Location Location Location

We have been discussing getting territorial in ministry this past few days.


Under New Ownership
Territorial in Church

There is a saying in real estate "location, location, location." It goes in ministry as well.  

What corner has God anointed you to stand on? If you don't know let me suggest where to start, the wilderness.

Wilderness

Sometimes we need to be a voice crying out in the wilderness, preparing a way. Isn’t it interesting the voice is in the wilderness and not in the promise land. Jesus didn’t come for the people who are well and know it all. He came for the poor, the blind, the lame, the captive and the broken hearted.  He came to the wilderness of the human soul. 

Here's an interesting thought: Jesus was baptized by a wilderness preacher.

Mission Trips

We spend thousands of dollars to go on mission trips, normally to some wilderness to be a voice, to be His hand extended. I dare say most people go on these mission trips to find Jesus, to discover the Spirit of God moving miraculously.


They discover God moving not only within the country, but also within their own heart. A move they've been missing in their own local church body.  For some reason there is this massive move of God out in some wilderness country. 


Here is another interesting thought: People went to the wilderness to hear John the Baptist.

Promise Land

In ministry, the promise land could be your wilderness. Being called by God could mean your ministry will be like John the Baptist. His life was object lesson for all of us. He was true to form with the other prophets whose personal lives showed the Israelites their plight. Case in point, the prophet who married a prostitute, to show Israel their idolatrous behavior.  John the Baptist showed them their personal wilderness.  


Maybe all the believing women married to an unbeliever can show the rest of us how to faithfully love  unbelievers and live within an unbelieving culture.


Your platform is probably your wilderness 
Right here in a blessed nation are plenty of people suffering wilderness in their minds, their heart, their physical bodies, even in their family.  Maybe even in your own wilderness circumstance you are called to be a voice.

What's our location?  Are we trying to win souls that are already in the Lambs book of Life?  Are we really getting out to where the people are? Jesus stepped out of divine glory (Promise Land) into a frail human body(wilderness), compared to heaven, earth was His wilderness. 

Interesting thought: God set Israel up in the Promise Land so they could bless those in the wilderness. Israel was the point of contact for God's blessings.  Geographically Israel is surrounded by wilderness.

Q4U: Have you ever felt like a lone voice crying out in the wilderness?  Got any tips for the rest of us?

I like fail but I like success better

Success isn't such a buzz word anymore, not like fail is. 

I believe in failure, I learn more when it happens.  Doesn't mean I have to like it.

Why is failure such a buzz word now like success was a few years ago? Maybe it's to remind this next generation bred to be over confident, with high self esteem,  and a "we can do anything" attitude failure is an option. No need letting them feel the cold hard concrete when they go splat on their next attempt to soar.  


Of course we have been teaching them they can do just about anything, except fail.  So now, we are in a season of "failure." Blogs, leadership conferences, books, and podcast all on one thing, to fail.   What is that saying?  Are we trying to redeem all that over zealous push to win at all cost, because we all know that didn't work out so well. It just stressed us out, burned us out and all we wanted to do before suceed was quit!

Maybe it's an escape clause from all the legalism. But could it be a lure into keep on trying, you will get the hang of all the rules eventually?

So the word is out, failure is an option, failure is okay, and yep failure is necessary, but I don't have to like it as much as I like success.  I like to say at the end of a long list of failures it worked! God was merciful and He came through!! 

After we fail for the umpteenth time, do we loose sight of what success really looks like? 

In minstry this is paramount, because success isn't necessarily big numbers, even though we want to quantify everything.   How many were saved? How many were baptized? And if we don't get the numbers we say (in a pious voice) "it's not about quantity it's about quality."


 But then what is quality?  Is it someone that can fail well? Succeed gracefully? 

If were to look at some Biblical examples do we get really overwhelming pictures of success. 

Jesus, I am sure would not have been on the missions committee.  


He offended all the rich people! Jesus couldn't do the small group, He didn't have a home and He traveled a lot. His Bible studies were off the charts and His own disciples thought he talked in riddles.  Yet, He didn't just break all the rules He fulfilled them. His idea of success was considered a fail to the rest of the world. 

Paul, great missionary to the whole world, writing most of the new testament was not an easy person to work with. He even put bold Peter in his place. I wonder what the dynamics on his traveling team was like?  What about his small group meetings? Paul would talk for hours. How well do you think that would go over? Or have Paul preach a Sunday morning service? We probably wouldn't invite the guy back. One service with him would be enough,  imagine a whole week! This dude didn't care about what people thought! He didn't care about his long list of credentials, I mean successes.  


I believe the key to success and fail is counting it all loss, compared to knowing Christ. 

Should we not care what people think! Jesus only cared about what God thought and wanted.  To Jesus, success was about thinking God thoughts, speaking what God was saying, loving the way God loves, stepping where God stepped.  Succeed or fail it really didn't matter.   At the time the Cross looked like an epic fail, yet it was the truest success. What mattered was only one thing, God's thing.  God's thing was about redeeming people, for He is the Righteous One, and isn't that the right thing for God to do? 

Is our thing, God's thing?  Do we show up for a bible study baptized in our own thought or Holy Spirit thought? Do we walk in our power or Holy Spirit power? Do we care about people for His Name Sake or for ours?

What is God's thing in your ministry? leave a comment.

Team Needs

Your Team has Needs

Ministry teams need things too. Even if your team consist of one or 12 volunteers they have needs concerning the ministry. 

courtesy of  Frits Ahlefeldt hikingartist.com

1 - They have a need for clarity - most people have a difficult time separating vision from strategy, which includes specifics.  Sharing your vision without some specific plans is a mistake.  

2 - They need for the leader to model steady emotions, avoiding extreme highs and lows.  There are moments you just need to be strong and steady for your team.  Break down in the prayer closet, He can handle it.

3 - They need to take action after making decisions are made and the new direction is set.  Moving in the right direction can build momentum.  Making decisions and never move on them, only clouds the team with doubt and mistrust.

4 - They need security, to feel safe and to know you are for them!  Even if they make mistakes, are you going deplore them, ignore them, or restore them? 

5 - They need to make significant impacts.  The team wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves.  The team wants to be a part of something great and meaningful.  Even in the hum drum setting up and tearing down they want to make an impact. They want to know if God is in on this. Make them aware of evidence's of grace in them and in the ministry.  Ask yourself: Are they more aware of their shortcomings, or the evidences and manifestations of God moving and impacting their life and the lives around them?

6 - They need a Sabbath.  As a leader it is easy to get excited about momentum and not wanting to lose it.  It's easy to get caught up in building momentum, and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but never reaching it. Jesus didn't drive the disciples, He led them.  There were days Jesus and the disciples got caught hanging out in the wheat field, picking grain. Not for ministry  but for restoring.  Your team needs a break, take them on a retreat, let them breathe, take them out to dinner and you pay.

What are some ways to meet the needs of the team? leave a comment

  

When Overcommit Works

o·ver·com·mit  

verb

1. To bind or obligate (oneself, for example) beyond the capacity for realization.

2. To allocate or apportion (money, goods, or resources) in amounts incapable of replacement.

Successful leaders have learned to overcommit. 

If you want to do big things, it’s going to take big commitments. You will be stretched and challenged.

I love what Daniel Day Lewis thought 

“I don’t always overcommit but when I do I win the Academy Award.”

According to our definition of overcommit, obligating past our abilities, is exactly what we leaders do and in some cases expected to do in order to succeed! 

Yet, overcommit can be the dumbest thing we do!

What separates being smart and being stupid?

Let's start with one of our favorite verses “Not by power, not by might, but by the Spirit of the Lord.” 

Jesus gave some great life lessons on it.  Just ask the disciples about feeding 5 thousand and then 4 thousand people with no food. How about Peter stepping out of the boat? Was that being overcommitted?  What about the Great Commission, I mean really, going to all the nations, making disciples, healing the sick, baptizing, bringing the Good News everywhere, that’s a huge commitment! 

When we walk by flesh, we overcommit.  When we walk by grace, we walk in His Spirit.  

So how do we tell the difference?

Grace is the ability to do what God has called you to do.  If God has asked you to do it, He will give you the ability, the power, the knowledge, the resources to do it. If He hasn’t asked you to do it, then you use your own ability, your  own power, your own knowledge and your own resources. 

Go back to the beginning and rehearse your reasons why you said “yes” to the ministry. Was it about serving, pastoring?  Was it about healing the broken hearted, setting captives free? Was it about training up a younger generation??  Now look at what your doing, have you strayed outside those deep passions? Then you might be overcommitted. 

Did you stay true to the vision? Then let me ask you something.

Is your faith in God’s ability causing you to overcommit God or you?

I believe when our faith in God’s ability is exercised in our visions and passions we will overcommit God, which He gets a real kick out of.  I know what you are thinking.  I prayed for the lady to be healed, I told her that God would heal her and He didn’t.  You can’t heal her (flesh) God can (grace). Stop focusing on what God hasn’t done and stay focused on what God can do. It’s a discipline and well worth the exercise. 

The world will try to get you to either overcommitted or under commit. Leave a comment on how you stay clear of both traps?  How do you know you have fallen into a trap and what did you do about it?  

Armor Bearers

Who Ministers To You?

As leaders in ministry, we minister God’s love, wisdom, and healing to a broken world.  It would be foolish to think we are immune to this stuff.  We all have been looking for the force field that would protect us from getting hurt, experiencing loneliness and remain in perfect health, however, I don’t believe there is one.  I believe when we love others we become vulnerable to hurting people hurting people, particularly you. 

To minimize the drama trauma God places armor bearers around us. 

We minister to others, but who ministers to us? Who can we rely on when the going gets tough? It’s easy to tell someone to get it together, but who is telling us? Do we have someone in our lives to give us those wake up calls to our own silly choices?

Having the right support group in place is paramount to a great leader.  When you are in ministry, you will be surrounded by people all the time.  But not all those people will be the support you will need to walk in the mighty gifts and talents God has placed within you. 

What do you look for in armor bearers?  What kind of qualities will they display to tip you off that God has placed them for the purpose of supporting you?

1-They will strengthen us, not zap all the strength out of us. 

2- They will go the distance with you and the vision. 

3 - They will pray through for you. 

4 - Integrity, they will be people with enormous integrity.  

5 - They have discretion, they know when to hold their tongue.

6 - They walk in mercy and truth.

7 - They are capable worshipping warriors.

8 - They will invest in you and the ministry, with their time, energy and money.

9 - They are faithful to the relationship, to service and more importantly to God.

There is probably more qualities of these wonderful gifts from God.  If you have a suggestion to the list let us know!!!

Who is in your support group?  What do they do that makes you a better leader?  How did you find them?  How do you identify those who genuinely invest?  How are you being held accountable?  Leave a Comment!

Leading in the Trenches

Are you and your team going through a real battle these days?

There are times as a leader it seems as though you and your team are going through the fire.  I call it the “trenches.”  It’s not the pressing of small stuff it’s the BIG STUFF that’s bombarding the ministry and it’s all you can do to hold your ground.  It could be a season of transition and we all know how vocal some people are about change. Maybe you are the new leader replacing an awkward situation with the last leader.  Maybe you have been called in to clean house, so to speak.  It could be the ministry was blindsided and now your holding the ground till resources, replacements and re-enforcements show up.  Whatever the case may be you will know without a doubt you are in the trenches and I have two words “grace” and “mercy.”  Hang in there, help is on its way.

While in the trenches I have a few tips to help you and your team get through this. 


Focus. 


 Keep the main thing the main thing.  What is important in the ministry?  Keep that in the front of your mind. Why did you get into ministry anyway? 


Energy.  


Go all in, bring everything you got into the situations. Effort will go a long way.  Will you be tired? Yes, will you need to take some breaks for refreshing? Yes, it’s one reason I love Fall Breakaway so much.  No making 3 tracks, your two feet and your tail. 


Integrity. 


Your credibility, your word is the most important possession  you have. Don’t compromise those godly core values the Holy Spirit spent years developing in you.


Solutions and Sisters.  


Don’t be the one presenting all the problems and offering no solutions.  Just solve the problem and move on.  Whatever you do don’t argue with the solution and don’t make excuses. Remember your sisters.  Let’s not leave any behind.  Great solutions have a common trait, they are win -win.  Look for those kind of solutions especially when dealing with your sisters.


Take the blame when no one else will.   


Own up to your responsibility and be accountable to your part! Jesus took the blame for all kinds of crimes, as soon as He did redemption began to flow.  I know sometimes it’s just wrong, and unfair.  Be the bigger person.


Yes, I do windows.  


The best gifts are on the lower shelves.  Humbleness goes a long way.   Let’s lose the “Your not my boss” and “that’s not my job” attitude.  When leading the ministry, the business, the family through these really tough times remember we are all in it together.  




Can you think of more ways to stand your ground without hurting those around you, or have you been through this and have an encouraging word?  Leave a comment.  

Connecting the Ministry part 1

Making Connections

Look, it’s  pretty important in ministry to actually meet people.  I know, I know, what about the old saying about a baseball field and some ancient ball players “If you build it they will come.”  That’s called an “attraction model.”  You just make the time, date and place put out enough flyers they will come, right?  

The only danger and problem with this scenario is:

You seem to only attract people similar to you.  The flyer, the event, the ministry is tailored around what you and your gang likes. So the people that are drawn to it are your kind of people.  If you notice in the baseball (Field of Dreams) movie the guy attracted baseball people, players and fans. 

What about meeting people that aren’t necessarily like you?  God has given each one of us a sphere of influence, your family, your friends, your neighbors and your co-workers.  Make a list of them.  How many of them are really just like you?  I have some family members that are nothing like me, and I have some family members that are way too much like me.  What about your neighbors? Other than the fact you live on the same street, are you guys fairly alike?  I know on my street we are the youngest family, the only family with kids.  Yep, we are nothing alike, they aren’t going to like and go to the things my family likes and goes to.  

Yet, in all of our differences we by the “Great Commission” we are to go out and meet people. We are to connect. I’m not talking about communicating to people, some people talk way to much anyway.  You ever get around someone that just can’t stop talking, and your eyes glaze over?  They are communicating but they aren’t connecting.

Connecting is about relating and identifying with people in a way that influence is in play.  


They will influence you and you will influence them. The more value we bring to that relationship, whether it is with people, a family, even a community, the more influence we will have. That value is in the connection!  We are salt and light!

Stay tuned tomorrows post will be about the basic principles to connecting to people.

advice to new leaders

Your position is not your identity. Don’t get caught up in labels. In fact I like the way Medina Pullings thinks about it. People try to call her an evangelist, prophet, apostle but if you ask her she just calls herself a “Jesus Girl.” You are way more than your title. I know many women after stepping down from leadership feel completely lost. That’s one of the reasons some women cling so tightly to a position. Loose the label and just be who God created you to be. If you asked Jesus what your identity is, now the church body is calling you “Leader”, He would call you a “foot washer.”


Your position is temporary not permanent. Okay lets get this sorted out quickly. First there is something to be said about staying power and the effects a great leader has on a team, especially when they have the time to implement the strategy. It’s amazing and wonderful. Yet sometimes we can become yesterdays anointing rather quickly. Or God can move us on to something bigger. It’s up to God anyway. And unless He has personally told you that this will be your position till you die then plan to hand it over. If you think this is a permanent position then it will be a challenge not to let it become an idol. Train up people around you to take the position and run. That’s why God gave us the following generation. I seriously want to go on a cruise and let the next generation sort some of the planning out. Embrace that fact and plan for it. It will create the sense of urgency and focus you into completing what God has called you to do.


Your position is a privilege not a right. When you stepped into the position in women’s ministry you stepped into partnership with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. This is a privilege, not a right. How many people have you met that truly thought they were in a position because they were gifted and talented and in reality they weren’t. Can you say “awkward!” Or how about the lady who is gifted and talented but a leader she was not. It is a privilege to serve. I like the saying, “We don’t give to get. We get to give.” That’s what it means to be in a position.


Your position is about faithfulness not achievement. We all step into roles with plans and goals that we set to achieve, we strive for them. We dream enormous dreams and then faithfully carry them out. Let’s be more faithful conscious than goal conscious. Not saying goals aren’t important they are. It is better to finish than to start. However being faithful means:

• faithful to God - staying saved is the most important thing you do.

• faithful to the service - serving when you don’t feel like it or when you think it is too hard

• faithful to the relationships - fighting for the relationships on your team and those you serve are way more important than achieving some goal. God is a God of relationships. Don’t throw away your relationships because you have to lower yourself and apologize. Now if they don’t want to continue on with the relationship you move on. You can’t make them be your friend.

Your position is about them not you. The world has more than enough narcissistic leaders. It doesn’t need one more. Being a leader is not about you, in fact it has never been about you. Ministry is about serving and promoting others. It is about loving each other and putting them before yourself. Let’s loose the celebrity mentality and be a leader that’s reachable and touchable. I understand there are times you need to steal away and have some quiet time. Just don’t be rude about it.
Your position is about stewardship not ownership. Being a steward is different than being an owner. As a Christian, I believe that God owns it all.


Your position will require more than you can provide on your own. This is a great place to be because now you have to lean on God. You have to get a word from the Lord. You can’t do this on your own. If you have been showing up to your meetings, your one on ones, your bible studies with the attitude I can do this with my eyes shut, you need a wake up call. Making disciples of people and ministries are easy, you can do that with your eyes shut. Making disciples of Christ takes way more time and energy and a whole lot of the Holy Spirit.