The Little Things

Recently I had a wonderful lunch conversation with a friend who is a very successful pastor. He was sharing with me a few leadership principles that he had learned in nearly 30 years of ministry. One thing he said that really caught my attention was, "Don't forget the little things." The little things are hand written thank you cards when someone gives you a gift or taking someone out to lunch and spending time listening to their stories or dropping a card in the mail letting someone know you are praying for them. 

I know it sounds simple and maybe even "old school," but this is really the heart of pastoring. Leadership guru John Maxwell says, "Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand." The little things make sure you continue to touch the hearts of those you are privileged to lead. 

In ministry it's very easy to forget the little things. If we were honest we would all say that at times we focus on connecting with new guests and prospective leaders at first and then eventually dial back our intentionality with them. After all, when the new guests come back 5 or 6 weeks in a row they are now part of the church and we are off to the next new guest. And thus the cycle continues. Think about it this way, when I first met my wife I went out of my way to impress her. I bought flowers and clothes and chocolates and perfume. Whatever it took to get the job done. Fast forward 5 years and 2 kids later and I am ashamed to confess that I can't remember the last time I randomly bought her flowers or perfume. In essence I forgot the little things. 

**author's note: At the time of this writing I am preparing to leave and buy a surprise gift for my wife :)

What would your ministry look like if you took 2 hours a week and focused on the little things? Maybe you are the Michael Phelps of the little things...I bet you can improve! Maybe you are like me and aren't the best at executing the little things - just start small a d work toward improvement. Hey, here's a great idea -- find one of those Michael Phelps characters we mentioned earlier and have them help mentor you along. Wayne Cordeiro recently said during his session at the Exponential conference, "You can start small, but you have to start now!" That's how we watch the little things improve and become the big things in our ministry. 

Here are a few tips to improve our effectiveness with the little things:

1) Schedule it. If we don't schedule our time someone will! Don't expect it to just happen. You don't expect dinner to just happen. You don't expect your kids to just magically appear at school. You schedule what matters. Schedule time to give attention to the little things. My current schedule is an hour on Mondays and an hour on Thursdays. It's not a lot of time but it's time devoted solely to the little things. 

2) Decide what you will do. Are you going to send postcards or hand-written letters? Both? What about emails and social media follow up? Will you take someone out for lunch or visit with someone at their home? Don't overlook this step. Decide in advance what your gameplan is going to be and then make it happen. 

3) Switch it up. You want consistency, but you don't want fake, obligatory, oh-that's-just-a-letter-from-the-preacher thing either. Don't get caught in a rut. If you always send postcards on Mondays eventually people will think you are just performing a task on your to-do list. Don't settle in on the same thing just for the sake if doing something. Imagine how boring it would be if every night you ate a ham and cheese sandwich with a few potato chips. You'd get pretty tired of the ham sandwich. My guess is before the week ended you'd be finding a new meal! The same is true in our pastoral connections with those we serve. Switch it up. Get creative. 

4) Be genuine. No one likes a fake. If you are doing the little things as a gimmick people will quickly see right through you. If you don't love people you can't lead them. I would go so far as to say maybe you don't have a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ. Love God, love people. It's simple. Pray for them. Encourage them. Get specific. Don't fall for the cheap "I'm glad you come to church with us" line. Affirm what God is doing in their life. Mention specific things that you appreciate about them. Don't get lazy here. Learn to love people. Chose to give them love even when you don't think they "deserve" it. Remember, Christ loved us even when we didn't measure up or deserve it. 

I'm sure there are at least 50 more things that will help add value to our ministry of little things, but these should get us started. You will see how people begin to love and trust you more as you find creative ways to serve them. After 1 or 2 years of little things you'll see how big it really is. And if the little things become the big things in 1-2 years imagine the dividends after 10 or 15 or even 20 years of ministry in the same place! 

I leave you today with an old saying that sums up the ministry of little things: people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. 

Overcoming Fear

“Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD…”

Ezra 3.3 NIV

                All of us have had moments in life where fear has stopped us from doing what we felt God was calling us to do.  Even the greatest leaders who accomplish amazing things deal with fear.  Fear has the potential to cripple all forward progress and leave us feeling inadequate and insecure.  As a leader we must learn to face our fears and continue to drive onward.  We need to harness the spirit of the great cowboy John Wayne: “Courage is being scared to death, and saddling up anyway.”

                During the reforms of Ezra’s day fear was a constant reality.  The Jewish people were prisoners of war.  They were captive in a foreign land and forced to endure life as glorified servants of their new masters the Persians.  Eventually God touched the heart of Cyrus the Persian king causing him to let the Jews return to Jerusalem to rebuild the broken down city with its temple to Yahweh.  The people banded together and journeyed back to their homeland determined to pick up the pieces of their former lives.  They faced opposition.  People weren’t exactly kind to them nor were they supportive of their rebuilding efforts.  Yet the people still worked.  They faced their fears head on and continued to rebuild.  As a matter of fact, the verse above says that they worked “despite their fear.”

                As leaders we will constantly face the challenge of working despite our fears.  Any time you try to step out and do something new you will face fears.  I think that it is a natural human tendency to think of all the ways that our new endeavor will not work instead of thinking of all the ways that it will work.  We rehearse all the possible setbacks and heartbreaks.  We hear the voice of our friends and family telling us why we shouldn’t do it.  We remember the last time we tried to lead something in a big way only to fall flat on our face.  Eventually all of that thinking breathes life to our fears and paralyzes us from action.

                So I say to you today – NO MORE!!!  If God is calling you to do it…do it!  Embrace your fears, yes that’s right – embrace them.  Trust God even though it feels like you are setting yourself up for failure or embarrassment.  Breathe deeply and move forward.  Like the people of Ezra’s day, lead big despite your fear.

THREE THINGS TO DO WHEN FEAR STOPS YOU

1) Admit that you’re scared.

                For many this is a hard pill to swallow.  It is natural for us to feel the need to cover up all of our shortcomings.  There are always things that only you and Jesus know – and your specific fear may be one of those things – what I am saying here is stop lying to yourself.  Don’t deny it and try to white knuckle your way through it.  Confront the fact that you have fear or insecurity or a hard time trusting God to bring you through this.  You are a bigger leader than you fear.  Confront what is confronting you and begin the journey to push forward despite your fear.

2) Build one brick at a time.

                Craig Walker, Lead Pastor of Upward Church, recently said, “A brick wall is just the same old boring brick over and over again.”  That statement rocked me.  If I want to build something big it is the result of consistently doing the same things over and over again.  How do you overcome fear?  Build one small brick at a time.  It won’t look like much when you get started, but after a few more bricks you’ll begin to see progress.  Take small steps to defeat the fear that is threatening to stop you from fulfilling God’s mission for your life.  With each step forward you are just (cheesy Pink Floyd reference coming) putting “another brick in the wall.”

3) Communicate with those closest to you.

                I promise you that someone in your close circle of friends has dealt with a fear similar to the one that is staring you face-to-face right now.  They may even be fighting at this very moment.  Share the load.  Talk with them about it.  I have a few close friends who I stay in close contact with who help me when I am dealing with fear (or anything else).  Proverbs 27.17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend” (NLT).  Let people into your life who can keep you sharp.  Pick up the phone, Skype, Facebook, send a Tweet, whatever you have to do…do it!  You’ll see that having someone to face your fears with in prayer is invaluable.  I am convinced that one of the primary ways that the devil stops our progress is by making us believe the lie that “Nobody else deals with this.”  That is simply not true.  Don’t let that lie force you into living and leading alone.  Communicate clearly and communicate often. 

These are just a few observations pertaining to how we can effectively deal with fear.  What are your thoughts?

The Turnaround

                Hello, my name is Brian and I’m an Atlanta Falcons fan.  Wait a minute…this isn’t Football Fans Anonymous!! Sorry!!  I bring up my fanhood today to discuss a very crucial part of church ministry in general and revitalization is particular: The Turnaround.  Being a Falcons fan I’ve learned what a good turnaround looks like.  Atlanta’s head coach, Mike Smith (Smitty as the Falcons faithful refer to him), has led the once hapless team of misfits to becoming a relevant franchise in the National Football League.  We still have our hurdles to jump (like winning consistently in the post season), but thank God we aren’t what we used to be!!

                Coach Smith has led the turnaround in at least 4 ways that are helpful for us as ministry leaders to take notice of:

1.       Place key people in powerful positions – A few key people on in the Atlanta Falcon’s turnaround are quarterback Matt Ryan, Running Back Michael Turner, and Wide Receiver duo Roddy White and Julio Jones.  Smith’s first year as coach of the Falcons was on the heels of the Michael Vick debacle and the “rebuilding” year that resulted in what many refer to as “The Lost Year.”  Despite all the turmoil around the franchise, Coach Smith (and general manager Thomas Dimitroff) aggressively went after new leaders and assembled a great team of talent that would become the new face(s) of the team.  They understood the value of placing key people in powerful positions. 

             The same is true for your ministry.  Regardless of past defeats make your mind up to     aggressively go after great key leaders.  Remember: proper people placement prevents problems.

2.       Remember the small picture – Smith has a mantra that all of his players can repeat easier than they can repeat their address, “One game at a time.”  In the week-to-week world of the NFL it’s easy to overlook an opponent because the team is looking too far down the schedule.  Smith keeps his team focused on the goal by reminding them that it is one game at a time.  He is intentional about the small picture. 

                Keep your team focused on the task at hand in ministry by celebrating small wins.  Don’t be so caught up in where you are going that you don’t see where you have been or where you are at.  Slow down.  Dig in for the long haul.  Enjoy the small things.  Keep your leadership focused on “one game at a time.”

3.       Honor your players in public – I love watching Coach Smith in interviews.  He is always the consummate professional in the face of harsh criticism and jovial success.  What draws me to him the most is his attitude toward his players especially following a loss.  Smith addresses the fact of the loss, but validates the truth that his players are great and capable of winning big.  He never throws a player under the bus.  Smitty accepts the responsibility of the defeat and gives all the credit for the win to his players and staff.  Now that’s good leadership. 

                Make it a habit to publicly praise your team.  Don’t just encourage them in the hallways, do it from the stage too.  And never, never, never, never blame someone for a “loss!”

4.       Learn from defeat – This is the hardest of these keys for me to write because I am a fan of the team.  Prior to Coach Smith’s tenure with the Falcons the team had never had back-to-back winning seasons.  They’ve never won a Super Bowl and the post season record isn’t exactly bragging material.  Smith breathed new life into a dead franchise.  In 5 years he has become the winningest head coach in the team’s history.  He has never had a losing season and has hosted the NFC division championship game in Atlanta.  But…against all of that success Smith has never won the “big game.”  Atlanta has had some bitter defeats in the Smith Era and none more crushing than this year’s NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers.  Atlanta had home field advantage and jumped out to a huge lead in the game only to let go of the lead and watch the 49ers march through the Georgia Dome on the way to the Super Bowl in New Orleans. 

After the biggest loss of his coaching career Coach Smith responded by saying, “When you start the season you have your goals and your expectations and I’ll say our goals and our expectations were much higher than just playing in this game yesterday as a team. You never know when you’re going to have that opportunity to have that situation arise again. The only thing you can do is try and take advantage of it. We didn’t take advantage of it yesterday, so now we have to regroup and talk about moving forward. Moving forward for us and our football team is getting prepared for the 2013 season.” 

He acknowledged defeat and focused on looking forward.  In ministry, we will have those moments of “defeat.”  The key is to learn from them and move on.  Don’t dwell on the mistakes or let downs.  Accept the fact that sometimes things don’t go as planned and learn to “roll with the punches.”  It will make your leadership journey a lot better!

 

                There are several other areas that Coach Smith can teach us about our leadership.  These are just a few to ponder and see how they fit into your particular context. 

10 Things Every Pastor Must Know About Team Ministry

1. Other people on your team have the idea that you've been waiting for. 
2. You don't have it all figured out -- get over yourself. 
3. Team members rise to the expectation of the leader that is willing to empower them. 
4. Spend time laughing while you are leading -- part of the mission is enjoying the mission. 
5. Invest personal time with each team member -- don't just see the group, see individuals. 
6. Celebrate other's success regularly and publicly. 
7. Restate the vision constantly - teams thrive with a constant big goal in front of them. 
8. Apologize in front of the entire team when you get it wrong. 
9. Share the praise/credit with the team publicly. 
10. Take the blame publicly - never pass the buck!

Becoming the Best Me

Recently while reading Samuel Chand's book Cracking Your Church's Culture Code I came across a powerful quote that made me stop in my tracks:

"What is it about me that keeps me from becoming the best me that God intended me to be?"

That question needs to be regularly wrestled with by every leader. The truth is we all want to be successful in our fields. No one ever dreams of becoming the Vice President. We want the secret service ushering us onto Air Force One referring to us as "Mr President!"

If we are ever going to fulfill our potential we must come to terms with our own limitations and setbacks.

Each of us has limitations and setbacks. Every leader has a niche and a land mine. So the more time we spend analyzing and confronting them the better we are in the long run. Here are a few suggestions that have proven to be helpful to me along the way:

1) Don't try to eliminate every weakness

Our strengths, not our weaknesses, are the keys that unlock the doors of effective leadership. I'll bet most of you are paid for your strength. It's what makes you valuable to your organization. So to spend more time and energy focussing on your weakness than your strength actually robs your leadership of its greatness. Accept limitations. Eliminate what you can. Delegate what you can't. Refuse to buy into the myth that a good leader is a "balanced" leader. All great leaders have been unbalanced toward the area of their strengths and have learned to surround themselves with people who are strong in their areas of limitations. You'll be wise to do the same. 

2) Pay extra special attention to character weaknesses

While you will not be rendered useless because you aren't good at administration your leadership will definitely become paralyzed because of major character flaws. Character is the currency of great leadership. If you have character flaws work on them! Take the time to work through issues that hinder your integrity. A healthy organization is strong at the top due to the high integrity of its leaders. Find your flaws. Focus on fixing them. Let people into your lives that can help you on the journey. Integrity is a team sport!

3) Invite people into your life

When I was in college I learned the importance of community. There is something powerful about having a handful of people that are given permission to speak with authority into our lives. We all need a few people who have gone ahead of us that can coach us along with their wisdom and experience. I call these leaders "Pauls" after the great New Testament mentor and apostle. Likewise, we can benefit profoundly from having a few friends who are lateral mentors. These people are fellow journeymen running beside us at the same pace that we can draw mutual encouragement and share resources with. I call these leaders "Barnabases" after the great encourager from the New Testament. We also need a few people who we are pouring our lives into. These leaders are typically younger and less experienced and our task is to share with them and help challenge them to shoot for the stars. I call these leaders "Timothys" after the loyal follower of Paul in the New Testament. These types of 360 degree mentoring relationships are crucial to helping us become all that God intends us to be. 

4) Commit to the process

I'm not going to lie to you, the process of becoming all that God designed you to become is a long process filled with high points and low places. Most leaders thrive on accomplishing tasks. The journey of leadership is not a series of tasks it is a lifelong process. Don't get discouraged because you aren't making the progress you would like to see. Stay faithful to the process. Pastor Craig Groeschel once said, "Most leaders overestimate what God wants to do in their lives in the short run and underestimate what God wants to do in the long run." God is committed to your entire life...we must be too. Keep your hand to the plow. You'll be thankful you did. 

5) Celebrate small victories

I can't stress this point enough. Learn to celebrate each and every victory no matter how small it may seem. When we can become grateful in the small victories we set ourselves up for success in great battles. In the Old Testament account of David and Goliath we find a young shepherd boy named David who defeats a mighty military hero with a simple sling and a "smooth stone." Develop the habit of enjoying the "smooth stones" in your life and leadership. Don't try to overpower everything with your own charisma or experience. Rejoice in the smallness of your "smooth stone" moment. Set crazy goals that challenge your team, but along the way take the time to memorialize the small victories. Do this personally and corporately and you will energize yourself and the team that you serve. Life is too short to waste another minute complaining about the size of your "Goliath" be intentional about celebrating small victories on the journey to success!

These are just a few suggestions to help as we all reflect on our calling as leaders. What are your thoughts?

Champion Style Free Throws

Recently I witnessed the power of consistency at work in a significant way.

I am not a basketball fan, but I caught myself watching the NBA finals this past week as the Dallas Mavericks battled the Miami Heat.

As you may know now, Dallas won and are the current NBA champions.

A huge key to their success came from the accurate free throw shots made by power forward Dirk Nowitzki. Every time Nowitzki stepped up to the line it resulted in points for the Mavs. He never missed! Not once!!

The actual stat for Nowitzki's free throw performance was 94.1%!

Now that's consistency!!

As it relates to leadership, my question is: when we step to the "line" can we make the shot?

Consistency is getting the job done the same way every time. That is what the people we lead are looking for from us. More than being a "hit-or-miss" player, we have the burden of responsibility to be focussed and steady over the long haul.

1. Consistency says, "I'll be there"

2. Consistency says, "My character is rock solid"

3. Consistency says, "I'm the same person off the stage that I am on the stage"

4. Consistency says, "My emotions are in check"

5. Consistency says, "You can trust me"

I challenge us all to reflect on our consistency or lack thereof and see what our leadership-lifestyle is telling us and those we lead.

Drive...

Okay so we enter into part 2 of our theme: 3 words - drive, consistency, celebration

Thought for today: drive is the byproduct of passion

Think about this for a moment, no one has to pry you out of bed to do the things that you love doing. We rarely have to set alarm clocks for those events and activities that "get our motor running." If you are anything like me you will actually plan for and heavily anticipate those moments. We live our life constantly moving in the direction of our passions.

As leaders if we expect any drive we must learn to tap into our passions.

It's that simple. So from now on find out what makes you come alive as a leader and shift a great majority of your time and energy into refining those few things. Now don't misunderstand me there will be seasons that we must focus on other things that aren't as immediately fulfilling, but these are only "pacers" in our lives.

By "pacers" I am referring to things that help us regain our course and prepare for the next leg of the race. Being from the south I am constantly in contact with more than a few NASCAR fans (sometimes I think there are more NASCAR fans than people!). In NASCAR, just before the start of full blown 200 mph racing or whenever a crash happens the officials send out a pace car that keeps the race cars in check. Pace cars are in no way, shape, or form as powerful as the NASCARs but they serve a critical function: restraint.

Those things in our leadership that are not necessarily our passions, but are integral to the daily functioning of our organizations operate like pace cars in our leadership. Simply drop your speed, get in line, and get ready for the green flag to drop!

Now back to our passions...

I have heard said that whatever you obsess about you bring about. That is so true. If I obsess about being the greatest guitarist on the planet, I will spend my time and money making that dream a reality. If I obsess about being the skinniest person in my family, I will sacrifice eating fried chicken and cornbread so I can make that dream a reality. And in my leadership if I obsess about making quotas, gaining new ground, increasing sales, retaining members, etc. I will naturally find ways to make that/those dream(s) a reality.

Pause for a moment and make a mental list of your 5 greatest passions as a leader...

...I'll wait...

Now that you have those passions in mind ask yourself:

1. What will it take to make this a reality?
2. How much time/money will I have to invest?
3. What new skills/techniques will I have to learn?
4. What old skills/techniques/mindsets will I have to unlearn?
5. Who can help me make this a reality?
6. Am I willing to give up whatever it takes to achieve these goals?
7. Would I be able to sleep at night knowing that I am pursuing these goals?
8. Is my family 100% completely supportive of this venture?
9. Do I have the stamina to stay in for the long haul?
10. Is it really worth it?

These 10 questions will get you started as you whittle out a gameplan for your passions. I want to encourage you to stop looking outside of yourself for something meaningful to give your life to. The secret to your fulfillment is within your heart. Dig deep and find the dream that just won't die. Unearth the power of your imagination and let your heart provide the drive as you mine the riches of your passion.

Remember drive is a byproduct of passion. What the world needs is not someone who knows how to "be a leader." What the world needs is someone who knows how to be passionate about a worthwhile cause.

Passion brings promotion.

Passion brings productivity.

Passion brings purpose.

Passion brings pain.

Passion brings pleasure.

Passion brings power.

Unlock your passion and start driving today!!!