Will Mancini: How Passionate is Your Tribe?

Will Mancini had an excellent post regarding passion and emotional ownership of the vision in a ministry.

He poses 5 thought provoking questions that every pastor/leader should consider.

1. Who are most passionate in our ministry? How did they get that way? How do we help more people catch the passion?
2. What is keeping me from caring more?  When did I care about my mission the most?  Why then?
3. How can we make creating enthusiasm a part of our leadership development strategy?
4. What can I do today to encourage a leader down the continuum from common interest to passionate mission? How can I use Thanksgiving week to leverage this encouragement?
5. Am I as a leader spending adequate time with other leaders so that passion can rub off?

You can read the entire post here.

Pastor’s Coach: The Importance of Influence

A recent edition of Dan Reiland’s Pastors Coach dealt with the importance of influnce – it was so outstanding/thought-provoking I wanted to make sure that I passed it on:

If you are a parent you care who your kids hang out with. My son and daughter are both in college and I still care about who their friends are as much as I did when they were in High School. The reason the value of association never diminishes is influence. Who is influencing your kids? How are they being influenced? As a parent you really care. As a “kid” you are profoundly impacted.

As a leader you really care about the big idea of influence. Influence is the very epicenter of leadership. When you have it, you have the opportunity to make things happen. When you begin to lose it, your leadership becomes ineffective. Lose enough influence and, game over.

It’s been interesting to observe Mr. Obama rise into his role as president and what has taken place since his election. These are not political comments, just leadership observations. President Obama gained huge influence as other candidates lost theirs. He dug in hard and campaigned well. He’s a good communicator and enough people wanted a change. Now that he’s been president for about a year and the economy is remains unstable, the honeymoon is over he is no longer gaining influence. As The President has pressed for his Health Care reform, he has received considerable resistance. He is losing some influence. It is apparent that the American people understand that Health Care reform is needed. Opinion polls would support that the insurance companies shouldn’t be running medicine, but a large percentage of the people don’t want the government to run health care either. I will stop here to avoid rendering an opinion. Again, my purpose is to give a picture of gaining and losing influence.

Influence is like momentum. When you have it, you accomplish amazing things. When you don’t have influence, it’s difficult to make anything happen. In this two part series on influence I’ll share some thoughts on losing and gaining influence. Let’s start with losing it!

Losing Influence

Everyone has some influence, it’s what you do with it that determines whether or not you increase it or lose it. I’ve officiated a lot of weddings over the years. It’s common for a new husband to have a large amount of influence the first day of the marriage. It is equally common for him to have lost a bunch of that influence by day two! There is a little smile factor here, but unfortunately a little too much truth as well. So what did he do to fall out of favor so fast? How can a guy lose so much influence in such a short amount of time? Whether you are a new husband, pastor, businessperson, politician, teacher, parent, or a foreman on a job site, you can and will gain and lose influence.

It’s common for a new pastor or church leader to show up with a significant amount of influence on day one. To a large degree you have been loaned this influence to get started. John Maxwell calls this level one or positional leadership. It’s a good place to start, but you can’t keep leading if you stay there. Smart leaders immediately begin to invest in establishing and building relationships, and they are off and running. Others seem to struggle and lose influence. This can happen quickly or take months, even a year or two. The following are the most common causes for loss of influence among pastoral leaders.

1) Fail to listen

People have a sense of how much you care by your willingness to listen. This isn’t the only way to show you care, but it’s a big one. In the age of Facebook, Twitter, Email and Texting, there is a huge amount of talking but very little listening. I’m referring to the eye to eye and soul to soul kind of listening. Listening is a gift you give to others and it’s not complicated. Step 1. Stop talking. Step 2. Start listening. Any leader can listen. Sometimes giving someone your undivided attention for just a few minutes is all it takes. Fail to do this and your influence will fall.

2) Lead from insecurity

Insecure leaders are ineffective at best and can be dangerous. Insecure leaders are worried about what others think. They want to be liked more than they want to cause change. That’s where it gets complicated. They do want change. They want the Kingdom to move forward, but not if it rocks the boat too much. This tension causes leadership energy to be diverted into managing unproductive relationships rather than praying for God’s vision and then leading the people in that vision. If you are an insecure leader, prone to caving into pressure, your influence will decrease. You can begin to turn that around by hearing from God and caring more about what He thinks (about you and the church) than others.

3) Hesitate to make tough decisions

I’ve never awakened in the morning and looked forward to firing someone. In fact, it’s at the top of my list of things I never want to do. But on rare occasion, it is necessary. Letting someone go is always a tough decision, even when a mature, behind closed doors, agreement is made. Failure to make a decision like that hurts the organization and lessens your influence. If you find yourself in the position where everyone sees the issue but you won’t act on it, your leadership will suffer. There are many tough decisions you must make as a leader. They require prayer, wise counsel, and reflection. But in the end, you must make a decision. It may not be popular, but it’s time. You may have a tough decision before you right now. Don’t put it off. You probably know the right thing to do. Do it and your influence will increase. Procrastinate or avoid it altogether and you will lose influence.

4) Fail to solve problems

There is a difference between a tension to be managed and a problem to be solved. As a leader you will get in trouble when you try to solve a tension or manage a problem. There are some tensions in ministry that will never go away, that’s part of life and leadership. But problems are meant to be solved. As a leader you are among the chief problem solvers. You do this in one of two ways, either empower and delegate so other competent people can solve the problem, or you solve it yourself. Failure to do so guarantees to diminish your influence.

5) Work in ministry not on it

This one isn’t as blatant, and never feels as urgent as some of the things already mentioned. This is a slow-burn, long haul issue. In fact you can get away with this for months, even a couple years. But eventually working only in your ministry and not on it will take its toll. You, like all of us, are under pressure to make things happen and get things done. But it’s important to take time to pull away and improve your craft. Learn new methods and better ways of doing ministry. I don’t mean the latest fad or something that doesn’t fit the culture of your church, but a needed change or improvement that will help your church become healthy and grow. Working only in the midst of daily ministry will, over the long haul, reduce your leadership influence.

6) Fail to think

I love asking pastors and church leaders this simple question. “When do you think?” The most common response is “All the time.” That’s just not true, no leader thinks all the time and some leaders rarely think. I’m talking about setting aside time to think and strategize with pen (or laptop) in hand. I don’t believe anyone can do critical thinking if they don’t write something down as a result. You set aside time to pray, play with your family, exercise and a number of other things. You need time to think. Mark it down, and do it, or lose influence as a leader.

7) Break trust

This is a serious violation that might cause irreversible damage to your leadership. God will forgive you and people can forgive you but there are consequences that are difficult to erase. We don’t need to cover things such as an extra-marital affair or stealing. These are obvious. I’m referring to things of general integrity like keeping your promises, not using manipulation to move people, and not taking advantage of your authority. As leaders we have a precious trust with the people we lead, break it, and influence is all but over. This can happen slowly over time and sometimes overnight. It’s not something to fear or be paranoid about. If you will live according to the Holy Spirit’s promptings, God’s Word, and the counsel of wise and trusted colleagues, you will do well.

Part 1 has focused on how a leader loses influence. My purpose has not been to overwhelm you but more so to give you an opportunity to reflect on your own leadership and possible areas where you might lose influence. Ultimately the goal is to help you increase your influence so you become a more effective leader.

We Are Going Back If We Die…

I’m staying on the John G. Lake tip today… I came across the article written by him that I had read years ago but had forgotten. I was really impacted by it in a fresh way.

In it, he talks about his team in South Africa and the commitment they made to advancing the gospel – even at the cost of their lives, the lives of their wives, and their children. The following paragraph really hit home:

Old Father Van de Wall, speaking for the company said, “Brother Lake, during your absence we have come to a conclusion; we have made our decision. We want you to serve the Lord’s Supper. We are going back to our fields. We are going back if we have to walk back. We are going back if we have to starve. We are going back if our wives die. We are going back if our children die. We are going back if we die ourselves. We have but one request. If we die, we want you to come and bury us.

Remind me: what exactly do I get stressed out about in life and ministry?

I really don’t have a lot else to say right now…

You read the entire article here.

Learning to Rest

One of the areas that I have been working on is learning to take seasons of rest. I love pastoring and I love to work hard but in seasons past I have tended to go until I run myself into the ground. It worked to a certain extent when I was single but when I got married it quickly became apparent that I was going to have to change (it went to a whole new level when we had our little guy too).

Rest is a clear Biblical principle – God established it when he created the world in Genesis. We see the spirit of it in the law regarding the Sabbath. When we look at the ministry of Jesus we see clearly that he took time to pull away, pray and rest.

We often struggle with resting because we feel that there is ‘so much to do’. We need to remind ourselves of the ‘big picture’ though – that there is a lot to do over our lives and if we do not have proper rest/balance we will never accomplish what we were supposed to.

Here are several great posts on the importance of rest/rejuvenation:

1. The Power of Meaningful Get-Aways (Coach John)
2. Personal Retreats (Joel Comiskey)
3. Sabbath Rests (Rob Campbell)

7 Marks of Disloyal People

I came across an insightful post on the ‘7 Marks of Disloyal People’.

At first glance you would tend to read it in light of watching out for people who are disloyal to you, but I’m even more concerned about making sure that I’m not demonstrating any of the listed characteristics towards others.

Check it out here.

The Presence of God and the Plan of God

One thing I have been meditating in this week in the importance of the presence of God and the plan of God to our lives, ministry, calling etc.:

Presence of God

By the presence of God I mean the anointing, power and glory of God – the fact that He is ‘there’. We know that God is omnipresent (everywhere at once) so it might seem strange to ask if God is ‘here’ but we need to remember the difference between His omnipresence and His manifested presence. He is everywhere, but he comes in power, glory and demonstrates Himself when he is welcomed and given the opportunity.

We need this! To try to do anything of true significance is pointless with it. We need to be like Moses in the wilderness where He pleaded with God “Do not send us up from here without your presence”. We need to have a holy desperation for God to show up. When He shows up ‘stuff happens’. When He doesn’t we are on our own. I’ve tried  both – I like the first option much better.

Plan of God

Just as importantly as the presence though, we need to have an equal passion for the plan of God. By this I mean that we have a clear revelation of what He wants to accomplish and how he wants us to do it. We need his strategy and we need to be just as passionate about it as we are about His presence.

Some people get passionate about the presence (which is amazing) but they do not bridge it to God’s plan/strategy and so they enjoy and receive from the presence but are not able to harness it to advance the Kingdom. I have some friends who are part of the leadership of) a very well know ministry that experienced a major move of God. They saw so many powerful things but after a season realized that they were struggling to take what God was doing and impact their city. They had the presence but they began to seek God for His plan as well and began to put it into action and saw an significant increase in their on the ground impact.

The key in all this is that we would pursue both with the same passion. I have personally experienced and seen in others where one was emphasized more than the other, or the two were actually seen as in competition with the other (“Mary vs. Martha” is a common example – it actually doesn’t apply). My heart is that I would radically pursue the presence and the plan of God and see them compliment each other.

• You cannot get the plan without the presence.
• The plan won’t work without the presence.
• Without the plan, the greater potential of the presence is not harnessed and maximized (and I mean this in the most reverent way)
• Without the plan, people begin to lose sight of the very purpose of the presence and begin to take it for granted or abuse it.

All in all – we need both!

Food for thought: Do you find that you lean more towards the presence or the plan? Which comes more naturally to you (I tend to be a plan guy)? How can you begin to pursue each and see them compliment each other more fully?

Team/Staff Chemistry

Yesterday we had our monthly Office Team Development Meeting – we had a great time! I have really come to see the value of pulling our team together off site on a regular basis to talk, learn and have some fun.

Honestly it is not something I’ve always been good at. I’m a worker – I go really hard (you know, the kind of guy who skips lunch to get tasks done etc.) and in the past taking a couple hours to pull our team away (when there is a ton of stuff to be done!) wasn’t high on my priority list. I’ve learned though that this type of thing is vital if you want to have an effective team – and effective teams always work the best!

Yesterday I shared an article with our team from Dan Reiland, the author of a bi-weekly newsletter called The Pastor’s Coach (from John Maxwell’s organization).  We had some great discussion based around it and it really sharpened my perspective in several areas so I wanted to pass it along:

“Staff Chemistry, Part 2”

by Dan Reiland

They have “natural chemistry” together. We all know what that means. It’s that positive, almost instant, easy connection that makes a relationship more than mechanical, enjoyable and meaningful.

Some of what we understand about natural chemistry we learn through the opposite, something I call negative chemistry. This is when two people meet and the relationship doesn’t go well from the beginning. This can happen even between people of solid character and high competence. They meet and just don’t like each other. In some cases, even maturity can’t solve it when negative chemistry is in play. If the relationship is not meant to be, don’t force it. Another way to say it that you can’t legislate relationships, including relationships on a church staff. They need time to breath naturally and find their own course.

I’m a champion of natural chemistry, but when it comes to effective staff teams there is no such thing as accidental chemistry. This means that even natural chemistry can deteriorate if it is left unattended. Without intentional effort, like a marriage, especially under pressure, the chemistry often turns toward tension and begins to breakdown.

I have invested time with many church staff teams where the natural chemistry was pure joy. It made me want to be part of their team! There was lots of laughter, inside jokes, light-heartedness and playfulness. And like a well-oiled machine, when it came to getting the job done, they were masterful and nearly flawless in execution.

On the other hand, there are church staff teams that experience tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. The chemistry may have been good, but it definitely went bad. It is obvious there are personal agendas, sides taken, politics, suspicion, mis-trust and anything but lighthearted fun. Sometimes it’s masked with polite Christian behavior, and other times it more like, “you stay in your area and I’ll stay in mine.” Either way, the chemistry is shot.

The following are a few of the things I’ve experienced with church staff teams that help cultivate good chemistry. This in turn leads to more joy and yields greater productivity.

The primary leaders possess a natural chemistry with each other.

I’m referring to the top leaders in the organization. For example, at 12Stone Church, if Kevin Myers (Senior Pastor) and I (Executive Pastor) don’t possess a natural chemistry, the church is in trouble. The trickle-down effect into the staff would be devastating.

It’s important to note that good chemistry looks different in different relationships. For some it’s a “best buddies” kind of thing, for others it’s more of a “spiritually ordained partnership,” and still others it might be kind of an “opposites attract”. The important thing is that you experience the chemistry that makes it all work!

They spend time together on a purely relational basis.

This is simple but not easy. It’s simple because having fun together is not a complicated thing. It’s not easy for a number of reasons, for example, schedules often make it a huge challenge – so much so that it’s easy to give up trying to make it happen. Don’t give up.

You don’t need a lot of money, but you do need intentionality. It can be as simple as jumping in a car and taking an hour to drive somewhere to have ice-cream together. It can be anything from a baseball game to a concert. Take some time, even if it’s just a little, to play together. Have fun!

As I’m writing this I’m smiling. I’m remembering not too long ago when our staff had a riot doing our version of “Office Olympics.” The Next Gen Team put it together, patterned after the TV show, “The Office. ” It was a blast.

They don’t take themselves too seriously.

Staff teams with great chemistry laugh a lot together. And they laugh at themselves easily. They don’t take themselves too seriously, but they take the central mission of the team very seriously.

Great chemistry comes from the heart of people who are, in general, secure, self-aware and not defensive. This kind of person finds it easy to enjoy the best in all the relationships, in fact, they intentionally bring out the best in each other. Staff with good chemistry refuse to pick at the flaws and the small stuff among their teammates.

Communication is open, honest and current.

A large percentage of staff misunderstanding comes from a lack of good communication. Misunderstanding leads to assumptions which can lead to tension and soon the relationship begins to deteriorate.

Trust, courage and maturity are needed for open and productive communication. You must be willing to speak the truth in love. Don’t sugar coat stuff. Be kind but get it said. And don’t wait, it is rare that delaying a potentially difficult conversation makes it better. As a word of encouragement, most conversations that you anticipate will be difficult, aren’t nearly as difficult as you thought they would be. Just go for it.

They put the overall needs of the church ministry before their own agenda.

This is tough because leaders have their own opinions, ideas and dreams. But a good team player who helps cultivate great chemistry puts the primary agenda (mission / purpose) of the church over their own agenda.

Resources and energy are in limited supply. In dealing with things from “stage communication time” to budget allocation, staff members can feel like they are competing for resources. In some ways they do compete, but when everyone knows they’re on the same team, and they like and respect each other, the “competition” becomes healthy and good chemistry will give permission for people to willingly surrender their rights for the good of the team.

They genuinely care about each other.

Scripture calls for us to love everyone, but no one likes everyone. You know the difference. I believe that you must love and like someone to genuinely care about them over a sustained period of time. It is possible to care about someone you don’t like for a short time. For example, I think there are some incredible doctors and nurses that give genuine care in a loving manner, who barely know let alone really like you. That works for a short time. Church staff members who have great chemistry, love and like each other. This provides the best foundation to demonstrate true care over the long haul.

They make sure that expectations are crystal clear.

It’s cool to hang out at Starbucks and dream about ministry ideas, meet new people and engage in provocative conversations. But at some point the dreams, cool people and conversations need to actually take shape so that something tangible is accomplished.

Teams that have great chemistry don’t cultivate that chemistry merely for the sake of relationship. They do so for results. All great teams want to win, not just hang out because they like each other. No team wins without knowing exactly what each player is expected to do. They must also know who is getting it done, and how well they are getting it done! Expectations must be in writing, and I highly recommend that those expectations are distributed to the entire team.

Every player carries his or her own weight.

Kevin Myers recently taught an All Staff leadership lesson that talked about the idea that leaders are like the driver in a car and not like a passenger. The driver pays attention and gets everyone from point A to point B. The passenger relaxes, listens to music, takes a nap, checks the air-conditioning, and wants more snacks to eat. Teams with great chemistry like each other, but they don’t tolerate people who don’t drive.

Chemistry is fantastic and you don’t want to lose it, but all the wonderful chemistry in the world is worth little if the team isn’t getting the job done.

These are just a few thoughts to get you started on the road to better chemistry. Jump in and practice these ideas and I’m sure you’ll love the results.

This article is used by permission from Dan Reiland’s free monthly e-newsletter The Pastor’s Coach available at http://www.INJOY.com

The Hero Behind the Hero

For a while now I’ve had a really cool article on Billy Graham (it was actually published several years ago) saved in my links… I finally got to read it in detail today. Wow… powerful. In a day and age where we have seen so many ministers/ministries fall morally, ethically or spiritually I was reminded once again of the outstanding legacy of this man. He was committed to Jesus, the gospel, his wife and family and to a life of integrity. He is a true hero of the faith!

You can read the article here.

Make sure that you check out the side column about his relationship with his wife Ruth. She has since gone home to be with the LORD but I was so impacted by their love for each other. In my heart I said “that is what I want with my wife 50 years from now”

I actually then spent some time on the official site dedicated in her memory. What an outstanding, outstanding woman of God. Rev. Graham’s words best describe her –

“Ruth was my life partner, and we were called by God as a team,” Mr. Graham said of his life-long marriage and ministry partner. “No one else could have borne the load that she carried. She was a vital and integral part of our ministry, and my work through the years would have been impossible without her encouragement and support.

“I am so grateful to the Lord that He gave me Ruth, and especially for these last few years we’ve had in the mountains together,” Mr. Graham continued. “We’ve rekindled the romance of our youth, and my love for her continued to grow deeper every day. I will miss her terribly, and look forward even more to the day I can join her in Heaven.”

Billy Graham should be a hero to us all – but let us not forget about the “hero behind the hero” as well.

You can check out the site dedicated to her memory here.

John Maxwell’s New Book… on his Blog

John Maxwell is posting his new book Everyone Communicates, Few Connect chapter by chapter on his blog. He is asking people to read the chapter and then to share their thoughts and insights with him through a comment. He posted chapter 1 just over two weeks ago and then recently blogged that he read all of the 250 comments that were made – and appreciated their insight.

He explains his purpose/thought process in all this here.

I really love the concept of what he is doing – not only does he creatively market his new book but he benefits from feedback while still in the writing process. I look forward to reading it week by week.

Do, Decline, or Delegate

One of my focuses and we enter a new ministry year at CWL is to evaluate how I’m approaching all the responsibilities that I have on my plate and work to fine tune and sharpen them (I find I naturally tend to do this in September when we start our ministry year, and January when we enter a new calendar year).

One way I’m doing this is to take time to evaluate what I need to do, decline or delegate.

1. Do – I’m asking myself: are there things that I need to start doing that I’m currently not? What am I doing that I need to continue? What areas to I need to do better in?
2. Decline – what areas/things do I need to be better at saying ‘no’ to this coming ministry year? Are there certain things that I have done in the past that I need to lay down?
3. Delegate – what am I currently doing that could be done by somebody else? Are there things that need to be done, that I could get somebody else involved in?

How about you? What do you need to do, decline or delegate as we enter the fall?