I heard a play on words that caught my attention yesterday during "The Nines" sponsored by The Leadership Network. The pastor said "ARE YOU TRYING TO BE THE BEST CHURCH "IN" YOUR COMMUNITY OR THE BEST CHURCH "FOR" YOUR COMMUNITY?
Those 2 words may be small but the difference is huge! Just look at what we do and how we do them and that will probably reveal our true attitude concerning this question. Most of us feel we are not competing but maybe what we do and how we do it says otherwise. I know in previous blogs we have addressed this area but lt me tackle it with this question?
WHAT ARE YOU DOING THAT MAKES YOUR CHURCH DIFFERENT, NOT BETTER, JUST DIFFERENT?
Why? Because God told you to!!!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
"One Thing"
What is the "ONE THING" about your church that...
1) you would not touch or change because it is that good. In fact, others could learn from your church?
2) that you would change right now if you could? In fact, you are looking for answers or suggestions.
3) What is keeping you from doing that "ONE THING"?
1) you would not touch or change because it is that good. In fact, others could learn from your church?
2) that you would change right now if you could? In fact, you are looking for answers or suggestions.
3) What is keeping you from doing that "ONE THING"?
Monday, September 7, 2009
How Good Is Your Church...... Really?
In my pursuit of being the best we can be as a church I am always evaluating everything from our landscaping, facitlites, services etc. However, I have decided to get the opinion of someone whose opinion really matters....a non-church person. I have decided to find someone from the community every 3 months and pay them $50 to attend a church service (secret shopper) and following that service fill out a questionaire with their honest opinion of everything about our church. The questionaire will include our grounds, facilities, bathrooms, music, the message, the people, the atmosphere as well as whether or not they would return if they were to start attending a church
Why do this? Because all of us have forgotten what it is like to walk into a church for the first time and if we want the truth then we need to ask the person that really matters!
I know this is not a new concept but I am curious as to what you are doing to evaluate your effectiveness when it comes to 1st time guests.
Why do this? Because all of us have forgotten what it is like to walk into a church for the first time and if we want the truth then we need to ask the person that really matters!
I know this is not a new concept but I am curious as to what you are doing to evaluate your effectiveness when it comes to 1st time guests.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Thoughts from Ed Young
Ed Young Jr. is Lead Pastor of Fellowship Church in Dallas, TX. Ed came to this church 20 years ago with less than 100 people. They have one of the best conferences in the country in February, C3 Creative Church Conference. Check it out:
church web: www.fellowshipchurch.com
Ed's blog: www.edyoungblog.com
The Toughest 10%
It’s one of the most difficult things for any leader to do. It’s not very popular, but it’s very necessary. It’s moving people out. And as leaders in the church, we cannot be shy about it.
Over the last ten years, Fellowship Church has tried to do just that. It’s a principle that Jack Welch calls differentiation. Basically, Mr. Welch says a healthy organization regularly moves out 10% of its staff. He says, “Winning leaders invest where the payback is the highest. They cut their losses everywhere else."
In other words, great leaders regularly take a look at the organization and evaluate those who should stay and those who need to be moved out.
This isn’t to say that you don’t appreciate the work and blessing that those people brought to the table. God brings people into your organization for a reason. But oftentimes, it’s only for a season. There are situations where it is necessary to move certain people out so that you, and they, can continue to grow.
At Fellowship, we have grown more over the last 20 years through subtraction than through addition. Think of a body. For a physical body to grow and maintain vibrancy, it must regularly eliminate certain things. In the body of Christ, and especially when it comes to staff, the same principle applies.
When you regularly move people out, the results are phenomenal! Those people then have the opportunity to become a blessing, to be used by God somewhere else. You see those left who step up to fill the voids; those who help your church reach the next level. You experience a vibrancy, freshness and newness that may not have been present before. You are forced to think strategically about your resources. And you ultimately experience growth through the change. I call this the spin cycle of success. Change – Conflict – Growth.
For any organization to maintain life, it must remain fluid. Otherwise, it becomes stagnate. And as the living body of Chirst, we must recognize this and not be afraid to follow the steps to maintain vitality and life.
As a leader, don't be afraid to evaluate who is around you. Don't be shy about moving people out. God will continue to work through you. He will continue to use you and your organization for his purposes. And you will experience blessings that may have been blockaded before!
Wow, no that will get in your grill for us PCG people. Have you ever asked anyone to step down from where they are serving??
church web: www.fellowshipchurch.com
Ed's blog: www.edyoungblog.com
The Toughest 10%
It’s one of the most difficult things for any leader to do. It’s not very popular, but it’s very necessary. It’s moving people out. And as leaders in the church, we cannot be shy about it.
Over the last ten years, Fellowship Church has tried to do just that. It’s a principle that Jack Welch calls differentiation. Basically, Mr. Welch says a healthy organization regularly moves out 10% of its staff. He says, “Winning leaders invest where the payback is the highest. They cut their losses everywhere else."
In other words, great leaders regularly take a look at the organization and evaluate those who should stay and those who need to be moved out.
This isn’t to say that you don’t appreciate the work and blessing that those people brought to the table. God brings people into your organization for a reason. But oftentimes, it’s only for a season. There are situations where it is necessary to move certain people out so that you, and they, can continue to grow.
At Fellowship, we have grown more over the last 20 years through subtraction than through addition. Think of a body. For a physical body to grow and maintain vibrancy, it must regularly eliminate certain things. In the body of Christ, and especially when it comes to staff, the same principle applies.
When you regularly move people out, the results are phenomenal! Those people then have the opportunity to become a blessing, to be used by God somewhere else. You see those left who step up to fill the voids; those who help your church reach the next level. You experience a vibrancy, freshness and newness that may not have been present before. You are forced to think strategically about your resources. And you ultimately experience growth through the change. I call this the spin cycle of success. Change – Conflict – Growth.
For any organization to maintain life, it must remain fluid. Otherwise, it becomes stagnate. And as the living body of Chirst, we must recognize this and not be afraid to follow the steps to maintain vitality and life.
As a leader, don't be afraid to evaluate who is around you. Don't be shy about moving people out. God will continue to work through you. He will continue to use you and your organization for his purposes. And you will experience blessings that may have been blockaded before!
Wow, no that will get in your grill for us PCG people. Have you ever asked anyone to step down from where they are serving??
Friday, September 4, 2009
Thoughts from Tommy Sparger
Today we hear from Tommy Sparger. Tommy planted North Point Church in Springfield, Missouri in 2003. Tommy is licensed with Assembly of God. North Point has grown to 3,500 in 6 years leading hundreds of people to Christ. Check out this ministry.
Church website: www.northpointnow.org
Tommy blogspot: www.tommysparger.com
10 Danger Signs that should be a red flag to a Spiritual Leader
1. You view other churches or organizations in the “kingdom” as competition.
2. You can do what you are doing without the help of God.
3. You are becoming increasingly cynical.
4. You have no friends that you can REALLY open up to.
5. The only friends that you have are the people helping you to accomplish what you are trying to accomplish — and the minute they are of no use to you anymore — they are no longer your friends.
6. Your disciples resemble “The Pharisees” more than they resemble “Jesus”. They are more concerned with being right, doctrine, control, the political process, how horribly biased the secular media is, than they are allowing God to soften their heart and make them more like Him. When your disciples are mean spirited, paranoid, want you to take a public stand against homosexuals, Harry Potter, or whatever else…. be careful….. You are their teacher. What are you attracting and why? What are you teaching? The world has enough mean spirited fundamentalist that are more concerned that we avoid secular music than they are caring for the poor ………….You are there to make a difference. Raise up better disciples. The world needs it - the church needs it - you need it.
7. You have secrets that only you know about.
8. You have escape fantasies.
9. You feel trapped.
10. The only reason that you are doing what you are doing anymore is because you don’t know how else to make a living.
-If this describes you, please know, you can get help. Go see a counselor. Work it out. You can salvage this thing.
Church website: www.northpointnow.org
Tommy blogspot: www.tommysparger.com
10 Danger Signs that should be a red flag to a Spiritual Leader
1. You view other churches or organizations in the “kingdom” as competition.
2. You can do what you are doing without the help of God.
3. You are becoming increasingly cynical.
4. You have no friends that you can REALLY open up to.
5. The only friends that you have are the people helping you to accomplish what you are trying to accomplish — and the minute they are of no use to you anymore — they are no longer your friends.
6. Your disciples resemble “The Pharisees” more than they resemble “Jesus”. They are more concerned with being right, doctrine, control, the political process, how horribly biased the secular media is, than they are allowing God to soften their heart and make them more like Him. When your disciples are mean spirited, paranoid, want you to take a public stand against homosexuals, Harry Potter, or whatever else…. be careful….. You are their teacher. What are you attracting and why? What are you teaching? The world has enough mean spirited fundamentalist that are more concerned that we avoid secular music than they are caring for the poor ………….You are there to make a difference. Raise up better disciples. The world needs it - the church needs it - you need it.
7. You have secrets that only you know about.
8. You have escape fantasies.
9. You feel trapped.
10. The only reason that you are doing what you are doing anymore is because you don’t know how else to make a living.
-If this describes you, please know, you can get help. Go see a counselor. Work it out. You can salvage this thing.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
What are you learning?
This week i am sharing with you blogs and leadership material that is found online. These are things that we can all learn from without ever traveling or financial investment. Taking some time to read and listen to other Pastors/Leaders struggles and insights could sometimes relieve us of going through the same heartache and we might learn something in the process.
These are two Leadership Conferences taking place online: ck them out. These are both next week. Led by some of the ministries you have heard of and know well. I am so pumped about both of them. Myself along with some of my team will be partcipating in these.
www.theforum.lifechurch.tv
www.thenines.leadnet.org
Thoughts from Shannon Odell, Lead Pastor, Brand New Church in Bergman, AR. This is a small town of 450 population, 10 miles from McDonalds & Walmart. Shannon & Cindy Odell became pastors with 40 people and now minister to over 2000 weekly with 4 campuses & 3 satellite churches. Ck it out;
website: www.brandnewchurch.com
blogspot: www.breakingalltherurals.com
6 Qualities to look for in a Staff Member
When I was hired at Southside Baptist Church, now Brand New Church these were the mandatory requirements…
1) Five years of pastoral experience2) Must be married3) Seminary degree. After reading those I realized Jesus could not get a job at this church. He was single, only had three and half years of ministry experience and never attended seminary.
So now we have restructured our staff requirements:
1) A Red Hot marriageYour marriage is the report card of your walk with God. Also, an Ephesians 5 marriage order. I have seen so many great men of God lose passion and ministry faith because their wives were leading the home.If single…how do they manage their personal self-disciplines (money, mouth, meals, motivation).Are they “majorly in debt, do they talk too much, majorly overweight (everyone who is big is not overweight), self-starter.
2) Orderly Home…Titus 1:5 “a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.”This may be the most unspoken passage of scripture in the Bible from the “pulpit”. God calls you to shepherd your home first, then His Church.
3) Relationship Builder…If you don’t love people you are not called.
4) Passion for our God…This is found out from the people closest to them.(#3 and #4 are the staples of the Great Commission…Love God and Love People.)
5) Loyalty…Listen how they talk about their previous employment and employer. Loyalty to authority is the most difficult quality to find in ministry staff thus far in my short 6 years of pastoring. BNC is too large for a church split, but I am learning that staff can do extensive damage when they are not loyal to God’s leadership paradigm in the local church.
6) Understand God’s Vision for Brand New Church.The word under-stand means submitting to what was stated. The potential staff must get “under” the pastors vision and mission with no “agenda” of his own. They need ministry ideology and creation of new ministry, strategy, development of volunteers and leaders, events, spiritual connection and community, but ‘under” the direction of the senior pastor.
These are two Leadership Conferences taking place online: ck them out. These are both next week. Led by some of the ministries you have heard of and know well. I am so pumped about both of them. Myself along with some of my team will be partcipating in these.
www.theforum.lifechurch.tv
www.thenines.leadnet.org
Thoughts from Shannon Odell, Lead Pastor, Brand New Church in Bergman, AR. This is a small town of 450 population, 10 miles from McDonalds & Walmart. Shannon & Cindy Odell became pastors with 40 people and now minister to over 2000 weekly with 4 campuses & 3 satellite churches. Ck it out;
website: www.brandnewchurch.com
blogspot: www.breakingalltherurals.com
6 Qualities to look for in a Staff Member
When I was hired at Southside Baptist Church, now Brand New Church these were the mandatory requirements…
1) Five years of pastoral experience2) Must be married3) Seminary degree. After reading those I realized Jesus could not get a job at this church. He was single, only had three and half years of ministry experience and never attended seminary.
So now we have restructured our staff requirements:
1) A Red Hot marriageYour marriage is the report card of your walk with God. Also, an Ephesians 5 marriage order. I have seen so many great men of God lose passion and ministry faith because their wives were leading the home.If single…how do they manage their personal self-disciplines (money, mouth, meals, motivation).Are they “majorly in debt, do they talk too much, majorly overweight (everyone who is big is not overweight), self-starter.
2) Orderly Home…Titus 1:5 “a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.”This may be the most unspoken passage of scripture in the Bible from the “pulpit”. God calls you to shepherd your home first, then His Church.
3) Relationship Builder…If you don’t love people you are not called.
4) Passion for our God…This is found out from the people closest to them.(#3 and #4 are the staples of the Great Commission…Love God and Love People.)
5) Loyalty…Listen how they talk about their previous employment and employer. Loyalty to authority is the most difficult quality to find in ministry staff thus far in my short 6 years of pastoring. BNC is too large for a church split, but I am learning that staff can do extensive damage when they are not loyal to God’s leadership paradigm in the local church.
6) Understand God’s Vision for Brand New Church.The word under-stand means submitting to what was stated. The potential staff must get “under” the pastors vision and mission with no “agenda” of his own. They need ministry ideology and creation of new ministry, strategy, development of volunteers and leaders, events, spiritual connection and community, but ‘under” the direction of the senior pastor.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Great thoughts from Perry Noble
Perry Noble is Church Planter & Sr. Pastor @ Newspring in Anderson, South Carolina. It is a city of 25,000 population with NewSpring growing to 12,000 in attendance.
www.newspring.cc
From time to time a church planter will ask me, “what do you wish someone would have told you before you began?” Here’s a list of fifteen things I came up with…
#1 – Everyone Will Not Understand You…SO Stop Trying To Explain Yourself. Cast Vision…And MOVE Forward!
#2 – Everyone Will Not Like You…So STOP Trying To Be Popular.
#3 – You Don’t Have To Be The Person Who Actually Solves Every Problem….Admit You Are Not The Smartest Person and Let Your Experts Be Your Experts.
#4 – Spend WAY More Time Talking About Who You Are Rather Than Who You Are Not.
#5 – A Leader Is Always An Easy Target Because They Are…A Leader. So, Get Over Yourself And Get On With What God Called You To Do!
#6 – When The Holy Spirit Presses Something Into Your Heart…Don’t Ignore Him.
#7 – Do NOT Expect God’s Next Step To Make Sense.
#8 – You Can’t Plan A Move Of God…But You Must Be Prepared For One!
#9 – Do Not Resist Something Just Because You Do Not Understand It!
#10 – People Who Claim You “Are Not Deep Enough” Are Obsessed With Information But Have No Desire To Live Out Transformation.
#11 – You Don’t Need To Listen To Everybody…But You Had Better Be Listening To Somebody Because God Didn’t Ask You To Take This Journey Alone.
#12 – Never Apologize For Asking People To Commit To Something…Jesus Didn’t!
#13 – The Church Has Been Underachieving For Way Too Long…So Dream BIG And Don’t Apologize For It.
#14 – There Will Be Days When You Want To Quit…Don’t…Jesus Didn’t!
#15 – The Gospel Changes Lives…PREACH Every Sermon Like It’s Your Last!!!
www.newspring.cc
From time to time a church planter will ask me, “what do you wish someone would have told you before you began?” Here’s a list of fifteen things I came up with…
#1 – Everyone Will Not Understand You…SO Stop Trying To Explain Yourself. Cast Vision…And MOVE Forward!
#2 – Everyone Will Not Like You…So STOP Trying To Be Popular.
#3 – You Don’t Have To Be The Person Who Actually Solves Every Problem….Admit You Are Not The Smartest Person and Let Your Experts Be Your Experts.
#4 – Spend WAY More Time Talking About Who You Are Rather Than Who You Are Not.
#5 – A Leader Is Always An Easy Target Because They Are…A Leader. So, Get Over Yourself And Get On With What God Called You To Do!
#6 – When The Holy Spirit Presses Something Into Your Heart…Don’t Ignore Him.
#7 – Do NOT Expect God’s Next Step To Make Sense.
#8 – You Can’t Plan A Move Of God…But You Must Be Prepared For One!
#9 – Do Not Resist Something Just Because You Do Not Understand It!
#10 – People Who Claim You “Are Not Deep Enough” Are Obsessed With Information But Have No Desire To Live Out Transformation.
#11 – You Don’t Need To Listen To Everybody…But You Had Better Be Listening To Somebody Because God Didn’t Ask You To Take This Journey Alone.
#12 – Never Apologize For Asking People To Commit To Something…Jesus Didn’t!
#13 – The Church Has Been Underachieving For Way Too Long…So Dream BIG And Don’t Apologize For It.
#14 – There Will Be Days When You Want To Quit…Don’t…Jesus Didn’t!
#15 – The Gospel Changes Lives…PREACH Every Sermon Like It’s Your Last!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)