Highs and Lows

I need to be honest and transparent. I enjoy writing. Many times when I begin writing a blog, message or Bible study, I want to lay out the complete truth of what I think and believe. In leadership there are highs and lows. In ministry there are definite highs and lows. In my short seven or so years in ministry, I have experienced many highs and lows personally. My first two years as a full-time student minister I was about to marry my wife, Cassidy when my brother Jordan was dealing with cancer. It was a time of strong emotions and questions while leading in ministry. How am I supposed to lead when personally I am completely discouraged, struggling emotionally, financially, and personally. I was learning a ton about myself and how to lead in ministry. I was trying to invest time, energy, prayer and encouragement into students. Months of encouragement, teaching and praying for different ones and then they would turn their back on me. I would say even now, seven years or so later that the most heart-breaking issue in ministry is pouring your life into people through the Lord's strength and they simply "shrug it off", block you on twitter/Facebook, ignore you and act as if God is non-existent. It breaks my heart and more importantly, God's heart. I still do not have a good grasp on how to handle this in ministry. I think this is the hidden truth of the ministry that many either do not talk about or just leave the ministry. I'm now in a place in my life that I want to help other leaders who are starting out (I'm praying about writing a book on ministry). I want to encourage leaders to never base faithfulness to God on how people respond to the love and truth of the gospel. God is teaching me to minister, serve, and pour out his grace into others without the expectation of it in return. Isn't this what Jesus did? 

Here are a few things I do when I'm faced with the highs and lows of ministry:

 - Spend time alone crying out to God. Get alone and write out your prayers. Ask God to forgive you in certain areas. Thank Him specifically for the blessings and relationships in your life. - Share the highs or lows with a trusted friend. Share the needs by being vulnerable and transparent. Ask for encouragement and prayer. - Celebrate those who ARE obeying Jesus and living for Him instead of complaining about those who are not. I believe this is important! Invest in those who are hungry and quit catering to those who think they don't need to grow aka "the church kid who acts as if they own the church". - When salvation and baptism occur, celebrate and encourage the person! - Speak truth into people's lives with grace. Challenge the status quo, but never choose to win the argument over the possibility of losing the relationship. - As a leader don't base your worth on how much money you make but on how many lives you impact for eternity. Money does not equal happiness. - Focus on who people are becoming instead of who they are right now. It takes time. Pray for God to move.

What I am not saying is neglect the students who need extra encouragement and especially those who need Jesus. What I have found is that the ones who cause the most problems in a student ministry and church is the students/adults who have been there for a long time and see no need for change in their lives. They are apathetic and have a "what can you do for me" mentality. This attitude is what is killing the church across America. Selfishness that is disguised in being comfortable basically tells those outside of the church to go to Hell.

I believe that a majority of my time in ministry, I have been "tilling up" the hard soil for the gospel to take root. It is hard work but no matter who spreads the seed or sows the fruit, it is vitally important for people's lives to be changed. If you are in ministry in some way, don't give up! Through the highs and lows God IS and will ALWAYS be faithful. I'm thankful God allows you and me to play a role in His story. Never give up on God's calling on your life!

Book Review: "Purpose Driven Church"

Rick Warren’s strategy is biblical and clear in its process. The style of his writing helps the reader make sense of setting the plans and goals of the church. God has set forth principles in His Word that lay out the priorities of the church. Purpose Driven Church helps put the biblical principles and communicate it so people can wrap their lives around the mission. PDC helps transfer the principles of the Purpose Driven life into the DNA of the church. The importance of the church have a strategic plan that stems from a strong foundation in scripture is vital. The book clearly lays out the steps of the church to be balanced and biblical. The strategy begins with a focus upon a question of, “What drives your church?”  The book focuses upon a clear question to begin evaluating what is most important for the church to build a strong foundation. One important aspect in the beginning of the church strategy is to not build it upon a personality, tradition, events and more. It is to align itself with God’s principles of fellowship, discipleship, worship, evangelism and ministry. It must be a specific, biblical and measurable strategy that builds off of biblical principles. One great statement in the book says, “Don’t focus upon growing a church with programs, focus on growing people with a process” (PDC, 108). Warren lays out the importance of not being a church led by personality, tradition or by finances. Purpose found only in the Great Commission and the Great commandment will honor God. I believe that it is one of the most biblical and transferable strategies for the church to follow. The important part is taking the principles and making it clear and applicable to each churches unique congregation. Ideas that come from a church in southern California will probably not work in rural Mississippi. Leaders must know the people in their congregation and be able to articulate the vision in a way they can grab hold of and live out in the community and world.

The church is to be focused upon these principles: a) Churches need to grow:  1) warmer through fellowship, 2) deeper through discipleship, 3) stronger through worship, 4) broader through ministry, 5) larger through evangelism. Warren does a good job explaining the importance of health within the church. The church must be willing to make changes if their programs or direction does not have these five principles.

Communicating the strategy is an important part of the process. If people cannot put the vision into practice then it is not understandable. I think that many people look at this book and compare the size of the church to Warren’s writings. The fact that a church grows and reaches many people does not mean it is an unhealthy church. I believe that God can use these principles to help people come to know Christ and grow in Him. Although I do not agree with every approach that Warren states, I do think the church can learn important aspects from this book. The simplicity and clear illustrations that Warren uses is understandable. I have found that many books on church strategy can be vague, but PDC gives a clear picture of churches being held accountable to biblical principles (Worship, Discipleship, Evangelism, Fellowship and Ministry).

Lastly, I do think each leader needs to be willing to learn from any other resource and be able to challenge the process so that the cobwebs are cleared and people are coming to know and grow in their relationship with God. I say this because most leaders criticize other leaders if they are a part of large churches. It is trivial and condemning to throw stones at other leaders who are in the ministry. Humility and being teachable is a trait that I desire to have in ministry because I can learn anything from anybody at any time.

What Every Leader Needs #10: Listen

*A blog series on what every leader needs to be effective in serving Christ* Listen up! I have heard this statement a lot in my life. If you are like me, you might struggle with listening. I might "hear" what is being said but I struggle with truly listening. One of the reasons is that I have a million thoughts flying through my mind and it is hard to throttle it down and listen. Listening it to be active in understanding the words, heart and desires of the person talking. Listening is not thinking of what to say next. My prayer is that God will change me into a better listener so that I can be a better leader for Him. In order to truly love people, we must stop what we are doing and listen. Listening in marriage is a key component for healthy communication. Me and my wife Cassidy learn that we have to put away the "smart" phones, move away from the laptop or TV and give undivided attention to one another. If we begin a bad process of being too "busy" to listen to one another, it will build an unhealthy relationship. The same applies to those in leadership. If people feel that we cannot truly listen to their needs, we will struggle to build close and trusting relationships.

Jesus was great at listening, even as a 12-year-old boy. Jesus surrounded Himself with leaders who would challenge his life (see Luke 2:52). Jesus reveals his desire to grow in wisdom, favor and stature. He wanted to find truth and not settle for the status quo. Listening is a key trait for a leader to learn at a young age in order to soak up wisdom and understanding throughout their life.

Few tips on listening:

- Give eye contact (don't multi-task when someone is talking to you) - Stay focused (don't find a "happy place", listen actively) - Wait for them to finish (don't cut them off, wait, be patient) - Ask questions (Don't assume you know what they mean, clarify by asking) - Respond with them in mind (Always focus on their needs before your needs). - Provide a safe place (Avoid saying, "Well, when I was your age I didn't struggle with that!" or "what you are dealing with is no big deal, just pray, read the Bible, trust God, no big deal.")

The heart of a leader must maintain a steady focus upon listening to God's Spirit to lead. A leader who is " upright" looks at situations with the mind and heart of God.  Leaders are to develop people into devoted followers of Christ. Listening is crucial. Listening is what Jesus did. Listen with grace, love and patience. Every leader needs it, especially me.