Jack Hayford Quotables from the NPN Conference

Jack Hayford provided the NPN with some quotable thoughts.
Here are a few of them.

Dwayne Deskins tweeted:

God is not interested in you and me becoming a success — He's interested in us HELPING PEOPLE!

The need for self affirmation corrodes and erodes the soul.

Jon Jennings tweeted:

The church has not been called to wave a standard of justice in front of the world. We've been called to live one.

Comparison and competition are the greatest opponents of real success in our lives. They will turn us into critics or mimics.

The glory doesn't reside in our systems or structures, but in our simplicity of dependence on God.

Bishop Scott tweeted:

You were created from a distinct idea in the mind of God for a distinct purpose.

The standard should be that we are so open to the Holy Spirit, God never has to intrude.

The Greatest 2 Days of My Pastoral Life

From Jon-Jennings.com
I had an amazing privilege this week. The Pastor’s Network I am part of worked out an arrangement where a small group of 15 Pastors were able to spend 2 days of intimate time with Jack Hayford. I’ve been to numerous conferences over the years that have had thousands in attendance with all of the bells and whistles one can imagine, but I can honestly say that these past 2 days practically one on one with Pastor Hayford were the greatest 2 days of my Pastoral life.

If you are not familiar with Jack Hayford’s ministry, a short history lesson is in order. Jack and his wife Anna came to Van Nuys, CA in 1969 to assume the Pastorate of a small 25 member church. Over the next 31 years of his leadership, The Church on the Way grew to a constituency of over 10,000 and Pastor Jack’s influence on the Pentecostal/Charismatic community reached epic proportions. Jack has published 53 books and written over 600 songs in the span of his ministry, but by far his best known song is “Majesty” published in 1981. CCLI recently listed “Majesty” as #7 on the all time list of worship songs used by churches in the entire world. That’s quite a statement when one realizes that “Amazing Grace,” “Shout to the Lord” and “How Great is Our God” are also in the top 10.

Beyond that, Jack was a key leader in the Promise Keepers march on Washington in 1994 which saw 1.4 million Christian men converge on our Nation’s Capitol. He also spearheaded what became known as “The Memphis Miracle” when racial reconciliation among key century-old Pentecostal denominations came to fruition. For the last 14 years, Jack has focused almost exclusively on pouring his life into small groups of Pastors and leaders in settings like I was part of this week. I literally felt as though I was sitting at the feet of a true modern day Apostle of the faith.

In many ways, the last 2 days was confirmation of the direction God has been leading me to shepherd our congregation at Fountain of Life yet I was also able to see adjustments I need to make in my life and leadership. It will take me weeks to distill everything that was imparted, but I can’t say enough about the awesomeness of the experience.

The highlight of the experience came last night as our group gathered at Pastor Jack’s home for dinner. The dinner was amazing, but after dinner we all gathered in the living room and listened for an hour and a half as Pastor Jack and Anna just talked about their marriage, family life and shared stories of how God had blessed them during the course of their ministry. At the very end, we asked if we could do something. Pastor Jack said yes, and we broke out in unison singing “Majesty”. I watched Pastor Jack raise his hands in worship with us and lift his voice to the King, still recognizing the awe and wonder of the one we serve with a song God gave him to touch the nations. Time stood still for those 3 minutes as I realized that I had just been part of perhaps a once in a lifetime experience.

I would trade all of my other conferences – Catalyst, Willow Creek and the host of others for two more great days like this. Unspeakable impartation.

You Represent Someone

By Russell Hylton
John the Baptist was considered the "forerunner" of Jesus. He led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River, challenged sinful rulers, called for repentance and promised God's justice.

John pointed to the "Messiah" who was greater than himself. In essence, he represented Jesus and became a modern day "Public Relations" ambassador.

A true PR person will take on the DNA of the one they represent. Their words and actions will reveal their heart. They will embrace the vision of their leader and cast the vision to others. They will see their leader's mission as their own and will make it the center of their efforts.

When you are called to represent someone else (believe me...we are called to represent Christ, but to also represent a leader(s), group, organization, team, etc. during our lifetime) you must avoid speaking negatively. Negativity will never produce positive results.

Even if you experience the negative, you will only communicate the positive.

• Think back to Samson when he passed through the vineyards of Timnath and defeated a lion with his hands. He didn't tell his father and mother about what he had done. After a time, he returned through the same vineyard and found the carcase of the lion and in it was a swarm of bees and honey. Samson ate of it and received enlightenment and then shared the honey with his parents. But notice, he only shared the "honey" not the "lion."

As we represent our leaders, we must do so with positive communication. Even if you don't understand your leader's decisions or actions at the time, you must represent your leader with truth and loyalty.

Each of us will be faced with this test. Whether or not you pass this test will depend entirely upon your ability to remain a pure representation of your leader even in the face of negative circumstances.

I've saved myself from many embarrassing moments and painful failures by simply thinking about a person in whom I greatly admire and saying..."would ___________ do this or say this?" Doing this has kept my feet from wrath and my actions loyal.

The blessing is found in "loyalty" and "right" representation.

Five Rules for Representation

1. Representatives must always represent the truth. - Ephesians 4:15
2. Representatives must always speak words that edify. (Build up) - 1 Corinthians 14:26
3. Representatives must never let their actions betray their words. - Matthew 7:3-5
4. Representatives must know what to say, how much to say, and when to say it. - 1 Corinthians 3:2
5. Representatives do not rehearse the failures of the past. They restate the goals of the future. - Philippians 3:13-14

Open Door Gathering

Leadership meetings are vital in your church. However, those meetings, in order to be fruitful, must be purposeful. An organized effort of planning, strategy, evaluation and "where do we go from here" must be ironed out before the meeting comes to a close.

I systematically have entire leadership meetings and selective leadership meetings throughout the year - or as often as I can. "communicate, communicate, communicate & over communicate"

Recently, I tried a fresh approach to connecting with my leaders. Here's a sample email I sent them.

Greetings BFWC Leaders,

I will be hosting an open door gathering this eveing from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm for Ministry Coordinators in my office.

You are welcome to come by to say hello, ask a question, receive training or assistance for your ministry or just have a cup of coffee.

Sincerely,

Pastor Hylton

I was delighted to have several leaders stop during those two hours. Some received training and some just wanted to share with me what was happening in their life.

Hey Pastor....Sunday's coming!!

I know it is not my week to post but I read this challenge on a blog by Perry Noble, Pastor of Newspring Church and it challenged me. Hopefully it will challenge you as well.

Hey pastor…

Sunday’s coming…
It will be here in less than 48 hours!!!
Are you ready?
This week will be someone’s first week in your church!
Your church is a powder keg WAITING to explode!!!
God wants to do things in your church that would absolutely blow you away if He were to download it all on you at once.
Sunday’s coming…
People will be in your church that are one heartbeat away from hell…
Will you share the GOSPEL?
Will you call for commitment?
Sunday’s coming…
You have been called, equipped and empowered by God to do what you do!
He knows where you are!
He knows what you are going through!
He has NOT forgotten you!!!
Have you BEGGED God to do something unexplainable and undeniable?
Have you allowed something to distract you this week?
Have you become obsessed with anything or anyone other than Jesus and the vision He has poured into you?
Sunday’s coming…
The next Billy Graham, Bill Hybels or Rick Warren COULD be sitting in your church this Sunday…heck, they MIGHT not even be saved yet…
There is UNLIMITED potential within the people in your church who know Christ.
People want hope!
People want to change!
People want to LIVE!
They need to hear YOU tell them about CHRIST!
Sunday’s coming…
Let’s put on our game faces…
This could be the last message that you ever get to preach…EVER!!!
SO…SAY IT, bring the HEAT!!!
Sunday is NOT a burden…it’s a gift…GO FOR IT!!!

Help us plan the 2011 General Convention

By Bishop Charles Scott
We would love your feedback on the following:

1. Would you favor a conference forum with breakout sessions?
   
   
2. What type of sessions would interest you?
   
   
3. Would you prefer outside speakers for the main services?
   
   
4. Would you prefer department led services per history?
   
   
5. What are the most important areas for you in relation to general convention, i.e. what do you expect from the meeting?
   
   
6. What would you most desire from general convention?
   
   
7. What would you like to say about general convention?

Making Vision Stick

When you begin to think about the upcoming year, are you challenged with a renewed Vision from God??

Does it even matter to you as a leader??

Have you been seeking God to show you His direction for your ministry in 2010??

Do you have a plan to communicate that Vision to those that God has entrusted into your care??

Andy Stanley's book Making Vision Stickhas been a powerful resource for me over the past 3 years. I read it a couple of times a year and always find some things that I need to do better to make Vision Stick at Christian Life Center. The following is a summary of the first chapter of this book that makes Vision a reality.

Vision must have clarity, simplicity and must be catchy. This will make it easy to communicate effectively. If it’s clear from the beginning, it can simply answer people’s questions. Make it memorable/unforgettable and people will embrace it! Better to be incomplete and memorable than complete and forgettable. Don’t pass by the limited opportunities to share your vision to the “drive-by” audience. Remember the audience you have every Sunday do not sit around thinking about the Vision as we do on a daily basis, so make it simple.

Be willing to evaluate your vision so it always tells what is distinctive about your church/ministry. Then watch as your clear vision causes people to redirect their focus and resources.

I challenge you to pick up this resource for yourself and your team.
"Making Vision Stick" by Andy Stanley