Tag Archives: leadership ramblings

church & emergent musings journal of a new lead pastor

The Past 30, The Next 30

September 1, 2009 – 8:53 am

30 days is a deceiving amount of time. Not enough or too long?

The Past 30
We celebrated 6 new believers. Had 4 new families join. Went Down Under with VBS. We revamped our student ministry. We invaded McCarter Elementary with over 1,000 school supplies. We made close to 100 nap mats for McCarter Kindergarten. We were invited to the first day of school over there to help pass them out. We hired a worship leader. Baptized 3 more new believers. Started training the next set of Life Group leaders in our Turbo Group. Almost done with the Bylaw revision. Said good-bye to Brandon (youth intern) as he goes off to finish his degree.


The Next 30
We’ll be done with the Bylaw revision. Done with the Turbo Group. Have at least 2 new Life Groups for people to connect to WH through. Have our new members class up and running. We’ll start our “I Want A New Marriage” series. And as impressive as each of those things are…it’s not really what I’m most amped about.

Yesterday, I challenged our congregation to spend the entire month of September in prayer about participating in eliminating the remaining debt at Western Hills. We want to start spending that money on ministry instead of sending it to the bank. After praying with our leaders for the past few weeks, I’m convinced now is the time to get rid of the remaining 73k in debt. It’s time because of the economy, because we are at a tipping point in our church, and because we’ll never a lasting impact on our community as long as we are in debt.

Here’s the truth of matter though – I’m just as excited about this month of prayer as I am the actually harvest. It’s 73,000 dollars. In God’s economy, that’s not a lot. I’m convinced He has the resources to deal with it. I’m more excited about what happens when God’s people humble themselves before the Lord to listen to HIS voice. I KNOW God is going to speak to us about more than just our finances.

That’s what is going to be amazing about the next 30 days. Listening to God…

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church & emergent musings journal of a new lead pastor leadership ramblings lifewalking

Room Full of Leaders

August 24, 2009 – 4:24 pm

Last night our house was invaded by twice as many people as we expected for our Turbo Group.  Basically, it’s a room full of people who are passionate about God and people and want to be better at leading our Life Groups.  We talked about the need for community, the obstacles of having it, the 5 key disciplines that have to happen in a Life Group for community to happen.

It was a humbling start to the process of creating a culture that reproduces fully-devoted followers of Jesus.  At church that morning, we took the sign up list which only had 12 names on it and started adding up who told us they were coming.  It topped out at 31.  Amy asked me – how in the world are we going to get 31 people in our house?  In the same room?

“I have no idea.  I’ve never had 31 people want to show up for something like this.  Are these people normal?”

No, they’re not normal and that’s exactly the way we like it.

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journal of a new lead pastor leadership ramblings

Eggshells

May 18, 2009 – 12:30 pm

One of things that I’m starting to see and feel happening at WH concerns eggshells. As in walking on them. I’ve never been very good around eggshells. (insert your sarcastic comment here, Wayne.) I don’t even like it as a color.

It’s loosening up here. That’s a good thing. But I’m surprised/not really/scared as to how much influence I have on that just because I’m the lead pastor.

I’ve read and heard all the leadership maxims that say “the leader sets the emotional tone for the organization.” I love Tom Peters and Seth Godin believed that…I just have never experienced it like this before.

I’m normally the first one to crack a joke, poke fun and in general goof off in a group. The larger the group, the more likely I’m the clown that’s being the distraction. I’m also normally the first one to be okay with my idea being tweaked, changed, or completely discarded. It’s the ADD. But these things are also the key components in creating an eggshell-less culture.

Is there room to push? Is there room to disagree in laughter? Is there room to get the desired outcome in a different way than originally thought? When I’m challenged, do I first think of self-preservation or think of what is going to better advance our mission at WH? Is there room for people to change their minds, surrender with laughter and honor? Is there room for ‘that’s better than my idea?’

If so – you’ve got the start of something special and wonderful. I do think this is one of those key areas of why I’m at Western Hills. Honestly, there were other guys that could teach better, look better, more organized and more experienced. But in terms of creating a culture where the vision wins, not personalities or titles? That’s my thing. When you constantly work with volunteers that are older, wiser, better, and smarter than you – you have to function that way or you’ll die without friends. And I’ve worked with some old people. :)

I’ve seen the other side as well. Easily offended, gets defensive fast, reacts quickly with little thinking, and responds with extremes – sets the whole thing to be Eggshell City. Besides that, people can’t/won’t stay in that kind of drama for very long. The only people that do are others that love the drama…and that’s a recipe for disaster.

So for a church that’s been wounded, it’s good to see the eggshell walking decreasing immensely. They are awfully hard to dance on.

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journal of a new lead pastor leadership ramblings

Leadership Lessons…So Far

May 12, 2009 – 8:01 am

What I’ve learned thus far….

1. I’m not going to accomplish half the things I thought I would this year.
I’m not sure if this is because I’m the only paid pastor on staff or just the normal course of transitioning for a new pastor. Maybe both. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing either. It’s made me be more purposeful in deciding where to put leadership energy and resources.

A couple of mentors have told me repeatedly – “Your first year agenda needs to be – love on people, preach the word, ask questions, make some disciples. That’s it. You’re there for the long haul.” Sounds easy enough, right? It’s not. It’s great advice and I’m trying my best to follow it…but there are times when I just want to “DO SOMETHING!!” Which leads me to number 2.

2. You can’t do everything that comes down the pipe.
Let others lead. Give opportunities to others to lead. Yes, somethings will fail miserably. Yes, there will be some falling through the cracks. But don’t own every single thing that comes across desk. When you do start something, finish it. Keep at it. Don’t give up. Keep working. Slow is better than stop.

3. Don’t confuse insight with leadership.
It’s easy to spot problems. It’s easy to spot holes in the system, things that are quite done right or perfectly. It’s easy to see the problems. The ability to see those problems doesn’t make a good leader. It makes a good critic.

Leaders see opportunities….solutions…possibilities. Leaders are willing to put shoulder to the plow to fix it. Leaders WORK the problem, not escalate the drama or create crisis. Secondary principle here for me is this – empower leaders, not critics.

I’ve got more but these three stuck out to me this morning.

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leadership ramblings spiritual formation

22 Days of Prayer: Leadership

April 6, 2009 – 2:00 pm

For the background, you can read here.

2 minutes @ 2pm for 22 days

This week – leadership. When we talk about leadership, we really mean followership. We want to be able to say the same words as Paul – follow me as I follow Christ. So any leadership starts first with following Jesus. No exceptions.

So we start with questions – how am I following Jesus? At work? At home? At school? Are there places in my world I don’t follow Jesus in? What does it mean to follow Jesus? What does a growing follower of Jesus look like? If I wanted to start following Jesus, what steps would I take? Where do I start? How do I continue?

There is a small group of us wrestling with these questions. We don’t have hard pressed answers right now. We’re still wrestling with some concepts but this week, I’ll unpack some of what we’ve discovered as you do the same here.

For today – leadership starts with following. The first question is – who are you following? If it’s not Jesus, then who or what? Why not Jesus? What do you think following Jesus looks like for you?

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journal of a new lead pastor leadership ramblings spiritual formation

Paradigm Shifts

March 25, 2009 – 7:21 am

Quick definition for my sanity – a paradigm shift is a change of thinking, change in doing things. Often it’s a big one – like moving from PC to Mac. (Had to get a cheap shot in there…)

I got to see one happen this week. A group of us were talking about leadership in the church. What does a spiritual leader look like? What is the starting point of a leader? Who can be one? How are they developed? Good questions that will take us some time to unpack and refine. One particular question provided the paradigm shift moment. What is the starting point of a spiritual leader? “They should be a believer of Jesus.”

I smirked a bit and asked permission to push back a little. So when did the disciples become believers? Could there be a scenario that we would walk alongside a non-believer for the purpose of developing them into a spiritual leader? There was a pause. Hadn’t thought about it like that. When put that way it’s completely different, isn’t it? Absolutely we would. We’d call it discipleship or evangelism or lifewalking but absolutely we’d walk with a non-believer on that journey. And the shift happened.

The actual discussion point isn’t what really got my attention in that moment. Seeing the shift happen in a non-combative atmosphere did. Often times a paradigm shift is threatening and combative. I don’t think it needs to be or even should be this way, but more often than not it plays out that way. Part of the reason is because I’m put in the place where I have to let go of something that has been secure for so long because I finally realized it’s either false or unhealthy or unproductive. Basically, I have to say – “I was wrong about this.”

But what made this shift different? A couple of things that I honestly wish I’d learned sooner…

1. There wasn’t an agenda being pushed. We were just talking. We weren’t trying to craft policy or start a program. There was no huge issue on the table we were working through, just talking about leadership with no agenda or program hanging in the balance. Why is this important? Because I think when there is an issue/agenda/program on the table, the bigger questions get lost in the scuffle to protect the issue.

2. There was a high level of trust around the table. This alone doesn’t make paradigm shifting easier…but it helps. The flip side is this – if there isn’t a high level of trust, the shift is almost impossible to make.

3. We had permission to push. Big principle here…if you don’t have permission to push back, do so at your own risk. In Little Rock, we had a tight, close pastoral team between Row, Mark S., and I. We banged on each other all the time. It was good. But we learned some painful lessons as we tried to expand the team and allow others into that arena. Not everyone wants to be pushed. And if you do push and they aren’t ready…they’ll push back in unhealthy, dangerous ways. Or they’ll leave in unhealthy ways. When that happens, it’s like trying to glue back together a vase that’s been busted into a million pieces.

So if you don’t have permission to push, do you just not push? Settle for status quo? That’s not a good option either. Eventually leaders push. They just do. They can’t NOT push. Good ones invest on the relational side first, keep asking permission, and then push.

4. It would have been okay for the shift not to happen…for now. This lesson has been the hardest to learn. Am I okay with God taking His time in the life of another person? I know I am with me. I love it when God takes his time with me and is patient. It’s frustrating when He treats everybody else that way. That means I have to wait on Him…and that’s not fun. If this person had walked away disagreeing, it would have been fine. There was no agenda/issue to be won or pushed. The world wasn’t going to end. Western Hills wasn’t going to implode.

Are there times when you have to push hard and force the issue? I’m sure there are but the older I get, those times seem to be far fewer than I thought when I was younger. It’s the Spirit’s job to change and transform people. Not mine. I don’t have to have the last word.

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leadership ramblings

Leadership Summit Preview

February 24, 2009 – 4:17 pm

Went to Leadership Summit lunch today. It was a preview of this year’s Leadership Summit.

Highlights of the day for me…

Riding with David Manner.
David Manner is our interim Worship Pastor. He’s also a long-time acquaintance that is fast becoming a deep friend. Great think time.

Reconnecting with Merl Mees
Merl was pastor at Western Hills for 17 years. I almost went to work with him/for him/on him. We laughed pretty hard today and he’s one of those guys you can hit 900 mph with almost instantly. Every time I talk to him, I learn something. The fact that he gives me that kind of access still astounds me.

Hearing Tim Keller will be at the Leadership Summit
Tim Keller preached the one sermon that rocked me most – Seek to prosper the city. He’s got another one in the works concerning Luke 15 and the two prodigal sons.

Bono, part 2
Bono will be at the Leadership Summit again this year. His first trip was in 2006 and he ripped the church for ignoring AIDS and Africa. Bill asked him back for a report card check. Bono agreed and sent a video tease as well.

“I knew the church was a sleeping giant, wondering what or who would wake her. What I wasn’t prepared for was how fast the giant could move.”

I’m planning on going…who wants to go with?

August 6-7, 2009.

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church & emergent musings journal of a new lead pastor

Monday’s Aren’t Great…unless you have them off

January 20, 2009 – 8:35 am

I closed the office yesterday.  Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday is worthy of the office being closed.  Especially for a church.

But normally Mondays aren’t a great day for pastors.  Drained from Sunday, dealing with all the ‘what ifs’ and realizing that you get to start it all over again this week.

I remember Mondays being particular hard for Al – my senior pastor in Emporia.  Especially in the winter.  Al was the author of some of the greatest advice I’ve ever received.  I asked once if he felt that bad, why didn’t he just take Monday off.

If I feel this bad, I might as well work.

I used to think – what’s so horrible about Mondays?  I don’t get it.  I think I’m getting it now.

It’s not the blank sheet of paper that represents next week’s sermon.  At least for me it isn’t.  I love that part of this calling – the studying, the crafting, the digging, the listening, the wrestling with God during the week.  That’s the great part.  I’m guessing that most teachers/pastors would agree.

It’s not the touches of ministry – grabbing coffee with someone who is struggling to hear God, grabbing face time with a leader who is trying to be more effective in ministry, praying with a family who is facing a health crisis, or listening to someone tell their story.  Those can be time consuming but more often than not – it feeds your soul.

It’s the ‘organizational junk.’  The nuts and bolts of the machine that we call ‘church.’  The by-laws are out of date, need to be rewritten, our organizational structure needs changed, the processes of ‘said’ ministry needs to be revamped.

Every church I’ve ever been in has had it.  So it’s not exactly this great big secret.

That is what looms so large on Monday mornings…or Tuesdays if you happen to have Monday off.  Those things seem larger than what they really are on those mornings.  If I’m not careful, I’ll let it consume me an steal me from what I’m really called and equipped to do.  If we’re all not careful, they’ll take center stage and begin to define us instead of us defining them.

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journal of a new lead pastor

Saying No

January 7, 2009 – 8:59 am

I’m in an undisclosed coffee shop this morning.  Sunday is coming and I’m not as far into my sermon as I’d like to be.

I’ve no one to blame but myself.  Meetings.  Touches.  Contact.  Relational ministry.  There is much good with this kind of leadership and ministry.  The down side – pace.  And being new in a church that hasn’t had any staff for 3 months, no lead pastor for over a year – I can feel the void that was left.  People are starving for someone to have a conversation about ministry, someone to care and encourage and listen.  I get that.

I also get that if I show up on Sunday with nothing to say – it’s not going to go well.  Row jacked me up pretty good via email about pace and saying no and creating holy spaces of nothingness in the schedule to allow God to speak and lead me.  I know these things.  I just didn’t do them this week.  Rookie mistake.

I’ll get another chance to try again next week.

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church & emergent musings leadership ramblings

Why Rick Warren Is Right

December 19, 2008 – 2:16 pm

It’s understandable why the gay and lesbian community is upset with President Elect Obama by picking Rick Warren to pray for him during his inauguration. Rick was very supportive of Proposition 8 in California which in essence forbid gay and lesbians to marry. I get why they would be a little upset about the choice.

On the other hand, it appears that Barrack Obama will be a very choice/gay/lesbian friendly president. So I don’t think by him choosing Rick to pray for him will change his status on abortion or other issues. They probably ought to relax a bit.

What I don’t understand is the reaction from the “Conservative Christian” community. Why the hatred and hostility toward Rick Warren for going to pray for our President? It’s not an endorsement of Barack’s policies. In fact, Rick’s been very clear that he disagrees with the President Elect on a number of issues. You still pray for the man and our country.

Rick’s being a pastor. How many congregants make choices we wouldn’t make? How many people find themselves in a sinful mess after sinful mess? How many people show up to the church as beat up, tangled messes and we love and minister to them anyway. We don’t throw them under the bus just because they aren’t like we want them to be. We take the situation as it is and pray for God to work through it, in spite of it.

That’s why Rick is praying for his President – and whether you voted for him or not, that’s what he is – our President. Rick will pray for our country and her leaders mainly because that’s what Scripture tells us to do and partly because we so desperately need it.

And I’ll be praying for our new President as well. Whether I agree with him or not – I’ll pray for him.

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