Leaders have different styles, personalities, and strengths. For that reason, it only makes sense that leaders use different approaches to carrying out their leadership. That does not mean one approach is better or worse, or even more effective than another approach. They are simply different. In some settings, one may be the better approach at the time.
Matt Chandler will never be the same. If you do not know Matt, he’s an amazing pastor in Texas that recently had brain surgery at 35 years old. In this video to his church before the surgery I was reminded that Matt will be changed
I have stopped being surprised when I receive criticism. In fact, I have observed that the more success an organization has and the stronger leadership exhibited, the more critics seem to rise. I try to discern which criticism is valid and which is not. (I posted about that previously HERE.) I think it is wrong to simply ignore critics. Some of it has really value, but all leaders will receive it. For that fact, we shouldn’t be surprised.
The life of a believer is not always rosy. I’m quite sorry if you are new to the faith and that surprises or disappoints you. Sometimes the outside world assumes that because we claim to know God personally that we have somehow risen above the stresses of life. That is far from the truth.
The breaking news involves Tiger Woods. You may have heard all the rumors, watched ESPN and all the other newscasts try to get “to the bottom†of the story, or even read that Tiger personally admits he disappointed his family by not being true to the values he believes.
One thing it means to me is that whatever we value most, needs to be at “eye levelâ€, or promoted in a way that it receives the most attention. In my experience, sometimes churches, even in my own church, do better at promoting things that have lesser importance, and sometimes don’t promote enough the things that deserve the most attention. One example is that we often promote our programs more than we promote the person of Jesus.
Another variable in determining strategy that is often overlooked is the strengths of the people within the organization at the time. I posted before about the way organizations typically replace senior leaders. (Read that post HERE.) Organizations usually replace the top position with someone opposite from the one that leaves. They do this to build on a strength they feel the former leader didn’t have.
What is the end goal of being a disciple?
Let me try to explain. Throughout the 16th chapter of Exodus, Moses recounts the story of the Israelites gathering manna, which were thin flakes of bread. Every morning, each person gathered the manna by a measure called an omer. For 35 verses in chapter 16, if you are inquisitive like me, you are wondering, “Moses, what is an omer? How much is that?”
I had a great couple days this week hanging out with Casey Graham of The Change Group as he visited with Kristin Ruther from The Aspen Group and Tim Stevens and Kem Meyer at Granger Church one day and then Scott Hodge from Orchard Community Church the next day. It was challenging, tiring, and personally rewarding.
So why do I share this? Well, it gives you another pie recipe you can try, but really to illustrate that, if you don’t follow the directions carefully, your recipes will fail. So it is in the Christian life, or any life for that matter. God has a plan. He has spelled it out in His Word. If we follow it, we will experience rich reward. His first command is to “love the Lord with all our heartâ€. Then, we are told to “love your neighbor as yourselfâ€. The rest of the commands are in the Book. We aren’t saved by works and we don’t remain saved by works, but Jesus said “If you love Me, you will do as I command.†So our proper response to God’s love is obedience. In fact, it’s how life works best.
Even so, in my position, I often have to say “Noâ€. I have to consider the amount of money and energy expended as it relates to the entire church organization. Honestly, there are times I feel like the dream killer more than I get to be the dream enhancer, because I often have to be the “No†voice, but the fact is, as with any organization, we operate with limited resources and sometimes saying no is the right decision at the time. In these times, I have to walk the delicate balance between saying yes and saying no.
Change is necessary, however, if organizations want to continue to improve and grow. The simple fact is that change requires a certain amount of faith. Faith is much easier to believe, and even to preach, than it ever is to live by.
I am frequently asked for travel tips for the city, so I thought I would share my top 10 suggestions. Knowing you will automatically track down the touristy historical spots, I decided to share my picks that may or may not be in on the standard weekend tour, but places that you do not want to miss. Philly is an excellent city in which to walk, so if you are only visiting Philly for a short time, put your walking shoes on and check out:
In our recent series “Hunger†at Grace Community Church, I shared a system I have used for spiritual growth that has helped me mature. I had numerous people ask me the following week to describe the details of my “systemâ€. It really isn’t anything scientific or deeply thought out, but has helped me greatly.
