Five Great Questions for Leaders

Personal evaluation is one of the more difficult things leaders have to engage in. It's much easier to receive honest feedback from others (at least from real friends) than to try and discern the real condition of your own motives, attitudes, etc. Perry Noble helps this process out with five questions that will aide you in personal evaluation. Link

This Stuff Is Important

Vision is one of those things that every church must be clear about. Every primary leader must be able to clearly and simply answer the question, "What does your church look like five years (ten years, even twenty years) from now?" Tony Morgan shares some good thoughts about vision and the part it plays in the church. Link

A New Theology

Every now and then I get really tired and just don't want to do a whole lot except sit in my easy chair and maybe listen to the latest theology on my iPod. Currently in my "Favorites" playlist I'm listening to a good bit of Country Music. Yes I said COUNTRY MUSIC! (This should increase the number of comments I'm receiving). For all you naysayers out there, there's a lot of good theology within Country songs. For example...

• Online by Brad Paisley. This song is all about being double minded. "I grow another foot and loose a bunch of weight every time that I log in." It's about a geeky guy who lives with his parents, but has an entirely different identity online. I think it's hilarious while at the same time a sad commentary of many people's lives.
• Beer in Mexico by Kenny Chesney. No, it's not a song about missions, or Corona, (both of which wouldn't be bad). It's about a guy who is searching for meaning in life. "Staring out into the wild blue wonder, so many things to sit and ponder about life, love and the lack of, and this emptiness in my heart."
• Living in Fast Forward by Kenny Chesney. This song contains some great theology about repentance. "The bodies a temple, that's what we're taught, but I've treated this like an old honky tonk." (Okay, maybe I'm stretching on this one, but I still like the song.)
  
• Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts. This song is about how the sovereignty of God plays out in relationships. "Every long lost dream led me to where you are, others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars, pointing me on my way into your loving arms. This much I know is true, that God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you."
• Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood. This song is all about revenge and how an angry girlfriend trashes a guy's four-wheel drive truck. Rough day dude!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Take care my friends!

Can Someone Please Help Me?

Whether you're launching new small groups, changing a church program or whatever, it's helpful to have some guidelines that will help you navigate through the transition ahead. Rick Warren has identified Seven Principles For Every Project. He says some good things that I think will be beneficial to you.

Inspiration...Gotta Have It!

I can't help but get stirred by inspirational leaders. This morning for example, I was pretty pumped when I read what Hezekiah said to the priests and Levites as a part of his plan to restore worship in Judah (2 Chron. 29:11). Dave Ferguson recently posted about Bill Hybels' closing message at this year's Leadership Summit. It's good stuff and I think you'll like it too. Link

What You Must Do For Your Family

As leaders we face all sorts of temptations and attacks from the enemy. It's important to remember that our family is one of the main targets for the schemes of the enemy. With that in mind we must always pray for our family. I was struck by a recent post from Mark Waltz on his prayers for his daughter who recently started high school. Here's the link.

Do You Have What It Takes To Be Innovative?

Innovation seems to be the latest buzz word amongst Christian leaders these days. There's even a list of the 25 most innovative churches in America. I wonder who decides that? At the risk of riding the wave of the latest fad I'm passing along Tony Morgan's notes from Craig Groeschel's Buzz Conference message (Am I the proverbial middle man or what?) where he identifies Four Characteristics of Innovative Leaders. Let me know what you think.

You've Got 30 Seconds To Get My Attention...GO!

Rather than bemoan the ever-decreasing attention span of people these days, it's a much better idea to figure out how to gain their attention. Sermon Central recently posted an article by Dr. R. Larry Moyer, President/CEO of EvanTell in which he gives some great points for how to accomplish this task. Here's the link.

How To Get Out Of Your Sunday Morning Rut

It's possible to get into a rut without even knowing it when it comes to a Sunday morning service. You work so diligently to get things where you want them to be and that's where they stay, till Jesus comes back. Shawn Lovejoy shares some ideas for how to "jack up" your Sunday morning meeting to avoid the mundane. Here's the link.

What A Great Idea!

Most of the time the best ideas are the most simple. Take this idea from Southeast Christian Church of Louisville, KY. Instead of merely preaching about prayer, they engaged the community by placing prayer boxes in businesses throughout the area. People were encouraged to drop their prayer requests in a box, knowing that a local church would be praying for their situation. Here's the link.

Gaining A New Perspective: Overrated or Not?

Much of how we respond to circumstances and people as leaders is due to the perspective we hold to at that time. It sounds somewhat cliche-ish to suggest that maintaining a different perspective can significantly change our attitude toward either circumstances or others.

Take for example this scene. (Picture 1). The truck was traveling right to left and went end over end, just missing the culvert. "Lucky guy" you say? Now take a look at this pic of the same scene, from a different perspective. (Picture 2)

With God's perspective we see things as they truly are and then can respond with his grace and love in a way that is genuinely helpful.

So Why Do People Come to Your Church?

Most leaders have an idea of what it is they're going for on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, it's just that, an idea. Very few have actually written out the goal or objective they believe God has for them in their Sunday morning service. Like anything else, if we as leaders are not clear on the goal, how can we expect others to follow, let alone understand?

Author and pastor, David Foster provides us with a list of sixteen things he would look for if he were looking for a church. His list is far from complete, but nonetheless it can be a helpful guide for establishing a clear objective for your Sunday morning service. Here's the link.

Another Take on Guest Anonymity

For years we've been told Sunday morning guests want complete anonymity when visiting a church service for the first time. As a result many churches have shied away from direct contact with guests. Shawn Lovejoy has some thoughts about how to respond to Sunday morning guests. I can personally vouch for the effectiveness of name tags. Earlier this year at Jubilee we began wearing simple, peel-off name tags with first names only. The benefit of this has been quite significant to say the least. The name tags make it much easier for our members to introduce themselves to our guests. The name tags have also helped our members know each other, something that becomes increasingly more difficult as the church grows. Here's the link.