things. Clearly they were filled with the Holy Spirit--turning the world upside down was a God-thing. They also were constantly together--they didn’t try to do it alone. There was a spirit of encouragement that kept them moving. And they knew how to handle adversity--even the worst of times. But there was another significant characteristic of the first century followers that spurred them on to turning their world upside down. Acts 15 outlines one key to turning the world upside down:
“While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers: ‘Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.’ Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently.”--Acts 15:1-2
The first century church was not without its disagreements. Acts 15 describes an issue that caused a major clash: some thought everyone basically had to become Jewish in order to become a Christian. This was a significant, historical issue--and perhaps the first major theological, emotional and intellectual dispute in the church.
Check out the happy ending:
“‘This letter is from the apostles and elders, your brothers in Jerusalem. It is written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings! ‘We understand that some men from here have troubled you and upset you with their teaching, but we did not send them! So we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm what we have decided concerning your question. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.’ The messengers went at once to Antioch, where they called a general meeting of the believers and delivered the letter. And there was great joy throughout the church that day as they read this encouraging message.”--Acts 15:23-31 (NLT) Read More...
THE KEY IS WE
08/25/09 09
A husband and his wife advertised for a live-in maid to cook and do the housework. They hired a young girl, who worked out fine, was a good cook, polite, and kept the house neat. One day, after about six months, she came in and said she would have to quit. "But why?" asked the disappointed wife. She hemmed and hawed and said she didn't want to say, but the wife was persistent, so finally she said, "Well, I met this guy and I'm pregnant." The wife said, "Look, we don't want to lose you. My husband and I don't have children, and we'll adopt your baby if you will stay." She talked to her husband; he agreed, and the maid said she would stay. The baby came, they adopted it, and all went well. After several months though, the maid came in again and said that she would have to quit. The wife questioned her, found out that she was pregnant again, talked to her husband, and offered to adopt the baby if she would stay. She agreed, had the baby, they adopted it, and life went on as usual. In a few months, however, she again said she would have to leave. Same thing. She was pregnant. They made the same offer, she agreed, and they adopted the third baby. She worked for a week or two, but then said, "I am definitely leaving this time." "Don't tell me you're pregnant again?" asked the lady of the house.
"No," she said, "there are just too many kids here to pick up after."
All of us are tempted to quit--especially pastors, church planters and those working in ministry. Some statistics estimate that up to 1500 pastors quit each month. (Source: A Sunscape Ministries of Colorado, which serves clergy in crises, report from all denominations nationwide) And some of us feel like quitting 1500 time per month.
The temptations to quit are strong and they are out there, but how do we keep going? How do we keep from giving up and giving in?
“Here is something pretty unbelievable. The only living World War I veteran, a man named Frank Buckles just turned 109 years old. What’s even more amazing, he just finished his fourth tour in Afghanistan.”--Jay Leno
How do we keep going? There’s one overlooked key to perseverance that we see in the great perseverance chapter, 2 Corinthians 4.
“Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up… We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies... We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. .. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”--2 Corinthians 4 (NLT)
We can sum up this chapter this way: “We never give up…we never give up.”--2 Corinthians 4:1 & 4:16 (NLT)
Why not? What keeps us going?
Paul talks about the pressure.
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed…”--2 Corinthians 4:8 (NIV)
As planters and pastors we face all kinds of pressure: financial pressure, emotional pressure, financial pressure, family pressure, did I mention financial pressure?
We are pressed, but not crushed.
Paul talks about the perplexities.
“We are perplexed, but not driven to despair…”--2 Corinthians 4:8 (NLT)
We are perplexed. Sometime I just can’t figure it out. When the newly hired Executive Pastor at our church had to move to Oregon recently because his wife lost her job due to this economy, everyone on staff asked the same question, “Why is this happening?”
A lot of us face perplexing situations right now. But I like how the message translates this verse:
“We're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do…”--2 Corinthians 4:8 (The Message)
Paul talks about the persecutions.
“We are …persecuted, but not abandoned…”--2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV)
My daughter is home from China, where she serves ministering to students. We hear first hand of persecutions going on there.
I received this text from one of our planters yesterday, yes, yesterday--he is on the edge:
“Thanx. Here's latest on the other events of the day :)
I believe we just missed an attack by Gods grace. …Was guy among us loaded w/357 watching. Make a long story short …helicopter began flying overhead "looking" for us. At that point guys
decided to go… On road out of town just sped past 4 … trucks all loaded with gunmen headed toward vilage where we were. Headed back …. Gunmen on road now too. Big traffic parade we got past, those behind us won't :) tell more details when get back. Keep praying.”
Notice the happy face signs. He’s facing persecution, but pretty excited about the opportunity.
And we all have the opportunity of persecution. Maybe not with a 357 aimed at us, but as leaders our necks are on the line. We are taking shots.
Paul talks about the problems.
“We are … struck down, but not destroyed.”--2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV)
The Amplified Bible says, “we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed.”
We get knocked down,
Headed into this most recent Super Bowl, it looked like history would be made: perhaps two undefeated teams would make it. The New Orleans saints started the season 13-0 before they lost to the Dallas Cowboys. The Indianapolis Colts started 14-0. They had a lead at halftime in game fifteen--their second-to-last-regular season game. But they pulled out their starters and lost.
The Colts took a lot of flak in the aftermath of that loss. A perfect season was in their grasp, but they passed on it. In the midst of the outcry about the loss, their team president Bill Polan had this to say, “Our goal is not an undefeated season. Our goal is to get to the Super Bowl and win.”
A lot of time we quit when we get knocked down. But Paul says our goal is not an undefeated life. Our goal is to keep going, to be standing at the end, to follow God no matter what.
“It is not enough for a man to know how to ride; he must know how to fall.”--Mexican Proverb
We face pressure, perplexities, persecutions and problems, so how do we persevere?
Obviously there are several paths to perseverance: perspective, prayer… (Check out Bill Hoyt’s article on this passage in last month’s seedlings for some antidotes to discouragement: (http://www.growinghealthychurches.org/art/art_652.shtml)
…but I want to suggest one primary key:
The Key is We
In this chapter Paul uses the term “we” 29 times and the term “us” five times.
The key to keep going is to not go alone.
Perseverance means teaming up with someone else.
That’s why we have a network! When I’m facing financial pressure, I think about our planter partners in Michigan and realize that if they can make it, so can I. When I am perplexed I reflect on my colleagues who are “undergoing the same kind of sufferings” and I keep going. When I think of persecutions, I realize there are a lot worse persecutions going on with my brothers and my daughter. And when I get knocked down, I recognize that the none of my colleagues is undefeated either.
We can keep going together. The key is “we.”
“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble .”-- Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NLT)
Here’s the application: Go to your cluster--get with the other folks who are going through the same things. Talk to your coach. Serve as a coach. Connect with other planters, leaders and pastors on the phone or through email, texting, Facebook, Twitter, Walkie-Talkie, carrier pigeon…or whatever. Do not neglect meeting together--make it a habit. Encourage one another, and all the more.
We may want to quit at times, but we can keep going, together. The key is “we.”
"No," she said, "there are just too many kids here to pick up after."
All of us are tempted to quit--especially pastors, church planters and those working in ministry. Some statistics estimate that up to 1500 pastors quit each month. (Source: A Sunscape Ministries of Colorado, which serves clergy in crises, report from all denominations nationwide) And some of us feel like quitting 1500 time per month.
The temptations to quit are strong and they are out there, but how do we keep going? How do we keep from giving up and giving in?
“Here is something pretty unbelievable. The only living World War I veteran, a man named Frank Buckles just turned 109 years old. What’s even more amazing, he just finished his fourth tour in Afghanistan.”--Jay Leno
How do we keep going? There’s one overlooked key to perseverance that we see in the great perseverance chapter, 2 Corinthians 4.
“Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up… We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies... We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. .. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”--2 Corinthians 4 (NLT)
We can sum up this chapter this way: “We never give up…we never give up.”--2 Corinthians 4:1 & 4:16 (NLT)
Why not? What keeps us going?
Paul talks about the pressure.
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed…”--2 Corinthians 4:8 (NIV)
As planters and pastors we face all kinds of pressure: financial pressure, emotional pressure, financial pressure, family pressure, did I mention financial pressure?
We are pressed, but not crushed.
Paul talks about the perplexities.
“We are perplexed, but not driven to despair…”--2 Corinthians 4:8 (NLT)
We are perplexed. Sometime I just can’t figure it out. When the newly hired Executive Pastor at our church had to move to Oregon recently because his wife lost her job due to this economy, everyone on staff asked the same question, “Why is this happening?”
A lot of us face perplexing situations right now. But I like how the message translates this verse:
“We're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do…”--2 Corinthians 4:8 (The Message)
Paul talks about the persecutions.
“We are …persecuted, but not abandoned…”--2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV)
My daughter is home from China, where she serves ministering to students. We hear first hand of persecutions going on there.
I received this text from one of our planters yesterday, yes, yesterday--he is on the edge:
“Thanx. Here's latest on the other events of the day :)
I believe we just missed an attack by Gods grace. …Was guy among us loaded w/357 watching. Make a long story short …helicopter began flying overhead "looking" for us. At that point guys
decided to go… On road out of town just sped past 4 … trucks all loaded with gunmen headed toward vilage where we were. Headed back …. Gunmen on road now too. Big traffic parade we got past, those behind us won't :) tell more details when get back. Keep praying.”
Notice the happy face signs. He’s facing persecution, but pretty excited about the opportunity.
And we all have the opportunity of persecution. Maybe not with a 357 aimed at us, but as leaders our necks are on the line. We are taking shots.
Paul talks about the problems.
“We are … struck down, but not destroyed.”--2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV)
The Amplified Bible says, “we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed.”
We get knocked down,
Headed into this most recent Super Bowl, it looked like history would be made: perhaps two undefeated teams would make it. The New Orleans saints started the season 13-0 before they lost to the Dallas Cowboys. The Indianapolis Colts started 14-0. They had a lead at halftime in game fifteen--their second-to-last-regular season game. But they pulled out their starters and lost.
The Colts took a lot of flak in the aftermath of that loss. A perfect season was in their grasp, but they passed on it. In the midst of the outcry about the loss, their team president Bill Polan had this to say, “Our goal is not an undefeated season. Our goal is to get to the Super Bowl and win.”
A lot of time we quit when we get knocked down. But Paul says our goal is not an undefeated life. Our goal is to keep going, to be standing at the end, to follow God no matter what.
“It is not enough for a man to know how to ride; he must know how to fall.”--Mexican Proverb
We face pressure, perplexities, persecutions and problems, so how do we persevere?
Obviously there are several paths to perseverance: perspective, prayer… (Check out Bill Hoyt’s article on this passage in last month’s seedlings for some antidotes to discouragement: (http://www.growinghealthychurches.org/art/art_652.shtml)
…but I want to suggest one primary key:
The Key is We
In this chapter Paul uses the term “we” 29 times and the term “us” five times.
The key to keep going is to not go alone.
Perseverance means teaming up with someone else.
That’s why we have a network! When I’m facing financial pressure, I think about our planter partners in Michigan and realize that if they can make it, so can I. When I am perplexed I reflect on my colleagues who are “undergoing the same kind of sufferings” and I keep going. When I think of persecutions, I realize there are a lot worse persecutions going on with my brothers and my daughter. And when I get knocked down, I recognize that the none of my colleagues is undefeated either.
We can keep going together. The key is “we.”
“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble .”-- Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NLT)
Here’s the application: Go to your cluster--get with the other folks who are going through the same things. Talk to your coach. Serve as a coach. Connect with other planters, leaders and pastors on the phone or through email, texting, Facebook, Twitter, Walkie-Talkie, carrier pigeon…or whatever. Do not neglect meeting together--make it a habit. Encourage one another, and all the more.
We may want to quit at times, but we can keep going, together. The key is “we.”
IT’S ABOUT MULTIPLICATION
08/02/09 09
One of the first things God said to human beings was, “Now be fruitful and multiply…”
--Genesis 9:7 (NLT)
We were made to multiply.
Woody Allen said, “Some guy hit my fender, and I told him, 'Be fruitful and multiply,' but not in those words.”
Multiplication is our calling, it is part of who we are.
In the parable of the talents Jesus spoke of the importance of multiplication:
"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'” --Matthew 25:19-23
Notice that the “Well done!” comes after multiplication. We see it in the parable of the sower:
“Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."—Mark 4:8
Notice that the goal is multiplication.
We hear it in the Great Commission as well:
“As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”--John 17:18
“Perhaps the ultimate test is not what you are able to do in the here and now – but instead what continues to grow long after you’ve gone.” - Tom Rath and Barry Conchie, Strength Based Leadership (Gallup Press, 2009)
If we’re not multiplying, we’re not doing it right. If we are not reproducing our lives, our groups, our churches and even our movement, then we’re not following Jesus’ orders.
We were made to multiply. But that raises a question, how can we make multiplication happen?
Three Raider fans are at the doctor for some tests. The doctor asks the first man, 'What is three times three?' '274,' was his reply. The doctor says to the second man, 'It's your turn. What is three times three?’ 'Tuesday', replies the second man. The doctor says to the third man, 'Okay, your turn. What's three times three?’ 'Nine', says the third man. 'That's great!' says the doctor. 'How did you get that?’ 'Simple,' says the third Raider fan, 'I subtracted 274 from Tuesday.'
Some of us are that clueless about multiplication, but Jesus gives us some tips on how to multiply from his message in John 15:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful…Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
--John 15:1-8
Let’s look at six ways to multiply.
1. Expect
Jesus simply expected multiplication.
"My Father is glorified by this,that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.”--John 15:8 (NASV)
“Jesus expected his followers to reproduce.”--Robert E. Coleman, “The Master Plan of Evangelism”
Jesus expected reproduction. We either reproduce or we’re thrown into the fire and burned. Reproduction is the proof that we really are followers.
There’s an old proverb that says, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” Many folks live by that. But it isn’t a Biblical concept:
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
—John 14:12
Jesus lived with the philosophy that if you want something done you need to multiply yourself by pouring your life into others.
Do we expect to reproduce? Many, if not most believers, see multiplication as “extra credit”—but in actuality it is part of the main course. Jesus expects it, do we?
2. Example
In a comic strip, a young man says to a preacher, “Being a minister is really hard. I mean, living for others, leading an exemplary life. That’s a lot of responsibility. The pressures must be tremendous! Having to set an example…people watching, waiting for one false move, one sign of human frailty they can jump on. I don’t know how you handle it.”
The preacher sheepishly replied, “I stay home a lot.”
If we remain with Jesus we will start to imitate him.
“Therefore I urge you to imitate me.”--1 Corinthians 4:16
“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”--Hebrews 13:17
People are watching you and me, and they are doing what we do.
I recently heard another pastor give one of my talks--it was almost word for word. I didn’t know he was going to do it, we didn’t talk about it, so I was surprised as I listened to someone do one of my talks in my presence. He actually did a better job delivering it than I do. It was strange though, I was thinking that I need to be careful because people are watching and listening. And I remember thinking I need to get some better talks!
Jim Dornan wrote, “If your life in any way connects with other people, you are an influencer. Everything you do at home, at church, in your job, or on the ball field has an impact on the lives of other people.”
Bill Westafer added, “There are people whose feelings and well-being are within my influence. I will never escape that fact.”
People are watching you, they are watching me.
An overnight guest was having breakfast with President Calvin Coolidge one morning, and the guest wanted to make a good impression. He noticed that when Coolidge was served his coffee, he took the coffee cup, poured some on to the saucer, and added some cream and sugar to it. Not wanting to break any rules of etiquette, the visitor followed the commander-in-chief’s lead and poured some of his coffee on to his saucer, then added some cream and sugar. Then he waited for the president’s next move. He was embarrassed to see the president place the saucer on the floor for the cat.
Albert Schweitzer said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others…it is the only thing.”
3. Engage
“Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him.”—Mark 3:13-14
Napoleon Hill spent his entire adult life studying successful people and he observed, “You must get involved to have an impact. No one is impressed with the won-lost record of the referee.”
Perhaps we stop at the example stage and never get involved--we will probably never reproduce then. They say, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” But without some kind of familiarity we will never breed anything. We’ve got to get close to multiply. We’ve got to get close to people to bring them to Jesus and get close to leaders to pass the baton on to them, and get close to church planting if we expect our churches to reproduce.
Rita Coolidge admitted, “Too often, the opportunity knocks, but by the time you push back the chain, push back the bolt, unhook the two locks and shut off the burglar alarm, it's too late.”
We all have some incredible opportunities for multiplication around us, let’s engage those opportunities.
4. Empower
Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”—John 20:21
"The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it." ~ Theodore Roosevelt
“Success without a successor is failure.”—Hans Finzel, “The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make.”
“If a company CEO does not provide and prepare a successor to take the reins of leadership of his corporation, he is ensuring the eventual demise of his organization. The same can be said of those of us who are called to be parents. Sooner or later, we are going to die. Has that thought really sunk into your consciousness? You are going to die. And one measurement of your success in life will be the degree to which you have imparted to your children the skills necessary to succeed in this life as well as the next one.”—Robert Jeffress
“The greatest leader is willing to train people and develop them to the point that they eventually surpass him or her in knowledge and ability.”—Fred Manske
Bob Briner says, “Almost from the first day he was with them, Jesus told his followers that he would be with them only a short time. From time to time they argued with Him about the limited tenure he described, but He continued to reiterate that His time with them would be very limited…Both through His actions and His teachings, Jesus demonstrated that He expected His followers to be fruitful and productive. He was unequivocating on this.”
Empowering people is key. The problem with empowerment is simple though: It doesn’t work! Let’s face it, it didn’t work for Jesus--all of his disciples abandoned him, one betrayed him for money, the leader of the pack denied him publicly three times.
We don’t empower people because it doesn’t work. We tried it once or twice and it backfired. So we go back to the “If you want something done right, do it yourself” mentality.
But we’ve missed it. Empowering people doesn’t work every time, it doesn’t work at first, and it doesn’t work without the Holy Spirit. But it does work. Jesus’ multiplication “failures” ended up turning the world upside down. The keys to empowerment are prayer and perseverance.
“It sounds almost like an impossible task, but God never asks us to do anything he doesn't empower us to do.”--Jennifer O'Neill
One the Holy Spirit got involved these men changed the world.
I was asked recently how we do multiplication in our church. My immediate response was, “We push and push and push and have our share of messes and disasters and disappointments…” Then out of the corner of my eye I saw Jack Igel. Jack and his wife, Maria came to our church at the beginning stages of their spiritual journey. They clarified their commitment to Christ, they started to grow, took on ministry opportunities, led small groups, came on staff and now are pasturing in Wisconsin. It hit me, so I continued, “We push and push and push and have our share of messes and disasters…and every once in while we see a Jack Igel emerge--someone who produces a crop, thirty, sixty, a hundred fold…”
Keep at it, keep pushing, keep trying. Empowering leads to multiplying.
5. Enrich
We multiply through our giving. We get connected to the vine. He pours into us, and we pour into others, and reproduction happens.
“God …will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. So two good things will result from this ministry of giving“—the needs of the believers will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God. As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you.”--2 Corinthians 9:10-14 (NLT)
I like how Margaret Cho puts it: “Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways, it can change someone else's life forever.”
We can get involved in reproduction today by giving to a reproducing church or a reproducing organization like GHC. I am so thankful for those of you who give faithfully--you are being fruitful and multiplying!
5. Entrust
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit…”--John 15:4-5
When we give our lives to Jesus, when we give our leadership to Jesus, when we give our groups and our churches to Jesus, he promises that our labor is not in vain. He promises that if we trust him we will not end up as some “dead-end link on the chain of Christianity.” He promises that we ill “bear much fruit.” And that’s what we were made to do.
Read More...
--Genesis 9:7 (NLT)
We were made to multiply.
Woody Allen said, “Some guy hit my fender, and I told him, 'Be fruitful and multiply,' but not in those words.”
Multiplication is our calling, it is part of who we are.
In the parable of the talents Jesus spoke of the importance of multiplication:
"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'” --Matthew 25:19-23
Notice that the “Well done!” comes after multiplication. We see it in the parable of the sower:
“Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."—Mark 4:8
Notice that the goal is multiplication.
We hear it in the Great Commission as well:
“As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”--John 17:18
“Perhaps the ultimate test is not what you are able to do in the here and now – but instead what continues to grow long after you’ve gone.” - Tom Rath and Barry Conchie, Strength Based Leadership (Gallup Press, 2009)
If we’re not multiplying, we’re not doing it right. If we are not reproducing our lives, our groups, our churches and even our movement, then we’re not following Jesus’ orders.
We were made to multiply. But that raises a question, how can we make multiplication happen?
Three Raider fans are at the doctor for some tests. The doctor asks the first man, 'What is three times three?' '274,' was his reply. The doctor says to the second man, 'It's your turn. What is three times three?’ 'Tuesday', replies the second man. The doctor says to the third man, 'Okay, your turn. What's three times three?’ 'Nine', says the third man. 'That's great!' says the doctor. 'How did you get that?’ 'Simple,' says the third Raider fan, 'I subtracted 274 from Tuesday.'
Some of us are that clueless about multiplication, but Jesus gives us some tips on how to multiply from his message in John 15:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful…Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
--John 15:1-8
Let’s look at six ways to multiply.
1. Expect
Jesus simply expected multiplication.
"My Father is glorified by this,that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.”--John 15:8 (NASV)
“Jesus expected his followers to reproduce.”--Robert E. Coleman, “The Master Plan of Evangelism”
Jesus expected reproduction. We either reproduce or we’re thrown into the fire and burned. Reproduction is the proof that we really are followers.
There’s an old proverb that says, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” Many folks live by that. But it isn’t a Biblical concept:
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
—John 14:12
Jesus lived with the philosophy that if you want something done you need to multiply yourself by pouring your life into others.
Do we expect to reproduce? Many, if not most believers, see multiplication as “extra credit”—but in actuality it is part of the main course. Jesus expects it, do we?
2. Example
In a comic strip, a young man says to a preacher, “Being a minister is really hard. I mean, living for others, leading an exemplary life. That’s a lot of responsibility. The pressures must be tremendous! Having to set an example…people watching, waiting for one false move, one sign of human frailty they can jump on. I don’t know how you handle it.”
The preacher sheepishly replied, “I stay home a lot.”
If we remain with Jesus we will start to imitate him.
“Therefore I urge you to imitate me.”--1 Corinthians 4:16
“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”--Hebrews 13:17
People are watching you and me, and they are doing what we do.
I recently heard another pastor give one of my talks--it was almost word for word. I didn’t know he was going to do it, we didn’t talk about it, so I was surprised as I listened to someone do one of my talks in my presence. He actually did a better job delivering it than I do. It was strange though, I was thinking that I need to be careful because people are watching and listening. And I remember thinking I need to get some better talks!
Jim Dornan wrote, “If your life in any way connects with other people, you are an influencer. Everything you do at home, at church, in your job, or on the ball field has an impact on the lives of other people.”
Bill Westafer added, “There are people whose feelings and well-being are within my influence. I will never escape that fact.”
People are watching you, they are watching me.
An overnight guest was having breakfast with President Calvin Coolidge one morning, and the guest wanted to make a good impression. He noticed that when Coolidge was served his coffee, he took the coffee cup, poured some on to the saucer, and added some cream and sugar to it. Not wanting to break any rules of etiquette, the visitor followed the commander-in-chief’s lead and poured some of his coffee on to his saucer, then added some cream and sugar. Then he waited for the president’s next move. He was embarrassed to see the president place the saucer on the floor for the cat.
Albert Schweitzer said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others…it is the only thing.”
3. Engage
“Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him.”—Mark 3:13-14
Napoleon Hill spent his entire adult life studying successful people and he observed, “You must get involved to have an impact. No one is impressed with the won-lost record of the referee.”
Perhaps we stop at the example stage and never get involved--we will probably never reproduce then. They say, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” But without some kind of familiarity we will never breed anything. We’ve got to get close to multiply. We’ve got to get close to people to bring them to Jesus and get close to leaders to pass the baton on to them, and get close to church planting if we expect our churches to reproduce.
Rita Coolidge admitted, “Too often, the opportunity knocks, but by the time you push back the chain, push back the bolt, unhook the two locks and shut off the burglar alarm, it's too late.”
We all have some incredible opportunities for multiplication around us, let’s engage those opportunities.
4. Empower
Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”—John 20:21
"The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it." ~ Theodore Roosevelt
“Success without a successor is failure.”—Hans Finzel, “The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make.”
“If a company CEO does not provide and prepare a successor to take the reins of leadership of his corporation, he is ensuring the eventual demise of his organization. The same can be said of those of us who are called to be parents. Sooner or later, we are going to die. Has that thought really sunk into your consciousness? You are going to die. And one measurement of your success in life will be the degree to which you have imparted to your children the skills necessary to succeed in this life as well as the next one.”—Robert Jeffress
“The greatest leader is willing to train people and develop them to the point that they eventually surpass him or her in knowledge and ability.”—Fred Manske
Bob Briner says, “Almost from the first day he was with them, Jesus told his followers that he would be with them only a short time. From time to time they argued with Him about the limited tenure he described, but He continued to reiterate that His time with them would be very limited…Both through His actions and His teachings, Jesus demonstrated that He expected His followers to be fruitful and productive. He was unequivocating on this.”
Empowering people is key. The problem with empowerment is simple though: It doesn’t work! Let’s face it, it didn’t work for Jesus--all of his disciples abandoned him, one betrayed him for money, the leader of the pack denied him publicly three times.
We don’t empower people because it doesn’t work. We tried it once or twice and it backfired. So we go back to the “If you want something done right, do it yourself” mentality.
But we’ve missed it. Empowering people doesn’t work every time, it doesn’t work at first, and it doesn’t work without the Holy Spirit. But it does work. Jesus’ multiplication “failures” ended up turning the world upside down. The keys to empowerment are prayer and perseverance.
“It sounds almost like an impossible task, but God never asks us to do anything he doesn't empower us to do.”--Jennifer O'Neill
One the Holy Spirit got involved these men changed the world.
I was asked recently how we do multiplication in our church. My immediate response was, “We push and push and push and have our share of messes and disasters and disappointments…” Then out of the corner of my eye I saw Jack Igel. Jack and his wife, Maria came to our church at the beginning stages of their spiritual journey. They clarified their commitment to Christ, they started to grow, took on ministry opportunities, led small groups, came on staff and now are pasturing in Wisconsin. It hit me, so I continued, “We push and push and push and have our share of messes and disasters…and every once in while we see a Jack Igel emerge--someone who produces a crop, thirty, sixty, a hundred fold…”
Keep at it, keep pushing, keep trying. Empowering leads to multiplying.
5. Enrich
We multiply through our giving. We get connected to the vine. He pours into us, and we pour into others, and reproduction happens.
“God …will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. So two good things will result from this ministry of giving“—the needs of the believers will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God. As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you.”--2 Corinthians 9:10-14 (NLT)
I like how Margaret Cho puts it: “Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways, it can change someone else's life forever.”
We can get involved in reproduction today by giving to a reproducing church or a reproducing organization like GHC. I am so thankful for those of you who give faithfully--you are being fruitful and multiplying!
5. Entrust
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit…”--John 15:4-5
When we give our lives to Jesus, when we give our leadership to Jesus, when we give our groups and our churches to Jesus, he promises that our labor is not in vain. He promises that if we trust him we will not end up as some “dead-end link on the chain of Christianity.” He promises that we ill “bear much fruit.” And that’s what we were made to do.
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LOOKING FOR SOME JASONS
12/24/08 08
When it comes to making an impact, entrepreneurial leaders are necessary. The Bible talks about the Pauls and Silas’ sticking their necks out, starting things when nothing was happening, and living on the edge.
Acts 17 describes them as men who turned the world upside down:
“Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, ‘This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.’ Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women. But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd. Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. ‘Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,’ they shouted, ‘and now they are here disturbing our city, too. And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.’ The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports. So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.
--Acts 17: 1-9 (NLT)
This New Living Bible says that Paul and Silas caused trouble for Jesus. The New King James has a more classic translation:
“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.--Acts 17:6 (NKJV)
Paul and Silas were the church planters of the first century. They came into town, set up shop, started a church and did it all over again somewhere else. They made a difference for Jesus, they made an impact for the kingdom.
But they didn’t do it alone.
There were other kinds of leaders that led to this kingdom movement: There were the JASONS.
This is the only time Jason is mentioned in the Bible. We don’t know very much about Jason, but this passage does give us some insights.
Jason was a leader.
Twice in this story we read about, “Jason and the other believers…” The fact that he was the one who was named and his name came first ensures that Jason was a leader. He was obviously vocal about his faith. When the angry mob went looking to “drag Paul and Silas out to the mob, and so they went straight to Jason's home.”--Acts 17:5 (CEV)
When they were looking for the Christian leaders, they went to Jason’s house first--he was clearly a leader who put his reputation on the line for Jesus.
Jason opened up his home.
Jason was that “man of peace” that Jesus talked about when he sent out the seventy-two:
"When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.”--Luke 10:5-7 (NIV)
Jason was hospitable. He let Paul and Silas stay with him. Evidently his house was where that church first Thessalonian met.
Jason opened up his wallet.
“They made Jason and his friends post heavy bail and let them go while they investigated the charges.”--Acts 17:9 (The Message)
This passage tells us that Jason forked over money for his faith. Perhaps he wasn’t happy about it, maybe he got it back (there is no indication that he ever got the money back from the government). But he did open his wallet.
Jason stayed in town.
“That night, under cover of darkness, their friends got Paul and Silas out of town as fast as they could. They sent them to Berea, where they again met with the Jewish community. They were treated a lot better there than in Thessalonica.”--Acts 17:10-11 (The Message)
Paul and Silas and Barnabas and Mark traveled all over, but Jason stayed in town. Paul and Silas got thing started. Jason and the other believers took it from there. Paul and Silas made things happen. Jason cleaned up the mess and kept things going.
Paul and Silas turned the world upside down. But so did Jason. Perhaps he was not a gifted evangelist. Maybe preaching wasn’t his thing. He was probably not a catalytic church planter. He wasn’t Paul, he wasn’t Paul’s right hand man. But he helped turn the world upside down by leading, opening his home--his facilities, opening his wallet, and maintaining the momentum.
As an emerging church planting network, we at GHCN are looking for the Pauls and Silases and Barnabases and Marks of this day. But we’re also looking for some Jasons.
How will churches get started and people get reached without someone to be a leader like Jason? How can a work get going without some men and women of peace? What are churches to do unless someone opens their home or their business or their office or their school or their facilities for churches? How far will the kingdom get without a great number of people opening their wallets for the cause? And how can a movement happen if some aren’t willing to stay?
In the three churches my wife Lori and I planted, we’ve seen all kinds of Jasons open their homes for everything--from church services to baptisms to youth groups to every type of meeting before, during and after we secured church facilities. Last week I was at a YMCA meeting where the branch director is opening the facilities to one of our new churches because he’s a Jason. We’ve seen so many Jasons--including many of you--who have generously opened your wallets and purses and bank accounts (usually without force!) to make things happen for all kinds of church planting and mission work. While a lot of us planters are out catalyzing, entrepreneuring and causing trouble, so many faithful Jasons are holding down the fort. I wonder how many times some official wanted to drag me away by my ears, but some Jason took the hit for me--probably a good number of times.
God wants to use you and me to cause some trouble for Jesus, to turn our world upside down, to make a significant difference. That means we all need to discover our part and play it. If you’re a Paul or a Silas, great! But if you’re a Jason, wonderful. The kingdom wouldn’t be the same without you.
So all of you Jasons, thanks for all you do. Take a bow! And take a step forward too, we really need you.
Acts 17 describes them as men who turned the world upside down:
“Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, ‘This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.’ Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women. But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd. Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. ‘Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,’ they shouted, ‘and now they are here disturbing our city, too. And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.’ The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports. So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.
--Acts 17: 1-9 (NLT)
This New Living Bible says that Paul and Silas caused trouble for Jesus. The New King James has a more classic translation:
“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.--Acts 17:6 (NKJV)
Paul and Silas were the church planters of the first century. They came into town, set up shop, started a church and did it all over again somewhere else. They made a difference for Jesus, they made an impact for the kingdom.
But they didn’t do it alone.
There were other kinds of leaders that led to this kingdom movement: There were the JASONS.
This is the only time Jason is mentioned in the Bible. We don’t know very much about Jason, but this passage does give us some insights.
Jason was a leader.
Twice in this story we read about, “Jason and the other believers…” The fact that he was the one who was named and his name came first ensures that Jason was a leader. He was obviously vocal about his faith. When the angry mob went looking to “drag Paul and Silas out to the mob, and so they went straight to Jason's home.”--Acts 17:5 (CEV)
When they were looking for the Christian leaders, they went to Jason’s house first--he was clearly a leader who put his reputation on the line for Jesus.
Jason opened up his home.
Jason was that “man of peace” that Jesus talked about when he sent out the seventy-two:
"When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.”--Luke 10:5-7 (NIV)
Jason was hospitable. He let Paul and Silas stay with him. Evidently his house was where that church first Thessalonian met.
Jason opened up his wallet.
“They made Jason and his friends post heavy bail and let them go while they investigated the charges.”--Acts 17:9 (The Message)
This passage tells us that Jason forked over money for his faith. Perhaps he wasn’t happy about it, maybe he got it back (there is no indication that he ever got the money back from the government). But he did open his wallet.
Jason stayed in town.
“That night, under cover of darkness, their friends got Paul and Silas out of town as fast as they could. They sent them to Berea, where they again met with the Jewish community. They were treated a lot better there than in Thessalonica.”--Acts 17:10-11 (The Message)
Paul and Silas and Barnabas and Mark traveled all over, but Jason stayed in town. Paul and Silas got thing started. Jason and the other believers took it from there. Paul and Silas made things happen. Jason cleaned up the mess and kept things going.
Paul and Silas turned the world upside down. But so did Jason. Perhaps he was not a gifted evangelist. Maybe preaching wasn’t his thing. He was probably not a catalytic church planter. He wasn’t Paul, he wasn’t Paul’s right hand man. But he helped turn the world upside down by leading, opening his home--his facilities, opening his wallet, and maintaining the momentum.
As an emerging church planting network, we at GHCN are looking for the Pauls and Silases and Barnabases and Marks of this day. But we’re also looking for some Jasons.
How will churches get started and people get reached without someone to be a leader like Jason? How can a work get going without some men and women of peace? What are churches to do unless someone opens their home or their business or their office or their school or their facilities for churches? How far will the kingdom get without a great number of people opening their wallets for the cause? And how can a movement happen if some aren’t willing to stay?
In the three churches my wife Lori and I planted, we’ve seen all kinds of Jasons open their homes for everything--from church services to baptisms to youth groups to every type of meeting before, during and after we secured church facilities. Last week I was at a YMCA meeting where the branch director is opening the facilities to one of our new churches because he’s a Jason. We’ve seen so many Jasons--including many of you--who have generously opened your wallets and purses and bank accounts (usually without force!) to make things happen for all kinds of church planting and mission work. While a lot of us planters are out catalyzing, entrepreneuring and causing trouble, so many faithful Jasons are holding down the fort. I wonder how many times some official wanted to drag me away by my ears, but some Jason took the hit for me--probably a good number of times.
God wants to use you and me to cause some trouble for Jesus, to turn our world upside down, to make a significant difference. That means we all need to discover our part and play it. If you’re a Paul or a Silas, great! But if you’re a Jason, wonderful. The kingdom wouldn’t be the same without you.
So all of you Jasons, thanks for all you do. Take a bow! And take a step forward too, we really need you.