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Lessons from the Garden

This year, I’ve taken up gardening. I wrote a little bit about that here. Before you write me off as a girly man, hear me out.

I built four raised plant beds to plant some mini-gardens in my back yard. I don’t have room for a full-on garden, and raised beds tend to look tidier. In addition, they’re supposed to cut down on weeds. Based on the word supposed, you can guess that that’s not exactly the case. At least it’s not so when you use dirt that’s full of weed seeds. You see, I got the dirt from my grandfather’s farm, and though the dirt is unbelievably rich, it had some weed seeds in it.

My wife and I planted lots of vegetables: carrots, bibb lettuce, red cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and other stuff I can’t remember. We also have herbs and flowers in the garden. As they began to germinate and eventually sprout up out of the ground, we got really excited. Except that we weren’t sure whether these new green sprigs were veggies or weeds.

“Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.” (Matthew 13:24-26)

There will always be “weeds among the wheat” in the church. You can be upset about that if you’d like, or do something about it. Does the fact that there are “weeds” (and by “weeds,” I mean that there are those there who don’t really belong to the kingdom of God, i.e., they’re not saved) bother you? I hope it does, because it should! Weeds are not meant to be there! Someone else, not the true Gardener, has placed them in the garden. What should we, the Church, do about these unwelcomed, ugly, ultimately life-sucking weeds? Cut them off? Cast them out? Try to build our garden so that no weeds enter (which is not possible, by the way)? No. That is unloving and un-Christlike. The answer to the question, “what do we do with the weeds?” is that we love them. We evangelize them. We live and preach the Gospel in hopes that God transforms them from a weed into a beautiful plant that bears fruit for the Kingdom. Instead of sucking the life out of the Church, we plead with them to give the desire of their heart to Christ and begin pouring life back into the Church!

Don’t forget…you were a weed once, too.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:43-45)

Leadership and Apprenticing, part 4

June 2, 2009 / Ben Reed / 0 Comments

In my last three posts, I’ve given you the positives of apprenticing. Here’s part one on an example and encouragement to find an apprentice, and part two and part three giving you reasons I think it is a viable option of raising up leaders. In this post, though, I’m going to give you my observations on why it is inefficient if used as your sole method of recruiting leaders.

As I said earlier, apprenticeship is not the only method we use here at Grace Community Church. We use a hybrid method, encouraging apprenticeship but also being willing to put somebody into a leadership position who has not yet been apprenticed at Grace. The reason we do that is that apprenticeship has its limitations.

Limitations of Apprenticeship:

1. It doesn’t always happen. As much as you vision cast and “require” leaders to find an apprentice, not all group leaders buy into the idea. They see it as yet another responsibility placed onto their all-too-full plates.

2. It doesn’t always happen as you would like for it to. Some leaders buy into the idea initially, but aren’t able to fully develop their apprentice. For a number of valid reasons, apprentices aren’t being produced.

3. It is a slow process. Apprenticing takes a long time, and if you’re in an organization that is growing, you will find yourself in a leadership deficit really quickly. How do you even measure when apprenticing is complete?

4. Not all groups have future leaders in them. In our small groups, not every group has an apprentice, because quite frankly, not all groups have somebody with leadership potential. That’s not a slam against anybody. Everybody is not called to lead a small group. There are some people who are leaders and others who are followers. Sometimes, groups are full of followers. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I paint myself into a corner if I require all groups to have an apprentice. When I do that, group leaders are investing lots of time into developing leaders out of folks who are not called to be leaders. That’s frustrating for all involved.

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I’m sure there are more reasons why apprenticing alone is an inefficient way of recruiting leaders. However, whatever system you are using, you must be recruiting leaders. It is absolutely essential to sustained growth. Whether you are a pastor, the CEO of a major corporation, a store manager, or a small group leader, your organization will suffer if you are not intentionally raising up leaders.

You can take that to the bank.

And if you do, be sure to find out how they’re raising up good leaders.

The end of email?

June 1, 2009 / Ben Reed / 10 Comments

I’m a small groups pastor, and the major way I communicate with small group leaders outside of Sunday morning is via email. I’d love to be able to have coffee with all of them regularly (because they’re some of my favorite people), but it’s just not possible. With the fast-paced nature of our society, and our group leaders in particular, combined with my own personally busy schedule, the ability to communicate important information to multiple people at once is essential.

When I communicate via email, much of the information I send out is never read. In fact, one of the guys on staff (who will remain unnamed) told me that if my email is more than one line long, he won’t read it! I could get upset about this, take it personally, and require group leaders to read the weekly (though it’s more like bi-weekly) emails. But you and I both know that that approach would not lead to increased reading and response to this important information.

I’ve tried vastly shortening my emails. Now, instead of a devotion before the “important” stuff, I start with “Here are the vitals you and your group need to know…” I give them a list of a few major things, and that’s it. But still, the emails are not being read. Why?

Why my emails (and yours) aren’t being read:

1. Their inbox is already full of other important information. My email is 1 of 1000 that they “have” to read.

2. It takes thought to read emails. Reading my emails is not always mindless, because they need to read and process the information for their group.

3. My emails are boring. Since I’ve pared them down to only vital information, they’re pretty boring. Concise? Yes. Thrilling? Not even by a long shot.

4. “I’ll read it later.”

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So are we seeing the end of email? Maybe. Email is boring and lifeless. It’s often filled with spam, and forwards that we don’t want to read. We get mass emails and “reply all” messages that don’t pertain to us, and our inbox rarely reaches zero. The rest of the world has taken massive leaps forward in terms of communicating, yet email still seems to lag behind in black & white letters and numbers.

I’ve begun utilizing Twitter and Facebook to communicate with my team. Both of these platforms integrate networking with information sharing. Communication moves from the mere passing of information into the realm of knowing somebody better. I put a face with a name in Facebook. I get a snapshot of a person’s life (at least what they want the public world to see) in Twitter. That’s where lots of the group leaders at Grace Community Church “hang out,” so that’s where I’m going to communicate.

I have recently begun using The Flip video camera. I’ve really liked the ease of use, because I can throw it in my bag and have it ready to catch the many things that my wife and I don’t want to miss our son doing. In addition to family videos, I’ve begun using it to shoot some videos for our small groups. I have a lower quality version, but there are even some new, HD models of the Flip available. At the end of the day, I’d sacrifice video quality for ease of use. Based on the response of my small group leaders, they’d much prefer watching me yack on a video than reading it.

Is email dead? I think it’s being quickly outpaced by lots of other mediums.

How do you communicate? What medium to you prefer? Maybe, more importantly, which mediums do “your people” prefer?

Here’s the video I sent to my small group leaders. It’s not the best video you’ve ever seen, but I know that more people watched it than normally read my emails:

Leadership and Apprenticing, part 3

June 1, 2009 / Ben Reed / 0 Comments

This is the third part in a series on one specific model of recruiting leaders. You can read parts one and two if you’d like. These are my concluding thoughts on the value of using apprentices to grow leaders in your organization or ministry.

Advantages of using apprentices to grow your organization (#6-#12):

6. They have seen leadership in action. In my role, as small groups director, this is huge. I love when a group leader has an apprentice, because that apprentice has seen their group leader navigate difficult situations and lead people effectively.

7. They are insiders. They’ve been a part of the organization for some time now, and the company’s DNA has become their own.

8. Others in the organization don’t wonder, “Where did this guy come from?” They have seen the apprentice in the halls on Sunday, or in the office throughout the week, and they’ve built a relationship with the person, whether that’s a surface-level or deeper. There’s a credibility and trust that has been built. Credibility and trust aren’t built overnight.

9. They have been preparing themselves for the specific role. They knew that this move was coming. They knew that, at some point, they would be asked to lead. They’ve been praying about it, reading books on it, talking with other leaders who are doing what they will be doing, etc.

10. They have influence within their sphere. They aren’t somebody who has no relationships. They’ve been working to develop relationships. When they’re asked to take the lead, there are people who will immediately follow them.

11. It’s not a risky way to find leaders. Leadership develops over time, not overnight. The apprentice has been developing over the course of months, or even years. If at some point you need them to lead, it’s easy to evaluate whether they’re ready or not by talking with their leader, who has been evaluating them over the course of their apprenticeship. If they’re not ready, just give them some more time to develop. No harm, no foul. You can avoid placing them in a leadership position that they aren’t ready for, which is a definite “win”.

12. You can put them in the exact position that fits their gifts. You have observed their leadership potential, have gotten to know them, and can help evaluate strenghts, weaknesses, and areas of interest.

In the end, apprenticeship sets up future leaders for success, equipping them for the leadership role to which God is calling them.

However, apprenticing has its downsides and challenges. Check back for my thoughts on the disadvantages.

What's this blog about?

May 30, 2009 / Ben Reed / 2 Comments

My blog may seem random to you. And if that’s what you think it is…you’re probably right. In talking with successful bloggers, I’m often told that I should choose one or two things to blog about, and blog at least a couple of times a week about each of those topics.

But that’s not me.

And my blog is a snapshot of my life.

And I am dealing with much more than one or two things per week.

It’s about my life, how I process things, and what I’m dealing with. It’s leadership, small groups, and parenting. It’s theology and counseling. It’s a devotional thought and a book review. It’s sometimes about adoption or a post from a friend. In short, it’s my life. I’m trying to process all of life through the grid of Scripture, thinking through things theologically. Sometimes I hit the mark…sometimes I miss it badly. Hopefully you’ll see growth in my own life through my blog, but if you see me miss it, please give me some grace. I’ve still got lots of growing and learning to do.

I guess I’ve been thinking about this because I want my blog to be effective for my readers. If my blog ceases to be relevant and helpful for my readers, I need to rethink and restructure things. If it ceases to be effective for me, I need to stop blogging. I hope that it always will be a helpful source of information for readers, but one thing that I’m certain of right now is that it’s effective for me. It really helps me to flesh out my thoughts and communicate them in a way that others can understand. Writing forces me to shape my thoughts into some form of definable action on my part. If I put them on “paper,” I’m more likely to act on them and live them out.

Thanks for all of you who put up with my rambling, often random blog.

Leadership and Apprenticing, Part 2

May 28, 2009 / Ben Reed / 0 Comments

Wikipedia defines apprenticeship as “a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices (or in early modern usage “prentices”) or proteges build their careers from apprenticeships. Most of their training is done on the job while working for an employer who helps the apprentices learn their trade, in exchange for their continuing labor for an agreed period after they become skilled.”

In part one of this series, I made a plea for apprenticing, gave an idea on how to do it, and encouraged you to both find someone who will apprentice you and find someone to apprentice. In this post, I’m going to give you some advantages of using the apprentice method of recruiting leaders. I tend to think of leadership through the grid of church ministry, and specifically small group ministry, but have tried to keep things broad enough so that if you’re not directly involved in church leadership, you can find these principles and observations helpful.

Obviously, there are tons of different ways to locate and recruit leaders for your organization. This is one of them.

5 Advantages of using apprentices to grow your organization:

1. They already buy into the vision. If they’ve apprenticed for a time in the ministry, then they know the vision and have bought into where the ministry is headed. This helps give your ministry synergy to take leaps forward.

2. They know how the organization should work. They’ve sat in leadership meetings, led some themselves, been a part of training events, and seen the organization in action. This gives them a great advantage over outsiders coming into the organization seeking leadership.

3. Somebody else believes in them. The person who has been apprenticing them is a person who believes in the apprentice’s abilities, character, and leadership potential. They will be a huge advocate for the apprentice, and likely already have been.

4. They have an insider who will continue to invest in them. Their leader, who asked them to apprentice, will not completely abandon their relationship with this new leader. They have been developing the relationship over the course of their apprenticeship, and will (hopefully) continue investing in this person. If you hire (or recruit) from outside of the organization, those support relationships have to be developed.

5. They’ve already been given the chance to lead. The apprentice isn’t taking a huge step when he or she becomes a full-fledged leader. It doesn’t seem, to them, that they’re making a leap, but rather stepping into a role that feels more natural to them.

I’ve got a few more reasons. Check back soon for the next post.

What’s your primary method for recruiting leaders? Do you encourage apprenticeship?

Leadership and apprenticing

May 27, 2009 / Ben Reed / 1 Comment

One problem in any organization or church is finding good leaders. Should you take a risk on a young person with unproven talent? Should you hire the older guy who’s a proven leader but set in his ways? Do you recruit somebody from within, or go outside the organization? Do you put somebody into a leadership position who needs training, or who can hit the ground running? Male? Female? Somebody just like you, or somebody who is nothing like you?

One method of raising up leaders is the apprenticing method, and I happen to be a big proponent of finding and training leaders this way. I know that it comes with its set of problems, the main problem being that it takes time to produce leaders. The number of leaders needed in your ministry will (hopefully) increase (assuming your church is growing numerically), and if your only method of recruiting leaders is by requiring existing leaders to apprentice somebody in their group, you will find your ministry in a leadership deficit. So, at GCC, we have a hybrid method. I strongly encourage apprenticing, but am also aware that we will be desperately hurting for leaders if we only get leaders who have apprenticed for 6-18 months. So, I have my cake and eat it, too. Apprenticing is the best way, I believe, but I’m willing to place others into leadership position that haven’t yet apprenticed.

If you have an apprentice, whether you’re involved in a small groups ministry or in any kind of leadership, let me encourage you with one thing: take them with you when you go places. Ask them to tag along when you go to conferences or to meetings. Share with them what you’re reading, how you’re growing, and what you’re learning. Let them see what you do and how you do it. Be available to answer questions, whether they’re professional or “life” questions. Give them a snapshot of your leadership on a regular basis.

Isn’t that what Jesus did with his disciples? His disciples traveled with him, asked him questions, and did ministry together with him. He even gave them authority! (Try doing that with an apprentice…I bet they’ll love it)

I had coffee with a leader and the apprentice from a small group here at GCC. It was definitely worth my cost of one more cup of coffee! I was able to help the leader evaluate his small group (what they’re doing well, where they need improvement, how they are continuing to grow, etc.), cast our vision of group life to the group leader, and thank him for what he’s doing…right there in front of the apprentice! It was amazing to see the leader and the apprentice interact, and to give them a taste of what group life would look like if everybody in the group would take significant steps in discipleship throughout the life of the group. I could have communicated only to the group leader, but meeting with the leader and the apprentice was more effective for everybody.

Do you have an apprentice? Are you apprenticing anybody?

Guest Post: Tolkien and the Gospel

May 14, 2009 / Ben Reed / 0 Comments

Brett Vaden and I go way back. We grew up going to the same church, went to the same middle school, high school, college, and graduate school. Though our lives have parted ways because we don’t live in the same city, we’re still good friends. I love when Brett and I get to hang out, reminisce, and talk about what God’s doing in our lives and ministries. Brett’s got a great heart to minister to people, and his passion for spreading the Gospel to all people is infectious. If you spend much time around him, you’ll pick up on that really quickly. Brett’s also got an incredible mind, one that can distill difficult information and help people grasp deep truths. I’ve always been blown away when he’s preached, because he’s explained difficult things in a way that I understand. This blog post is yet another example. If you’re a fan of The Lord of the Rings, you’ll appreciate Brett’s take on it. If you want to not waste your life, try picking up a copy…you won’t be sorry. You can read more of Brett’s thought on his own blog here.

Tolkien Won’t Waste Your Life

Here are three reasons why reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s popular fantasy novels (i.e. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings), is not a frivolous, escapist, life-wasting use of your time. As Tolkien himself argued in “On Fairy Stories”:

1. Fantasy helps recover a clear sense of the world by re-presenting a world similar to ours yet strikingly wonderful. Postmodern art often tries to recast the world by twisting and darkening it. It takes what is familiar–perhaps so familiar it bores us–and manipulates it into something clever, heartless, and godless. Fantasy, however, takes something as simple and familiar as an oak tree and reminds us of its beauty, wonder, and created-ness.

2. Fantasy helps us escape not like a man deserting the front lines, but like a man escaping a prison. While the world still retains much that is good and beautiful, it is presently ruled by Satan, and there is much that is ugly, deceiving, and fallen about it. There are evils like pollution and the wasteful destruction of God’s creation for human convenience. There are worse evils like injustice, abortion, murder, greed, envy, and deception. And there is the result of our sin: condemnation, depravity, and death. All these evils threaten to obscure the created goodness of our world, the sovereign purpose of God at work within it, and the ultimate restoration of it. Fantasy helps us escape this world where evil seems to pervade and triumph into a world in which we can remember what is true (e.g. good will triumph over evil, the meek will inherit the earth, spiritual things are just as real as the material).

3. Fantasy helps console the soul of man, which is burdened and blinded by sin, with vivid pictures of redemption, or what Tolkien called, “eucatastrophe.” There are moments throughout these stories where all seems hopeless and evil will triumph, but then a joyous turn bursts into everything like lightning, and all that was lost is redeemed.

It is not hard to see the gospel in these elements. But what of it? Can’t we get the gospel in other places, especially Scripture, without having to look for it between the lines of fantasy novels that take hours–precious hours–of our life to read? Yes. You don’t have to read Tolkien to know the gospel or understand the world. But if you want to see the gospel and our universe with clearer, sharper, more potent vision, read Tolkien. It won’t be a waste of your life.

Is music the answer to depression?

May 13, 2009 / Ben Reed / 5 Comments

Check out these lyrics from “Let the Music Get Down in Your Soul” by Mark Broussard:

When your life gets too complicated
Gotta let the music
Get Down in your soul
Forget all your frustrations
And let the music music
Get down in your soul
Get on up, My brother,
And let the music, get down in your soul
Get on up, up yeah my sister
And let the music get down in your soul

Everyday ain’t gonna be sunny, No
Gotta let the music
Get down in your soul
Life ain’t filled with milk and honey, No
Gotta let the music music
Get down in your soul

Things ain’t as bad as they may seem
But you can’t find reality living in a dream
The strength you need, you had it all the time
You’ll find the answers in the back of your mind

Forget all you frustrations
come on
And let the music music
Get down in your soul

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Is that the answer to life’s troubles? Simply “let the music get down in your soul”? Does that really help in the long run? Maybe escaping into a song, simply forgetting your frustrations, realizing that you have always had the strength you need is what some people use, but Scripture offers a different hope.

Read these lyrics by a guy named David from Psalm 32:

Blessed is he
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man
whose sin the LORD does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit.

When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.

For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
Selah

Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD “—
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Selah

Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
while you may be found;
surely when the mighty waters rise,
they will not reach him.

You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.

Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.

Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the LORD’s unfailing love
surrounds the man who trusts in him.

Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!

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There seems to be a connection here between forgiveness and overcoming depression. When David refused to confess his sin to God, he felt as though his bones were wasting away and his strength was dried up. Sounds like he was feeling pretty rotten…we might even call that a sort of depression. He then acknowledged his sin and didn’t hide it from the Lord, and found forgiveness. What a gift! What a weight of guilt is lifted off when we are forgiven! “Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity!”

I’m not meaning to minimize the pain of depression, or discount it as a serious problem, or even say that all depression is directly linked with sin. I’m just offering this as one answer to “feeling down.” If you find that life is too complicated, instead of working to “get the music down in your soul,” how about confessing your sin to God and asking Him to cleanse you and restore your joy? Maybe the dark clouds of depression will lift. However, even if they do not, you can rest assured that “steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.” He will sustain you and give you reason to “shout for joy!”

What do you need to confess to the Lord today?

12 Reasons to Twitter

May 2, 2009 / Ben Reed / 0 Comments

I recently read this post by Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Christian publishing company in the world and the seventh largest trade book publishing company in the U.S. I’m often trying to explain to people why I use Twitter, and I love the reasons that Michael gives on his blog. Read below, or click here to read it at his site.

12 Reasons to Start Twittering

I originally committed to using Twitter for 30 days. So far, I have enjoyed the service and intend to keep using it. My wife, Gail, and four of my five daughters are active. I am sure this is one of the reasons I am still using it.

Don’t know what Twittering is? Read my original post on this topic. If you want to know how to get started, read my Beginner’s Guide to Twitter.>

If you are wondering why in the world you should consider it, here are twelve reasons:

It will enable you to experience social networking first-hand. One of my pet peeves is people who pontificate on new technologies but have never actually used them. This is particularly annoying—but common—among CEOs. Real users can always tell the difference. There is no substitute for personal experience.
It will make you a better writer. Twitter only allows you to post 140 characters at a time. As a result, you are forced to be concise. In my opinion, this is one of the hallmarks of good writing. Short messages. Short paragraphs. Short sentences.
It will help you stay connected to people you care about. This is one of the few technologies I’ve found that actually contributes to community-building. In today’s busy world, it’s difficult to keep up with others. Twitter makes it easy—and fun.
It will help you see a new side of your friends. In an odd sort of way, Twitter “humanizes” people and provides a context for better understanding them. If you follow me on Twitter, for example, you’ll quickly see that I get excited, bored, frustrated, and confused—sometimes all in the same day. You’ll also learn what is important to me and what drives me crazy.
It will introduce you to new friends. I have now met several new people via Twitter. These have contributed to my life in small but significant ways. Gail and I have even had dinner with a couple that we met via Twitter.
It is faster than text-messaging. In a sense Twitter is a universal text messaging system. You can broadcast to all of your “followers” (i.e., people who subscribe to your Twitter feed) or send a direct message to just one. As a result, I have almost completely stopped text messaging. The only time I use it is to reply to someone who messages me outside of Twitter.
It will make you think about your life. As you answer the question, “What am I doing?” you start to see your life through the lens of the people following you. Interestingly, it has made me more intentional and thoughtful about my life.
It will help you keep up with what people are talking about. Via Twitter, I have learned about hot books, cool software, breaking news, and even great restaurants. Because the information is coming from real people who care enough to Twitter about it, I have found it more valuable and authentic.
It can create traffic for your blog or Website. I have noticed a 30% uptick in my blog traffic in the last 30 days. It may be related to the fact that I have been in the news more or have been writing on more controversial posts. However, I also think it is related to the fact that I am Twittering every time I post a new blog entry. This seems to have a viral effect.
It requires a very small investment. Twitter itself is a free service. In terms of my time, I probably invest less than 10 minutes a day. Since “tweets” (i.e., posts) are limited to 140 charters or less, you can scan them in a second or two. Writing them usually takes less than 30 seconds.
It can help build your personal “brand.” When people hear your name, what comes to mind? What is your reputation? What is the “brand promise”? Brands are built incrementally, one interaction at a time. Twitter gives you one more way to build your brand, one tweet at a time.
It is fun! Twitter is just plain entertaining. Following your family and friends is kind of like watching reality TV. The difference is that you know the people and actually care about them. In this sense, it is even more fun, because you know more about the people from other contexts. Don’t believe me? Give it a try.

I’m sure there are some downsides to Twitter that I am either ignoring or don’t recognize. But I would rather jump into the fray and shape the future of social networks rather than sit on the sidelines and throw stones.

Question: How about you?