Tag Archive - church

The Lie of Consensus

October 4, 2011 in Ministry with 5 Comments

Consensus is defined as “general agreement among a group.”  You know where consensus comes into play in your life, right?  You want to start moving ahead with your ideas, but you feel you need some consensus from your leaders to do it.  You know what needs to be done, but you want consensus from others before moving forward.  You are burdened with a need that needs met quickly, but you want to build consensus so you won’t feel all alone meeting the need.

The danger with consensus is that oftentimes it stagnates our progress and delays our successes.  In and of itself, consensus is a great thing to have.  There are times when it is absolutely necessary to get others on your side before moving forward on something.  But there are those other times that we use the lack of consensus as an excuse to not obey what we know God has told us to do.

So how do you know when to gain consensus, and when to act quickly without it?  How should I know.  You’re the one working in your church, leading your family, and daily seeking God’s Will for your life and situation, right?  You’re already the expert.

Just refuse to buy into the lie that you NEED consensus to do anything.  Pray and act, pray and act, pray and act, and I believe you will go in the direction that you and your group need to go.

Zapped

September 19, 2011 in Links, Ministry with 9 Comments

I love music.  I would also like for my own kids to know and love music. I believe one of the easiest ways to introduce kids to music, is to start introducing them to good music in our Weekend Experiences at church. I know that “church music” and “good music” haven’t always flowed in the same sentence as it pertains to kids; but Amber Sky Records is working hard to change that!

  • There is of course the music, and 12 songs of greatness!  My kids favorites off the Zapped album include; Happy and YouKnowIt (a great version!), Jesus Freak/Undiginified, and No One Greater.
  • There is also a Dance Moves DVD that includes instructional dance moves as well as Dance Move Videos.
  • There is also an entire Performance DVD package that gives you every conceivable combination of live lyric videos and dance move instructional.  You can get the music with a full background mix, or full vocal mix.  It’s crazy how much you get from just 12 songs on the Zapped album!
Something this great has changed the way we lead the worship experience for Elementary students at our church.  Using a combination of the live lyric videos from Amber Sky Records; we’ve been able to create something meaningful for our kids.  At the same time, we are introducing them to good music!  A Win-Win!  Speaking of winning, look what we have here.  It’s a chance to win!

I’m going to giveaway some great Zapped music this week.  Use the PunchTab application above to enter yourself up to 5 times!  I’m going to giveaway ONE Zapped Audio CD ($15 value) and ONE Zapped Dance Moves DVD ($30 value).  The winner gets both to use at church or home!  Enter right now!

Staff Talk: Assume the Best

September 15, 2011 in Ministry with 2 Comments

I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the tension that exists on our church staff this week.  This is my last attempt at teaching myself and others how to navigate these sometimes bumpy waters of working on a church staff.  I’ve written about defining what you want out of your church staff relationships, taking action steps to make it happen, and practicing a high level of accountability to seeing it take place in your reality.  Right now I want to address the bow that tops the gift.

When working on a church staff, you always put yourself in a position for success when you decide beforehand that you will assume the best of those you work with.

Put it however you want.  You have to give them a benefit of the doubt, expect the best out of their intentions, and stop assuming the worst in everyone else’s motives.

I’ve sat in many an office with someone that is deeply wounded by the actions of another.  Many times I’m not seeing the offense, but I encourage the wounded person to speak to that person to hurt them.  What’s crazy to me, is how often the offense was never intended; and the person that did the wounding leaves wounded.  Why would they leave feeling hurt?  Because they can’t imagine that someone they trust would think they’d have such a terrible motive behind their actions.

When we choose to assume the best of those we work with, we free ourselves from the comparison game.  We free ourselves from bitterness towards the success of others.  We free ourselves from resentment that only handicaps our own efforts for the Kingdom of God.  When was the last time you were willing to give others the opportunity to have a bad day?  Do you never have bad days?  When have you given people the room to just misspeak?  Have you never misspoken?  When have you offered someone quick forgiveness, seeing that they genuinely made a mistake?  You can live free, and it all starts with giving others the same courtesy you’d want them to give you!

I’m not naive.  I realize there are some mean and angry people working on church staffs.  There is rarely a conference that goes by that I don’t hear stories about how church staffs that turn my stomach.  But even in that world, assuming the best goes a long ways towards giving us the health we need to work with those we lead, those we cooperate with, and those we follow.

Staff Talk: Practice Accountability

September 14, 2011 in Ministry with 0 Comments

You’re making it happen on your staff.  With those you lead, those you work with, and the people you follow; you have figured out what you want and you are doing it.  But there’s more.  It’s the dreaded time to Practice Accountability.  Are you really doing what you’ve defined?  Are you really making it happen?

The truth is that you can only expect to change those things you are willing to evaluate and hold accountable.  On this step, it will look drastically different depending on what level you are practicing accountability.  Pay close attention and don’t mix these up!

Those I Lead -> You have the strongest role here for holding your team accountable.  You’re the leader, it’s on you to evaluate and manage.  However, I’ve learned it’s so important that you let individual accountability happen in an individual setting.  The flip side of that is to only let team accountability happen within a team setting.  Don’t confuse these two!

Those I Cooperate With -> I’m going to encourage you to get inward-focused on this one.  Evaluate yourself from time to time with these questions: Are you being the person you want them to be for you? Are you being the friend you want them to be for you? Have you invested the time necessary to build the peer atmosphere you expect?  Practicing accountbility at this level is all about personal accountability.

Those I Follow -> Accountability at this level becomes even more inward focused than it does with our peers.  I’ve found the easiest way to practice accountability at this level is to put myself in the position of the people I report to.  From this perspective I can evaluate myself, but I have to be willing to look at myself honestly.

To skip the step of holding accountable what you’ve said you want, and what you say your willing to do; is to skip actually seeing it completed.  Take the time to let it happen in a real way, by practicing personal and individual accountability in all of your staff relationships.

How do you practice accountability when you’ve set a plan?  Let us know in the comments below!

D6 Happenings

September 13, 2011 in Links, Ministry with 0 Comments

Next Tuesday, I’ll be heading east back to the DFW Metroplex to attend the D6 Conference.  I’m looking forward to meeting some new friends, and connecting with some old friends at the same time.  What is the D6 Conference about this year?  I’ll let them explain it in detail:

For the last several years everyone has been talkin’ family ministry, right? But the conversation is really bigger than just family ministry. It’s bigger than any trend we’ve seen come through the church or an exhibit hall at some conference.

 

The bigger conversation is really about biblical discipleship. And biblical discipleship is at the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

We no longer have to sell the crisis the church is facing in NextGen discipleship. Instead, our challenge is to provide NEXT steps and NEXT strategies: practical, time-proven plans to implement change within the church and in the home.

 

The primary challenge we face is implementing the strategy and practical steps to breakthrough to the NEXT level in fulfilling the mission of the church. D6 2011 is fully dedicated to equipping leaders, ministers, volunteers, and parents with practical NEXT steps and NEXT level strategies for discipling the NEXT generation.

 

Leaders at D6 2011 will collaborate on what is NEXT for the church, families, parents, students, and kids.

 

  • Radical Homes
  • Broken Families
  • Biblical Worldview
  • Growing Marriages
  • Implementing Change
  • Healthy Ministry Teams
  • Generational Discipleship

I’m really excited to be attending a conference that combines such a great group of parenting, marriage, and church experts in one place.  Every conference has their niche, and I see D6 as having a valuable voice in the family ministry movement in our churches and schools.  I feel like I live in the golden age of church ministry conferences, and I’m so thrilled to be participating with D6 next week!

I wrote about it last week, that I’ll be a part of a special writing and live-blogging group bringing you relevant information from pre-conference labs and main general sessions.  I’ll also be conducting some back stage interviews throughout the week.  Stay tuned next week for more information, and get ready to learn something new along with me!

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