Lead Well

I'm always reading, and this year, I read more than I've ever read.  I tried to mix several different subjects on leadership, discipleship, church growth, and even a baby book. So, without further ado, here is the list. Ready, Set, Grow   Developing the Leader Within You Developing the Leaders Around You   Spiritual Maturity  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People  Love and Respect   Good to Great  Breakout Churches   No Perfect People Allowed   Three Big Questions for Frantic Families   Deep and Wide  A Tale of Three Kings   You Lost Me   Children's Ministry Leadership   Lead small  Volunteers that Stick  The Circle Maker   All In   Jesus is   David and Goliath  I Blew It  Stretch   The Bible   Baby Wise I'll be posting my 2015 reading list in a couple of weeks.  What books have you read recently that were interesting?

Goal-setting. It seems like such a simple concept, but how many of us do it regularly and/or successfully? Our bosses talk about sales goals and making our quota. Our teachers in high school and college talk about it like we already have them laid out, and TV is always talking about our financial goals before we call their company. For some, goal-setting is second nature, for others they know it should be done. and still others, it’s a foreign concept. So whether you’ve been setting goals all your life or you have no idea how, here are five easy steps for you to set goals and actually meet them. Your goal must be specific and must be measurable. When I ran my half marathon, I had to set a clear goal. It wasn’t enough for me to say, “I’m going to go running to get into shape.” I had to say, “I’m going to run a 13.1 mile race by finishing and not coming in last.” When we set goals, it is far too easy to be vague. For instance, “I’m going to lose weight.” Once I set th

I recently had some time on my hands and got to watch one of my favorite movies, Patton.  It's the story of 4 star General George Patton and his exploits during World War 2. Written by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, it's based on the biography,  Patton: Ordeal and Triumph  by Ladislas Farago and Omar Bradley's memoir  A Soldier's Story.   If you know anything about Patton, you know that he was a great leader.  He had many faults that got him into trouble frequently, but no one can argue with his numerous victories including his most heroic at the Battle of the Bulge .  So here are 10 things we can learn from General Patton. Honor your men . Patton was quick to give out recognition and even medals for valor.  He made it clear frequently his appreciation for their sacrifice and heroism. Keep an eye the big picture . Leaders can see all the moving parts and how they fit together. However, many leaders make the mistake of watching just the big picture or

This Christmas is an excellent time to invite someone to church.  But if you're like me, you don't go into every situation thinking about inviting someone.  However in normal conversation, people they will give you clues that they are receptive to invite.  Once we learn to recognize them, we will have much greater success and may even change someone's life. When people say any of these three things, that's your cue to invite them to church. I like to call them the "Three Nots" Not prepared for it.  Murphy's law says that anything that can go wrong will go wrong and that just seems more apparent in the Christmas season.  The church provides a wonderful place for support and encouragement during these times.  So when someone says they just weren't prepared, that's a great chance to invite them to church. Not going well.  During the Holidays we all want things to go perfectly.  Whether it's something trivial like a cold or serious like the

In today's world, we are told over and over again to follow our passions, but is that always wise?  Just a few weeks ago, we talked about being the best in the world , and I shared how I will probably never be an olympic athlete, a ninja warrior, or the world's strongest man.  However at the beginning every season of American Idol, thousands of people line up to follow their passions, and thousands leave with their hearts broken. Quite the contrary, we have the amazing opportunity to take those passions and apply it to something that we actually can do. Every industry is looking for passion.  You're not going to buy a car from someone who doesn't care.  You complain when the waiter lacks consideration.  You leave frustrated when your team misses  a great opportunity. Passion is what makes the difference. A passionate car salesman will make you feel like you got the best deal.  A passionate waiter will create an impeccable dining experience.  A passionate spor

When talking about great churches, figuring out what drives them is very different from what drives a great business. Business’s have shareholders and trade on the stock exchange. Churches don’t examine profits and hand out bonuses to the people who helped make it happen. The same goes for us. You don’t have annual shareholder meeting with yourself to talk about what you did in the past year and what your plans are for the next. So what can we measure? Jesus said that man cannot serve both God and money . We will inevitably despise the one and love the other. If we are Christian, I would hope that we would choose to love God and despise money instead of the other way around. Thus, measuring how much money we made at the end of the year or even how much we saved, would be serving money instead of God, and ultimately, fruitless. Therefore, we must choose to serve God. To do so, we have two options. We can serve God by doing something we truly love or we can do something beca

When we're kids we all think we are the best in the world at something.  What little boy doesn't dream of pitching in the bottom of the ninth in game seven of the world series?  Somewhere along the way, reality hits, and we realize that's probably not going to happen. But here's the good news.  We can be the best in the world, at something. First I need to define what I mean by “the world.” I don’t mean Earth. That’s far too large and hard to grasp. There will always someone who is better. However, I do mean your world. Your circle of influence. Your friends, family, and co-workers. You can be the best problem solver in your job. Sure, there are great problem solvers at the next place, but your circle doesn’t know them. They know you, and they come to you for answers. This is what it means to be the best in the world.* To really answer this question you have to understand 2 things. The thing that you are the best in the world and everything else that

This past week, I left work frustrated. I worked really hard on my children's ministry Facebook page throughout the week and all of 8 people saw all of my posts. 8! out of 186! I just wanted to throw in the towel. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has felt like this. You've done everything you can do and it seems like nothing helps.  So here are five ways I've found to beat frustration. Do something else for a little while.  When I got home that night, I was full of the blues, so I volunteered to go grocery shopping with my wife.  Just getting my mind of things released some of the tension. When you feel super frustrated don't keep pushing.  Take some time off and do something else.  The solution might present itself when you come back. Exercise. It's amazing what a little physical activity can do for you.  I run frequently, so the next morning, I put on my running shoes and my headphones and took off.  It was refreshing and energizing. Studie

Over the last several weeks we’ve explored four major problems with the church and what we should do about them . After digging into these issues, we’re left with the question, “Is this even possible?” The answer is yes, but getting there may be harder than we’d like to think. In Good to Great by Jim Collins, the author,  introduces the Stockdale Paradox. To better explain this paradox, I would like to quote the story told on pages 83-85 of the book. “Admiral Jim Stockdale, who was the highest-ranking United States military officer in the “Hanoi Hilton” prisoner of war camp during the height of the Vietnam War. Tortured over twenty times during his eight-year imprisonment from 1965 to 1973, Stockdale lived out the war without any prisoner’s rights, no set release date, and no certainty as to whether he would even survive to see his family again. He shouldered the burden of command, doing everything he could to create conditions that would increase the number of prisoners w

Last week I outlined four big problems that every church must face. They’re big issues and there are no quick fixes. However, we can begin the process of fixing the problems that plague us. Thom Rainer in his book Breakout Churches discovered a pattern that many great churches follow to solve their deep problems. Step 1 – Accept painful reality: If you’ve ever come to the realization that you have a real problem, you know how painful that realization may be. There are many times that we don’t want to admit there is a problem because it hurts too much. The same is true with organizations. However, the sooner we realize that something is wrong, no matter how much it hurts, the sooner we can begin the healing process and fix the problem. Step 2 – Use Is/should be discernment: Many times, we don’t face the painful reality because we think there is nothing wrong. We keep telling ourselves that things are better than they actually are just to find some comfort. To compou

Churches around the U. S. are slipping into irrelevancy. Many spiritual leaders and pastors are asking themselves what is happening? Why are people turning from the church and more importantly their faith? It’s hard to pin down, but some researchers have pointed to four big problems facing the American church. Not every church has these problems, but every church, including the congregation, has to look at themselves and ask if they are part of the problem or the solution. Thom Rainer in Breakout Churches lists four big problems that hold the American Church in mediocrity. Doctrinal ignorance: Rainer’s study shows that only 83% of his respondents believe that the only way to get to heaven is through Christ. Unfortunately, that number is getting lower every year. If we want our church to be great, we must profess in everything we do that Jesus is the only way to get to heaven.  Evangelistic apathy: Many people in churches believe that the evangelistic work of the churc

When I was kid, I thought I was the best at Karate. I thought I could beat anyone up with a couple kicks and karate chops, and they’d be done for. Granted, I was 4, and my skills were learned from watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Here’s the questions though, “Have you ever thought you were really great at something just to discover that you really were not? We don’t like to admit it, but it happens to all of us. In our lives, our jobs, and our ministries, there are problems that we don’t see. We put on blinders, and simply refuse to see what’s happening all around us. Unfortunately, it can become a lot like this guy: He’s obviously bad. I can only hope that someone has told him that he can’t sing. He may have even had a Simon moment, but that didn’t deter him. He was blind to his own shortcomings and refused to listen to his critics. What this guy needs is what Thom Rainer calls in Breakout Churches an ABC moment. A wareness, B elief and C risis The

So far we’ve looked at 4 ways to become a better leader. These aren’t the end all but they will help us go a long way to becoming a level 5 leader . You can read more about them here and here . Today we finish our series and look at the final two ways to become a better leader. Find the right people. Major Dick Winters of Band of Brothers fame once said, “If you are leading and no one is following, then you are only taking a walk.” When we lead others we have to build a team to help us lead. Level 5 leaders in Good to Great by Jim Collins searched for a long time before they hired a new executive, but when they found a good person, they hired them, even if they didn't have a position. Recently, one of my ministry leaders stepped down from her duties for maternity leave. She asked one of her volunteers to take her place. That volunteer took that ministry and ran away with it. She conveyed mission, reminded her volunteers why they do what they do, and worried about vo

I have a confession to make.  I'm a procrastinator.  I'm in recovery, but it's been a long road.  In high school, I was king of homework in homeroom.  In college, term papers were written the night before, and, when I first started leading children's ministry, the best time to plan for kids church was an hour before service. I knew I couldn't continue this way, and to be honest, I still struggle from time to time.  So here's some easy thing you can do today  to help you better prepare for tomorrow. Start planning just one week ahead.  When I first started out in ministry, I would plan for Sunday on Thursdays.  It worked for several years, but then one week life happened, and it all fell apart.  My volunteers were mad and confused, and I looked stupid.  It was not a good day.  Now I plan three weeks in advance, but I got there by simply planning two services in my planning time instead of just one.  I did that for two weeks, and I was there. This step has

Last week we talked about the first two ways to become a better leader, develop humility and ask for help. You can read more about that here . Today, we will look at the next two ways to become a better leader. 1. Take Responsibility When I was younger, I hated being wrong. I hated being wrong so much so that I always looked to blame someone else for my shortcomings. This attitude frequently hurt my influence as I would throw those I led under the bus just so that I could look good. Thankfully, I have wise advisors in my life who pointed out my error. I learned that a true sign of a leader is one that’s not afraid to back away from taking responsibility. John Maxwell is known for saying “everything rises and falls on leadership.” Once we take responsibility for our actions and the actions of those we lead, the morale and overall performance of the team will rise. There is always something you could have done differently to make the outcome better. 2. Develop discipli

I love to invest in others.  There's a certain joy in seeing someone grow because of the investment I've made in them.  Recently, I was angry because I couldn't invest in young leaders.  I thought I needed to start a ministry college or even a Master's Commission. As I looked at our church situation, the budget, and my time commitments, I realized that this probably is not the right time.  I went to God and began to whine. I complained that the opportunity didn't exist. That the students won't come, and that I can't use this desire He placed in my heart.  Then, he bopped me upside my head. I do have people, leaders, in my ministry right now that I am neglecting.  I've given them some ministry opportunities.  I've trusted them to handle certain elements of the service, but I never really challenged them. God told me to look around and be faithful with what I have. At the end of the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25 , the Master tells his

Last week we asked the question, “What kind of leader are you?” You can read more about that here. Ultimately, we should all work to become better leaders, but how do we do that? Over the next 3 weeks, I will outline six ways we can become better leaders. As we become better leaders, our influence will increase, our organizations will be stronger, and we will be more successful. Develop Humility The first thing we must do to become better leaders is to develop humility. I know; it sounds counter-intuitive. Many of us got into leadership because it makes us feel good. We like the power and the responsibility. I know when I first started to lead, I did it because I thought I was better than everyone else in my group, and they needed my “exalted wisdom and guidance.” As I continued to lead with this higher sense of myself on into the professional world, my senior pastor challenged me. Our church was looking at multi-site, and I was excited for the new position, power, an

It's a simple formula really. I heard a story once about a Jewish Rabbi.  On the first day of school he would pour honey on his pupils' desks and then tell the kids to lick up the honey.  As they licked it, the Rabbi would tell them that the Word of God is like honey and should be a sweet taste in your mouth. King David says in Psalm 119:11, "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." How can we get our kids to hide God's word in their hearts? I don't know about you, but some days it just seems impossible. Over the past few years, I've challenged my kids in kid's church to memorize a certain passage of scripture, and if they do, they get to go to a local build your own frozen yogurt place on me. Last year I challenged our kids to memorize the Lord's Prayer and over half my elementary students and a third of my preschoolers learned it.  This year we're learning the 10 Commandments. I want the Word of G

What makes an organization great? What separates two companies that sell the same product to the same people where one is incredibly successful and the other is a dismal failure? Several books, including Jim Collins classic, Good to Great , explores these questions and attempts to answer them. John Maxwell says that everything rises and falls on leadership. Show me a strong organization, ministry or business, I can show you a strong leader at the helm. Collins says a level 5 leader is what takes an organization from being just good to great.  While few of us will every reach level 5, we can all endeavor to be better leaders, and in turn, make the ministries and businesses we serve in better. So here are the 5 levels of leadership as outlined by Collins. Highly Capable Individual : This is the most basic level, where we start out and people start to give us more responsibility and tasks to complete. These people don’t really lead others, but they are beginning to lead themselv

We spend our lives following God. Doing His will and still bad things happen to us. It just doesn’t seem fair does it? Didn’t God promise us joy? Aren’t we under his covering as His children? Doesn’t he want to bless us abundantly? Why would God allow this to happen? We’ve all asked ourselves these questions before and many times there are no answers. Then the answers we do get, seem hollow and cliche. The fortunate thing is that we are not alone. People all throughout time have asked these questions. Just a cursory reading of the Bible would show this. Adam lost two sons. Noah watched all the people of the world die. Joseph was sold into slavery and jail. David was hunted and almost killed. Jeremiah was thrown into a well and left to die. Paul was given a thorn in his flesh. Jesus was crucified on the cross. There is one thing all of these men had in common. None of them wanted to go through what they did. Even Jesus, the night before he was crucified as

Tuesday was the first session of CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) of the new year at a local elementary school.  We are always excited to serve at the school because many of these kids don't go to church or understand basic biblical concepts, such as how you get to heaven.   I had the privilege of teaching the lesson to the 20 or so kids.  The lesson was the story of how sin came into the world and how we can find salvation through Jesus.  It ended with a call to salvation.  I thought I was really connecting.  I thought they were connecting with the message.  They all dutifully prayed with me to accept Christ, and I encouraged them to tell their small group leader if they had really prayed. When the leaders came back after the lesson, not a single one said they had accepted Christ for the first time.  I could have been angry.  I could have been discouraged.  I could quit right there.  But I wasn't, and I didn't.  Jesus had the same problem.  So much so

As leaders we all make mistakes, but if we learn from others we can go much further, faster. Here are three mistakes every young leader (and sometimes old ones too) make. Thinking more negatively than positively. When I first came to Evangel, I was so excited for the new ministry, new responsibilities, and new environments. However, after a couple of months, I caught myself telling some parents and volunteers all the bad things that were happening. I would lament about my presentation style, how volunteers weren’t doing what I wanted them to do, and how kids just wouldn’t behave. After a while, God convicted me, and I began to change. Many leaders do the same thing. They look at all the bad things and forget to see the good. As you lead your team look for the positives and not just the negatives. Talk about the good things that are happening. If something is going wrong, write it down, talk it over with trusted people, and come up with a solution. People want to follow

Recently I visited James River Church in Ozark, Mo.  James River is one of the largest Churches in the Assemblies of God and have a great children's ministry. I love to visit other churches and see how they do things. While I was there, I saw great idea for games and toys before service. Our kids love to find fun things to do before service begins and for us our games are on a cart and the kids have to play on the floor.  This is usually not a problem, except the colossal mess that's left when service begins and ends.  In addition, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep all the pieces together for the multiple board games.   Kids will be kids. While I was walking through James River's children's area, they had these games stations set up with a game or two on each table.  I thought this was a fabulous idea and am looking forward to implementing it in my own area. Do your kids play games before service? How do you set them out? Please leave a

In life and leadership, mistakes are bound to happen. There’s pretty much nothing we can do about it. How we handle those mistakes, however, determines the difference between a great leader or just a good one. So here are 7 things to do when we mess up. Don’t bury it. When we make mistakes, our natural inclination is to cover it up. We don’t tell people about it. We try to control the outcome. Inevitably this fails, and causes far more harm than if we had just confessed at the beginning. Don’t blame others. This one is really easy to fall for. Even if it’s not your fault, if you are leading others throwing them under the bus won’t help you in the long run. The person who made the mistake still needs to be confronted, but that interaction will go much better if accept the responsibility as the leader. Don’t beat yourself up . I’m so guilty of this one. I hate to fail and can feel bad for days after a mistake. Hold onto the truth that you’re human and mistakes are bou

Getting kids to learn scripture, especially long passages can be hard.  We have to make it fun and interesting for them to even engage.  A couple of my leaders did something really creative for their Ranger Kids (Kindergarten-2nd grade boys) to learn the 23rd Psalm. They challenged the boys, if they learned the Psalm they would have a party at local park to finish off their unit.  The cool thing about this park is that it has green pastures and still waters.  (I asked if they were going to use lawn darts for valley of the shadow of death. Thankfully, they said no.)  She also made sheep cupcakes. Last Sunday, I was teaching the 1st and 2nd grade boys small group and all the boys were eager to show off what they've learned. Many of us have curriculum that makes us think we don't have time for creativity.  In reality, there is time to do something fun and creative.  You don't have to do it every week.  Just doing something every once and a while will make a big im

We’ve all felt it. The impatience that comes when we ask God to do something, and it doesn’t happen immediately. ”He’s the God of the universe with infinite power.” We think. “Can’t he just answer this one small request?” Unfortunately, many times God’s promises don’t work that way. They take time to happen. In today’s world when we hear that, we think, “Ok, so… a year?” When in actuality, God thinks much more long term. The Bible is full of promises. Some happened immediately, but many more took years, decades, even thousands of years! We can’t microwave our faith. We can’t pray a short 5 second prayer with all faith and earnestness and expect God to move mountains. Many moves of God take much longer and a whole lot more time in prayer. Here are some reasons why God may not answer your prayer immediately. You’re not ready. Just like Joseph wasn’t ready to become ruler over his brother’s when God gave him the promise, we may not be ready to receive what God has for

This past Wednesday, one of our Mpact Girls Sponsors, Jenni, did something really cool to make the creation story come alive.  She made a creation tube! Here's a picture. The tube is made of medicine cups with a fun thing inside to remind kids what God did during the creation week.  When I called Jenni to ask her how she came up with this really cool, fun, and unique activity, she said she got it from Pinterest.  As a guy, I'm not a user, but I know there are a lot of great ideas out there.  You can see the full directions here.    A lot of us think we have to be super creative.  That's just not the truth.  There are a ton of resources out there that can help you find something fun, engaging, and memorable. Jenni said that the girls loved opening each container and seeing what was inside.  She said she even had trouble putting the thing back together because they wanted to see what was inside. You don't have to be gifted in creativity to produce g

John 16:33 says “…In this world you will have trouble.” Jesus guarantees us that we will have problems in our lives. The question isn’t will you have trouble, but what will you do when trouble comes? Since we all lead people somewhere, at home, church, work, communities, we have to be prepared to lead people through difficult times. So, when the tough times come here are some easy things we can do to lead well. Keep God first. When bad things happen it’s easy to blame God for your problems. He’s up there with all that power and He loves us, so everything should be easy, right? Not always true. God may be working out a plan. He may be trying to teach us something or correct us, or make us into a better person. Instead of blaming God for your problems, we should consider it pure joy as James says in chapter 1 verse 2. Count your blessings. Many times when things go wrong that’s all we focus on. It doesn’t matter how many people have told us how good of a job we are doin

Recently, I spoke at the All Church Ministries Summit for the Alabama District Assemblies of God.  I talked specifically about integrating the many ministries that fall under Children.  Use the following links to download my notes and the PowerPoint Presentation Notes PowerPoint

Are you good at math? Can you write songs? Can you make really great looking crafts? By now, you’ve probably noticed that there are some things in which you’re naturally good and there are other things that you’re just not. That’s OK. God made us for specific purpose with special gifts and abilities. All through school and in our society we are told we have to be well rounded. We have to be Renaissance Men /Women with skills and interests in a large variety of topics and skills. However, studies have shown the most successful and fulfilled people are the ones who have a singular focus. They’ve discovered what they can be the best in the world (at least in their world) and do only that. Sure they’re good at other things, but they can be really great at this one thing. Let me give you an example from my life. I was always good at math. I made good grades in Trigonometry, Physics, and Calculus in high school. When I decided to pursue my degree in math education, I conti