FEEDBACK...You need to hear it!

Feedback, questions, concerns, ideas...you need to hear them. One of the best things we can do for the teams we lead is to create a culture where feedback is encouraged. I can't tell you how many times the right feedback at the right time from a volunteer has shaped the direction of our ministry for the better! Is all feedback equal...nope, but that is where we listen and discern. Your team ( staff and volunteer) have ideas to make your organization better. Make sure they know you want them to speak up when something is on their mind. Your team needs a voice, make sure you give them that opportunity to have that voice.

yes...I work with my wife!

Yes, it's official. I now work with my wife. This week Chelsea joins our Family Ministry Team at Grace Community Church as our Family Ministry Coordinator. She is part time which is great for her full time job as mom and wife. Truth be told Chelsea has been my top leader in every ministry I have ever led through the years. As a teen she felt a call to ministry but felt when she married a pastor she had filled that calling. Chelsea is also one of the best educators I have ever seen in a classroom setting. I really like hiring teachers for our family ministry team. (If you can run a class, connect with parents at school, deal with administration, then you can thrive in the church setting) As Family Ministry Coordinator, Chelsea will lead our partnership with parents, strengthen our organizational systems, and help us build our special needs ministry at GCC. She also has to put up with me but she has been doing that for fifteen years.

Yes we hired my wife and I know that would not happen in many organizations. At Grace we have decided to always hire the right person for the role regardless of what their last name happens to be. We have several family connections on our team and we work hard to make sure there are healthy boundaries between work and family for everyone. Why hire Chelsea for this position? Here are a few reasons...

• Calling // Chelsea feels called to invest in families and kids. This is a calling she has lived out for years as a volunteer so it is so great to see her live that out at our church on staff.
• Education // She is finishing her graduate degree in school counseling at Western Kentucky University...wow, that is going to be useful.
• Experience // so many years as an amazing volunteer...an amazing parent...a teacher with 8 years of experience...what more can I say.
• Team Connection // yea, Chelsea was interviewed by several on our team and this is just a great fit for our staff team. Connection matters. Thrilled she already has healthy relationships with the team.

There ya go...excited about this addition to our team as I know this will help us advance the Kingdom of God.

check out our new website

On Sunday we launched our brand new website at Grace Community Church where I serve. So proud of the team that worked to hard on this project and really excited about the results. We believe our website is the front door of our church. When people are checking out where to attend they look to the web first. When people need information they are gonna hit our website. When they miss a Sunday and want to stay up to speed they are going to grab content from our website. The new design helped us refine our message and communicate more effectively. We are also using QR codes now to help direct people to specific parts of the site so if you have a reader test it out on the logo above. Hope you will check out the new site.

one idea that worked...Open House

Late on Wednesday night and I am still processing how our Open House for our student ministry went. We were simply blown away by the turnout. You can see in the picture the room is packed with teens and parents. We pushed back the start of our year so we could host an Open House for new middle and high school students in our church and community and combine that with a small group leader training. This is one idea that worked and here are a few reasons our team is so excited...

• We connected with families >> Our hope is to always partner with families and this provided an avenue for us to meet parents and teens in the same setting. Open House was a great way to connected with parents.
• We cast vision >> It was great to be able to explain who we are and where we are going!
• We promoted small group >> Open House gave us a chance to introduce our small group leaders to many new students!
• We helped 6th graders >> Yep, new 6th graders are nervous about another new environment. We got to help them adjust tonight.
• We worked to build momentum >> Every teen tonight left with a free t-shirt from our ministry and got a heads up on upcoming events. That helps to build momentum.

Does your title matter?

I have to admit I am a title guy. I like people to have the right title for the role they fill in our organization. I think titles help our team define roles but they can never limit the influence or responsibilities people have in our organization. Today public titles and internal structure are going to look different. I am involved in many aspects of our church that go beyond my title. An effective organization never allows a title to limit the impact a person can make. Sure your title matters but here are a few reasons your title matters less and less...

• Teamwork // If you do more than talk about "team" then titles will loose their internal significance. Teams work together. Teams share responsibility. Teams sacrifice for the good of the organization.
• Motivation //I am reading the book Drive by Daniel Pink so this idea is stuck in my head. Today people are motivated by being able to make a difference, by being a part of a movement not just doing a job and getting paid. Titles will never motivate this generation. Being a part of a mission of significance will every time!
• Creative Expression // Creativity can't be contained in a title and all of us need the freedom of creative expression. Most people have gifts that fall outside their title that the organization needs.
• Flexibility // When you focus on hiring talented people over filling job titles you will have movement in your organization. When leaders have the freedom to move around and find new motivation then the organization wins...oh yea, they get a new title!

Passion + Responsibility

If we were all honest we would admit there are things we do in our job that we are passionate about and things we do out of responsibility. Last week was a crazy week packed full of details that I was responsible for. On Thursday I found myself tired and drained with tasks that had to be done. I finally got to a place where I was able to spend a few hours working on a project I was passionate about. It was amazing. I immediately felt a sense of joy as I was able to focus on what I was most passionate about. It was in the moment that I was reminded of an important principle for any leader. Handling the tasks I am responsible for opens opportunity for me to do what I am passionate about. None of us will ever have a job where we spend 100% of the time doing what we love doing. Some of us waste time dreaming of a time where we will be free from responsibility (tasks we do not enjoy) and thriving in passion. The truth is that we can't separate the two. Executing my responsibilities leads to freedom to pursue my passion. Passion and responsibility are linked and you need to balance both in order to be an effective leader. Make sure you are blocking time in your day, week, and month to focus on what you are passionate about and manage what you are responsible for!

You should join Twitter

Seriously...you should join twitter. I tell that to leaders every chance I get. I was a doubter. I waited for a long time to get an account. I could not imagine why I needed one other social media outlet. 8,000 tweets later I am here to say that Twitter is my favorite social networking tool out there. If I had to go with only one social networking tool I would choose twitter.  Why...here are a few reasons why I love using twitter!

• Networking // I have been able to connect with other leaders and develop friendships on twitter. No matter what you do in life you can find other people to connect with and network with on twitter.
• Sharing ideas // Twitter is about sharing ideas...sharing what is happening now (in 140 characters or less)...sharing what is coming up. I love that twitter allows me to share my blog, ideas I have, and what is going on in my life quickly. I also love seeing what other people are thinking.
• Lists // Lists allow you to group people and follow just what that group is sharing. I have a list for my church, a list for sports, a list for people thinking Orange. Lists allow me to keep it all clear.
• Current News // If you want to know what is happening right now then get twitter. You will know what is going on before CNN or ESPN every reports it.
• Focused interaction // Facebook is for friends but twitter allows me to focus. Love that on twitter I can focus on ministry and networking.
• Simplicity // Twitter has boundaries and it is easy to use on my Macbook and iPhone. I just enjoy the simplicity and I think it will outlast many other tools out there.

So if you are out there and you are doing ministry take a few minutes and get a twitter account. You can find me at @michael_bayne and if you want to follow our team at Grace Community Church go check out our links to twitter on the staff page.

our first MIX & REMIX open house

For the first time at RELEVANT student ministry we are having an Open House for new middle and high school students! I'm not sure why it has taken us so long to figure this out but our team felt like this is a needed night for people in our community and at Grace Community Church. This week we will give parents and teens a chance to hear about our ministry, to get inside info on upcoming event dates, and to meet their small group leaders. Our hope is to partner with parents and this is just one more chance to help teens and parents know what we are about. If your go to Grace Community Church or if you live in Clarksville and are looking for a student ministry for your teen then come check out our first ever Mix & Remix Open House. Here are the details...

Date: August 10
Time: 6:30-7:15
Location: St. B Christian Church (280 Dunbar Cave Road 37043)
Email us with questions to michael@gcomchurch.com or check out www.relevantstudents.com

Creating Peace

You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.  - Matthew 5:9 (MSG)

You have probably read this verse before in your Bible. You will remember it as "blessed are the peacemakers" from the Beatitudes. I love this translation from The Message. We are blessed when we make peace...when we help people cooperate instead of compete. If you are a leader this is a great reminder. Creating peace is hard but rewarding work. When we work for it Jesus said we would be blessed. The amazing thing about creating peace is very often have to move through conflict to arrive at peace. Conflict and peace have a strange relationship and most of the time without conflict peace will never materialize in our churches...our small groups...our families...our businesses. So the question for those of us who lead is simple. Are we helping people cooperate instead of competing? Are we willing to pay the price in order to create peace?

You can only follow poor leadership so long

You can only follow a poor leader for so long. Poor leadership will drain you emotionally. Poor leadership will sabotage your strategy. Poor leadership will bring frustration. When you're in an organization with poor leadership at the top you will at some point leave. The question you have to ask now is what do I do in the middle of this journey. You know what I'm talking about. Many of you out there are ready to quit but God has called you to stay focused and lead. God has you where you are for a reason but many times we waste opportunities because we are frustrated. When you are faced with working in an organization with poor leadership here is what you need to do "in the middle."

• Keep Leading >> So many time we give in to poor leadership and quit taking risks. Keep leading strong. The team you lead needs your leadership.
• Honor >> Remember who is in charge. When you are the team leader you will want people to honor your choices...give that same honor to your leaders now.
• Learn and take notes >> Make sure you make notes of lessons you learn in your current environment. You will have a chance to do things differently.
• Keep dreaming >> Even if you are the only one, keep dreaming about what might be possible!
• Keep learning and listening >> Hit a conference, visit other churches, follow blogs, read books! Don't allow poor leadership to hurt your growth.
• Be patient >> When you led by surrounded by poor leadership other opportunities look fantastic. Never allow your frustration to lead you a direction that might be no better.