Learning to Equip as a Church

About a year ago, Refuge (then CGS) went through a series of classes and sermons based on the book “LeaderSHIFT.”  The main point of those lessons is that the church needs both do-ers (people who do lots of work) and equippers (people who can train, lead, model and enable others to do work).

Like most churches, we’ve had a strong showing of do-ers and very few functional equippers.  Through the Spring and Summer, one of my main goals at Refuge will be to develop an equipping culture.  To that end I tracked down this brief video by Tim Lane of CCEF …

A few of my notes on this video …

• A culture of grace, growth and change takes love, practical burden bearing and equipping.
• Level 1 = Everybody tracking in the same way, Christianity 101 common understanding of the Gospel, temptation and the fundamentals of the faith.
• Level 2 = Another lay or leaders.  These are growth group leaders, mentors, parents, worship leaders and the like.
• Level 3 = Leaders who stand out with gifts of mercy or word gifts.  Others naturally seek them for help, and those relationships are fruitful.  These leaders need to be trained in certain skills so that they can reach out with effectiveness.
• Level 4 = Top officers and leaders (staff, elders, deacons) who are able to cast vision and encourage others.
• All this needs to happen beyond the pulpit.  These four levels of leadership need to be equipped specifically and intentionally.
• The key is INTERPERSONAL MINISTRY
• A few resources: How People Change (Last Chapter), Journal of Biblical Counseling #24/3

What do you think you and/or your church can do to equip the saints for ministry?

Forgive us for Being Better at Guarding the Status Quo, than Preserving the Unity of the Spirit

This church is changing.

Whether you’re here at Refuge (the church formerly known as Good Shepherd) or are a member of any church, you are going to have to deal with issues of change, turf and humility.  Change is frustrating.  For some, it comes way too fast.  Others feel like they are dying on the vine and they feel like nothing real is happening.

I would encourage everyone (myself included!!!) to take a deep breath, pray earnestly for humility, and then to dive into Scotty Smith’s prayer.  I’ll include his whole prayer, but the part that really struck me was:

Forgive us for being better at guarding the status quo, than preserving the unity of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3). Forgive us for being more paranoid about the budget than preoccupied with your beauty. Forgive us when our planning meetings outnumber our praying gatherings ten to one. Forgive us when we have more heated conversations than fresh conversions.

 …Forgive us for giving non-believers way too many excuses not to take you and the gospel seriously. Forgive us for fulfilling more stereotypes than hearts. Forgive us for making your church more like an ingrown club than a welcoming community; more like a walled city of protection, rather than a magnetic city of mercy; more like a museum for old memories than an incubator for new stories.

Humble us. Break us. Melt us. Mold us. Fill us. Use us. The time has come for us to have done with lesser things and smaller dreams. Forgive us… forgive me. So very Amen we pray, in your holy and loving name.

Here’s the full prayer …

  “In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you..” 1 Cor. 11:17-18

 (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Col. 1:18  

     Dear Lord Jesus, forgive us. Forgive us for how poorly we love as your people. Forgive us for contradicting grace and sabotaging kindness. There couldn’t be a more painful and humbling indictment from heaven, than to hear you say to us, “your meetings do more harm than good.” Forgive us for our niggling pettiness and gossipy petulance. Forgive us for turning wine back into water, or worse, into vinegar.

Forgive us for being preoccupied with the fly-weight issues of our agendas than the weightier matters of your law—justice, mercy and faithfulness (Matt. 23:23). Forgive us for being better at guarding the status quo, than preserving the unity of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3). Forgive us for being more paranoid about the budget than preoccupied with your beauty. Forgive us when our planning meetings outnumber our praying gatherings ten to one. Forgive us when we have more heated conversations than fresh conversions.

Forgive us that we ever joined these two words together, “my” and “church”. The church is your Bride to love, not our clay to mold. We can make an idol of anything, including your church.

Forgive us for giving non-believers way too many excuses not to take you and the gospel seriously. Forgive us for fulfilling more stereotypes than hearts. Forgive us for making your church more like an ingrown club than a welcoming community; more like a walled city of protection, rather than a magnetic city of mercy; more like a museum for old memories than an incubator for new stories.

Forgive us for being better at manipulation than ministry; more known for self-righteousness than gospel-heartedness; for being more concerned with being a church of “first buzz” rather than being alive with “first love.” Forgive us for being more sad when we think about people transferring to other churches, than when we think about people going into a Christ-less eternity.

Lord Jesus, it’s a good thing that one Day you WILL have the supremacy in all things (Col. 1:18), including in your church. You are not only the head, but the heart of your Bride. Send your Spirit and do a great grace-work, in this day. Humble us. Break us. Melt us. Mold us. Fill us. Use us. The time has come for us to have done with lesser things and smaller dreams. Forgive us… forgive me. So very Amen we pray, in your holy and loving name.

A Tale of Two Bosses

In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, The Ghost of Christmas Past transports the cantankerous old miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, back in time to the place Scrooge first had apprenticed as a young man. There, they look on as Scrooge’s former boss, Fezziwig, commences an evening of festivity:

“Old Fezziwig laid down his pen, and looked up at the clock, which pointed to the hour of seven. He rubbed his hands; adjusted his capacious waistcoat…laughed all over himself and called out in a comfortable, oily, rich, fat, jovial voice [for the room to be cleared out and made ready for the party.]”

As a steady stream of invitees came in to the party, a fiddler began to play. Guests danced, feasted, and laughed together in a mood of warmth and merriment. The revelry stretched long into the night with the thankful partygoers relishing every moment together…

While watching on, Scrooge had been transfixed by the memory of the evening. “His heart and soul were in the scene, and with his former self. He corroborated everything, remembered everything, enjoyed everything, and underwent the strangest agitation.” As the hubbub of the party began to subside, “Scrooge suddenly remembered the Ghost, and became conscious that it was looking full upon him.”

“A small matter,” said the Ghost, “to make these silly folks so full of gratitude.”

“Small!” echoed Scrooge.

“Why! Is it not? Fezziwig has spent but a few pounds of your mortal money: three or four perhaps. Is that so much that he deserves this praise?”

“It isn’t that,” said Scrooge, heated by the remark, and speaking unconsciously like his former, not his latter, self. “Fezziwig has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. His power lies in words and looks; in things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count them up…The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune.”

A TALE OF TWO BOSSES

Ebenezer Scrooge, cold-hearted and stingy, begrudged giving away even the tiny piece of coal his clerk used to heat his hands during wintertime. Oppositely, Fezziwig exuded joy and liberality, hosting and presiding over an evening of merrymaking to celebrate Christmas along with his employees. The two men could hardly have been more different as managers. For Scrooge, moneymaking ruled out merrymaking and was the sole object of his existence. Fezziwig, on the other hand, prized his people and took great joy in bringing them happiness over the holidays.

Relationships are like anything else in life: the return you get depends on what you invest. The great news is that the investment doesn’t have to be expensive! We, like Fezziwig can build relationships by unselfishly giving “things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count them up.”

Application:
Your budget may not allow you to issue year-end bonuses or to throw a party for your teammates, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to show appreciation for them. Do some sleuthing to discover more about your co-workers. Learn their likes, interests, tastes, and hobbies. As 2012 begins, repeatedly invest in your workplace relationships in small ways such as buying someone their favorite drink from Starbucks, taking them out for lunch, or remembering and celebrating their birthday. Over time, your consistent, intentional efforts will deepen your relationships with others, and you will gain greater influence and enjoyment at work.

From John Maxwell

Feed People the Way God Created YOU to Feed Them

I read this story today, and had to share it…

Years ago, Sagal had a friend named Morgan who helped developed plays for a theater in New York City. As is often the case with young people, Morgan began to question her significance. She latched onto Mother Teresa as someone who lived a life that “mattered,” and she became a little obsessed. Morgan wanted to be like Mother Teresa so that she would feel significant.

When Morgan learned that Mother Teresa would be visiting the city, she found out which hotel and she waited. When Mother Teresa finally appeared, Morgan ran up to meet her.

As they conversed, Morgan said, “The work you do is so important and so wonderful. I just want to come to Calcutta with you.”

“No,” Mother Teresa replied, “You don’t do this work because you think it’s wonderful. You do this work because you so love the poor people of Calcutta that you can’t be away from them. That’s when you come and do this work.”

Morgan understood.

“What do you do?” Mother Teresa asked.

“What I do isn’t important,” Morgan responded. “I work in a theater and I help put on plays. What use is that?”

“There are so many different kinds of famine in this world,” Mother Teresa said. “In my country, there is a famine of the body. In this country, there is a famine of the spirit. Stay here and feed your people.”

Call me crazy, but I think she’d say the same thing to you.

Scott McClellan is the Editor of Echo Hub and the Director of Echo Conference.

The Church’s Job is to Die — Continually

The church’s job is to die — continually — on behalf of the world, believing that with every death there is a resurrection. God’s part is to grow whatever God wishes to grow. Growing a church isn’t hard … being faithful as the church, that’s a different story.

That line comes from an article by Tim Suttle, a pastor in Kansas.

If we are faithful to the Gospel, we might grow, but we will definitely sacrifice and die. (Just like Jesus.)

Suttle points out that the one-two punch keeping us from gospel faithfulness are sentimentality and pragmatism.

On Sentimentality:

…the sentimental church must provide a place where people can come to hear a comforting message from an effusive pastor spouting fervent one-liners which are intended only to make us feel good about the decisions we’ve already made with our lives. If our beliefs aren’t actually, really true then at least we can have a Hallmark moment, right? Above all the sentimental church must never teach us that in the kingdom of God, up is down, in is out, and nothing short of dying to ourselves and each other can help us truly live.

On Pragmatism:

…church leadership manuals are more than willing to instruct the interested pastor in how to gain market share. I once heard church consultant and leadership guru Don Cousins say that you can grow a church without God if you have good preaching, great music, killer children’s ministry, and an engaging youth minister…. In the pragmatic church, there is only one question that matters, “What will work to grow my church?”

Neither sentimentality or pragmatism will serve to keep us faithful to Jesus.  This brings us to the quote I started with:

…the church’s job is not to affirm people’s lives, but to allow the gospel to continually call our lives into question. The church’s job is not to grow — not even to survive. The church’s job is to die — continually — on behalf of the world, believing that with every death there is a resurrection. God’s part is to grow whatever God wishes to grow. Growing a church isn’t hard … being faithful as the church, that’s a different story.

As CGS becomes REFUGE, our goal is to be faithful.  May God give us eyes to see and ears to hear … and hearts to trust!

I’m Learning a New Word … “NO”

Seth Godin posted this today …

No, we don’t take clients like that.

No, that’s not part of what we offer.

No, that market is too hard for us to service properly.

No, I won’t bend on this principle.

No, I’m sorry, I won’t be able to have lunch with you.

No, that’s not good enough. Will you please do it again?

No, I’m not willing to lose my focus, and no, I’m not willing to compromise.

How often do we (in church, business, family, life) say “yes” to people for the wrong reasons, forcing ourselves to accidentally say “no” to things that really matter.  If you say “yes” to that well-intentioned person who is asking you to accommodate one exception … you are accidentally saying “no” to your passionate pursuit of your mission.

So let your “Yes” be “yes” and you “No” be “no.”  Everything else is from the Devil.

God is in the DETAILS

A few weeks ago Rob shared a story with me about paying attention to details.  Reading this made be wonder, 1) does Steve Jobs lay awake at night wondering if anal retentive should be hyphenated, and 2) do we pay nearly this much attention to the work we put into the Kingdom of God?

The story, written by Google executive Vic Gundotra goes like this:

One Sunday morning, January 6th, 2008 I was attending religious services when my cell phone vibrated. As discreetly as possible, I checked the phone and noticed that my phone said “Caller ID unknown”. I choose to ignore.

After services, as I was walking to my car with my family, I checked my cell phone messages. The message left was from Steve Jobs. “Vic, can you call me at home? I have something urgent to discuss” it said.

Before I even reached my car, I called Steve Jobs back. I was responsible for all mobile applications at Google, and in that role, had regular dealings with Steve. It was one of the perks of the job.

“Hey Steve – this is Vic”, I said. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer your call earlier. I was in religious services, and the caller ID said unknown, so I didn’t pick up”.

Steve laughed. He said, “Vic, unless the Caller ID said ‘GOD’, you should never pick up during services”.

I laughed nervously. After all, while it was customary for Steve to call during the week upset about something, it was unusual for him to call me on Sunday and ask me to call his home. I wondered what was so important?

“So Vic, we have an urgent issue, one that I need addressed right away. I’ve already assigned someone from my team to help you, and I hope you can fix this tomorrow” said Steve.

“I’ve been looking at the Google logo on the iPhone and I’m not happy with the icon. The second O in Google doesn’t have the right yellow gradient. It’s just wrong and I’m going to have Greg fix it tomorrow. Is that okay with you?”

Of course this was okay with me. A few minutes later on that Sunday I received an email from Steve with the subject “Icon Ambulance”. The email directed me to work with Greg Christie to fix the icon.

Since I was 11 years old and fell in love with an Apple II, I have dozens of stories to tell about Apple products. They have been a part of my life for decades. Even when I worked for 15 years for Bill Gates at Microsoft, I had a huge admiration for Steve and what Apple had produced.

But in the end, when I think about leadership, passion and attention to detail, I think back to the call I received from Steve Jobs on a Sunday morning in January. It was a lesson I’ll never forget. CEOs should care about details. Even shades of yellow. On a Sunday.

To one of the greatest leaders I’ve ever met, my prayers and hopes are with you Steve.

-Vic

But I Had Good Intentions

Recently I’ve had a few run-ins with people with great intentions who really messed up.  Whether they were fumbling their way through a counseling situation or trying to kick-start a church plant, after their efforts I’ve found the situations much worse off than if they had done nothing.

Working to build in some accountability (and clean up the messes!) takes a few tough conversations and the occasional admission of fault (aka an apology!). Lately, I’ve been surprised by how few people are willing to admit their mistakes.  Instead they seem to hid behind the shield of “good intentions.”

I hate to say it (or hear it when I’m the one who messes up) but in the face of major failure, saying “I meant well” doesn’t cut it.  I know it wouldn’t cut it at Boeing, Microsoft or even McDonald’s … so why would good intentions be “good enough” when it comes to the mission of the church and the eternal destiny of people we love???

As Jonathon Edwards wrote:

Many who mean well, and are full of a good spirit, yet for want of prudence, conduct themselves so as to wound religion. Many have a zeal for God, which doth more hurt than good, because it is not according to knowledge, Rom 10: 2. The reason why many good men behave no better in many instances, is not so much that they want grace, as they want knowledge. (From “Christian Knowledge: The Importance and Advantage of a Thorough Knowledge of Divine Truth,” p. 162 in volume 2 of the Banner edition of his works.)

Matt Perman elaborates on Edward’s thoughts, saying …

Good intentions are admirable. But we should not think that they are enough. If we have good intentions but do not understand how to do things right, we will end up doing harm — and this, in turn, not only hurts people, but casts a bad reflection on the gospel.

It’s easy to leave this in the realm of the abstract and think it applies mostly to people other than ourselves. So, to make this a bit more concrete, here’s what this means.

If you are in a position of leadership, you need to learn how to lead. You should not think that your natural inclinations are sufficient to make you a good leader. Some people do have better instincts than others, but in both cases we need to actually apply ourselves to learning from others — including through reading books — about what it means to lead well.

If you are a manager and responsible for the more detailed planning and coordinating of things, you need to know how to manage. For some people, this comes more naturally. But for others, they have a lot to learn. But, once again, in both cases it is important to learn from the best people outside of yourself. This can mean, as with leadership, reading some books and articles, being intentional to learn from other managers in your organization, and going to some of the one-day seminars that you probably get fliers for in the mail every so often.

If you are a pastor, learn about preaching. If you are a missionary, don’t just wing it, but make sure you have a strategy.

If you are in finance or run an organization, make sure not to let financial considerations be the main thing in how your business is run, don’t let the short-term be the primary consideration, and realize that cost-cutting often backfires (also this). (And, be ruthlessly ethical.)

If you are in construction, don’t cut corners or allow your business model to be based upon giving people as little as possible for their money (which is, according to Proverbs 18:9, actually a form of vandalism).

And this list could go on and on. The point is: see the vocations God has given you in your life as important and see people as important. And therefore be diligent in fulfilling your vocations and upgrading your skills so that you are actually doing good, and not thinking it is sufficient to merely intend to do good.

Millenials

Thom Rainer recently wrote a helpful article on how to deal with the upcoming generations of 10-25 year olds called “The Millenials.” When you consider what these young people are looking for in a leader / mentor, there are four key qualities.

1. Mentoring. This generation has great respect for those older than they are. Most of them have good relationships with their parents. They have learned from older people all their lives, and they don’t want to stop now. They want to be led and taught in their places of work, in their churches and in their families. They particularly want to learn from couples that have had long and successful marriages. Many Millennials see such examples as heroes to emulate.

2. Gentle spirit. This category is easier to describe by what Millennials do not want in leaders. Divisive, loud and acrimonious persons turn them off. They loathe politicians and political pundits who scream at each other. They are leaving churches to some extent because they see many Christian leaders as negative and prone to divisiveness. They are repulsed by business leaders with harsh and autocratic spirits.

3. Transparency and authenticity. I wish Jess and I had counted the number of times that Millennials used the word “real” to describe leaders they want to follow. As one Millennial told us, her generation “can smell phony and pretentiousness a mile away.” They don’t want phony; they want authentic. They don’t want pretentious; they want transparent.

4. Integrity. The Millennials are weary of politicians who don’t keep promises. They are tired of Christian leaders who fail basic moral standards. They are fed up with business leaders who are more concerned about personal gain than serving others. They want leaders with integrity.

(Read the whole thing here)

What Do I “Want” To Do … or What Am I “Called” To Do?

Throughout history, the great majority of people never had to ask the question.

What should I contribute? They were told what to contribute, and their tasks were dictated either by the work itself as it was for the peasant or artisan — or by a master or a mistress — as it was for domestic servants. And until very recently, it was taken for granted that most people were subordinates who did as they were told. Even in the 1950s and 1960s, the new knowledge workers (the so- called organization men) looked to their company’s personnel department to plan their careers.

Then in the late 1960s, no one wanted to be told what to do any longer. Young men and women began to ask. What do / want to do? And what they heard was that the way to contribute was to “do your own thing.” But this solution was as wrong as the organization men’s had been. Very few of the people who believed that doing one’s own thing would lead to contribution, self-fulfilment, and success achieved any of the three.

But still, there is no return to the old answer of doing what you are told or assigned to do. Knowledge workers in particular have to learn to ask a question that has not been asked before: What should my contribution be? To answer it, they must address three distinct elements: What does the situation require? Given my strengths, my way of performing, and my values, how can I make the greatest contribution to what needs to be done? And finally, What results have to be achieved to make a difference?

Consider the experience of a newly appointed hospital administrator. The hospital was big and prestigious, but it had been coasting on its reputation for 30 years. The new administrator decided that his contribution should be to establish a standard of excellence in one important area within two years. He chose to focus on the emergency room, which was big, visible, and sloppy. He decided that every patient who came into the ER had to be seen by a qualified nurse within 60 seconds. Within 12 months, the hospital’s emergency room had become a model for all hospitals in the United States, and within another two years, the whole hospital had been trans- formed.

As this example suggests, it is rarely possible — or even particularly fruitful — to look too far ahead. A plan can usually cover no more than 18 months and still be reasonably clear and specific. So the question in most cases should be. Where and how can I achieve results that will make a difference within the next year and a half? The answer must balance several things. First, the results should be hard to achieve — they should require “stretching,” to use the current buzzword.

But also, they should be within reach. To aim at results that cannot be achieved — or that can be only under the most unlikely circumstances — is not being ambitious; it is being foolish. Second, the results should be meaningful.

They should make a difference. Finally, results should be visible and, if at all possible, measurable. From this will come a course of action: what to do, where and how to start, and what goals and deadlines to set. – Peter Drucker