Helping Churches Make Vision Real

Top 5 Posts from January

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Thank you for once again making January another big month on Helping Churches Make Vision Real! You made these the top 5 Posts from this last month. If you missed out on any of them, here they are all in one nice tidy little spot!

#1 Engaging the Givers in your Church Part-1 & 2

This two part post apparently struck a nerve. Trying to figure out how to engage the givers at your church? Or if you should at all? This post will help you think through some of the right questions to come up with a plan and direct you to some helpful resources!

#2 The Why of Leadership

A lot has been written about how to lead… how to lead teams…how to lead through change…how to lead courageously…how to lead spiritually…even how to lead like Jesus. But why do we lead? What’s the goal of our leadership? This post helps you dig into that question.

#3 Christmas Mashups

These were two videos I posted on some fun ideas to engage guests who have no idea who Jesus really is by building bridges to their hearts through Creative Arts. Fun stuff, check it out!

#4 What Could God Do in 2013?

This year on Sun Valley’s Gilbert Campus I kicked off the year talking about what makes it so fun to come to work each day at Sun Valley and why I love being a part of this place…but also one thing that has me deeply concerned about ministry in 2013.

#5 7 Ideas to Help you get the Right things Done

Getting things done isn’t as easy as it sounds. A lot of people have grand ideas, but few ever see those ideas materialize. Often the gap between ideas and reality is found in the art of execution. But how do you know what to go after first? Here are 7 ideas to help you focus on getting the right things done.

Posted in Leadership

Overcoming the Fear of a Personality Driven Ministry

Sunday, February 10, 2013

In church-world I frequently hear conversations surrounding the idea of “personality driven churches.” That is to say churches that are built around a dynamic communicator and leader. At best I’ll usually hear a criticism of its ineffectiveness and at worst statements about how shallow, wrong, and harmful it is to the church and the advancement of the Gospel.

But how do we get past the fact that Jesus was a huge personality…and a celebrity at that. Everywhere the Man went crowds of people followed Him and clamored for Him to heal them. Talk about a guy who had a hard time getting personal space and time. It could be easily argued that Jesus’s ministry was completely personality driven. In fact it wasn’t until he was killed that the rest of the guys stepped up into the void and really started leading (more personalities).

The New Testament teaches us that not everyone in the body has the same gifting or even the same level or measure of gifting. Instead it teaches us that we are a body and we all have a unique part to play.

4 Questions to ask about Personality Driven Ministry:

1. Could it be that the problem isn’t the dynamic personality isn’t playing their part in the body, but instead the rest of the people around them aren’t playing theirs?

2. If you’ve got the big personality in your local body, what if you just let them be who they are gifted to be?

3. What if you leveraged their gift while you’ve got it available in order to maximize the spread of the Gospel?

4. Could it be that you’ve neglected to put the correct structures and systems in place around the big personality to support and sustain the ministry impact of that person’s gifting?

Posted in Leadership

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

I’m pleased to announce that Jeremy Lack has won my latest give away of a brand new copy of “The Power of Momentum” a 4-part video teaching series from Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel.

Like free stuff? From time to time I give away free resources from people and organizations that I believe in. If you are interested in being eligible to win these resources all you have to do is sign up to receive my blog posts directly to your email inbox. Winners are always randomly selected from the subscribers list! You can subscribe here if you’d like!

Posted in Leadership

Catalyst One Day 2013

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

If you missed any of my notes from the 2013 Catalyst One Day with Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel no worries! Now you’ve got all the notes to every session right here at your fingertips for free! These guys did an incredible job of tackling what Patrick Lencioni has called, “The single greatest opportunity for improvement and competitive advantage” Building a healthy organizational culture. Truth is my notes can’t relay all the great stuff shared by these guys so I’d encourage you to check out the Catalyst One Day website and watch for a One Day coming soon to a city near you this year! Hope you enjoy!

1. Introduction by Andy Stanley

5 incredible insights about organizational culture and building a healthy culture on your team.

2. Session 1: Values by Craig Groeschel

A healthy organizational culture never happens on accident but by intentionally fleshing out clear values.

3. Session 2: Staffing by Andy Stanley

Driving this principle of mutual submission through your organization can make your church an extraordinary place to work. And you’ll have an extraordinary team because extraordinary people will want to work there.

4. Session 3: Creating a Culture of Self Awareness by Craig Groeschel

As leaders we have a limitless capacity for self deception. And to boot, the higher we rise in an organization the more difficult it is to get people to tell you the truth, because the more perceived power that you have the more people are going to tell you what they think you want to hear.

5. Session 4: Programming by Andy Stanley

Andy talked about creating a culture around and through your programming by unpacking 3 irreducible minimums for irresistible ministry environments.

6. Bonus Material: Andy Stanley interviews Judah Smith

Two pastors kids talking through ministry transitions and leading through change. Incredible stuff!

Posted in Leadership

Does your Team need to Change?

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Churches get stuck for all kinds of reasons. But a common reason Churches get stuck is that the Sr. Leadership Team gets stuck. Last week I had the opportunity to sit in the room with Sr. Leaders from some of the nations leading mega-churches and talk through this issue. Here are a couple of the thoughts I captured about Sr. Leadership Teams from that conversation.

1. If the team begins doing the wrong work it may be time to change the team

The purpose of the Sr. Leadership Team is to make directional decisions that build a strong unified culture around your values and move the organization closer to vision. When decision making and implementation begin to consistently slow down it is probably means a change on the team is in the future.

2. If someone is building their own kingdom, get them off the team

When someone on the team cares more about their own personal mission, personal posturing or positioning, or a sub ministry in the church; it’s time for them to leave the Sr. Leadership Team. People who serve on your Leadership Team need to be able to think conceptually and transfer principles across disciplines quickly and they must care more about the mission of the church than their particular ministry

3. When you make changes you’re going to hurt feelings

As the church grows and changes so will your Sr. Leadership Team. Different leaders have different capacities. This isn’t a good thing or a bad thing. It’s just a simple reality that we all have a part to play in the body. When a body is smaller someone may play a larger or more public role than they do when it is larger. But be prepared, not everyone will approach these conversations with sober mindedness and a healthy sense of self awareness.

4. Are there too many people in the room?

Span of care is a major issue on any team, but particularly on a Sr. Leadership Team, because so much is at stake. Because a Sr. Leadership Team is not about ministry representation but decision-making and culture formation as the church grows you will consistently be tweaking the team to both have the right people and the right amount of people on the team. Think of it as breathing, the team will contract and expand as layers are added and growth take place.

Want to learn more about Sr. Leadership Teams? Check out my interview with Tony Morgan about his most recent book “Take the Lid Off Your Church, 6 Steps to Building a Healthy Sr. Leadership Team.”

Posted in Leadership, Staffing