Category: Leadership

Seven Steps to Success

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Leadership expert John Maxwell shares Seven Steps to Success:

  1. Make a commitment to grow daily.
  2. Value the process more than events.
  3. Don’t wait for inspiration.
  4. Be willing to sacrifice pleasure for opportunity.
  5. Dream big.
  6. Plan your priorities.
  7. Give up to go up.

Do you want to become a success? How does one become a success and another person does not? The seven steps presented lend credence to a plan for success. Consider incorporating these steps in your daily walk and perhaps your results can confirm the outcome of success.

I like them all but step 4 really speaks to me. Making sacrifices is not usually high on a person’s to-do list. In our microwave culture, we want it now and don’t want it to cost us anything to acquire it.

Small Groups are Practical

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Here is a great word from pastor Rick Warren about small groups. We may attract attenders through the Internet and a worship service, but disciples are made in small groups.

Small groups provide the kind of accountability and support we need to mature as believers, so here are four reasons why they are important to King’s Grant.

1 – Small Groups are Relational:
You can’t have a conversation with 300 people or 30 people, but you can have a conversation with a small group. Generally, when there are more than 10 in a group, people stop talking. It is impossible to learn how to love your neighbor as yourself unless you are involved in a small group of some kind. You don’t need a lot of friends in life, but you do need a few good ones, and you find those solid, supportive friendships in small groups.

Small groups allow us to know people, regardless of how big the congregation becomes. You don’t have to know everyone in the church as long as you know somebody in the church. If you miss a weekend service, not everyone will know you weren’t there, but your small group will know. Even the largest congregations seem small when your members are in small groups.

2 – Small Groups are Flexible:
Small groups can meet anywhere. They can meet in a library, at a coffee shop, in a park, outside, inside, in an office during lunch, or in a home. The Bible says, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20)

3 – Small Groups are Expandable:
We will run out of space and money if we try to build enough classrooms for our groups to meet at the church. On the other hand, if our small groups are meeting across the community, then we will never run out of space.

Don’t let buildings limit the number of small groups we can have. That’s like letting the shoe tell the foot how big it can be. Buildings are just a tool for ministry. Invest in people; they will last forever.

4 – Small Groups are Economical:
When people meet at the church, we pay for the lights, and we pay for clean up. But if a family hosts a small group in their home, they don’t expect the church to pay for utilities that night or to send a custodian over to clean up. In fact, they’re usually glad to take care of those things as part of their ministry to others.

Think about it: you bring a guy into the church for a meeting and he might sit there like a bump on a log, but you put him in a home and give him a cup of coffee, and he may talk his head off. Why? Because you’ve put him in an environment that encourages fellowship.

Being a Spiritual Leader

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Men, we often don’t lead our families as we should. I sense that most wives are aching for their husbands to be the spiritual driver in the home. Most of the time we drift and outsource that leadership somewhere else.

The Courageous movie will challenge each husband and father to make a resolution… to be resolved… that they will be an active force for God on this earth and in their family.

I once heard Kenny Luck, men’s ministry leader at Saddleback, as he  encourages you on how to be the spiritual leader of your home.

Kenny tells us to:

  1. Own it – own our spiritual lives, don’t outsource that to anyone else.
  2. Show it – demonstrate outwardly what God is doing on the inside.
  3. Lead her and the marriage – not lording over her, but providing leadership.
  4. Lead by serving them – leadership is service, not position.
  5. Love them – love is an active word, not a feeling.

Are You a Reluctant Leader?

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There are many excuses that people give so they don’t step up to fulfill their role of leadership in the church. I have worked with people for many years and have heard lots of reasons. Here are a few good responses:

“I’m not sure I have been called” – Disciplemaking is not a matter of calling but of command. Every believer has been commanded to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). The Great Commission is a command for every believer, not just given to the church (as an organization). Choosing not to make disciples is not an option.

“I’m scared to lead a group” – All the great leaders in the Bible were scared when God called them.

  1. Moses (Exodus3:11-12)
  2. Joshua (Joshua1:9)
  3. Paul (Acts 18:9-10)

The Great Commission comes with a promise (Matthew 28:20), we will not be alone. If we are about the Father’s business of making disciples, Jesus promises that his presence will be evident.

“I don’t think I can lead a group” – Many times Jesus said in essence: “I cannot do anything without the Father.” Jesus recognized in his humanity that if he was going to make disciples or accomplish any ministry objective, he had to be dependent upon the Father. (John 17:7, 5:19, 30, 38, 6:38, 8:28, 10:20-21). This is also true for us. Jesus said in John 15:5 “for apart from Me you can do nothing.” God never intended for us to do it. He wants us to simply be available to work through us.

“I don’t know enough” – You will grow the most when you are placed in a situation where you are responsible to disciple a few other people. Everyone knows more than someone else.

When I taught seminary in Zambia, I did not have an arsenal of lesson plans and class notes under my belt; each class was brand new for me. I had to stay ahead of my students, which made learning and teaching go together.

The responsibility of leading a group has a built in accountability and it keeps you striving toward deeper spiritual growth. It is important to remember that the best leaders are learners and when you stop learning you stop leading, regardless of how much you know.

The key to discipling people in a small group is being “love with skin on it.” It is better to be a shepherd of people than a teacher of the Bible. A discipler who is passionate about fulfilling the Great Commission in a Great Commandment way (loving God and loving people) finds the means to grow the members of his/her group up in Christ.

“I still have small children” – I read a story about a couple who had pulled out of small group leadership and then ultimately out of the group entirely, all done in the name of “Family Values.” The mom said it was an awful mistake for two reasons.

  1. First, it was a mistake because it isolated her from her primary network of friends that could have made those earlier years of child raising easier. There was no one to take turns with watching the children so she could find some free time.
  2. The second reason it was a mistake is because parenting never gets easier and discipling is always a matter of priority. The most powerful environment to raise children is an authentic biblical community (2 Timothy 3:15). The value of watching mom and dad point others to Jesus in the context of a small group throughout the growing up years has a positive and powerful impact on the life of a child.

“I don’t want to fail” – If you don’t try, you can be sure you won’t succeed. Our discipleship ministry is designed to help you succeed, but there is still an element of risk. No one has ever attempted great things for God in some low risk adventure. Faith is required and “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

This also raises another unseen element, the spirit world. Satan is trying to undo whatever you spiritually accomplish in people’s lives. This is one of the reasons why we need to envision ourselves as a Desperate Church. In desperation we seek God’s face for his wisdom and power. We desperately need God! We don’t want to be like the self-absorbed and affluent church of Laodicea that thought that they were in “need of nothing” (Revelation 3:17). They thought that they didn’t need God.

These statements may not represent your reluctance in becoming a small group leader, but whatever the reason for your reluctance, God can help you overcome it. God loves to show himself strong for those who are totally dependent upon Him.

“Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.” (2 Corinthians 3:5)

God is prepared to give you everything that you need to lead a small group if you are only willing to depend upon him and promise to give him the glory.

What Prevents You From Serving?

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Volunteerism – nothing much would happen at the church without volunteers, so why is it so difficult getting people to step up and lend a hand? Some studies suggest that people do not serve because they have not been asked? Not sure about how to respond to this one, because what part of the Great Commission are we leaving out? We don’t ask people to sell all they have and move to Africa for the sake of the gospel, we simply need people to set up chairs at 9:00 each Sunday, and care for children and preschoolers at 9:45 or 11:00.

I was reading Andee Mark’s article, The Un-Interview, today. She says we need more than an “interview” with potential volunteers, we need meaningful conversations with them. People will give many excuses for not serving, mostly because we all carry false assumptions (ideas and expectations) about ourselves and about others.

I believe one of the most destructive assumptions is that we are consumers at the church. We won’t admit it but I feel it is totally true. When it’s all about me, I want and expect others to do the work so I can just sit back and enjoy. It’s about customer service, I’m the customer so those around me are here to serve (me).

When people say they don’t have time for volunteering:

As ministry leaders, this is the excuse we most often hear from someone who is unwilling to serve in ministry. Rather than pull our hair in frustration, what if we view this as a clue to what God wants to do in that person’s life, and embrace it as an opportunity to engage in spiritual direction… that is, creating space for this person to grow in their understanding of God? (Andee Marks)

As a leader, we need to recognize wrong assumptions and start addressing them, in our own lives and in the lives of the people we serve with. In doing so, we can help people to grow out their consumer mentality. What about the following false assumptions that people may have about serving in the church?

  1. The church doesn’t need help.
  2. I have nothing of value to offer.
  3. There are other people more qualified to serve than me.
  4. Serving will require time or skills I don’t possess.
  5. I will be asked to serve in an area they don’t enjoy.
  6. I feel that I have already served enough, it’s time to step aside.

Talking about these openly and honestly will help others realize that God may have more in store for them than what they assumed.

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Overcoming Loneliness in Life

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One of the toughest things for a college student to overcome is loneliness. They are in a new environment, perhaps away from home for the first extended period of time, and so many experiences are totally new. It can be overwhelming. It’s easy to get isolated because no one knows who we are. Being in a new area we might rather wait it out until we can make it back home to familiar surroundings. It’s difficult to establish “safe” places to meet friends, share concerns, doubts, or heartaches.We all struggle but it often feels like we are the only ones going through these issues.

One reason we have the capacity to feel lonely is because God made us to need other people. In other words, we don’t like to live alone because we weren’t made to live alone. The Bible teaches that, even when Adam was living in paradise (a perfect setting with no problems, no stress, no sin, and no one creating heartaches for others) God could see that it wasn’t good for Adam to be alone (Genesis 2:18).

God doesn’t want us to be lonely, and that’s why he offers us several ways to overcome the pain of loneliness while we are spending time of this planet:

God gives us a plan for life: You may feel nobody knows the depth of your loneliness, but God says this: “I made you. I put you on this earth for a purpose, and I created you. I care about you. I love you, and I have a plan for you and your future.” When you focus on God’s plan for your life, you don’t have a lot of time to feel lonely.

God gives us people in our lives: If you’re like many college students, you have plenty of acquaintances, but what you may not have are close friends. I’m talking about friends who really know you and walk beside you when you go through the inevitable crises of life. Enter, the church.

The church is the family of God, and one of its purposes is to provide us with the opportunity to develop real relationships. I’m not talking about ‘acquaintances’, but deep, close friends who will think about you and pray for you daily. If you don’t have a small group you meet with every week, take the initiative and get involved with a group where you can establish true, transparent, trusted friendships.

God gives us his presence: God created each of us to have an intimate, personal, and close relationship with him. As you go through life, this is our primary goal. Out of the overflow, we serve others in Jesus’ name. No person, no experience, no drug, no success, no possession, no fortune, no relationship, nor any fame or ideal job is going to fill that aching hole in your heart that God created for himself.

This means the most amazing remedy to loneliness is God’s presence.

I used to send missionaries all over the world, and in places like some cities in China, you can be surrounded by a million people and feel completely alone. Your college campus is no exception. We know that God is everywhere and there is no place on Earth where God is not. Knowing that can relieve you loneliness. When you understand that God is with you all the time, you can call on his help to conquer the loneliness in your life.

So, remember that God is right here with you. Jesus says, “I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 MSG).

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How to Handle Frustration

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Here are five simple steps for dealing with frustrations in your life. (Rick Warren)

1. Ask yourself, “Did I cause it?” The Bible says, “A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7). Many things in life frustrate us because we brought them on ourselves, so we don’t have anybody else to blame. It’s frustrating to run out of gas on a trip, but if you didn’t stop to get gas before you left, or decided to push your luck, who’s to blame?

2. Ask yourself, “What can I learn from it?” Use the irritation as an opportunity to grow in character and become more like Christ. How does God produce the fruit of the Spirit in your life? He often places you in the opposite situation. If God wants to teach you love, He will put you around unlovely people. If God wants to teach you peace, He will put you in a situation of total chaos so you can have inner peace. If God want to teach you patience, He will put more frustration in your path to test your patience.

3. Thank God in the situation. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks.” You don’t have to be thankful for a bad situation, but you can be thankful in a bad situation. That frustration, that irritation, that inconvenience, that interruption, may be a blessing or an opportunity in disguise.

4. Turn the frustration into a funny, humorous event. The Bible says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). A sense of humor is God’s antidote for anger and frustration.

5. Ask God to fill you with His love. Why? Because 1 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Love is not easily angered.” Love is self-giving, not self-serving. We get irritated because we think everyone and everything has to revolve around us. Love concentrates on the other person.

Jesus faced constant frustrations in his life, but he always made time for people. We get so preoccupied with our own things; we forget that people are the priority in life.

“You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)

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To Serve or Not to Serve?

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Tonight the topic for my small group is, Ransomed by God, out of Hebrew 9:11-28. The purpose of the study is to clarify that Christ was God himself, sacrificing himself for sinful humanity. The theological doctrine we are covering is substitution. I love this key verse out of Mark, he is so to the point:

But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:43-45)

  1. What does it mean to willingly be the slave of everyone else? What does this look like in daily life?
  2. Why do you think God’s plan was for Jesus to be a servant rather than an earthly king?

Since the context is about leadership, here are some thoughts from Ken Blanchard regarding self-serving leaders vs. servant leaders:

One of the quickest ways to tell the difference between a self-serving leader and a servant leader is how they handle feedback:

  • A self-serving leader always fears he will lose his position. They focus on protecting their status, so when there is feedback, it is seen as a threat to their leadership and position.
  • A servant leader sees leadership as an act of service. They welcome feedback as a way they can provide better service in the future.

There is generally a temptation to hold on to position, so we are all self-serving to a degree. Is there anything more self-serving than a new baby. They don’t come home from the hospital asking how they can help around the house. Life is a journey of moving from a self-serving to a serving heart. Babies mature into adults, and eventually we all must learn that life is more about what you give, not what you get. Every morning we should ask the question, “Which type of leader will I be today?”

Here is how to combat the temptation to be self-serving; surrender your motives and actions to Christ and role model how Jesus would lead. (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Characteristics of a NT Church

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This is teaching from Rick Warren. As always, how do we see King’s Grant measuring up to this standard?

If you want your church to have the impact of the early church, the book of Acts shows us eight essential characteristics we need in our congregations:

Supernatural power (Acts 2:3-4): We don’t just talk about God; we experience Him. This is what makes the church different from every other organization on the planet. We have the Holy Spirit. God promised His Spirit to help His church.

Use everybody’s language (Acts 2:4): This passage isn’t about speaking in tongues. It’s about the gospel being communicated in real languages. People actually heard the early Christians speak in their own languages — whether that was Farsi, Swahili, German, Greek, or whatever. God says from the very first day of the church that the Good News is for everyone. It’s not just for Jews. It’s amazing grace for every race. But the power of Acts isn’t just about the language of your country of origin. It’s also about languages spoken only in particular subcultures — like mothers of preschoolers or people into hip-hop or accountants or truck drivers. God says in His church, everyone’s language gets used. Are you helping your people use their “language” to reach people with the Good News?

Use everyone’s gifts (Acts 2:14, 16, 19, 21): In New Testament times, there weren’t spectators in the Church. There were only contributors; 100 percent participation. Not everyone is called to be a pastor, but everyone is called to serve God. If you want your church to have the impact of the early Church, get everyone involved in the ministry of your church. Make it clear to everyone in the church that passivity isn’t an option. If they want to just sit around and soak up the service of others, let them find another church.

Offer life-changing truth (Acts 2:22-40): The early Church didn’t offer pop psychology, polite moralisms, or nice-sounding inspiration. We must always offer the truth of the gospel. God’s Word has the power to change lives. No other message changes lives like the Good News. No other message changes a guy from a wife-beater to being a loving, responsible husband. It’s when the truth of God’s Word gets into us that we change.

In Acts 2, Peter gives the very first Christian sermon, quoting the Old Testament book of Joel. Peter shares the Gospel in this message. Acts 2 says that the early church devoted itself to the “apostles’ teaching” – the Bible. God’s Word gave the early church power.

Provide loving support (Acts 2:42): The first church loved and cared for one another. The Bible says in Acts 2:42, “They took part in the fellowship, sharing in the fellowship meals and in praying together.” One translation says, “They were like family to each other.” The church isn’t a business. It’s not an organization. It’s not a social club. It’s a family. For our churches to experience the power of the early Church, we’ve got to become the family that they were.

Enjoy joyful worship (Acts 2:46): When the early Church gathered, they celebrated, “praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.” We must understand and teach that worship is a celebration. It’s a festival, not a funeral. It’s the party for the kingdom of God. When worship is joyful, people want to be there because people are looking for joy. Do you think if our churches were full of glad hearts, joyful words, and hopeful lives, we’d attract other unbelievers? Sure they would.

Make generous sacrifices (Acts 2:44-45): The Bible teaches us to make generous sacrifices for the sake of the gospel. The Christians during the Roman Empire were the most generous people in the empire. In fact, they were famous for their generosity. They literally shared everything, with one another and the poor. The Bible says the early church “shared everything they had … .” That’s a church worth dying for; which is exactly what first-century Christians did. They’d rather die with gladiators and lions in the Coliseum than renounce their faith and their brothers and sisters in God’s family.

Create exponential growth (Acts 2:47): When our churches demonstrate the first seven characteristics of the early Church, growth is automatic. People may have looked at the first Christians as weird, but they liked what they were doing. They saw their love for one another, the miracles that took place in their midst, and the joy that was in their lives, and they wanted what the Christians had.

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Is Volunteerism Old School?

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In modern society in America, we are way too busy for our own good; and there is really not much difference when you look into the church. We’re busy with worship, classes, small groups, meetings, missions and events. I wonder if people think they come to church to find rest, therefore they are not seeking to get involved in acts of service. I’m not talking about everyone because there are a number of people who have stepped up in times of need to volunteer their time and efforts. But what about the vast majority of people who walk through the doors of our facility?

We must admit that we are a consumer society. We expect customer service to be exemplary. We expect our needs to be met. We desire for others to take care of us. I wonder how regular church attendees see what happens on Sunday mornings. Do they believe that it all just comes together by accident? Do they understand that it comes together only because we have a few dedicated volunteers who have taken ownership of the ministry?

I read recently about a church that took a volunteer day off. People came to worship and Sunday School only to discover: that there were no greeters to welcome them, no ushers to hand them a bulletin, no bulletins because those responsible to print them took the day off, no teachers in the classes, no preschool volunteers in the nursery, no sound system operators, no one to make coffee, no one to turn on the A/C, no one to sing in the choir, no one to set up chairs or take them down… you get the point.

  1. Why is it so difficult to get volunteers to come early and set up chairs in The Well?
  2. Why is it so hard to get people on a greeting rotation?
  3. Why do people avoid the preschool, choosing not to care for the most vulnerable of our community?
  4. Why do people fail to turn in a completed Connection Card?

We broadcast our needs and it appears to fall on deaf ears. Does a personal invitation cause someone to be more committed and moved into a place of service? If so, that is going to limit who volunteers. If we take a sober self-assessment of who we are in Christ, understanding how God has made us, recognizing that we worship in a community of believers, we should come to worship each Sunday looking for a place to serve before looking for a place to sit.

Volunteering at The Well: we are in desperate need of people willing to commit to being trained on the sound and video equipment regarding the Well. Who will step up? Who will you recommend? We need a few people who are computer savvy yet willing to learn our system (it’s not really that hard)! Right now we have ONE guy who has not missed a Sunday in six months. What is going to happen the day he wakes up sick on a Sunday morning, or plans a vacation?

Audio-Visual Workshop: We have scheduled Sunday October 23, noon-2:00pm. This workshop is for those who have been enlisted and others who are interested in learning how to work behind the sound cart at The Well. RSVP is needed since lunch is provided. Contact Scott Chafee for details.

The Well Ministry Teams:

  1. We still have needs for the Welcome Team: stand at the doors or greet people seated in the room.
  2. The Prayer Team: being willing to pray for people after the service, initiating conversations after the service ends, offering to pray for them this week.
  3. Setting up Chairs at 9:00 on Sunday: coming early on Sunday to make the room ready for worship.
  4. Ushers for the offering: collecting the offering and putting the gifts and tithes into an envelope to be taken to the safe.

We are going to promote signups beginning October 16.

We have so much potential for growth, but we cannot serve more people if we don’t get more volunteers to make it all happen. President Kennedy said it best back on January 20, 1961, (but I will put it into the context of the church): “And so my fellowship [believers], ask not what your [church] can do for you, ask what you can do for your [church]. My fellow citizens of the [congregation], ask not what [volunteers] will do for you, but what together we can do for the [kingdom of God].”

Keep the Son in Your Eyes,

Scott Chafee
King’s Grant Baptist Church
Knowing Christ and Making Him Known
www.KingsGrantBaptist.com
www.Come2TheWell.com
www.ChandeKids.org