Leadership & Market Place Ministry: August 2016

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

This Is the Most Common Factor in Declining Churches

Why do all the stats tell us the church is in decline today?

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I am honored and humbled to be in a place where I get to hear from and study about thousands of churches. The leaders and congregants in those churches provide me with incredible information and data. I am grateful, because I’m not smart enough to understand these issues on my own.
As God has allowed me to study congregations for more than 25 years, I began to see a common pattern in churches that had become outwardly focused. You can read some of the practical steps these churches have taken.

THE MOST COMMON FACTOR

Conversely, though, I also can see a simple but profound pattern among the declining churches.

Stated simply, the most common factor in declining churches is an inward focus.

The ministries are only for the members. The budgetary funds are used almost exclusively to meet the needs of the members. The times of worship and worship styles are geared primarily for the members. Conflict takes place when members don’t get things their way. You get the picture.
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WARNING SYMPTOMS

After studying and consulting with thousands of churches, I began to see clearly this pattern. Even more, I began to recognize symptoms of an inward focus. See if you recognize a few of these.
*There are very few attempts to minister to those in the community.
*Church business meetings become arguments over preferences and desires.
*Numbers of members in the congregation are openly critical of the pastor, other church staff and lay leaders in the church.
*Any change necessary to become a Great Commission church is met with anger and resistance.
*The past becomes the hero.
*Culture is seen as the enemy instead of an opportunity for believers to become salt and light.
*Pastors and other leaders in the church become discouraged and withdraw from effective leadership.
*If the churches are a part of a denomination or similar affiliation, meetings of those denominations mirror the churches in lost focus and divisiveness.

THERE IS HOPE

For those of us in Christ, however, there is always hope—His hope.
I have written in recent years about the dire straits of most of our churches. I have felt it necessary to do so in order to face the facts. Indeed, I wrote Autopsy of a Deceased Church about the deaths of many churches.
I don’t have my head in the sand. I know times are tough in many churches. I know congregations are dying every day. I know many church leaders are discouraged.
But we serve the God of hope.
Decline in our churches does not have to be a reality.
This post first appeared at ThomRainer.com.

What Not to Say to a Preacher’s Wife

By Joe McKeever

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(I wish Margaret were here to help with this one. As my wife of over 52 years and through our six pastorates covering 42 years, I suppose she heard it all. As of January, 2015, she’s now resting in the arms of her Savior. In her memory and in her honor, I send this forth to encourage church members to bless this dear lady married to the shepherd whom God sent to your church. Please see the disclaimer at the end. —Joe)
“Encourage one another and lift up one another…” (I Thessalonians 5:11, somewhat, and a favorite line in an old chorus)
“You cannot use my name.”
That’s how the typical private note from a preacher’s wife begins.
Marlene introduced herself as the wife of a pastor. She had come across our article from a year or more ago on “59 things not to say to a preacher.” Back then, I had solicited input from Facebook friends and ended up with that number of comments which preachers do not need to hear and which affect them negatively. The article got a good bit of play and drew more than a fair share of controversial reactions.
Preachers loved the list. And so did their wives, incidentally.
There’s a lot of hurt out there.
Marlene appreciated the list, she said. But she added that I had quit early. We need a list of what not to say to the wife of a preacher.
So, I asked her to get me started. Here is her reply:
Joe,
I accidentally deleted your email. Sorry, must have been the
turkey overdose. (This was around Thanksgiving.)
Here are a few of the things that we PWs do not enjoy hearing:
–Numero Uno…Do you play the piano?
–Our former pastor’s wife did it this way.
–Where were you this morning?
–Why weren’t you at the meeting?
–Do you sing in the choir?
–If we call your husband, what do you bring to the church? Getting a good preacher’s wife is like getting two for the price of one.
–Since you work, your husband doesn’t need a raise.
–Since your husband wants a raise, maybe you should get a job.
–Anything that begins with “We knew you wouldn’t mind…” is never good.
–We knew you wouldn’t mind if we borrowed your husband for a while.
–We knew you wouldn’t mind if we volunteered your home
for a meeting, party, etc.
–We knew you wouldn’t mind filling in for the missing nursery
worker.
–We knew you wouldn’t mind filling in for the missing Sunday School teacher.
–We knew you wouldn’t mind overseeing (insert project here).
–We knew you wouldn’t mind making the angel costumes for the children’s choir.
–Anything that begins with “But you’re a preacher’s wife”…
you don’t have any problems…just ask your husband to pray for it…you
can’t wear that…you’re not supposed to be sad…you’re not supposed to
have fun…you’re not supposed to get angry…you’re not supposed to say
no…you will just have to grow thicker skin.
Anything that begins with “I don’t mean to pry but…”
…you could improve your housekeeping skills…you could improve your
yard working skills…you could improve your (insert whatever here).
Anything that begins with “I just think you should know…”
what so and so said…what someone said about your husband…what
someone said about your children…what someone said about your
hair…what someone said about your dress…what someone said about your
(insert anything you do or do not do here).
I even had someone tell me that I was not wearing “preacher’s wife
shoes” one time.
That was her list. Did she leave out anything?
Marlene fairly well wrote this article, didn’t she? But, in the interest of covering the subject, I put the question out to our rather extensive family of Facebook friends. Here are some actual things people have said to a preacher’s wife…
1.”You really need to be in church every Sunday sitting in your usual spot on the third row where people can see you! I know you are really sick but you need to be seen or people will think there are problems in the pastor’s marriage or with our church.”
The PW who wrote that added, “You cannot use my name.” Bless her heart.
2. “I don’t know…I just cannot see you being a good pastor’s wife.”
3. “Could you sit with your children on the back row so the rest of us can enjoy the sermon?”
4. “He’s putting on a little weight, isn’t he?”
5. “I know we terminated your husband, but we love you.”
6. “I know we terminated your husband as pastor, but we would like you to keep working in the nursery.”
7. (Saturday morning early at the front door.) “Good morning! My husband (chairman of deacons) said it would be all right if I showed my sister from Seattle the renovated parsonage. We’re so proud of it.”
8. “Your husband has nice legs.” (PW: “I forget how I answered that.”)
9. “How can you afford to live in such a nice house?” (Answer: “Because I work and my preacher-husband is retired from a 20-year career.”)
10. “The last pastor owned his own home, and we haven’t actually used this pastorium for the past seven years, but it’s here for you.” (PW: “Its condition was deplorable. Completely neglected for seven years.”)
And, all the rest of the submissions…
1. Where were you last night?
2. You’re the pastor’s wife. You should never (or always)…
3. You need to dress better. You don’t want to go around looking like a church mouse.
4. Do you plan to quit your job now that your husband has an income?
5. Does your child always act this way?
6. I thought all preachers’ wives played the piano.
7. Smile!
8. No, you cannot paint the walls of the parsonage. (When she had a baby, she did it anyway, she says.)
9. It must be nice living next door to the church.
10. Tell your husband he needs to visit Mrs. Henshaw today.
11. Why can’t you be more like your husband?
12. What exactly do you do with all that money we pay you?
13. God told me that He wants you to…
14. What Sunday School class do you want to teach?
15. Have you or your husband called Mr. and Mrs. Crenshaw? They’ve not been to church in a while.
16. Since your husband doesn’t have a real job, could you…?
17. I can’t wait to help you decorate your home for Christmas open house. Do you want it to be for three days or just two?
18. It must be wonderful to be around all that wisdom (or godliness or holiness or whatever) 24 hours a day.
19. What is your role in your husband’s ministry? (The PW answered, “Ummmm. Being his wife.”)
20. And my favorite of all: “Sweetheart, you may want to keep those moving boxes handy. Just in case.”
A late submission from a pastor and wife included the following:
–“You need to know that I just don’t like you.”
–“When you are on the praise team, I do not worship because I can’t stand
you.”
–“I can’t imagine what your husband sees in you.” Yes, this was said
numerous times to my wife by a “godly” woman at our present church.
–“You need to tell your husband [this is what he said wrong in his sermon].”
I was right, by the way.
–“I just want you to know that I defended you when [insert name] said
[something nasty about you].”
–“The way you and your husband are so in love just makes me gag.”
–“Now that we’re friends, I can’t handle knowing that you and your husband
aren’t perfect. I’m having a real problem with it.”
The list seems endless.
Marlene, who started all this in the first place, suggested we compile a list of positive, helpful things to say to the wives of preachers, and we intend to do that. But first, we’ll send this out and let it do its work.
What do all these caustic comments have in common?
Answer: Each one is rooted in the philosophy that the pastor is a hired hand and not the overseer (episkopos) of the Lord’s flock, and that his wife and children are appendages to him and answerable to every member of the church.
One wonders where that crazy thinking got started.
Scripture makes it plain we are to be in subjection to the elders who rule (see Hebrews 13:17 among other places) and to love them and pray for them.
Our article “The Most Vulnerable Person in the Church,” published a year or so ago, touched a sensitive place in the heart of the Lord’s people, and this piece has gone viral. Google it if you missed it on one of its flybys.
Final word. Sometimes, after talking about the difficulties of pastoring churches and trying to lead God’s people, I will add something like, “This is why the Lord has to call laborers into this work. The expectations are too high, the needs too overwhelming, and It’s impossible to do without His presence and power.
We thank God for every God-called pastor and every spouse who feels equally called by Him to the most difficult work on the planet: shepherding His people.
(Disclaimer: I am well aware that some preachers are women. While I personally have no problem with that, at the same time, I have no experience with it. For me to write on what not to say to a woman pastor or to her husband would be highly presumptuous. So, thank you for giving me a pass on that.)

10 Things Leaders Do To Grow The Platforms Of Other People

One of the great joys of leadership is to use your influence to help others get ahead and succeed. The modern term for this is “using your personal platform”. But the greatest leaders not only use their personal platforms, they also help create and grow the platforms of others.
One such leader was famed Hollywood director and producer Garry Marshall. On July 19th, 2016, Marshall passed away at age 81 due to complications from pneumonia after suffering a stroke. He was a beloved figure in the entertainment business and few, if any, created as many stars.
The following are 10 Things Leaders Do To Grow The Platforms Of Other People we learn from Marshall’s life:

To Grow The Platforms Of Other People You Must First Grow Your Own Platform – You cannot grow a person’s platform without first building one yourself. Marshall began as a writer on television shows Make Room For Daddy and The Dick Van Dyke Show.
To Grow The Platforms Of Other People You Must Then Have An Established Platform – Later as a producer and director, Marshall had a string of television mega-hits including The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, and Mork and Mindy.
To Grow The Platforms Of Other People, Other People Must Be Willing To Listen To You – They must like you. Whether it was television or film, Marshall made people laugh. He was a joy to be around and as a result had tremendous influence.
To Grow The Platforms Of Other People You Must Be Able To Recognize The Talents Of Other People – Marshall hired and often discovered people like Tony Randall, Jack Klugman, Henry Winkler, Ron Howard, Penny Marshall, and Robin Williams to showcase their talents. He also gave young actors Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts early dramatic roles in major motion pictures.
To Grow The Platforms Of Other People You Must Create Opportunities For Them To Be Successful – While other shows were more critically acclaimed, at one point during the mid-70s Marshall had four of the top five most-watched programs on television.
To Grow The Platforms Of Other People Expand Their Audience – Marshall’s programs were just good, clean fun. He did not alienate anyone or turn off a segment of the audience. His characters had broad appeal.
To Grow The Platforms Of Other People Help Them Remove Stress From People’s Lives – The 60’s and 70’s were very stressful times in America’s history. Marshall’s programs were good escapist fun. People just want to be entertained.
To Grow The Platforms Of Other People You Must Be Willing To Change – Being willing to change keeps you relevant and expands your audience. Therefore, it keeps those you are wanting to help relevant as well. When prime time soaps began to overtake sitcoms in popularity during the late-70s, Marshall successfully switched to films.
To Grow The Platforms Of Other People Help Them Create Something Memorable – We still remember the theme songs to Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley. Fonzie giving the thumbs up with his trademark saying “Ayyyyye!” are still part of the American fabric to this day.
To Grow The Platforms Of Other People Help Them Create Something Timeless – His movies, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Princess Diaries 1 & 2, Overboard and others, have lived from VHS to DVD to digital. In fact, Fonzie’s leather jacket is proudly displayed in The Smithsonian Institution.

Creating and growing the platforms of others has several benefits. One the primary ones we learn from Marshall’s career is the platforms you create actually become part of your own legacy as well.
What is one thing you learned from Marshall’s life that will make you a better leader?

Click HERE or on the image to the left and as a free gift for subscribing to this site, you can receive my new Ebook 1269 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths From 2016’s Top Christian Leadership Conferences. Featured are the Johnny Hunt Mens Conference, ReThink Leadership, Orange and Leadercast Conferences among others. If applied, these insights will make you an exponentially better leader. Enjoy!!!

7 Keys to Help Church People Remember your Sermon Better

by Charles Stone

As a pastor I’ve been trained how to create a sermon so that it’s theologically sound (good hermeneutics) and applicable to the listener (good homiletics). However, seminary never taught me how I might help church people listen better and retain what they hear in a sermon. In the last few decades neuroscientists have learned much about how the brain learns and retains information. In this post I suggest several ideas you can share with the people in your church to help them retain more of what you teach and preach. Recently I gave an entire message to our church on these ideas. So, consider these insights and how you might share them with your church.

Insights to help church people retain more of what you teach and preach.

1. Learning occurs in three phases.

Phase 1 is called encoding, when people actually listen to a message. When we hear a message, our brain initially places that information into short term memory called working memory. The part of the brain called the hippocampus is highly involved here.

Phase 2 is called consolidation. This occurs when recently learned information is pushed throughout your brain into long term storage. When that happens, our brain connects the information to what we already know which strengthens the memory traces related to what we heard.

Phase 3 is called retrieval when we hope our listeners remember what we said and apply it at a later time. And the more effort it takes to retrieve it, the better they will learn it.

2. The more you know about the subject/scripture passage, the better new stuff gets learned.

All learning is based on prior learning. We only learn when we can connect information to something we already know. So, the more familiar your listener is with the passage you’re teaching, the more they will retain. I will often print the upcoming passage in each week’s sermon notes and encourage people to read it a few times before the next Sunday.

3. A good night’s sleep on Saturday and Sunday profoundly impacts learning.

A good night’s sleep on Saturday night rests the brain for more efficient listening and improved attention. And a good night’s sleep on Sunday helps with the second stage of learning mentioned in point one above, consolidation. When we sleep memories get diffused into multiple parts of the brain which cements our learning. Learn more here about how sleep benefits our brains.

4. Only what gets paid attention to gets learned.

The better your listener pays attention to what you say, the more they will retain what you say. The responsibility for increasing attention goes both ways. We must deliver our messages in interesting and compelling ways AND the listener must pay attention as well. In Acts 17. 11 Luke notes this about the people in the town of Berea. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. They exemplified intense attention, eager to hear what Paul taught.

When listening to a speech or sermon, the average brain goes in and out of attention every 12-18 seconds to engage internal dialogue that seems more interesting (salient) that what we are listening to. When we zone out because we are reflecting over what we just heard, the brain creates a stronger chemical signal resulting in a more lasting memory. So, making your listener think deeply about what you say will enhance learning.

5. The more you personally apply what you hear, the more it sticks.

This is called self-referential learning. Find ways throughout your sermon to interject ways your listener can apply what you teach. Don’t wait until the end of your message before you suggest applications.

6. Review and reflection the week following enhances learning.

When your listener reviews and reflects over your sermon, it requires them have to not only retrieve information from their memory banks but elaborate on it as well. Elaboration strengthens the neural pathways related to the topic of your message.

7. Coffee, coffee, coffee.

Caffeine increases attention which in turn increases learning. So, offer coffee before your service. In this post I suggest how caffeine may make you a better leader.

Ultimately the Holy Spirit transforms people’s hearts, values, and character. But genuine transformation requires effortful learning by your listener. It’s not a passive process. Share these insights with your church and trust the Lord to use them to enhance learning.
What has helped you improve what people in your church remember about your messages?
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Monday, August 29, 2016

49 Leadership Quotes And Lessons On Mission, Vision And Church Growth From Tony Morgan

oday was Day 2 of Capital Campaign University put on by INJOY Stewardship Solutions. We had the wonderful privilege of learning from one of the most respected and trusted church consultants in America, Tony Morgan. For those of you who may not know, Tony’s website and book Killing Cockroaches provided the template for how I would do my site.
Tony gave an incredible message on mission, vision and church growth strategy. Make sure you bookmark this post and revisit it often. It will make you a better pastor and church leader.
As a special gift to everyone reading these posts, INJOY Stewardship Solutions offering a complimentary downloadable Ebook entitled “The Absolute Best Quotes From The 2016 ReThink Conference.” Click Here to Download this Free Resource!
Enjoy these 49 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Tony Morgan On Church Mission, Vision And Strategy:

I encourage pastors to think about the real issues their people are dealing and help bring solutions to their daily lives.
Every church has in them a vision for where they believe God is calling them but there is something that is preventing that vision from becoming reality.
Every big vision requires perspective, planning, and action.
What’s the starting point?
Sometimes we’re just too close to the problem. When we’re too close, we can identify symptoms and address those symptoms. We may cause ourselves more harm though because we’re not dealing with the core issues.
We have preconceived notions.
It is important to bring in someone from the outside because we have fresh eyes.
We try to go at it alone. We don’t just need fresh eyes. We need all eyes.
In the New Testament body, more than just the senior pastor gets the vision.
Experience counts.
We need to tap on the shoulders of people who understand where we believe God is calling us to go.
4 Helpful Questions – What’s right in the church today? What’s wrong in the church today? What’s confusing in the church today? What’s missing in the church today?
We need to plan. Where are we going?
Mission defines the purpose of your church. This is why you exist? Keep the mission statement to 10-12 words or less.
The vision is a picture of the future, where we are going. We at the Unstuck Group help them think five years ahead. The world is changing too fast to go beyond that.
Most churches are thinking one week out.
This is a lengthier vision statement with many bullet points.
The vision has to be clear.
The clearer we can get with specifics it helps us rally people with their prayer and engagement. It also rallies resources.
It needs to specific and measurable.
The key to being specific is Yes or No, was it accomplished.
A vision for the future helps us make wise decisions today.
A big vision rallies people and resources and repels people and resources.
You want some people to decide this is not the church for me.
What’s the difference between unchurched and dechurched? We believe some people a generation ago had some previous connection to church and faith. Today, most have no foundation for that.
How will we get there? We have to get very specific here.
There is a gap between the vision God has called us to and day-to-day ministry.
The gap is filled by the action plan/strategy on how to get there.
Any good action plan addresses what specifically needs to be done?
It also addresses who will be responsible?
It answers when will it be completed?
You also need to ask how much is it going to cost? God’s vision costs money.
Just because I plan doesn’t mean I don’t have faith.
Jesus has suggested planning as part of what God has called you to do.
You can’t drift to health and growth.
You will drift to what is comfortable, your past practices and disciplines. You will drift to what is most urgent.
Strategy without vision will keep people busy. Vision without strategy will keep people guessing.
Hope is not a strategy.
God gives a vision. God gives a strategy. If we follow through, we will see God move.
Planning is not opposite of faith. When we plan, we shine the spotlight on what we feel God is going to do.
People who plan have greater faith because it shines the spotlight on what we hope God is going to do.
Stewardship of God’s mission is we plan before we build.
It does take all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people.
Mission will rarely change. Vision will change but not frequently.
If we have the same vision for decades, that vision will grow stale. What is driving that is our communities are constantly changing.
I do believe we are reaching a saturation point in some of the communities we are trying to reach.
In order for your church to grow, you have to get 1000 first time guests for your church to grow.
From a programming standpoint, we tend to focus on the people inside the church and not people outside the walls of the church.
When people come inside our doors on Sunday, they are not perfect Jesus followers.

10 Practices Of The NFL’s Top 10 Quarterbacks

Every leader I speak with wants to get better. And if I have any time for an extended conversation, they will inevitably begin asking me about other successful churches or leaders. I love how humble most leaders are and how they simply want to get better.
This is why I found the August 24th edition of USA Today so interesting. In it, football writer Steven Ruiz ranked the NFL’s Top 10 quarterbacks. As I read his breakdown, I found obvious applications to all leaders regardless of your profession.
There is not a more leadership-intensive position in all of sports than NFL quarterback. Many of these individuals I have profiled before. You can simply click the hot links on their name for more information. First is the leadership quality, followed by the player and what makes them so effective ranked in order as determined by Ruiz.
The following are The 10 Practices Of The NFL’s Top 10 Quarterbacks:

Preparation – Tom Brady – The four-time Super Bowl champion is recognized for his mental ability. His understanding of defenses and how to dissect them gives the Patriot receivers additional time to get open. Because of his preparation, he beats opposing defenses BEFORE the snap of the ball. For more on Brady, click HERE to purchase Gary Myers’s great book Brady vs. Manning: The Untold Story Of The Rivalry That Transformed The NFL.
Builders Of A Great Team – Aaron Rodgers – Even the best leaders need a good team around them to be successful. The absence of Jordy Nelson due to injury limited Rodger’s performance last season.
Limits Mistakes – Drew Brees – Brees is arguably the most accurate quarterback in the league.
Continual Improvement – Ben Roethlisberger – The man known as Big Ben is still getting better. He has grown in the mental side of the game.
Patience – Cam Newton – While Newton is the most physically-gifted quarterback in the league, he also shows tremendous patience allowing his receivers to get downfield for their vertical passing game.
Ability To Handle Conflict – Andrew Luck – Luck’s ability to handle pocket conflict allows him to extend plays…and take a beating. This hopefully develops resilience.
Creativity – Russell Wilson – Without a doubt Wilson is the most creative quarterback in the NFL. No one improvises better.
Make Others Better – Philip Rivers – Because he is constantly working on protections, schemes, motion, and routes, Rivers puts his teammates in better position for success.
Technical Proficiency – Carson Palmer – There is not a more technically-sound quarterback in the league. Palmer is an expert at his craft and a master of its fundamentals.
Availability – Tony Romo – A leader’s greatest ability is his or her availability. When Romo is healthy and available, the Dallas Cowboys are potentially one of the best teams in the NFC. When injured and unavailable, the Cowboys did not win a game last season.

What is one thing from this list you can do better to improve your leadership?

5 Financial Documents Every Church Needs

When most pastors think of ministry, they are energized by helping people. They are usually not nearly as excited about the financial aspects of ministry. We understand and want to serve you in this area. My friends at Fully Funded have started an organization to assist church leaders lead well in the area of financial stewardship and are giving 5 Financial Documents Every Church Needs away free to help you do so.
Just click here to download your complimentary copies.
To give you a preview of what you can expect to receive, the following are 5 Financial Documents Every Church Needs:

Budget Worksheet – Without a plan, the church will not be able to maximize every dollar for life change. Proverbs 21:5 speaks to this: “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” An effective budget will provide clarity and will build trust with the congregation and community.
First-time Giver Letter – A church cannot survive without the faithful financial support of its congregation. And growth is challenging without gaining new givers. Your church should have a process to ensure that new givers are noticed and sent a first-time giver letter to thank them for their gift. First-time givers that are thanked are much more likely to give a second gift and move into becoming a consistent supporter of your ministry.
Purchase Order – This document helps ensure that larger purchases are approved by the appropriate people within your church. It also creates clarity for the financial administrator as they maintain the budget.
Reimbursement Request Form – Invariably, volunteers and staff of your church will need to purchase something with their own money. This document creates a clear review process to reimburse their out-of-pocket expenditure.
Finance Team Job Description – This document can become a “secret sauce” of successful financial management. It clearly outlines the requirements of this position and ensures that your ministry has the right type of leaders in place to lead you now – and into the future vision God is leading you to accomplish.

Once again, these documents are absolutely free. Click here to download your complimentary copies today.
What are some other documents that are essential to management of your church’s finances?

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Leaders and their Listening: at which of the 4 Levels do you listen?

by Charles Stone

One of the greatest skills a pastor or leader can develop is to learn to listen well. We pay others a high compliment when we listen. We affirm others’ God-given value when we listen. We develop our own heart when we listen. The father of the field of listening, Ralph Nichols, captures the essence of listening in these words. The most basic of all human needs is the need to be understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them. Listening occurs at several levels. I describe four fundamental levels here.

As you read the four levels below, ask yourself at which level you usually listen.
Level 1-Listening TO…Internal Listening. At this level when we listen to others we mostly listen to our inner dialogue, thoughts, feelings, and what we plan to say once the other person has finished speaking. We focus on ourselves, our conclusions, our thoughts about the person/subject of conversation, and what the subject means to me. Unfortunately most listening happens at this level where it tends to be all about us.
Level 2-Listening FOR…Focused Listening. At this level we begin to authentically listen as we focus on what the other person is saying. We lock onto their dialogue and suppress our temptation to correct, give our opinion, give advice, or offer another perspective as soon as they finish. We become truly present and give the other person the gift of being understood.
Level 3-Listening WITH… Intuitive Listening. At this level we pay attention to what is not being said through these cues: inflection, pauses, changes in tone and energy, the eyes, and body language. We listen with our gut and allow intuition to speak to our soul.
Level 4-Listening to the Holy Spirit. This is the deepest level where we intersect what the person is saying/not saying with an openness to what the Spirit of God is saying to us. This level requires great discipline and focus, yet provides pastors and ministry leaders a way to become conduits of God’s grace to others.
After reading those levels, at which level do you usually listen? What tips have you discovered that help you listen at levels 2-4?
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8 Things Leaders Do To Build Great Teams

Experienced leaders know you can accomplish far more with a team than you can by yourself. Surrounding yourself with top talent is one of the most important things any leader can do. So how do you identify the type of individuals which can make a good team a great team?
For answers, I revisited the 2013 college football champion Florida State Seminoles and their head coach Jimbo Fisher. Following its BCS Championship game victory over Auburn, Sports Illustrated profiled the team in its January 13, 2014 edition. As I read the article, I uncovered some truths which can help any leader regardless of what industry you are in.
The following are 8 Things Great Leaders Do To Build Great Teams:

If You Want A Great Team Hire A Great Leader – Coach Fisher was the defensive coordinator for both Nick Saban and Les Miles while with the LSU Tigers from 2000 through 2006. Upon becoming FSU’s head coach in 2010, he modeled the program after the way Coach Saban would later build the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Great Leaders Build A Strong Inner-Circle – Fisher hired Alabama’s defensive backs coach Jeremy Pruitt.
Great Leaders Establish A Leadership Culture – Fisher hired a nutritionist, built up the team’s strength staff,and a mental-conditioning coach.
Great Leaders Have A Long-Term Plan – Head Coach Jimbo Fisher spent the next four years accumulating talent.
Great Leaders Recruit Influencers – Top talent always want to be work with other talented people. After recruiting high school stars Lamarcus Joyner and Jeff Luc, other top recruits took notice. Joyner and Luc are credited with generating the recruiting momentum the program needed.
Great Leaders Recruit Difference Makers – In 2012, Fisher recruited superstar quarterback Jameis Winston. The final piece of the championship puzzle was now in place.
Great Leaders Recruit People Who Respond To Big Vision – FSU top player Christian Jones said, “Ever since I’ve been a freshman, we’ve talked about getting to this point. Offseason, through spring ball, for the past three years, and he (Coach Fisher) told us this is where we would be. We’re going to win our conference, we’re going to win a BCS bowl and go to a national championship.”
Great Leaders Recruit People Who Respond Well To Pressure – Defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan said, “Everybody said we’ve never been in tight games, and they don’t know we’ll react to it. But we fight. We’re Seminoles. That’s what we do.”

What is one thing you learned from this list that will help you build a better team?

Why So Many Churches Copy Another Church’s Vision

In their latest edition of the Fully Engaged Church podcast, MAG Bookkeeping President Randy Ongie talks with Shawn Lovejoy. Shawn has a heart for coaching leaders, pastoring pastors and helping them conquer what keeps them up at night. Shawn previously served as Founding and Lead Pastor of Mountain Lake Church, Directional Leader of churchplanters.com and the annual Velocity Conference. Now, Shawn has devoted himself to pastors and leaders full-time through his ministry Courage To Lead.
When Shawn left Mountain Lake Church, he had a very strong vision that he passed on to a young, new leader really well. He says it was the strength of that vision that he had fought relentlessly to protect that was responsible for such a smooth transition, not himself.
This idea of vision and the vision development process is something Shawn and Randy talk about a lot in the podcast. It’s something church leaders often have a hard time getting their arms around, but Shawn says it’s really pretty simple. God found one person and whispered in their ear first. Then he called that person to go out and find people to help.
That idea may be simple, but the process of cultivating a vision is not. Everyone wants it to be easy, which is why Shawn thinks there are so many copycat visions and churches. They want to skip over the wrestling with God part since it can take weeks, months, even years. Shawn says that before the first Mountain Lake service, they had four to six people who prayed, fasted and wrestled until they “knew that they knew that they knew” that God had spoken.
There’s also a difference between a good idea and a God idea. We can all see good ideas from thousands of churches all over the world by sitting at our computers. This can lead to the tendency to run around from good idea, to good idea, to good idea rather than getting down on your knees and wrestling down that unique vision. There are a lot of churches with good ideas, but the ones that are so powerful have God ideas. They aren’t necessarily doing anything especially unique with ministry or music, but “they know that they know that they know.” People can tell the difference.
Many aspects of ministry aren’t fun when it comes to the WHAT. It’s the WHY that moves people. No matter how passionate someone is, after doing that same thing for six weeks, six months or six years, it becomes old hat. But constantly reminding yourself and others of why you do it is what makes it fun.
Shawn says he spent a lot of time with the leaders of Mountain Lake reminding them of their why and discussing vision. This helped keep the sanctity of the vision in place as they thought strategically rather than practically. There are many ways to do this, and Shawn’s new book, Be Mean About Vision, is a great tool. At the end of each chapter, there are follow-up journal questions that can lead to some amazing discussions. We encourage all church leaders to check the book out!
I also encourage you to check out MAG Bookkeeping if your church or business needs virtual bookkeeping assistance. They are the best out there!
This is a guest post by MAG and originally appeared on their site.

Monday, August 22, 2016

Leading Through Change

By John Cassetto

Leading through change and transition requires three things

If you have been in ministry for any length of time, you have likely been faced with the leadership challenge called CHANGE. This issue of how to navigate a season of transition is one of the questions I am most frequently asked. It is an important question. Change can sneak up on us, it can shake the foundation of our teams and it can cause pain for all involved. On the surface, change within the context of worship can look like new people, new sound, new music and a new look. But when you dig deeper, change can look like new freedom, new love, new health and a new culture.
Leading through change and transition requires three things: a clear mind, a calm heart and clean hands.
A clear mind. You must be clear on the vision of where God is taking you. Clarity of intellect. A clear direction. Know what you’re doing. Get in the space with Jesus so you can hear the vision of where he is taking you.
But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you. 2 Timothy 4:5
Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. Psalm 25:4
A calm heart. Put aside the position of being a people pleaser. Our ultimate goal is to make our master—our Lord and Savior—happy. Resolve to be calm and peaceful in following him. Don’t let your emotions determine every move you make. Transition will rock you, and it requires steadiness.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
Clean hands. Live a life that is worthy of touching sacred space. Seasons of change means holding things with holy hands. With change, there is often chaos. As leaders, we don’t have the freedom to be reckless. Live a life that says you’re taking seriously the call God has placed in you to take the church to deeper depths.
We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. Colossians 1:9-10
Don’t fear change. When done well—when a leader leads through it well—it brings about good things. Change is necessary to grow, to reach our full redemptive potential, and to be the fruit-bearing church that Jesus dreamed we could be.

15 Qualities Of Leaders I Want To Be In A Meeting With

Many leaders I know do not like meetings. They would much prefer to be engaging in productive activities rather than talking about it. I would fall into this category.
However, there are some meetings I have been involved in which were replenishing and actually quite fun. I enjoyed these times because of the “Who”, not the “What” or “Why”. In other words, the other leaders in the meeting made it fun, not the task or assignment itself.
The following are 15 Qualities Of Leaders I Want To Be In A Meeting With:

Leaders who love Jesus Christ, their families and His church above all else. This speaks to their approach.
The leaders are my friends and it is good to see them. The meeting feels more like a social event where we also actually get things done.
They have accomplished something. They are speaking from experience, not just theory. This also means good ideas flow from experience rather than exposure.
Each are active listeners. They are learning from the experiences of others.
Every leader has a specific skill set. When a topic comes up, everyone defers to the expert in the room. This is a matter of respect and no one person has to be the wellspring of all knowledge.
It is a group of alphas who respect each other enough to discuss topics in a calm, logical manner. Volume is not a leadership weapon or asset.
Everyone is affirming of the other person. Words of affirmation are my love language. If YOU don’t have something good to say, WE don’t say anything at all.
People have a sense of humor. I love to laugh and accomplish things with people in fun environments.
We have history together. We have been through some ups-and-downs and lived to tell about it.
We trust each other. There are no hidden agendas and we have each other’s backs.
Time is seen as our most valuable commodity and we don’t waste each other’s.
People who are courteous enough to schedule meetings at convenient times. Leaders live busy lives.
Leaders who arrive prepared and start fast.
Leaders who expect things to get done.
As much as I love being around them, leaders who end meetings early!

What other type of people do you enjoy being in meetings with?

Sunday, August 21, 2016

10 Leadership Lessons From Top United States Olympic Athletes

This past week I had the privilege of being in the Chicagoland area as part of the Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit. If you missed any of the speakers or their insights click the Complete Content Listing From The 2016 Global Leadership Summit Speakers, While in town, I obviously spent several nights in a hotel and read the daily edition of the USA Today newspaper provided to guests. The Olympic coverage provided countless leadership insights.
The following are 10 Leadership Lessons From Top United States Olympic Athletes. Regardless of if you lead a church, business, non-profit, or athletic organization, these lessons will make you a better leader. Two of the quotes came from the Cleveland Browns training camp but we so good, I had to include them.
Also, do not fret, the historic U.S. ladies gymnastics team will get a post solely dedicated to their efforts in the near future.
August 10th

Apex Leaders Work Hard – “We’re confident because of the hard work. We’re consistent because of the hard work.” – U.S. female gymnastics team captain Aly Raisman
Leaders Do Not Confuse Activity With Accomplishment – “Innovations are everywhere – cancer research, iPhone apps, Olympic sports training, cloud computing – they are just not showing up in the eta that measures gross domestic product.” – IHS Global economist Patrick Newport.
Your Level Of Expectation Determines Your Level Of Preparation – “I expect to win. And nothing says that we can’t. I’m not going to think we can’t. I don’t think our players are going to think we can’t. We’re going to work as hard as anybody across the National Football League.” – new Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson
Leadership Takes Time And Is A Developmental Process – “We know it’s going to take time for those guys to show up on the field. We’re willing to be patient with our young guys as they develop.” – Browns new executive vice president Sashi Brown
Leaders Must Be Willing To Pay A Higher Price Than Others – “I just knew I had to really dig deep. That’s the closest I’ve ever come to throwing up in the middle of a race.” – U.S. gold medal Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky
You Never Have To Recover From A Good Start – “Our sport is one that rewards early efforts…you need to trust in your physiology and your ability to kind of fight through pain, to keep taking good strokes and to get yourself the result you want.” – U.S. rower Austin Hack
Apex Leaders Are Highly Focused – “My job is to win the game for the U.S., and I’m going to do everything possible to do that.” – basketball player Kyrie Irving

August 11th

Apex Leaders Get Better By Making Other People Better – “Sometimes I think I wouldn’t be the swimmer I am today if I didn’t have Michael (Phelps). We both push each other. We both bring the best out of each other.” – U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte

August 12th

Smart Leaders Choose Their Legacy. – “I think no matter what, my judo legacy is fulfilled and I’m happy and happy with my career. Now it’s time to go and continue to have a legacy off the mat and try to change the world.” – U.S. judo gold medal winner Kayla Harrison
“When you have a refreshed perspective and a newfound purpose, it gives you a sense of renewed spirit and excitement.” – U.S. wrestler Jordan Burroughs

What is one lesson you learned from the U.S. Olympic team which will make you a better leader?

6 Insights I learned at the 2016 Willow Creek Leadership Summit

by Charles Stone

This year our church took over 55 to attend Willow Creek’s Leadership Summit at our local video venue in London, Ontario. As usual, I came away with many great leadership insights. In this post I summarize my top 6 learnings.

What I learned at this year’s Willow Creek Leadership Summit:

The lens of leadership.
- Bill Hybels, senior pastor at Willow, taught the first session of the day. He’s always super. He used eyeglasses as word pictures to describe these 4 different lens of leadership:
  - passion lens (self explanatory)
  - shattered lens (an unhealthy view of leadership)
  - performance lens (we have to get stuff done)
  - legacy lens (what we will leave behind)
- The ‘passion’ lens insight stood out to me the most. He said that passion can be fueled by our dreams or even our defeats (lessons we learn about what does not work or lessons learned through failure). He also said that it’s our job to fill our passion bucket.
- This statement profoundly impacted me: There are no do overs in leadership but there are makeovers.
Culture mapping.
- Erin Meyer, a professor at a university in France, and author of The Culture Map, gave a fascinating talk about her innovative research on how cultures differ in several ways. She has isolated eight different dimensions that any organization involved in cross-cultural work needs to understand.
- In her talk she unpacked the communication dimension which was amazing. Since our church has three different language expressions in three different congregations, I will definitely delve more into her insights.
The one thing to get right: add value to people.
- John Maxwell spoke on this subject. I’ve heard John speak before and read many of his books. But it’s been a while since I’ve heard him. When he started speaking, I felt like a wise uncle was in my living room sharing sage advice with me. I had heard his theme of ‘add value’ to people before, but it was refreshing to hear it again.
- Several gems stood out.
  - People have uphill hopes and downhill habits.
    
    People have uphill hopes and downhill habits.-John Maxwell
    Click To Tweet
  - A follower wants to know if his or her leader… likes me, wants to help me, and is trustworthy.
  - Selfishness and significance are incompatible.
  - Will I spend my life connecting with people or correcting people?
The power of vision.
- In this session Jossy Chacko who leads a ministry that has a goal of planing 100,000 churches (they planted an average of 11 per day in 2015), challenged us about true vision. Here are some of his nuggets.
  - Some people are vision poppers.
  - A passionary leader is a passionate leader with great vision.
  - Risk is a friend to love not an enemy to be feared.
  - Real vision is hinged to the door of risk.
  - View comfort and safety as enemies to vision.
  - Don’t try to work out all the details of your vision before you do anything.
  - See the heavenly possibilities instead of human limitations.
  - Leadership capacity is proportional to your pain threshold.
  - Some of the world’s greatest ideas lie in the grave (because some people were too afraid to pursue their vision).
What to look for in a potential leader.
- Patrick Lencioni has been a Summit favorite for years, and for good reason. He brings great stuff. At this session he summarized his latest book, The Ideal Team Player, in which he suggests three key character qualities that make, well, the ideal team player: humble, hungry, and smart.
- I loved this insight about humility. Humility is thinking about yourself less, not thinking less about yourself.
  
  Humility is thinking about yourself less, not thinking less about yourself-P. Lencioni.
  Click To Tweet
  
  He then described the person with different combinations of only two of these qualities, really interesting stuff. Definitely a good book to pick up.
Bonus insight.
- Wilfredo De Jesus (pastor of the largest Assembly of God Church in the U.S.) closed out the Summit with a powerful call for the Church to be the Church. Some of his standout quotes included these:
  - A leader who stops learning, stops leading.
    
    A leader who stops learning, stops leading-Wilfredo DeJesus.
    Click To Tweet
  - No one drifts toward holiness.
  - Evil has prevailed because good (the Church) has been absent.
  - The Kingdom dream is to lose it all while the American dream is to have it all.
  - A scared world needs a fearless church.

I’m glad I attended this year’s Summit. I plan to read several of the speakers’ books and our team will meet soon for a debrief/action plan session.
If you attended the Summit, I’d love to hear the insights that stood out to you?
Related posts:

Become a discipleship rockstar. Avoid these 3 pitfalls.

Hey guys!
For many of us, discipleship either conjures up images of a standardized series of classes, or it’s this mysterious and foggy image of spiritual practices to be passed on to others.
Either way most Christians just aren’t doing it.
This week, in my latest post and video, I explain why.
These 3 Things Are True Discipleship Killers
Why Most Christians Are Not Making Disciples

When we truly believe that we have the love and acceptance of a perfect Father who loves us regardless of any performance or lack, we are free to put ourselves out beyond our comfort zone and trust Him for the results. [Continue reading...]
Grateful to be on this Mission together!
–Caesar

The Top 10 Leadership Posts I Read The Week Of August 15th

Communication is a BIG deal for leaders. Whether the size of your audience is a small team or a stadium-sized crowd, every leader must eventually stand up and declare the words, “Here’s where we are going. Follow Me!” Therefore, you must continually work on your written, verbal, and non-verbal communication skills. The message you have been entrusted with is too important to be delivered without clarity or in an unattractive manner.
This is why you will love this week’s Top 10 list. Many of the posts deal with public communications. Make sure you check each out and share with your entire team.
Also, if you have not yet bookmarked the following two posts, make sure you do so today. Each has aggregated incredible amounts of spiritual leadership content you will want to revisit over and over again:

Now, onto The Top 10 Leadership Posts I Read The Week Of August 15th:

Why People Volunteer At Some Churches But Not At Others by Paul Alexander
From Aleppo To Arkansas, Little Boys Are Precious by Brandon A. Cox
7 Mistakes Churches Make With Outreach Events by Kris Eldridge via ChurchCentral.com
21 Of The Best Ways To Use Instagram Stories For Your Church by Steve Fogg
What? Me, A Priest by Bill Hybels via Global Leadership Summit blog
The (Not So) Secrets To Finding Opportunity by Joseph Lalonde
The Greatest Battle Leaders Face by Shawn Lovejoy
Where Are All The Storytellers? by Nick Morgan via PublicWords.com
4 Traits Of The World’s Second Greatest Leader by Charles Stone
12 Rules For Preachers By John Wesley by Miles Welch

Well, that is my Top 10. What other great posts did you read this week?

30 Lessons On Succeeding While Under Intense Stress And Pressure

Anyone who has been in leadership any length of time knows the feeling of pressure. Pressure to perform. Pressure to hit numbers. Pressure to make payroll. Marketplace pressures. Employee and customer demands. Time constraints. However, what many leaders do not know is how to actually succeed during seasons of intense stress and pressure.
In the September issue of Inc. Magazine, columnist John Brandon identified the following three ways stress helps leaders and one way it does not:

Stress Makes You More Aware – You are on high alert and as a result absorb more information.
Stress Shows You Care – It reveals how much you care about your team.
Stress Helps You Enjoy Good Times More – You appreciate the peaceful times.
Stress Causes Irrational Thoughts – This is the stress you create in your mind.

As I read his thoughts I pondered back to two of the most stressful and pressure-packed environments I witnessed in the last few months – Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder. This was followed a few weeks later by a Game 7 between the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA championship.
I took note of what the announcers and participants were saying prior to each game. With the stakes at all-time highs for each encounter, the lessons are applicable to any leader regardless of your environment.
The following are an additional 26 Important Lessons On Succeeding While Under Intense Stress And Pressure:
Golden State – Oklahoma City, May 30th. Golden State would win 96-88.

Stress And Pressure Can Be A Sign Of Tremendous Opportunity – “It’s a great opportunity to play at the highest level with one game to go to get to the finals.” – Kevin Durant. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said prior to Game 7 with the Cavaliers, “If you don’t feel pressure in a Game 7 then you’re probably not human…But how lucky are we to feel that pressure.”
Do Not Repeat The Same Mistakes – “You can’t repeat your mistakes.” – Shaquille O’Neal
Do Not Be Passive Or Frenetic – “If you miss a lot of shots being aggressive, the pressure just mounts…You can’t come out and be over-aggressive. But you can’t come out and be under-aggressive.” – Charles Barkley
You Must Trust Your Teammates – “You have to have a level of trust (with your teammates).” – Chris Webber. Oklahoma City head coach Billy Donovan added, “Together is what’s going to get it done.”
Leaders Must Lead By Example – “Give it to me. Let me lead the way. I’ll do what I do.” – O’Neil on his Game 7 experience. Webber added, “Stars have to set the tone on the road. Most guys in the NBA aren’t used to getting booed.”
Everybody Handles Stress And Pressure Differently – “Everybody handles moments differently.” – Webber
Maintain A Positive Attitude – “On the road you can’t get down.” – Webber
Remain Calm – “You just calm down and play basketball.” – Barkley. O’Neal added, “The key to Golden State is not be too amped. Calm down.”
Simple Things Become Hard When Facing Stress And Pressure – “The simplest things are the hardest things for the greatest players…Most guys have a hidden Superman syndrome.” – Kenny Smith
Stress And Pressure Reminds You The Stakes Are High – “This is the toughest game of the year.” – Draymond Green
You Are Not Alone. Everyone Is Facing Stress And Pressure – “There’s pressure on both of these teams.” – Barkley
Stay Poised – “Stay poised. Be who we are.” – Green
You Can’t Relax. You Must Finish Well. – “Can you execute in the last 3 minutes of a quarter?” – Smith
Great Depth Helps You Deal With Great Stress And Pressure – “For Golden State, who’s going to show up on their bench?” – Barkley
Stay In The Moment And Focus On What You Can Be Do Right Now – “If you’re the home team you must stay in the moment. You have to embrace the opportunity that is in front of you” – Webber
Play To Your Strengths – “Be yourself. Play the style that got you here.” – Webber

Cleveland – Golden State, June 19th. Cleveland would win its first NBA championship 93-89.

Stress And Pressure Require The Best Of You – “I need to play my best game of the year, of my career, because of what the stakes are.” – Steph Curry
Be Willing To Exhaust All Your Resources – “It’s the last game of the season so you don’t preserve the energy.” – LeBron James
Mismanaging Pressure Can Ruin All Your Previous Hard Work – “It doesn’t matter how good you’ve been all year long. You can have one bad day, and that’s your season.” – Paul Pierce
You Must Lack Fear – “Your great players have to be at their best. Greatness fears no consequence.” – Doug Collins
Stress And Pressure Allow You To Do Something Memorable – “They (Game 7s) result signature, notable, memorable performances.” – Jalen Rose
The Best Leaders Are The Ones Who Deal Best With Stress And Pressure – “Teams with the MVP have won 18 straight Game 7s.” – Sage Steele
Big Time Players Make Big Time Plays In Big Time Games – “DNA Game. Have your fingerprints all over everything. He (Curry) has to be the best player on the court.” – Collins. Pierce added, “If they don’t stop LeBron James they are not going to win this game…This game is not about the bench. This game is about the stars.”
Preparation Is The Greatest Cure To Stress And Pressure – “I don’t feel pressure. If you’re prepared and organized and ready for the moment…then you’re fine.” – Tyronn Lue
Limit Mistakes And Manage Your Resources Well – In the last two games LeBron James has handled the ball 188 times and he has only three turnovers.” – Collins
Put Your Teammates In Positions To Succeed – “Usually role players play better at home.” – Rose

What is one thing from this list you have learned about dealing with stress and pressure?

Friday, August 19, 2016

Dads and Moms: Here’s how to pour a sense of value and beauty into your kids

30 Things I Learned Leading In A Small Church

From the time I was in college until shortly after being married I was a leader in a church with an average weekly attendance of just under 100 people. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life and laid the foundation for how I would lead people moving forward.
Before I get into the list, I cannot recommend enough you click HERE for information on an upcoming Breaking The 200 (Attendance) Barrier course being put on by Church Fuel. It is as good as anything I have seen and a must-have for small church pastors.
Now as promised, the following are 30 Things I Learned Leading In A Small Church:

I learned to love pastors and how to serve them.
I learned about church leadership from riding with my pastor on Monday and Tuesday night visitation.
I learned how to teach the Bible.
I was able to work on my craft at a slow pace because my small church was forgiving of my mistakes.
I learned how to pray.
Thanks to Continuing Witness Training I learned how to share my faith.
I learned rigorous work was required to reach my full potential.
I learned about John Maxwell.
I learned about Bill Hybels.
I learned the importance of visiting people in hospitals.
I learned to be an effective youth pastor you must also pastor the parents.
I learned how to organize youth services, activities, and retreats.
I learned how to experience love because we was like a family.
I learned how to deal with gossip because we were like a family.
I learned competition is sickening to God.
I learned how hot the bright lights of the stage can be.
I learned passion and naivety can be greatly used by God but passion and naivety would eventually not be enough. I had to get better by improving my skills.
I learned how hard decisions are made.
I learned how to build lifelong friendships.
I learned I could not sing. Though I will be a worship leader in Heaven when I have my glorified body.
I learned the value of a visitor.
I learned it is almost impossible to grow without quality leadership.
I learned you can’t do all the work. You must build a team.
I learned loving people can overcome a lack of financial resources.
I learned generosity through the people who loved and served me as a youth pastor.
I learned my small tithe makes a big difference.
I learned bi-vocational ministry can destroy your soul if you are not careful.
I learned small church pastors are grossly underpaid.
I learned God honors faithfulness.
I learned there are many Mega pastors in small church environments. Their church just has not caught up with them yet.

***Bonus*** I also learned you can find a great wife in a small church!

Once again, if you are in a small church environment and want to know how to break the 200 attendance barrier, click HERE or on the image to the left.