We recently had the “Bennett Boys” over while their parents David and Heather went out for a birthday dinner. We love those boys! Austin is 12, Hudson is 8 and Jackson is 7.
They are great kids. They’re smart, love Jesus, and are lots of fun! One thing they all have in common is energy. Lots of energy!
Our little dog Nacho is a play machine. He never tires of playing with anyone who will give him attention. Well, he met his match that evening. The boys wore that pup out! Nacho slept great that night!
I’m a high-energy and long-endurance guy, but when I see kids play I think, “Wow I’d love some of that energy!” Like the Energizer Bunny! (My favorite one… with Darth Vader!)
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The prudent understand where they are going, but fools deceive themselves.— Proverbs 14:8
Bill Walsh, the former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, was thought eccentric because of how extensively he planned his plays in advance of each game. Most coaches would wait to see how the game unfolded, then respond with plays that seemed appropriate. Walsh wanted the game to respond to him. Walsh won several Super Bowls with his "eccentric" proactive approach. He was a coach who looked into the future.
Looking ahead is the process of creating the future before it happens. People who learn to do it "understand where they are going." Like Bill Walsh, it involves deciding your actions in advance so that your life will respond to you. What are the benefits of such a proactive pursuit?
Looking ahead gives direction. It's like using a highlighter on a roadmap to indicate where you are, where you are going, and how you are going to get there. The highlighted roadmap not only provides information for where you are going; it also suggests where you are not going.
Looking ahead helps us to create rather than react. With each step along our journey, we are faced with a choice either to create or to react. Many people spend their entire days reacting. Like goalies in hockey, with pucks flying at us all day, we react. We react to news, cars in traffic, people, events, challenges, and obstacles. A better way involves making choices and following plans.
Looking ahead saves time. "One hour of planning saves three hours of execution." Planning yields a savings return. We only have twenty-four hours in a day and 365 days in a year. If we don't use them wisely by looking ahead, we will forever forfeit those gifts.
Looking ahead reduces crisis. Our daily lives have two controlling influences: plans and pressures. When we look ahead and choose to plan, we take charge and control of our days. If we fail to look ahead, we will spend our days in crisis mode. We will fall into a trap of panic planning--planning on the fly with no time to effectively map out a strategy.
Looking ahead maximizes energy. Failing to look ahead, we dissipate our energy on less important matters, improper agendas, and lost crusades. We waste our time on the trivial many. But preparation often energizes us!
Be wise. Look ahead. It's eccentric but well worth the effort.
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On my last day in Ko Olina, Hawaii, I was reminded of a discussion we had two weeks ago in Manila about burdens. Here is an expanded version of what I shared.
1. Distinguish between a load and a burden. There is a difference between a load and a burden. The Bible tells us to carry our own load (Gal. 6:5) but it also tells us to carry each other’s burdens (Gal. 6:2). Loads are regular occurrences we are designed to carry. Examples of these are: caring for our love ones, work entrusted to us, providing for our families, even connecting with people God wants us to reach.
Burdens on the other hand are those that are beyond our ability to carry. This could be due to something unexpected, unknown or unusual. The first step in turning burdens into spiritual muscles is to correctly identify them. Is it a load or a burden? Once you have identified a burden, it’s time to…
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Mary, the mother of Jesus, knew that faith and obedience are the keys to God’s blessing, so she chose to go with God’s destiny for her life
Now, as a pastor, I want God to bless your life. I want him to bless you spiritually. I want him to bless you financially. I want him to bless your career and family and relationships and health. But if you have a plan for your life—I’ll tell you—you’re on your own.
God is not going to bless your plan. God did not put you on Earth to live for yourself. He put you on Earth for something much bigger than that. And when you go with his plan for your life, he will bless it.
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While reading my Bible recently, I scribbled some notes in my journal. Then I thought that both leaders who read this blog might find these thoughts helpful. So I’m transforming them into this blog, if I can read my own handwriting.
In Deuteronomy 17 God is giving his people guidelines for picking good leaders. Here’s my summary of those guidelines.
1. Calling.“Be sure to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses.” (Verse 15) We should not appoint a person to a leadership position unless and until God appoints and anoints them. In other words, divine calling is essential for good leadership.
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The Bible gives us five actions we can take to stop procrastinating:
1. Stop making excuses. “The lazy person claims, 'There's a lion out there! If I go outside, I might be killed!'" (Prov. 22:13, NLT). What have you been saying you’re going to do “one of these days”? What do you make excuses about? The number one excuse I hear is, “When things settle down, then I’m going to ...” Things will never settle down. You must make a choice to prioritize what is important.
2. Start today. Not next month, next week, or tomorrow. “Never boast about tomorrow. You don’t know what will happen between now and then” (Prov. 27:1, GNT). None of us is guaranteed a tomorrow.
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Despite the tough economy, many of the nation’s largest churches are thriving, with increased offerings and plans to hire more staff, a new survey shows.
Just 3 percent of churches with 2,000 or more attendance surveyed by Leadership Network, a Dallas-based church think tank, said they were affected “very negatively” by the economy in recent years. Close to half—47 percent—said they were affected “somewhat negatively,” but one-third said they were not affected at all.
The vast majority—83 percent—of large churches expected to meet their budgets in 2012 or their current fiscal year. A majority of large churches also reported that offerings during worship services were higher last year than in 2011.
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We humans are great starters, but often bad finishers. We leave unfinished symphonies, unfinished buildings, unfinished books or unfinished projects. We may not always finish what we start, but God always finishes what he starts.
God doesn’t create a bird and give him half a wing. He didn't create an unfinished flower or an unfinished star. He puts the finishing touches on everything he does, and then he says, “It is good.”
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Alan Alda is probably best known for playing Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce on the hit television show, M*A*S*H. But for all of the silliness of his character on the show, Mr. Alda once made this quote:
“Be as smart as you can be, but remember that it is always better to be wise than to be smart.”
A lot of people do not know the difference between being smart and being wise. You might say that being smart is having a lot of knowledge, but that being wise is knowing how to use that knowledge.
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If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.— Romans 12:8
Remember the song "This Little Light of Mine?" "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine . . ." As children, it spoke to the fact that we should show that we love Jesus. As adults, I think it has even more meaning--I think it applies to our spiritual gifts.
It's easy to run away from our spiritual gifts--as the song says, to "hide it under a bushel." It's not necessarily because of the gifts themselves but because of the risk involved. What if I mess up? Will God be disappointed with me? What will people think about me? But, it's not about me. God's Word clearly tells us that God has given us these gifts for a purpose, and if we have them, we need to use them.
I know that one of my spiritual gifts is worship. I have seen God use my music in many ways. But recently, I have realized that although I was using my gift, I still struggled with taking risks. My main instrument is my voice, but I also play the piano. I felt convicted that I needed to add playing the piano to my worship ministry. This move was a risk for me. Why? Because I was afraid of disappointing people. I'm a musician--what would they think if I failed at the piano?
I've had to remind myself that it doesn't matter what people may think but what God thinks. I've found that using my piano skills has added to my ministry, has changed my heart, and hasn't changed what people think of me. Yes, it feels risky--but who wants to live under a bushel, really!
So, if God has blessed you with the ability to encourage others or show kindness, look for the extra step you can take to help someone. If God has blessed you financially, then use your money for his purposes. And if God has given you the gift of leadership, get up, start moving, and find ways that you can lead others. Stop following and start leading. God has gifted you for a reason. Avoid bushels. Trust him to use you.
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Why do you think people leave your church? Why do you think people leave churches in general? We've read reasons (and I've written about these too), such as:
"I just didn't get anything out of the messages."
"The church let me down in my time of need."
"My kids didn't feel like the student ministry was working for them."
"The worship music wasn't the style I like and it was too loud."
"The pastor seemed too busy for me."
Candidly, comments like these come from churched people who at some point might consider looking beyond their own wants and desires and begin to invest in the lives of others.
Don't get me wrong. Churches do let Christians down, and you and I need to do our best for those who call our churches home.
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“So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us.” (Heb. 12:1b, GNT)
If we’re going to be used for God’s purposes, we have to focus our lives. The Bible compares life to a marathon, and that means we have to simplify our lives.
The Bible says, “So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us” (Heb. 12:1b, GNT).
This means we should remove anything from our lives that would get in the way and hold us back. If the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy. He’ll even keep you so busy doing good things that you won’t have time for the best things.
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What was the first thing God said to Jesus in an audible voice? In Mark 1:11 He said, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.” Jesus didn’t do anything until He first understood this. If Jesus had to know He was in right standing with God without even doing anything yet, then we need to know this.
Let’s break down some words so we can understand them.
With the spate of recent national tragedies in the last few months, all parents are asking, “Is this a safe place for our kids?” That includes churches. As children’s ministry leaders, we’re charged to take our role as both physical and spiritual guardians very seriously, and we should do everything we reasonably can to make our ministry environments a safe place for kids to come. It’s too important to “wing it” or think that the chances of something happening are slim.
Ask yourself and your team: Where are the weak spots in our ministry? Where are the places that need to be shored up to keep kids, families and volunteers secure and safe?
Here’s the challenge. Take action on at least one thing this week. It’s worth the effort and if it’s a visible change, it tells parents, “We care about your child’s safety.”
Recently, we made a slight change. We posted signs on all our doors letting parents know that our ministry areas lock down 15 minutes after the service begins. The doors actually lock and anyone coming in after that time has to be escorted. We also amped up our security check to make sure that every adult walking into our ministry areas had claim tags. Several parents expressed appreciation. Everyone is thinking about security right now.
The challenge for you, however, is to continue to hold the banner of security high. Although everyone is especially raw right now, it will pass. Security won’t be at the forefront of everyone’s mind, unfortunately—but it must be for you. Here are some simple reminders of easy steps to take:
Update or create a ministry policy manual. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Borrow, copy and tweak what you see and put one together. Check out childrensministryonline.com for online examples of policy manuals.
Make it a policy that workers are never alone with a child.Always have at least two adults with any child. This has been my cardinal rule for more than a decade. It protects the church, child and worker. If you have to speak to a child alone, pull him or her aside where you are in eyeshot of at least one other adult. If you need to help a child in the bathroom, be sure there is a set of eyes on you, watching you. Make it a policy that if only one adult shows up to help, the room is closed. This is why we always have three volunteers/staff in a room. If someone needs to leave to get help or supplies, two are left. And if someone doesn’t show up, we still have two and can open the room.
Train your volunteers. Yes, volunteers don’t flock to training meetings. So get creative. Put a quick five-minute training on Vimeo or YouTube. Go over training points in your pre-service meetings. Make sure every volunteer knows the essential policies and safety procedures.
Perform background checks and screen all staff and every volunteer. Regardless of how often someone works, if they have access to kids, they should be screened. If you don’t run background checks, do it—no excuses. If your leadership says no, give them multiple reasons why background checks are a non-negotiable. Several companies offer legitimate checks that take a day to complete for about $7-$12 per person. Make sure the company performs an identity check (be sure to look at the photo identification to ensure they are who they say they are), a criminal background check and a national sex-offenders check. Screen volunteers as well. Ask them to complete an application and call their references. This process will weed out most people who would bring harm.
Update your evacuation, emergency and intruder policies/procedures. Do your volunteers know what to do if something happens? Make sure they do (this is an area we’re working on right now).
Think safety now and always.
Kenny Conley is the Next Generation Pastor at Gateway Community Church in Austin, Texas. A children’s pastor for more than 11 years, Conley has a passion for equipping and encouraging those who pastor and work with kids by sharing ideas, training and giving away “things that have worked for him.”
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“Encourage one another daily … so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:13, NIV)
A church family will help keep you from backsliding.
None of us are immune to temptation. Given the right situation, you and I are capable of any sin. God knows this, so he has assigned us as individuals the responsibility of keeping each other on track.
The Bible says, “Encourage one another daily … so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13, NIV).
We are called and commanded to be involved in each other’s lives. If you know someone who is wavering spiritually right now, it is your responsibility to go after that person and bring him or her back into the fellowship.
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It is tragic when the vast potential of an individual or entity is limited or eliminated because there is no room for their gifts. In the case of a lion, when captured and encaged, it loses its aggressive roar because it is forced to be localized into the confines of a cage.
It may be a lion, but it is no different from a house cat because, like a house cat, it no longer has to claim its territory and hunt to satisfy its hunger, and is content to stay confined within a building.
To me, all of this is related to the condition of the local church after it ceases to recognize the ministry and function of apostles. This results in cutting off the pioneering spirit and apostolic call to conquer and expand kingdom influence.
I don’t necessarily think people have to use the title of apostle; the function is what is most important.
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You’ve surely heard the growing body of prophecies declaring the impending judgment of God on America. Indeed, The Harbinger—a book that many believe holds the secret to America’s not so pleasant future—has remained on the New York Times’ best-seller list for more than a year. Rabbi Jonathan Cahn’s prophetic message is resonating with believers and unbelievers alike—and for good reason.
So when Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke stood on the grounds of the Vero Beach Airport proclaiming “All America Shall Be Saved” in early February 2013, the declaration demanded my attention. After all, this is the same German evangelist who declared “All Africa Shall Be Saved” and witnessed more than 55 million African souls make a decision to renounce Islam, witchcraft and other strange gods—and commit to follow Jesus Christ—in just a nine-year period. 55 million souls.
Despite the judgment prophecies, despite the rising gay agenda, despite the increasing persecution against Christianity in the United States, Bonnke made a bold declaration for the devils in Vero Beach and beyond to hear that night: “All America Shall Be Saved.”
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But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.— Luke 22:26
This verse states a view that is so different than what the world practices. According to the world, a leader is to have special privileges and to be treated better than everyone else. A former employee of mine thought that she didn't need to do as much work because she had "paid her dues." It only caused dissent with the rest of the employees. Wouldn't you love to arrive at work someday and find your boss cleaning? Or how about the husband who doesn't feel like he needs to help around the house because he is the "king of his castle?" Wouldn't you love to have your husband cook you dinner after you've spent a long day with the kids? And what if he did that often? Now that's serving up love!
Why are these scenarios so unusual? I think that it's because we have a messed up idea of leadership--and a messed up idea about service. The world seems to see service as a form of weakness. Jesus tells us and shows us that service is a sign of strength--it takes inner strength to serve those around us. It's a very humbling experience. Leaders who think they are above serving are simply afraid of their weaknesses.
Christ tells us that our leadership should be different than what the world expects. We shouldn't gloat over being above anyone else but use our place in life to help others. The best leaders or teachers are the ones who can admit when they are wrong or they don't know the answer. Then, because they are leaders, they work to find the correct answers and lead people down the right path.
Look at the leadership examples around you. Do they tend to be humble or haughty? Take a look at your own leadership style. If you're a parent, how do you lead your children? As a wife, how do you serve your husband? Husbands, how do you serve your wives? Service isn't just a sign of humility but of love as well. Good leadership requires love. It's a love outside of us--God's love. Ask God for his love to empower and guide your leadership and relationships with people. Follow him, for he is our ultimate servant-leader.
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In the book, Zombies, Football and the Gospel, Reggie Joiner talks of how Sundays are now a day to watch football, be with family, and do just about anything else but church. I know that this varies from one city to another, but the reality is that most just don’t feel the need to be at church every week.
Have you imagined all that happens before someone even arrives at your church for the first time?
They have toconvince family members to attend. Maybe it’s a cranky teenager, or a detached spouse. Most in a family will not visit a church for the first time by themselves. They’re going to try and get someone to go with them.
They have to wake up early, when maybe they don’t usually do so. So you have a Saturday or Sunday night service … that’s not normal for the weekend warrior either. No matter the time or day you meet, you’re still asking someone to do something they wouldn’t normally do at a time that they wouldn’t normally do anything.
They have the challenge of getting kids ready before arriving. This isn’t even easy for those of us who attend every weekend.
Walked into a place where only a few know their name, and the smaller church, the more of a challenge this is for visitors.
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“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God” (Eph. 3:18-19, NLT).
The width of God’s love extends across the entire world and includes everyone he has created: “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made” (Ps. 145:17, NIV).
God never made a person that he didn’t love. He made you and he loves you—and God doesn’t make junk! He loves you unconditionally. He loves you very, very much.
Everybody matters to God; in fact, we see in the life of Jesus that he even loves the unlovely and those who may feel unlovable. Do you want to know the secret of self-esteem? Here it is: If you want confidence, then understand how much you matter to God. If God loves you, who cares what anybody else thinks?
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