Just about scuttled this blog, still getting interference from sun spots or something on the Interweb, so I'm hoping this is the start of regular posts again. In the meantime, finishing what I started here and here, the top 3 are:
3. People take themselves too seriously and God not seriously enough - It's a hazard of the job that when you stand up and talk about God in front of people, there will be people who will take offense at something (read: just about anything) you do, and occasionally fire a verbal assault cannon at you. As a recovering people pleaser, I'm better at absorbing and deflecting those missile missives and sifting them for actual constructive criticism that can help me grow. But this past year I've been reminded that some folks take themselves so seriously that no one and nothing will make them happy unless either they thought of it or had some part to play in approving of it ahead of time. My teaching style includes as much humor as I can fit into a message on the weekend. It's on purpose, it's intentional, and it's strategic, but it's also a reflection of my personality. I like to laugh, and I like to make other people laugh, but beyond that, humor helps to get the point across, even a difficult point, in an agreeable way. And especially to men, who are largely absent in churches in America. Men like to laugh, and they listen better when they laugh, so I like to make men laugh so they will listen. So when others decide my "comedy routine" is not serious enough for worship, I'm really okay with that, because everyone is entitled to their opinion. When they blast me for it, or demand I change who I am and what I do to please them, I giggle and remind myself that I don't have to please everyone. And especially not the cranky people. God likes laughter, and God likes it when people use their gifts to serve in His church, so I'm pretty sure what He thinks trumps what cranky people think.
2. NEVER. STOP. LEARNING. - No one knows it all, and the person who thinks they do is in for a rude awakening. I'm convinced that as fast as the world around us is changing (the Arab spring, the elections, the economic roller coaster, etc...), if you're not actively learning what you can about what impacts your world, you are being left behind at light speed. The church is no different, and as a pastor and leader, I need to be reading, listening and asking questions of leaders from all types of backgrounds and all kinds of points of view. Reading business and leadership books as well as church ministry books is huge for me. The privilege of sitting with some great leaders in a small group setting or going to a conference to hear big name preachers are both vital to gaining fresh perspective on what I do and what we as a church can accomplish for God's Kingdom. Having a personal coach and a group of leaders to learn with in community are also a major piece of gaining not only knowledge but WISDOM in my life. I'm smart enough by myself to know that I'm not smart enough by myself. As Rick Warren says, "All leaders are learners. If you stop learning, you stop leading." Truth!!
1. The more I am myself, the more effective I am for Jesus - One of the struggles in my life has been the idea that I need to be someone else, that just being me is not enough. As a kid, being me wasn't cool enough for the crowd. As a younger adult, being me wasn't hip enough for the hipsters. As a younger pastor, being myself wasn't quite good enough to please people in the congregation: why can't you be more like ____________? The pressure to be someone other than myself was often overwhelming for me. However, here in the role I have, in the ministry I am privileged to lead, I get the opportunity to be myself with very little pressure to be anyone else but me. And what I've found is both astonishing and obvious: the more I am who God made me to be, the more effective I am. When I try to be someone else, I am far less effective or impactful, but when I am who and what God made me to be, without reservation and without apology, I see the impact of what I do not just grow but multiply. I am the best me there ever will be, and I will be a lousy Billy Graham, or Bill Hybels, or Rick Warren, or... you get the point. The closer I come to being the Bill McCready that God imagined when He knit me together, the more joy, more peace, more energy, and more effectiveness flows in my life. For the record, I WANT THAT!!!
Okay, what did you learn last year?
Showing posts with label pastors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pastors. Show all posts
1.04.2012
Top 10 Lessons from 2011 - Part 1
It's the start of a New Year, so everyone will have their Top 10 Year-In-Review lists. This one just happens to be mine. 2011 was a year of learning some great lessons both personally and in ministry for me. Here's the first half of the list:
BILL'S TOP 10 LESSONS LEARNED IN 2011
10. - Learn from the Pony Express: If you have to choose, choose the ponies over the mail. No ponies, no mail. I heard this idea from Pastor Larry Osborn at North Coast Church over a year ago, but this past year, the more I worked to implement this principle, the better it worked. You don't get very far with exhausted people on your team, so working to take care of the folks who 'carry the mail' has to be a priority for a leader. It makes people feel loved to know you are as concerned for them personally as you are interested in their productivity. Take care of your horses, or you'll be delivering the mail by yourself.
9. - From the hymnal: Trust and Obey, for there's no other way... Trusting God and obeying His call and prompting is the only way to lead in His church. Listening to His word and doing what it says, conditioning yourself to hear His voice, and leaning into the courage it takes to follow when it's difficult or when it's new and 'we've never done it that way before' is pressing in, these are keys to leading into the future and not living in the rear view mirror.
8. - "There's no substitute for TIME." (Pastor Roy font). This quote is from Roy Conover, one of our pastors here at LifePoint Church, and it comes up so often I had to include it. Growth takes time. Change takes time. Learning takes time. Trust takes time. Health takes time. Culture shift takes time. You can take some steps to move them each along, but in the end, time will always be a factor. You don't get to microwave people into their next level of maturity, it will always take some time.
7. - People will rise to the challenge if you are honest about the challenge. All this past year, as we've been working to grow in our missional side of the ministry here at LifePoint, there have been moments when people were concerned that people weren't going to get on board with serving in the community, or giving beyond themselves to see others impacted. But each time, as we've clearly explained the reason why we were moving in that direction, the steps we were going to take, and the hoped for impact those steps would bring, we got great buy in and cooperation. Our Project 40/40 was a huge example. We hoped we could get our 40 small groups to each do one project to serve in the community during the 40 days leading up to Easter. Some folks were nervous that we wouldn't hit our goals (no harm in that, they were just sharing their honest feedback). We never said it would be easy, and we never promised success. And when it was all over, we didn't hit our goals... we EXCEEDED THEM!! People stepped up to the challenge, groups served like crazy all over the Carson Valley and beyond, and (total bonus) NEW GROUPS WERE FORMED!! Don't back down from a challenge, help people step up to it by being honest and clear about the challenge.
More learnings to come, including two learned the hard way...
BILL'S TOP 10 LESSONS LEARNED IN 2011
10. - Learn from the Pony Express: If you have to choose, choose the ponies over the mail. No ponies, no mail. I heard this idea from Pastor Larry Osborn at North Coast Church over a year ago, but this past year, the more I worked to implement this principle, the better it worked. You don't get very far with exhausted people on your team, so working to take care of the folks who 'carry the mail' has to be a priority for a leader. It makes people feel loved to know you are as concerned for them personally as you are interested in their productivity. Take care of your horses, or you'll be delivering the mail by yourself.
9. - From the hymnal: Trust and Obey, for there's no other way... Trusting God and obeying His call and prompting is the only way to lead in His church. Listening to His word and doing what it says, conditioning yourself to hear His voice, and leaning into the courage it takes to follow when it's difficult or when it's new and 'we've never done it that way before' is pressing in, these are keys to leading into the future and not living in the rear view mirror.
8. - "There's no substitute for TIME." (Pastor Roy font). This quote is from Roy Conover, one of our pastors here at LifePoint Church, and it comes up so often I had to include it. Growth takes time. Change takes time. Learning takes time. Trust takes time. Health takes time. Culture shift takes time. You can take some steps to move them each along, but in the end, time will always be a factor. You don't get to microwave people into their next level of maturity, it will always take some time.
7. - People will rise to the challenge if you are honest about the challenge. All this past year, as we've been working to grow in our missional side of the ministry here at LifePoint, there have been moments when people were concerned that people weren't going to get on board with serving in the community, or giving beyond themselves to see others impacted. But each time, as we've clearly explained the reason why we were moving in that direction, the steps we were going to take, and the hoped for impact those steps would bring, we got great buy in and cooperation. Our Project 40/40 was a huge example. We hoped we could get our 40 small groups to each do one project to serve in the community during the 40 days leading up to Easter. Some folks were nervous that we wouldn't hit our goals (no harm in that, they were just sharing their honest feedback). We never said it would be easy, and we never promised success. And when it was all over, we didn't hit our goals... we EXCEEDED THEM!! People stepped up to the challenge, groups served like crazy all over the Carson Valley and beyond, and (total bonus) NEW GROUPS WERE FORMED!! Don't back down from a challenge, help people step up to it by being honest and clear about the challenge.
More learnings to come, including two learned the hard way...
4.01.2011
Friendship Friday
There's always a lot going on at a dynamic church like LifePoint, but in the midst of it all this week, I had a few moments to savor the gift God has given me of friends. There were several conversations this week, some face to face, some on the phone, some via text or email, that reminded me that I am rich in one of the only measures that matter - I have great friends. I have friends both near and far that love me in spite of who they know I am, who aren't in relationship with me just to get what they can from me, and who are willing to both listen to my life and tell me what I NEED to hear, not simply what I WANT to hear. That is such a blessing. Proverbs 17:17 is a verse I memorized in college (thanks to a friend...), "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity." Yes, family is supposed to have your back, and I know mine does. But I have lived far from my family for 20+ years, so I have had to rely on friends who are like brothers (and sisters) to me. In the struggles of leading churches, pastors tend to not make friends, or at least not many. I've tried my best not to become jaded by the experiences and stay open to the God-honoring friendships that have come my way. Yes, there have been false friends along the way, and people who pretended to be my friend for the benefit of being close to the pastor, or for the opportunity to try and influence the direction of the church by bending my ear. But after a few rounds of walking through adversity with people, you figure out motives and meanings eventually. I don't always get it right, but I've learned. So this week, when I needed some friends, they were there. This is my tribute to them, and to the ones who I didn't get to talk to, but I know are still there. And to the ones that I have yet to make, but in God's timing and with His grace, I know I will. And to all my friends, I love you, I honor you, and I will continue to try to be there for you, just the way you have been for me.
3.11.2011
Why we own a house
We held the first 'official' event at our home yesterday, and it reminds me of why we bought a house in the first place.
Yes, we've had a few friends over, and yes, we're not counting those as 'official' events, because we just called some folks and invited them to hang out. Yesterday was an Open House for our Senior Adults at LifePoint Church, and we had over 20 people fill up our living room with smiles, conversation and laughter. It was great!! We're launching a new Senior Adult ministry next week (we're looking for a cool name, don't have one yet...), and Beth and I wanted to take the opportunity to invite these precious folk over and let them see us in our 'natural habitat.'
It was great fun to talk to the folks, get to know some new people and enjoy some goodies, but the best part was hearing how they were so excited about where we are going as a church family and how they are looking forward to having their own ministry as Seniors, complete with small groups, Bible study and outreach projects to do. These folks have more experience and more time than working folks, and combined with a real desire to follow God, this is going to be the beginning of something great!!
The whole event reminded me why we own a house: it's a tool to do ministry. We live here, yes, and we raise our kids here, which is a ministry unto itself, but like everything God has given us, it's a tool for Him to use to serve His Kingdom. I love it when we get to enjoy the gifts God has given us with other people, and to use them to see His church grow. Our house is God's house, and His gift to us is a place to live and a base for ministry.
Here's to the good gifts God gives, and the opportunity to use them for Him!
Yes, we've had a few friends over, and yes, we're not counting those as 'official' events, because we just called some folks and invited them to hang out. Yesterday was an Open House for our Senior Adults at LifePoint Church, and we had over 20 people fill up our living room with smiles, conversation and laughter. It was great!! We're launching a new Senior Adult ministry next week (we're looking for a cool name, don't have one yet...), and Beth and I wanted to take the opportunity to invite these precious folk over and let them see us in our 'natural habitat.'
It was great fun to talk to the folks, get to know some new people and enjoy some goodies, but the best part was hearing how they were so excited about where we are going as a church family and how they are looking forward to having their own ministry as Seniors, complete with small groups, Bible study and outreach projects to do. These folks have more experience and more time than working folks, and combined with a real desire to follow God, this is going to be the beginning of something great!!
The whole event reminded me why we own a house: it's a tool to do ministry. We live here, yes, and we raise our kids here, which is a ministry unto itself, but like everything God has given us, it's a tool for Him to use to serve His Kingdom. I love it when we get to enjoy the gifts God has given us with other people, and to use them to see His church grow. Our house is God's house, and His gift to us is a place to live and a base for ministry.
Here's to the good gifts God gives, and the opportunity to use them for Him!
1.28.2011
Chocolate Vitamins
I have a friend or two that don't like chocolate. I'm not sure how this is possible, but it's true. I can't imagine life without chocolate, and I don't want to. Even with lactose intolerance, I just switched from milk chocolate to dark chocolate and kept going. I love chocolate.
I have learned that taking a regular multivitamin is important for my health, especially my heart, so I'm in the habit of taking one each day. I want to be more healthy and fit in my life, so a vitamin makes sense, and every night before I go to bed is a good time to be sure to take one, so that's when I grab my vitamin.
Encouragement is chocolate vitamins: taste good and it's good for you. Humans work better if they have a regular supply of encouragement in their lives. Normally, they respond positively to it, but some folks will squirm or avoid being encouraged. It's weird, but it happens. Just like people who don't like chocolate: I don't get it, but it happens. Some folks don't want to be encouraged. I believe it's a false, insecurity-turning-to-pride thing some folks get going with, like if I say stop you'll keep telling me how great I am, so... Stop, stop, stop!! But I'm off subject.
People need encouragement. Leaders need encouragement. Pastors need encouragement. Learn how to be an encourager and you'll never run out of friends. I've had the privilege of having some encouragers in my life over the years, and they have helped me survive the pitfalls and pain of serving in church. There are lots of people who will throw a wet blanket on the fire of your passion to serve Jesus, so you need some folks who will stoke that fire instead. If you have discouraging people in your life, find some encouraging people NOW and hang out with them. We all will have folks who want to tell us we'll never make it, we'll never succeed, we're not good enough - everyone has those folks in their lives, so don't try to avoid them all, just avoid being around them all the time. Make sure you're being encouraged (not lied to, encouraged... big difference!), because that will keep you in it when the going gets tough.
If you're a pastor: encourage your people! Find any excuse to tell folks they are doing a good job. They may argue and fight you on it, but it's still the right thing to do. Don't let them think that the only time you talk to them is when something is wrong. Lift them up, charge them up, fill them up with encouragement! Make it a daily habit to encourage someone.
If you have a pastor: encourage your pastor! It's a lonely job, it's a difficult job, and it's one that follows you home most days, so any time you hear encouragement, when you hear someone thinks you're making a difference or doing something well, it's a lift to the spirit, so lift up your pastor! If you got something out of a message, let them know! If you heard something good in the community about your church, let them know! If you were blessed by something they said or did, let them know! You will have a better pastor for it! It's good for their heart.
And encouragement works well in other places, too. Husbands: encourage your wife! Catch her doing things that are good and tell her about it! Wives: encouragement works better than nagging for any man I know. Parents: when you encourage your kids, they remember if far longer than the lecture. Kids: when you encourage your parents, you help them see what you want and need from them, and it works better than the silent treatment.
Encourage someone today. Then, do it again tomorrow! Make your world, your church and your family a better place!
I have learned that taking a regular multivitamin is important for my health, especially my heart, so I'm in the habit of taking one each day. I want to be more healthy and fit in my life, so a vitamin makes sense, and every night before I go to bed is a good time to be sure to take one, so that's when I grab my vitamin.
Encouragement is chocolate vitamins: taste good and it's good for you. Humans work better if they have a regular supply of encouragement in their lives. Normally, they respond positively to it, but some folks will squirm or avoid being encouraged. It's weird, but it happens. Just like people who don't like chocolate: I don't get it, but it happens. Some folks don't want to be encouraged. I believe it's a false, insecurity-turning-to-pride thing some folks get going with, like if I say stop you'll keep telling me how great I am, so... Stop, stop, stop!! But I'm off subject.
People need encouragement. Leaders need encouragement. Pastors need encouragement. Learn how to be an encourager and you'll never run out of friends. I've had the privilege of having some encouragers in my life over the years, and they have helped me survive the pitfalls and pain of serving in church. There are lots of people who will throw a wet blanket on the fire of your passion to serve Jesus, so you need some folks who will stoke that fire instead. If you have discouraging people in your life, find some encouraging people NOW and hang out with them. We all will have folks who want to tell us we'll never make it, we'll never succeed, we're not good enough - everyone has those folks in their lives, so don't try to avoid them all, just avoid being around them all the time. Make sure you're being encouraged (not lied to, encouraged... big difference!), because that will keep you in it when the going gets tough.
If you're a pastor: encourage your people! Find any excuse to tell folks they are doing a good job. They may argue and fight you on it, but it's still the right thing to do. Don't let them think that the only time you talk to them is when something is wrong. Lift them up, charge them up, fill them up with encouragement! Make it a daily habit to encourage someone.
If you have a pastor: encourage your pastor! It's a lonely job, it's a difficult job, and it's one that follows you home most days, so any time you hear encouragement, when you hear someone thinks you're making a difference or doing something well, it's a lift to the spirit, so lift up your pastor! If you got something out of a message, let them know! If you heard something good in the community about your church, let them know! If you were blessed by something they said or did, let them know! You will have a better pastor for it! It's good for their heart.
And encouragement works well in other places, too. Husbands: encourage your wife! Catch her doing things that are good and tell her about it! Wives: encouragement works better than nagging for any man I know. Parents: when you encourage your kids, they remember if far longer than the lecture. Kids: when you encourage your parents, you help them see what you want and need from them, and it works better than the silent treatment.
Encourage someone today. Then, do it again tomorrow! Make your world, your church and your family a better place!
11.30.2010
Out Of Context
After a week of stay-cation (and a great celebration of Thanksgiving, coming from my heart full of gratitude for ALL God has done in my life), I got to go to another church last weekend. Pastor Roy Conover was teaching at LifePoint Church, I was on vacation, so I went down the road to another church in the valley to see what was going on there. Saw some cool stuff, heard a message on praising and giving thanks to God, and went home encouraged. God is doing good work in churches in the Carson Valley.
Now, as I write this, I'm in a hotel room in Minneapolis, MN, waiting to meet with Pastor Leith Anderson of Wooddale Church. I'm here with some other leaders from Growing Healthy Churches, a network of folks committed to seeing the message of Jesus spread across our region, our nation and our world. There were seven of us at dinner tonight from very different churches in very different situations and cultures, including one from Napa, CA, and one from Charlotte, NC.
What I love about these types of experiences is how great it is to get out of my own context and see what God is up to in other places. I learn boatloads from pastors in different places, doing different types and styles of ministry. I learn from seeing the place where it happens and, whenever I can, experiencing worship with a church family that is not mine, just to see how they bring their worship to God. Those kinds of "out of context" experiences teach me lots of lessons: I get to see what is going right in other churches, and what answers other wise folks have gotten to the questions of how to love like Jesus in their community. I also get a fresh perspective on my own church family, what we're doing really right and what needs work. If I never go anywhere or experience another church doing the ministry God gave them to do, then I miss out on all that God can teach me in another context.
So if you're out of town on a weekend, let me encourage you to stop in an experience another church family. When we at LifePoint Church do our Thank You Weekend on December 25 and 26, take advantage of that Sunday to go explore what other churches are doing. Don't miss the chance to learn something new, or get a fresh perspective on what God is doing back home in your church. It won't matter if the experience is great or awful, exciting or boring; in the experience, God will have an opportunity to show you something. Take Him up on the offer!
I'll tell you what I learned from this trip later this week. (yep, I'm getting back in the blog habit...)
Now, as I write this, I'm in a hotel room in Minneapolis, MN, waiting to meet with Pastor Leith Anderson of Wooddale Church. I'm here with some other leaders from Growing Healthy Churches, a network of folks committed to seeing the message of Jesus spread across our region, our nation and our world. There were seven of us at dinner tonight from very different churches in very different situations and cultures, including one from Napa, CA, and one from Charlotte, NC.
What I love about these types of experiences is how great it is to get out of my own context and see what God is up to in other places. I learn boatloads from pastors in different places, doing different types and styles of ministry. I learn from seeing the place where it happens and, whenever I can, experiencing worship with a church family that is not mine, just to see how they bring their worship to God. Those kinds of "out of context" experiences teach me lots of lessons: I get to see what is going right in other churches, and what answers other wise folks have gotten to the questions of how to love like Jesus in their community. I also get a fresh perspective on my own church family, what we're doing really right and what needs work. If I never go anywhere or experience another church doing the ministry God gave them to do, then I miss out on all that God can teach me in another context.
So if you're out of town on a weekend, let me encourage you to stop in an experience another church family. When we at LifePoint Church do our Thank You Weekend on December 25 and 26, take advantage of that Sunday to go explore what other churches are doing. Don't miss the chance to learn something new, or get a fresh perspective on what God is doing back home in your church. It won't matter if the experience is great or awful, exciting or boring; in the experience, God will have an opportunity to show you something. Take Him up on the offer!
I'll tell you what I learned from this trip later this week. (yep, I'm getting back in the blog habit...)
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