BLeach

Dream Miners

A pastor is like a coal miner--only we're out to uncover hidden dreams.

Today I came across this excellent post from Steven Furtick.  His words prompted me to remember an important tension in leadership.

A leader is responsible to recruit people to use their gifts in an effort to serve a corporate vision.  But there's more to it.  As leaders, we must personally serve the unique dreams that God is birthing in the hearts of our people. 

Our dream should be to see people in our organizations accomplish their own dreams.

Isn't this what it means to equip God's people for works of service?

Yesterday I met with a retired couple in our church.  My purpose was to recruit them to lead a ministry in our church.  But God had something better in mind.  We ended up talking about their dreams for retirement.  The conversation was fulfilling--and energizing!

Are you working hard to staff your ministries?  Take it up a notch, and begin working to release your ministers.

Life on Life

I spent some time this morning in orientation with our newest summer intern.  Mitch will be our 27th intern in 8 years. 

We don't host interns because of what they do for the church (although they always make a contribution).  We host them because we believe that the greatest investment of our time as leaders is personally discipling the next generation of leaders.

I'll spend hours with Mitch this summer in conversation and prayer.  He'll sit in on all of our leadership team meetings.  We'll read books together, prepare for sermons together, and watch the Red Wings together. 

Today I read through the list of young leaders who have done an internship with us.  I'm proud to see how much God has done through their lives already.  It's an honor to serve emerging leaders!

Women in Ministry Quotes

I'm streaky with Twitter.  I tend to post more when I'm traveling and sitting.  So I was a bit more active yesterday during my various flight delays. 

I especially enjoyed following Geoff Surratt while he posted updates from Nancy Beach's talk at the Orange Conference.  Here are some of my favorites:

• God has created many women to be leaders and teachers and he didn't make a mistake.
• Whether complementarian or egalitarian we all need to approach the subject with more grace and humility.
• Churches not using women leaders is like soldiers fighting with one hand tied behind their backs.
• Men need the blessing and guidance of women leaders as well as men leaders.
• If you don't listen to and seek the wisdom of women leaders in your church you are a bonehead (not sure if that one's from Nancy or Geoff).
• On sexual attraction between male and female leaders: "Sorry guys, we're just not that into you."
• Sometimes the greatest barrier in the church to women leaders are other women.

Geoff is posting some great links again today from the conference.  Follow him here.  And you can follow my irregular tweets here:)

Insecure Pastors::4

Thought I'd make the last post on this topic short and sweet.

Don't be this guy:)

Insecure Pastors::3

Last week I wrote about a subject that affects many of us in ministry.  Insecurity.  You can check out the first two posts here and here.

Since Monday can involve some reflection and emotion for pastors, I thought I'd encourage you to join me in an extremely promising pursuit.

Security in Christ.

Insecurity is a problem because we think we need to prove our worth.  When we look for confidence through the approval of people, there will always be some instability in our souls.  And it seems to me that the reason we put effort into impressing people is that we don't feel very good about ourselves.

Instead of continuing to prove our worth to people, we need to know what we're worth to Christ.  This often requires a total paradigm shift in the way we see ourselves.  Here are a few tips I've found to help with the process.

• Take time everyday to listen to the voice of Jesus.  Here what He is saying to you about yourself.
• Make a list of twenty Scriptures that speak of the value God places on people like you.
• Worship until the greatness of God's love has captured your heart again.
• Embrace failure as an opportunity to reflect on the unwavering acceptance of Jesus.
• Be real.  The reason we put our best foot forward is because we doubt that people will accept us for who we really are.  Give God total access to your heart.
• Meditate on the call of God.
• Focus on fruitfulness over performance.  Keep growing in love, joy and peace.

How have you been able to overcome the identity crisis and grow in your security in Christ?

Insecure Pastors::2

This week I'm thinking out loud about a subject that affects many of us in ministry.  Insecurity.  You can check out the first post here.

God got my attention through a counseling experience I once had.  A woman in our church asked to meet with me during a difficult season in which I had been receiving some criticism.  During the time leading up to our meeting I had managed to convince myself that she wanted to talk with me because she was unhappy with my leadership.  I spent a full day anxious about the appointment.  Finally, when we met, I realized that she desperately needed perspective on a crisis in her family.  Her burdens had nothing to do with me.

Insecurity can greatly hinder our ability to shepherd people.  Here are a few of the problems I think insecurity can cause: 

• Paranoia: Like my example above, we become anxious about theories that aren't even true.
• Selfishness: Insecurity places self at the center of the universe.  We think everyone's eyes are on us, and forget that we're not that important.
• Defensiveness: We become unable to grow through healthy criticism. 
• Fear: Insecurity can strip our confidence and hinder our ability to lead.  
• Isolation: Insecurity may cause us to withdraw from relationships and live lonely lives. 
• Abuse: If insecurity grows, we may even begin to mistreat people we care about. 

Fortunately, healing is available when we invite Jesus into the brokenness of our hearts.  Next up: A different take on eternal security.

What problems do you see that insecurity can cause? 

Inspirational Leadership

I've been reading through the gospel of Luke, outlining characteristics of Jesus' life and ministry.  One thought that has stood out: Jesus led through inspiration.

From now on you'll catch men instead of fish.  Inspiration.

Men don't quit their jobs without having another job lined up because they're needed.  They drop their nets (cash in their stock) because they're inspired.

Recruitment is one of the constant demands of leadership.  In the local church, recruiting volunteers feels challenging when it seems like their is little incentive to offer.  But that's because we're often leading out of need.  We need small group leaders.  We need setup workers.  We need volunteers in the nursery.  And after awhile, the ongoing announcements and pleas fall on deaf ears.

God's people need more than an opportunity.  They need to be inspired.

And it's inspired leaders who inspire leaders.

If you're having a difficult time gaining buy-in, get alone with a Bible and a journal and recapture the worth of your cause.  Let the lostness of your city burden you again.  Let the enduring nature of the local church capture you again.  Let the honor of serving the mission of God motivate you again.

Then lead with inspiration.

Team Retreat

Getting back in the swing of things today after two incredible days at our leadership team retreat.  I always enjoy this time away with our leaders, and this year might have been the best so far.

We focus on two things during our summer retreat: praying and playing.  We pray for each other and the church.  We've got some big dreams for the fall, and it was great to zoom out and pray for faith.

We also play.  We play hard.  In fact, I'm still a little sore from several hours of kickball, blobbing, water volleyball, and other full contact activities.  Seems like our injury rate for the team was almost 100%!

I find incredible joy in ministry by watching all that God accomplishes in people's lives.  I also find joy in the context of community.  Planting a church with the dream of changing a city involves long days and hard work.  But doing it with people I love means the journey is filled with lots of laughter and great memories.

The Fruit of His Life

Pastor Max Yeary spent the day with our cohort.  He began pastoring Christian Life Center the year I was born (1978).  He's been there ever since.

Today he put his life into his lecture and I observed something meaningful.

Max loves his staff members like a father loves a son. 

Almost all of them were saved at CLC and have been discipled through Max's life. He honors each of them with his words (even though none of them are here). And he speaks with pride about former staff members who have gone on to lead great churches.

During one of our breaks I thanked him for giving me such a vivid picture of servant leadership. When I did tears filled his eyes.

There's something compelling about a leader who wears his heart on his sleeve.

Building Teams

One of my favorite tasks as a leader is launching, building, and handing off teams.  It's the church planter in me! 

I've started dozens of teams since starting Church of the King.  Some of those teams were seasonal.  They served a specific purpose for a specific amount of time and then phased out.  Some of our seasonal teams have been responsible to implement strategies, plan events, oversee campaigns, or lift strategic ministries.  Other teams continue to function today and serve as the lifeblood of our church.

Last night I met for the first time with a brand new team in our church.  They are going to oversee all of our evangelism, outreach, and community service efforts.  Together our goal is to create a missional culture at Church of the King. 

My favorite aspect of team building is the process of prayerfully recruiting each team member.  It was so rewarding to gather last night with some brand new, emerging leaders in our church.  They were so fired up and ready to dream!  And I believe deeply in each person who was in the room.  This experience is going to pull the potential out of them!

We spent most of the meeting talking through team expectations.  Here's what everyone has decided to commit to:

• Clear, honest, and consistent communication
• Work toward a common vision (creating a culture of outreach at COTK)
• Personal commitment to evangelism
• Relational commitment to each other
• Voluntary accountability to all team expectations
• Regular prayer for one another
• Prioritize listening (to Jesus, each other, other ministries in the church, and our community)
• Adapting to the big picture vision of our church
• Attendance at all meetings
• Personal study and growth in evangelism