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Staffing as a church grows...

William Vanderbloemen saved my life. At least  I think he did. I met William last year,  and the timing could not have been better. I shared with William the challenges our Ministry Team was having, because on the heels of moving in a new auditorium and experiencing some explosive growth, NO ONE ON OUR TEAM HAD EVER BEEN ON STAFF AT A CHURCH AS LARGE AS OURS...NOT EVEN ME! That's a challenge.

If you've been a part of a church that's experienced exponential growth, you know that the challenges and complexities of ministry change so much over time with the growth of the church! I was recognizing it. Our team was, too! We were in over our heads! We sensed God leading us to bring in some team members that had ministry experience in ministries larger than ours. Since that time, we have asked William to help us in the search for THREE new executive ministry positions. Working with William has been everything I'd hoped it would be.

Here are just a few of the ways the ministry of the Vanderbloemen Search Group has helped our ministry:

• They sat down with me, sought to understand my leadership style, our church's mission and culture, and asked me the hard questions. I have a better understanding of our church's unique mission and culture because of them.
• They have helped us reach outside our usual church relationships and cultures and connected us with new types of churches and ministry leaders. This is going to help diversify our team and church over time.
• Most Pastors and churches don't have great HR processes. We've been no exception. William is helping our young church grow up here.
• William is a Pastor with a Pastor's heart, has worked in and for the church, knows ministry, recognizes the call, and knows a ministry match when he sees it. He's really gifted at this.
• William loves Jesus, seeks Him, and asks God to lead Him as part of the search process. That means the world to me!

Bringing in some seasoned ministry veterans with new energy and fresh perspective is going to rock our church...for the better! Thanks, William, for following God's calling... I can't wait to see what God is about to do in and through you! Honored to partner with you!

As for Mountain Lakers, get ready for greater impact than ever before!

Rodney & Sarah Anderson...

Rodney Anderson joined our Ministry Team in December of 2000, the first year in the life of our church. He had just finished college, did not necessarily feel called to be a Pastor, had never worked for a church, and had never really spoken in front of a crowd of people. He was 21 yrs old. The first year of our Student Ministry, he took four Students to Summer Camp.

Nine-plus years later, I could not be more proud to watch as he has grown into the man, the Pastor, husband, father, and friend he has become! His leadership, his passion for ministry, and his teaching gifts have been evident to all. I would love to think I've been able to play a small part in his growth. 

Just so you know, Rodney and I have ALSO been talking for probably close to 2 years about God's calling on HIS life, his spiritual gifts, and what God might want to do in and through him in the future. Over a year ago, due to some transition in our Student ministry, I asked Rodney to invest back into our Student Ministry and bring some consistency to the ministry, while we began a search for man of God who felt called to lead and set strategic direction for the entire Student Ministry. Rodney does not share this unique call on his life, but because of his love for me and our church he accepted the call over a year ago as our Student Pastor for the second time with a mutual understanding that when the new Student Pastor got here, we would figure out together what his next role looked like here at MLC.

To Rodney's credit the average, tenure of a Student Pastor is 14-18 mos. He has been the Exec. Student Pastor for 7 out of the 10 years of our church! That's a testimony to the great ride we've had together!

In the mean time, within the last couple of weeks, God also dropped a GREAT opportunity into Rodney's lap and tapped on his shoulder with a clear call to another ministry post. He has accepted that position and will be joining the Ministry Team at Buckhead Church in April. He will be here through the end of this month. He will be working within the Student Ministry there, but actually won't have a ton of interaction with the actual Students, but will be involved in the Leadership Development aspect among the adult volunteers in that ministry. I think this unique position, and even the urban context, fits Rodney's gifts and wiring so perfectly and I know He will bring great value to this ministry. 

WHAT NOW? We are actually in the 4th quarter of our Student Pastor search and hope to make a big announcement soon regarding our new Student Pastor, so students and parents, hang in there! In the mean time, great Student Ministry leaders like Buck & Beth Webb, Michael Cheek, and Crystal Corn are locked and loaded and will lead this ministry over the next several weeks.

On the other hand, I must also say that will also miss Rodney so much! He has been one of my best friends for almost 10 years and my teaching partner for half of that! He will be missed in my life and our ministry. However, we BOTH feel this is 100% God's will for the future of our ministries and churches, and we're excited about our futures! 

NOTE: Regardless of what anyone thinks, we are great friends, and plan on staying that way! For now, Rodney will continue to live in our community and drive to Buckhead and I plan on continuing to pick his brain for my messages from time to time! 

Our church and the Student Ministry is what is is thanks to Rodney in many ways!

Rodney, I love you, man, and I am thankful for the incredible time we've had together! God's going to use you big time!

Mountain Lakers, leave your encouraging comments HERE for Rodney & Sarah Anderson!

Chad & Autumn Ward...

Yesterday two young men who I've done ministry with for a decade announced God's call for them to new ministry fields. Stay tuned for a post about one of my great Ministry Partners, Rodney Anderson, and his wife, Sarah. In this post, however, I'd love to talk for just a bit about my friend and ministry partners Chad & Autumn Ward. 

Chad and I have been friends since we were kids and started this church together as the two first Pastors.  He has led our Children's Ministry for 8 out of the 10 yrs of our church! Many may not know, however, that he also has worn ministry hats in Guest Services; Growth Groups; Creative Arts: and even Student Ministry! God has used he and Autumn in my life and ministry in ways many will never know!

However, we have both felt for a couple of YEARS now that God was doing some unique work in each of our hearts and that it was possible that the day may come one day when He called us to different places. That simply happened quickly within the last month, and I am thrilled to hear about all that God has done in DROPPING THIS OPPORTUNITY IN THEIR LAPS!

I will miss them more than anyone else in our church will, but I can not selfishly hold on to them and keep them from becoming all that God has called them to be! When Chad and I began working together, I had never been a Sr. Pastor, and HE had never worked for a church! To see what he and Autumn have become as ministry leaders is AMAZING and I am elated to send them out for greater impact! Chad and Autumn will be around for a while, through the end of April. They will be joining the ministry team of Watermark Church between Canton & Woodstock, in May.

The avg tenure for a Pastor in America is 24-30 mos. and it is a testament to Jesus, his mission, and our relationship that we have worked together for almost 11 years now. What we've enjoyed together has truly been unique. 

Chad & Autumn, I love you; and Mountain Lake walks on your shoulders today. Thanks for 11 great years! Can't wait to hang out with you and celebrate soon!

NOTE: Regardless of what anyone might think, Chad and I are great friends, if not even better, now that we know we can JUST be friends again! We're excited about that! We might even watch more Alabama football together this Fall now that we don't work together!

BTW, we have also known this transition in Children's Ministry was coming for some time and have been diligently in the search for a Children's Pastor since the 1st part of the year, and plan on having a new Children's Pastor in place later this Spring!

In the meantime, Mountain Lakers, leave your words of encouraging comments to Chad & Autumn here, now!

Student Pastor Wanted…

We just sent one of our Student Pastors out to be the Executive Pastor of a new church plant we started last year! So we’ve begun the search for a new Student Pastor: the best in the world! 

Would you fit that criteria? We’re looking for:  a self starter; a hard worker; someone who loves students; a leader of leaders; a team builder; a great communicator, and someone who can lead at a strategic level. Does this describe you?

We’re also looking for someone who wants to be a part of a unique team culture; in a unique church; with nat’l and int’l influence; that will try and do ANYTHING that’s not immoral or illegal to reach people disconnected from Christ and the church! Does this describe the type of church you’d like to work for?

If you or someone you know might be interested in finding out  more when it comes to this position, just send in a brief bio about yourself  (including WHY you would be interested in working with us), to: [email protected].  Please don’t call FIRST. We’re simply not able to respond. Just send us an email and we’ll go from there! Can’t wait to hear from you!

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.

Sunday Reflex 6/7/09…

I returned back from some extended R&R yesterday to be at Mountain Lake’s North Campus, and it was an awesome day! The band led worship unplugged acoustically. It was different & cool… John Shepherd and Rodney Anderson, our teachers at the two campuses had briefed me on where they were going with the messages, but they were better than I imagined! Here are a few reflex just from the MESSAGE yesterday.

• It was week four of our current series: “Point b” It’s all about getting from where we are to where God wants us to be.”
• When many of us go on vacations, our tendency is to try to see  it all experience it all, and have our kids experience it all, when often what we need is REST on vacation! Same is true with life! We tend to think that the MORE we DO, the better off we're going to be! NOT!
• “Busyness will not get us to where God wants us to be.” We don’t need to do MORE. We need to do LESS to get to point B. We need to learn to rest!
• How can we know if we’re a candidate for needing more rest these days? We can ask ourselves these questions (from Psychologist Meyer Friedman):
• Do I find myself getting angrier these days?
• Do I feel like stress is increasing in my life?
• Do I find myself preoccupied in conversations/relationships?
• Do I find myself losing my joy?
• Do I find myself losing my sense of gratitude?
• If so, I DESPERATELY need some rest!
• God created us to work for six and rest for one. God’s way still works best!
• Resting means changing my pace! Can mean: not answering email; no TV; no facebook or twitter; playing with kids; NOT playing with kids; Getting out of the house; going to church; serving God; giving to God; Jesus worked on the Sabbath, but, the day was HOLY to him set apart! Different!  He also had periodic times in His life when He WITHDREW from the crowds and RESTED! rested at other times in His life!
• “Jesus WALKED everywhere He went! He didn’t even ride a horse! He DID ride a donkey once, but those things aren’t exactly noble steeds!”
• “Adam & Eve were responsible for taking care of the whole world and God still commanded them to rest. Our job is not as important as theirs!”
• Most of us live as if the whole world is dependent on us, rather than God.
• There will always be opposition to rest in our lives:
• from ourselves: we will always battle the temptation of busyness.
• from other people: Work, church, community, kids, neighbors, etc. We’ve got to learn how to say NO gracefully!
• from the evil one:  "If we do a lot for God He’ll approve of us more.” NOT!
• Rest is a gift. All we have to do is accept it.
• “Rest is easier when we understand grace. We are save by GRACE, not WORKS!”

GREAT JOB YESTERDAY GUYS! You all rocked the house!!! God rocked all of us through you!

Director of Children’s Ministries Position available…

As Mountain Lake Church prepares for what God has in store for us in the future, particularly as our North Forsyth Campus gets ready to move in to our new Worship Auditorium, we are looking to fill some new positions on our Ministry Team.  We're currently searching for a NEW FULL TIME Director of Children's Ministries. This person will work work with Chad Ward, our current Children’s Pastor, to facilitate ministry to children at Mountain Lake!

All applicants must be:

• Great leaders. You'll need to love children, but you'll actually be leading ADULTS much more than you'll be leading children. At a church our size, you'll be a leader of leaders!
• Very good with people. You'll need the ability to think on your feet, problem solve, and deal well with all sorts of people; encourage, inspire, as well as  courageous conversations with people!
• Able to move at a fast pace.   Very soon, Mountain Lake could have between 600-1000 children every week at Mountain Lake! We move at a fast pace! That's how we roll. Can you keep up?
• In love with Jesus.  Enough said!

If you or someone you know might be interested in this position, please send a resume to Chad.

New "Director of Children's Ministries" Wanted...

        As Mountain Lake Church prepares for what God has in store for us in the future, particularly as our North Forsyth Campus gets ready to move in to our new Worship Auditorium, we are looking to fill some new positions on our Ministry Team.  We're currently searching for a NEW FULL TIME Director of Children's Ministries. This person will work work with Chad Ward, our current Family Pastor, to facilitate ministry to children at both of our current campuses.

      

All applicants must be:

• Great leaders. You'll need to love children, but you'll actually be leading ADULTS much more than you'll be leading children. At a church our size, you'll be a leader of leaders!
• Very good with people. You'll need the ability to think on your feet, problem solve, and deal well with all sorts of people; encourage, inspire, as well as  courageous conversations with people!
• Able to move at a fast pace.   Very soon, Mountain Lake could have between 600 and 1000 children every week at Mountain Lake! Within the next 18 mos, we'll also be adding a third campus! That's how we roll. Can you keep up?
• In love with Jesus.  Enough said!

If you or someone you know might be interested in this position, please send a resume to Chad.

Our Leadership Structure, Part I...

Mountain Lake Church has a unique leadership structure that has served our church well! We are a Pastor led (as opposed to a Board, Committee, or Congregation led) church. We believe that God has placed his Pastors (which are often called "Elders" or "Overseers" in the Bible) are ordained (set aside) by God for the purposes of leading the church under Christ's leadership. As our church has grown, however, and the number of Pastors has even increased, we have created a Leadership Structure within our Pastoral Team. Three of our pastors, specifically: myself, David Putman (Exec Pastor), and John Shepherd (Assoc Pastor), make up the Strategic Team inside our circle of our Pastors, and are tasked with setting strategic direction for our church, and making major strategic ministry decisions in our church.

    The Strategic Team meets every Tuesday and discusses Strategic Ministry Objectives and specific issues regarding ministry life. We also meet at least once a quarter ALL DAY off campus and pray together and work strategically through issues regarding the future of our church. These two men are then responsible for leading the rest of our Ministry Team. I NEVER attend our Ministry Team Meetings any more, except to care for, invest spiritually in, and share the vision with, our Team.  John also works HANDS ON in our Connection Ministries and David is hands on in our World Care, Church Planting, Multi-Site, and Facility Development areas.

These two men carry a ton of weight and responsibility and have to like hanging around with me more than anyone else, because we spend a TON of time together! Thanks, John and David for all you do to serve the Lord! I love you guys and I'm honored to share the journey with you!

Now: even though our Strategic Team has the power to make ministry decisions in our church, we have CHOSEN to surround ourselves with good counsel from leaders in our church who help us make good decisions, from three primary teams: Our Paid Ministry Team; and two volunteer teams: Our Finance Team; and Advisory Team.  Over the next few days, I'll unpack these teams...

a million (or so) thoughts from the conference...

• God always comes through at the last minute.
• the conference was packed out. 
• This has been the least stressed our team has ever been for a conference! We're finally learning how to do this well!
• This conference would not have been possible without our partners and vendors! Thanks!
• I'm honored to have David Putman as a partner.
• Marie Lindelli is the Best Ministry Assistant in the world...
• Mountain Lake Church is the best church in the world because we have the best people in the world. 
• I think I drank 10 cups off coffee in the last 2 days. ( and two sweet teas).
• I spoke seven times in two days.
• Church planters struggle with the same 5 things, regardless of context (best practices).
• The secret to my church planting success? I've been too dumb to quit!
• Chad, Autumn, John and Louie got GREAT feedback from their pre-conference sessions. Thanks, guys!
• Todd Nichols is the best Worship Pastor in America. Bar none. 
• I love my wife.
• Tricia did her first conference breakout and nailed it!
• I was also honored to have Will Mancini, Gary Lamb, Tony Morgan, Ben Arment, Brian Jones, Reggis Joiner, Brian Bloye, Matt Evans, Rick Campbell, Casey Graham,  and Larry McCrary, lead breakouts!
• I was honored to have: Bob Roberts, Ed Stetzer, Nelson Searcy and Troy Gramling on our stage! You guys were all so different, but knocked it out of the park in different ways! I love that!
• Mark Clement did  GREAT JOB as the Strategic Director for this Conference.
• God is using Mountain Lake Church and churchplanters.com to rock our nation and world!
• We announced that churchplanters.com is going WEST COAST on November 2, in San Diego, CA!
• Last night I got confirmation from our first speaker for next year's Conference here at Mountain Lake: Ed Young, Jr. from Fellowship Church will be here! Feb 22-23, 2009! Mark your calendar now!
• Can't wait til Sunday, now! We're going to have revival break out at our church Sunday! I just know it! One of the biggest risks we've taken in a while comes up in this Sunday's services!