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Leveraging your leadership

This is a topic that I might spend a week on in the future, but I had a lunch conversation about it today. Here is the question:

How do I know where to leverage my leadership?

I think one way you figure that out is to answer the question with some questions.

• Are you working with a group of people with a like-minded vision?
• Is that group after your input or influence?
• If they want your influence, will they give you authority to lead and make decisions?

What I have found over the years, locally, is that people were much more interested in having my name than they were my influence. So I would go to meetings and give it my all, but months later nothing really would change. They listened to my input, but didn't release authority for my influence. That doesn't mean that these groups aren't incredible! It's just not the best investment of my leadership to spend time and energy on things that I'm really not influencing.

What do you think?

Hard at work

After I shared how much I love my staff I thought I would walk around just to say thanks to everyone. Here is what I found! No wonder we're growing so much right now.

Whirl wind

I don't know what has happened this summer but my life is really crazy. Usually in the summer months things calm down and I get a little bit of a breather, not so with Summer '08! The good news is that everything God is doing is incredibly cool! And I love it!

• I love every aspect of ministry here at Journey right now. It doesn't matter if you are talking children, youth, college, adults, or weekends-- they are all absolutely rocking!
• I love the fact they we are seeing a great growth curve in the middle of the summer! There are guests every direction I turn!
• I love working with our team! I am so blessed to get to work with this group of people. They encourage me, pray for me, challenge me, and make me better.
• I love the possibilities of all that God is doing! (That's all I will say now.)
• I love that it is boat season!

So life is crazy, but really good!

Lessons learned as a kid - Part Four

Generosity

Growing up, I always remember my parents being very generous at all times. It didn't matter if it was letting someone borrow our van, having a party at our house, or just buying a meal–they always landed on the generous side. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to watch my parents model the generous lifestyle because Robin and I want to pass that on to our kids.

All 3 of our kids are constantly wanting to give. It's easy as a parent to say, "Stop spending!" But on the other hand, when they are wanting to spend for others, it's hard to say no. Now we are trying to help them understand that you can give more than just money. You can give grace, hope, encouragement, time, etc. I am thrilled they want to give!

Generosity honors God and it blesses others!

Where did you learn the value of generosity?

Lessons learned as a kid - Part Three

INTEGRITY

Growing up I can not say enough about the integrity I saw in my parents. It didn't matter what the situation, they always wanted to do the right thing, even when it wasn't easy. I would say the most difficult season I witnessed was during the oil bust in the early 80's. Our family went from making a lot of money to none really fast. The result was some unwanted debt and the loss of our home. Over the years, my Dad paid off every person he owed! A lot of our friends filed for bankruptcy (which is sometimes necessary), but he paid everyone back.

Integrity is always doing the right thing, which means sometimes doing the difficult thing. I know some people who believe that integrity means never making decisions that hurt others. That is simply not true. As a leader you will always be forced to make decisions that are painful and involve hurt. The issue regarding integrity isn't the decision, it's the execution of the decision. Do you execute what you know is right in a way that is a blessing? That doesn't mean that things don't hurt! Sometimes integrity means you walk through pain with character and generosity.

How have you shown integrity during painful situations?

Lessons learned as a kid - Part Two

One of the greatest lessons I learned from my parents was how to honor and respect others.

I mentioned yesterday that I would go to my grandparents' house almost weekly for Sunday lunch. We would arrive shortly after church, hang out for a few minutes, and then go to our places. (That's right, our places.) Granny and Big Dad's house was no place for mischief! They were very proper people with a plan in place for almost everything! While at times as a kid growing up it might not have been as fun as my other grandparents' house, but it did have some valuable lessons that I greatly appreciate.

When you were at their house you acted as a "young man", not as a "punk". Yes, there is a place to be a punk,  but it is also important to learn how to interact with others with respect and honor. That is a subject that I don't know if my parents ever had a strategy for, but they did a great job teaching it.

This is a huge topic with a lot of diverse opinions. I believe that in showing honor and respect to others it can even get down to the nitty gritty. I love that my parents didn't allow me to smack my food, out of respect for others. (Now, smacking drives me nuts! A kid told me the other day it was good for you to smack. My advice - take the risk and close your mouth!!! If you pass out, I'll find someone to give you CPR.) I love that they taught me manners that I feel like can translate into any crowd. I love that I can go to mostly anywhere and at least have a clue of how to act.

The bottom line is honor and respect are Biblical values that will help you a lot. I'm not perfect with these things today, but I am grateful my parents taught me these principles in basic ways.

What did your parents teach you about honor and respect?

Lessons learned as a kid - Part One

This week I'm going to share some of the things my parents did in my life that has helped shaped my life today.

Commitment to Church

From the earliest point of memory I remember going to church every Sunday. It would start at First Pres. in Wichita Falls, then we transitioned to Fain Pres., and then when we moved to Edmond I spent 20 years in Metro Church, which is now LifeChurch.tv. I remember every Sunday, in Wichita Falls, going to church and then going to my grandparents' house for lunch (which is a whole different lesson). In Edmond, we went every Sunday and then went to Applewood's for lunch. (I loved their Apple Fritters.) The key was that every week there was a commitment and a plan.

At MetroChurch, my parents made sure I was involved with whatever I wanted to be. I went to summer camps, mission trips, retreats, small groups, worship events, etc. It was that involvement that would shape my life the most. Church wasn't just something I did once a week, it was part of my everyday life. It was through that experience that the Lord would bring so many blessings into my life!

My parents were committed to making sure I grew up in church, not just going to church, and it made a huge difference!

What did you learn from your church experience as a kid?

Moving up

Last night the pastoral team, and their families, hung out together at Belmar. Everyone ate, swam, talked, and ate some more. It was a great time!

As I stood there and looked around, I thought to myself, "I absolutely love the staff I have right now. I am so blessed by the people I get to do life with everyday." It has taken almost 7 years, but I can confidently say that we have a team that can take any possibilities that the Lord throws our way right now! They are energized, they are in sync, they are full of faith, they are full of ability, and they are full of willingness to pursue God's plans! That is the staff a person wants!

The majority of our staff has come from within the church and a few from outside--both are great! What is true in both situations is that people have the opportunity to increase their responsibility quickly, due to our growth. Here are some thoughts that Brady Boyd, shared with me this week. He took the time to write some stuff down that was really good!

 

    Does the person help expand the vision?

    Does the person do well coaching their team to play at a higher capacity?

    Does the person carry the weight of the ministry or do you have to babysit them?

 

Each thought brings with it a lot of thoughts that I might spend some time on next week. I know so many people who feel like they are in a dead-end position with their job and the reality is that it is up to them, not their boss!

 

Answer those questions yourself to see what you are doing to move up!

What would you add that is helpful in moving forward in your career?

Intrigued

So it's mid-summer and I'm a little bored with my blog. While I have fun doing it, I don't feel that it is as effective as it needs to be. Here is the problem: I'm not sure what I need to do to make it more effective, so I want to hear from you.

So here are the guidelines:

• What would you like to see me share about?
• What would help you grow as a leader?
• What topics would help you live to your potential?

Those are some thoughts, let me know what you think!

Interesting

I shared last week that I thought this election cycle would be one of the most emotional in years. As I thought about it a little more I found several things that are interesting to me. I think the thing I find most interesting is this whole concept of the "government fixing" things for us. It doesn't matter what the subject matter, there is increasing popularity of hoping the government fixes all of our problems. You can be a D or an R, but both parties can lean this way, even you independents.

For instance - gas prices - now there is a fun one! One of the hot topics for the next few months will be, who has the best energy plan? Both sides will debate, spar, and yell back and forth claiming they do. People will become very passionate about drilling and not drilling, etc. One group will firmly believe that we need to develop a new energy source, while the other will say that we need to drill more in our own land.

Then there is the economy - One side will say that the way to fix the economy is to "tax the wealthy more", while the other side will scream, "keep the tax cuts". And the list can go on.

The interesting thing to me is that many people are becoming more and more dependent on the government fixing our problems. Here is the problem with that - only God can be God! While government has a place in our lives it was not created to rule our lives, or to fix all of our problems. God will allow all of us to walk through seasons of time to test our faith. The question is: where will we place our faith? Will we turn to God or will we look to the government to fix everything? It's all interesting to me.