History in the Making

Those who aren't doing, sadly never will

As pastors, it's our job to envision the God-given potential in everyone, equip them, and then release them into ministry. When it happens, it's such a beautiful thing. But sometimes we imagine for people... what they're really not up for. The interest may be there. They might even see their own potential. But if the will-power isn't there, nothing outside of the Holy Spirit will motivate them to do it. As gluttons for punishment, we pastors will continue to meet with them, praise their gifts, and fill-in their silence with optimistic responses to our own questions... but still, they'll do nothing. It saves everyone grief and headaches when pastors pour into willing folks who not only desire to serve others, but are currently acting on it.

2 Timothy 2:2 ~ These things you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust them to faithful people who will be able to teach others also.

Defensive Blogging

Craig Groeschel said, "Don't make hundreds of people pay when it's just a small minority giving you grief."

The Art of Asking Encouraging Questions

This phrase describes what ministry is all about for me... Our most "welcoming people" at RCC have learned the art of asking encouraging questions to our guests. It's how we get opportunities to share the Gospel with people. We don't start with Jesus. We start by asking about their jobs, events going on in their lives, their opinions on faith and religion. It's how other people know we care about them. If we don't like someone, we don't ask them any questions. At least, that's how it comes across. It's what creates great leaders because bad leaders are those who simply stop asking questions. Not asking encouraging questions makes phone conversations awkward, elevator rides not fast enough, and dinner parties agonizing. Asking encouraging questions is Dale Carnegie 101. It's the mark of true humility... and I can't help but think... the way of Jesus.

Joy defined

- Celebrated Ains and my 7-year wedding anniversary on Tuesday with dinner on the boardwalk. Nothing makes me more stoked than being seen in public with that girl...

- Enjoyed being "puffed" on Seth Godin's blog for my series of posts on 'The Dip.' It's amazing how powerful the internet's shifting waves can be.

- Had the highest attended Mem Day service of our history on Sunday with a mind-blowing number of kids. I think Reston is starting to get that we're here.

- Assessed church planters again in Richmond today. Always love hearing the hearts of other guys on the front lines... their fears, their successes, their secrets.

- Invited to do a walk-thru of our new place this coming Monday, which is in drywall phase. I get to put on a hard hat and pretend to know what I'm looking at with the construction field manager.

You had a bad day...

Dylan wails all night
wake-up barely functioning
stranded but for a rental car
Ains ends up in a fender bender
bank account goes missing
wi-fi doesn't work
cockroach in the hotel room
just gotta laugh...

Innovating the Familiar Ways

Great content in Fast Company mag this month about ground-breaking innovations in business. eg: Rental cars that are parked on the street for the convenience of passing pedestrians, who can simply swipe a card across the window and drive away... Clothing shops that function merely as dressing rooms to increase web sales and allow for smaller stores... A smoothie company that sells its bottles wearing tiny wool caps that were knitted by grandmothers.

The best innovations are not those that require learning curves and new lifestyle changes... but those that introduce greater convenience to familiar ways of consuming. They give permission to the consumer to have it their way ~ even moreso than before. They inspire ~ "can we really do that? ~ reactions.

As we seek to innovate, the question shouldn't be "What haven't we thought of yet?" but "How can we make the familiar more convenient... more valuable?"

Anatomy of Productivity

Know thyself. Right? Here's my confession: I have a hard time brainstorming with other people. In Myers Briggs speak, my decision making function is thrust out into my extraverted world, which makes my information-gathering function point inward. So I'm at my best creatively in seclusion. As Ainsley tells me... by the time we're discussing it, I've already decided. =)

On top of this, I can't do IM or on-line chatting. Big time killer for me. And I sequester my use of the internet [blogging, e-mailing, web research] from 8:30 to noon... and then a final check just before 5:00 pm. I physically remove myself from tempting environments to keep my activities focused. I intentionally bought a desktop computer so that it would stay behind. I've found that, for me, multi-tasking actually creates more work...

Sound pretty rigid? Turns out, following these guidelines has brought such amazing freedom and creativity to my workday. Wouldn't work for everyone, but my personality type needs some electric fences.

You've gotta be kidding me...

So I'm on the beach this morning with my fam, and we come across a church staff doing a brainstorming session on the beach. They're discussing Robert Lewis' "The Church of Irresistible Influence." Argh... What I wouldn't do to combine ministry with God's creation like that. The closest Matt and I can get to that in Reston is the aroma of Columbian coffee beans brewing in the background. Not quite the sound of the surf.

Why bad leaders end-up in high places

I came across this passage in Judges 9 this morning, and it rocked my world. It explains why bad leaders end up in high positions. Here's Gideon's son Jotham allegorizing the leadership crisis in Israel:

"One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves.

"They said to the olive tree, 'Be our king.' "But the olive tree answered, 'Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?'

"Next, the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come and be our king.' "But the fig tree replied, 'Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?'

"Then the trees said to the vine, 'Come and be our king.' "But the vine answered, 'Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?'

"Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, 'Come and be our king.' "The thornbush said to the trees, 'If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!'

At a recent roundtable of highly influential pastors, I heard several of them describe the nuisance of outside speaking opportunities and book deals because it took them away from their local church... their first love.

The best leaders are too busy doing the important work to be "promoted." In fact, giving up their hands-on role for a fancy title and a cushy office is seen as a demotion.

The Danger of Being Called a Church Planter

Great visions are realized by working backward from the image of success. Visionaries like Walt Disney and Tom Watson of IBM started their companies with the end in mind, not the beginning. They never set-out to 'see what would happen' as they went forward, but rather they went after what was already playing out in their minds. A businessman visiting Disney World commented, "It's too bad Walt didn't live to see this." Their tour guide responded, "But he did see it. That's why it's here."

I've always wondered why Bill Hybels hasn't been a bigger champion of "church planting." He doesn't really talk about it or write about it much. Maybe being a visionary has something to do with it. Maybe he never saw Willow Creek as a church plant. Maybe he only saw the end result.

The God of Your Choosing

We're starting a new message series next week called "The God of Your Choosing." God created people in his image on the sixth day, and every day since, people have returned the favor." [Blaise Pascal] We're going to talk about the misconceptions people have of God because of their background, religious experience, personality, you name it.. and then try to reintroduce folks to God. Really looking forward to this series, which will be interrupted by Man Day and our Baby Dedication service, which is always an outreach event for us.

Animatronic Apologetics

You've gotta love it when a godly man's $29 million dollar dream becomes reality. Ken Ham's Creation Museum opens in Kentucky this week... blending biblical truth with the allure of Universal Studios. Not surprisingly, news reporters seem to be scoffing rather than celebrating.

Everytime I see a dream like this realized ~ one that blends truth with imagination ~ it reawakens my dream of our church having a physical presence in a town center.

How to warm your pastor's cold heart toward church planting, part 3

Here is the final installment of how to help a senior pastor get behind the vision of church planting. You can read the entire series [here].

8. Send him updates on what God is doing
Once I left, I sent monthly newsletters and occasional notes about what God was doing. I made sure he knew he was still "my pastor" even though there was nothing binding between us.

9. Give him credit for his role in developing you
I'd be stupid if I didn't acknowledge his investment in me. I was wet behind the ears when I came to his church, and he gave me a shot. I can't tell you all the stupid mistakes I made [that I don't have to make now], and he stood by me. So thankful. And I let him know it.

10. Invite him to share in the success
Several years later, my home church became our biggest supporter, and I'm still asked to speak annually. I describe how our church plant is an extension of their ministry... and we wouldn't be here without it.

I've resolved to explore new territory

Most of my church planter friends are reformed in their theology. Which is why I never see them at the conferences I attend. One of my dear pastor-friends put it to me best... "The difference between us is that you see Sunday mornings for unbelievers, and I see it for believers." I can't push back. His church is growing and people are getting saved. Interestingly, he's got more tats under his shirt than anyone I know... =)

At any rate, I've resolved to venture into some other-world conferences in the future... and I've got one on my radar for April 2008 that's probably one of the best: Together for the Gospel. Hey, I own a McArthur study Bible. I'll fit right in. By the way, comments about me becoming reformed are unwelcomed. =)

If my week had a music soundtrack...

If my life had a music soundtrack this past week, this is what it would have looked like...

Ring of Fire ~ Johnny Cash
Living on a Prayer ~ Bon Jovi
Jesus Take the Wheel ~ Carrie Underwood
Please Don't Go ~ KC & The Sunshine Band

I'm kidding on some of these... but I've gotta admit, I'm spiritually and emotionally exhausted. Great news is, amid the trials of life, I feel the strength of Christ more than ever before. You know God is centering you more deeply when the same problems you experienced a year ago don't draw the same reactions from you this year... =)

And I'm learning... it's the same problems over and over again. The only thing that changes is my response to them.

This weekend is our 7th wedding anniversary, so after Sunday, we're heading to an undisclosed location until a few meetings in Richmond on Wed and Thurs. Looking forward to the R&R.

How to warm your pastor's cold heart toward church planting, Part 2

More on helping an opposed senior pastor embrace church planting...

4. Help him see the need for planting
Statistics do not lie. Established churches have declining attendance. Church plants have a higher ratio of new converts and baptisms. Church planting is, by far, the greatest means of evangelism on the planet.

5. Let him off the hook
Asking for money and people would have been a deal breaker. I had to figure out a way to make church planting a win-win situation for him, not drain his resources. For me, this meant asking for nothing but his blessing.

6. Point him to leaders he respects
At a landmark Southern Baptist congregation, I knew Leonard Sweet would carry no weight at all. So I went for quotes by our denomination's leaders. And thank goodness Rick Warren is Southern Baptist.

7. As much as it depends on you, go in peace
I remember staying silent in many of those early meetings, even though I was burning with passion to quote Hybels, Sweet, Cole. But I wasn't there to win a philosophical battle... just to plant a church.

Part 3 coming...

How to warm your pastor's cold heart toward church planting, Part 1

I run across more and more church staffers who can't get past their senior pastor's opposition to church planting... and I know it well. I was highly discouraged from planting and even forbade from planting in my hometown. But hindsight shows that God was in it all along, and now my former church is our greatest supporter. Here are 10 principles I learned about earning a senior pastor's blessing:

1. Understand it's a learning process for him
   I was the first pioneer, so patience was key. He hadn't read all the books I'd read or heard all the stories. In fact, as a survivor of several attempted coups, he was prob holding onto his own church for dear life. His opposition wasn't for the reasons I thought it was.
2. Be respectful of old wineskins
   Jesus said new wine goes into new wine skins, but he never condemned old wine or old wineskins. Last time I checked, old wine was more valuable. Big mistake I saw other planters make ~ they criticized established churches ~ the forerunners ~ to justify their own ideas of how church "should be."
3. Help him see his legacy through planting
   I drove around taking pictures of all the churches that had been started by our 200 year old congregation to reveal our already-rich heritage of church planting. Turns out, every 50 years, our church had planted a new one. Go me. =) The fiftieth year was about to come round...

part 2 coming...

On a personal note...

• So relieved Lost is over... "I'm going back to camp." "You can't do that." "I don't care what you think." "I'm going with you." "You can't do that." "I don't care what you think." Rinse, lather, repeat.
• The Bono impression alone makes me want to see this show
• Finally, a reality show that interests the storyteller in me
• We do a walk-thru at our new place this weekend. We're two months out from our new digs
• Just finished reading a great follow-up book for church leaders to Seth Godin's The Dip: Selling Swimsuits in the Arctic, which is about becoming a great church
• The Geico cavemen get their own TV sitcom this fall
• At RCC, we're getting ready to go to another level in media production, putting our wishlists together
• I scheduled meetings every morning this week, but realized I need two fully devoted days for message prep to stay focused
• My next moleskine: The Story Board Notebook. For thinking in pictures.
• Garrison Keillor is at Wolf Trap this weekend. Sadly, I've missed this opportunity every single year for five straight
• Finally, a Cirque du Soleil act coming to town that interests me... if only I had the 160 clams
• Looking forward to assessing church planters again next week in Richmond. I always benefit so much personaly from this diagnostic process

Resisting the urge to become a generalist

As more and more leaders emerge in RCC, Matt and I are redefining our own job descriptions from jacks-of-all-trades to specialists. The more I talk with effective pastors, the more I realize the key to leading is delegating authority and responsibility to others. Ohhh... this is so hard when you've been doing it all for years, right?

So you can preach AND design a brochure?...

So you can preach AND lead worship?...

You can edit videos AND disciple small group leaders?...

We should pick our calling, and lose the other one. Fast. Don't get me wrong. There's a season early-on when we have to do it all. But growing churches require diminishing pastors. Even if our replacement is worse than us... we should fight the urge to do it all. Let that area stink until someone catches the whiff because our constant involvement will indefinitely usurp someone else's opportunity.

Here's our org chart at RCC. Not all of these boxes are filled, but we pray over these needs and work hard to find servant-leaders to fill them. I've got at least 15 job descriptions waiting to be converted to pdf and uploaded to correspond with each role. Watch for them in the coming weeks...

Push

.I remember Ainsley's midwife describing how powerful a woman's uterus is. She said it could push out a baby, even if the mother didn't help. I've had several conversations today that reminded me about God's promise to build his church. Even if we don't know what to do... or aren't acting... God builds his church anyway:

- Staff person mulls over church planting for years until he loses his cozy job over something unrelated
- Pastor is threatened by church planting, but his staffer leaves anyway to plant a successful church
- Church plant loses its location with no place to go... but an even better facility becomes available

It's awesome to know that we can help build God's church, but even if we don't, he'll build it anyway.