11.04.09
A Story of Burn Out and Restoration
Are you feeling like you are burning the candle at both ends and you don’t really know how to stop? Do you feel guilty by taking an evening off to be with your family because you had to say “No” to someone in the church? Do you feel like you are spiritually exhausted and feel that God may be a little distant? If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, please take a moment to click here to read and listen to the story of Blake’s journey through Burn Out and his restoration! Blake serves as one of the Campus Pastors at Crosspoint Community Church in Nashville, TN!
This video represents God’s provision in a time of brokenness for my family. We have been wounded very bad by church leaders. However, this is the way that I view this now, “if God is working on my character and He is doing a redemptive discipline in my life…then who cares how bad the circumstances are.” Seriously…if the God of the Universe is taking the time to work on my heart…then why would it matter how uncomfortable it might be. It’s kind of like going to the dentist…in order to remove the plaque…he is going to have to drill…and nobody likes to have drills in their mouths!!
Thanks Blake for sharing and being authentic about your journey in ministry! So, how is your journey going? Do you need to reach out for help or how has God restored you on the journey? Share your story so others may be encouraged that they are not alone! How do you create balance in your life?
09.27.09
Central Goes FACEBOOK
Central’s New Facebook Campus
Service times:
Sundays: 7:00 am, 9:00 am, 10:20 am, 11:45 am, &
4:30 pm
Tuesdays: 5:00 pm
Thursdays: 5:00 pm
(All services are PST)
Sundays: 7:00 am, 9:00 am, 10:20 am, 11:45 am, &
(All services are PST)
Facebook currently has over 250 million …regular users. It is a great way to meet people, connect with old friends, and stay up-to-date with life. Central has partnered with Facebook to become the first church ever to have services on its site. So kick back, log in, and enjoy going to church with your online friends and family from Facebook.Read More
09.21.09
Natural Leader vs Spiritual Leader
This past week, I was reminded of an old author, A.W. Tozer who explains the difference in a natural leader and one who is a spiritual leader
A true and safe leader is likely to be one who has no desire to lead, but is forced into a position by the inward pressure of the Holy SPirit and the press of [circumstances]…There was hardly a great leader from Paul to the present day but was drafted by the Holy Spirit for the task, and commissioned by the Lord to fill a position he had little heart for…The man who is ambitious to lead is disqualified as a leader. The true leader will have no desire to lord over God’s heritage, but will be humble, gentle, self-sacrificing and altogether ready to follow when the Spirit chooses another to lead.
Natural Leadership: Spiritual Leadership:
Self-confident Confident in God
Knows men Also Knows God
Makes own decisions Seeks God’s will
Ambitious Humble
Creates methods Follows God’s example
Enjoys command Delights in God’s obedience
Seeks personal reward Loves God and others
Independent Depends on God
Great thoughts for us as we lead others into this next season. Pray you had an AWESOME weekend!
08.19.09
Spiritual Leadership
I took the challenge of reading a Leadership book. The book I chose to read was Spiritual Leadership by J Oswald Sanders. This book is very helpful for anyone who is interested in leading. It gave practical insights on the leadership principles of Moses, Nehemiah, Paul, and others in Scripture. It can be used as a Small Group Study for your staff or volunteer teams. One of the things that I really enjoyed was the Rules for Life given by Archbishop Benson:
- Eagerly start the days’ main work
- Do not murmur at your busyness or the shortness of time, but buy up the time around you
- Never murmur when correspondence is brought in
- Never exaggerate duties by seeming to suffer under the load, but treat all responsibilities as liberty and gladness
- Never call attention to crowded work or trivial experiences
- Before confrontation or censure, obtain from God a real love for the one fault. Know the facts; be generous in your judgment. Otherwise. How ineffective, how unintelligible or perhaps provocative your well-intentioned censure may be
- Do not believe everything you hear; do not spread gossip
- Do not seek praise, gratitude, respect or regard for past service
- Avoid complaining when your advice or opinion is not consulted, or having been consulted, set aside
- Never allow yourself to be placed in favorable contrast with anyone
- Do not press conversation to your own needs and concerns
- Seek no favors, nor sympathies; do not ask for tenderness, but receive what comes
- Bear the blame; do not share or transfer it
- Give thanks when credit for your work or ideas is given to another
Another statement I resonated with was by Archbishop Mowll,
“The frontiers of the kingdom of God were never advanced by men and women of caution.”
Great book and I would definitely recommend it to others! What is a Leadership book that you have read that you would recommend to other leaders?
08.18.09
Essential Element of Leadership
Every once in a while, you just have to get away! Right? About three weeks ago, I could tell I was running on fumes! Central had an AWESOME summer: over 800 new people were connected in Small Groups, launched a Summer Starting Point, our team led on-campus connection groups, and just tried to keep up with what all God was doing! It was AMAZING! But about three weeks ago, in the midst of all of this excitement, watching God do what only God can do…I hit a wall! I hit it hard! Do you know what I mean? I had allowed the busyness of ministry to neglect one of the main essential elements of leadership: PRAYER! For the past two weeks, I was able to get away! No emails, no phone calls, no deadlines, no emergencies…God just allowed me time to just unplug and be refreshed.
During the break, I sat down with my Bible and came across some very familiar verses:
Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sickness. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:16)
Wow! What a verse for me to read! God reminded me of what was missing and why in the midst of all of this excitement, I forgot to pray! What a simple thing to forget, but oh, how paralyzing it can be. As Jesus’ ministry exploded around him, he found time to talk with God! The phrasing of Luke 5:16 implies that getting away was a habit in his life. A successful ministry does not exempt any of us from prayer.
In Deeping Your Conversation with God, Ben Patterson writes about a missionary named Mary Slessor who worked in West Africa during the nineteenth century. Patterson states, ”her work among the orphans was nothing short of remarkable.” But Slessor points out that it was not her work that was most important, rather it was something else that gave her success. She writes,
Prayer is the greatest power God has put into our hands for service. Prayer is harder than doing work.
As a leader, if I do not set aside specific times to pray; then I will fail as a leader. It may not seem like it on the outside but on the inside I will find myself missing one of the most important essentials for my spiritual walk: Prayer. The old saying goes, “If I fail to plan; then I plan to fail.” During some amazing times of ministry, Jesus modeled for us the essential to maintaining our spiritual health.
So here is a question for you as a leader, how do you spend time in prayer? Do you have a specific place you go or is it part of your daily schedule? Also, is there something that I can pray for you or your ministry?
08.14.09
A Complaint Free Life
Could you ever imagine that…a complaint-free life? Over the last couple of months, I have noticed myself slowly falling into a pattern of being a complainer. The times are tough, the economy sucks, ministry is tough, it is WAY too Hot! (It really is way too hot! LOL!) But in the midst of all this complaining, God has been doing some amazing things in my life. I have just missed them because of all my complaining. Isn’t it true that you will become what you focus on?
Over my vacation break, I came across a book entitled A Complaint Free World written by Will Bowen, a pastor in Missouri. In writing the book, Bowen was attempting to stop griping, moaning, and whining in our little corner of the world. Wow! What a concept! A little convicting to me though! Bowen’s writes that
When we complain, we are using our words to focus on things that are not as we would like. Our thoughts create our lives, and our words indicate what we are thinking. It is vital that we control our minds in order to re-create our lives.
Reminds me of one of my favorite verses:
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Phil. 4:8
So here is how it works… You wear this bracelet on your wrist. Every time you complain, you have to move the bracelet from one wrist to the other. This gives you a visual reminder of your complaining and helps you turn your complaints to thoughts that are good. The goal is to go 21 consecutive days without complaining. Sound impossible?
Can you imagine what your life, your workplace, your ministry, your team, your family would be like if we did alot less complaining in our little corner of the world? Take the challenge with me and let’s see what happens! You can find out more information at acomplaintfreeworld.org This would also be a great idea for small group ministry!
Let me know your thoughts!
07.06.09
Jud Wilhite: What Are You ReThinking?
Jud Wilhite, our Senior Pastor was recently interviewed by ReThink Monthly to sit down and share about what he was rethinking, what keeps him up at night, and what was on his mind. Check out this article to see how God is using some of today’s prominent church leaders to ReThink the church culture of today. Here is a little of what Jud shared…
Rethink Monthly: In your personal life, is there anything that God is speaking to you that is causing you to rethink the way that you do things in your own life?
Jud Wilhite: Yeah, I think the one thing just this last week, I have been really convicted by is that I think my prayers are too small. I have been reading about the Great Awakening in America and just thinking about how the entire city of Philadelphia went out to a field and heard George Whitfield speak. It has happened before, and like how small my prayers are to imagine the entire city of Las Vegas going out in the desert to hear a message about Christ. I have just been trying to expand my thinking so I will tell you how that played out this weekend. I saw something that I have never seen this weekend. It is one of the things I want to talk to you about on the church side. You know what, I’ll wait. As far as this question goes, I think the big challenge that I have wrestled with is my prayers are too small, and our God is soooo much bigger than I give Him credit. It hasn’t sunk into my life enough and I have really been lit up with that personally. I am just trying to expand my vision of what God can do and who He is, and all that He is accomplishing.
So what are you ReThinking about ministry? What has been on your mind?
07.02.09
No Time for God
In the busyness of life and ministry, do I really have time for God? Over the past 19 years of ministry, God has allowed me to serve as Senior Pastor, Executive Pastor, Family Pastor, and Small Groups Pastor and in every role one of the biggest obstacles I find is making room for God in my daily schedule. I know that statement doesn’t sound too spiritual but to me prayer and the spiritual disciplines have seemed to always (not intentionally) slowly shift to the back seat of my priorities. Today, I was reading through Colossians and came across a challenging but encouraging verse about making room for the eternal. Here is what it said,
Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.
Devote myself to prayer…uhm…good thought but really how devoted am I to prayer? Here are a few of the take aways from my time today:
- Define Prayer: My definition for prayer has changed over the past few years. I use to define prayer as talking to God but now I define prayer as listening to God. The problem with me talking to God is I still have this sense of control and I find myself just spouting off my checklist of wants and needs. Henry Blackaby described that we need to find out where God is working and join Him in what He is doing. Whenever I listen, I can let go and spend more time focusing on what God is saying to me individually. God is always speaking but sometimes we can’t hear Him due to the busyness of our activity.
- Focus My Thoughts On God: I have noticed that great spiritual leaders from the past have almost always spoken of finding a specific place to get alone with God. A place of no distractions, no cell phones, no computers, or any other gadgets that would take our focus away from the Almighty. We have a casita at our house and it is the perfect place to go and just focus on what God is saying to me. I really love the escape and it has really become a special place to me and my time with my Heavenly Father.
- Hang Out with Spiritual Leaders: Whenever I say that, people sometimes think a spiritual leader is someone who is not cool, not hip, and definitely cannot be fun! I really wasn’t looking for hip or cool people but what I have needed is someone who can read my soul and give me guidance in my walk with Christ. I am so thankful for the spiritual leaders that have taken the time to invest in my life. Don’t forget as leaders, we need to be pouring our lives in those that God has placed around us.
- Go on a Retreat: No, not the one you have to sign up for and pay a lot of money, but just go on a retreat. I was able to take a retreat the other day by just getting in the car and driving 30 minutes to be in the mountains. I love to get away to remote places and just enjoy the view and listen to God. You can go on a hike, a drive, or even take a walk. Whatever you do, take time to go on a retreat. It will do so much good for your soul!
Mother Teresa once said,
You have to be holy in your position as you are, and I have to be holy in the position that God has put me. So it is nothing extraordinary to be holy. Holiness is not the luxury of the few. Holiness is a simple duty for you and for me. We have been created for that.
Remember, Holy not perfect…spiritual not religious! Just some of my thoughts that God has me thinking about today! What are you thinking about today?
06.17.09
Leading vrs Managing by Tony
Tony Morgan posted this on his blog recently and I think it is something that a lot of us pastors and leaders face in our ministry life…”Am I a Leader or a Manager?” Once you can answer this question and know how God has wired you, I believe you will be able to find your “Sweet Spot” in the work that God has called you to do!
In their book First, Break All the Rules, Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman defined both roles like this:
Managers – “Great managers look inward. They look inside the company, into each individual, into the differences in style, goals, needs, and motivation of each person. These differences are small, subtle, but great managers need to pay attention to them. These subtle differences guide them toward the right way to release each person’s unique talents into performance.”
Leaders – “Great leaders look outward. They look out at the competition, out at the future, out at alternative routes forward. They focus on broad patterns, finding connections, cracks, and then press home their advantage where the resistance is weakest. They must be visionaries, strategic thinkers, activators. When played well, this is, without doubt, a critical role. But it doesn’t have much to do with the challenge of turning one individual’s talents into performance.”
That’s how Buckingham and Coffman described the two roles in marketplace organizations, but the Bible also distinguishes these two rules. The spiritual gift of leadership found in Romans 12:8 is very different from the spiritual gift of management (or administration) found in I Corinthians 12:28. Few people have both of these gifts, but both are needed within a healthy church body.
So, here are some questions to consider, pray about and discuss with your team:
- Are you a leader or manager? (How do you know?)
- Are you in a role that allows you to lead or manage according to your gifts?
- Do you know whether or not the people working for you are leaders or managers?
- Are they serving in roles that fit their giftedness?
- Have you defined what roles in your organization need leaders and which ones need managers
When one of those roles are open, are you trying to find the person who is best gifted to lead or manage?
So which one are you…a Leader or a Manager? Are you in your “Sweet Spot”? For the rest of the post, click here.
05.28.09
What? No More Poker Night? No More Small Group?
Have you seen this video yet? Possibly no more “Poker Night”, no more neighborhood “Super Bowl” parties, no more “Tupperware” parties, and oh yeah, no more Small Groups at a San Diego home! Well, that is what is being reported by a local San Diego news station.
10News.com reported:
A local pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a San Diego County official, who then threatened them with escalating fines if they continued to hold bible studies in their home.
“If the county thinks they can shut down groups of 10 or 15 Christians meeting in a home, what about people who meet regularly at home for poker night? What about people who meet for Tupperware parties? What about people who are meeting to watch baseball games on a regular basis and support the Chargers?” said Broyles.
Would love to know your thoughts…
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