Lead Well

Today is my 15th anniversary of vocational ministry. I owe my first job to Steve Lambert who saw potential in me and gave me a shot as a kid’s pastor. He paid for me to finish college, officiated my wedding, and gave my wife and I a place to live. I am forever thankful for his vision and generosity. May 12 of 2008, I was full of vim and vigor. I had so many dreams and passions. I remember telling my pastor that we were going to hit the ground running, and we did. In those first 12 weeks, I put on my first VBS with 100 kids and 50 volunteers and got married the following weekend. I can say that as the years have passed, things have not gotten any less exciting. My wife and I have had our ups and downs just like anyone else and now on the edge of a new ministry season, we are filled with as much passion as we were all those years ago. All that said, here are 15 things I've learned in 15 years of ministry. 1. Nothing is more important than your relationship with God....

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t initially sign up for this gig. To be honest I fought it. I have always been good with kids and can organize things quickly, so it was natural for the Youth Pastor to ask me to step in to kid’s church and help. You see, back in college I was interning at a local church. The children’s pastor had left, and the youth pastor was asked to step in. I really didn’t want to, but because I considered him a friend, I agreed to help for the summer. Before I knew it, I was running the thing and in a few short months, after leading a kid to Christ, I was hooked. Now I can’t imagine serving anywhere else. God has designed each one of us with gifts and talents. Just as Esther was put in a place for “such a time as this”, God has us in our place to do His work. Sure, I’m a pastor. That’s what I do everyday, but it wasn’t always this way. For a while, I worked at Sam’s club, and God used me there, too. (He taught me some stuff as well.) God can us...

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. ...

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...

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...