Your greatest ministry advantage

It is probably not what you think. It is not strategy, leadership skill, opportunity or execution - and I believe in all of these. It is the power of a prayer team behind you, lifting you and your ministry before the throne of God on a regular basis. 

I don't meet many believers who have a prayer team and that makes me sad. I am convinced that it is those who pray regularly for Mary Ann and me who are responsible for whatever ministry success is seen or advances that are made.

If we truly believe what Paul says in Ephesians six that there are spiritual forces at work behind the scenes to thwart God's work, then it is spiritual weapons we need and prayer is one of the most powerful. 

It is my conviction that every believer needs others who regularly pray for them. It is also my conviction that those of us who are in Christian leadership are foolish to do what we do without a strategic prayer covering for protection against the evil one. And, the greater the press into Satan's territory, the more concerted prayer we need. 

As I travel the globe in ministry leadership, I usually bring a prayer partner with me as part of my team. It is a significant annual expense but that expense is small compared to the benefits.

In our organization we encourage each staff member to develop a small prayer team of trusted and trustworthy friends to pray for personal needs (a group you can share anything with) and a larger team who desire to pray regularly. 

I usually send a monthly prayer update with me calendar so that the teams can pray specifically for the activities that I am engaged in. It is these teams that have prayed me through some very significant times including two life threatening illnesses. 

So convinced am I of the spiritual battle that rages around us, I will not enter into any major ministry initiative, trip or engagement without my prayer teams going there with me. If you don't have one, don't wait long to develop your team.

Helping people learn: Don't tell, ask

Questions are powerful tools in helping others grow. And often underutilized. We are prone to tell others something rather than ask them something. In telling them something we give them valuable information. In asking them questions so that they come to a conclusion themselves we help them to think for themselves, the skill that will help them make good decisions themselves.


We used to do this with our kids at the dinner table. The questions would result in free flow discussions on many topics and both our sons are today deeply inquisitive of life and good thinkers. Sometimes they turned the table on us and asked why we had certain rules, making us think about the why behind the what.


I was talking to a young leader recently about question asking and he made the comment that no one has taught him how to use that skill. I encouraged him that everyone can learn the skill with practice. I also told him that one had to be OK with a bit of silence after asking a question. Be patient and eventually the other party will answer.


Questions are particularly important in helping others understand their own wiring, motivations, strengths and weaknesses. We may not even have the option of telling them these things but through questions and dialogue we can help them uncover their own makeup.


One reason that more leaders do not ask more questions and default to telling is that questions and dialogue take time. Telling is fast and easy. However, while telling is more efficient in the short run is is less effective in the long run since telling rarely helps the other party actually grow. It gives them information but does not build the skill of critical analysis - necessary for growth.


I just finished a week of dialogue with some bright leaders from around the world. Many shared the power of the week because it was based on questions and group dialogue rather than information imparting which they were used to. Several said they would be using the same method with those they oversaw or mentored.


Questions rather than telling also sends a powerful message that you care about the other party. You are implicitly saying to them that you value their perspective, that they have something to contribute to the question at hand and that it is worth exploring the issue together rather than you as the supervisor or leader simply telling them the answer. Telling communicates that you have the answer. Dialogue indicates that we can come up with the answer. There is a big difference.

Insecure Leaders and their impact on others

One of the greatest gifts staff can receive is a secure leader. Unfortunately, in the ministry world there are a great number of insecure leaders. This results in behaviors that can seriously impact those who work for them.


Here are some of the signs of an insecure leader:
-Defensiveness when someone disagrees with them
-A need to be right
-A need to assert their "authority"
-Inability to empower others
-A need to control others
-A need to manage their reputation
-Inability to engage in candid dialogue
-Lack of personal transparency
-An unhealthy need to be liked
-A tendency to marginalize those who they perceive to be threats     to them
-Often threatened by those around them who are more competent than they are 
-An inability to chart a consistent course


All of these descriptors have a negative impact on those who work for insecure leaders. Ironically, insecurity is often hidden by an exaggerated sense of authority and leadership - a facade that hides an insecurity in both areas.


Personal security starts with being OK with who God made me to be - both my strengths and weaknesses. It results in an attitude that says, "I have nothing to prove and nothing to lose." If that is true, I don't have to pretend I am something I am not, I don't need to be right and I value the contributions of others as much as I do mine. It also means that I don't need to compete with others and don't compare myself with others. 


Security is rooted in an understanding that God fashioned me as He chose, is happy with how He made me. Insecurity is rooted in trying to prove to God and others that we have value. Thus insecurity is a theological issue in our lives. It comes out of an incomplete understanding of God and His view of us. Until we resolve this incomplete understanding we will suffer from the pain of insecurity and the need to prove ourselves to God and others. 


For those leaders who struggle from insecurity, and there are many, it is critical that they embark on a journey of personal growth. Most can overcome this deficit and lead from a healthier place. For those who do not, the implications for their leadership are many, and negative. Their behaviors create disempowerment and dishealth for their staff and those around them. If you work for an insecure leader you know exactly what I mean.

The church needs persecution to stay healthy

Persecution is good for the health of the church. In some ways I don't like that but my experience is and church history tells us that when the church is under pressure it sheds its baggage and rises to the occasion in serious faith. It also separates those who are cultural Christians and serious Christ followers. 


Serious Christianity brings persecution because it is a threat to Satan's territory. When the church is not challenged it often becomes stagnant and is no longer a threat to the evil one. The experience of the early church as recorded in Acts is evidence that persecution lights a fire under the church and the church on fire results in persecution.


In China the church under communism flourished. In Iran today, the church under pressure is growing. In Saudi Arabia under extreme pressure, cell groups are springing up. Indian Christians have significant persecution in many parts of their country and the church is growing regularly. 


Contrast that with the relative limited impact the church in the west has today where it is easy to be a believer and where there is little cost associated with following Jesus. When faith is easy, it is also often shallow. When it requires a cost, it goes deep and calls the question as to our sincerity in following our Lord.


There are many parts of the world where suffering for faith is considered a mark of honor. Paul expressed that sentiment when he talked about sharing in the sufferings of Christ. Jesus promised that those who followed him would be subject to persecution and ill treatment. That is why He spoke of taking up His cross and following Him.


I do not pray that the church would be free from persecution. I pray that God would build His church and whatever it takes for that to happen is to the church's advantage. I also believe that it is going to take pressure on the church in the west if it is going to become vibrant again. 

Twenty cows

We live in an amazing world where the black and white world is juxtaposed with the globalized color world. Last evening was a great example. I call it the 20 cow dinner.


Eating with friends in an amazing restaurant overlooking Hong Kong and its amazing harbor and lights I am sitting across from a friend from Kenya who has been attending our leadership meetings of ReachGlobal this week. He travels the world training church leaders. 


I told him I heard that he was getting married and he said yes. I asked when the day was and he said "When I have twenty cows" -the price he hopes to negotiate for his bride who resides in another African country. "How many do you have now?," I asked and he said "three." "How much is a cow?" I asked and he said one hundred dollars. I pulled out a hundred dollars and said now you have four. 


Others did the same and after a couple of texts back to the states we came up with all the cows he needed. He and his bride to be are ecstatic. I was now in for five cows so I informed him that I have a stake in this marriage. I will get invited to the wedding!


He told us that since he was from another country than his bride and both have Skype he suggested to his father in law to be that they negotiate the bride price over Skype. Saves the money of an extra journey. The answer was a big NO. "This is Africa and it must be done face to face by an intermediary.  Technology does not always suffice it seems.


I told him I was glad my wife did not cost me 20 cows since I didn't have that many when I got married. My wife informed me that she is worth more than 20 cows but of course that is a matter of what economy we are negotiating. I didn't really want to pursue that conversation with her since I knew it was not going to end well :).


We laughed, ate, and celebrated with him. And it was the first time I ever bought cows for a bride price.


We live in a colorful world with colorful cultures and colorful people. I am thankful for how God brings us together for friendship and ministry. Heaven is going to be an interesting place when we are all celebrating together. I like 20 cow dinners.

Does your life have focus? Three simple questions.

Every one of us has a call from God on our lives. And no matter what stage of life we are in He wants us to live our lives with purpose, passion and intentionality. Life is precious and it moves quickly. 


Think about this question: What does God want me to accomplish in the next five years? Try to answer that question with three or less descriptors. Focus matters. What does He want you to focus on? Coming to clarity on that one question can make all the difference in our lives.


A second question: How well am I doing in ensuring that my calendar and activity reflect those God given priorities? It is very easy for the urgent to push out the important. Or, for distractions to keep us from focusing on our God given assignment. 


A third question: What do I need to jettison if I am going to accomplish what is truly important. All of us accumulate activities and obligations that over time weigh us down and keep us from focusing on the truly important. It is not a bad thing to let some of it go for a higher calling.


All of us want to leave a legacy. Remember, however that legacies are rarely accidental. They come because we understand God's priorities for our lives and lived them out with intentionality. With that intentionality comes a significant level of joy and satisfaction knowing that we are fulfilling God's calling on our lives.

What is the church and why does it matter?

When you hear the word church what comes to mind? For most of us it is probably a building with a bunch of people, programs, Sunday services, and a full time pastor or staff. Only one of those definitions is actually part of the real definition of church - people. Our common definition of church is very different than what we read about in the New Testament.

In the New Testament the church was a community of Christ followers who gathered regularly for worship and fellowship under defined leadership with Jesus as the head and the goal and whose mission was to grow in Jesus and share the Gospel with those around them. Typically they met in a home and had a bi-vocational pastor. They were about Jesus and people and a God given mission.

We often think of church as about programs but in fact a real church is about Jesus. It is about worshiping Him (not being entertained), following Him (life transformation) and making Him well known (telling others about Him). He is the central focus, the main thing, and the goal of our lives and worship.

It is very easy for both congregations and their leaders to take their eyes off of Jesus who is the focus of the church and put it on ourselves and our programs. It is also easy to define success as how many people come on a weekend which is usually a reshuffling of believers from other churches. In truth, the true definition of success of a church is true spiritual transformation (heart, thinking, priorities and relationships) which will result in growth because others will be impacted by our lives. 

It is instructive to read the book of Acts and see the church through the eyes of Scripture. We often have much more of a cultural definition of church than we do a biblical definition. The danger in this is that we may end up with more cultural Christianity than we do Biblical and Jesus centered Christianity. While church leaders pursue their definition of success many in the congregation long for them to simplify and make Jesus the central focus, the main thing and the goal of our lives and worship. Jesus might to.