Tag: Leadership (page 11 of 13)

A word for young pastors

December 13, 2010 / / 1 Comment

Rick Howerton is a good friend of mine.  What I love about Rick is the wisdom that he has…and shares generously.  He has recently transitioned to a new position with NavPress, where he’s overseeing small group life.  In my opinion, Rick is the foremost small group expert in the country.  You can follow him on Twitter HERE.  His blog is currently being redone, and will launch again in January.  When it launches, it’ll be a must-read for small group pastors and leaders.

When I spend time around people who have been leading in the church for longer than I’ve been alive, I love to soak up as much wisdom from them as I can.  I want to know what I should be thinking, reading, doing, and being…now…so I can grow into the husband, father, pastor, and leader God intends.  I asked Rick to share some wisdom for young pastors.  Because none of us wants to waste the influence God’s given us.

A word for young pastors

What you interpret as your “instincts” may be the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. Throughout my ministry life I have found myself instinctively making leadership decisions. For many years I followed those instincts and saw God’s blessing. As I grew older and learned the Scripture I realized those instincts were actually the whispers of the Holy Spirit guiding me down biblical paths. Today, when I have an instinctive moment, I check it with the Word of God. Bottom line… do not ignore what may seem instinctive, check it with God’s Word then move forward if you’re on the same page as God.

Make your family the people you are most passionate about discipling. We seem to be embracing discipleship like we never have before. I’m noticing that, in our mind’s eye, discipleship is finding a few other people of the same gender and giving our time, attention, and discipleship energies to them. We should do this but not at the expense of the discipling of our own children. Remember this… God created in your child a longing to know the love of and to have the knowledge of the dad and mom that God gave them. You were appropriately chosen by God to disciple your kids.

Never believe the lie that new ideas are the only right ideas. It seems that every generation of church leaders chooses to set aside anything that was birthed through the generation that came before them. In so doing, we oftentimes move away from biblical church to generational and cultural church. Cling to biblical church while allowing new methods to be played out, but don’t play out new methods if they demand you delete the parts of the Bible that aren’t cool or sexy… today.

Don’t give too much of your attention to the great theological debates. If you do they will…

  1. redirect your energies from the transformation of hearts to theological treatises and coalitions that, in the end, will begin to shape a politician, not a pastor.
  2. lead you into ecclesiastical elitism… believing that those evangelicals whose theological perspective is different than yours are not as theologically astute as yourself or that the interpretations they espouse are heretical when in fact, both sides of the debate may simply be demanding a final word on what God is keeping a mystery (Deut. 29:29).
  3. force you into a pigeon-hole that will limit your ministry. Most of us want to affect the world in the name of Jesus Christ. Many have chosen to battle for a theological perspective which has limited the churches and movements they are welcomed into.
  4. become idols, taking the place of the Christ. You will know if this is true if your reputation is built on a theological perspective rather than Jesus Christ. Remember these things… What you speak of most passionately you will be known for. What you’re willing to go to battle for you will be known for. What we are to speak of most often and go to battle for is the person of Jesus Christ.

______________________

If you’re a young pastor or leader, I’d love to connect with you!  Please find me on Twitter, Facebook, or follow along HERE on the blog.  Learn along with me, from guys like Rick.

 

Andy Stanley on appetites, tension, and leadership

October 7, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Opening Catalyst Conference, Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church, discussed the internal tension that we all carry that’s associated with our appetite for more.

As leaders, certain appetites are heightened:

  • progress
  • greater responsibility
  • respect
  • desire to win
  • growth
  • fame
  • achievement
  • to be envied

There are 3 things that are universally true about our appetites:

  1. God created them, but sin destroyed them.
  2. Appetites are never fully and finally satisfied.  Though we think there’s some amount, or size, or goal that will fulfill our appetite…which leads to tension.
  3. Your appetite always wants what it wants now, never later.

How you deal with your appetites will determine the direction of your life.  If you are ruled and controlled by your appetites, the end will be embarrassing.

Genesis 25 centers around a birthright.  Esau was set to become instantly wealthier than all of his siblings, receive the highest status in his family, and receive the best of God’s blessing.  Who, honestly, would trade that for a bowl of stew?  Who would trade their future for something as temporary as that?

Scientists have shown that a your brain chemically changes when appetite happens:

  1. Impact bias – your brain takes a simple appetite and blows it out of proportion (ever experienced buyer’s remorse?).
  2. Focalism – your brain focuses your mind on one thing and blocks out everything else.

What we need is for someone to reframe our appetites.  Because whatever we want, we’ll find ourselves wanting more of that.

Don’t allow your appetite to dictate and control your leadership.

What’s your bowl of stew?  What’s hard to say “no” to now?  What are you trying to talk yourself into?

What are you contemplating that your spouse is uncomfortable with?

 

Great products sell themselves

September 21, 2010 / / 0 Comments

I have an STM bag.  In fact, here’s a pic of my specific bag:

Every day, I advertise for STM.  Do they pay me?  No…though I wish they did.

I’m a walking billboard for the company, though, because I love my bag and take it with me everywhere.  It serves my needs well, protects my computer, and (I think) looks pretty awesome, too.

If you put out a good product, it will do its own advertising.

If you put out a bad product, it will do its own advertising.

Whether it’s a product, a service, an experience, or life change, your organization is selling something.  Otherwise, you wouldn’t be doing what you’re doing.

What kind of product is your organization putting out?

 

Greatness isn’t Demanded

July 12, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Don’t demand an audience with the king
or push for a place among the great.
It’s better to wait for an invitation to the head table
than to be sent away in public disgrace. (Proverbs 25:6-7)

Anybody can force their way to the “head of the table.”  But being at the head of the table doesn’t guarantee you’ll have committed followers.  Or that you’re a good leader.  Positional leadership doesn’t get you an “audience with the king” (influence).  It may get you a seat among the court, but having the ear of his audience takes time.  And trust.  And respect.

Building trust takes time and effort.  When you earn the respect of those you’re called to lead (and don’t simply demand that they follow you), they’re willing to go the extra mile to help accomplish the vision.  They’re willing to work hard for you.  And they’re willing to give you grace when you fail.

I’ve seen this deficient form of leadership with younger leaders.  By God’s grace, they’re given a leadership position.  And then, instead of working to build trust among their team (which is made more difficult because, often, those they’re leading are more mature), they demand compliance.  “Things are going to change around here.  I’m the pastor/teacher/worship pastor/small group leader, etc.  What you need to decide is whether or not you are on board.  If you’re not on board with the changes, then you can leave.”  In their zeal for change, they overlook wisdom.  And they damage relationships in the process.  They’re “sent away in public disgrace.”

I’ve seen this with older leaders, too.  They’ve “pushed for a place among the great” and gotten it.  They’ve forced their way into leadership, so when the direction they’re headed is questioned, they see it as a personal threat (instead of a suggestion for healthy growth) and become prickly and defensive.  They don’t put up with new, fresh ideas.  “Who are you to question my authority?” they say.  “You just don’t really know what you’re talking about.  When you’ve been around as long as I have…”

Followers who are demanded aren’t really followers.  They’re workers.  Hired hands.  Slaves.  And they end up frustrated, bitter, unmotivated, and underutilized.

Build relationships with those you lead.  In time, you just might get an invitation to the head of the table.

Are you a leader prone to forcing your way to the table?  Have you ever found yourself demanding that people follow you?

 

Triple Threat Leadership

June 21, 2010 / / 2 Comments

A friend of mine, Alan Danielson (on Twitter HERE), has recently released a self-published book, Triple Threat Leadership (to read all of his posts on Triple Threat Leadership from his blog, click HERE).

Triple-Threat Leadership is written to help you understand and developing the three skills that are absolutely necessary for you to be an effective leader: casting vision, creating strategy and fostering relationships.   Alan does a great job unpacking each of these leadership qualities, and works to help you implement them in your leadership roles.  Included in the book is an assessment that you fill out that will help diagnose your leadership strengths and show you the weak areas you need to work on.

Instead of me giving you a rundown of the highlights of the book, I thought I’d let Alan convince you why you need to read it.

What was your driving inspiration/catalyst for this project?

Triple-Threat Leadership is a concept that’s been growing in me for many years. In my 20 years experience leading churches I’ve seen the Triple-Threat principles surface repeatedly, and over time I began to articulate what I was observing. In a sentence, Triple-Threat Leadership is based on the belief that good leaders do three things well: cast vision, create strategy, and foster relationships. I found these observations to be universal truths that applied to all leadership situations, and whenever I’ve utilized and/or shared the principles people have whole-heartedly agreed with my findings. I have a passion to help people in any and all kinds of leadership roles, so I put my thoughts on paper, created a workshop and began sharing it with clients. Finally, I’ve written the book at the urging of my friends, and clients who have learned these principles and seen them in action.

I’m sure that the readers here have lots of books on their shelf right now to read. Why should yours be the one they pick up next?

First, because everyone’s followed a bad leader at some point and hated it. No one wants to be a bad boss, manager, or volunteer leader and this book will help them avoid the pitfalls they’ve seen others fall into. Second, because it’s a concise, easy read that will affirm what people already believe about leadership, while at the same time challenging them to become even more effective leaders. Third, because it gives leaders a common vocabulary that will help them simply and accurately discuss their leadership successes and challenges. Lastly, because it will clearly expose people’s blind spots and help them know how to dramatically improve their leadership ability.

What value do you think this book has for small group pastors/leaders?

The Triple-Threat principles apply across the board, so small group pastors and leaders will immediately see how it can impact their own leadership settings. The book is not just for CEOs or Senior Pastors. It’s for anyone who is in leadership.

Some people say that, in leadership, you should work on what you’re good at, and the stuff you’re weak on…just find somebody else to do that. Yet you encourage readers to work on their weak spots, too. Why?

Great question! This book is not about shoring up all of your weak spots. This book is not about being good at all leadership skills. This book is about being good at the three most important leadership skills. Regardless of your leadership talent or personality type, all leaders need the three skills outlined in Triple-Threat Leadership. Leaders lacking one or two of the skills detailed in this book will be able to lead, to a point, but they will never reach their fullest potential.

If you’d like the chance to win a free copy of Alan’s book, either:

1. Leave a comment on this blog telling me what your favorite color is.

2. Tweet this: Check out @benreed ‘s interview w @alandanielson & his take on leadership here: http://ow.ly/219×3

If you’re not a winner, or you don’t have a favorite color, you can still get a 10% discount by using this coupon code at checkout: benreed

 

Summer Reading List 2010

May 20, 2010 / / 11 Comments

The difficult part for me about putting out a reading list is that these are books I haven’t read before.  So…don’t look at these books necessarily as the best books out there.  They may be way off base with certain things.  But I expect to be stretched.

Have you put your summer reading list together yet?

 

Directions

April 26, 2010 / / 1 Comment

My wife and I just got back from a trip to the United Kingdom.  While there, we visited the city of Windsor.

Windsor is a charming town, with cobblestone streets, vendors selling pastries, and lots of people roaming the markets.  The queen also resides occasionally at Windsor Castle, and while we were there, she happened to be in town.

There were a whole lot of tourists visiting…many, I’m sure, hoping to spot the queen.

For whatever reason, we didn’t look like tourists that day (even though it was our first day there, and I’m sure we still had that wide-eyed look that tourists seem to have), and were stopped and asked the question, “Do you know where the McDonald’s is?”

Don’t mind the irony of the situation (the fact that they were asking a couple of Americans, who weren’t in America, where an American restaurant was located).  We really weren’t sure where the McDonald’s was located.  It seemed like we had passed one (and passed we did…we refused to eat American food while in the UK) earlier, so we pointed them in the direction we thought best.  Turns out we were right.

Turns out we were right.

But we could have just as easily have been wrong.

Just because we were American didn’t mean we knew where the McDonald’s was.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the whole process of mentoring lately.  Maybe because I’m at that stage where I need a lot of help. (will I ever get out of this stage?  Would it even be healthy if I did exit this stage?)  Maybe it’s because I see others’ errors more easily than I see my own (that’s a problem, I know).  Maybe it’s because I thoroughly enjoy learning from others.  But I’m not going to just choose to learn from anybody.  I mean, I’ll read lots of books.  Listen to lots of podcasts.  Read lots of blogs.  But when it comes to asking somebody to specifically speak truth into my life, I’m being very picky.

And I think you should as well.

Because the people who are influencing me now really are influencing me.  They’re shaping the way that I look as a husband, a dad, and a pastor.  And for some odd reason, I think that’s pretty important.

In looking for help thinking through your current stage in life, choose wisely.

Just because someone’s a dad doesn’t mean that they know what they’re doing.

Just because someone’s a pastor doesn’t mean they can help give you the counsel you need.

Just because someone’s a leader doesn’t mean that they can help you take the next steps you need to take.

They may be right.

But then again, they may not even be in the right country.

The people who are influencing you now really are influencing you.

 

You Just Don’t Get It

April 7, 2010 / / 3 Comments

Sometimes it’s because of my age.

Sometimes it’s because of my stage in life.

Sometimes they’re just prideful.

Sometimes they’re completely off base.

Sometimes they’re older.

Sometimes they have experienced more of life than I have.

Sometimes they’re right on point.

Sometimes they’re flat-out wrong.

But every time somebody gives the smug perception, “I get it…and you don’t…” I’m immediately turned off. (I know, I know…I’ve got lots to work on.  Just hear me out…)

I’ve sat in meetings where I felt like I had a good idea, but was shot down because, peering over their glasses, they would say, “You just don’t understand…but you will one day.”

I’ve been at larger meetings where I can’t get a seat at the table because of my age and stage in life.

I’ve been chuckled at because my thought was ludicrous to them.

And, like I acknowledged above, they were probably right.  Maybe I had no right to be at the table.  To offer critiques.  To suggest solutions.

But, regardless, they’ve set me on edge, and put me on the defense, when they’ve looked down on me.  (1 Timothy 4:12 is a great admonition.  But that’s another post)

_______________________

When you’re leading people, remember this.

Just because somebody hasn’t been a Christian as long as you…

Or a father as long as you…

Or haven’t read as many books or written as many blog posts as you have…

Or haven’t taken as many seminary classes…

Or been a “member” as long…

Or been in as many small groups…

Or led as many small groups…

Doesn’t mean that they don’t get it.

Who can you take a chance on today?

Who can you give respect to, by simply listening to their story?

*Note: This post is not in response to my current position at Grace Community Church. I’m thankful for the risks they’ve taken, and for the ones they continue to encourage me to take.

 

Cultivating the drone

March 20, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Do you celebrate volunteers who do exactly what you ask them to do?

Or do you encourage creativity, outside-the-box thinking, and pursuing God-given passions?

Teaching people to punch a button is easy.  Raising up (and giving space to) leaders who are creative and innovative is not.

Raising up creative leaders is:

1. Messy – When you ask somebody to think outside of the box, it ceases to be “clean, concise, and manageable.”

2. Decentralized – It’s difficult to have a two-hour training on this stuff.  It’s more about cultivating an environment than about transferring information.  And allowing creativity to permeate each person (rather than having those you lead simply parrot back a response) means that you won’t be the sole trainer.

3. Slow – Since it’s not chiefly about transferring information, it takes much longer.

4. Difficult to replicate – Many times, this process differs from person to person.  Creativity is unique to the individual, and thus not exactly duplicate-able.

5. Risky – Asking people to think outside the box means that they may go off in a direction that you didn’t intend.

However, I think that it’s worth dealing with each of the above.  Because in the long run, organizations that embrace and encourage creativity will produce innovators who work through plaguing problems, promote development, and help a company (or a church) sustain long-term growth.

If you’re content doing things the same way you’ve always done them, then you’re going to raise up leaders with that same value.

 

How to launch a small groups system

March 16, 2010 / / 1 Comment

Here is the 5th, and final, installment of my interview with Randall Neighbour (on Twitter HERE), as a follow-up to his book, The Naked Truth of Small Group Ministry: When it Won’t Work and What to Do About It.  You can see part 1 HERE, part 2 HERE, part 3 HERE, and part 4 HERE.

My final question for Randall: What is the best way to launch a small groups system?

 
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