Archive for May, 2010
Do You Want A Loyal Staff? May 12, 2010
If you want loyalty…then GIVE IT! The leader that demands it but does not offer it often leaves a wake of abused and neglected staff members. Here are a few things that I try to do…
When a person isn’t performing their job in an adequate fashion…TALK TO THEM, don’t just cut them loose! They are real people, with real lives…and sometimes they actually have REAL problems. A leader who only loves his staff when they are performing at maximum potential but will “cut them” at the first sign of struggle is pathetic.
Don’t buy into the “fire a certain percentage of your staff every year” philosophy. I have heard that line taught at leadership conferences and I just don’t buy it. Why? Because let’s say you are on staff…and you hear your leader say, “I fire BLANK percent of my staff every year.” Uh…does that motivate you to be loyal…or does it scare the heck out of you? Staff members should be motivated, not intimated by their leader. AND saying that people are going to be fired “just because” will NEVER bring about an environment of loyalty.
Hang out with your staff. It’s sad…but many leaders have bought into the “you can’t be friends with the people you lead” lie. Personally, I think you can’t be friends with the people you lead if you are an insecure leader. I love the fact that the people I lead with I also do life with. They see me in an environment outside of the church…which allows them to trust me more (and I trust them more as well.) The leader who wants to be a celebrity to his staff may be effective in getting them to kiss his butt…but they will never be truly loyal to him.
Have integrity! The people on staff (and in your church) always need to see that you are smokin’ what your sellin’! In other words…we can’t preach a value if we are not actually living it out.
I’ve alluded to this before…but believe the BEST about them. Don’t listen to every negative word and story you hear about the people you work with an immediately receive it as true…but actually sit down and have a conversation with the person that works with you. A staff member that NEVER gets the benefit of the doubt from his leader will eventually never offer them that same benefit.
Don’t think that just because someone questions a decision that you made that they are automatically against you and are in the process of leading a rebellion against your leadership. God has used some GREAT staff members who had sincere questions to direct me away from making some REALLY bad decisions…and if I had dismissed them as “disloyal” then I would have been both wrong AND stupid because I would have followed through on a wrong decision.
Six Leadership Mistakes I’ve Made May 11, 2010
#1 – Not getting the entire story before confronting someone about an “issue” that had been brought to my attention! (A leader who always believes the worse about the people he leads needs to do a serious gut check!)
#2 – Letting emotion get the best of me and shutting down a discussion when I should actively listen. A leader is way more likely to get buy in if the people he leads actually feel like he listens to them…REALLY listens to them.
#3 – Choosing “the obvious” rather than listening to The Holy Spirit.
#4 – Not allowing the people (or department) that would be most impacted by a particular decision to actually have input on that decision.
#5 – Assuming that everyone on our staff (and in our church) will immediately receive the decision in the first presentation when it took our leadership team months to process it. (People need time to process and ask questions…and while some leaders label this “disloyal” I actually see it as staff trying to be MORE loyal by fully understanding and appreciating everything that goes along with a particular decision.)
#6 – Not pressing down on a person when I know they disagree with a decision. Some people need to be forced into conflict…and a leader always loses when he sees that a person disagrees with him but won’t pull out of them because he really just wants to keep the peace instead of being a secure leader.
Coaching Network Update… May 10, 2010
We’re still taking applications for our fall coaching network. (I posted here last week in regards to the dates and contact information to receive an application.) The deadline for applications is THIS Friday at 5pm and we’ve been blown away by the response so far…lots of applications requests and we still have a week to go…so…if you think this is something you may want to dive into then click on the link in this post, contact Karla to get an application, and we will be in touch in the next few weeks.
(I really do wish we could take every applicant…but because we want to keep the number of participants at around 20 or under we have this process in place…and I have a team of people who assist me in prayerfully selecting the applicants. We take this network pretty seriously…we don’t just meet four times and then kick people to the curb…I literally have a team of people who minister to the pastors during the network…AND afterwards as well! The goal of this network isn’t to gather pastors…but to literally minister to them!)
Can’t wait to get this started!
Starting This Sunday May 10, 2010
For some reason we all love the Bible characters that lived extraordinary lives…yet we are so quick to settle for “average” and “boring.”
For the next several Sunday’s we will examine the story of a lady who dared to be different…and how her decision to embrace the unknown literally changed the history of the world. AND…how God really is offering each one of us the very same opportunity!
What was true thousands of years ago is true today…
God has an amazing plan for us…it just takes COURAGE to step up and do it!
See you on Sunday!
Sunday Night Reflections… May 9, 2010
A few thoughts on an incredible Mother’s Day!
- Happy Mother’s Day to all of the INCREDIBLE moms out there!!!
- Met a guy at the Anderson campus today that received Christ by watching a service on the web…from Hawaii!!! WOW…I think we need a campus over there and I am FULLY dedicated to going and researching that option for at least six months! :-)
- Reading John 13:34-35 is challenging…seeing it comes to life is life changing!
- The world will not be changed because of what we believe but rather how we behave! We can’t say we believe the Gospel if is does not impact our behavior!!!
- God generously poured out His love through Jesus (John 3:16)…His church is called to be generous in the love we pour out as well.
- The world will not be changed by the church’s boycotts…but rather by us being salt and light to a world that has no hope!
- When the church rallies around a cause and becomes determined…she can’t be stopped! God’s people working for God’s purpose immersed in God’s power can accomplish GREAT THINGS!
- For those at the service today…I will bet you never see John 8:1-11 the same…I know I won’t!!!
- When we allow our hearts to be broken for the things that break God’s heart…REAL CHANGE can take place!
- Seeing the church be the church and choose to offer grace instead of throwing rocks always seizes the attention of a world that expects nothing but condemnation from “His people” in “His house!” (Which is so ironic in light of Romans 8:1)
- Seeing a former abortion clinic literally be transformed into a place where LIFE will be developed is a visible picture of II Corinthians 5:17 in our lives!
- I believe every person should wrestle with the question, “What would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you could not fail?” (BTW…I wrote a post on this about a year ago…here it is if you want to read it…WARNING, it’s not for anyone who really wants the words “normal” and “safe” to describe them!)
- I am SO PROUD of Howard Frist, our Greenville staff, Jon McDerment, our amazing media team AND our unbelievable volunteers who all worked together to pull off this project!!!
- Seriously, I could go on and on…but for real, the service was amazing. I knew what was coming next and it was still emotional! The service will be online on Tuesday…and it is definitely worth watching. AND…
- NewSpring Church…THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR AMAZING GENEROSITY! Another reason we were able to do this was because you guys give so faithfully every week! We didn’t take up a special offering to pull this off…but were able to resource these projects because of your willingness to believe II Corinthians 9:6-8!
Can’t WAIT until NEXT SUNDAY!!!
Five Quick Thursday Thoughts… May 6, 2010
Just a few things on my mind today…
#1 – The church cannot afford to have passionless leaders in prominent positions! All too often people get appointed to some sort of leadership position because they are a “natural fit” or they are the “easiest option,” and NOT because they actually have the passion and wisdom to do an incredible job. Passion is the key ingredient that will keep a person in the game when everyone else is giving up! Never apologize for passion!
#2 – Mother’s Day is this Sunday…and I can’t WAIT! I believe we are going to see just a small fraction of what the church can be when we stop relying on what we BELIEVE to change the world but rather how we BEHAVE! (The world doesn’t need a theological system to set them free…they need to see HIS church living out John 13:34:35!) Do whatever you can to GET PEOPLE HERE!
#3 – I shared the vision with our leadership team this past Tuesday as to where I believe Jesus is taking us for the rest of this year…and discussions began as to what steps we need to take. I can honestly say it was one of the most exciting staff meetings we’ve EVER had in the history of NewSpring Church…including the days when we were meeting in living rooms and dreaming big. I can’t WAIT to talk more about this…it’s getting ready to get crazy around here!
#4 – Pete Wilson told me that blog world stepped up big in regards to this post from Tuesday. They’ve taken in around $20,000 so far just from people on the www diving in and doing all that they can. And…if you haven’t stepped up and given yet…go for it!
#5 – We are blown away by the application requests so far for the fall coaching network here at NewSpring Church. If you are interested in becoming a part of this network here is the original post I did on it with all of the information that you need.
Catalyst In October…Can’t Wait! May 5, 2010
Make plans now to attend the Catalyst Conference this fall in Atlanta. Visit the website right now and register to win a FREE iPAD (which is REALLY cool!) Winners chosen WEEKLY up until the first week of October!!
For 10 years, Catalyst has created moments that have left a mark on each of us, a collective experience that has defined a generation. Be there October 6-8 in Atlanta at Gwinnett Arena, as 13,000 young, talented and creative leaders gather together.
Catalyst is, hands down, one of my favorite conferences that I attend every year!
This year’s speakers include:
Andy Stanley, Seth Godin, Beth Moore, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Daniel Pink, Francis Chan, Christine Caine, Francis Chan, Perry Noble, Craig Groeschel, Gabe Lyons and several others.
Sign up online today at catalystconference.com or call 888-334-6569 to register your group with a Catalyst Concierge. Don’t forget to visit the website and register to win a FREE iPAD!
Can’t wait to see you in October in Atlanta.