What A Real Life Skydiving Accident Teaches Church Leaders

What A Real Life Skydiving Accident Teaches Church Leaders

 

On August 1, 2009 54-year-old Shirley Dygert went skydiving for the first time.  She was attached to an experienced trainer Dave Hartsock for their descent from 13,500 feet.  In addition to the video above, the following are a few excerpts from Chris Ballard’s extraordinary account of what happened next in the July 29th edition of Sports Illustrated:
“Dave pulled the rip cord (at 5,000 feet) and instantly knew something was wrong.  A parachute release can be jarring, but this was different.  Dave felt a violent jerk and heard a loud pop from above.”
He goes on – “The canopy malfunction had been so violent that it had yanked the cutaway handle upward.  It was stuck between him and Shirley, and he couldn’t reach it.  Worse, the other cutaway handle was blocked by her body.  As they dropped past 4,000 feet, Dave knew time was running out.  He had roughly 20 seconds until the point of no return at 1,500 feet.”
The story continues – “As they passed 2,500 feet, Shirley came to the realization that this was the last day of her life…One thought overwhelmed her: I don’t want my kids (watching below) to have to see this.”
More from Ballard – “They’d reduced their speed but were down to 1,500 feet and still plummeting at 60 mhp (from 100 mph).  Worse, they were spinning again.  The time to try to fix the canopy was over.  It was time to start looking at the ground.”
What happened next was startling.  “‘Shirley, I want you to pull up legs NOW!’, he said.  ‘Get ready for a really rough landing.’  And with that, as she kicked, Shirley felt herself twist upright.  Behind her Dave pulled down on the two canopy lines, so hard that he dislocated both shoulders.  At the same time he kicked his own legs up, inverting their positions so that it was he, a 44-year-old man who’d spent his life largely in pursuit of personal gratification, who hit the hard Texas dirt first, becoming a human cushion for a woman he’d met only a half hour earlier.”
“The impact was so loud, it was audible a quarter mile away.  Moments later Shirley opened her eyes, then blinked.  Above her she saw light and sky and clouds.  Beneath her she felt the inert form of Dave Hartsock.”
Today, she has no health issues stemming from the accident.  She describes herself as “good as new.”  Dave survived as well but is a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair.
When you ask Dave about his decision to place himself between Shirley and ground he says, “I did what I felt was necessary for taking care of my student.  To me, that was the most important thing, making sure Shirley got down safely.”  
As he discussed his bravery and heroism, he gives credit to having “a combination of having certain values instilled by my parents and the environment of skydiving, where you look out for everybody.  It’s a very nurturing atmosphere.  That’s part of what I loved about it.”
As a church leader, I have thought a lot about Dave’s last five sentences and have been forced to ask a series of difficult questions based on his comments:

1. Do I personally and our church collectively do what is necessary to take care of those within our church walls?
2. Is the most important thing to our staff and church is making sure everyone we know gets out of this world safely?  In other words, do we do everything we can to rescue people from eternal death and hell so they can live for eternity with Jesus in Heaven?  Will we change our worship style?  Will we kill ministries which are no longer effective?  Will we have engage in hard conversations and make unpopular decisions?  Will we take risks?  Will we sacrifice financially?  Do we serve others who can do nothing for us in return?  Are we brave and courageous?  Etc…
3. Are we passionate about instilling biblical values to those in our churches as we make disciples?
4. Do we as church leaders look out for everybody?  Are we inclusive or exclusive?  Do we truly care about others?
5. Is our church a nurturing environment?
6. What environment is more loving – our church or the skydiving community?  Shame on us if it is the skydivers.
7. Do our people truly love our church?

This story has caused me to evaluate much about my Christian life and those I serve with.  What about you?

10 Characteristics Of Effective Church Communications

 
First Baptist Church of Woodstock, GA is one of my favorite churches.  Led by the incomparable Senior Pastor Dr. Johnny Hunt, this church has transformed the city in which I live.  Today, my wife was given a copy of their past week’s bulletin (shown above).  I was so impressed with it and the impact of this ministry I am providing you a copy of its image.
As I looked at the content I gleaned 10 Characteristics Of Effective Church Communications which will help you and your church:

1. Effective Church Communications Attach You To The Mission And Vision Of The Church – The bulletin said, “This Summer God Changed Lives Through Our Church Family.”
2. Effective Church Communications Reveal What Is Important – Even if you do not attend FBC Woodstock, by looking at this bulletin you know children, students, the community, volunteers and reaching people for Jesus Christ is of primary concern to this church.
3. Effective Church Communications Are Celebratory – The bulletin celebrated the number of lives changed over the summer by this wonderful ministry.
4. Effective Church Communications Are Measurable – When communicating, always use a story, scripture or statistic.  3,293 kids attended VBS.  68 kids gave their life to Christ at VBS.  796 students attended summer camp.  144 decisions for Christ were made at summer camp.  6,350 attended our Celebrate America event.  1,135 volunteers helped make it all happen.
5. Effective Church Communications Move People To Action – The inspirational nature of the bulletin makes you want to get involved and not miss whatever this church is doing next.
6. Effective Church Communications Are Done With Excellence – You cannot microwave excellence.  It takes time.  The layout, color schemes and pictures were done in a such a way as to make my wife and I take notice.
7. Effective Church Communications Make It Easy For Others To Communicate Your Message – The bulletin used the hashtag #GodChangesLives allowing others to continue sharing the stories of God’s work online.
8. Effective Church Communications Are Clear And Concise – Excellent communications compels your people to tell others.  Therefore, use clear and concise language to make your messaging easy-to-remember and repeatable.
9. Effective Church Communications Focus On Just A Few Things – Do not talk about too many things in your communications.  It waters down your messaging.  If everything is important, nothing is important.  Discuss only a few things.  Here is what the bulletin covered – children and students, the community, volunteers and Jesus Christ changing lives.
10. Effective Church Communications Are Multi-Generational – Prevailing ministries unite generations for Kingdom purposes in every area, including their messaging.  While much of the bulletin is devoted to children and students, the 1,135 volunteers (mostly adult) were highlighted as well.

What are other church communication lessons you learn from this bulletin?

It’s Never Too Late to Start Over

It’s Never Too Late to Start Over, Part 2: Get Going Again

By Rick Warren

God is a God of second chances and fresh starts. And if you’re alive and breathing and reading this post, God obviously isn’t finished with you yet. Don’t quit, and don’t give up, even when you’ve experienced failure. Instead, allow God to use failure to move you forward.
In my last article, I talked about five reasons we often experience failure, and today I want to share with you the four ways to recover from failure and move forward.
1. Accept responsibility for your own failure. 
Proverbs 28:13 says, “A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.” When we refuse to admit our mistakes, they are wasted. Be honest with yourself. Be honest with others. Most of us are experts at passing blame on to others. It’s part of our natural sin nature. We blame the economy, we blame the weather, we blame fate, we blame luck, you blame your parents, you blame your spouse, you blame the government.
But God says if you want to start over — if you failed — just admit it. I don’t know where we get the idea that we have to pretend that we’re perfect. We’re not. You’re not perfect! And neither am I.
In 1974 after an 88 game winning streak, UCLA basketball lost to Notre Dame. They lost in a game that they had been ahead by eleven points. The next day in the headlines John Wooten, the coach, said “Blame me.” That’s the mark of a winner. He doesn’t pass the buck. He said we just got overconfident.
2. Stop regretting and start repenting. 
When you’ve had a major failure, stop regretting and start repenting. The Greek word for repent means to change your mind, to look at it a different way, to change your direction, to change your heart. You don’t just sit around a moan, “I’m a failure. I’m a flop. I can never be used by God again. I’m wasted. I’m worthless. God’s going to set me on the shelf.” Stop regretting and start repenting.
2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “The sadness that is used by God brings a change of heart that leads to salvation and there is no regret in that. But worldly sadness causes death.” There are two kinds of sadness mentioned in this verse: Godly sadness and worldly sadness.
Godly sorrow motivates you to change. It brings a change of heart. It motivates you to do something. It motivates you to change. Worldly sorrow is demoralizing, depressing, and it causes death. One of the most devastating emotions in life is self-pity. You never learn anything at a pity party.
Almost every success in life is built on a failure. You learn from it. I’m convinced that some things are only learned through failure.
3. Forget the former and focus on the future. 
Philippians 3:13-14 declares, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
What memory in your life are you allowing to continually manipulate you? Every time it comes up you think, “I wish I’d never done that! I regret that!” And you’re manipulated by it. Some of you are allowing your past to control your future, and that’s a mistake. Your past is past. You can’t change the past by worrying about it. Let it go and focus on the future. It’s not so much where you’ve been, but what direction your feet are headed now that counts. The past doesn’t have to control you anymore.
I don’t care what your failure is in life. You are not washed up unless you choose to quit, unless you choose to give up, unless you choose to reject the grace of God. The choice is condemnation or confession. You can either live in condemnation or you can confess it and get on with life. Forget the former and focus on the future.
4. Trust God to work it all out.
In Romans 8:28, “We know that to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.” God is working out a pattern in the fabric of our lives that’s going to be beautiful. It all fits. But sometimes from our point of view it looks like a jumble, a mess. We look at our lives and think, “How can anything good come out of this?”
I used to worry about the source of the problems that come into our lives a lot more than I do now. Is this problem from the devil? Is this problem from other Christians? Is this problem from the Lord? Is this problem something I’ve brought on myself? The longer I grow as a Christian, the more I think I understand that it doesn’t really matter the source of your problem. It doesn’t matter if the devil brought it on or other people caused it or if you caused it yourself. God will still use it. God has a way of overriding our big mistakes. He works them all out.
God wants to take your greatest failure — that area of greatest failure that you want to hide and keep secret — and He wants to turn it into your greatest strength. He wants to make a life message out of it. What is your area of weakness? Whatever it is, that’s what God wants to work on, if you stop regretting, and stop having a pity party and let Him work in your life.
photo credit: lonely radio

30 Remarkable Leadership Lessons

30 Remarkable Leadership Lessons

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “Nothing is so common-place as to wish to be remarkable.”  Are you the type of leader whose impact is so significant someone “remarks” about you?  If so, you have, by definition, become a remarkable leader.  Recently, I finished the book Remarkable written by Dr. Randy Ross and David Salyers.  David is currently serving as Vice President of National, Regional and Local Marketing for Chick-Fil-A.
This is a wonderful book for anyone needing to reverse negative momentum or simply build a solid leadership foundation.
The following are 30 Remarkable Leadership Lessons to make you a better leader:

1. Leadership is about influencing people to make conspicuously unusual choices that bring health and happiness to life and work.
2. Leaders knew, intuitively, that the employee experience and the customer experience were inseparably linked.
3. A clutch player has the emotional constitution of a winner.  Clutch players become evident in times of challenge and transition.
4. Where trust is high, resistance is low.  Therefore, change and progress come quickly.  Conversely, where trust is low, resistance is high.  Therefore, change and progress come slowly.
5. Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them. – Albert Einstein
6. Excellence never comes by comparing yourself to others.
7. As leaders, we know exactly what we want from our people.  But what do we want for our people?
8. Life is all about creating value.  The secret to fulfillment is in seeking to bring value to every endeavor.
9. When your value grade exceeds your pay grade, then you become invaluable to the organization – if not indispensable.
10. Either we choose to resist change and stagnate…Or, we choose to embrace the situation and grow.  Choosing to grow leads to transformation, while choosing otherwise leads to degeneration…We all become the product of our choices.
11. Poor choices narrow your options, while good choices open a whole new vista of opportunities.
12. Humility allows us to see ourselves honestly, without pretense, and leads to greater self-awareness.
13. There will always be an abundance of folks who are willing to offer their opinions…A good student learns best by asking the right questions and then selecting wisely whom he will allow to provide him with the answers.
14. You must choose carefully whom you will allow to influence your decisions.  Good counsel perpetuates good choices.  Bad counsel perpetuates bad choices.
15. When authenticity and humility are present, unity is often the result.  And unity is the most powerful force in the universe for the creation of good.
16. A person’s character is revealed through his values.
17. How we view things will drive how we do things.
18. Living on purpose means you live purposefully, with purpose, and for a purpose.
19. We are designed to create value in life.  There are essentially two approaches to life: one seeks to extract value from every endeavor and the other seeks to create and bring value to every endeavor.
20. It is important to teach our kids to win with grace and lose with dignity.
21. The people I know who possess the greatest character are those who have overcome their losses and challenges to rise victoriously on the other side.
22. Strong organizations always put people ahead of profits because they know that if you do right by our people – internally and externally – then the profits will follow.
23. Every organization creates transactions.  But, great organizations create powerful relationships through the superior value they bring to the table.
24. Some of the most successful people often don’t think that they are.
25. If you want to create an environment of innovation, you need to give people time to think and dream – while on the clock.
26. One of a leader’s greatest responsibilities is to shift the emphasis of work from “making a dollar” to “making a difference” in the lives of others.
27. True greatness comes in direct proportion to passionate pursuit of a purpose beyond money. – Jim Collins
28. Focusing on weaknesses keeps the spotlight on self.  Focusing on strengths keeps the emphasis on how to bring value to others.
29. Success if a by-product of creating value.  Happiness is a by-product of creating value.  Significance is a by-product of creating value.  Fulfillment is a by-product of creating value.
30. “If you love what you do, you will never work another day in your life.” – Truett Cathy

You can buy Remarkable by clicking HERE.  After reading, it will help you become a leader people remark about.

26 Lessons About Generosity Every Pastor And Christian Leader Should Know

26 Lessons About Generosity Every Pastor And Christian Leader Should Know

With my work at INJOY Stewardship Solutions, I hear numerous amounts of sermons on money, possessions, stewardship and generosity from some of the top pastors.  In this morning’s message, my very own pastor Dr. Crawford Loritts of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, GA, delivered one of the finest messages on generosity I have heard.
The content based from the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 was so important I wanted to pass Crawford’s thoughts along to you.  To hear the message in full click HERE as it will be posted later this week.  Trust me, it is worth your time.
The following are 26 Lessons About Generosity Every Pastor And Christian Leader Should Know:

1. In general, sacrificial giving is at the core of discipleship.
2. God’s Word is advanced through the generosity of others.
3. The focus should be our hearts.  It has little to do with our wallets.  It has everything to do with our hearts.
4. Love and gratitude are the motivations of our giving.
5. If we love much, we will give sacrificially.  To love means to give.  To give means to be grateful.
6. If we love God and love people we will be generous.
7. People can get lost in (practicing) your religion.
8. The Good Samaritan listened to his heart.  He had compassion.  We can get too busy to listen to our hearts.
9. He (the Good Samaritan) embraced the inconvenience.  The point is not the high cost of caring.  The point is the high cost of NOT caring.
10. Sacrifice is risky.  What happens if we DON’T respond.
11. The opportunity (to show generosity and compassion to the injured man) was the new priority.  Making the man whole was his new priority.  All the business (from his journey) stopped.
12. We all give.  Who and what do we give to?
13. What was given to the Good Samaritan was a resource.  We own nothing.  Everything we have is a resource.
14. Every selfish action will be burnt up in eternity.
15. The neighbor is the one who showed mercy.
16. Generosity identifies and reflects the Lord Jesus.
17. Two things that best portray the love of Jesus – to forgive and to give sacrificially.
18. Stuff can replace God.
19. The greatness of David is not his holy consistency but his depth of repentance.
20. Repentent people do whatever it takes to make it right.
21. The word “worship” means sacrifice.  To be sacrificial means to give until it hurts.
22. Sacrifice is self-denial.
23. A cheap sacrifice is worse than no sacrifice at all.  God doesn’t need your money.
24. A religion that costs nothing is worth nothing.
25. When we give we express our gratitude to Calvary (and Jesus’ work on the cross).
26. Our generosity is in direct relationship to the depth of our gratitude.  You can almost measure a person’s spirituality by the depth of their giving.

Crawford closed with two challenges which I pass along to you.  1.  Ask God to show you where you can be more generous.  2.  Keep your eyes and heart open like the Samaritan and trust God’s promptings.

14 Things Pastors And Church Staff Must Know About Top Volunteers

14 Things Pastors And Church Staff Must Know About Top Volunteers

Recently, a high-capacity volunteer I know declined a meeting invitation to attend a gathering of executive staff and other key volunteer leaders to discuss of all things, developing a volunteer culture at their church.  A proactive staff member called the volunteer and inquired about this person’s scheduled absence.
The volunteer noted, “Everyone in that room hears me all the time.  I think they will just glaze over.  You’ve got new voices in the room.  I just think it will be more successful if I’m not there.”
The staff member replied, “Everyone in that room respects your opinion.  You’ve got a lot to add.  And we really need you to deliver a portion of the content.”  To which the volunteer replied, “O.K. I may be a little late but I’ll be there.”
When you dig below the surface, there is some fascinating leadership principles embedded in this conversation.  These principles are critical to your church’s ability to attract, engage and deploy high-capacity volunteers for maximum Kingdom impact in your church.
The following are 14 Things Pastors And Church Staff Must Know About Top Volunteers:

1. High-Capacity Volunteers Love Their Church – Your church’s top volunteers are not without options.  Yet, they have made the strategic chose to leverage their time and talent to serve at your church.
2. High-Capacity Volunteers Want Influence.  Not Titles.
3. High-Capacity Volunteers Steward Their Time, Talent, Money And Influence Well – Top volunteers do not have time to waste.  They want a maximum Kingdom ROI.
4. High-Capacity Volunteers Are Best Influenced Through Personal Relationships – The relationship with the staff person was the catalyst for the engagement of the volunteer.
5. High-Capacity Volunteers Love Their Staff – Top volunteers are deeply invested in their church.  Therefore, they desperately want to see their staff flourish.
6. High-Capacity Volunteers Value The Contributions Of Others – Notice the volunteer acknowledged the contributions which could be made by others.  For your top volunteers, their success is often found in the success of others.
7. High-Capacity Volunteers Should Frequently Be Shown Appreciation – As should all your volunteers.  Appreciation is your best weapon against burnout.  Do you have an effective appreciative system in place for your volunteers?  The best one I know is Volunteer Rocket.  You can click HERE to sign up for a free trial.
8. High-Capacity Volunteers Don’t Require Credit – They want organizational success over their personal success.
9. High-Capacity Volunteers Are Best Engaged One-On-One – You can’t leapfrog your top leaders.  The good news is your top volunteers are highly relational.  However, this can sometimes be high-maintenance as well.
10. High-Capacity Volunteers Want To Know They Are Making A Difference – Top volunteers are not inspired by maintenance but rather life change.
11. High-Capacity Volunteers Perform Better When Given Clear Instruction – Clarity is your friend when dealing with top volunteers.  They are most successful when given a clear target and marching orders.
12. High-Capacity Volunteers Bring Solutions – The answer to every problem is a person.  High-capacity individuals can help solve your toughest challenges.
13. High-Capacity Volunteers Want To See The Kingdom Advanced – The meeting was then held with much success.  The church was helped.  The volunteer was encouraged.  And most important, the church’s mission and vision was advanced.
14. The Power Of An Encouraging Staff – In my opinion, the hero of this story is not the high-capacity volunteer.  It is the staff person who recognized their potential, saw something in them, reached out, and encouraged them to use their talent and giftedness to help the church and for the glory of God.

To all pastors and church leaders, what volunteer(s) do you need to reach out to and encourage today?  Take a moment RIGHT NOW, and make a call or send them an encouraging email or text.  You have no idea what you may unleash in their life and the life of your church.

3 Surprising Things Leaders Do Not Need To Do With Their Money

3 Surprising Things Leaders Do Not Need To Do With Their Money

On Sunday August 10th, Fellowship Bible Church (GA) senior pastor Crawford Loritts preached a challenging message on how to best deal with money and possessions.  I captured his life-changing thoughts in the post 26 Lessons About Generosity Every Pastor And Christian Leader Should Know.
Today was the second of a 4-part series which you can listen to by clicking here.  Crawford covered 3 Surprising Things Leaders Do Not Need To Do With Their Money – Don’t Love It, Don’t Be Addicted To It and Don’t Be Afflicted By It.  Each of those truths are explored in greater detail below.
Introductory Comments

1. Giving is not about strategy or what you have but about the condition of our hearts.
2. Money speaks.  Money is a character witness.  Are we really generous?
3. Money is objective.  It is not neutral.  It speaks eloquently about what our values are.
4. The three things which drive us to idolatry are sex, unbridled ambition and money.

Money – Don’t Love It

1. When we love money we buy more trouble than we can afford
2. To love money is to be asked to be put in bondage.
3. The love of money means I have replaced God with resources.
4. Immorality hovers over all professional sports.  You do stuff because you can.
5. The love of money has stifled our hearts.
6. The love of money is to ask for mental anguish.

Money – Don’t Be Addicted To It 

1. There is an addictive element to money.
2. Our appetite becomes a craving that is never satisfied.
3. You have to be careful of the covetousness that surrounds money.  Addiction is the love of more.  Money is addictive and unsatisfactory.
4. Addictive people are always distracted.
5. Sometimes we just need to confront our greed.
6. As Christians, we are great at sanctifying our greed.
7. Only content people know what joy is.  Those addicted to money and resources only know fleeting happiness.

Money – Don’t Be Conflicted By It

1. We become deceived, frustrated followers when we try to serve God and money.  A spiritual schizophrenia won’t work.
2. We cannot serve two masters at the same time.
3. Our hearts are idol factories.  We are born with a bent toward idolatry.
4. What ultimately determines our behaviors and responses is what we sacrifice for and becomes the focus of our worship.
5. God is to be the sole single object of our worship.
6. We worship the one who (we feel) takes care of us.
7. Don’t go after the resource.  Run to the source.
8. You have to decide to make your money worship God.
9. When we pay God first we remind ourself that He is Lord.
10. All of your money is holy.  We need to sanctify it.

3 Reasons God Gives Us Money  

1. To advance His cause.
2. To take care of ourselves and families.
3. To enjoy life.

Final Instructions – Crawford left our congregation with two things to pray for today.  Let us know if you prayed either of these prayers.

1. Ask God for forgiveness if you have placed money over Him.
2. Pray over your computer, wallet and checkbook.  Then ask God what He wants you to do with His money.