Films we Play in our Minds

We live in three dimensions. The first is the most obvious - the world in which we live and the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Sometimes good, sometimes bad and sometimes ugly.

How we respond to the first dimension has a lot to do with a second dimension that lurks in our unconscious mind: films from our past whose imprint has left its mark. The pastor who as a child was constantly ridiculed now finds himself trying to assert his authority through autocratic behaviors. The child who was punished for minor infractions finds it hard to believe that God is a God of grace and assumes that God sees him like that harsh parent. The woman who was sexually abused struggles with self image and personal worth.

These films that play in our subconscious impact how we interact with people, how we see ourselves, how we see God and many of the addictive or problematic behaviors we struggle with are a result of that second, subconscious dimension. None of us are immune from its reality. In fact, the buttons that someone pushes that cause us to lash out in anger or stab us with pain are indicators of that second dimension at work. Something in our past triggered an emotion in our present.

A strategy of the evil one is simply to understand those films from our past that cause us discouragement or pain or acting out and simply to play them for us over and over to our detriment. If he doesn't do it for us, we do it for ourselves.

Enter the third dimension which is the spiritual dimension and while hidden, as real as the first and the answer for the second. "But because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:4-10.

That is a passage worth committing to memory and coming back to on a daily basis. It changes our perspective on the issues of life we face - the good bad and the ugly. It transforms the films we play in our minds for we are seated in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, trophies of His grace and mercy for all to see, we have been called to relationship with Him and work for Him.

Those films? We now see our past and our present and our future in a different light. Jesus gives us a new reality and a new set of films to play - that reflect his high and important and grace filled calling on our lives. The old films have been replaced by His films.

Don't play the old films. Allow the grace of God to filter deep in your conscience and the place of honor in which you sit in Christ Jesus impact your view of life, your view of you, your view of God and your view of your calling. The old has passed and a new day has dawned.

Ephesians and Church Health

For all the talk about church health, possibly the most underutilized resource is that of the book of Ephesians which is, if nothing else, a primer on church health. Unlike many of the other churches in the New Testament, the church at Ephesus was a pretty healthy body.

In fact, I would suggest that Ephesus was a great example of a church of "irresistible influence." A reading of Acts 19 shows that this church was instrumental in the name of Jesus becoming known throughout the whole region and the gospel was so powerfully proclaimed that real persecution evolved. But in the midst of that, there was a level of public repentance for sin rarely seen and "the name of Jesus was held in high honor" (Acts 19:17).

Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders (Acts 21) at a later time indicates that he had left in that church a group of committed, courageous and theologically trained leaders.

Then move to the book of Ephesians itself. Several things stand out as it relates to what a healthy church looks like.

First, healthy churches result in real life transformation. This transformation is rooted in a true and transformational understanding of one's life in Christ (Ephesians 1 and 2). This is a transformation so profound that it changes the outlook of those who have experienced it on ourselves, on God, on relationships, on other racial groups, on how we live, our marriage relationships, family relationships, unity among other believers and our view of the the spiritual war taking place behind the scenes around us.

While we have often stressed certain life changes (all good) we have often not stressed that this life change is rooted in a radical transformation that comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. Our goal in the church is not to help people look like whatever we think Christians should look like but the radical reorientation of their life that comes out of new life in Christ.

This radical reorientation of life is accompanied by a power for living that Christ brings. In his prayer for the Ephesians in 3:14-21, Paul uses the word three times, once in each of his three main thoughts. The Christian life is only possible through the power that comes with the Holy Spirit and is likened to the power that ripped Christ from the grave and seated him at the right hand of God in 3:1-13.

The book of Ephesians also makes it clear that it is the church that is God's chosen instrument to reach the world. "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ephesians 3:10-11)." The church is His bride and is loved as a husband loves his wife (chapter 5).

If, indeed the church is His chosen instrument to reach the world, the transformational nature of the church, the unity of the church and the church as an equipper of His people (Chapter 4) becomes of primary importance

Unity in the church is an underrated issue that has huge implications for whether a church will impact the world around it. That is why Paul tells us to "make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:3-6).

In his farewell to the Ephesians elders in Acts 21, Paul specifically charged the leaders to be on their guard against those who would come in and divide the church. In fact, divisive people are one of the great threats to the the Church. Ironically, modern day evangelicals are quick to guard the church against heresy and perhaps ongoing unrepentant sin but we allow divisive people to continue their spoiling of Christ's unity with impunity.

The purpose of church leaders is not to do the work of the ministry but to prepare His followers for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up (Ephesians 4:12). Bringing God's people to the place where they are using their gifts and wiring of Him is a prerequisite of maturity (Ephesians 4:13) and it is to the extent that a majority of His people are engaged in His work that the congregation itself will become mature (Ephesians 4:16).

This is rooted in the understanding of Ephesians 2:10 that "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." We were created both for relationship with Christ and to do work for Christ. It is my conviction that the reason the church has so little influence outside its four walls today is that we have not take seriously this call on every believer to be engaged in His work and rather than equipping people for ministry, many staff positions are simply doing the ministry on behalf of everyone else. That is not a strategy that will yield great influence, nor maturity.

Ephesians 4:17-5:21 goes back to the theme of transformation but this time in very practical ways. The life we have entered into in Christ gives us the responsibility to "put off" all kinds of practices and attitudes that are at odds with our new life and "put on" those practices and attitudes that would reflect our new life with Christ. Thus, transformation brings intentional change in our thoughts, motives, and the outworking of our faith.

The numerous surveys that show that the behavior of those who claim to be Christ followers compared to those who do not indicates that such life change is not taking place today. Of course, the church may not be explicit today that such behavioral changes are non negotiables if we are going to follow Jesus fully.

There is no greater passage on spiritual warfare and the need to live in the full power of the Holy Spirit and the Word than that of Ephesians 6:10-18. This passage gives us a small peak behind the veil of our world to see what is going on beyond our sight but in our presence in the spiritual realms.

My view is that God's people generally do not have an adequate understanding of this very real spiritual war that is taking place or the need for all of God's armor in order to fight that war. To the extent that we understand God's divine drama and the war between the forces of good and evil, to that extent we will armor ourselves for that conflict.

The bottom line is that the book of Ephesians is a fundamental treatise on the health of the church. Boards that will take the time to study Ephesians and ask the hard questions about their own church and people will benefit greatly. It will be far more important than any book they could read on church health. It is the fundamental treatise on church health in the New Testament.

Passion Killers

Why do some ministry staff have a high and contagious level of passion for what they do and other staffs have low and non contagious levels of passion?

Certainly some of it has to do with how individuals are wired personally. But, much of it has to do with the ministry environment in which they work - for environments will either fuel or kill passion in those who work in them.

Passion killers are those things that will diminish rather than fuel ministry passion.

There is the passion killer of ambiguous missional purpose. Organizations that do not have a compelling reason for existence that everyone understands and shares will diminish rather than fuel passion for ministry. General ministry purpose yields general ministry efforts with general ministry results. Lack of focus and clear definition of what we are all about will not generate much passion. No wonder such a high percentage of churches in our world exist without much excitement or energy around them.

There is the passion killer of control and micromanagement. Good people want to be developed, empowered and released rather than controlled or micromanaged. Control diminishes passion because it devalues people and essentially says "I can't trust you to do your job by yourself." It disempowers and discourages and over time diminishes enthusiasm for one's work. Leaders who control or micromanage by definition kill passion.

There is the passion killer of poor leadership. Leaders set the pace for the missional focus, health, level of energy and commitment and the synergistic working of a team. Where leaders don't provide that kind of directional leadership and cohesion passion begins to diminish. Poor leadership yields poor followership and teams will rarely rise above the passion and commitment and example of their leader. For passion to remain high it must start with the leader of the team.

As noted in my prior blog on risk, there is the passion killer of living with the status quo rather than being willing to take a risk for ministry leverage. Organizations that will not take a risk diminish the passion of those who long to do something different in order to get greater ministry results. When the answer is "no" we don't do that here, passion leads from discouragement!

There is the passion killer of unresolved conflict and lack of team cohesion. Teams, congregations, and organizations often live with high levels of negative stuff that is not resolved. Everyone knows that it is present but no one has the courage to face and resolve it. Over time, that diminishes the passion of good people whose desire to see something happen for Christ is discouraged by the dis health they are surrounded by.

Then there is the passion killer of leaders who are coasting toward the end of their ministry life, who don't really know where to go anymore but who are determined to "hang on" till the end, leaving staff without direction or real purpose. This is a real problem among pastors who have lost their ability to lead but who don't know what to do next and simply hang on. They may be great people but they are no longer leading and their lack of leadership diminishes passion among those they should be leading.

There is also the passion killer of leaders who are more about building their own success and legacy than working as a team. These leaders may have narcissistic tendencies and it is all about them. Their narcissism diminishes passion in others quickly as team member realize that they are simply being used rather than part of a cohesive, unified ministry team. It is about the leader and not about the mission. Some very large organizations, and churches, suffer from this passion killer.

Organizational culture and its leadership will either fuel or diminish passion. I would love to hear from readers on passion killers they have observed in their ministries.

Catching the Wind

It is a wonderful feeling when the wind fills the sail, the boat surges forward and lays over powered by the breeze! It is a metaphor for life when we know that our sail is full and what we were meant to be is what is and we are - almost effortlessly being propelled by unseen forces. Life isn't always like that but when it is the exhilaration is palpable!



Sailors don't control the wind and neither do we. But there are practices or habits we can cultivate that are likely to help us catch the wind when it comes.



Staying fresh with Jesus is the first habit. How we do that is different for each of us but keeping the connection fresh is always the place to start. For me that means enough rest and time for reflection because my ability to live in His presence diminishes with fatigue. When rested I can feel His presence and His pleasure. When tired, I am just tired. Knowing our rhythms of connection and syncing those with our lives becomes key. As Jesus said in John 15, "remain in me and you will bear much fruit."



Living in my sweet spot so that I am operating out of my strengths is the second habit. Too much time operating in areas of weakness frustrates, fatigues and drains us. Optimally we are working in areas of strength not less than 60% of our time and it is wonderful if it is 80%. The wind is very hard to catch when we are playing to weaknesses rather than strengths. That will often mean that we say no to many things in order to say yes to certain things so that we live and work in areas of strength.



Knowing and paying attention to the big rocks of our lives is the third habit. When the distractions and busyness of life take us away from those things that are most important to us they steal the wind from our sails. Just as sailing is for the patient, positioning the boat and the sail for maximum advantage, so is life. I position the sail of my life for maximum advantage when I am paying attention to the big rocks of my life rather than being distracted by less important activities.



Finding time for ministry in connection with my strengths and wiring is the fourth habit. This is one of those big rocks that puts wind in the sail when I make time for it because each of us was made for unique works of ministry prepared by God just for us (Ephesians 2:10). The Holy Spirit fills our sails when we join Him in the work he created us for.



Each of these habits is dependent on one final habit: time for reflection and evaluation of our lives. Our constant activity robs us of time to think and therefore of the ability to live with the wisdom that comes from God's prompting and a balanced life as defined by these habits. Activity is often the enemy of real life results. Again it is the patience to position the sails of our lives so that we are most likely to catch the wind when it comes.



When the wind does come, catching it is a wonderful experience.

Rethinking Church Membership

I am a member of my church. It was easy. Give my testimony, agree to some nominal commitments like coming to church on a regular basis and I was in. The bar in my congregation like many is very low but what are the consequences of a low bar?

My question: Why do we have such a low bar for church membership? Jesus does not have a low bar for what it means to be a disciple but we send a different message when we make it easy for people to join our congregations.

Low expectations yield low commitment. High expectations yield high commitment. I suspect that one of the reasons there is such a low level of true followership today is that the church - the bride of Christ has low expectations of those who want to join.

Some churches have recognized this and have called their "participating members" to a higher commitment. They are clear that membership carries with it expectations:

-To give generously

-To attend regularly

-To resolve conflict biblically

-To attend a growth group

-To follow God obediently

-To use their spiritual gifts in ministry

That commitment carries a very different expectation and raises significantly the importance of deciding to become a participating member. Notice the difference between the description of "member" and "participating member." One implies I am in the church. The other, I am an active member of the church. Which description would you rather have?

Some churches are raising the bar even further by asking participating members to "re-up" every year. This is a declaration that I am "all in" on an annual basis and a reminder of what that commitment means. It is not a meaningless "membership card" but a serious commitment to the church and its ministry.

By the way, if you raise the bar you will get push back. Interesting! Why would you get push back for expecting what God would expect of obedient followers? Because we have trained our people that our expectations are low. "You mean, you have expectations of me to be a member? What are you thinking?"

That is precisely why congregations ought to consider raising the bar. It will certainly get people's attention. And you will get the very people that you want in making ministry decisions.

How low or high is your membership bar?

Measuring Ministry Results

Ministries often do what they do, year in and year out without a clear sense of whether or not their ministry or efforts are paying off. Consider these examples.

I spent time this past week with a pastor of a church of 1,500. For years they did what many churches do in the summer - DVBS, putting huge resources, time and energy into this ministry. The Bible School would take some 300 volunteers. Given that investment he asked for a rigorous review of the results of the ministry. What he found out was that in three years, this massive ministry layout resulted in only eight new families coming to the church, three of whom were planning on coming anyway.

This year there is no DVBS.

My own church, for many years had a "sports ministry" - mainly baseball and dedicated half of its five acre lot to a baseball field. In the 25 years of the "sports ministry" there were no known new believers. Mainly it was church folks playing with each other. Nice but not strategic.

We often make the assumption that because something is "ministry" that it is useful, good and important. Assumptions without factual information on results is a great mistake. It confuses activity with results. All ministries have loads of activity, many see few results. You don't know if you don't evaluate and ask what the real, tangible results are of your activity. A simple but neglected proposition in many ministries.

Wise ministries actually measure ministry results. I suspect that there are massive layouts of time, energy and money to ministries in local churches and missions which yield very little but we don't realize it because we don't measure. In fact, we don't even think to question our practices since we are just used to doing them.

This implies that we are willing to say no to ministries that cannot demonstrate true missional effectiveness and challenge ministry teams to have a strategy for getting those results. It is not necessarily popular but it is missional.

The same pastor who shut down DVBS this year had folks come to him to start a new sports ministry - they are a church very interested in reaching out to their community. His response was that he would consider it when he saw the detailed plan on how the ministry would leverage its sports program to actually bring individuals to Christ and help them grow. That is, after all the mission of the church, and therefore each ministry within the church.

Wise leaders question everything and count everything. They don't rely on past history or blindly assume that ministries are producing real ministry results. What do you really measure? What areas of ministry are you not measuring? It is worth thinking about!

Simplicity and Complexity

Remember that last strategic plan you did for your organization? How much of it was ever implemented? Can you remember the details of what you decided? Or what about those things called ministry philosophy, values, preferred future or ministry outcomes? Do you remember what those are for your church? Would your leaders or staff remember? Are they helpful to you?

All of the above are good I am sure. But they often look like the jumble of paperclips in the picture - they are there somewhere and they can be helpful - if you can remember them when you need to or make sense out of them when you want to.

Consider this

Ministry is always complex

Complexity is confusing

Therefore complexity must be communicated with simplicity

Simplicity beats complexity every time

Most ministry leaders have a hard time remembering core documents or core missional commitments - let alone three year strategic plans. And if leaders don't remember those things, certainly those down the communication chain are even more challenged - if they care at all.

Despite the title of the book, "Simple Church," few churches are truly simple - nor are other ministries. The world is a complex place filled with complex problems that require complex solutions. Even the four basic Questions every leader must ask for their ministry requires a level of complexity:

1. What is our mission?

2. What are our guiding principles?

3. What is our central ministry focus - the thing we need to do well all the time?

4. What results do we want to see?

Rarely can I get a quick and clear answer to those questions even from the most senior leaders of an organization. That is not a criticism as much as it is an admission of the complexity inherent in even those four answers. Any good organization must ask and answer those questions - to say nothing of others that may be important.

The problem is that complexity creates confusion. Or, just as problematic, people deal with complexity by simply ignoring it (it takes too much energy) which is a worse fate than confused complexity! Is it any wonder why mission and vision drift take place so easily?

One of the best ways to simplify complexity is to tell stories. Jesus was a master at this. Stories grip the imagination and are remembered. Just think of the complexity of grace and the ways in which we respond or don't respond to grace and then think of the story of the prodigal son! So simple, so profound, so easily remembered and so full of content.

You may have a philosophy of ministry or uphold a certain value. Telling stories of those who have lived it out will be remembered even if the specific wording of your value is not. Stories are powerful simplifiers.

Metaphors do the same thing. The baseball diamond used by purpose driven churches takes complexity and simplifies it. I lead from a sandbox (hence the title of this blog) which takes complexity and simplifies it. A metaphor is something that can be repeated and remembered which is the goal!

Sometimes just a phrase, intentionally and often repeated does the trick. A friend of mine, pastor of a large church always tells the congregation that "We always must have a seat for the next person who is looking for a church home." He has said that for twenty five years and the church now has over 7,000 people in multiple worship venues. The value of always having a seat for the next individual has been owned by the congregation.

You can actually create an intentional church or organizational culture around those things that your care about and which are important to you but in order to do that one must take complexity and bring meaningful, rememberable simplicity. That takes great intentionality but those who do it find that their values, direction, mission and culture are understood implicitly or explicitly by their organization or congregation.

But complexity must be simplified. How do you simplify complexity and does your church or organization get it?

Lessons Learned in Mentoring Young Leaders

Mentoring young leaders is a passion of mine. At fifty three, the more young leaders I can help grow, the more ripples I can make - and keep on making after I have left the leadership stage. I believe that mentoring is a stewardship responsibility of all leaders and it is one of the most unselfish investments we can make.

Mentoring young leaders is all about taking people with significant potential and helping expedite their growth through your sponsorship, attention and leadership example. A proven leader can open critical doors of opportunity, understanding and growth to a young leader which can dramatically accelerate the leadership trajectory of young leaders.

I recently reflected on some of the lessons I have learned in this process:

Look for potential not experience. Almost all job applications have an experience clause. Sometimes that is what you need. But often, what you really want is the "right stuff" in potential that can be shaped and grown. It is a thrill to hire someone who is "too young" by others standards and watch them flourish.

Look for good EQ. Good emotional intelligence is critical for a mentee because there will be plenty of opportunities when they will need to receive honest feedback on their performance. Poor EQ - defensiveness, inability to accept honest feedback, poor relational skills - will prevent them from growing like the should. Get good EQ, combined with potential and you have a powerful combination.

Help them understand their wiring and strengths. Mentoring is not about growing another "you" but about helping a young leader understand how God designed them, how they are wired and where their strengths lie - and don't lie. Young people often don't have the life experience to figure that out well but a good mentor can dramatically speed up the process by helping them discover their strengths.

Dialogue a lot. Mentor's use Socratic dialogue to help those they mentor think through issues, solve problems, discover solutions and evaluate performance. By its very nature, mentoring takes time and only those who are willing to make the investment will make good mentors. People learn the best when they are challenged to think critically and evaluate well so mentors think out loud with their mentees on a regular basis.

Ask lots of questions. The more questions one asks, the more you will help your young leader think and evaluate. Engage their perspective on people, situations, problems and solutions. Don't tell, ask - and then dialogue.

Give honest feedback. Good mentors give feedback but they do it in appropriate ways and appropriate settings. No, the Trump method "You're Fired," does not fit that paradigm! Mentors never embarrass by calling out a failure or misstep in public. They do it behind closed doors and in a way that causes growth, not discouragement (again, good EQ is very helpful).

Allow young leaders to figure it out and even fail. We learn more from our failures than our successes so allowing young leaders to figure out how do get something done (consistent with their strengths) and even to get it wrong on occasion is a powerful growth strategy. We practice "autopsy without blame" after a failure. We want to know why it happened and what went wrong and why but it is not about blame, but about learning.

Give assignments that stretch. Often, young leaders do not see in themselves what others see in them. Giving assignments that are out of their comfort zone - but within their ability helps them test their skills and critical thinking. Again, Socratic dialogue along the way is helpful, but not solving the problems they encounter.

Keep their plate full. Bright young leaders get bored quickly. Keep their plate full so that they continue to grow and stretch and increase their capacity. If they are really good - do whatever it takes to keep them engaged with you so that they don't look for greener pastures elsewhere.

Let them shadow you. Young leaders need models of what good leadership looks like. Because mentors are all about developing others, find ways to expose them to your world even if it is not in their job description. Exposure to meetings, problems, problem solving and other key people will give them context that they would not otherwise have and exposure that helps them leverage growth.

Ensure a relationship of high trust. Mentors often share information with a young leader they would not share with others - precisely because by introducing them to one's world and the real challenges one faces, young leaders learn how to deal with real life situations. This means, however that young leaders must be trustworthy (EQ again) to keep information that is private private and the maturity to handle sometimes difficult information. Clear guidelines should be discussed up front and reminders made along the way regarding confidential information.

Be tansparent. Sharing one's life honestly is an important element in growing leaders. Understanding how to balance life, deal with life when it comes undone and persevering in Godly character is the inner core that will sustain young leaders over the long haul. Wherever appropriate, be transparent so that they are challenged by your heart and character as well as your leadership expertise.

Mentoring is a challenge and a great privilege. And it allows you to expand your influence far beyond what you could ever do yourself.

It's all about the Gospel

Those of us who are deeply involved in ministry, as leaders, team members or volunteers constantly need to be reminded of one very important truth: It is all about the Gospel!

Paul put it this way in his summation and introduction to the book of Romans. These two verses (Romans 1:16-17) sum up the message of Romans and the gospel.

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'"

Paul's first statement is interesting: He is not ashamed of the gospel. Why would he say that? I believe because many in his day were indeed ashamed as in our day. It was too simplistic (simply by faith), it was politically incorrect (there is only one way), it was intellectually stupid (God on a cross) and it was flawed in its premise (you can do nothing to earn salvation - it is simply by grace).

Paul was no intellectual slouch! But he understood the premise, power, truth, and plan of God in the gospel to do what no other religion could do - transform sinful men and women from all walks of life into walking billboards of God's grace through simple faith and he refused to be ashamed of this gospel, or to try to make it more palatable. It is what it is: The one and only way to Jesus and a life of relationship and significance.

It is easy to forget in our strategies, programs, events, plans and ministry that everything we are and everything we do is ultimately focused on the simple gospel of Jesus Christ. That gospel has the power to change any individual who will simply trust, intervene in any situation that we will give to God and transform corners of society that are infected by its truth.

John McArthur writes this about Paul. "Paul was imprisoned in Philippi, chased out of Thessalonica, smuggled out of Damascus and Berea, laughed at in Athens, considered a fool in Corinth, and declared a blasphemer and lawbreaker in Jerusalem. He was stoned and left for dead at Lystra. Some Pagans of Paul’s day branded Christianity as atheism because it believed in only one God and as being cannibalistic because of a misunderstanding of the Lord’s Supper.

But the Jewish religious leaders of Jerusalem did not intimidate Paul, nor did the learned and influential pagans at Ephesus, Athens, and Corinth. The apostle was eager now to preach and teach the gospel in Rome, the capital of the pagan empire that ruled virtually all the known world. He was never deterred by opposition, never disheartened by criticism, and never ashamed, for any reason, of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

I ask myself and I ask you: Do we have that kind of drive and that kind of passion to see the gospel spread across the regions where we work? The work of spreading the gospel is not a job: it is the greatest privilege anyone could ever have and the greatest responsibility given to man by God. There is hope and power and forgiveness and grace and eternal favor wrapped up in that message.

Do we believe that much in the power of the gospel? Do we believe that God wants to transform hundreds of thousands of lives through the work we do and the movement leaders we support? Do we believe that the gospel has that kind of compelling magnetism and spiritual power? The kind of power the raised Christ from the dead and set him above every rule, authority, power and dominion and title that can be given, not only in the present age but in the one to come?

In the end, it all comes back to the gospel. That is why I am not ashamed! And I never want to lose the sense of awe, majesty and amazing grace encapsulated in that gospel. It has the power, the only power, to change lives for eternity.

Avoiding Pain

Contributing Writer

Ellen Conserva

ReachGlobal Thailand

My friend recently told me about his recovery after shoulder surgery and how long and painful it was. He was finally at a place where he could function, but found that he still needed to make a few adjustments.

“So, I went back to my old comfortable chair the other day. I have been using a temporary chair without arms so I could get close enough to my keyboard without lifting my arm. Well my old chair has big arms that don’t fit under the desk, so I lowered the chair and then my shoulder was up too high. I finally decided to order a good ergonomic chair.”

What struck me about this story is how we react to discomfort. It seems that, like my friend Matt, I also adjust things in my life to avoid pain.

I don’t make that phone call I should, because I know that I will be in tears by the time I hang up.

I don’t start conversations that will eventually give me a stomachache.

I don’t look up as I drive past the temple where a dear boy at the orphanage was cremated, because that memory is just too raw for me to deal with.

I haven’t sent any of my stories in to a publisher yet because I am afraid that my fears will come true…I’m just not good enough.

I don’t look in the mirror sometimes, either! Just too painful at certain times in the day!

I wonder if this whole “avoidance” thing is right though…aren’t we meant to face our fears? Aren’t I supposed to look into the eye of the monster and take him by the throat and tell him that he doesn’t scare me?

The Bible says “Fear not.” It also says that we will all suffer. So what gives? Are we meant to suffer but not be afraid? Does God want us to grin and bear it? Or are we all just destined to quietly cower in the corner, flinching and twitching when something scary comes to call?

The Bible says something else, too….”for everyone born of God overcomes the world…this is the victory.” (1 John 5:4) So that means that we are already victorious over the things that scare us, that cause us pain. This is a promise that God gives, even before the scary thing freaks us out. We are already standing in a place of victory. We are already on the Victor’s Stand…the place where there are kisses and medals and trophies and champagne poured over our heads and down our necks.

So, before I ever face a particular battle or fear in my life, I already know that I am victorious; that I have won. That I have defeated the scary monster before I even open my mouth to yell at him to leave me alone.

Jesus had a scary monster, too. It was the cross. And He knew that He would be victorious, before He pointed one toe in that direction. Maybe that is why He didn’t try and avoid the pain that He knew He would face. He looked up at it. He looked right through it, too , I imagine, right to the other side. Right to the empty tomb. He saw it all before Him, right to the very end. He saw the Victor’s Stand and the kisses and the trophy and the “well done, You!”. He saw and felt His Father’s embrace. He heard the angels singing praises and shouting, “Worthy is the Lamb that was Slain!”

So, I must draw this conclusion then….that my fears and pains are taken care of already. That I do not need to avoid them. I need to let Jesus grab the scary monster by the throat and yell at him for me.

I need to surrender. And I need to remember that surrendering doesn’t mean that I lose. Surrender means I don’t have to fight anymore.

How extensive is your root system?

Healthy people have extensive root systems that keep them solidly grounded, well nourished and always fruitful. But it does not happen by mistake. Roots we grow are grown intentionally not accidentally.

The most important roots we grow are in our relationship with Jesus and keeping it fresh by regular time in His word and time with him in meditation and prayer. These roots provide the "living water" of our lives as it is infused with the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The deeper these roots, the stronger we will be.

For Mary Ann and I there is another set of roots that are like anchors to our lives - those of close, intimate, deep, friendships with a set of "friends for life." These are friendships with amazing friends where there is mutual support, shared spiritual journeys and a desire to be all that God made us to be. When life throws a curve, council is needed or disappointments come our way it is these friendships that become the voice, hands and personal love of Jesus to each other. We cultivate these friendship roots with great care.

Deep roots grow when we are in a good church fellowship. Anyone who has been surrounded by the love of a congregation in a time of need - prayer - meals - visits - concern - knows how those roots produce amazing stability in times of amazing needs. In fact, having been the recipient of that kind of love we often wonder how those who don't have a church family face those kinds of times.

I have several thousand roots that line my bookshelves - the wisdom, faith, and commitments of those who have gone before me - or are contemporaries whose books provide nourishment to my soul and challenge my thinking on a daily basis. These roots give me perspective as they have grappled with the issues of faith going back some two thousand years.

Some people seem to go from one crisis to another with a weak root system that cannot stand the test of storms in their lives. Others withstand the worst hurricanes because their root system is extensive and deep. How deep our roots and how extensive is up to us. My goal is for deep, extensive and strong.

Ministry and team calibration

Calibration is the process by which instruments are compared to known "norms" to ensure that there is as little deviation as possible between the norm and the instrument being tested. The better the calibration, the better the instrument will perform and with the highest degree of accuracy.

The concept of calibration is important in ministry as well. The question is understanding what the norm is and how I can calibrate my actions against a proper understanding of the stated mission and guiding principles of the organization.

For instance, as a mission organization, we have a Central Ministry Focus to develop, empower and release healthy indigenous leaders. This is what we must do every day, all the time, wherever we work. As the senior leader, I championed this ministry focus and it was quickly adopted by our senior leadership and now by nearly everyone in our organization.

But, how do staff calibrate their ministries so that they are actually carrying out this mandate? While the concept seems fairly clear, how do I know when I am actually doing what the concept means?

This is where calibration comes in and it is important. It is coming to the best understanding of the central ministry focus as possible so that there is a high level of alignment across the organization because there is a common understanding.

This happens most directly when there is regular dialogue between myself and my senior leaders and then between my senior leaders and those in their areas of responsibility. It is ongoing dialogue, discussion and Socratic dialogue that helps to clarify meaning, intent, acceptable practices, focus and bring the organization into a common understanding (calibration).

Memo's and speeches do not get to calibration. They may be part of the process but the best calibration comes between a leader and those they lead in personal interaction, time together and lots of dialogue on key issues. There is no substitute for that time and discussion. That is one reason it is so important in team meetings to pick a topic that is central to the ministry they perform for discussion and dialogue - it helps calibrate the team.

Now in order to calibrate well, a leader must be clear on what the "norm" is. He or she must have great clarity on where they need to go and how they will get there. It is against that clarity that the discussion is focused and calibration is sought. Wise leaders provide maximum clarity to those they lead and then seek to calibrate the thinking and actions of their team or organization to be as close to the stated norm as possible. It happens through time and dialogue. It clarifies and focuses the team on the important things.

Barriers to unleashing our people in meaningful ministry

We want our people involved in meaningful ministry and to embrace ministry for Christ as a lifestyle. Too often it does not happen. Why? I want to suggest that we inadvertently create barriers to seeing this happen. Our motives are right but nevertheless, we create barriers by our own actions.

Barrier One

We have professionalized ministry rather than equipping His people. We hire professionals in the church who usually have advanced theological education. But, rather than equipping people we tend to expect those staff members to carry their particular ministry out. This has two consequences. One, it sends a message that we need professionals to do "real" ministry and two that "formal" training is necessary to be successful in ministry.

Barrier two

We convey the message that "ministry" is all about what happens in church "programming." Our programming is important but it is only a small piece of what God intends for his people to be involved in. His intention is to penetrate and influence a sinful and broken world and to bring small bits of His perfect will to dark and needy places. Ministry is about God's people being God's people wherever they are and with whoever they have influence.

Barrier three

We have so stressed "being at church" that we have not left people the time they need to develop relationships where they live, work and play and with the very people who need the love of Christ.

Barrier four

We have complicated spiritual gifts. God created us to do "good works" (Ephesians 2:10). If we encourage people to do "good works" with the people they have influence with and in the places God put them they will do those good works in ways that are consistent with their wiring. They will do things that they are comfortable doing - which will be in sync with how God wired and gifted them.

Barrier five

We have sought to get people involved in ministry by creating programs rather than encouraging them to figure out how they can make a difference for God where they live and work. Programmatic ministry trains people to let the church create ministry opportunities for them rather than looking for those opportunities themselves. Organic ministry wins out over programmatic ministry each time

God has an amazing and unique call on every single life. The best thing we can do on His behalf is to unleash God's people on a sinful and needy world rather than to corral them for our programs inside the church. The latter makes us look good. The former makes God look good. Which is better?

On being a father to those who need one

Father's Day!

For those of us who are fathers it is a wonderful day with many great memories. I am the proud father of two wonderful boys, Jon and Chip. But I am also a father to a couple in Myanmar, in the Philippines, in Minnesota and a few other places. Not a biological father but a spiritual father to some folks who didn't have a believing father, or one that affirmed them, or was an example to them.

Older men, especially have a wonderful opportunity to be the father that individuals never had. One who loves them, mentors them, is there for them, prays for them, comes alongside to meet needs that can be met. All of us have a heavenly father but there is a deep yearning in the heart for a human father and many in our world today do not celebrate a human father. Human fathers can be a blessing or a curse.

For those whose father was a curse, or simply non involved and disengaged, we can become a father to the fatherless. Young men, especially long for a role model, a godly example, someone they can look to as a father figure. We can be that for them. Interestingly, I never asked for the job with these wonderful friends, but they let me know, I was the father they were looking for. They gave me the name and I willingly accepted the honor.

For many today, father's day is a day of blessing. For many it is a day of pain, hurt and terrible memories. That is the reality of a fallen world. Whether you know it or not, you may be looked up to as the dad someone else never had when you take the time to befriend, pray for and come alongside younger men or couples.

It is a wonderful honor. For I actually have more kids than just my two. I accept the job with thanksgiving.

Complacency or urgency?

One of the deadliest threats to any ministry, be it a church, mission, mission team or some other ministry is that of complacency.

Complacency is defined as self satisfaction accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies (Webster).

I am struck at how often when talking to ministry leaders and asking them about how the ministry is doing that the answer is overwhelmingly positive.

There is often little urgency among those I interact with that things need to be different, that not all is well or that they need to do things differently. I contrast that response with those who are business owners who give me a very realistic answer regarding the challenges they face and the difficult issues they are wrestling with.

When I talk to ministry leaders and the vast majority of their report is positive and I don't hear the critical analysis of what should be different, what real deficiencies or threats exist, I know that I am talking to someone who does not live with a sense of urgency, tends to gloss over deficiencies and likes to put a positive spin on situations - rather than do the critical analysis needed to understand reality.

And, I can safely assume that their own teams or reports live with the same complacency they do. Perhaps it is the fact that ministries have so little accountability generally and that we just assume that Jesus will do what He wants to do that we don't ask and answer the critical questions and live with such complacency. Unlike those in the business world, many Christian leaders don't have to live with a profit or loss statement and thus live more easily with contentment with where things are.

The sad thing is that the state of the church and the effectiveness of much of what passes for missions is woefully inadaquate and ineffective. That is a result of complacency and lack of urgency.

That self-satisfaction comes from a lack of critical analysis of what could be, or ministry fruit left on the table because of our satisfaction with what is.

Companies that become complacent and self-satisfied die or go into bankruptcy - so General Motors and Chrysler and a host of others who have disappeared in the last decade. Ministries simply move into decline, seemingly oblivious that anything is wrong or that things could be different.

Good leaders are never complacent or satisfied and they do not allow their teams to live in complacency either. They are always asking critical questions about priorities, strategy, opportunities and dangers. They celebrate wins but they never camp on the wins or the success of the past but are always looking at the untapped opportunities of the future.

This is about a way of thinking and living and leading.

Urgency is not about doing more or doing it faster or creating more activity. Leaders who live with a sense of urgency often engage in less activity than others but do far more critical analysis and ask harder questions and focus their attention on those things that will push the missional agenda the farthest. They are also not looking for swift wins (nice when they come) but long term ministry fruit.

The apostle Paul lived with a sense of urgency that was evident in his life and his teaching. He constantly exhorted in his epistles to the churches to never be content with their spiritual life or their ministry but to work while it is still day for the night comes.

Good leaders do less, focus on the most important and constantly communicate with their priorities and communication their sense of urgency to see the ministry they lead (or the team they lead) maximize their potential.

And they communicate their sense of urgency to their staff who easily fall into a mode of comfort (we all gravitate there) and live with a deep sense that we must always be looking for better ways to fulfill our mission.

Their calendars reflect that commitment! Their priorities reflect that commitment. Their communication reflects that commitment and their meetings reflect that commitment. The focus of their lives reflects that commitment.

Where are you living on the complacency/urgency continuum?

For a great read on this subject, take a look at John P. Kotter's book, A Sense of Urgency. Our senior team is reading it right now. I deeply desire that our ministry live with urgency not complacency.

Leadership Transitions in the church

Senior leadership transitions are the most challenging time in the life of a church and negotiating them well is critical for the success of the new leader and for establishing a healthy foundation for a new ministry “run.” Where such a transition is done well it can provide the church with significant forward momentum. When it is done poorly it can take years to regain the desired momentum.

Congregations, boards and staff rarely understand the full ramifications of a senior leadership change, particularly when the church has a healthy history and there is excitement about the future. The tendency is to assume that the future will be similar to the past – only better! In reality, in some way, large or small, a great deal changes with the change in senior leadership. The church starts a new journey with a new leader, a refocused vision and five years in it will be a different church.

In the same way, new senior leaders rarely understand the full scope of the challenge ahead of them even in the healthiest transition. They inherit a staff that they did not build, spoken and unspoken values that are part of the church’s DNA, a desire for new vision but at the same time stakeholders in the old vision, and often to their surprise, resistance to change simply because of the built in bias against change among people in general.

This is complicated by the fact that whenever a church must re-in vision for the next ministry “run,” there is a refocus of ministry with the inevitable need to evaluate current ministry paradigms and current staff. Hard decisions will need to be made on both counts that will require ministry and staff changes to some degree – often a greater degree than is anticipated at the time of transition.

The critical period for a leadership transition in a church is the first twelve to eighteen months where the foundation for the next ministry run is being established. The church will experience significant change! The question is whether the change process can be navigated in a way that enhances its opportunities for the future or alternatively, complicates and prolongs the time it will take to get to those future opportunities.

If the incoming leader has not managed a major transition before it is very helpful to use an experienced coach who can help them navigate the inevitable change process. That may be another pastor who has negotiated a similar transition in a healthy manner or an outside consultant. A coach can help the new leader, the board and senior staff understand the issues they will face from a neutral and non-stakeholder perspective.

Transitions can be a wonderful time of envisioning and retooling for the next run - as long it is handled with care so that momentum is gained rather than lost due to transitional issues that are handled poorly. The former launches the church into a new future, the latter can cause momentum and opportunity to be lost.

White Board Sessions

I am a fan of white boards. I have two of them in my conference room and there is nothing I love more than to get some good people in there with me and tackle a problem. I am always amazed at the nuggets we discover, some large, some small when we do a blue sky session with a white board.

It is amazingly easy to get caught up in how we have done things and not ask the question, how could we do them better? What are the barriers to growth? How could we organize for more strategic ministry? Could we reposition someone and help them become more effective?

The synergy of a group of the right people asking those questions is huge. Often I will leave our session on the board for a while so that I can mull on it and seek to further clarify issues we have worked on.

If you are not in the habit of doing so, or if it has been a while, take a key issue for your ministry, get some good minds in a room, even people who may not have direct responsibility for the issue you are thinking through, but people who are good thinkers and do a white board session. I have never done one that didn't yield something valuable.

It fosters creativity, a new look at old issues, and the synergy of ideas. It is often a huge return for just a few minutes.

Simplifying Spiritual Gifts

My son Chip's spiritual gift is that of the "pied piper." Really! Just watch him. Everywhere he goes kids, young people and animals follow him around and he engages them and befriends them and talks to them (the human ones) about God. So it stands to reason that on summer break he leads inner city kids in the wilderness of northern Minnesota and ministers to them physically and spiritually. He is after all, the pied piper.

Then there is my wife Mary Ann who has a radar for hurting people and extends practical help and grace better than anyone I know. She sees a need and she meets it. She obviously has a gift of help and mercy.

Another friend is one of the most strategic thinkers I know. He can make sense out of almost any problem, think of solutions, and like a chess player, anticipate unintended consequences to those solutions. His gift is strategy and generosity and you put those two together and it is a powerful combination as he strategically funds Christian ministries.

His wife has the most awesome gift of hospitality and can make anyone feel at home from any walk of life. That with a gift of prayer combines to influence huge numbers of people over the course of a year.

We often complicate the spiritual gifts when most often they are pretty obvious if you just watch people, see where they are most effective, watch how they are wired and then encourage them to use those gifts and skills for Jesus - in their neighborhood, circle of influence, workplace and church. Notice that the church is just one place we ought to be joining Jesus, not the primary place.

Jesus wired us a certain way in order to accomplish a certain task. He wired me for strategy, leadership and communication. Everything else is, well, a weakness. What he wants me to do is to use the wiring he gave me for his purposes where he gives me influence.

I love to watch people to see how God uniquely wired them - God's creativity in that regard is amazing. Even with pied pipers. And then I love to encourage those I watch to use that wiring for His purposes, wherever God has placed them. If we all did that, and encouraged one another we would see small pieces of God's character unleashed in a million corners of the world.

Did you know?

Did you know that according to the UN, over 27 million people are enslaved in various forms of sexual and labor exploitation, more than at the height of the (historic) trans-Atlantic slave trade? (Salvation Army's Anti-Trafficking Network).

Did you know that over 100,000 eastern European women are coerced into prostitution or labor or forced marriages?

Did you know that destination countries of trafficked persons includes Belgium, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey and the United States (UNODC, 2006)?

Did you know that the countries girls are most trafficked from are Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Albania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Romania, China, Thailand and Nigeria?

It is impossible to imagine the fear, pain, broken dreams, emotional and physical damage done by human trafficking as helpless individuals are forced against their will into a life of prostitution, misery, and enslavement. We celebrate the abolition of slavery yet there are more modern day slaves being trafficked today than at the height of the trans Atlantic slave trade.

There is a good chance that there are modern day slaves in a city near you, or in which you live!

To learn more, check out these resources:

Salvation Army Initiative Against Sexual Trafficking

http://salvationarmyusa.org/trafficking

International Justice Mission

http://www.ijm.org/

Faith Alliance against Slavery and Trafficking

http://www.faastinternational.org/

The Evangelical Covenant Church

http://www.covchurch.org/humantrafficking

C.H.A.S.T.E. Churches Alert to Sex Trafficking in Europe

http://www.chaste.org.uk/

United Nations "Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking"

http://www.ungift.org/

U.S. State Department "Trafficking in Persons Report (by year)

http://www.state.gov/g/tip/ris/tiprpt/2008/

(With thanks to ReachGlobal staff member Sarah Bennetch)

Assimilation and New Believers

Assimilation of new believers into the life of the church is a high priority for many church leaders. Think about that for a moment!

My observation in the American church is that we put far more energy into assimilating new believers into the subculture of our church than we do in seeking them to assimilate into the likeness of Christ - and the two goals are not synonymous.

We are gratified when our new believer comes to a Bible study or small group, learns that they should be involved in some sort of ministry in the church, serve on a committee or be present on family night. All well and good - maybe.

What would happen if instead we concentrated on helping them understand what it means to become like Jesus and follow him more closely and allow Him to transform their hearts? I know we assume that those things will happen once they become involved in the church. Often it does not because our focus is in the wrong place. Assimilation into our church subculture is nice but assimilation into the likeness of Christ is far more important.

Where is the emphasis in your church for new believers? Is your strategy for helping new believers grow spiritually as robust as your strategy to hook them into your congregation?

Ultimately the goal of the Christian life is not to become like the people around us but to become like Christ. And people who become like Christ are also committed to His family in a local church. Our focus on the right assimilation will make all the difference.

The Church: God's Chosen Instrument to reach the World

On any particular day I can be optimistic, energized, discouraged or pessimistic on the state of the church. It largely depends on churches that I am working with at the time.

The New Testament shares such sentiments with Paul writing to the Corinthians (they had a lot of problems) or the Ephesians (they seemed pretty healthy) or the letters of Jesus to the churches in Revelation three (a mixed bag).

Many today are giving up on the church and simply leaving or choosing to stay home. I sympathize and empathize. There are a lot of unhealthy churches. Healthy and vital churches are vastly outnumbered by unhealthy or problematic churches.

But: regardless of our analysis, the local church is God's chosen instrument to reach the world as the local manifestation of his universal church made up of those who are his children. That is why I will never give up on the church and why I will never stop trying to help the church and why I will devote my life to multiplying healthy churches among all people.

It is frankly amazing to me that the church is as resilient as it is. That is not a testimony to man but to the power of the Holy Spirit who is present in small, large, poor, wealthy, underground and above ground churches. It is His church and the forces of hell will never prevail against it.

The church is flawed because it is led and attended by flawed people. The church is powerful even with flawed people when empowered by the Holy Spirit who powerfully changes lives and empowers people for meaningful ministry and brings life change.

The church is His bride and He loves it and died for it. Given that I will never abandon it or cease to help it be all that it can be. As long as Jesus believes in His church, I will too.

Gospel and Politics

It is a familiar request. Can I put out materials in the gathering area so members are informed of the political issues the nation faces and how they should vote? Or can the church please take a stand on this issue - or that issue?

Come election time especially, the pressure can get intense. If a certain candidate were to win the White House certainly the nation will be in dire trouble and the church at risk. If the wrong supreme court nominee gets on the court, liberties - religious and otherwise will suffer. If certain legislation is passed or not passed dire consequences await.

There may be some truth to such assertions although rarely as much truth as they would want us to believe. But, regardless of our personal conviction, political leanings or activism, the church is not about politics or legislation or elections or nominees to the bench - it is about the gospel.

It is Jesus who is the hope of the world, not a political party, nominee or piece of legislation. It is Jesus who can change hearts and it is the gospel of Jesus that can transform society as hearts are transformed.

I care about many things politically. But I have long ago come to conclude that it far more important who is in my house than who is in the White House. Politics come and go but Jesus remains the one hope for humanity across two thousand years and will be so till he returns. Never confuse the power of politics (it is transient and far less powerful than we think) with the power of the gospel (it is permanent and changes hearts and communities).

Oh, and no political party has a corner on the truth. But Jesus is truth.