Blog-Generated | Coaching Churches

The Importance Of Life Beyond Work

Posted by on March 15, 2017

When I start a coaching relationship we normally focus in on some area for professional improvement at work. This leads to topics from personal productivity to organizational strategy. However, without exception at some point we transition to the personal. The reason why is we bring home to work everyday and we must make it more of a priority. This HBR post has some great insight:

We spend most of our adult waking hours working. Half of Americans continue to work when they reach their mid-sixties, and, according to a 2015 Gallup survey, full-time American employees work an average of 47 hours a week. If you’re keeping track at home, that’s six days’ worth of hours packed into five. Moreover, many of us today expand the role of work beyond just earning a living and expect our careers to provide opportunities for personal growth and fulfillment.

Law Of Harvest

Posted by on March 10, 2017

There are many biblical principles taught in scripture and this may be the most important one. It is foundational to understanding how the Christian life works on a very practical daily level.

The simplest way of stating this principle is that you will eventually reap what you sow . If you consistently fill your mind with the truth then you should reap all of the benefits of many good decisions.

On the other hand, if you fill your mind with other things then the result will be believing the wrong thing. Many times we act with even more passion when we believe a lie because the resulting behavior produces pain and rejection. At this point we really do not want to admit we were wrong.

Another important part of this principle is that we will also reap to the degree we sow. If we spend little time in God’s word then the result will be a double minded life that is constantly being tossed about with no clear direction.

The next major piece of this principle is that we have a responsibility for the maintenance of the soil where the seed will fall. If our minds are cluttered with many other things then the truth cannot be heard because all the other noise will drown it out.

Finally, I must go back and deal with that very important word eventually. Sometimes people are making bad decisions and yet see no immediate negative consequences. In sharp contrast many people are doing the right thing and have not seen the benefits of walking by faith in the truth.

God in His perfect timing will bring in the harvest. We all will reap what we have sown. No suffering for the present time is joyful but it will yield the peaceful fruit of a surrendered life.

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How To Thrive As A Leader In Uncertain Times

Posted by on March 10, 2017

When everything is going well most people really don’t pay that much attention to the overall attitude of their leaders. On the other hand, when things start falling apart that is the critical place they go to see how much trouble are we really in as an organization. This Forbes post gives leaders several practical tips:

“We human beings are wired for certainty. A lack of it tends to trigger anxiety that drives people to resist anything that may further threaten the status quo…regardless of the cost. Good leaders not only work to dial down fear but to tap the passion, ingenuity and innovation it too often stifles.”

Changing Role Of The Pastor

Posted by on March 5, 2017

In all of my years studying and leading churches the changing role of the pastor and the laity within the local church is probably one of the most misunderstood and potentially damaging issues facing the church. The biblical model is incredibly clear, the pastor is God’s gift to the church and his role is to lead the church by equipping the laity to do the work of the ministry.

Tragically in most small churches the laity hires a pastor to do the work of the ministry and they run the church. The pastor is to preach, visit, counsel, attend meetings, conduct funerals and weddings and the people once a month conduct the business of the church.

As the church starts to grow additional staff is hired and the old culture begins to be threatened. Now the pastor is expected to do everything he has always done and manage an ever growing staff and minister to an even larger number of people. New buildings are being built and the financial administration becomes complicated.

Many pastors hit the wall at this point because they are not gifted to make the transition from shepherd of the flock to leader of the people. The expectation level of the people has not changed and they are simply left with more work and all the issues that come with personnel problems.

The major reason though these changes do not occur is not because the pastor cannot change his leadership style but the people are not willing to delegate control to staff and lay leaders and assume their God given role of ministry responsibility.

When a church reaches over three hundred the pastor cannot continue to visit every member in the hospital and every member of the church does not need to be involved in picking the paint color for the kitchen renovation. These transitions of roles will continue to occur every time you reach an additional five hundred people or the church will simply stop growing.

There are a lot of legitimate and complicated reasons people are not being reached for Christ. This should not be one of them.

Categories: Pastoral Leadership | Comments Off on Changing Role Of The Pastor

Seven Leadership Insights From West Point

Posted by on February 28, 2017

If you are going to be a great leader you will become a life long learner. Daily, I get new insights into better ways of thinking or I am reminded of what I already know but need to practice more. This post on Forbes was excellent in both areas:

“What are the key characteristics of successful and charismatic leaders? I recently spoke at West Point with the Leadership Speaker’s Academy. Seeing 80 business and thought leaders all in one place highlighted their common traits and what has made them successful over time. Below are seven of those leadership characteristics I took away from the experience.”

Principle vs. Precept

Posted by on February 26, 2017

Any good dictionary will help you know the difference between these two important words. A precept is a commandment or direction given as a rule of action or conduct. On the other hand, a principle is a primary truth from which other truths are derived.

In Christian speak, a precept is black ink on white paper where someone quotes you chapter and verse with the understanding that there is one and only one meaning of this truth. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ period, end of conversation.

To be sure we as churches have beaten unbelievers over the head with our precepts to the point they are totally turned off to the gospel. I am not talking about watering down the truth but when people do still walk into our buildings they just want to know is there any good news for my life today?

On the other side of this issue, many Christians can spiritually rationalize their behavior because they cannot find a clear precept that prohibits certain behavior on their part. Obviously the New Testament was written in the first century so the writers did not cover the part about staying away from internet pornography.

Eating meat offered to idols was a big deal in the first century so the principle of deference was taught to make sure a Christian did not offend a weaker brother or an unbeliever with their behavior. Today there are many contemporary issues that will never be addressed by precepts but the principles that are taught in scripture still apply.

If you have any doubts just use I Corinthians 10:31 as your guide, “therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Just always remember, everything that is for His glory is also for your good.

Categories: Personal Leadership Spiritual Growth | Comments Off on Principle vs. Precept

How To Reach Your Potential

Posted by on February 23, 2017

From a personal standpoint one of the things I love doing is hiking. A hiker is somewhere between a camper and an adventure racer.

One of the great advantages of living in the Atlanta area for ten years is the close proximity to the Appalachian trail in the north Georgia mountains.

My favorite hiking story is about a great one day hike in the Alps. If you start early in the morning you can reach the summit and get back to the car before dark.

About half way up the mountain is this incredibly beautiful rest house where everyone eats a great lunch. The owner of the rest house has noticed an interesting pattern over the years. When everyone reaches the rest house they are all excited about reaching their goal of the summit.

They warm themselves by the fire and about half way through lunch somebody inevitably speaks out what many people are thinking. Ii think I will just stay here while you finish the climb and you can pick me up on the way back down. At that moment everyone must the make decision to stay or go.

For all those who stay the first few hours are incredible. They sit by the fire and tell mountain climbing stories about other great mountain climbers from the past. They may even reminisce about some of their great climbing experiences in the past.

By early afternoon the mood dramatically changes in the room and everyone becomes silent. One by one they make their way over to this huge window in the back of the lodge and they stand there and stare at the summit.

For you see it is at this painful moment that they realize they have settled for second best in their lives.

Someone has well said, “The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.”

Categories: Leadership Development Personal Leadership | Comments Off on How To Reach Your Potential

Worship Wars Are Not Glorifying

Posted by on February 19, 2017

This is a subject that really breaks my heart because the pain that has been suffered by so many good people is so unnecessary. If this issue is not dealt with in a thoroughly biblical manner most of our current churches will stop reaching the next generation and will eventually die.

To be sure our people should be spiritually mature enough to not insist on their own personal musical preference so that others may come to Christ. However, poor leadership has caused far more problems than “older adults” that only want their hymns.

For at least 50 years or longer one basic musical style was enjoyed by both the World War II and the Baby Boomer generations. Large choirs and orchestras were the preferred choice that could lead a primarily performance style of service that was a blessing to many.

Today the emphasis has shifted to participation styles of music that involve the people in worship and praise. In our current services it is no longer come sit, watch and listen as it is get involved and enjoy.

I think every generation has its own heart language when it comes to music in worship. The problem comes when we try to force everyone into one box and demand they like it or leave.

I think the days of building one massive worship center are over. As soon as your church grows large enough for multiple services you are already multi-congregational. At that point if you are reaching different age groups you can choose to be multi-generational.

Then when you plan a service ask yourself one simple question, who is in the room and what do they need from the music and the message to help them move into the presence of God?

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Families Deserve Priority Not Leftovers

Posted by on February 17, 2017

I have never known a great leader who did not know how to establish goals, develop plans, execute priorities and finally evaluate success in their career. Every day they proactively plan ahead and solve problems to everyone can be successful.

However, tragically for most people that is exactly what happens to them in their personal lives. They say this part is ultimately the most important but they never take the time to write down what they want their legacy to be for the people that matter the most.

Because the personal does not get the priority of the professional the family usually ends up with the leftovers. Leftover time, passion, affection and energy.

I have know people who can make million dollar decisions at work without blinking but by the time they get home they do not have enough emotional energy to decide if they want hamburgers or soup for dinner. They have been nice to other people all day, co-workers, suppliers and customers only to come home and be so fried they have to retreat to the T.V. because they have nothing left for spouse or children.

Someone has well said that the person who cannot see the ultimate always becomes a slave to the immediate. Meaningful relationships with family and bottom line professional results are not mutually exclusive but you must be willing to pay personal leadership price to have both.

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5 Keys in Setting Goals

Posted by on February 15, 2017

All of us have experienced the frustration that comes from really wanting to accomplish something important and thinking we are really committed to it only to realize several months later it did not happen. When I evaluate personally and professionally where the breakdown occurs it usually centers on the disciplines involved in effective goal setting.

These are the five critical things I have learned over the years:

Write it down—if it is not important enough to write down in your personal planner or enter into your cell phone list then it will almost always never get done.
Check your resources—do you realistically have the time, energy, knowledge, skills and commitment to make this happen?
Make it clear—you must be very specific about what you want to accomplish. It cannot be I want to lose weight; it needs to be twenty pounds over next six months.
Develop your plan—strategy is the realistic intersection of resources and commitment. There is a big difference in walking twenty minutes five days week and training for marathon.
Evaluate your progress—this is where the rubber hits the road. Do it often until you know you have sustainable momentum and most important celebrate every win.

The old expression if you don’t measure it then it probably doesn’t matter still rings true to me.

Categories: Goal Setting Leadership Development | Comments Off on 5 Keys in Setting Goals