PASTORAL LEADERSHIP: DAY FIFTEEN

There is a big difference between being called TO SERVE and being called to BE A SERVANT. If you believe you’re called to serve, then there are moments when you can turn that calling on and off. You can be in a situation and easily shut off any need to serve because that’s not where/when you were scheduled to be on duty. However, if you feel that you’re called to be a servant then that’s a life calling not a momentary duty. As Pastor’s we don’t get the privilege of clocking in and out, because God has called us to be servant leaders. Jesus modeled a life that requires us to empty our cup and help to fill others’. So adjust your mindset accordingly to be the leader that God has called you to be.

Mark 10:42-45 (NLT)

 So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them.43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 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.”

PASTORAL LEADERSHIP: DAY SIXTEEN

Ministry is spelled I-N-C-O-N-V-E-N-I-E-N-T, and wisdom is spelled P-A-I-N. Hard times don't create character, but they do reveal it. As long as we remember that we’ll never be shocked when these seasons come. No one ever won the WBC championship belt without first putting on 10oz gloves and stepping into the ring. To be a winner, you have to be an overcomer. To be a great leader, you have to help people overcome. That means you’ll have to endure pain, struggle, critics, and everything else that the devil can throw at you often times while you’re helping others do the same. I’ve heard it said, it’s not the amount of time you spend with people, but the timing in which you do it that matters. Be with people, not when it’s convenient, but in the moment they need it. That’s what ministry truly is.

1 John 5:4-5 (MSG)

Every God-begotten person conquers the world’s ways. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. The person who wins out over the world’s ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God.

PASTORAL LEADERSHIP: DAY SEVENTEEN

“ Don’t be afraid of going forward slowly, be afraid only of standing still.” -Chinese Proverb

This is true because doing nothing and calling it growth is the greatest lie ever told. Growth happens because you’re pushed. When growth happens, it’s painful. Think of a small child who is growing at a rate of inches per year. Their bones ache, their muscles are sore, and yet that’s what a doctor would define as healthy. In fact, they would be worried greatly if those things weren’t occurring. It’s called growing pains. Put simply, you’re either gaining ground or you’re losing ground, you’re never neutral. Growth comes because your eyes are always forward, looking for new ground to conquer while maintaining the ground you’ve won. That’s who we must be. A church of vision for the lost, because too few churches care. A church of vision for the future, because so many churches are stuck looking in the past. A church willing to get our hands dirty and work the hard hours, because so few churches are willing to do what it takes. Helping people win isn’t easy, but nothing worth doing is.

Romans 5:2-6 (ESV)

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

PASTORAL LEADERSHIP: DAY EIGHTEEN

A vision worth chasing is a vision worth following. Let that phrase sink in. You’re giving your whole life to something that is eternal. What in the world could be more important than that? You’re chasing a dream, a thought, a vision that God has placed inside of you. Become a thought provoking, dream inspiring, visionary leader. God didn’t place you here to do it alone. He placed you in this moment to bring other people into the work that God had planned from the beginning of time. So, if your dream is worth chasing then become a leader worth following. There’s nothing you can’t do, because God strengthens you. 

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

PASTORAL LEADERSHIP: DAY NINETEEN

All of our life we’ve been taught that a Pastor is a shepherd. What if, we’ve actually been called to be a rancher? A shepherd is responsible for their flock, but how much flock can one man take care of? A rancher is responsible for 100’s if not 1000’s of acres with multiple herds of different animals. They oversee shepherds, herdsman, accountants, etc… all of which are necessary for the ranch to maintain and grow. What do you call a shepherd of shepherds? A rancher. The question is, can you handle being the one who isn’t getting their hands dirty? Do you have to be the one who knows the name of every sheep, every calf, or can you grab a hold of the simple principle that the goal of ministry is to give it away. Pastoring has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with serving people. The best way, and most mature way, to do that is by multiplying yourself. 

Acts 6:1-7 (NLT)

But as the believers[a] rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program.3 And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. 4 Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” 5 Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). 6 These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them. 7 So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

PASTORAL LEADERSHIP: DAY TWENTY

People need to know how much they matter to us before they hear how much they matter to God.

In the world we live in today, there are huge numbers of people who believe in the God of the Bible, yet have little to no value for his church. Why is that? I think there are a couple reasons: 1. We’ve forgotten that every Sunday is someone’s first Sunday. We don’t think through how our building, our processes, and our friendliness (or lack thereof) affect people. 2. We make church leadership accessible to the small percentage of people with loads of free time. We’ve missed the fact that leaders are busy. They have three businesses, they coach their kids soccer and baseball teams, and they have a successful marriage. All of those things take time, but instead we make room for the people who don’t do anything. We celebrate them, and minimize the people who are actual difference makers. 3. Spiritual growth is the ultimate goal, the best place for long term growth is inside of community, and community is only possible when we think of ourselves as the biggest sinner in the room. Yet, we think another service is the solution to everyone’s problems, we make community a side project and not the main thing, and too many Pastors have bought into their own hype. We can only fix these things by asking the right questions. The answer is never, because this is comfortable, and it’s always because we put our people’s needs before our own. Serving people isn’t a ministry, it’s a culture, so impart it into yourself and your team.

Galatians 5:13-14 (ESV)

 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 

PASTORAL LEADERSHIP: DAY TWENTY-ONE

IF PEOPLE WANT HORSES, GIVE THEM A CAR

The secret to long term success is consistently beating people’s expectations. Everyone who walks into your building has a set of expectations about what is going to happen, how it’s going to happen, and when it’s going to happen. Most new people walk in expecting the people to be unfriendly, the worship to be boring, and the message to be hateful. If you want to exceed people’s expectations, you do it with the 3 D’s:

1. DESIGNING environments that help people experience God. Do you believe that what you’re doing has been ordained by God? If yes, do you believe you are the vessel that he is using to do what you’ve been ordained to do? If yes, you must do everything possible to remove interruptions from the experience that God has ordained you to bring to his people.

2. DELIVERING on those designs by focusing the entire team on the goal for each moment. Who all is involved in accomplishing the design? Do they know about it? Have they been allowed to contribute to it? At what level are they allowed to disagree with it? If they don’t chip in, they won’t buy in. If they don’t understand how you got there, they won’t help you go further.

3. DEVELOPING consistency in execution of the design week in and week out. When do you talk about the experience? How long do you talk about it? Do you think critically or affirm everything out of fear? What metrics do you use to assess your experiences?

James 1:5; 3:17 (ESV)

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.