Archive for May, 2010
11 Signs You May Be Experiencing Ministry Burnout! May 31, 2010
#1 – You begin to despise the people you are called to love and minister to.
#2 – You often allow your mind to drift towards what else you could do OTHER than ministry.
#3 – You feel like a “ministry machine” that does what you do out of guilty obligation rather than out of an overflow out of your own intimate walk with God. (In other words, as Bill Hybels says, “the rate at which you are doing the work of God is destroying the work of God in you!”
#4 – You begin to make decisions based on what is the easiest rather than what you KNOW God wants you to do.
#5 – You become increasingly critical of churches, people and ministries that you feel God is blessing more than you.
#6 – You can’t remember the last time you actually opened your Bible to comune with God rather than trying to find a sermon/Bible study.
#7 – Your begin to view the staff you serve with as your servants rather than God’s servants.
#8 – You use delegation as an excuse to be lazy.
#9 – You can’t remember the last time you and your spouse had a conversation that was not church related.
#10 – You can’t remember the last time you spent time with your children…and enjoyed it.
#11 – You begin to doubt the power of God in your life and the life of others.
Pastors…church leaders, I believe if six or more of these signs are true about you right now then you need to TAKE A BREAK…we don’t just “get healthy” by praying about it…we’ve GOT to take action.
Five steps I recommend…
#1 – You can read my post from yesterday if you haven’t yet…it has to do with getting healthy. (Here is the link.)
#2 – You can read Wayne Corderio’s book, “Leading On Empty.” One of the BEST BOOKS I’ve EVER read! (Here’s the link.)
#2 – You can read my friend Anne Jackson’s book, “Mad Church Disease.” GREAT insight from a great lady who experienced ministry burnout. (Here’s the link.)
#4 – Go see a counselor!
#5 – Take a vacation!
(To those in my upcoming coaching network…the entire first day of meeting is basically how to get healthy and do ministry…can’t wait!)
Sunday Night Reflections–to NewSpring Church and Pastors! May 30, 2010
A couple of years ago I was having a conversation with a pastor who was tired, VERY tired…his eyes were sagging, his moral was low, his passion level was struggling and he confessed he had thoughts of just getting out of the ministry.
I told him, “dude, sounds like you need to take a couple of weeks off from speaking and recharge your batteries.”
What he said to me after that has remained burned in my memory ever since…because it is the lie that so many pastors believe…and causes so many of us to absolutely burn out doing something that, at one time, we claimed we enjoyed and felt called to do.
He said, “Perry, I can’t take a week off from preaching. My church depends on me and would not survive without me…and my people won’t show up if I’m not there.”
(If you are a pastor…please read that sentence again…because you either believe that lie OR will be tempted to in the future. What’s sad is that it is really just a form of pride that many of us mask under “calling!” Too many pastors need to be needed…which leads to an inevitable downfall!)
One of the things I would LOVE to do right now is thank every staff member and volunteer at NewSpring Church who understand this simple concept…a church is not effective when the pastor ministers to the people but rather when the BODY ministers to the BODY! When the church becomes a one man show…and that “one man” isn’t JESUS…problems are sure to arise.
Church members are not called to merely receive ministry…but OWN IT! There are times we NEED ministry…and then there are times that ministry needs us to use the gifts God so generously gave us through His Holy Spirit. AND…I love serving in a church where people are continually understanding that when WE work together, using OUR gifts for HIS glory…WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE!
I am saying this because…I wasn’t at NewSpring Church today…in fact, I wasn’t even in the state of South Carolina…and we had an absolutely awesome day. We saw around 100 people receive Jesus…we baptized between 100-150 people…Jesus was exalted, hope was given, the excluded became included and people moved closer to Jesus…all without me being there!
Pastors…leadership DOES matter…and…I also feel that if we are the pastor of the church that we should be the primary communicator. However, the BEST thing you can do for the church you lead for the LONG HAUL is actually pace yourself and make sure to take adequate time off so that when your on…you’re on!
THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS YOUR CHURCH BECOMING HEALTHY IS YOU GETTING HEALTHY!
NewSpring Church…I really do feel like our best days are ahead of us. I am SUPER excited about this family series we are beginning next weekend…and I can honestly say that I feel like THIS FALL is going to be one of the most amazing times in the history of our church. God is doing something special around this place…and I feel a few of the many reasons are that so many of you guys are stepping up by stepping into ministry so that we all together are doing our part…
You guys are praying fearlessly…serving unselfishly…giving generously…inviting others regularly…and as we continue to do these things over time our communities WILL be transformed right before our eyes.
I love you guys…I love this church…and I love the fact that so many of you are passionate about church OWNERSHIP and not just showing up, sitting down then turning around and coming back three weeks later.
Keep up the GREAT work…and I promise to continue to try my best to pace myself so that the next 20 years are the most amazing years in the church that the world has ever seen!
AND…for the pastor out there thinking he’s indispensable…uh…you’re not. The church has existed 2,000 years before us…and will be around LONG after we’re gone. Catch your breath man…your church will be better for it!
Twenty Years Ago Today… May 27, 2010
May 27,1990 – EVERYTHING CHANGED!
Twenty years ago today Jesus, in His UNBELIEVABLE grace reached down from heaven and saved me! He knew every stupid, foolish thing I had ever done…AND He knew every stupid, foolish thing I was going to do…and He saved me anyway.
I can’t believe it…I am still overwhelmed by the cross…His sacrifice for my sins…freely given…AMAZING.
To say that I ran from God for the first 18 years of my life is a bit of an understatement…I really wanted nothing to do with Him, especially after my mother died in 1982 when I was in the 6th grade…
Yet…as I look back over the most rebellious times in my life I can see He was there the entire time…calling to me, wooing me, letting me know that life didn’t have to be “that way!”
He NEVER gave up on me…He was relentless in His pursuit of me…and the ONLY reason for this is His AMAZING GRACE! I was a sinner…I was the engineer of the train known as the “hell express,” – and JESUS changed everything.
I still remember the moment I realized I needed Him…in some ways it seems like it just happened. I was sitting in choir practice, preparing for a mission trip when all of a sudden I knew that I had NEVER received Christ into my life…I had never fully understood that there was a seperation between me and God…and only JESUS could bridge that gap.
SO…I found one of the ministers on staff and told him I wanted to follow Jesus. Stop and read that sentence again…I wanted to follow Jesus. I didn’t want to pray a prayer to just get me out of hell…I didn’t want to go through a religious ceremony based on the traditions of man…I FINALLY understood that Jesus gave His life for me and I wanted to spend the rest of my time on this planet giving my life to Him.
He changed me! I am fully convinced based on the Scriptures AND what HE has done in my life that you cannot meet Jesus and remain the same! AND…the beauty of this is that 20 years later He is STILL changing me!
He has brought me so far…I never imagined in a million years He would bless me the way that He has…my amazing wife, our awesome little girl, the best friends I could ever ask for and the most amazing church on the planet.
And yet I know He’s not finished with me. There is MUCH refining to do in my life…and I am so excited and overwhelmed that He, in His mercy, would be so patient with me as I continue to learn to try my best to hear His voice and do what He says.
He really is an amazing Savior! I am in awe of the fact that HE SAVED ME! Thank You Jesus…You were pierced for MY transgressions, crushed for my sin…and BY YOUR WOUNDS I HAVE BEEN HEALED! AMAZING!
Leaders Make Tough Decisions…No Matter What May 26, 2010
One of the most disturbing verses in the Bible is Nehemiah 2:10! SERIOUSLY! Nehemiah has a white hot vision from God…a passion to do something about a problem that many people had probably identified but no one had taken action on. He had raised the resources and established an action plan…
And the Bible clearly says in Nehemiah 2:10 that two guys didn’t like it at all.
What I LOVE about that passage is that all that is said about it was these guys didn’t like it…the very next verse picks up with Nehemiah going ahead with the vision God had placed in his heart…even though with some people it was wildly unpopular (and they let him know this throughout the book.)
(BTW…it is complete foolishness to believe that everyone will be excited and supportive about what you know God has clearly spoken to your heart to accomplish!)
I would almost be willing to bet my last Bible that Nehemiah wasn’t the first person to identify the problem…and I would dare say he wasn’t the first person to try to do something about it. BUT…the ONE THING that set him apart as the guy who did the “impossible” was that he was completely willing to make a decision that was unpopular with some for the good of so many others!
That is what leaders do! I’ve seen SO MANY TIMES a leader identifies the problem but just lacks the stones to pull the trigger and do what needs to be done…and so we see organizations repeating the same mistakes over and over because someone isn’t willing to sacrifice popularity for the sake of progress!
Take our government for example – I had a conversation with a politician the other day and told him that I believe real change will never happen in our country until someone is willing to step up and announce that the emperor has no clothes…and then clearly define what must be done about it. Seriously…it will take a politician that is willing to sacrifice his political career and be hated by special interest groups and lobbyists if he/she is serious about making progress. Unfortunately…to many politicians care more about their careers than the people they represent…and so I fear our country is doomed to cruise in the cul-de-sac of insanity.
This is true in our churches and ministries as well…it takes courage to declare that a program no longer is effective…it takes courage to call out poor performance…it takes courage to admit making a mistake – and it is SO troublesome when SO MUCH potential isn’t achieved because leaders are unwilling to be unpopular…because we care more about “them” than we do “Him!” Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic cannot be considered a win…even though the scene changes the result will be the same if MAJOR adjustments are not made.
When it comes to our country…our churches…our denominations…we aren’t lacking wisdom but rather men and women with COURAGE to declare the obvious…and then DO something about it.
Leaders are willing to make tough decisions…EVEN when those decisions are unpopular…and sacrifice their desire to be loved for a desire to see Jesus known!
Oops…Our Bad! :-) May 25, 2010
So…we put the new leadership podcast up yesterday and our intention was to use an audio clip from one of our all staff meetings to set up the subject of just because we do things “right” doesn’t mean we won’t ever have to fight!
Didn’t realize until this morning that we totally forgot to include that clip in the podcast. SO…we made the necessary corrections a few minutes ago and updated the podcast WITH the audio clip from the all staff meeting that Shane and I referenced in the podcast.
It’s on itunes…and it’s free under “The Perry Noble Leadership Podcast” if you are interested.
Sorry about that! :-)
Four Questions Church Planters Must Answer May 25, 2010
#1 – Cool or Called?
In other words…are you going to plant a church “there” because it is the cool place…or because you honestly feel a genuine call from God to go there?
#2 – Problems or Potential?
Are you going to begin your church plant by declaring the problems that other churches have…OR the potential that you believe that your church has?
#3 – Vacation or Vision?
Do you think your church plant is going to be easy…that people are automatically going to buy into your vision…that you will receive zero resistance? If so…you’re in for a HUGE wake up call. Planting a church is not a vacation but rather something that initiated from God through a white hot vision that allows a leader to roll up his sleeves and do whatever it takes to make something happen! (If you aren’t willing to work…church planting isn’t for you!)
#4 – Imitation or Revelation?
Do you want to do what you are about to do because you saw it done somewhere else and thought it would be really cool to do…OR because you know without a doubt that you have heard the voice of God and feel like you might explode if you don’t do what He’s calling you to?
New Leadership Podcast Is Up… May 24, 2010
We just put our monthly leadership podcast on itunes (you can find it under, “Perry Noble leadership podcast.”)
This month we talk about the myth that when we do things right that God will automatically bless us by allowing us to experience ZERO opposition…
AND…life AND Scripture clearly point to the opposite…that if we’re doing things right then we SHOULD expect a fight.
Had a blast recording it!