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Becoming a Creative Leader…

I laughed out loud today when I noticed that someone had added me to a Twitter list they had created called “Creative Leaders.”  The fact that any human being considered me for that category still astounds me! However, to be honest, I DO consider myself to be a highly creative person!  It hasn’t always been this way.

When I started Mountain Lake Church almost ten years ago, I would’ve told you that I didn’t have a creative muscle in my body! OK, maybe one.   However, hundreds of hours of creative and brainstorming meetings later,  I’m proud to say that God has helped me become a highly creative leader! EVERY week, God uses me  these days to bring fresh, creative  ideas to our church, our Ministry Team, and our Worship Services.  I’m still not the most creative leader in the world, but my growth in this area gives me confidence about what God can do in this area of my life in the future!

So the other day I asked myself the question: “How? How have I become a more creative leader over time?  Here are a few things I put down that  that have fueled my passion and growth in this area:

• Creative muscle is just like any muscle: It doesn’t grow unless its stretched!
• Creativity is hard work for just about anyone! that’s why most people aren’t creative!
• Creativity often requires time alone.
• Creativity often simply requires staying in the room long enough.
• Change of place + Change of pace = Change.
• Creativity is strengthened by a team. 
• Creativity is  a spiritual pursuit. Creativity is expressing part of the image and personality of God in and through my life! God is a creative God!
• Creativity breeds creativity. If you want to be creative, get around other creative people as often as possible.
• The creative PROCESS can be draining. The product is always better because of it.
• For tenured leaders, creativity is the fuel that keeps the passion for the mission alive!

How are you growing as a creative leader?

By the way, my friend Ed Young, Jr. will be speaking on “Creative Velocity” at our upcoming churchplanters.com conference , Feb 22-23, at our church!  Ed understands the important of a creative, redemptive imagination when it comes to the weekend, but also the weekday! Get registered now!

Life is short. Today matters…

I read three different things today that all basically said the same thing (sometimes God is loud, I like to say):

“Teach us to realize the brevity of  life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”                          --Psalm 90:12

“This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”                               --Psalm 118:24

I’ve also been reading and taking our Pastors through a book entitled Today Matters by John Maxwell. Probably his best book.  The book just reinforces  and helps apply what Scripture already teaches: Today is crucially important!.Tomorrow will be determined by the choices I make today. What I do TODAY matters! What I do today will shape my future! ! What I do today will determine the level of my success tomorrow! How I invest today into my relationship with God will determine my GROWTH in my relationship with God tomorrow!  How I invest into my family, will determine the health of my relationships there TOMORROW. How HARD I work today will determine my level of success  tomorrow. What I choose to think about today will determine how I feel about tomorrow.  Are you getting the picture? TODAY MATTERS!

This is the day the LORD has made. Are you rejoicing and glad for it? Are you seizing the day? Here’s the deal: you’ve got one shot at today. You won’t another today. Today is the only today you will get. You will never be able to live  THIS DAY again. One shot! WOW! What are you going to do with it? What are you willing to invest into it? Are you willing to give your all to it? Are you willing to bring your BEST To the table TODAY? Your future depends on your answer to these questions!

Mountain Lake’s short-term multi-campus strategy…

P90X One year Review…

Should I have Tech Thursday?

OK…Anyone that knows me well,  knows I’m somewhat of a geek. I love technology and utilize it extensively in my life and ministry. I am NOT the most cutting edge guy in the world, don’t get me wrong. However, I’m ALWAYS looking for ways to become more productive and efficient in the ministry God has given me and our team here at Mountain Lake.

So I was thinking (that’s usually dangerous)  about doing a weekly post called Tech Thursday, highlighting the technology, both that I use, and I’m familiar with. I might even share some ideas  I have about future technology! I was thinking and hoping that I might be able to help Pastors, their ministry teams, their churches, and even business people become more productive and efficient by leveraging basic technologies that are out there you may not even be aware of. SO give me your feedback. What do you think? Will you tune in? Could this help?

The way a Pastor falls into sin…

Pastors have a HUGE spiritual bulls-eye on our backsides! We are targets of the enemy. Strike the shepherd. Scatter the sheep.  That’s the enemy’s strategy.

That’s why, more than ever before, I’m convinced that to protect ourselves as Pastors, we must NUTURE VITALITY. It’s the #1 Best Practice we talk about in  our churchplanters.com ministry and coaching network. To NURTURE, means to care for; pay attention to; attend to; feed…our VITALITY: our spiritual, emotional, spiritual, and relational strength! 

Below is just a simple list of practical ways to keep ourselves from being picked off by the enemy as Pastors. These are simple. But easier to KNOW and PREACH; than DO.  Here are a few (OK, more than a few):

• Read your Bible daily, and read portions of Scripture that have NOTHING to do with this week’s message.
• Take your off day Religiously. Burnout leads to spiritual failure and dropout.
• If you don’t rest, you will burn out. Period. You are not exempt.
• Tell you congregation you will NOT be out more than 2-3 nights a week.
• Keep office hours. Go home at 5 or 5:30 PM. People have to see their doctor, their dentist, their lawyer, and their counselor from 8-5. Spiritual counsel should be no different. You MUST have a life at night with your family.
• Don’t open your laptop after you get home.
• Don’t answer your cell phone after you get home.
• When you walk in the house after work, don’t be on the cell phone.
• Spend less time on Twitter and facebook.  Spend more time communicating with your family.
• Get secure in your own skin. The desire for attention or pleasing people is a flag that will get you in trouble.
• Confess your temptations or addictions to a trusted friend NOT in your church.
• Schedule a date night with you spouse ATLEAST once a month. If you don’t have the money, ask the church to pay for it. (my church doesn’t, BTW) Your church will, though,  if you ask them.
• Tell your congregation that the best gift you have to offer them is NOT a close relationship with every one of  them, but a close relationship with God and a close relationship with your spouse.
• Don’t just talk about ministry with your spouse. Start a hobby TOGETHER!
• Exercise! Flabby body=flabby mind=flabby spirit.
• Take walks with God early in the morning when you can talk out loud to Him and share your hurts, pains, struggles, and dreams.
• Get your spouse out of that ministry they feel tied to because no one else will do it. You’re burning them out.
• Have a family night regularly where you allow your kids to set the agenda.
• Have a hobby you enjoy by yourself.
• Tell your spouse you love them EVERY DAY!
• Speak positively of your spouse from the stage.
• Listen to friends that raise flags about your behavior.
• Don’t ever be in the car, or your office, or ANY PLACE alone with opposite sex with the door shut.  NEVER. NEVER. NEVER.
• Make the above policy for every Pastor on your Team.
• Don’t flirt, including online, or in emails! If you’re flirted with (and you will be), don’t respond, and immediately tell your spouse.
• Think about the consequences of your sin if carried out and found out. Who and how many will get hurt?
• Remember, pride goes before a fall, and you can not stand too close to a fire and not get burned.
• Make Nurturing Vitality the most important part of your job description.

The Lord’s Day…

“Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they came to the tomb. 3On the way they were discussing who would roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb. But when they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone—a very large one—had already been rolled aside. “ Mark 16:2-4 (NLT)

For centuries, followers of the one true God worshipped Him on the Sabbath, commemorating the day the Lord RESTED from all His work.  Jesus’ resurrection shook up everything to such a great extent that Sunday, the day the Lord got  up out of the tomb, became more meaningful than the day the Lord rested. So worshipping the one true God  slowly MOVED from Saturdays to Sundays. For 2000 yrs now, people have been getting up to worship the one true God in the name of Jesus Christ! I know there are naysayers that are predicting that the world is going to abandon the church,but it’s not going to happen.  Jesus said: “…upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”

That’s why I believe in the church. Because Jesus died and rose from the dead to work through it! So today, on the Lord’s Day I will throw all my energy into worshiping the one true God and facilitating worship of the one true God in my church! I want to allow Jesus to keep building His church through me!

Also today, across the world, we celebrate the Lord’s Day. We celebrate the one true God and the relationship we have with Him because of the risen Jesus! And once again, Jesus will raise MILLIONS across the globe from the dead spiritually. Jesus is building His church! The gates of Hell are NOT conquering it. The church IS moving forward, and I believe it’s greatest days are ahead!  Happy Lord’s Day!

Why I've been MIA the last couple of weeks...

 You may or may not have noticed that I have been MIA for the last couple of weeks: I haven't blogged, twittered, facebooked or CB radioed, answered my phone, responded to emails as often! I have been taking some time away from the offices, to renew, reflect, and re-tool. I've spent come good quality time with the family, but I also have take a ton of time to BE STILL and know that He is God! Each morning, I have spent some quiet hours just seeking and listening to the voice of God! I really do think most of us under=estimate the impact that an overcrowded life has on our ability to hear from God! I have learned over the last few years that relentless pace, if not followed by relentless rest silences the voice of God in my life. But out of everyone in my church is is a MUST that I HEAR FROM GOD! So I am learning to release ministry. Trust our Team. Empower. Delegate. Focus, not on what I ENJOY the most, but what this church NEEDS the most: A clear word from God through the Sr. Pastor! SO I've been MIA a little MORE the last few weeks to listen to the voice of God. And He HAS spoken. I'm still listening and processing. However, I'm ready to come down from the mountain and share what God has placed on my heart! Can't wait to be back at Mountain Lake this Sunday and begin to do just that!

Quotes & thoughts from Leadership Network Gathering

Every time I get to Dallas and hang out with the guys in my Next Gen Pastors Leadership Community, sponsored by Leadership Network, God is loud in my life! I’ve once again this trip taken away ALOT to chew on. I’ll highlight here a few of the quotes and thoughts I’ve had:

• I think I got a new thought for  a message series: “Getting Life in Rhythm.”
• “People want to be generous. they just don’t know how. Help them!”  - Larry Osborne
• “Budget based on reality, not presumption.” – John Jenkins
• “The Bible says that to make a pledge and not keep it, is sin!” – John Jenkins
• “Balance is not Biblical. The Biblical pattern actually calls for  times of intensity and times of renewal. 
• “People can struggle with it if they want, but Sr. Pastors need more time for Rest and Renewal”  - Bruce Miller
• “The longer we do this, the more time for renewal we need.” - Bruce Miller
• “People’s mindsets do not change with changes in life station.”  - Osborne
• “Avoid the hot thing until the hot thing cools off.” Larry Osborne
• Jeremiah 12:5 (NLT) Then the LORD replied to me, “If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses? If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?  In other words if the issues I’m facing now drag me down how can God bless me with MORE complexity? – John Jenkins
• “Move slower in the hiring process” – Jason Barr
• “Every time I’ve hired from without, it’s taken too long for them to believe I know what I’m talking about.” – Jason Barr
• “Push the staff to equip the laity.” Jason Barr
• “If you;re not happy with God’s effectiveness through you at 100 in attendance, you’re not going to happy with 10,000.” – John Jenkins
• “Don’t celebrate attendance. Celebrate the hand of God among His people.” – John Jenkins

It’s been great! Ready to head back to ATL today!!!!

Pastor, is your church a “Sticky Church”?

Let’s be honest. In today’s world, it’s relatively easy, with marketing and intelligent lighting, to draw a crowd to church.  The question is, in the long run, will we as Pastors build crowds or build churches? Will we make a teaching center or make disciples? As Pastors, will we be happy with what we’ve accomplished, in the end?

I love the idea of becoming a  “Sticky Church”, because doing so, is really all about making disciples! The question for us as church leaders, is: Will we help people STICK to Jesus and His church long enough and strong enough to keep growing? Are people REALLY connected to, and becoming ,the church, in our church? Or do we  just have a crowd?

The numbers will tell the story! For example, presently, we have 79% of our adult attendance active in small groups in our church. But community is not the only goal.  Every one of our groups is actively investing into our community missionally in tons of ways! Almost 70 % of our attendance is actively serving God through our church’s volunteer ministries! Granted, these don’t tell the whole story, but numbers don’t lie. People are connecting with God, His word, His people, and His mission for their lives in our church!  THAT’S church! THAT’S making disciples!

Yes, we’re baptizing people. We baptized this past weekend; we’ll baptize 13 more this weekend , and we’re quickly filling up our next two baptism dates! However, at Mountain Lake, baptism is not the end goal! It’s just the beginning of the journey!  We want to help these new believers stick to Jesus and the church for the long haul! That’s our commitment. We are committed to being a sticky church! If you would love to learn how to become a stickier church, get to this one day conference on May 11 at our church! Larry Osborne, Greg Surratt, and others will be here to help you! Get signed up NOW!