What do the following people have in common?

• Perry Noble
• Bishop Walter S. Thomas, Sr.
• Casey Graham
• Clayton King
• Joseph Sangl
• Mike Madding

ALL are tremendous church leaders who have seen their vision become FULLY FUNDED!

AND, the great news is that ALL of these great men will be speaking LIVE at the Funded And Free Church Leader Conference in Charlotte, NC on Thursday, April 19, 2012!

Bishop Thomas will be able to share how New Psalmist Baptist Church completed a major building project in the middle of The Great Recession – and continued to see tremendous ministry growth!

Perry Noble will share how NewSpring Church built a youth facility, children’s facility, and launched multiple campuses during 2008 – and continued to pour tremendous amounts of money and resources into missions and outreach!

Mike Madding will be talking about how The Cove Church has been able to equip their people to win financially even in the face of a tremendous economic downturn in their area – and their church has grown by leaps and bounds.

Casey Graham will be sharing how to increase your operational giving through the implementation of proven biblical systems.
You don’t want to miss this one-time only event!

Want even better news? Injoy Stewardship Solutions has partnered with some other great organizations to provide this conference absolutely FREE for church leaders.

Here are the details:

DATE: April 19, 2012
LOCATION: The Cove Church – Mooresville, NC (North Charlotte Area)
TIME: ONE DAY (9AM – 4PM)
COST: $0 (thanks to the kindness of our sponsors!!!!)
FOOD: Provided (and it is free too!)

Space is limited – so register immediately to secure your spot for this amazing day! Click HERE to register now.

I was working with a church recently that has a leadership issue, which is causing harm to the church. One of the staff members is extremely popular with the people in the church, but he is considered a lousy team player by the rest of the staff. He’s lazy, divisive, and disrespectful to the senior pastor.

The pastor and key leadership realize a change needs to occur. He’s been counseled and threatened with his job, but he knows he is popular and therefore refuses to change. The pastor, who has been at the church less time than the other staff member, knows he could never recover from letting him go.

I was asked to help the church find a solution to the dilemma. If I were simply encouraging them to do the right thing…that would be easy, in my opinion. He needs to go, because of the flippancy he’s shown towards leadership. Unfortunately, what is easy isn’t always best.

It was a reminder:

The answer to problems is often easy, but the solution can often be hard.

Want an easy answer to the above scenario?

There can even be three options on the table. The senior pastor can either fire the associate pastor, quit as the pastor, or live with the problem. That’s easy isn’t it. Choose the one that seems best to you. You could even draw numbers out of a hat for that one if you can’t decide. (One for fire, two for quit, and three for live with…in case you weren’t following.)

Finding the solution to a problem is much more difficult.

I have my particular easy answer, but finding a solution is a more delicate process. It involves making hard decisions and dealing with hard consequences. It could be either of the three easy answers, but a solution is bigger than making a decision. To be a solution it would involve the follow through…clean-up…and the working of the situation for the ultimate good of the organization. That’s hard, messy, difficult work.

Making decisions…Easy

Finding solutions….More difficult.

By the way, great leaders don’t just make decisions…they find solutions.

Honestly, would you rather make decisions or find solutions?

(Please know I changed some details of this story to protect identities.)

I deal with dozens of pastors and ministers each month through my blog and consulting ministry. It seems to me that many are drowning in their ministry, are in unhealthy church cultures, and many are wondering if God will ever use them again.

I know from my recent blog reader survey that nearly 60% of my readership is in some form of professional ministry, so I thought I’d do a survey on the health of pastors and ministers who read my blog (and others I can get to take the survey).

Would you help me?

If you are in vocational ministry, either full-time or part-time, please take this quick, 22 question survey by clicking:

HERE

You can help even more if you can encourage others in your network, through Facebook, Twitter, or blog to take the survey. Again, I am really asking this to be filled out by those in vocational ministry. I appreciate you honoring that request.

I’ll post results in the weeks to come.

Thanks!

One of the most frequent criticisms I receive from young leaders about their organizations is that they aren’t given adequate responsibly or authority. They are handed a set of tasks to complete, but they don’t feel they have a part in creating the big picture for the organization. Since most of the young leaders I talk to are in ministry, this means it’s happening in the church too.

Do you want to lead a successful organization (church) that attracts leaders? Here’s my best advice:

Hand out visions more than you assign tasks.

In order for the organization to be successful, you’ll need to attract leaders. You know that, right? You need to know something about leaders and potential leaders.

Leaders want to work towards a vision, more than they want complete a set of tasks.

Leaders don’t get excited about checklists and assignments.

Leaders want to join a great vision, then help develop the tasks to accomplish it.

Leaders get excited about faith-stretching, bigger-than-life, jaw-dropping acts of courage. That’s the kind of vision they want to believe in and follow. “To do” list often gets in the way of that kind of fun. Visions excite them, details to complete them don’t.

So, if you want to create a successful organization, recruit leaders, hand them a big vision, with lots of room on the implementation side, then allow them to choose how they will accomplish that vision.

Hand them the vision, then get out of their way and let them do their work.

That doesn’t mean your work is over. They’ll need your help along the way. They’ll still need your help to develop structure, discipline and follow through. But that’s way different than handing them a set of tasks. That’s practicing good leadership and delegation skills. (You can read 4 Critical Aspects of Healthy Delegation HERE.)

I realize this is especially hard for perfectionist leaders who want to control every outcome. (Leaders like me; just being honest.) You’ll have to take a risk on the people you’ve recruited to lead and discipline yourself to let them work in their own way. You’ll get burned a few times, but overall, you’ll find more success when you:

Paint big visions…not specific tasks…

When you do this you’ll attract and develop more leaders and a more successful organization will be built and sustained.

How are you at releasing your vision to others?

Would you rather be handed a vision or a set of tasks to be completed?

I was recently asked by someone in our church:

What’s the importance of church?

I have been frequently told, “Why do I need to attend church? I can worship God anywhere.”

And, part of that is true. In fact, the entire purpose of creation is to glorify God…to worship. The idea, however that we don’t need church is in error.

Here are 3 reasons you need the church:

We are designed for fellowship – God designed us in His relational image. We are to love one another. Church was designed for that purpose. The Bible says we are to bear with one another and even encourages us to meet together (Hebrews 10:24). Part of our maturing as followers of Christ is to gather frequently with other believers. The best term I know for when that happens is church.

We need each other – In addition to caring for one another, we are commanded to look out for one another’s spiritual we’ll-being. (Galatians 6) We draw strength from each other. The church is a body of believers designed to work together to make each member and the whole body stronger. When we meet together , and fellowship with each other, we learn each other, observe each other and challenge and encourage each other. Iron really does sharpen iron. God intended it to be that way. If you don’t need help now you may feel you don’t need the church, but God may want you there to help others. One day the person needing accountability and strengthening will be you.

We are God’s children – Until my boys left home, and one of them got married, I never realized how much I would miss them when they were gone. I’ve also learned how much I enjoy when we are all together again. Each Christmas night we have a family tradition. We go to Waffle House. This year the 5 of us laughed and talked and celebrated the best part of my Christmas. When all the children were together again. God loves when His children get together. We get to do that on Sundays, all around the world. We call it church.

That’s part of my reasoning.

Be honest, do you look forward to church or does it feel like an obligation? What’s your reasoning? 

This is a guest post by Loren Pinilis. He writes about time management from a Christian perspective at Life of a Steward

Here are 2 keys to a truly productive church staff:

A pastor has incredible power as a leader.

It’s not restricted to formal voting or the pulpit. Pastors establish the culture of the church staff, which then sets the tone for volunteers and the entire congregation.

And in today’s society of emails, conference calls, and personnel shortages, one of the most important traits for a staff to develop is a focus on time management.

But this needs to be done carefully. Too much emphasis on schedules and undistracted blocks of time, and the leaders seem arrogant. Too much emphasis on relationships and fellowship, and no projects get completed.

The best approach for a productive church staff is not to begin by talking about methods. Instead, work on laying a foundation of the right philosophies. Here are two keys to concentrate on:

The Relationship between Mission and Resources

Time management will be valued when people understand the importance of what they do and the limited nature of their resources.

Many leaders understand the importance of communicating a passion for what the church does: the church’s mission.

It’s our finite resources that we take for granted. We need to be just as intentional about communicating our limited time as we are our mission.

In Psalm 90, a heart of wisdom comes from numbering our days. The Bible is full of reminders that our lives on this earth are like withering grass or a vapor.

The real power comes when our mission is connected with this fact. Then, limited time doesn’t depress us – it inspires us and motivates us. We don’t want to waste a precious second that we could be living out our mission.

When you remember that, to-do lists and calendars will be seen as weapons in a battle instead of merely inconveniences that burden you.

God-Centered and Not Me-Centered

Another roadblock for a truly productive church staff is when we focus too much on our own accomplishment. Time management turns into protecting my study time, my afternoon schedule, or my ability to concentrate.

There’s also a very real danger that we work on the mission of the church – but only to achieve our own glory. We can turn the church into a venue for displaying our individual gifts, effort, and success.

I like the way Jerry Bridges puts this in perspective: “God wants us to walk in obedience – not victory. Obedience is oriented towards God; victory is oriented towards self.”

A God-centered motivation not only allows us to bring him glory, but it guides our day to day decisions. It gives us a new perspective on the balance between relationships and to-do lists, between interruptions and scheduled work.

We realize that the people around us are important. But we keep God as our focus and strive to be obedient to him – not necessarily obedient to the desires of others.

What are some strengths your church staff has in these areas? What are some areas you think need to be worked on?

This week I’m at Moody Founder’s Week. It’s a Bible conference put on by Moody Bible Institute that I’ve come to for several years, especially since my son Nate is a student here. One of the underlying themes this year has the persecution of Christians around the world. I’ve read recently that Christians are under more persecution today than any time in church history.

Then, my friend Tami Heim tweeted that she was praying for the Christians of Uzbekistan. I’ll be honest, I don’t know that I ever prayed for anyone in Uzbekistan. Then I followed the link she provided and realized it’s part of an initiative called the Five Minute Challenge. I signed up. You can too. In fact, I think you should.

HERE is a list of the 50 most-watched countries for church persecution.

Watch this video and then go HERE.

Do you ever pray for persecuted Christians?

This is a guest post by my friend Casey Graham. Casey is one of the most innovative church leaders I know. He is passionate about Kingdom building and helping those who desire to Kingdom build. I haven’t seen any project of Casey’s yet I can’t support.

Here’s a word from Casey about a new project to help pastors:

After talking to hundreds of preachers, we’ve found most preachers love preaching, but the grind of preparation can often become a pain. Here are three things we’ve seen.

Here are 3 Ways To Remove The Pain From Preparing A Weekly Sermon:

1. Great preaching comes from a great preparation system. Perry Noble doesn’t prepare in a vacuum. He has a team at NewSpring Church that helps him prepare. Perry will talk about how this works at the PreachBetterSermons.com FREE online event on March 15th.

2. A Preparation day is better than feeling like you have to prepare all the time. Andy Stanley sets aside every Wednesday to prepare messages, and his team helps him keep this time guarded. While Andy is gifted, his commitment to preparation helps make his messages memorable. Andy will talk about the structure of his preparation day on the Preach Better Sermons online event.

3. Developing a sermon planning system takes the pain out of preparation. There are things you can do on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis that will dramatically improve your preparation time and help you deliver better messages. Helping you put something like this into place will be a part of the free online event.

Make a commitment to be a better preacher. Sign up for the free online conference. Here are the details.

Date: March 15, 2012
Time: 1pm – 4pm EST
Speakers: Andy Stanley, Perry Noble, Louie Giglio, Dr. Charles Stanley, Vanable Moody, Jeff Foxworthy. The event is being hosted by Jeff Henderson.
Registration: Free sign up at preachbettersermons.com

Are you there? I am. Thanks Casey!

How do you know when God is stirring your heart for a change in ministry assignment?

I work with pastors every week who are asking this question. I previously posted my answer to this question, but after several conversations recently I thought it was time for a revision to strengthen some of the points based on what I’m currently learning and observing. This can be one of the most grueling decisions a Christian leader makes. Because most of us feel we are in positions God has called us to do, it is often more difficult to leave one called position for another called position.

Several times in my ministry, first as a layperson and since then in vocational ministry, God has called me to leave one ministry and begin another. It can be a scary place to face the unknown, yet know that God is up to something new in your life. In sharing my experience, I am hoping it can help others process through what God may be doing in their life. Please realize that God uses unequaled experiences in each of our lives, but at the same time there are some common patterns I think each of us may experience, while the details remain unique.

Here are 5 steps I have experienced as God has led me to something new:

Wonderful sweet success – Each time the door of a new opportunity opened it began opening (looking back) when things were going well in my current ministry.

Inner struggle – I usually have not been able to understand what God is up to, but there is something in me (and usually in my wife at the same time) where I know God is doing something new. It could be a growing dissatisfaction, consistent unexplained frustrations, or just an uneasiness where I am currently. While I do not know what it is, and often not even if it involves a change in my place of ministry, I know God is working something new in my heart.

Closeness to Christ – Brennan Manning calls it a Dangerous love of Christ. During the times leading up to a change of ministry assignment I will be growing in my relationship with Christ, usually in new depths of trust and abandonment. Again, looking back I can see this clearly, but at the time I usually am just enjoying the closeness to Christ not expecting anything.

Opportunity presents itself – An opportunity seems to come from nowhere. In some seasons there has been multiple opportunities at the same time. Reflecting back, I can see this is the pattern that has occurred each time. It is only after these first three experiences that God brings a new opportunity my way. This is probably because my spirit must be totally aligned with His Spirit in order for me to trust the new work He calls me to, because I have yet to feel completely “ready” for the next step in my journey with Christ. New steps of obedience always involve a leap of faith on my part. I’m always stretched in my trust beyond where I’ve been previously, but this process prepares me to be ready to say “Yes Lord…Here am I…send me.”

I surrendered to God’s call – After I receive confirmation in my spirit, review the journey God has had us on, and Cheryl and I agree where God is leading, I have yet to refuse the next assignment. That does not mean it is easy for us to leave our current ministry, but it has always been most rewarding to know we are in the center of God’s will for our life.

A special word to the spouse: Cheryl has never been “ready” to leave friends in our current ministry, but she has always lined with me in knowing God was calling us to a new work in our life. Cheryl has always had the same Spirit’s leading that I am having, often before me. God has never allowed us to be confused with differing messages. That’s part of our confirmation.

Discerning a change in ministry assignment can be a difficult task, especially when you are comfortable where you are currently. Perhaps my experiences can help.

Have you shared these experiences? What other experiences have you had that have led you to step out by faith into a new adventure with Christ?

Depending on your circumstances, you may want to read my post “When a Leader Gets Too Comfortable” or “10 Scenarios to Know It’s Time to Quit“.

How effective are the friendships in your life?

One measure of an effective friendship, in my opinion, is that the people in your life are becoming more like Jesus, partly because of their friendship with you.

“Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 Do you have friendships that sharpen your relationship with Christ?

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Follow me, as I follow the example of Christ“. Could you say that to your friends? Could they say that to you?

Here’s one measure of an effective friendship: At the end of a year together as friends, could either of you say your life is more like Christ than before the year began, because of that friendship?

I know. Hard question, right? The encouragement in this post is to:

• Consider your friendships closely
• Examine the purpose of those friendships
• Bring some intentionality into your friendships
• Together, encourage each other to be more like Christ

Let’s make better friendships.

• You could do a Bible study together
• You could change the focus of your conversations
• You could hold each other accountable
• You could pray for and with one another

Do you have friendships in your life that help you in your walk with Christ?