Monday, September 14, 2009

Go Deep

Shallow Christians and Shallow Churches miss the richness of Christ's love as well as the fullness of His power and purpose in this life. I'm going to steer you to my friend Pastor Debbie Spisz's blog for a good devotional word about going deep.

http://echo5dls.wordpress.com/

Dive in, baby! :-P

Thursday, September 10, 2009

My True North

My True North. I just listened to Bill George as part of The Forum 2009 Leadership Conference. He wrote a book called True North in which he encourages you to find out what your purpose and giftings are and then build on those strengths. Rick Warren's book Purpose Driven Life gives similar encouragement.

So I just wanted to blog/journal about what comes to mind when I think about God's purpose for my life and what really gets me juiced in ministry. There are a whole lot of things that I enjoy about ministry (and certain things I don't), but these are the ones that really touch a deep place of joy in my spirit. These are the ones that I am unconsciously driving toward all the time. I don't know how comprehensive this is, but these are the ones off the top of my head:

Preaching God’s Word
Seeing new believers pursue Jesus and live out a transformed/transforming life
Radical acts of generosity and compassion
Equipping, empowering and releasing people into ministry (Team building)
Passionate worship

What's God's purpose for your life? What is your True North?

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

No Limits Leadership

There's an old proverb (not biblical) that says something like "don't let your reach exceed your grasp." In other words it is saying that you should be aiming for things that are beyond your ability to attain. There is certainly wisdom in this saying. For example, if you don't know me I am 38 yrs old, 6' 1" with a big frame and weigh around 245. Even if I was in top physical condition, it would be foolish of me to pursue a career as a horse jockey!

This can be true when it comes to leadership as well. There are certainly limitations to every person. Some are better leaders than others. Some have different skill sets. Some are better with people. Some are better with establishing necessary systems. Some are better with IT. You get the point...

By this time in life I know my strengths and limitations. However, I have invested a lot of time, research and effort into an area that removes all my limitations. In Exodus 18 Moses' father-in-law Jethro gives him some wise counsel. Moses was trying to pastor millions of people all by himself. Jethro told him that he was wearing himself and the people out by carrying the load by himself and that he needed to share the load by creating a hierarchical leadership team. I don't care how talented you are or if you have the most impressive leadership skills, you have limitations.

If you are wise and realize this, you can put the Jethro principle (nod to J. Maxwell) into practice. That "thing" that I have invested in is team building. You see as a pastor I am aiming at something that is way beyond my ability to grasp on my own. It is not daydreaming or fantasy, I know the skills and the cost associated with what I am aiming at. That is why I pray often for the equipped people that I need to come alongside me in partnership. When you have a vision for "Team" rather than a vision for "I," you remove limitations that may be caused by a lack of ability. Now, when you also seek God for His vision and commit yourself to doing things His way your truly can achieve the impossible!