6 ways to be a BETTER staff member

Every leader on every church staff looks around and can see problems at the church they serve because they have an behind the scene view that not many others have. If you have problems where you serve now you are normal just like everyone else in the church world. I know we spend a ton of energy trying to help our churches improve but what if we took time to help ourselves get better at what we do. If every staff member at our church worked to be better I can guaruntee our church would begin to sense the difference. Many times when it comes to change we simply need to start by looking in the mirror. If you want to be a better staff member, add value.

• solve problems / Last week one of our staff took a problem that was not her problem, sat down at her computer, took time to think, and found our team a solution. When a staff member solves a problem in their ministry or another they help everything improve. See a problem, then stop complaining and work on a solution.
• encourage / The people around you need to be encouraged. It doesn't matter if you lead worship or not, when you see someone excell on stage tell them. If your pastor makes a great leadership move, thank them. If your volunteers excell on a Sunday, write thank you cards or send emails! Even when things are not going well be an encourager!
• take responsibility / When things go wrong or do not work and it's in your ministry then own it. Don't hide and don't blame. Taking resposnibility helps establish a culture where it's OK to try and fail but never OK to not get better.
• pastor your team / When you see people around you hurting or needing direction then be brave and help out...that is pastoring. You are called to care for God's people so never be afraid to take the time to care. Don't wait to be asked just step in and love on people.
• be a prayer warrior / Why do we expect God to bring hope and healing to our city when we are not praying for it. As a staff leader you should be praying for God to advance His Kingdom through your church every day. Don't complain when you have spent no time in prayer about a situation. PRAY!
• cast vision / Every chance you get cast the vision of your church and the ministry you lead to others. People will never catch the vision if we don't help them catch it.
  

getting a fresh perspective

This past Sunday our team at Grace Community partnered with Cross Point in Nashville and sent each other staff (with families) to be secret shoppers for the day. Of course we all kept it quiet and we showed up at each others campus to experience the environment as a guest. We have hired secret shoppers to come and visit our church before and give us feedback but this is the first time we partnered with another church to give feedback. We are working up our reports for each other but I think this idea is a great way for churches and ministries to get honest feedback on programing and really it cost us nothing but the time of each staff member (or volunteer if you choose that route). After going through the process here are a few things that make it work if you want to give it a try...

• Partner with a church you believe in. // This is a big deal...if you want feedback that is helpful partner with a church who has a shared mission and shared vales. It does no good to get feedback from people who already don't believe in the mission, strategy, and structure of your church. Our churches can learn from each other because we respect and believe in each other.
• Partner with a church outside your city if possible. // You will get better feedback when you have people come from outside your city or ministry target. People in the same city might feel bad for comparing environments as they worship with your church. This process is not personal, it's just simple evaluation and feedback.
• Make sure you bring a family. // It's just as important to know how kids are experiencing worship as it is to know how your gathering for adults comes across. Most families will choose a church based on how their kids do in the kids programing. Make sure you are able to get feedback from that area as well as "big" church.
• Get there early so you can see every part of the environment and not be rushed. // Make sure you get there in time to not rush, to walk slowly, to ask questions.
• Participate, watch people, and take notes. // Make sure that you think critically and try to participate and worship at the same time. You are a guest for a few hours and not a staff member. Think like a guest!

Our family enjoyed the experience and my kids got dessert at lunch out of the deal at Noshville! Maybe partnering with another church to get feedback on your environment might be what you need. Give it a shot.

Empower volunteers to make your ministry BETTER!

Chances are you have a ton of volunteers or potential volunteers in your church who can help you take your ministry to the next level. We have learned we get better when we allow people to bring their expertise into our environments and help us improve. I'm betting you have volunteers who do incredible things at work every day who need to be empowered to speak into the direction of your ministry on Sunday. Tim Cribbs is an incredible teacher but on Sundays he has totally revamped and inspired our set up team in our preschool ministry. David Blevins owns and runs a local Chick-fil-A during the week but on Sunday he helps us make our check in process for families work better. What I love about serving with volunteers who are great leaders is that they are willing to help us get better. Start giving your volunteers a voice. Start allowing them to make suggestions and changes. Empower them to use the gifts God allows them to use at work each day with us in the church. Empower more volunteers to lead and the synergy will help your ministry get better.

Can Student and Children's leaders unite?

Why don't student and children's pastors get along? I think most of it stems from the fact that we are not in the same room enough, sitting at the same table, and dreaming about the same things. I think now more than ever it's time for children's leaders and student leaders to unite in our effort to make disciples. I serve with one of the best children's pastors in the country and one of the reasons why we work well together is because we understand each other and the direction of the ministries we lead. When children's ministry is flourishing then I see more teens enter our middle school ministry ready to take the next step. When the student ministry is thriving then our kids team has more amazing teen volunteers to mentor children. What our churches need are more staff and volunteers fighting together to reach the next generation...working together through preschool, children, middle school, high school, and college. If that's going to happen we better get in the same room, get to know each other, share our resources, and pray hard. What our enemy wants is more division and more turf battles. Family Ministry is about coming together and doing more as we partner with each other and with families. Set a date, get in the same room, and dream together. It's time to unite!

5 books every student pastor should read.

A good friend emailed me and asked what were a few must read books for student pastors. I made the list for him and emailed him back and then realized I have never put that list up here on the blog. I limited this list to 5 must read books but there are hundreds of great books out there that have helped me be a better pastor to teens and families. If you lead a student ministry these five books are going to help to lay a foundation for a great ministry. Hope you will check these out...

1. Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry, Doug Fields
2. Think Orange, Reggie Joiner
3. Sustainable Youth Ministry, Mark DeVries
4. Messy Spirituality, Mike Yaconeli
5. Next Generation Leader, Andy Stanley

There are my top 5 reads for student pastors. What would you add to the list? What are your top 5? Make sure and share them here or on your blog. Ready, set, read.

What most leaders need more of...

Most leaders I know need more friends. I am amazed how many student and children's pastors are out there serving in isolation. Why? Maybe we feel like because we are in ministry we feel we have to be guarded. Maybe we feel like we are too busy for people who are just "friends." Maybe we are so immersed in our responsibilities that we can't see there is an entire world outside our own church bubble. This week at Grace Community we talked about our need for community and my pastor (and one of my true friends) Chad Rowland shared this verse from I Kings when the prophet Elijah isolated himself from everyone...

And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, "Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you." (1 Kings 19:7 ESV)

Just like Elijah, the journey you are on is too great for you also to do alone. Chad reminded me Sunday that when we are alone we choose to make choices that we would not make if we were connected to healthy friendships. You don't have to do ministry in isolation. You need real friends around you who are going to be there no matter what. I know many of you have served in isolation for so long you don't even know where to start. Here are a few places to begin...

1. Plug into or lead a small group. // This is a big one. You need to be in a small group with people who have nothing to do with your ministry. Some of my best friends are in community group with me and they help me stay connected with others who are outside my ministry bubble.
2. Connect with a key volunteer or staff member. // I serve with several guys on our staff that are great friends. I also have friends who are volunteers here at church. When we hang out we do lots of stuff that have nothing to do with church. That is why we are friends. We play golf, watch sports, and talk support each other through life. That's what friends do.
3. Connect with an organization outside your church. // Coach your kid's basketball or soccer team. Volunteer for another organization in town. Do something that helps you connect with normal people outside your church world. It's good to have friends who have nothing to do with your church. I promise.
4. Connect with leaders in your town in other churches. // There are leaders serving in other churches in your town who are looking for healthy relationships also. Your needed friendship might come from the church down the street.
5. Connect with leaders from across the country. // You never know the friendships you might make as you network. Leverage social media to connect with others and get to know people across the country. Conferences get way better when you are connecting with friends.

Don't serve in isolation. Make sure you are striving to stay connected to people you call friend!

INNOVATION demands RISK

If you want to lead a church, non-profit, or ministry that is innovative you have to learn to embrace the risk that comes with it. I would say we have a very innovative environment here where I serve and it's because we have learned to endure the risk that comes with innovation. Being innovative demands experimentation. Experimenting will lead to both success and failure. Innovation always leads to change and I'm not sure if you have learned this yet but people don't always enjoy change. I could list off tons of things our team has tried in our desire to innovate. Some things went well and others we will never do again. We tried...innovation happens when we are willing to try. There is no safe place to hide when we innovate. Our hope to find a better way to accomplish our goals, communicate our message, to solve a problem means we are going to have to take risks. Sometimes things are going to work and that is what makes the risk worth it.

You don't get to "choose" your calling

Sorry to tell you this and frustrate your plans but you don't get to choose your calling in life. By calling I mean that deep rooted passion that makes us sing when we do the work we do. Some of us are called to be bankers, teachers, painters, writers, missionaries, social workers, builders, consultants, soldiers, fire fighters, accountants, pastors, and architects. You name it, our God places a calling on the lives of people to make it, create it, and shape it for His Glory. God made us and gave us a passion deep inside that will guide us as we try to make a difference in this world of His. Recently I have heard people say they chose to pursue ministry...to somehow become through education or hard work a minister working in the local church. When I look around at our staff I see a group of people who tried to do other things with their life but God would not let us go. Many of us wanted to be coaches, teachers, counselors, business owners, politicians, veterinarians, and dentists but God had a calling on our life that would not let us go. All of us can tell you when God gave us that call. We did not pursue this as a choice, God came after us. Maybe the problem with the church world is that we have too many leaders who chose ministry as a career? How do you know if you are called to do something with your life? Here are a few things to consider...

Our calling flows from God : No prophet, king, disciple, or apostle in Scripture chose their calling...it was given by God. Just go read the Bible and see how God called people to use their life. It's pretty clear that God takes care of this process. I can look back and tell you the moment God called me to serve the local church. I also know when God made it more clear and gave me my next step. It's all about God not me. I did not want to work in the church, God called me to it. I know Christians in other fields who will tell you the same thing. Our calling flows from God.

God will use people to confirm our calling : When God gives someone a calling, a mission He uses other people of God to come around and confirm that call. (sometimes it comes from people who are in authority and sometimes it comes of people on the fringe) When we are called by God then He will open up the doors for us to fulfill that calling. Do you get the idea here? A calling is about God and not about us. It's about His glory and not our own. If you are called by God He will bring others into your life to confirm and encourage that calling.

God will refine your calling : Over time God will refine you and your understanding of the calling He has placed on your life. God will give us what we need to move forward in His calling and then he will refine us as we go. We are never done growing or learning and God is never done shaping and molding us so we can fulfill our calling. We have to be faithful with the small things God gives us so He can give us more. Be fully present where you are right now because God knows what is next.

Win 2 tickets to Orange 2012

My friends at Worlds of Wow are giving away 2 tickets to the Orange conference. I love the team at Worlds of Wow because they help churches maximize their next generation space with great decorating that will help grab attention! If you have a budget for your space and you need a design partner then this is an organization you want to check out. We have details below so you know how to WIN! Give it a shot and go win some free tickets to an amazing conference. Our team will be there and we hope you will too!

WIN 2 TICKETS

TO THE ORANGE CONFERENCE

Worlds of Wow is all about fun, so we're hosting a Facebook contest and giving away two tickets (a $638 value!) to The Orange Conference! This year's conference theme is "GAME CHANGERS", so our contest is for your children's ministry to show or tell us about the GAME CHANGER that will rock their ministry in 2012. 2 WAYS 2 PLAY This contest is only on our Facebook Fan Page, so here's how it works:  1) Tell us on our Worlds of Wow Facebook page what GAME CHANGER your children's ministry team will be doing in 2012! OR 2) Share a photo on our Worlds of Wow Facebook page showing you/your team wearing or holding something orange!    BONUS!! If you do BOTH, you DOUBLE your chances to win!!

our ideas can't compare to God's plan

Daniel and Emily Doss are my friends. I am posting this because I watched Daniel and Emily go through the experience of wanting kids, not being able to have kids, and choosing to work through the process of adoption. I had the joy of watching Manny become their son and it was and still is amazing. I will not say a ton about that process but I can promise you that our ideas can't compare to God's plan. Daniel and I did many camps together, we served at 2 churches together, and we spent tons of time dreaming about the future. Looking back we know God's plan is better. Hope this video inspires you to rely on God a little more today. Not sure what you are facing but trust me, God is not giving up on you. Check out Daniel's music on iTunes and if you need a worship leader for an event you need to book the Daniel Doss Band.