The Church & Culture

The discussion of Church and Culture has been going on for literally centuries. I don't expect it will discontinue anytime soon. And quite honestly I'm good with that because there are no clear boundary lines between the two. It's an ongoing tension that we need to feel the pull of regularly.

Kim Meyer of Granger Community Church recently posted about this topic in regard to a church who invited author William P. Young (The Shack) to speak to their church. Here are Kim's comments.

I recently had a conversation with a church who invited William P. Young (author of The Shack) to speak during a weekend service. Now, they're getting hit hard by some of their congregants. Hit hard with comments like "This author belongs no where near this building."

Really? Really.

We get this type of feedback at Granger every single time we touch anything secular. The argument isn't new news. It spans hundreds of years. I'm not interested in arguing an old debate. And, for the record...nobody asked me to. But, they did ask me this: "When you find yourself fielding this type of feedback, how do you respond? How do you cast vision?" Here's how I responded.

"It is always good to communicate a simple WHY behind WHAT. For example:

• This novel gives a voice to real, deep human longings. We’re going to explore the themes in this book to start a conversation about how the Bible, God, Christ and the Holy Spirit meets these real longings.
• We listen to mainstream songs and read mainstream books to observe the spiritual journey revealed in the lyrics and storylines. This book is no different.
• I also love what the president of Notre Dame recently said to the unruly Christian protesters who were bashing Obama when he came to speak at the ND Commencement ceremony (the protesters argued Obama shouldn’t be allowed to step foot on the Catholic campus because he is pro-choice). He said, 'You can't change world if you shun the people you want to persuade.' Well put.

So, keep it simple. Focus on the why behind the what: Love God, Love others. Keep open heart & mind to what we have to learn through the process. As Christ-followers, we do NOT have all the answers and Christ didn’t call us to be the judge and jury for the world. He called us to show them we are different because of our love. Some of these vocal congregants have just forgotten the main thing. You can help remind them."

Options Increase Opportunities

The other day we received our city newsletter in the mail. One of the items of interest was the fact that since the city changed from tub-sized containers to large bin containers one month ago, the amount of things being recycled increased 74%. That is an incredible statistic, but more importantly it points to a principle all leaders should be aware of: Options Increase Opportunities.

When given the option of recycling more people readily did just that. When we had the small tubs, we were limited in how much we could recycle, but no more, thanks to our new large bins. In the same way, when we as leaders give our people more options, we increase their opportunities to volunteer, to lead, to get involved, to invite, to share their faith, you name it.

For example, why not print out a small postcard of your next sermon series. This increases the opportunity for your church to invite others. The same could be done for your children's monthly curriculum. Give something to your children that they can use to invite their friends.

Take some time to think it through and you'll come up with a number of things you can do to increase options, and thereby increase opportunities.

Got Margin?

Mark Batterson recently posted about the need for leaders to create and maintain margin in their life. Here's what he said.

One of the quantum challenges leaders face is this: as the organizations they lead start experiencing organizational growth they stop experiencing personal growth. Why? Because of the demands of the organizational growth. They start leading the organization and stop leading themselves. And that is when the blessing turns into a curse. Growth will grind to a halt. In fact, it will probably implode. You lose spiritual margin. You lose intellectual margin. You lose creative margin. And you stop growing. No Margin = No Growth.

The key to continued organizational and personal growth boils down to this: margin. You need margin to think. You need margin to play. You need margin to laugh. You need margin to dream. You need margin to have impromptu conversations. You need margin to seize unanticipated opportunities. You need margin.

One of the primary responsibilities of leaders is creating margin. It almost seems selfish. But you are doing everybody you work with a disservice if you give them everything you've got. You need margin. And it starts with time management. If you don't control your calendar, your calendar will control you.

Here are a ten ways to create margin:

1) Use all of your vacation days. You owe it to yourself and your family.
2) Protect your day off religiously.
3) Don't schedule meetings on certain days or before certain hours.
4) Delegate more responsibility.
5) Only check email during designated times during the day.
6) Get up earlier in the morning.
7) Schedule meetings with God and yourself.
8) Turn off the TV.
9) Get out of your organizational context and go to a conference.
10) Hit the gym. You don't have enough time or energy NOT to work out.

Youth Curriculum

If you're looking for some long-term curriculum for your youth, here's an option you may want to consider.

Growing as a Leader

It's no secret that as our church grows we need to grow as leaders as well. What we did when the church was 100 will not work when the church is 200, 300 or 400. Tony Morgan had some good things to share along these lines in a recent blog post. He outlines the growth of a leader into the following categories.

Lead by example. This is the type of leadership that is required when a new ministry launches. During this season, the leader has to do most of the work themselves. That happens out of necessity because no one else is around. It also happens to establish a foundation for the future. “Leading by doing” gives the leader the opportunity to shape the mission, vision, values and strategy of the church. These folks may not necessarily be gifted as leaders but they are in a positional leadership role. They are the “leaders of tens.” Ministries with this style of leadership can grow to about 100 people.

Lead other people. During this season, the leader recruits other people to join the ministry team. Rather than doing all the work on their own, the leader begins to delegate tasks and responsibilities to other people. The leader still owns the responsibility for making things happen, they’re just including other people in the effort. These are the “leaders of fifties.” Ministries can grow to several hundred people with this style of leadership.

Lead other leaders. This is when a transition happens where leaders begin to empower other leaders. Instead of a hands-on role where they’re on top of all the tasks, they shift to a role where they’re really more concerned about leading, caring for and raising up other leaders. They don’t give up responsibility for the outcome, but they begin to release team building and decisions of execution to other people. These are the “leaders of hundreds.” Ministries can grow to several thousand people with this style of leadership.

Lead by vision. At some point, there are leaders who may continue to embrace functional leadership of specific areas of ministry, but their focus is really on the overall health of the church. Rather than a ministry-specific focus, they have a global perspective that encompasses every aspect of the organization. These folks are leading other leaders, but they also have influence that reaches beyond their direct reports. They are coming alongside the senior leader to champion the vision that God has given the church. These are the “leaders of thousands.” Ministries can grow to tens of thousands of people with this style of leadership.

Graphic Artists & The Church: Paid or Not Paid?

Relevant websites, beautiful bulletins, clear signage and sharp-looking brochures are great things for every church to have. The problem with so many churches is that they either can't find anyone to design these things, or the lone graphic artist in the church is so overworked at their job that they don't have time to volunteer for the church. So what's the answer?

This blog post from Communicate Jesus takes on the question of whether graphic artists and other creatives should be paid by the church or should they volunteer their time like so many others. It's a good read.

Help Me Out Would You?

This week I'm going to give some serious attention to increasing the number of subscribers to this blog. Here's how you can help. Pass along the website to friends, family, leaders, whomever you feel will be helped by the information posted on here.

My aim is to post content that is helpful to your growth and development as a leader. Drop me a line some time to let me know how I'm doing. It's always appreciated.

Start Where You Are: Your People

Here's some more good advice from Agile Ministry on starting where you are in regard to volunteer teams.

Effective teams don’t happen overnight. Volunteer teams are the most difficult to make effective, as people come and go. Unlike a full-time job, people may leave for personal or job-related reasons. This makes team dynamics even more difficult.

The most effective volunteer teams I’ve seen are the ones that are built intentionally. Leaders that intentionally build their team build the team around people, rather than building the people around the team.

Want to build an effective team with the people you have today?

Spend the time to meet people where they are, find their skills and gifts, and make the best of what you have.

Spend the time to train those with a trainable heart.

Spend the time to fellowship and pray with each person.

Treat your team as gifts from God, not people in your way.

Remember: You are leading people, not tasks.

Lead From Where You Are

Leaders are notorious for not being content with the way things are. Some of this is actually a good thing. I'm never content with the size of our location congregation here in Wentzville. I want to see more and more people being connected with Jesus. This kind of discontentment is a good thing. But there is another kind of discontentment that can actually lead to frustration. When this happens, leaders are frustrated that they don't have the influence of larger churches. They can also get frustrated that their church isn't growing as fast as other churches. When this kind of discontentment sets in, it can lead to all kinds of trouble. Thanks to Agile Ministry for the following advice to leaders who are frustrated in this way.

The result of this frustration: frustrated followers.

Want to be a better leader? Lead who you have today.

Want to be a better leader? Make a difference today.

Want to be a better leader? Start where you are today.

Recommended Reading from Mark Driscoll

The folks at the Resurgence blog are great about offering quality resources. This link gives you Mark Driscoll's recommended reading list on the topic of Biblical Inspiration and Authority.

More Expectations of Summer Interns

If you've never had a summer intern, do your homework, ask other leaders about their experience with interns and take the plunge. It's a great way to train young people and to get some help with necessary things with the church.

As promised, here are the remaining 10 expectations of summer interns.

10. Write it down.
You should not go into a meeting (one-on-one or with the team) with out a pad of paper and a pen. We’ll provide you with a moleskin journal - DON’T bring your phone, it has become a major perception issue in meetings.

11. Expect to pay for your own meals.
Team lunches are a privilege, and we will try to feed everyone whenever we are asking them to work through a meal, but never assume it is on us.

12. Ask for a deadline.
Why? Because there is one! Ignorance is not an excuse and asking will save you from conflict and unknown expectations. Even if the person can’t give you an exact time, ask them about how long they think it should take you.

13. Don’t be scared to ask for time with people.
You are here to learn and experience the inner workings of ministry. EVERYONE at Saddleback is working with a packed schedule, BUT you can not receive unless you ASK. If there is someone in Student Ministries or the church that you would like time with ask JG and he will try his hardest to make it happen.

14. Let JG know when you need his time.
The easiest way is to set up a meeting with him, but even when his door is closed it is really open.

15. Protect your day off.
Because if you don’t…no one else will. Mondays are sacred, we treat them that way, make sure you do, too.

16. If you’re not doing anything…ask how you can help.

17. Volunteers are the key
So… learn their names, talk to them, tell them how much you appreciate them, involve them with what, you are doing ,ask for their help, make a big deal when they do help, pray for them.

18. Know who does what on the Student Ministries team.
Student Ministries is a team and it is so important that we help each other whenever we can. Attached is a list of who does what to help bring you up to speed.

19. Your Spiritual Life is Essential!
Spend time with God everyday. Ask His Spirit to fill and guide you.

REMEMBER: You have 72 days… make each one count!

Expectations of Summer Interns

Summer interns are a great win-win for many churches. The intern receives valuable training, while the church is blessed with more help. Here's some valuable information from Joshua Griffin about expectations you should have of summer interns. These can be applied to a number of people, other than simply interns. I'll have some more for you tomorrow.

1. Know what is on your calendar before you come in for the day.
We live and die by our calendars in the office. Nothing throws you off more than forgetting about a meeting. Also, summer events don’t always allow you to run home and change. Outlook is a super important tool we really value in our culture.

2. Expect to be at all HSM events.
We do a lot of “all hands on deck” type of events. If you’re not sure, ASK, but the answer is probably yes.

3. Have a good attitude.
Your attitude is contagious! If you don’t have a good attitude, it can hurt the team. Be sure to take time for yourself to read, relax and refresh.

4. Know what is expected of you on the weekend.
Be on time - help set up - greet volunteers - jump in where needed - sit with students during the service - please don’t stand in the back!

5. You are responsible for your emails, voicemails, and texts.
One of the biggest complaints about our church is the lack of response to a phone call. So check your messages often and return them in a timely manner – no more than 24 hours late is the goal. Make sure take care of Pastoral Care issues immediately!

6. Communicate where you are going and when you will be back.
There is no such thing as over communicating and don’t ever assume someone knows where you are. Keep JG in the loop at all times. OK, you can go to the bathroom without telling him, we guess.

7. NEVER say “I don’t know” - ALWAYS say “Let me find out”.
Try and know the basics about every event on the calendar (location, price, times) and walk with the student or parent to get the information rather then sending them to find it. Also, make sure you listen to the person that did have the answer - then next time you won’t have to ask.

8. Know that everything can change at ANY moment.
We know this one is hard - you just have to go with it. There will be things you work on that don’t get used - hold everything with a loose grip.

9. Ask questions.
A lot of them. Why we do things? How we do things? What if we did things a different way? Even if it is to confirm what you already know… please ask questions!

This Guy Knows How to Communicate

Take a look at this! We can definitely learn some things from this guy.



As leaders, a great deal of our effectiveness is dependent upon how we communicate. One of my absolute pet peeves is to bore people with the greatest message the world has ever heard, the Gospel. Here are a few things this guy did that will help us to engage people more fully.

Be Yourself. You don’t have to be a stand up comedian, but if you do have a sense of humor, let it shine through. If not, then don't try to be someone you're not.

Get the audience involved. Anytime you can bring the audience into your communication by having them participate the better. I have given the church object lesson-type things at the end of the message to help seal the main point in their mind and in their heart.

Be passionate. If you are not passionate about what you are communicating, then don’t expect anyone else to be. In your introduction you not only have to answer the question, "Why is this important to my audience?", but you better be excited about it as well.

Communicate the truth. The message always remains the same, it’s how you communicate it that changes.

(Thanks to Mike Silliman for the Youtube link and idea.)

Simple Steps=Better Results

When I first read Nelson Searcy's book Activate, on developing a small group system one of the things that grabbed my attention was his insistence on a one-step sign up. According to Searcy, the more steps you have in the process, the less likely people will sign up.

Not only is it a good idea to have as few steps as possible, but it's also important that the few steps we do have, (especially the first step), need to be simple. When the steps we give people are difficult, or require undue explanation, we're asking them to take too big of a leap. And most likely they will be reluctant to do so because their fear of failure will kick in and hold them back. It's like asking people to climb a ladder with the first four or five rungs missing.

In light of this here are some application questions for you to consider.

• What is your process for getting people involved as volunteers, small group participants and members?
• Is each process more than one step?
• Does each process need explanation or is it self-explanatory?

We keep saying, "it's not rocket science", but sometimes, based on our multi-step processes for getting people assimilated, you'd never know it.

The Poor are the Most Charitable

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, those who earn less, give a higher percentage of their income to charity. The article in which this information was found also said...

Women are more generous than men, studies have shown. Older people give more than younger donors with equal incomes. The working poor, disproportionate numbers of which are recent immigrants, are America's most generous group, according to Arthur Brooks, the author of the book "Who Really Cares," an analysis of U.S. generosity.

Faith probably matters most, Brooks — who's the president of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington policy-research organization — said in an interview. That's partly because above-average numbers of poor people go to church, and church attenders give more money than non-attenders to secular and religious charities, Brooks found.

The bigger question for us as leaders is, "What are you doing to inspire faith in God that will help those you lead be free from the power of money?" Don't let the offerings be the issue. The issue is the condition of people's hearts. Is your motivation larger offerings, or seeing people free from the deception that money has over them? Yes, financial contributions are an indication of where people's treasures are, (Luke 12:34). But let's make sure we don't supplant the importance of people's lives being transformed by the Gospel for the fruit of that transformation. You can have larger offerings and not have transformed lives. But if people's lives are transformed, the money will follow.

How Leaders Think

Whenever I'm working with a developing new leader one of the main things I'm seeking to impart to them is the way I think. It's not enough that they know how to do something, I want them to know why we do it. So much of how we operate as leaders has to do with how we think.

John Maxwell shares some thoughts along these lines from his new book, How Successful People Think.

1. Expose Yourself to Good Input

Good thinkers always prime the pump of ideas. They always look for things to get the thinking process started, because what you put in always impacts what comes out.

Read books, review trade magazines, listen to CDs, and spend time with good thinkers. And when something intrigues you-whether it’s someone else’s idea or the seed of an idea that you’ve come up with yourself-keep it in front of you. Put it in writing and keep it somewhere in a favorite place to stimulate your thinking.

2. Expose Yourself to Good Thinkers

All of the people in my life whom I consider to be close friends or colleagues are good thinkers. Now, I love all people. I try to be kind to everyone I meet, and I desire to add value to as many people as I can through conferences, books, audio lessons, etc. But the people I seek out and choose to spend time with all challenge me with their thinking and their actions. They are constantly trying to grow and learn.

The writer of Proverbs observed that sharp people sharpen one another, just as iron sharpens iron. If you want to be a sharp thinker, be around sharp people.

3. Choose to Think Good Thoughts

To become a good thinker, you must become intentional about the thinking process. Regularly put yourself in the right place to think, shape, stretch, and land your thoughts. Make it a priority. Thinking is a discipline.

Recently I had breakfast with Dan Cathy, the president of Chick-fil-A, a fast food restaurant chain headquartered in the Atlanta area. I told him that I was working on this book and I asked him if he made thinking time a high priority. Not only did he say yes, but he told me about what he calls his “thinking schedule.” It helps him to fight the hectic pace of life that discourages intentional thinking. Dan says he sets aside time just to think for half a day every two weeks, for one whole day every month, and for two or three full days every year. Dan explains, “This helps me ‘keep the main thing, the main thing,’ since I am so easily distracted.”

You may want to do something similar, or you can develop a schedule and method of your own. No matter what you choose to do, go to a special thinking place, take paper and pen, and make sure you capture your ideas in writing.

4. Act on Your Good Thoughts

Ideas have a short shelf life. You must act on them before the expiration date. World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker said it all when he remarked, “I can give you a six-word formula for success: Think things through-then follow through.”

5. Allow Your Emotions to Create Another Good Thought

To start the thinking process, you cannot rely on your feelings. In Failing Forward, I wrote that you can act your way into feeling long before you can feel your way into action. If you wait until you feel like doing something, you will likely never accomplish it. The same is true for thinking. You cannot wait until you feel like thinking to do it. However, I’ve found that once you engage in the process of good thinking, you can use your emotions to feed the process and create mental momentum.

Try it for yourself. After you go through the disciplined process of thinking and enjoy some success, allow yourself to savor the moment and try riding the mental energy of that success. If you’re like me, it’s likely to spur additional thoughts and productive ideas.

6. Repeat the Process

One good thought does not make a good life. The people who have one good thought and try to ride it for an entire career often end up unhappy or destitute. They are the one-hit wonders, the one-book authors, the one-message speakers, the one-time inventors who spend their life struggling to protect or promote their single idea. Success comes to those who have an entire mountain of gold that they continually mine, not those who find one nugget and try to live on it for fifty years. To become someone who can mine a lot of gold, you need to keep repeating the process of good thinking.

Your Church's Website

Most church leaders, especially primary leaders, have a love hate relationship with their church's website. We love it when it's updated and running like it should be. But we hate it when we come across someone else's website that is better than ours.

Regardless of where you're at with your website, a more important question is "What are you trying to accomplish with your site?" In a recent blog post, Tony Morgan had some helpful things to say about this topic. He brings up a great point when he says, "The church views the web as a place to promote their agenda. No interaction with the audience. No stories of life change. No solutions to help people experience community or discipleship online."

Give it a read and let me know what you think. Here's the link.

By the way, Tony will be in STL for a morning seminar in St. Charles on Mon, July 6. You can check it out here.

Preaching

Ed Stetzer interviewed Andy Stanley on the topic of preaching. It's well worth a read. Link

5 Ways to Get More Volunteers

Enlisting volunteers is one of those things that leaders have to give constant attention to. Unfortunately so many leaders do it so badly. Bill Reichart shares some good ideas for how to enlist more volunteers in your church. I found it to be helpful stuff. Here's the link.