When Leaders are at Their Best

Today I am reflecting on thoughts from Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels.  This book contains reflections of his leadership lessons learned from years of experience in ministry.  It has been a fantastic read for those of you who are passionate about growing the church and leadership development.

  As I was reading today, I came across a great question Hybles posed.

"When are leaders at their best?"  

As I reflected on his question, I thought about leaders that I have learned from and when they had been the most influential to myself and others.  Could it be when they are passionate about what they are investing in?  When they find the sweet spot between what they love and what they are gifted in?  When they achieve their goals or accomplish a standard of excellence?

Hybels' compelling answer, was "I think leaders are at their very best when they are raising up leaders around them."

I believe this idea is what true leadership means.  If you are not influencing those around you and inspiring leaders to take the reigns, what is the point?  That is the difference between accomplishing a task and being a true leader.  This is how Jesus lead.  He deeply invested in a core group of 12 men to carry out the future of the church and to spread it across the nations.

Today I am thankful for the leaders that believed in me and encouraged me in my journey.  I am thankful for the small group leaders, instructors, youth pastors, volunteers, and directors who have shepherded me and inspired me with their vision and passion.  I am thankful that I was given a chance to lead others in a ministry so long ago.  Finally, I am blessed and honored to continue in this legacy of bringing up future church leaders of the church.

I encourage you all to dive into this book and talk about it with your teams.  Where are we leading courageously, and where do we fall short?  Are we bringing up future leaders or just crossing things off our to-do lists?

May you find joy and peace in leading others by creating future leaders.

Purchase this book for you and your team here.

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Five Phrases that Destroy Ministry

I realized this week that I have been fully invested in ministry for seven years.  Seven years seems like a long time, but in many regards I still feel like a beginner.  As I reflect on my experiences over the last few years, I am blown away by how much I've learned as I have experienced different positions.

2007

2010

2013

Through these experiences I have made many mistakes and said a lot of things that are potentially hazardous in ministry.  These are all phrases that I have used that I am trying to move beyond so that I can be more productive on ministry teams in the future.

1.) "I" 
"I planned an amazing event!"  "I had a great large group program this weekend."  "I use this curriculum."  

The word "I" has it's place in our vocabulary, but seldom do we realize how it changes the dynamics of conversations from what a ministry team is doing well to what the individual is doing well.  When we constantly are starting sentences with "I" in meetings, while planning, and during discussions it casts the perception that the ministry is all about me.  Imagine what would happen if we shifted the focus to "we".  "We planned an amazing event!"  "Our large group team pulled off a flawless program this service."  "Our team likes to use this curriculum because we've seen huge growth in our kids!"

2.) "We don't do that" 
"That's a great idea, but we don't do that here."

Working in the constraints of ministry is nothing new.  There are hurdles to overcome in all churches and organizations.  However, saying, "We don't do that" doesn't create a hurdle, it creates a brick wall.  Instead of automatically saying "No",  what if we changed the way we interacted by saying things like, "We've never done it that way before."  "Our budget is too tight this year."  "We don't have the training to accomplish that right now."  You never know how a team can work together to get over hurdles together.  Teams are forced to come up with creative solutions to problems instead of tossing their ideas aside because their ideas seem too expensive, difficult, or unattainable.

3.) "Just" 
"She's just a counselor."  "He's just in the choir."  "They're just volunteers." 

The word just may slip out when you're referring to a group or role that someone has, but we don't realize how powerful our words can be.  Saying that someone is just in the choir or just a volunteer devalues their commitment to a group or a team.  It may be something that you say in a moment to refer to someone's role, but I have noticed that as I change my vocabulary in these instances I start to see people in a different way.  I start to see them not for what they bring to the table, not for what they are lacking.

4.) "I am exhausted"
"I would love to add that to our calendar, but I'm just so exhausted, I don't think we could do one more thing!"

Ministry burn out is real, and it is crippling to a team.  We can't always rely on weekends, time off, or slow times during the year to fill up our tanks.  When I am exhausted and I feel like my plate is too full, it's too late.  Instead, we need to focus on stopping this problem before we feel like we're pushed to the edge of our limits.  Before getting to this point, let's make our emotional, spiritual, and physical health a priority so we can better lead our teams.  To avoid burn out, let's be honest about how we feel before it's too late.  "My schedule is packed this week, can we figure out a way to equip a volunteer to do this instead?"  "I was planning on taking a day off on Friday, can we reschedule this meeting to Monday?"  "This is a huge job, how can we break it up into smaller pieces?"

5.) "I don't know"  
"I don't know where your child's meeting is."  "I don't know what time that event starts"

Parents, volunteers, and students come to us as ministry leaders with a wide variety of questions.  These questions vary from "Where is the restroom?"  to "How can I be a spiritual leader to my family?"  Oftentimes, we don't have an exact answer to some of the questions we're asked during ministry time.  Instead of saying, "I don't know"  I have found that we minister to others best when we find the answer with someone."  "I'm not sure where you can pay this deposit, but I can ask someone who knows right now."  "I think you can sign up today, but let's check the website right now to be sure."  "That's a tough question, let me spend some time researching your question and we can talk about it next week."  In these situations we can insure that we are meeting people's needs, and we are learning how to better serve others in the process.

I hope these mistakes I've made in the past can empower you and your team to be better equipped for ministry!

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Remembering the Sabbath and the Importance of Rest

I love summer.  The snow has melted, the sun is up early and goes down late, and the pace of life seems different.  Adding to this slowed down cadence for me is the life change of a new job and a few weeks of rest before I jump into something new.  With that, I have really started to reflect on the meaning of rest, or the Sabbath in God’s Word.

Picture from our summer vacation to Sleeping Bear Dunes

This idea of a day of rest begins in the Old Testament.  “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.  Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” (Genesis 2:3).  

We see the importance of this day of rest again in Exodus 20:11, “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” 

Moses commands the Israelites to observe the Sabbath in Deuteronomy 5:15.  He encourages them to remember that the Lord brought them out of slavery and therefore they should observe this day.  

When we look at these three instances of Sabbath rest, we see the importance of God’s people remembering three things.  First, that God is the creator.  He is the maker of all things.  Second, that God rescued them from slavery.  God is the one that freed them from captivity.  Finally, that God delivered them from the hands of their enemies.  These three ideas will strengthen their faith and help them to remain obedient to God’s commands. 

In contrast to the Old Testament Sabbath Law, the New Testament preaches a different idea.  In Colossians, Paul calls the Christian believers not to pass judgment on anyone if they choose or don’t choose to observe the Sabbath (Colossians 2:16-17).  Instead, he calls the church to focus on the reality of Christ Jesus.  

The Sabbath day of rest was God’s command to the Israelites, not to the New Testament church. 

Because Jesus came to fulfill the law, we are free from the bondage of that Law (Romans 6:14).    As Christians, our call is to worship God every day- not just one day a week.  In fact, we see Jesus reminding the Pharisees that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).  

What does this mean for us?  Does this mean we are to storm the gates of Hobby Lobby and Chick Fillet demanding chicken sandwiches and discount craft supplies on Sunday afternoons?  Not exactly. 

We can learn how to honor God through Paul’s words to the church in Rome.  “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind” (Romans 14:5). 

Instead of ritually observing the Sabbath Day of rest, we can honor God through how we use our time. We need to set aside time to be fully focused on God, and not all the distractions that surround us.   We need to make time to meet together as Christians.  The early church in Acts 2 made a habit of breaking bread together and spending time in fellowship.  Imagine what our churches would look like if we set time aside during our week to grow together in faith. 

God wants us to rest in Him.  He calls us to cast our cares on Him and he will sustain us (Psalm 55:22).  We can not sustain our lives, our jobs, our families, and our desires on our own.  We have to not only invite God in to our lives, but we need to trust and rest in His power above our own- and that includes trusting him to provide when we take a few minutes, hours, or days off from the grind of our every day lives. 

So join me this week as I take a break, avoid the distractions of every day life, and feel the restoration that Christ offers each one of us. 

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