How do you view leadership? What part does listening play in leadership?
In Churches, Cultures and Leadership by Mark Lau Branson and Juan Martinez, I was recently convicted that leadership in the church is much more about listening than we give it credit for. As I think back over how I have been impacted about understanding leaderhsip I realize that I have not really valued listening.
I ignored the importance of listening to the people I will lead because I have been colonized into believing that "real" leadership is about setting a vision, direction and pulling people on board. Now this type of leadership may work in the corporate world, but is it best for the life of a church? I am beginning to think NOT.
I will be pondering on the idea the church leadership is about being a leader that listens to the heart, experience and feelings of those I am leading while trusting that God will be speaking in the midst of all of this.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Monday, December 19, 2011
Advent Reflection: God With US
As we are in the season of Advent I have been reflecting much over the last week about Immanuel - God with Us. Here is a quote I really like from Albert Edward Day in The Captivating Presence:
But God is present in reality no what unreality our practices and our ponderings imply.
He is forever trying to establish communication;
forever aware of the wrong directions we are taking and wishing to warn us;
forever offering solutions for the problems that baffle us;
forever standing at the door of our loneliness, eager to bring us such comradeship as the most intelligent living mortal could not supply;
forever clinging to our indifference in the hope that someday our needs, or at least our tragedies will waken us to respond to his advances.
The Real Presence is just that, real and life-transforming.
God is present because God is with us!
But God is present in reality no what unreality our practices and our ponderings imply.
He is forever trying to establish communication;
forever aware of the wrong directions we are taking and wishing to warn us;
forever offering solutions for the problems that baffle us;
forever standing at the door of our loneliness, eager to bring us such comradeship as the most intelligent living mortal could not supply;
forever clinging to our indifference in the hope that someday our needs, or at least our tragedies will waken us to respond to his advances.
The Real Presence is just that, real and life-transforming.
God is present because God is with us!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Policies or Conversations
I was listening to Andy Stanley's message titled: Big Drift in his Big Church series that North Point did a month ago. Towards the end of his message he made a great point - he said that churches have a tendency to drift towards legalism and away from grace (I think people do to...but that is for another post...). In the drift towards legalism, we want to have policies. Policies then become the answer to questions and conflict - we have a policy for that and this is how we handle it. In this situation we see institutionalism. On the other side of the coin, he mentioned that at North Point they don't have policies - which can be frustrating for the staff - because he wants people to have conversations. Conversations are important because they force us to meet with people. To talk with people. To hear them out and experience grace. Conversations was the way Jesus did ministry and it is the way we need to think about our ministries. For me, I want policies. I want policies because sometimes it is just easier to hide behind the policy. I want a policy so I don't have to have a conversation with a specific person. I want a policy so I treat all the people the same way. But as I have thought about conversations, I realize they have a greater ability to impact people. Through a conversation, I can remind people of our vision; I can gauge their passion for the specific topic and passion for ministry; I can see a level of spiritual maturity; and I get to be a living example of grace. Thus, I am going to try to move towards conversations...
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Great Post about Blogging and Theology
If you think about how the world has changed since FACEBOOK, we can also see how theology has changed - or at least how wide and shallow theology in our world can be today. Here is a great post about why "NOT MANY OF YOU SHOULD PRESUME TO BE BLOGGERS":
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/marchweb-only/bloggers.html?start=1
Enjoy
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/marchweb-only/bloggers.html?start=1
Enjoy
Monday, November 1, 2010
Sermon Prep...
Here is a copy of a post by Douglas Wilson that I found helpful... http://dougwils.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8068:the-holy-spirit-and-sermon-prep&catid=108:who-is-sufficient
We must first smite and slay the extempore bias. From at least the time of Rousseau, we have been taught that that which is spontaneous is that which is honest, fresh, sincere, and untrammeled. On the other end, we have been taught that that which is prepared beforehand is stiff and insincere.
But like many very effective lies, there is an important truth here. You do want it to be fresh. But that is why you have to prepare to be fresh. You will get what you prepare to get. Freshness is no accident. When preparation results in stale messages, that is because you didn't seal the bag right. You want fresh, then prepare for fresh. This is the discipline of a pianist practicing scales so that she can sit down and play a glorious piece "spontaneously."
But before the message can be fresh, the man must be. Prepare the man before you prepare the message. The first issue relates to character -- confess sin, grow in grace, resist temptation, feed your soul something other than spiritual Doritos.
Then there is your family, the place where the man lives and thrives . . . or not. Love your wife, spend time with her, love your children, give yourself to them. Your household is your first church, your foundational church, your probationary church. Don't work on your sermon all week, and give your family the dregs of your time. Give yourself to your family in such a way that you have something to say to your second church.
Third, you prepare the man who will preach the Word by concerning yourself with his mind and heart. Feed that part of you that will be doing the preaching. Read, listen, grow. What constitutes the leaf mold of your mind? What is composting there? Don't read like you were studying for a test. Read like you are covering the forest floor with half a foot of leaves. Don't bother keeping track of them.
Then we come to the mechanics of sermon prep, remembering that the Holy Spirit doesn't pop into existence on Sunday morning. In learning about this, don't copy slavishly. Don't let a tuba player teach you how to carry your snare drum. Work through this kind of thing selectively.
That said, Wednesdays are my sermon day. I try to have the outline done by late morning or early afternoon. If I have a topic or a fresh idea that has been forming in my mind, then I just do the outline. If I am preaching through a book, then the first part of the day consists of reading in the commentaries, followed by composition of the outline.
My outlines follow this general pattern: 1. Intro 2. Summary of the text, which unpacks the text in such a way that every major teaching is repeated, along with any necessary contextualization. 3. Three or so major points from the text that I want to develop or apply at greater length. 4. Conclusion and application.
This outline is almost always done by Wednesday. I then leave it to sit for a few days. I pick it up again sometime Saturday and read through it. Sunday morning I look at it again, and jot down any additional thoughts I may have in the margins. I then preach from the outline. My outlines are generally around 1,200 words, and an average sermon would be about 5,000 words.
We must first smite and slay the extempore bias. From at least the time of Rousseau, we have been taught that that which is spontaneous is that which is honest, fresh, sincere, and untrammeled. On the other end, we have been taught that that which is prepared beforehand is stiff and insincere.
But like many very effective lies, there is an important truth here. You do want it to be fresh. But that is why you have to prepare to be fresh. You will get what you prepare to get. Freshness is no accident. When preparation results in stale messages, that is because you didn't seal the bag right. You want fresh, then prepare for fresh. This is the discipline of a pianist practicing scales so that she can sit down and play a glorious piece "spontaneously."
But before the message can be fresh, the man must be. Prepare the man before you prepare the message. The first issue relates to character -- confess sin, grow in grace, resist temptation, feed your soul something other than spiritual Doritos.
Then there is your family, the place where the man lives and thrives . . . or not. Love your wife, spend time with her, love your children, give yourself to them. Your household is your first church, your foundational church, your probationary church. Don't work on your sermon all week, and give your family the dregs of your time. Give yourself to your family in such a way that you have something to say to your second church.
Third, you prepare the man who will preach the Word by concerning yourself with his mind and heart. Feed that part of you that will be doing the preaching. Read, listen, grow. What constitutes the leaf mold of your mind? What is composting there? Don't read like you were studying for a test. Read like you are covering the forest floor with half a foot of leaves. Don't bother keeping track of them.
Then we come to the mechanics of sermon prep, remembering that the Holy Spirit doesn't pop into existence on Sunday morning. In learning about this, don't copy slavishly. Don't let a tuba player teach you how to carry your snare drum. Work through this kind of thing selectively.
That said, Wednesdays are my sermon day. I try to have the outline done by late morning or early afternoon. If I have a topic or a fresh idea that has been forming in my mind, then I just do the outline. If I am preaching through a book, then the first part of the day consists of reading in the commentaries, followed by composition of the outline.
My outlines follow this general pattern: 1. Intro 2. Summary of the text, which unpacks the text in such a way that every major teaching is repeated, along with any necessary contextualization. 3. Three or so major points from the text that I want to develop or apply at greater length. 4. Conclusion and application.
This outline is almost always done by Wednesday. I then leave it to sit for a few days. I pick it up again sometime Saturday and read through it. Sunday morning I look at it again, and jot down any additional thoughts I may have in the margins. I then preach from the outline. My outlines are generally around 1,200 words, and an average sermon would be about 5,000 words.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Evaluating Outreach in a Small Church
I found this article by Paul Kelley and was convicted, encouraged and challenged...
Small churches can be frustrating places to do outreach to teenagers. Frankly, the thing that attracts most teenagers to a youth group is other teenagers. And a small youth group, by definition, lacks a large group of teenagers. It can be a difficult cycle: The teenagers you have may not be excited about your group because there aren't many of them. You try to reach teenagers to build a bigger group, but visitors don't like the group because there aren't many teenagers there. So, how do you do effective outreach? I think many small churches approach outreach ineffectively. Let me suggest some questions to ask yourself as you attempt to reach out to teenagers in your area.
1. Are you reaching out to teenagers to build a bigger youth group . . . or to love them to Jesus? Some of you want to say: Both! I understand your answer, but I'd like to ask you to think a little deeper about the question. Teenagers are possibly the most marketed-to generation in America. Everyone from the people who make Rice Krispies to MTV are trying to get them to watch something, buy something, use something, or be something. Savvy teenagers catch on pretty quickly that the guy who is trying to sell them jeans appears to care about their "image" but really just wants to get their money. If what you really want from a teenager is to make your youth group successful, it is probably going to backfire. The more teenagers you have, the harder it will be to lovingly disciple each one. And teenagers don't need another activity to join . . . they need to experience the love of the Savior.
2. Are you focusing on teenagers you don't have in your group at the expense of those you do have? Yes, we are called to reach the lost for Christ. We need to be looking for ways to make Christ known. But it seems to me that Jesus spent a lot more time with his Twelve than he did preaching to the crowds on the hillside. I believe God has called you to disciple those he has entrusted to your care. And, my guess is, the most significant outreach work you do will be done by the students you are teaching and guiding.
3. Are you focusing on events or relationships? Events are great ways to engage teenagers in relationship, but if your attention is on the event you are not likely to reach many teenagers. If a guest at an event wants to ask questions, do you have time to listen and explore faith with them . . . or are you going to be so busy making runs to the store, fixing the food, organizing the games, and setting up a video screen that you don't really have time for the teenagers. Most of the time, the answer is engaging lots of adults. If everyone takes care of one or two details, everyone has time for teens. And if everyone–youth group members and adults–is looking to build relationships, a teenager has a lot of opportunities to connect with someone.
Small churches can be frustrating places to do outreach to teenagers. Frankly, the thing that attracts most teenagers to a youth group is other teenagers. And a small youth group, by definition, lacks a large group of teenagers. It can be a difficult cycle: The teenagers you have may not be excited about your group because there aren't many of them. You try to reach teenagers to build a bigger group, but visitors don't like the group because there aren't many teenagers there. So, how do you do effective outreach? I think many small churches approach outreach ineffectively. Let me suggest some questions to ask yourself as you attempt to reach out to teenagers in your area.
1. Are you reaching out to teenagers to build a bigger youth group . . . or to love them to Jesus? Some of you want to say: Both! I understand your answer, but I'd like to ask you to think a little deeper about the question. Teenagers are possibly the most marketed-to generation in America. Everyone from the people who make Rice Krispies to MTV are trying to get them to watch something, buy something, use something, or be something. Savvy teenagers catch on pretty quickly that the guy who is trying to sell them jeans appears to care about their "image" but really just wants to get their money. If what you really want from a teenager is to make your youth group successful, it is probably going to backfire. The more teenagers you have, the harder it will be to lovingly disciple each one. And teenagers don't need another activity to join . . . they need to experience the love of the Savior.
2. Are you focusing on teenagers you don't have in your group at the expense of those you do have? Yes, we are called to reach the lost for Christ. We need to be looking for ways to make Christ known. But it seems to me that Jesus spent a lot more time with his Twelve than he did preaching to the crowds on the hillside. I believe God has called you to disciple those he has entrusted to your care. And, my guess is, the most significant outreach work you do will be done by the students you are teaching and guiding.
3. Are you focusing on events or relationships? Events are great ways to engage teenagers in relationship, but if your attention is on the event you are not likely to reach many teenagers. If a guest at an event wants to ask questions, do you have time to listen and explore faith with them . . . or are you going to be so busy making runs to the store, fixing the food, organizing the games, and setting up a video screen that you don't really have time for the teenagers. Most of the time, the answer is engaging lots of adults. If everyone takes care of one or two details, everyone has time for teens. And if everyone–youth group members and adults–is looking to build relationships, a teenager has a lot of opportunities to connect with someone.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Can I Have Some Money
The other night, I went to pick up cheap dinner for me and the kids at Little Caesar's while Kim was on the womens retreat. As I was walking into Little Caesar's a man asked if I had any change I could give him...as I looked at this man I recognized that he was a recovering alcoholic and drug addict that I had helped one day months earlier.
So when I first him ask, I said no rather quickly and went on with picking up my pizzas. As I was inside waiting, I realized that this was a great teachable moment for my 3 kids and a neighbor girl that I had with me. So as we were leaving I stopped to talk to "Greg".
As I knelt down to his level, I told him that I remebered him from months earlier when I helped him out and that i knew about his history. Greg asked if he could have a couple dollars. I thought for a second and asked him if he wanted the money for some food or for some alcohol. At this question, Greg froze. I told him I would gladly buy him a pizza, but that I would not give him any money. But Greg asked for some money again. I offered to buy him a pizza or nothing at all. He said he was really sick right now...
I walked away and had an opportunity to talk to my kids about this but I forgot to tie it back to Matthew 25:31-46. So tomorrow for our morning devotion I will talk about this situation with them...hopefully it will still be impactful.
My prayer is now that I would have the eyes to see those who are really in need (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGr8as7pPBE), and have the wisdom to meet those needs and bring light into darkness. I don't want to be a christian who walks our streets and pretends not to see people for the 21st time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvqwHGH3Tlw&feature=related).
So when I first him ask, I said no rather quickly and went on with picking up my pizzas. As I was inside waiting, I realized that this was a great teachable moment for my 3 kids and a neighbor girl that I had with me. So as we were leaving I stopped to talk to "Greg".
As I knelt down to his level, I told him that I remebered him from months earlier when I helped him out and that i knew about his history. Greg asked if he could have a couple dollars. I thought for a second and asked him if he wanted the money for some food or for some alcohol. At this question, Greg froze. I told him I would gladly buy him a pizza, but that I would not give him any money. But Greg asked for some money again. I offered to buy him a pizza or nothing at all. He said he was really sick right now...
I walked away and had an opportunity to talk to my kids about this but I forgot to tie it back to Matthew 25:31-46. So tomorrow for our morning devotion I will talk about this situation with them...hopefully it will still be impactful.
My prayer is now that I would have the eyes to see those who are really in need (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGr8as7pPBE), and have the wisdom to meet those needs and bring light into darkness. I don't want to be a christian who walks our streets and pretends not to see people for the 21st time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvqwHGH3Tlw&feature=related).
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