You will not be able to extemporize good thinking unless you have been in the habit of thinking and feeding your mind with abundant and nourishing food. Work hard at every available moment. Store your minds very richly, and then, like merchants with crowded warehouses, you will have goods ready for your customers, and having arranged your good things upon the shelves of your mind, you will be able to hand them down at any time without the laborious process of going to market, sorting, folding, and preparing… Take it as a rule without exception, that to be able to overflow spontaneously you must be full.Read the rest.
Showing posts with label Leadership Development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leadership Development. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
The Cup Has To Be Full To Overflow
Charles Spurgeon to his ministerial students:
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
How To Lead Music Well at Church
Good thoughts here from Jamie Brown:
It’s not rocket science.Read the rest.
Sing songs people know (or can learn easily). Sing them in congregational keys. Sing and celebrate the power, glory, and salvation of God. Serve your congregation. Saturate them with the word of God. Get your face off the big screen. Use your original songs in extreme moderation. Err on the side of including as many people as possible in what’s going on. Keep the lights up. Stop talking so much. Don’t let loops/lights/visuals become your outlet for creativity at the expense of the centrality of the gospel. Point to Jesus. Don’t draw attention to yourself. Don’t sing songs with bad lyrics or weak theology. Tailor your worship leading, and the songs you pick, to include the largest cross-section of your congregation that you can. Lead pastorally.
Monday, May 19, 2014
10 Characteristics Shared By Great Leaders
Although not an overtly Christian book, Lindsay regularly returns to the way the research can be read and utilized to encourage Christian leaders.
I personally found many applications that could be made in ministry, especially in the areas of mentoring, EQ (relational intelligence), and servant leadership.
But now to the 10 characteristics or features that most of these leaders had in common.
1. A mentor Having a mentor early in a career is by far the most important contributor to a person’s success. It matters far more than a privileged upbringing, the college attended, extraordinary early life experiences, or what they did did in their teenage years.
2. Two loving parentsThe majority of leaders interviewed came from households with two loving parents with the critical factor being the amount of time they spent with their parents.
3. College Virtually everyone in the study graduated from some college. Only 3% of the leaders did not graduate from college, and among this small group, most attended for some amount of time. Many of the leaders who grew up in poverty had used education to neutralize their disadvantage. Two-thirds of the leaders attended state colleges/universities (i.e. non-Ivy-League).
4. Sports A surprisingly large proportion of leaders were varsity athletes – 41% in high school and 23 % in college.
5. Global awareness Most leaders had a wide worldview, often achieved through learning a second language or international travel. 65% traveled abroad for the first time between the ages of 16 and 30.
6. Servant spirit The most successful leaders did not use their leadership primarily for personal benefit or advancement but for a greater cause.
"Those who use their authority to control others or simply for their own gain are not leaders at all, but only power-wielders.
Transformative power (at an institution, in a personal relationship, or in our daily work) almost always comes from great sacrifices. And moral authority—which is the leader’s greatest currency for influence—develops not through usurping power, as some might contend, but through self-giving sacrifice."
7. Generalist While increasing mastery of their specific field of expertise, the best leaders maintained a generalist orientation. They are “dabblers of sorts, conversant in other kinds of business, knowledgeable about current affairs, and able to connect across divides.”
8. Exposure and Experience Leadership cannot be taught but it can be caught. The key to developing leaders is to expose students to leadership and to experience it. There is no substitute for trying to do it, and the earlier people try, the more likely they’ll get good at it.
9. EQ (Emotional Intelligence) In leadership, IQ takes second position to emotional or relational intelligence.
Leading others is significantly easier when followers enjoy being around the leader, and interpersonally gifted people are at a significant advantage in power… The higher the level of the job, the less important technical skills and cognitive abilities were and the more important competence in emotional intelligence became.
10. Positive attitudeThey are positive about their work, exuding energy and enthusiasm. They are positive about people, investing in them and encouraging them, and they are positive about the future, tending not to look backwards but forwards.Get the book here.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Tribes and the Lost Art of Discernment
Yancey Arrington:
Unfortunately for some, looking to leaders who don’t share your theological distinctives or church philosophy is anathema. I’ve been places where if you quote [a non-tribe leader's name] or say you like [said leader's] approach to dealing with a specific issue you run the risk of being regarded as some kind of sellout, pragmatist who’s a heartbeat away from purchasing a laser light show and circus clowns for your Sunday morning “event.” You definitely are in need of a strong rebuke…or better yet, a gossip session: “Did you hear who [leader in your tribe] has been influenced by? What’s he thinking? We started our tribe because we don’t want to be like those guys!” The sad result is that isolationism and insularity become shibboleths for who the real faithful are. Do they quote our guys, go to our conferences, read our books? Another unfortunate product is the fostering of an either/or mentality which tragically pits good things against each other, forcing a tribe’s faithful to embrace one at the loss of the other. For example, one person’s tribe is either into theology or leadership but it can’t be into both. Embrace theology and you’re regarded as too doctrinaire for your own good. Embrace leadership and risk being branded as guy who puts ends over means. It’s crazy, pick any tribe and often you’ll get subjected to all kinds of false dichotomies (attractional church vs. incarnational church, Sunday school vs. missional communities, etc.) forcing you to pick the “right” side.
Whenever I see this either/or mentality I want to scream, “Whatever happened to discernment?”Read the rest.
Monday, April 14, 2014
How To Avoid Burnout
Great wisdom here from Brian Howard. I don't know many guys who know how to rest well. We need to work really hard and rest really hard. Laziness should never be part of the discussion. This article contributes greatly to the resting part.
Brian writes:
Brian writes:
These kinds of collapses are common in leaders:
- Physical Collapses - Sickness, Exhaustion, Insomnia, or Lack of energy.
- Spiritual Collapses - Spiritual discouragement, Lack of spiritual interest, Moral failure.
- Emotional Collapses - Anxiety, Depression.
Burnout might seem to come out of nowhere, but it really doesn’t. Burnout is often the by-product of poor choices on the part of a leader. There are patterns that lead to Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Collapses. These patterns involve not paying attention to what your body and soul really need.
Read the rest.One of the most important strategies in avoiding burnout is to get rest. Without rest, burnout is inevitable. Without rest, collapse is certain.
Consider the following 4 strategies for rest that will help you to fight against Burnout.
Wednesday, April 02, 2014
Some Fear is Extremely Healthy, Some is Not
Bonhoeffer points out that a preacher of the gospel will either be motivated or hindered by fear. The question we must ask is what kind of fear characterizes our everyday lives? Bonhoeffer reflecting on Matthew 10:26-28 writes,They must not fear men. Men can do them no harm, for the power of men ceases with the death of the body. But they must overcome the fear of death with the fear of God. The danger lies not in the judgement of men, but in the judgement of God, not in the death of the body but in the eternal destruction of body and soul. Those who are still afraid of men have no fear of God, and those who have fear of God have ceased to be afraid of men. All preachers of the gospel will do well to recollect this saying daily.Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, 218
Monday, March 24, 2014
"So let’s spend the bulk of our time explaining why our churches do what we do and where our churches are going. People will ask you about the what when they’re passionate about the why."
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
4 Things To Pray For Your Pastor
J.D. Greear:
Books by J.D. Greear:
1. Pray that we will make God’s Word fully known.
2. Pray that we will reprove, rebuke and exhort people with great patience.
3. Pray for sound doctrine.
4. Pray that we will openly and unapologetically share the truth.Read the rest for his explanations.
Books by J.D. Greear:
Thursday, February 06, 2014
4 Indicators That You Shouldn't Respond to a Critic
Thom Rainer:
Books by Thom Rainer:
Read the rest.
- When you have already repeatedly responded. For some critics, a response is not sufficient. They will not stop until they have gotten their way. There comes a point where further communication becomes an exercise in futility. It’s time to move on and do “the great work.”
- When the critic intends harm. An occasional critic is not so much interested in communicating his or her issue as causing you harm. Their issue is not actually the issue. They want you hurt in some way. Further communication will only cause problems.
- When the critic will not reason. Many critics have very valid points. Whether we agree or disagree, we need to listen to their perspective. Other critics simply want to rant. There is rarely a good outcome when meeting with the very unreasonable and ranting critic.
- When the criticism becomes an ad hominem attack. An ad hominem attack takes place when a person attacks your character. The issue is peripheral, and is only used to assail you personally. There is often no need to deal with the critic because he or she really doesn’t care about the issue.
Books by Thom Rainer:
Thursday, January 02, 2014
On Creatureliness and Limits
To relinquish; to admit that some dreams are presumptuous; to acknowledge that some needs outlast me; to recognize my inability to fully supply what is lacking; to admit that I am limited; to say no to competition with brothers and sisters, and to give to others what I strongly desired for myself; and in it all to still take up the pen or give voice to preach Jesus— these indicate a surrender to noble limits.
Darryl Dash comments:
To summarize: you carry on you the bacteria that will take you apart when you die. Your dog may collapse and die today. And you must realize that many of your dreams and presumptuous, and the needs you’re trying to meet will outlast you. Happy New Year!
All of this could sound depressing, but look at it a different way.
At the beginning of a new year, it is not my goal to be awesome. It shouldn't be yours either. We are here for a short while. We are not the Savior of anything. There are needs that we can’t meet, and there are things that we can’t control. We are limited at best, and dependent on God’s good grace every moment of every year.
Depressing? Only to the extent that we've lost sight of reality. These truths are actually freeing when we understand them. It’s especially freeing because all of these realities are met in God, and more. God is awesome. He needs no resolutions. He is the Savior of everything. There are no needs that exceed his ability; he is eternal and he withholds nothing good from his children. Even death, which is not good, has been overcome. Everything sad will become untrue. And I am here, now, to enjoy what he's given me, with the hope that there is even more for me when I'm gone.
If I have a New Year’s Resolution, it’s not to be awesome. It’s to rediscover my creatureliness and limits, and to rediscover God’s awesomeness and the richness of his grace.
So far I’m off to a good start. Dragging a limp dog across the road sure seems to help. But if I finish the year more aware of who I am, and who God is, then it will have been a year spent in the best possible way.Read the rest.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
How to Guard Against Mission Drift in 2014
This is easier said than done. For most, after a few years of ministry, the challenges of mission drift come fast and furious.
Jesus is clear that our job as Christians is to make disciples (Matt. 28:19-10). Any church that doesn't have this aspiration as a focal point of their mission simply disobeys Jesus. But mission drift happens even in organizations with clear goals and objectives. Consider the following points to help guard against this tendency.
Be ruthlessly redundant. I recall a time when I was giving announcements during a church service concerning an upcoming marriage retreat. It was the third week in a row that I made this same announcement. After the service I saw my friend Laura and asked her if she and her husband would be attending the retreat. I know she was present in the service all three weeks I made this same announcement. Yet she said to me, "Marriage retreat? I didn't know there was a marriage retreat!"
We have to over-communicate everything for anything to be heard. So dare to be ruthlessly redundant. We have to learn to creatively over-saturate people with various modes of communication so they truly know our values and what we are collectively doing in light of those values. The bigger your organization the harder you must work to keep everyone on the same page. It helps to keep your mission statement simple. Because if no one can remember your mission, you won't have to worry about mission drift, because you won't have any mission.
Put the right people in the right place. Is everyone on your team fully convinced of the mission? If not, you're simply waiting for mission drift. I know that most leaders can't simply remove people from their team without causing huge conflict. Nuanced and difficult situations demand wisdom, patience, and prayer as you handle the complexity of hiring and firing. If you can't change the team, at least you must be careful about who gets added in the future.
Say no to some very good things. Make the mission of your church the filter by which you determine your yes and no. You will need to say no to some very good things that don't hit the bullseye of what God is calling your church to do.
Prepare for people to get mad, leave your church, or write you angry e-mails. This is the cost of a focused mission, but make no mistake—the payoff is beautiful. "Don't spread yourself too thin" is a cliché for a reason. Everyone has a tendency to do it. But if you are in the habit of saying no to some really good things it will most likely free up space for you to accomplish your church's calling.
Remember that you are not accountable to people who leave your church or write you angry e-mails. You will answer to God alone on the day that he has fixed. That judgment should provide the needed motivation to stay focused on your vision and mission.
Drip mission in every sermon. Larry Osborne writes in his book Sticky Teams about how he used to think that the most important aspect of casting vision was his yearly "vision sermon." Over time this sermon proved challenging because people didn't show up and faithful members tended to tune out since they heard the same message, with the same point, the year before. Now he practices a new approach to guard against mission drift:
Rather than blasting it all at once, I drop vision and core values into every sermon I preach. The result has been far greater congregational alignment. Dripping core values and vision into every sermon makes them unavoidable. Anyone who would have missed my vision series or who would have tuned out because they'd heard it before is now stuck. Each week I plant a seed or two and then move on, long before they have a chance to tune out or put up their guard. And if they missed this week's sermon, I'll get them next week.
Beware personal drift. Most organizations reflect the values and personality of their leader(s). How's that for a scary thought? Is there mission drift in your life? Can anyone around you diagnose this drift? If there is any disconnect between the stated vision and mission of the church and the life of the main leader(s), is it any wonder the church drifts from it?
Leading any organization is hard work. Staying aligned to our core calling to make disciples takes continued focus. This can be exhausting at times. Remember, in the end, Jesus will build his church. When we fear that everything is falling apart, that is the time to fall apart in prayer to the Father. As we faithfully pursue him, he will provide what we need to make sure that his church (not ours) will be focused on the right things.
**This article is cross-posted at The Gospel Coalition blog.**
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
“How do I need to become more honest and less impressive, so that the only reason people pay attention to me is the power of Christ resting upon me?”
If I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.
2 Corinthians 12:6
2 Corinthians 12:6
Ray Ortlund:
God had given the apostle Paul an amazing spiritual experience — apparently, some kind of guided tour of heaven. If Paul had wanted to “wow” the rest of us, he easily could have. But for fourteen years he told no one about it, quietly keeping it to himself, wonderful though it was. He didn’t exploit his remarkable experience to enhance his ministry.
Paul was deeply secure in Christ. He was content for people to perceive him and rate him on the basis of what they themselves could observe in him – not what he could claim, even rightly claim, but the ordinary human realities they could see and hear. It was the fraudulent “super-apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:5) who trotted out their big-deal-ness. Moreover, Paul really wasn’t impressive in some ways that typically count in this world. He deliberately chose not to be. He did have the power of Christ resting upon him. But even that came out most clearly in his weaknesses. And as I said, Paul was okay with people reaching their own conclusions about all this. He didn’t groom an image. He wouldn’t stoop to it. The reality of Christ was too significant.
I wonder if the apostolic approach to clout satisfies us today. I hope so. But sometimes I wonder. So much of this is down in our motives. That makes it impossible for anyone to judge. Who can see another person’s heart? But whatever looks like self-promotion, even if the claims are true and accurate — it just doesn’t pass the whiff test.
Rather than justify the accepted patterns of gathering attention to oneself, maybe we should scrutinize more radically the conversation going on in our heads. Maybe we should be asking, “How do I need to become more honest and less impressive, so that the only reason people pay attention to me is the power of Christ resting upon me?”
My own thoughts keep returning to our need for revival — an outpouring of divine power to purify the church and compel the attention of the world. I have to wonder what there is about me right now, the Ray Ortlund who currently exists, that inadvertently counteracts the power of God? I wonder what changes I need to make, to become “a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21)? Whatever those changes are, I expect they will decrease, rather than increase, my impulses toward all forms of self-importance.
Redemptive Vulnerability
Zack Eswine:
Zack has a new website. I'd strongly encourage you to follow it. He has GREAT content.
He set down his coffee, leaned forward, and looked me in the eyes.
"I can no longer respect you as my pastor."
The reason for his loss of respect? The gas station story from my sermon.
I had told the congregation how I stopped at a gas station to fuel up. Inside, on the shelves, sexually explicit magazines peeked out from behind brown paper. Temptation smiled. I ran out of there and drove on. In the sermon I said something like, "The endings to our temptation stories are not always this happy. Sometimes, we don't run when we should and we regret it. But one thing that I know is this. No matter what, the grace of God can meet you in the gas stations of your life."
Recounting those words, the man sipped his coffee, sat down the cup and said, "No one who is a pastor should be tempted the way you seem to be. You have a real problem."
My head fogged. I respected this man. I was thankful for him. I also knew that four or five other men had responded in an opposite way toward the gospel in light of the story.
"Well," I mustered. "I'm very sorry to hear that."
Then I paused. Paul's words came to my mind. For better or worse, I spoke them. "All I can say is that I am what I am by the grace of God. I hope for the grace to always handle temptation in the manner of that gas station moment. But, I believe that your hope and the hope of our church should be in Jesus' perfection, not mine."
Since that exchange a question about vulnerability has dogged me. How transparent should a church leader be? I believe an answer to that question begins with something I call redemptive vulnerability.Read the rest.
Zack has a new website. I'd strongly encourage you to follow it. He has GREAT content.
Dear Discouraged Leader...
Great post here from Carey Nieuwhof. He lists four key questions that should be asked in the midst of your discouragement.
1. What do I expect my organization to give me?Read the rest for his explanations. If you are a leader of any sort, I'd start following his blog asap.
2. Who am I trying to please?
3. How honest am I being with myself & others?
4. What lie am I believing?
Friday, December 06, 2013
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
Leadership Lesson from Jeff Bezos
(RSS, click through to view video.)
Thom Rainer reflects:
- Throw away the box. Most of the time we use the well-worn phrase “Think outside the box.” The problem with that type of thinking is that the box is still our point of reference. We need to be asking how we can do things well beyond our existing and traditional systems. It’s a difficult but necessary exercise. Amazon is Amazon because they refused to use current paradigms as their starting point.
- Hard work is strategy. I’ve never known a successful leader who did not expend years working hard. Sometimes we tend to think that there is a lot of luck in success. While there may be fortuitous circumstances, great leaders work hard to take advantage of them. Just eighteen years ago, Bezos was taking Amazon packages to the post office himself.
- “Complaining is not a strategy”. A lot of energy has been expended complaining about Amazon. Many have said they have unfair competitive practices. Others object to the way they acquire companies. Great leaders don’t waste time complaining about others. They use the precious resource of time to look to the future. The reason I have the sentence above in quotation marks is because it came directly from Bezos in the interview. It was my favorite quote of the segment.
- Constantly take incremental steps to do everything better. Even if Amazon is not making dramatic changes or causing disruptive innovation, the company is constantly seeking to improve its existing systems. If you decide to watch the segment, see how they are improving their fulfillment centers incrementally but constantly. Continuous small improvements lead to major improvements.
- Create your own disruptive innovation. It is better for an organization to innovate, even if hurts your existing services, products, or even ministries. If you don’t innovate, some other organization will, and the lifespan of your organization will be reduced.
Books by Thom Rainer:
Friday, November 22, 2013
"If you're going to sleep with your brother's wife, you are probably going to lie to your brother about it. I'm not convinced about men meeting up in groups to keep them accountable."
Great article here from Paul Levy about how to protect yourself from ministry disqualifying sin.
(HT: JT)
(HT: JT)
Monday, November 18, 2013
What To Look For In a Church
Great list. Wisdom here.
R.W. Glenn:
R.W. Glenn:
1. Clarity on the gospel of grace. There are many counterfeits, not least the distortions of the gospel that make sin something you need to work off or blow off. Listen carefully for the comfort and the call of the gospel. First and foremost, listen for Jesus saying, "I do not condemn you." But keep listening for "Go and sin no more." The order is very important. The removal of condemnation comes before the call to obedience. But both need to be there for the church to preach the gospel.
2. Christ-centered preaching. You might have expected me to have said "expository preaching," but it is very possible to give an exposition of a text of Scripture without ever getting to Jesus Christ. This is especially true of preaching from the Old Testament. I don't remember who said this, but if the exposition of the Old Testament you're hearing wouldn't be thrown out of a synagogue, then the preacher isn't preaching Christ. Exposition of Scripture is the means by which we get to Jesus. But it is the means, not the end of preaching Jesus Christ and him crucified.
3. Theologically informed public worship. Are the basic elements of worship present: public reading of Scripture, exhortation and teaching from Scripture, songs, prayers, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper? In addition to these basic elements, look for songs with lyrics that exalt Jesus Christ and deepen your appreciation for and understanding of the gospel of grace. I'm not saying that short songs like "I Love You, Lord," have no place in public worship, but what I am saying is that if the content of the songs for public worship as a whole are shallow, it should give you pause.
4. Hospitable people. If the gospel is really doing its work in a community of Christians, they will love strangers, and not in that smarmy, fake, "I'm-glad-you're-here-because-I'm-supposed-to-be-glad-you're-here" kind of way. I mean that you feel genuinely welcomed and loved by the people as you meet them and spend time worshipping with them.5. Church discipline. Church discipline has gotten a bad wrap. The discipline of the church cannot be reduced to the final, punitive kind, but must include the formative type as well. Church discipline happens when the members of the church are willing to turn one another back to Jesus in loving calls to repentance, through encouragement in suffering, and exhortations to grow in grace.
6. Mercy for the poor. First John 3:17 says that if we who have the world's goods and behold our brother in need and close our hearts against him, we don't have the love of God in us. Thus it is a test of bona fide Christianity that the church cares for its poor. More than that, our care for the poor, though it should prioritize the believing community, should move beyond the church to the broader community: "Let us do good to all people, especially those who are of the household of the faith" (Gal 6:10).
7. Concern for the lost, evidenced by a church committed to personal evangelism. And by "committed to personal evangelism" I don't mean a church that has evangelistic programs, but that the people love their neighbors enough to tell them about Jesus. So look for a sincere interest in reaching the lost with the gospel of grace on the part of the pastors and the people in the pew, not as a notch in their belts, but because they are truly lovers of people as people, not as evangelistic prospects.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Friday, November 08, 2013
Your Church Ain't a Business, True, But...
Barnabas Piper:
It is true that the church is not a business. It is not a profit earning entity, at least it shouldn’t be. Church is about people and purpose not numbers of any kind. And top or bottom line numbers cannot accurately measure that purpose or the success of the mission. But to define the usefulness of business principles so narrowly as to say they ruin the church” is false (and also discouraging to business people in the church, but that is a separate issue).Read the rest.
Most effective business principles aren’t directly about profit; they’re about organizational health and effectiveness. And, while the church is not a business, it is an organization. This means that the principles of David Allen, Chip and Dan Heath, Seth Godin, Patrick Lencioni, Simon Sinek, and others certainly do apply to the church. Such principles don’t create life in the church and they are not an end in themselves. A church could feasibly be a healthy organization but worthless in the mission of Jesus. But such principles do remove obstacles to the mission. They can increase the effectiveness of those working toward the mission. And they can create an environment that is open to those being invited into the mission.
The church is the body of Christ. It is His representation here on earth. And it is imperfect. We, the church, do not effectively communicate the gospel of Jesus or exemplify his life. We are not good at working together and being a single unit pointed in the same direction. That’s why we need effective organizational – or “business” – principles. It will always be the mission of Jesus that drives the church and defines its effectiveness. But good methods help us do that mission better.
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