Under-Utilized Leadership Part 2

Watch this video.



I love that video. It is a great example of being aware which is one of the Under-Utilized Leadership areas I have "not" seen being used.

The area of town that I worked in from October to March demanded a high level of awareness. I constantly had to be aware of what was going on. When I walked out to go to my car I had to double check and look around and know what was going on.

Due to the type of school we had, in reaching at-risk teens, we had several kids from various rival gangs in town. I always had to know what I was saying and who was around in case something might happen. We had to know if something was going on so that we might cut it off at the pass. I had to make sure I didn't leave any personal items laying around.

When it comes to leading in church or business you have got to be aware. To be aware is having or showing knowledge; bearing in mind; attentive to.

To be aware when leading people is to know what is going on around you. It is picking up on the subtle hints people give off as you are leading them. It is being attentive to the details of of your position. If you are overseeing a youth ministry service do you know all that is going on...whether you have entrusted others to lead areas or are doing it yourself you must be aware of the details.

Begin today to heighten your awareness. Start small...choose an area or an evening or day at work and begin to be attentive to the details of what is going on around you.

Where do you need awareness?

Check out all the parts of this series.

Under-Utilized Leadership Part 1

This past year I have gone into Bi-Vocational ministry. Due to the area of town I work in, it has challenged me to filter some areas of leadership. As I go through this blog series I'll explain a little of why I'm filtering these in particular. These areas of leadership are areas I haven't seen given a lot of importance. I myself think that many leaders are under-utilizing them.

As a leader in the church world or in business there are many subtle things you can do that can elevate your leadership and success. Here are a few we are going to touch on:

• Awareness
• Thinking Ahead
• Passion

What are some other areas you have not seen emphasized or under-utilized?

[photo credit flickr.com]

Giving Blood

I gave blood today.


I won't lie...it hurt a little.


Who knows it may save a life.


But even so it was worth it for this t-shirt.


Taking a moment to encourage you to do what you can. Giving blood really isn't as bad as you make it. Not only that but just in Corpus they need 112 donations a day just to keep up with the demand.

Find a local blood bank and do your part.

Throwing Bones In Church

Chris presented a great question to me in the comments on the leadership pipeline post in which I asked for some feedback from you the readers.

Chris wrote, "Do you believe the Bible presents a clear structure in order for us to adopt or do you believe structures must change with time and culture?"

Chris, as I read the Bible I see some clear principles in which God paints for structure in the church. I also even see within Scripture that structures change over time and through cultures.

Look at the church when it first began. I don't see that these men had any guidelines for church. In fact, I love how they chose the first replacement for Judas. They prayed and then cast lots. I wonder if maybe we should go to that. I can see churches everywhere throwing bones to chose their deacons or even to select their pastor. Later on, as the church matured, they set a few guidelines in choosing the deacons. These examples, to me, point to structure within the church.

I don't believe they were a stopping point as much as an example of God showing us principles that should guide us. God is a God of order and does things on purpose. When He made creation He did it with order. Systems and structure are everywhere throughout nature. Why then all of the sudden do we as the church cast off structure?

When Moses was being overwhelmed in leading the people of Israel he didn't have any example, any Scripture....God simply sent his father-in-law who helped him set up structure that would alleviate his pressures. This structure helped Moses and the people he was leading.

Thoughts???? Am I the only one that sees that God is structured and paints a picture of structure for His church???

[photo credit flickr.com]

Challenge Your Process

As a leader it is important that you are driving the change that you desire.

The status-quo is a dangerous place to be in. It is dangerous because often times you don't realize you are in it.

You must be intentional about challenging your processes because inherently people, churches, and organizations crave order. Processes that aren't challenged remain the same which is exactly where we stay. In the same place.

The church is the worse when it comes to this. We are bad at trying to do the exact same thing hoping that we will get different results.

Progress demands change. It demands a leader who seeks to push through the chaos of change as they drive to the next level.

What process should you be challenging right now?

[photo credit flickr.com]

Leadership Pipeline

I want to do a series in the future on Leadership Pipeline that deals with churches and ministries.

I learned a long time ago that even if you don't have a system you do have a system...it may just not be verbalized or written.

To get me prepped on it...can any of you out there answer some of these questions for me?These don't only pertain to church as a whole but even in departments such as youth/children.

1. What is your structure for building leaders?
2. Do you have a system for moving leaders up? Could you list out your system?
3. Do you shop out or in for your leaders?

The floor is now yours...LIST AWAY.

One Step Closer

Today, Pastor Bil shared some great news. We are one step closer to being in a building.

Seven days ago Bil asked us to pray a big prayer..."sign two leases for two campuses in seven days."

Results for our Five Points Campus were within five days we have a verbal agreement on a building in the Calallen area. This is a huge answer to prayer.

This week I'll be blogging more on our journey and our new campus. I also hope to be putting up some pictures as soon as we sign our lease.

If you have a myspace account, we have a myspace site set up for our campus. Just go to myspace.com/bayareafivepoints.

Also be on the lookout for a campus blog coming soon.

Bi-Vocation

Life as a bi-vocational pastor is very interesting. Although I don't really feel it is the first time doing this as my first six years as a youth pastor were also spent working in our Christian school as the athletic director/coach/teacher.

It really was exhausting and looking back there were times when we grew and didn't grow because of it. Of course while I was in the middle of it I didn't know any better.

When we got to about year five I could begin to see the trend. Our last year there I actually began to focus half of my day on youth and the other half on school. I didn't put as much energy into the sports as I previously had been doing. The results: we tripled our growth over that year.

This week I've been burning the candles at both ends and it is paying off. We have over 35 people that have said they are coming to our next core meeting. We also have many others who are with us but their schedule cannot coordinate with our meeting.

And to think that we will soon be doing this every Sunday.

Exhausting??? sure... Well worth it??? YES!!!

Are there any others out there who are bi-vocational burning both candle ends?

I'm A Little Crazy

Am I crazy? I think crazy is the essence of faith.

It's crazy to walk around a city 7 times thinking it going to fall down.

It's crazy walking up to the Jordan river in the hopes that it will split.

It's crazy to dip yourself in a river seven times thinking you are going to be healed.

It's crazy to get out of a boat, put your foot down on the water and walk on top.

It's crazy for 7 or 8 families to uproot themselves and move to another city and launch a church.

It's crazy to get a report from a doctor and say that you are going to believe the report from the Lord.

Am I making my point yet? You may or may not totally agree. But in my book you have to be a little crazy. Faith demands a little or a lot of craziness.

How has your faith been crazy? I want to hear your story.

Urgent Prayer For Five Points Campus

Please be praying for us this week.

We looked for property today for our Five Points Campus and found one place but need God to open a door for us to get it. We are believing God will provide us a building that will house our Bay Area Fellowship Campus.

On Sunday Pastor Bil asked for everyone to pray that we would sign a lease on property out here within seven days.

There are some possibilities for us so pray God will move and give us favor.