FIT

“You must have long-term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-term failures.” – Charles C. Noble

Those on our team and the systems we create can help us look at and realize long-term goals.
With staff and ministry team members, it is critical to have “the right people on the bus in the right seat” (Collins: Good to Great); having the right members in the right spots is an essential element not an optional item on the sidebar of ministry.

Teammates either catapult us forward or create speed bumps in the road. We’ve all heard of first things first but what about first staff first. First year staff will be different from second or fifth year needs. Sometimes a bump comes when roles need to shift. Some team members are for a season, some grow, learn, and switch roles to find their true sweet spot, and some join the team to take it to the next level. Systems can aid the journey as they create platforms for discussion, exploration and evaluation. Typically after a lead pastor, a worship leader is a crucial staff position and then children’s unless your demographic does not necessitate (doesn’t generally have children). Team fit and team position are tied to passion and skill. Journeying long-term requires a fit.

How’s your fit? How’s your system for exploration and evaluation? “Those closest to the leader will determine the success of the leader.” – John Maxwell

Embracing the journey...

Heart Truth

We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart.

~ Blaise Pascal

Heart truth is not easily forgotten. We can know truth having been taught by our parents, having read it in the Bible, or having learned it in a class; yet, it can be illusive when it’s informational truth. When through experience that truth explodes and invades our hearts, we know that we know that we know it is truth.

“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Most of us can picture, Mel Gibson in Braveheart shouting, “FREEDOM!” Even better, can you picture Christ standing with arms wide-open shouting “FREEDOM”? Now that’s a powerful truth! Free to celebrate, free to be who He’s created us to be, free to ask questions, free to embrace an unknown path, free to trust, free to have faith, free to know, live, and experience truth.

How often do we get caught in the circumstance rather than truth? The world shouts, catastrophes collide, old tapes play in our heads, doubts creep in, fears arise, and the quiet still voice of truth can slip away.

No wonder the Apostle Paul encourages us to “take every thought captive’ ~ being held captive by truth is a lifeline. Standing on the foundation of truth, we know “the Lord our God is with us wherever we go”; we can rest in sovereignty and stand in awe of His majesty each and every time we experience truth.

I wonder what would happen if our aim was to help others experience truth, the truth of God’s love and heart for them. Embracing the journey…

Here to There

From HERE to THERE…

A somewhat frequent concept for leaders is that the goal is to get there. What am I talking about? Mostly, we use "there" as a synonym for "vision". Lots of us have a dream about how things might turn out for our families, ministries, and churches (organizations). We have a vision of the preferred future we desire. But we might not give our own development a second thought. Yet, we should. We might consider this line from What Got You Here Won't Get You There:

"In the arc of what can be a long, successful career, you will always be in transit from 'here to there'. Here can be a great place. If you're successful, here is exactly the kind of place you want to be...But here is also a place where you can be a success in spite of some gaps in your behavior or personal makeup. That's why you want to go 'there' (p. 18)."


What's the point? It's a journey, a process, a stretching time. It's where I've been the last few years. In the same way that we implement a strategy to help our organization (family, ministry team, classroom, work group, etc.) move in the right direction...we can have a personal plan. Do you have one? It is the process of each of us doing the personal work to grow, change, and learn that will in actuality make it possible for our family, the ministry, or the church to get to “there” (the preferred vision). It all begins with one person, one leader, that’s you (and me). I'm asking, "What is God calling me to do personally so that I can lead others to fulfill the mission and vision to which He is calling us?"

Embracing the journey...

DO NOTHING

Do nothing? NOT!

Success (a movement of life change, transformed lives, fruit that lasts, lasting impact) begins with a step. Success begins with a move from where you are to where you want to be…from here to there. In other words, success begins with strategy. Whether it’s completing a degree, starting a business or family, or advancing the Kingdom, you must have a strategy in place before you will succeed. Haphazard happenings typically produce chaos that is hit and miss at best. The only way to hit the target is to have a target; we accomplish what we plan. Just as Bell had a plan for the phone and God had a strategy in hanging the stars, creating a church that will significantly impact and advance the Kingdom requires a strategy. It’s about moving from here to there –as Goldsmith states, “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” that’s the hard work of change…that’s the beauty of strategy…

Strategy:
Define the issue/problem/need (state it in a single sentence)
Get the facts: learn what we can to make our best decision “beyond a reasonable doubt”
Consider alternatives: defining and fact finding often produce many options that require wisdom and divine direction. Consider scripture, morality, costs, data, and organizational realities.
Make the decision.
Do It. This is the critical step. Information without implementation has little, if any, use. People will own it as they do it.

Pursuing the dream...embracing the journey

Whisper

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. ~ Jesus (John 3:8)



What if our life isn’t measured by length but by depth– the listening to the Spirit and responding from his heart? What if it’s measured by depth which blesses those we meet, depth that cares, depth that hears, depth that rejoices, depth that takes the first step to reach out, to reconcile, or to restore relationships?

What if it’s measured by the depth of His love reaching…His heart beating…His hands helping? What if life is measured by depth?


The Lord spoke to Elijah not in the fire or wind, but in a gentle whisper. The Spirit’s secret strength is in us teaching us the breadth and the length, the height and the depth of His great love for us…His love empowers us to speak with a gentle whisper.

Courage doesn’t always roar sometimes it’s the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” I wonder what response we’d get if we spoke in gentle whispers…would the world hear love? Would our ears hear the heart cry of those we engage? Would acceptance, grace and redemption capture the attention of those who cross our paths?

The winds of the Spirit blow where he pleases…what if depth comes as the winds of the Spirit blow in us? Trying to whisper…seeking the winds...pursuing the dream…embracing the journey.

Change is in the air

“The most effective way to manage change is to create it…to make the future is highly risky. It is less risky, however, than not trying to make it.” ~ Peter Drucker

Change is essential. Change is inevitable. Change is everywhere. Summer often gives us a bit more relaxing, reflective time…perhaps it’s time for change.

As we contemplate change, perhaps this grid helps.

Some of us tend to avoid change; some of us just try to deal with change; and some us actual try to make change. There is a critical distinction between each of these positions. Teams that have a chance of reaching their dream are seeking to create change.

“When it comes to the future, there are three types of people (ministries): those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.”~ John M. Richardson, Jr.

For most, change is rarely easy, but it is a constant and an essential element in achieving the dream. In essence, often the reality is change or die. Let’s choose change! Embracing the journey…

Passion Required

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead

Changing the world: Passion required.

We are wired with passion. Passion produces power to stay the course. Passion provides focus and energy. In every realm of leadership, leaders set the tone for the people they lead; when a leader becomes disconnected from their source of passion atrophy lies in wait.


So, I’m asking, “Where’s my passion? Have I let others mold me or move me from my passion, my calling?”

As leaders, we have to stay connected to our passion point; it’s part of the divine design. Followers are drawn to our passion for the vision. Drift from our passion and the people we lead will eventually wither and so will we. BUT, if we stay connected to our passion point, we will draw people who will follow us with the same level of intensity.

In the words of John Wesley, “When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn.” Out of the depth of one’s soul passion rises as a fire that cannot be quenched. Engage the passion, embrace the journey, and pursue the dream.

I have a dream...

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. -- Thoreau


I dream that once in my lifetime…I will be a part of a team…where dreams are big, challenging, transformational, and inspiring, where visionary leadership paves the way to celebratory victories…where making a difference in the lives of many is a daily norm not an occasional happening, where authentic relationships connect hearts deeply, where iron sharpens iron and trust breaks through barriers, where celebrations are customary and constructive so that complacency is countered, where challenges result in courage and grit…where one has to take a deep breath and stand and ponder deeply to take it all in…where inspiration woos one forward…where perseverance requires new benchmarks because success saturates and individuals compete with themselves not others to reach a destiny of purpose, where the aim of making a difference blocks out the drama of self-absorption – where sacrifice is the norm and makes a difference…where it’s not mere sacrifice…it’s a choice to live for the dream…where long-term goals stir passion that can’t be squelched nor has to be contained…where abandon is the norm…where team mates collaborate and push each other to levels they would never reach without each other – where an insatiable appetite for feedback is freeing as one continually reinvents oneself with a hunger for development and growth…where hearts beat as one on the climb towards the summit…the vista…and the dream continues to unfold…embracing the journey.