Led

I had an elder tell me today he’s going to email me every week so he knows what to focus on as he prays for me on Sunday nights.

Shepherds shepherding.

Fantastic.

Involvement Minister or Outreach Minister?

Some churches have “involvement ministers.” Others have “outreach ministers.” Either’s great, but here’s my opinion:

Nothing brings people together and gets them involved better than a shared mission that’s bigger than any one of them. And you can’t do outreach without getting people involved.

If the core of your involvement isn’t outreach, something’s wrong. And if you expect outreach to happen without everybody being on board and engaged, you’ll be disappointed.

So…

The best involvement minsters prioritize outreach. And the best outreach ministers prioritize involvement.

Right?

Mini-Mentoring

I’m thinking of beginning a habit of one learning lunch per month. I choose an area in which I want to improve (fathering, ministry, prayer, leadership, teaching, etc.), find someone I admire in that area, buy them lunch, and seek their counsel.

They get a free lunch, and I get to borrow some wisdom. Win/win, right?

So here are two questions:

1. Who would be on your list? (Keep it semi-realistic; no “Nelson Mandela” responses)
2. Do you know of anyone in West Tennessee who should be on mine?

Means or End?

Check out these ads for the Copenhagen Zoo.

I love advertising like this—a refusal to march lock-step with the status quo.

If advertising is putting up a billboard, then hey—put up a billboard and call it a day. But if advertising is communicating a message in a way that gets noticed, then maybe (probably) a billboard isn’t the best thing.

Whoever created this campaign understands the difference between a means and an end. Advertising is a means—it’s supposed to accomplish something other than advertising.

…Just like a church’s Bible class program is supposed to accomplish something other than Bible class. Just like a sermon is supposed to accomplish something more than preaching. Just like getting everyone in the same room on Sunday is supposed to accomplish something other than getting everyone in the same room on Sunday.

The best programs/sermons/services are the ones that remember they’re a means. The worst ones are the ones that start to think they’re an end.

Need Volunteers? Here’s How To Get Them:

I saw an interview with Ritchie Miller recently in which he was asked about how his church recruits and engages volunteers so effectively. When asked for one piece of advice on how other churches could achieve similar success, here’s what he said:

“Preach your announcements.”

In other words: instead of just “announcing” your need for volunteers, connect the dots between specific opportunities to serve and the life to which Jesus calls us.

In my experience, this is right on.

If the ministries of your church are vital (and if they’re not, why are you doing them?), compellingly and creatively communicate why they’re so important and motivate people out of the bleachers and onto the playing field.

That just doesn’t seem like something that could be done in a bulleted list of announcements crammed in before the closing prayer.

Just sayin’.

7 Leadership Questions Your Team Should Ask NOW

Perry Noble recently posed 7 questions every leadership team should continually ask. I think these are right on.

If you’re an elder or minister, ask these questions about your church. If you’re a deacon or volunteer leader, ask them about the ministry you lead. If you’re a mother or father, ask them about your family. If you lead a business, school, or non-profit, ask them about your organization.

Here goes:

1. What do we need to stop doing?
   You have limited resources—money, manpower, and time you spend in one place can’t get spent anywhere else. Make sure you’re using what you’ve got in the place(s) it’s most effective. If you’re not, stop it.
   
   Granted, this is tough to do. Inertia is a powerful force. But good grief; there comes a time when you’ve got to throw out the busted, ugly couch. I bet your team can find one or two of those lying around.
   
   
2. What bothers us about our church/team/ministry/family/business?
   Take a honest look at what you’re leading. Where are the weak spots? What needs improvement? Where are you having to generate energy? What results are you dissatisfied with? (In the words of Andy Stanley, your system is perfectly designed to produce exactly the results you’re getting. So if you want different results, well, you do the math.)
   
   
3. What bothers us about our community?
   Look around your neighborhood/town/city. What are the biggest needs? What do you wish was different? Now figure out how your team can change things.
   
   
4. What bothers us about the world?
   Same as number 3, just think bigger. Dream God-sized dreams.
   
   
5. How can we do things better?
   Great question that seldom gets asked! Leaders of a church, family, ministry, school, or business who are diligently seeking to improve…usually improve. And those who don’t…don’t.
   
   
6. Who do we need to be talking to?
   If I don’t have all the answers (and I don’t), I’d be foolish not to seek out the wisdom of others. Find out who’s doing whatever you want to do well, buy them lunch, and pick their brain.
   
   
7. What’s next?
   Lift your eyes from the grind of this moment and search the horizon. What do you see for your family? What do you envision for your church in your more ambitious moments? And what is it going to take now to get you to that place later?

I will gladly and enthusiastically follow a leader (or team of leaders) intent on regularly asking these questions. And I’ll bet there are plenty of people around you who feel the same way.

What about you? Do any of these resonate with you? Would you add any to the list?

2 Warnings For Young Leaders From Bill Hybels

I recently heard Bill Hybels say in a talk on leadership that perhaps the most valuable asset young leaders bring to the table is passion.

There’s a “Let’s go change the world!!” kind of energy present in young leaders’ hearts that’s contagious. Idealism hasn’t been choked by cynicism. Grand vision wells up and spills onto anyone within spilling distance.

It’s beautiful and inspiring.

But Hybels pointed out two things young leaders need to remember:

1. There comes a time when passion isn’t enough.
   Raw enthusiasm can only take you (and your followers) so far. Eventually, you need to develop skills in order to execute your vision. Leadership, communication, organization, project management—you’d better become skillful in these areas if you want your vision to be more than a pipe dream.
   
   
2. Make sure you care more about the people you’re leading than the thing you’re building.
   This hit me hard. It’s easy as a young leader to be driven more by ambition than by love. But as Hybels said, people following young leaders are always asking themselves, “Does he/she really care about me…or am I just a cog in their machine?”

Those of us who lead (whatever the context) face a daunting task. And those of us who are young bear the added burden of our responsibility outweighing our experience.

We’d do well to heed Hybel’s warnings.

How to Lead Effectively—Make Following Fun

Here’s a multiple choice for you:

What’s the most effective motivator?

A. Guilt
B. Persuasive argumentation
C. Stirring inspiration
D. Fun

Watch and see. The task was to get more people to take the stairs…

Those of us who lead (in any context) need to remember: sometimes the best way to convince people to choose a certain path is to make it the one that makes them smile.

4 Questions Every Communicator Must Ask Before Presenting

Any time you’re preparing a presentation, there are 4 things you need to ask yourself. They’ll help shape your content, clarify your message, and ensure maximum impact.

If you can’t answer these questions concisely, you’re not ready to present.

Here they are:

1. What do they need to know?
   This is the bottom line. It’s the core content you want to communicate. Everything hinges on whether or not you get this across. Oh—and it’s best if you can answer this question in one sentence.
   
   
2. Why do they need to know it?
   Adults learn on a need-to-know basis. By answering this question (both in your preparation and in your presentation), you’re developing interest by demonstrating the importance/potential impact/centrality of what you’re communicating. Side note: Answer this question for your audience before you answer the first question and you’ll create tension that engages and compels attention.
   
   
3. What do they need to do?
   Here’s where you ensure your lecture/sermon/presentation makes a difference. It’s a call to action—an appeal for your audience to translate principles into practice. You need to challenge them to do something. The more specific you are, the better.
   
   
4. Why do they need to do it?
   Imagine a future where people actually follow through on what you’ve talked about. How would that tomorrow be different from today? Help your audience to see that. Dream a little with them here. Paint a picture of what’s at stake—inspire them to act by showing them what will change if they do.
   
   

I know—these sound pretty elementary. But I can’t tell you how many times early in my preaching and teaching I got up to speak without having answered one, two, three, …sometimes all four of these questions.

Sometimes these answers come early in your preparation, sometimes they come late. Sometimes they come easy, and sometimes they’re more stubborn. Regardless, if you work to answer them before you stand in front of your audience you’ll have done them a huge favor.