Your Team Probably Isn’t A Good Team If… January 26, 2012
You probably don’t have a good team if…
- You do not enjoy being around one another.
- You hardly ever have any fun together.
- You think everyone in the room (except for you) is a complete moron.
- You don’t trust each other.
- You constantly interrupt each other without letting the other person actually complete their thoughts.
- You rehearse the fights you perceive to be coming in your mind before the meeting.
- You have no one on the team that will actually speak the truth.
- You always look for the easy solution rather than the right one.
- You are not fully engaged in the meetings that you are involved in. (If you are checking email, facebook and tweeting during a meeting then you are NOT fully engaged and are under-serving as a leader!)
- You are obsessed with being recognized rather than seeing how you can serve.
- You constantly come up with solutions that make your job easier and puts more strain on the people whom you have given the responsibility to lead.
- You always try to make sure everyone around the table is always happy with every decision that is made.
- You have people at the table that are personally irresponsible with their finances. If they are responsible with their own…then why would it be any different when it comes to the churches?
- You have a resume. (I recently told our entire staff, “if you have a resume then I either want you to destroy it or send it out!” If you have a resume that simply means there is always a thought in your mind of going somewhere else!!! ”But what if they fire me,” you ask? I say if you are an awesome worker then you won’t need a resume, people will find you! See Proverbs 22:29)
So, how’s your team?
People Matter (3 Temptations Leaders Face) January 25, 2012
One of the most challenging issues when it comes to leadership and ministry is dealing with people. (Other than that, it’s quite simple.) :-)
AND, if we are not careful we will allow ourselves to become so distracted that we will actually begin to care for other things way more than the people that Jesus died for and has called us to take care of.
Recently in an all staff meeting I shared with our staff three things that we are tempted to love more than people…and how we’re going to do all we can to make sure that because people matter to God they matter to us as well.
Temptation #1 – To Love The Process More Than People
I’m a type-A, obsessive compulsive person, and so I love organization, structure and systems that make things easier for me to manage. However, not all people are like that.
The danger is that in church we would develop a process for volunteers, discipleship and such and then expect EVERYONE to “fall in line” and do what we think is best. In other words, we approach people with a scientific approach rather than an artistic one.
(By the way, I believe God IS an artist! Don’t believe me…check out the sunsets for the next several nights, none of them will be the exact same. I like to think He whips out His paintbrush and makes it new every evening!)
Don’t get me wrong, the church NEEDS certain processes and such; however, all too often I have fallen into the trap of trying to use a process that has been developed rather than really taking the time to find out more about the person that needs to be developed.
When a person isn’t a fit into a process that has been developed we need to stop and see what is going on in that person’s life. It’s not their job to fit into our system, it’s our job to discover where they are and then lead them to a place where they can grow in their relationship with Christ.
Temptation #2 – To Love Progress More Than People
I love progress, all leaders do. However, if we are not careful we will fall so in love with the idea of every chart moving up and to the right that we lose sight of what really matters when it comes to ministry–people.
I get the fact that some people simply cannot move forward with a church or organization. They can’t handle change and simply refuse to go along with all that the Lord is doing. But…we should never assume that just because people don’t seem to “get it” that they are automatically against what we are doing. Maybe they have questions. Maybe they have legitimate concerns. Maybe they don’t fully understand all that is going on. AND…if those three things are true then it isn’t really their fault that they are not “on board,” it’s the leaders fault.
There will be times we need to slow down, take a breath and offer grace filled explanations to all that is taking place…and when a leader or organization refuses to do that because it would simply take too much time then they have fallen in love with progress more than people.
Temptation #3 – To Love Preferences More Than People
If you’ve been in ministry long enough then there are people (or types of people) that you prefer to stay away from. (Don’t lie!!!) Why do we prefer to keep them at a safe distance? Simple…they’re messy, and we, for the most part, love for things to be neat, clean and predictable.
We prefer clean people and clean situations…and so we isolate ourselves from messy situations. However, one of the things I’ve discovered in the past 20 years of ministry is that isolation really does lead to me being ineffective as a pastor. And…if I isolate myself from the mess then I am not becoming more like Jesus because He always walked straight towards the mess.
If I am going to follow Christ I cannot allow personal preference to trump my love for people because in doing so then I totally communicate that I’ve forgotten what Christ did for me! After all, if Jesus would have walked away from the mess rather than walking towards it…we’d all be in a lot of trouble!
A Letter From Pastor P To NewSpring Church January 24, 2012
Howdy NewSpring Church, SEVEN things I want to share with you today…
#1 – I know I say it every week…but it’s just true. Sunday was AMAZING as hundreds of people took their next step in their walk with Christ (over 25 people received Christ!) I’ve never seen a public invitation like the one we witnessed this past Sunday in the history of our church. WOW!
#2 – Remember a few things that we talked about Sunday…
- All too often we want to expect great things from God but don’t want to put forth any energy to see them come to pass.
- Loving the Lord with all our strength means that it is going to take energy and effort on our part to grow in our relationship with Him.
- We cannot achieve God’s love…we just receive it!
- If the apostle Paul had work to do in his life (see Philippians 3:10-14), then so do we!
- Why would God trust you with what is next if He cannot trust you with what He’s telling you to do now?
- Many times Christians would rather pray than obey! (All too often people will say they are praying about something in order to delay obedience…and delayed obedience is deliberate disobedience!)
- Procrastination is assassination of the amazing future that God has planned for your life–why spend one more night with the frogs?
- You CAN do what Jesus is leading you to do, see Jeremiah 32:27 and Philippians 4:13!
- Until you take your next step…you’re stuck!!! (See Ezekiel 14:1-6) This is why some people can attend church for decades and remain the same…because they refuse to take their next step in their walk with Christ.
- The next step that Jesus wants us to take isn’t always easy…but it’s always right!
#3 – I’m beyond excited about our upcoming Night of Worship/CD release that we are having at every campus, it is going to be absolutely amazing! (Here is the site with the details about your campus!) I really do hope you are planning on being there…it’s gonna be awesome!
#4 – I want to continue to promote the Real Marriage Conference that is going to be led by Mark and Grace Driscoll that our church is going to be hosting in March! (Details here!) Trust me when I tell you that this is one of the best investments you will EVER make in your marriage!!! You’ve GOT to be here! And singles, this is FOR YOU AS WELL…one of the best ways to have a great marriage in the future is actually to begin preparing for it right now! (And…if you are single, then check out this article Pastor Mark wrote about why singles should attend.)
#5 – THIS COMING SUNDAY at every NewSpring campus is going to be one of “those Sundays” that our church will never forget! We’re going to talk about Mark 12:30 again (Big Surprise) and what it means to love Jesus with all of our soul…and I really do believe that the Lord is going to profoundly impact thousands of us and the way we think about Him and others!!!
#6 – If you attend our church and did not read the article I wrote last week about KidSpring (our children’s ministry), then you should check it out here. I love our church!
#7 – Trust me when I tell you that going to Israel will absolutely impact your life in a way that you simply will not believe. This past Sunday when I was talking about Jesus and the Garden of Gethsemane my mind flashed back to last May when I was actually there…it’s quite overwhelming!!! We sold every single space for this trip that we originally booked…and the interest was so high that the company we are traveling with was able to secure us more spots (I believe there are about 50 left!) I hope you can go!!! AND…please understand that this is not something that our church is going to do every single year…in fact, I’m not sure when we will be going back, so if you want to go or think you might be interested you need to go here and sign up ASAP…it’s going to be amazing!
That’s all for this week!!! I love you guys! I love our church! The Best Is Yet To Come!
Stop Complaining About What You Don’t Have! January 23, 2012
One of the most common excuses that people seem to give for not doing something great for God (or at least trying something great) is that they don’t have BLANK, but if and when they get BLANK then they will do what God wants them to do.
However, if we are not faithful with what we have NOW then how in the world is He supposed to trust us with what He wants NEXT?
“But Perry,” you say, “I don’t have anything to offer. Our church doesn’t have what other churches have.”
I say bull!
This thought occurred to me the other day when I was reading through the book of Exodus and read through the exchange between God and Moses. God told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let the people of Israel go.
Moses freaked out, and understandably so…this was a BIG DEAL! How in the world could Moses do this? He had been on the backside of the desert for 40 years! He had actually murdered a man the last time he was in Egypt. He had never led anything other than a flock of sheep! This thing was way larger than anything he had ever participated in.
And so finally he asks God in Exodus 4:1 something like, “OK God, what if these people don’t believe me. After all, this whole burning bush thing is over the top…but I left my Iphone back at the house and cannot put this experience on instagram so that the people will see how incredible it is. They are not going to believe me!”
The Lord simply replied in Exodus 4:2, “…what is that in your hand?”
Moses told him it was a staff (like God didn’t know) and then God proceeded to use the staff that Moses had in his hand to bring about an incredible miracle (you can read this for yourself in Exodus 4:1-8!)
The object of the miracle wasn’t something that Moses had to go out and find…he already had it in his hand. (Just like in John 2 where Jesus turned the water into wine the water jars that were used in the miraculous transformation were already in the house!!!)
And then just the other day I saw this Scripture in Exodus 23:15, “…no one is to appear before me empty handed.”
Why in the world would God command people to not appear before Him empty handed if they needed something else with which to worship Him more effectively?
What I’m saying is that you already have in your hand what you need to take your next step in your walk with Christ.
Some are saying, “I don’t see how He can use what I feel like I have.”
I promise you…He can.
- Do you have confusion? He can use it to clarify truth about Himself and cause you to love Him more deeply.
- Do you have a shady past? He can use it to reach others who are currently in the same situation but feel as if there is no way they could ever get free of what they struggle with.
- Do you have pain? He can take pain and turn it into progress; in fact, He is the only one I know who can!
- Do you have just a few dollars to your name? He can take just a little and turn it into a whole bunch (remember the loaves and fish.)
- Do you have bitterness towards someone? He can take it, heal it and then use your situation to tell others that they can be free from the prison that unforgiveness puts us in.
- Do you have a special talent or ability? He can use it…and He knows how it needs to be used best because He loved you enough to give it to you in the first place.
He has blessed us all with the ability to do way more than we ever thought or imagined we could accomplish, but that process begins today, with what we have and with who we are. We just need to stop asking Him for the next best thing and start thanking Him for what we have in our hands! (AND…if we don’t know what it is that we have, then we should ask! James 1:5)
Seven Reasons I LOVE Our Children’s Ministry! January 19, 2012
#1 – It’s clean! No nasty carpet! No smells that make you want to projectile vomit. No dirty floors!!! I know that our kid’s area is clean…and that matters to every parent.
#2 – It’s safe! Background checks have been ran on every staff member (in our church) and every volunteer that has any contact with children (or students!) There is a volunteer security team that makes sure random people do not just walk through our kid’s area…and there is a solid check-in system where not just anyone can come pick the child up from their class, whoever checked them in must check them out.
#3 – It’s fun! My four year old daughter LOVES CHURCH, LOVES IT!!! I love the fact that “fun” is a value in our kid’s ministry!!! Where in the world did we ever get the idea that kid’s must suffer through church? Heaven is NOT boring, it’s going to be a massive party/celebration, church should be as well (especially for kids!)
#4 – Our Staff & Volunteers Are Awesome – Our children’s staff LOVE children! Our volunteers love children! They do not do what they do out of duty but rather delight!!! If a staff member or volunteer the children’s area does not absolutely love children then they need to be moved to another area. Kid’s can read right through an adult…and a ministry that isn’t based out of love for children will be unfruitful and ineffective.
#5 – Our Kid’s Know God’s Word – Every week on the way home from church I ask Charisse two questions (by the way, these are the two questions I’ve shared with our children’s ministry for over a decade in regards to what their vision should be for children’s ministry. I have said that parents are going to ask their kids two questions every Sunday…which are…
- Did you have fun? (This one is first 90% of the time!)
- What did you learn?
It always fills my heart with joy every time Charisse tells me what she learned in her class about the Scriptures. AND…there has NEVER been a week since she’s been active in a classroom that she hasn’t learned something. Seriously, when a church commits to teaching children about Jesus in an environment that they love and in a manner that is on their level then they are making an investment in the next generation!
#6 – They Are Resourced! NewSpring Church invests heavily in our youth and children’s ministry! I don’t believe they are “the church of tomorrow,” I believe they are the church of TODAY! I believe they matter TODAY! I believe that if we invest in them TODAY and teach them about Jesus TODAY and help them grow up with a favorable view of church TODAY then their tomorrow will look a lot different!!! A church that refuses to spend money on reaching the next generation has basically told them they can go to hell! Disney spends money on them! The Cartoon Network spends money on them! The church should spend money on them!
#7 – They have AN EXCELLENT LEADER! Cherie Duffey, our children’s director is the absolute best on the planet! She LOVES kids (and has four boys of her own!) Seriously, she has more passion for children and their families than anyone I’ve ever seen! (By the way, a passionate and wise leader makes a HUGE difference!) I am so honored that Charisse (my daughter) is going to have the privilege of being in an environment every week that is directly impacted by Cherie’s vision and passion for seeing children learn about Jesus on their level!
A dynamic children’s ministry cannot be underrated! If we want to reach them we have to start as early as we can!!
10 Things Fear Causes January 18, 2012
One of the most frequent commands in the Bible is “do not fear.” (Once again…it is a command, NOT a suggestion!)
And yet every leader I know (including the guy I shaved with this morning) deals with fear. As I’ve traced my own journey through fear in leadership I wanted to share 10 things fear causes in our lives.
(When I speak of fear in this post I am speaking of fear of man – see Proverbs 29:25 – and irrational fear.)
#1 – Fear causes us to reduce the size of God and elevate the size and opinion of man.
#2 – Fear causes us to lead people in the wrong direction. (Remember when the Israelites wanted to GO BACK TO EGYPT and being slaves because they feared going into the land that God had promised them?)
#3 – Fear causes us to stay quiet when we should clearly speak up. (Mostly because many times we are OBSESSED with what others think about us, see Galatians 1:10)
#4 – Fear causes us to be passive about an issue that the Lord has clearly brought to our attention. (As Edmund Burke once said: ”The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing.”)
#5 – Fear causes us to seek consensus rather than really seeking the voice of the Lord.
#6 – Fear causes us to not engage the broken, the hurting, the misfits and the neglected because if we include them in our lives and actually invite them into our homes then it could get messy. (I’m so glad Jesus didn’t have that attitude…if He would have then I would have been screwed!)
#7 – Fear causes us to refuse to embrace change because we care way more about being comfortable than being conformed into the image of Christ.
#8 – Fear causes us to control things and take matters into our own hands rather than trusting the Lord and trusting others. (People who are control freaks really do fear when things don’t go their way! BUT…remember, control is the biggest illusion in the world, I wrote about that here.)
#9 – Fear causes us to conceal sin and shame in our lives when God’s Word is so clear that we should ask others for help – James 5:16
#10 – Fear causes us to seek the easy decision rather than seeking the right one.
A Letter From Pastor P To NewSpring Church January 17, 2012
Howdy NewSpring Church, EIGHT things I wanted to share with you today…
#1 – This past Sunday our church set a non-holiday/special event attendance record as nearly 16,500 people attended a NewSpring service. So thankful to everyone in our church who keeps on bringing people to a service…lives are being impacted and eternal destinations are being changed. It’s not about attendance…it’s about people hearing the Gospel and responding to Jesus…and THAT HAPPENS EVERY WEEK!
#2 – We’ve received a great deal of positive feedback about the fact that I talked about my struggle with depression & anxiety. I’ve literally heard people say that someone who knows Christ will never struggle with those things…and they are wrong. I wrestled with depression from December 2007 until January of last year…and I’m still not completely through with this battle. We will be beginning a brand new series starting Sunday, February 12 where I will be walking through that time in my life, how I got there, what I learned and how God was faithful to me in all of it. It’s going to be one of the most raw and transparent series we’ve ever launched here at NewSpring Church, I’m praying that Jesus uses it to set some people free.
#3 – We talked about loving Jesus intellectually on Sunday…too many times we try to pursue Him emotionally but not with our minds, and Scripture clearly calls us to do both. Jesus said in Mark 12:30 to go “all in” with our minds…and the best way to do that is – READ YOUR BIBLE, DO WHAT IT SAYS! (See James 1:22, John 14:15, John 14:21) AND…if you were not present Sunday or somehow missed receiving the Bible reading plan that we’re asking our church to go through then you can get it here!
#4 – This coming Sunday is going to be, hands down, THE defining moment for hundreds of people (maybe even thousands) when it comes to taking their next step in their walk with Christ. I promise you that it’s going to be one of “those days” that many people never forget and reflect back on as the day they stopped playing games with Jesus and absolutely went “ALL IN!”
#5 – There was a rumor that was started by one of our worship leaders that I wore skinny jeans last Sunday (January 8th!) That did not happen! I love NewSpring Church way too much to ever expose you guys to the horror of me in a pair of skinny jeans. They look OK on some people…but not on me! :-) I will not be wearing them anytime in the future…nor will I be wearing a scarf or a deep V-neck, once again, I love you too much to expose you to such an insane sight!!!
#6 – I LOVE KIDSPRING! This past Sunday Charisse (my four year old daughter and I) got in the car to drive home after the 11:15 service and she told me, “I want to go back to church tonight daddy because my class was so much fun!” I’m going to call that a WIN for our children’s ministry, I love the fact that our children’s staff and volunteers work as hard as they can to provide a safe, clean and fun environment where kids can learn about Jesus on their level!!!
#7 – For those who feel like you need a breakthrough…please remember what I shared on Sunday from Philippians 1:6, God’s NOT giving up on you!!! Don’t give up on Him! (I wrote about that several days ago here in regards to people who struggle with thinking that God is through with them.)
#8 – If you are married or one day want to be…PLEASE do everything you can to be here with us as Pastor Mark Driscoll and his wife Grace will be hosting a seminar entitled “Real Marriage!” I can promise you that it will be one of the best things you have ever done for your marriage (or one of the best investments you will make in your future marriage.) This event is going to sell out quickly…and so go here for more information and to register.
I hope you have an incredible week…I LOVE MY CHURCH, I love what Jesus is doing…and our best days (as a church and for you as an individual) are yet to come!