Leaders are Readers

I've always had to push myself to read. I really hate to admit that. Watching television is just so much easier. When faced with decision to either read a book or see if Andy and Barney get things squared away with Helen and Thelma Lou (even though I know that they did the last 132 times that I watched the same episode) I'm hard pressed to choose the book.

Well, all of that being said you will be happy to know that once I pick up a book and start reading it, not only am I glad that I did but I actually enjoy it.

I've read more in the last 3 years than I have in the rest of my life combined. My hunger for knowledge has just exponentially increased. What made the difference--being stretched out of my comfort zone and feeling the need to grow.

It's not that previous ministries were not challenging, because they absolutely were and are, but keeping up with a church of a couple of thousand people is ever changing and if you don't keep learning you get mangled beneath those wheels that just keep rollin' down the tracks.

I'm starting a Master's program in Organizational Leadership in January. I'm going to be reading no less than one book a week (or more) for the next couple of years...and probably for the rest of my life.

While Barney and Andy still beckon, the trade off is worth it. Here's a few things I've learned about reading and learning.

1. Leaders really are learners and if you stop learning you will eventually stop leading.
2. The more you read the more you can read. The ability to process and synthesize information keeps increasing with practice.
3. It is important to read from multiple disciplines. I am a pastor and I love spiritually focused books but is is important for me to be exposed to other ideas and ways of thinking. It actually causes me to grow stronger in my own discipline.
4. You can read dozens of books a year if you consistently read in two 15 minute time slots every day. You don't have to do marathon reading...short bursts can accomplish a great deal.
5. Chart out a reading track. Decide what you need to learn and the things you need to pump into your mind for personal development and chart out a reading track that will take you there.
6. If you start reading a book and it stinks, put it down and forget about it. Maybe you will connect with it a few years from now. (Unless, of course, it is assigned reading >:(
   
7. If you are reading a book and you come to a segment of the book that feels like a waste of time start skimming until the book gets back on track for you.
   
8. Don't neglect the classics. When people are still reading a book 500 years after it was written there is usually a reason for it.

Leaders are often overwhelmed with their responsibilities and sometimes they just don't think they have time to read. Big mistake. Books are the stepping stones that will bridge where you are and where you need to go.

Okay, here it is... I'm committed to reading at least 4 books a month (unless, of course, I have to read more on this Masters Degree journey).

Sorry Ange, I'll see you in a couple of years.

You Can't Lead Without Passion

I am passionate about the call that God has placed upon my life. It motivates me at the deepest level of my being.

I've always been suspect of guys who have lost the fire in their belly. You know, those guys who used to be propelled by a mission that gave way to a full blown vision but somewhere along the way they kicked into auto-pilot and started repeating a routine. I've always had this tiny fear tucked away in the back of my mind that I would one day become one of those guys who allows their fire get doused.

Lately I've been thinking about the passion that presses me forward. Where does it come from? How do I keep it alive? How important is that passionate vision?

I'll start with answering the question, "How important is that passionate vision?" My opinion...you can't lead without passion. Otherwise, what's the motivation? I cannot lead another person or organization to the fulfillment of a vision that I am not passionate about. It is passion that causes me to find a way when everyone says it can't be done. It is passion that presses me past the naysayers. It is passion for the vision that motivates me to sacrifice and press forward.

Where does such passion come from? I'm not a business guy and I've never been much on being passionate toward temporal goals...I'm geared toward spiritual results that are eternal. So, where does my passion come from? It comes from the Presence of God. When I encounter the Presence of God through intimacy with the Holy Spirit I "catch" the heart of God. I sense the things that are important to God and the fire that He is stoking in my belly. This incredible passion arises when I am in the Presence of God and this passion motivates me, propels me forward. For me...this is always where the passion comes from.

How do I keep it alive? I've got to stay connected to God's Presence (you notice that I capitalize the "P" in Presence...it is because I equate the Presence of God with the person of the Holy Spirit so to me God's Presence is not a ethereal aura but it is contact with the person of the Holy Spirit).

The Presence inspires the passion for the mission, the passion paints the vision, the vision begs the goals, and the goals guide the implementation.

I can't lead without passion and I really don't think any other leader (particularly spiritual leaders) can lead people on a mission unless they (the leader) feels the mission on the deepest level.

I love feeling the mission, I love being engaged in God's plan, I love the passion that arises in my heart, and I love pulling people around a vision to engage in building things that will last, literally, forever.

Servant-Leadership

I've been reading a lot about leadership the last couple of weeks in preparation for a class in NT leadership that I will be taking in December.
Servant-Leadership has been a focus.

One of the thoughts that I've come across that really intrigues me is the idea that a servant-leader is more concerned about the person or people that he is leading than the organization itself. I've really given this a lot of thought.

How can I be more concerned for the individual when my primary responsibility is leading the organization? How can I be more concerned about a staff person than the well being of a congregation that I'm leading? Wow, that's something to really think about. Who would Jesus have been most concerned about.

OK, I know this could lead to a deep philosophical discussion about the 99 sheep verses the 1 lost sheep, or dialog about the best thing for the many verses the interest of only one. Is it a truth that the servant-leader should be concerned about the welfare of one over the welfare of the entire group?

Hmmm. After pondering this I've come to some conclusions that I think will help me grow.

First of all, in God's plan, if something is best for His Church then it is also best for the individual. If a staffer is not functioning in his zone...his sweet spot...then there's a pretty good chance that they may not be in the best place for them.

Cutting to the chase--I am called and compelled to be very concerned for individuals that I have a responsibility to lead. If I approach situations where an individual is causing detriment to the organization I demonstrate servant-leadership if I approach the situation as a growth opportunity (or a transitional opportunity) for the staffer who is struggling--not for the sake of the organization but for the sake of the individual.

If I can separate out the individual from the global perspective while ministering to that staff person then I can truly look to the best interests not only of the organization but the genuine self interests of the individual.

Anyway, that's what I was thinking about.

Leaders must be Learners

On the way to Atlanta today I read a little bit from Missional Leadership by Roxburgh and Romanuk. A quote from p. 117 says,

"In our experience, many congregations are in trouble because their leaders don't know the most basic principles of leading people, forming effective staff, developing teams, or communicating processes. Crucial to forming missional communities, these skills are aspects of leadership that can be learned in other settings."

My experience tells me this is a very true statement. I must say that I've leaned a little toward entrepreneurial leadership models in my leadership and I am swinging back toward a missional leadership model. The thing about this quote that captured my attention is that simple, basic, universal people leadership skills and just plain old "smarts" are required in leading a church and leading people no matter how missional our focus is.

In my prayer time yesterday one of the Bible passages I read was Proverbs 3:19-20

"By wisdom the Lord laid the earth's foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew."

I know that God knows everything but I never thought much about Him doing the work of creation through His wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. I just always saw this picture of massive power shooting forth and...BOOM... everything was in place. This scripture says that it was an exercise, not only of power, but of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.

One of my core values is the pursuit of the manifest Presence of God. I want God's Presence to propel my life, my decisions, and my direction. I want my encounters with God's Presence to be the origination of all of my actions. I also want to learn and increase in my abilities, in my knowledge, my understanding, and to grow in wisdom. I want the origination of my growth to be my relationship with God but I want to grow in wisdom and understanding so that I can be effective in the creative work that God has sown into my passion.

I have a passion to see church leaders relying upon the Presence and power of God but I am also passionate that they learn and grow in their pursuit of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Gotta have both!

When you stop learning you stop growing, when you stop growing the people around you stop growing through your influence, and when that happens the revelations that we recieve from God ring hollow because they don't find their fulfillment in transformed lives.

Atlanta and Grassroots Leadership

Networking with some guys today about starting and leading a school of ministry. We've got to start finding new and non-traditional ways to train church leaders. Everyone isn't going to go to seminary or even relocate to pursue an undergraduate degree but yet there is a leadership challenge that churches are facing. There's a lot of rural communities that have had churches for years...they are not exactly on the cutting edge but in their own God intended way they are impacting their little town.

Not many leaders fresh out of seminary are anxious to move to a town of a thousand or two and find a job in the town so they have the privilege of ministering and leading a group of people not quite able to pay them enough to make payments on their student loans.

Leaders are going to have to be trained and raised up from the grassroots and inspired and equipped to do the job.

This thing (the Kingdom of God) started out as a grassroots response to a divine plan. If we are going to hit the ends of the earth we are going to have to think of ministry and ministry leadership in different ways.

Corporate Evangelism

Here's a clip from a U.S. News & World Report web article about corporate evangelists:

“But the job of a corporate evangelist is about way more than preaching the wonders of a company to customers and clients. "Evangelism is about selling your dream so that other people believe in it as much as you do," says Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist for Apple Computer and one of the key people responsible for marketing the Macintosh in 1984. "Those people then, in turn, get even more people to believe. Just like Jesus was an evangelist who recruited 12 more evangelists."”

This is a great article and this is just a small excerpt. I encourage you to read it in its entirety...after you finish reading this blog, of course.

The words "Evangelism" and "Evangelist" are words that I've heard and used all of my life. They are words that have been used in the "church world" for a couple of thousand years. I find it interesting that progressive corporations, largely in the tech sector, are using terminology like "evangelist" and "evangelism teams".

It's interesting how you can learn a little more about words and actions that you've employed for decades when you see the words and concepts used in a different setting.

Look at some of the phrases from this USN&WR article to describe corporate evangelism and evangelists:

• "Evangelism is about selling your dream so that other people believe in it as much as you do"

I want to be so charged up and passionate about what I believe and the dreams that I hold in my heart that it just overflows into the lives of others. Fact is, if I'm not excited about something then it is going to look pretty dried up to anyone that I try to share it with.

• "Those people then, in turn, get even more people to believe"

Why does the evangelist get even more people to believe? It is because the evangelist believes his message passionately. If I am going to share good news with someone then it had better be good news to me. Good things are contagious.

• "Just like Jesus was an evangelist who recruited 12 more evangelists"

Viral marketing is a growing marketing strategy that is more effective than direct mail or broadcast marketing. Viral marketing leverages social networks to spread news about a service or product. We used to call it "word of mouth" marketing but it is broader than that.

Jesus built an evangelism network with people who were just as passionate (well, almost) as he was about the news that he carried. In fact, I am a part of Jesus' extended network of disciples.

I am an evangelist. I am deeply passionate about the transformation that has happened in my life through my faith in God.

It's not up to me to persuade people to believe something. The work of the evangelist is to feel the message to the core and to believe that people will have a better life by hearing, understanding, and applying the message.