Being Mean About Vision

I just finished reading an article that made me really think about the role of a leader. I read these articles all the time and a lot of them are saying the same thing, and therefore, many of them do not floor me the way this one did. It was by Shawn Lovejoy and David Putman and they are pastors at Mountain Lake Church in Georgia, and they have a crazy passion for creative and effective leardership within the church. You can read the article on Catalyst Space.

The part that made me turn over in my heart and mind, was the idea that we, as leaders need to be mean about the vision. Now I work in Student Ministry, and as a Christian leader, we put a high priority on people being "nice," you know the whole "love is kind" thing? But when it comes to vision they said that while remaining a nice person, a good leader doesn't let anyone takeover or reprogram the specific vision that God has given her. That a good leader often has to be fairly forceful in clearly communicating the vision and then ask people to join him. Fairly often we allow people to re-direct our hearts and passions because we are afraid of what they will think, or what they will say, or maybe they will leave our organization. And while it is not intuative, I think that God gets frusturated when we let our vision break down, the vision that He gave us, based on what other people say or think, or wish we would do for them.

We were having a great discussion with our staff the other day over some tough situations that we are facing right now, and this exact idea came up. Someone in the ministry had made it very clear that they were unhappy with how we were running some things, and didn't think that the ideas we had on leadership were very fair. As we were talking and praying about this idea, and the person in this situation, I remembered something that Jesus said. He said "The Son of Man (Jesus) came to seek and to save that which was lost," not find and fix that which had left.

So I don't know what it is in your context, but if its a difficult student, a complaining parent, a boss that doesn't seem to ever have anything nice to say, the reality is, if God has given you a vision, that matches the teachings of Scripture, they may come a time that you will have to choose whether to let people leave, or let people talk because you are doing what God has called you to do, or choose to give in to the fleeting desires of the people God and called you to lead, and in doing so you give them the leadership and you become the follower. So I encourage you, find the freedom in being able to be mean about the vision that God has given you, because the time will come when you will have to choose what you will do, and there will be fallout. But just remember, Jesus often irritated people who wanted Him to do things for them, because He told many of them no, because even though they were nice and good ideas, they did not promote the mission that He was on Earth to do.

Something that I keep on my desk is a quote that Reggie Joiner once told me, 'The parents or people in your world that are hindering you from making the changes that you want to make, are the same ones that will complain in 5 or 10 years when you loose their students because you didnt change your programs to match the vision God gave you." So if you are feeling down, or lost, or stuck, press on because the best leaders are the ones that have the courage to make the hard descisions and choose to do what God calls them to do, even if that means well-meaning church people give them push back.

Creating A High Trust Team Environment

I have been listening to Andy Stanley's Leadership Podcast and it has been helping me immensely to put important leadership principles into simple words that I can implement. Last week I listened to an Episode called "Trust vs. Suspicion" and it totally wrecked me. In a good way. I think that creating a High Trust Team Environment is one of the highest challenges a leader has on her or his plate because if you have a team you work with people, and they will let you down. And learning how to navigate those situations with finesse and grace can be a make-or-break lesson in the life and legacy of a leader. So anyway here are some of my thoughts I wrote down while I was listening to it:

“I am going to trust you, and I am going to be trustworthy.”

Trustworthiness is not about being flawless, it’s about being approachable and honest.

A trustworthy person addresses the gaps that they have created, either intentionally or unintentionally.

3 Commitments:
- I commit to doing what I say I’ll do, and when I don’t, I’ll tell you (You will not hear it from anyone else, before you hear it from anyone else.)
- I commit to over promise and under deliver, but if it looks like it’s going that direction, I will tell you.
- If you confront me about the gaps I have created, I am going to tell you the truth.

3 Levels of Blame:
- Blame a Person
- Blame Human Nature
- Blame the System

What is the first line of response when someone does something wrong in your culture?

Creating a culture of trust impacts whether the information gets to you quickly and accurately.

When you communicate, “We don’t trust you,” people will live up to that low expectation.

A mistake is not mortal, covering for a mistake may be.

The risk that is taken by owning up to your mistake, is determined by the maturity and security of the senior leader.

Don’t label people’s personalities by their behavior. (Makes an untrustworthy decision... does not make the person untrustworthy)

Don’t micro-manage the process, but do review the product before it goes public.

Bible Journey: Ephesians

I have always loved this book of the Bible. It is so full of wisdom for leaders. The patterns of Paul of opening with encouragment and the giving correction is such an important thing for me to remember. All too often and I quick to correct and may come across as hard spoken or judgemental, and Paul encouraged, 'those of you who are spiritual, encourage those who fall gently, with humility.' I am also reading Axiom, which is Bill Hybel's new book of leadership proverbs that he has learned over the last 30 years of starting and growing one of the more influential and fastest growing churches in America. The chapter I read a few nights ago was about being careful how you begin and end conversation with your team of leaders. It was so encouraging to see how Paul did that as well in his letters to the church at Ephesus. Even as he challanges them to 'live in the light' and be aware of the battle that is going on all around them for their friends and families, he is never short on words of afirmation and affection. It was inspiring to me that his love for this church in particular was deeply evident in his words and thoughts, and that is something that inspires me to be a better lover of the Church. As frustrating and disappointing that the Church can be, I want to be passionatley in love with her, just as Christ is. In my present context, I all too often focus on producing a great service, or making sure that everything is running smoothly as it should, and I often forget to stop and just be a lover of the Church. To stop and encourage the people that make up the Bride of Jesus. To treat her with respect and dignity as I would another's wife. To focus on people and make the most of the opportunities that I have for relationship. Because that is where the Church is at it's best, and that is where the battle Paul talks about is won, in the space between two voices.

If Starbucks Marketed Like Most Churches...

I saw this on my friend Mike Lovato's blog and thought it was funny...



http://mikelovato.blogspot.com/

The fun of working as a team!

We just got out of a great team planning meeting. We discussed our Measurable Goals for the new year. Goals for not just our own personal life, but for the ministry as a whole. As I sat through this meeting and heard all these people that I love share how they want to grow and how they want God to use them to make the ministry even better, I realized that I would never want to do this alone. Their authentic humility, hard work and humor (I just realized that they all start with 'H') just caused me to be super grateful for the team that I have the privilege to be a part of. I have had many conversations with other leaders who are concerned with the problems and impending awkwardness that will inevitably arise when you work with your friends, but it is moments like these that cause me to want it no other way. I am so thankful to God for the joy we get to share together as we chase after the next generation with His love.

Bible Journey: Galatians

For the last 4 weeks of the year I am trying to make a concerted effort to spend time in God's word everyday for 4 weeks straight. This first week I have been reading the Book of Galatians each day and I have been floored the insight that Paul offers to the people in that church that is so important to my season of ministry right now. We are calling this season the "yard work season" as we are pulling weeds and planting seeds. The church of Galatia needed to be reminded that the truth of the gospel was to set us free and not to enslave us, but to lead to towards Jesus and toward living out His love towards others. As Paul struggled with the people being quick to cause division and segregate themselves off into groups, I was reminded of the relevance of the Scriptures. As a Student's Pastor, high school students are quick to segregate and define themselves at odds with each other, and I was reminded that "in Christ there is neither slave, nor free, male or female." I yearn to grow to be like Paul, as one who can challenge people to seek the gospel of Christ alone, and not just whatever anyone says, and to seek the approval only of God, and not seek the approval of others which will distract me from the mission that God has placed be fore me. Next week its on the Ephesians...

ALERT THE MEDIA!

ALERT THE MEDIA! I learned a leadership lesson from President Bush! (I know!)

I was watching some quick video clips from the World AIDS Day, where Rick Warren interviewed President Bush on the progress of the AIDS initiative. President Bush responded with a comment about the importance of setting "measurable goals." I think that one of the best legacies that he will leave as a President is the action taken to do good in regards to the AIDS Pandemic, not only in Sub-Saharan Africa, but around the world.

As I watched this video I also was struck with the importance of what he said. "Lives need to be saved, so we need to be setting measurable goals... because we are concerned about actually doing something." As important of an issue as the AIDS Pandemic is, this advice is really applicable to all leaders in all leadership venues. The importance of setting measurable goals helps you not only see what is working and what isn't, it also helps create momentum when you can point to something that is working and celebrate that victory.

As I consider how this applies to our own ministry, what measurable goals are we setting in our strategic plan that we hope to accomplish in the future. What do we want to see happen with God help in the next week, the next 2 months or by the end of 2009?

A lot of people talk about how important it is to set goals, and because we do not want to step on other people's toes we, in church world, have become complacent with fluffy, non-commital goals that have no measurable qualities. They is nothing that we can use to assess if the goal was accomplished or what we could do differently.

For example, a very noble, yet dangerously flawed goal I hear a lot is, 'I want to grow closer to God this year.' or 'I want our church to become closer this year, or care more.' While these are noble, and even Godly desires, the goals are cut short because they haven't answered the questions, "What does 'closer' mean?"

As we set goals for our own personal lives, our ministries, and our relationship with God and people, we need to remember to build measurable components into our goals so that be can know whether those goals have been accomplished. It is much scarier at first because it makes the goal much more real, but it also makes it much more realizable.

I know we will be discussing this in our Student Ministries Team Meeting tomorrow. What measurable goals are you setting in your ministry?

Great Staff Meeting...

We had our December All Staff Meeting this morning at our Lead Pastor's house. As Ministry Team Leaders, Katie and I got to share about people we are thankful for and dump some love on members of our team for all the great work they have done. Even though I know it's cliche', I love the holidays because it makes me force myself to be reminded of how much I love the people that I work with. I am so thankful for the Student Ministries Team and how God is using each of them to challenge and inspire me. I love being able to express it to them so that they know the immense difference they are making in eternity. Love you guys and gals!