Ministry Lessons (Part 4)

What I've Learned About Ministry so Far

Ministry is a Marathon, Not a Sprint - It's so easy to want to be where God might have you in 20 years right now. It's difficult to enjoy where you are and the journey to where you're going. If we can see the big picture of what God is doing and take each day for what it's worth - we'll enjoy the journey and in our life time accomplish all that God has planned for us.

Ministry is a Thankless Job - this may be hard to believe - but people in ministry do not hear "thank you" very often. When is the last time you thanked your pastor/pastors, church staff, volunteers for the investment they're making - trust me - it could change their life. Go thank them!

It's the most rewarding job on the planet - Though ministry is a thankless job, though it is a ton of work, though it requires an enormous amount of sacrifice, I don't believe there is anything more rewarding. To know that you're involved with something bigger than you and to know that as a result of your work - peoples lives and eternities will never be the same is so humbling. There is nothing else I'd rather be doing with my life!

Thoughts?

Read more...

Ministry Lessons (Part 3)

What I've Learned about Ministry so Far:

Character and Integrity is Everything - John Maxwell says, "To become the leader you want to be on the outside, you must become the leader you need to be on the inside." That is an absolute fact. Your talent or gifting may get you to the top, but character and integrity will keep you there. If you aren't building your character along the way - you will reach a point where the foundation you've built won't be able to sustain your success. The result - everything you've built will crumble.

Preaching from the Pulpit Accounts for 1% of Ministry - Maybe 1% is a bit extreme, but hopefully it gets a point across. So many people dream of being in ministry so they can speak in front of large crowds thinking it will be an unbelievable experience - they end up being very disappointed. While it is an honor and a lot of fun - it accounts for very little of what ministers actually do.

You will be Expected to Produce Results: I think one mindset that has taken over the Church has been one of "low expectations" when it comes to work. People get on staff at a church and are shocked when they find out they're expected to produce. I guess they thought they would get hired and get to pray, fast, and get in the Word all day. Jesus expects us to reach the world - that requires a ton of work, leadership, and sacrifice. I think the church should be the most demanding place on the planet! Be prepared to produce!

Thoughts?

Read more...

Ministry Lessons (Part 2)

What I've Learned about Ministry so Far:

If you're able to do something other than ministry, do it - This might throw you off, it certainly threw me off! I heard a minister say that he always tells young leaders that unless ministry is the only thing they could possibly do on earth - don't do it. Why? Because ministry (five-fold) is tough and if you're not called by God to do it - you'll never make it!

The Greatest Success you can have in life and ministry is impacting someone for the Kingdom of God: It's so easy to get focused on the wrong things in ministry - building your reputation, your influence, your kingdom...all these things will pass away. What really matters to God is people - they're His prized possession. If we're building people - we're already successful in God's eyes.

Everything I have is from Him and is for Him - James 1:17 says that every good thing in our lives comes from God. If we're naturally gifted in an area it's easy to believe that we can do things on our own, lean on our gifting, or believe that we are where we are today as a result of how gifted we are. We end up use our gifts (that God gave to us) to draw attention to ourselves instead of drawing attention to God. The reality is that God has gifted us for His glory. In ministry, we need to constantly be in a state of thanks to God for everything He's given us - and use what He's given us to build His kingdom, not ours.

Thoughts?

Read more...

Ministry Lessons (Part 1)

So I've officially been on staff at Victory for one year! It went so fast! I currently work for our youth ministry, Revolution, as a youth assistant. It is an absolute honor and privilege to work at Victory under the leadership of Pastor John and Michelle. I've been serving at Victory since August of 2003 so I've gotten the opportunity to see a lot of the behind the scenes of ministry. I just want to take a few days and share some lessons I've learned about ministry throughout the process. I hope it adds value to your life! These lessons are in no specific order...

What I've Learned about Ministry so Far

• Ministry is spelled W-O-R-K - So many times people make the assumption that ministry is this glorious experience where things just magically happen and its a dream come true. I wish everyone could see how much work is really involved in reaching a generation. Be prepared to work hard...
  

• If you wouldn't do it for Free, You Wouldn't do it at all - Often times people who are on staff doing things people would "dream of doing for a church" did the same things they're doing now on staff that they did for free in a volunteer position. Brad Cooper told me recently that, "People that want a position that aren't currently serving, often want to be discovered rather than developed." That will never get you anywhere. Are you serving right now with the same attitude, work ethic, integrity, etc. that you would if you were on staff at a church?
  

• Faithfulness + A Servants Heart = Promotion - The Bible says promotion comes from the Lord. I believe that 2 keys to getting promoted are being faithful and having the heart of a servant. Keith Moore says he is often asked, "How did you get on staff at Rheema, become a healing school teacher, etc.?" His response, "When I got to Rheema - they needed someone to help with check-in so I helped there, they needed help setting up chairs - so I did, etc. - eventually they needed someone to teach healing school - so I did, then they brought me on staff." Are you faithful with what God has given you to do now?Be faithful and watch where God takes you!
  

More to come this week.... Thoughts?

Read more...

What Matters Most (Part 1)

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters, you were doing it for me." -Matthew 25:40

One thing God has really been teaching me is to make what matters most to him, matter most to me. God's most precious possession is people! God loves people! Now don't get me wrong, I love people, but I've had to do some repenting over the last month when it comes to how I treat God's prized possessions.

I think as twenty somethings it is easy to get focused on ourselves . . . where we're going, what we're going to do with our lives, who we're going to date and marry. We build our reputations up on Facebook, try to become friends with people who can do something for us and get us somewhere, and get so focused on work that we forget about what we're really here for: to make a difference in peoples lives. So here are some things God's been teaching me along these lines:

• God dealt with my heart months ago, "Whose kingdom are you trying to build yours or mine?

• How are you treating people who can do absolutely nothing for you?

• We can get so focused on doing the work of the ministry that we stop doing ministry!

• The best minute I'll spend today is the one I spend investing in people!

• People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
  

• Everyday I ask myself, who can I add value to today. At the end of the day I ask, who did I add value to today.
  

How do you treat the least of these?? Does what matters to God matter to you? How are you treating the people who can do absolutely nothing to benefit your life?

Read more...

Putting in the Miles (Part 3)

Both Life and Ministry are a Marathon, Not a Sprint

In a few hours I am going to be running my first 18 mile run with Pastor Larry. When I actually think about that...it's insane!

As you know I'm training for the Chicago Marathon on October 12th, 2008. As of today that is 49 days away! We've been training since March, so it has been quite the journey and I am pumped about it!

This is going to be my third installment of lessons I'm learning while training for the Marathon. I just want to focus on one thing I've been learning in life and ministry and that is: Life and Ministry are a Marathon, not a Sprint. Here are just a few thoughts concerning this:

• So many times we want to be in a season we're not ready for or equipped for yet

• The best thing about the future is that it happens one day at a time, so if I can just handle today right, my tomorrow's will turn out how I want them to.

• Tomorrow is the scorecard on how you handled today

• The Secret of my success is always found in my daily agenda

I guess what I'm learning is that I can only do so much in a single day. There will always be more I could do, there will always be more work, and if I don't see the big picture I'll get buried and miss out on so much of what life is really has to offer. However, if I do the best I can each day with the time I have, when the day I've been waiting for comes, I'll be ready.

As Abraham Lincoln once said, "I will prepare, and one day my chance will come."

Read more...

Character (Part 3)

Dealing with Moral Failures

I don't think anyone wakes up with the intentions of ruining his or her life through moral failure. Nobody intentionally says, "I want to ruin my life today, where can I start?".

I think on the front end, there are a lot of things we can do to prevent things like this from happening. I believe that with almost anything in life that failure to prepare, is preparing to fail. When I hear stories about people that have messed up morally, you always hear things like this:

• "I've felt like this for a while, but I just never shared it with anyone"
• "It all started with little thoughts that grew"
• "I was with these friends..."

As I've been working in ministry, I've noticed that it is hard to find a "true friend" that you can totally share 100% of your heart with. Either out of pride or fear we hold the little suttle things we're going through in, thinking nothing will ever happen to me, they wouldn't understand, if they knew that, I would lose my job, etc.. On the front end I think these are a few critical things we need to do to avoid moral failure:

• Have a strong foundation of God's Word
• Have one or two people who you can be totally transparent with
• Share your "other 10 percent" (everybody has 10% of their life that no one knows about), we need to be willing to share that with people
• Realizing that having the thought about something isn't sin, it's acting on the thought

Finally, if you've messed up in an area.... I would encourage you to admit it, repent, and do everything you can to get restored. Remember that though you're forgiven, that doesn't mean you should be able to keep your position, you'll have to earn it back over time. And always remember:

"Although you cannot go back and have a brand new start my friend, you can start now, and have a brand new end."
-John Maxwell

Read more...

Significant Church Conference Recap

Today at Victory we hosted the Significant Church Conference. I'll just leave you with some of my favorite takeaways that I'm able to share:

• Why do the people that attend your church say that it exists? (It should be your vision)

• Small thinking and dreaming isn't from God

• In Leadership you'll either be an overseer or a doer, but never both.

• 4 Things we need to respect
• Peoples children, time, money, and relationships

• 4 Church Killers
• Legalism, the bizarre and insane, long services, and being too intense.

• Our goal isn't to see through people, it's to see them through!

• God wants to reach people through you more than you do (but our unbelief hinders us)

• #1 temptation of people in life is that God is withholding something from us.

• When we can't be an example in leadership, we must become examples in repentance

• Bad cultures can last 6 minutes, hours, days, months, years, etc... We have to step in as leaders, believe in ourselves and the gifts God gave us, and turn that culture around

• Pastors of churches reaching the lost study 5x as much as pastors who aren't
  

• Don't see peoples faults, see their future. Don't see peoples habits, see their hearts

I also got the opportunity to drive a pastor and youth leader to the airport after the conference. It was a wonderful time where I got to ask questions about ministry and just soak in wisdom from their experiences. I am grateful I had that opportunity. (I'll share what I learned later).

There were plenty of more... these just of few of the great nuggets shared. One of the biggest themes that kept coming up in me was "it's not about me". Getting our eyes off of building our own "kingdoms" and focusing on setting people free with the Word of God and equipping them to go out and change the world through what God has placed in their hearts.

I'm really refocusing my life on caring about people. It's so easy to get caught up in planning out and building ministries that we lose focus of what is really important in God's eyes: people. My prayer lately has been Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours... let me to see people how you see them. Let me never become a person that says, "I love the ministry, I just can't stand the people."

As I've been growing I realize how right John the Baptist was when he said, "He must increase, I must decrease." It really is all about Jesus . . . and that is what gets me going everyday.

Read more...

Things I've Been Reflecting On

Ever since I got on staff at Victory I feel as though my life is on an accelerated growth plan! I am learning so much so fast, I am being stretched like I've never been stretched, I am loving my life more than I ever have before!

Here are some things I've been checking out and learning:

Ministry and Who I'll Never Be - These are two posts by Craig Groeschel that rocked my world. Learning to be confident in who God made me and called me to be has been a major lesson lately.

Practical Wisdom - Erwin McManus just finished this series about a week ago. This series rocked my world! He preaches for 25 minutes and then has open mic ? and A. Very Practical! A must listen to series.

Dating - In Erwin's series he was talking about dating. He was talking in context of finding the person you should marry. He said so many times young single people focus on where they are going and where their mate is going. He said that when he met Kim (his wife) she was going to Africa and he was going to L.A., but they were both going to those places with the same intentions (huge!). He said he tells people, "Don't focus on the place... you need to adapt the mindset that I'd rather be anywhere in the world with ____(future spouse), than anywhere in the world without them." (One of the sickest nuggets on dating I've heard!)

Marriage in Ministry - Perry Noble had a great post on Marriage in ministry. Although I am not married, one day I will have to face these challenges, why not learn now so I don't have to fall into stupid?

Holy Discontent and Barbarian Way - These two books have rocked my world. They have completely made me rethink the way I live my life, what I'm here for, my vision, my purpose, and how much risk I need to take in my walk with God. Both are great reads.

I'd love to hear what you're reflecting on and learning... Fill me in!

Read more...

Putting in the Miles (Part 2)

As most of you know I'm training for the Chicago Marathon in October with Pastor Larry. It's been an amazing experience so far. I've run nearly 300 miles since March! Insane! Anyway... I said I'd keep you posted with some lessons I'm learning along the way.

• Both life and success are both a marathon as well as a journey, not a sprint or a destination.
  

• Motivation to do anything in life will never strike you like lightning... just do it and the motivation will come.
  

• In training for a marathon, I've realized that the 6-7 months you spend training, no one is there patting you on the back for all your hard work or pushing you to run harder. It is often the same in life and ministry... they can both be "thankless" jobs, but that is why we find our worth and affirmation in God!

Just some thoughts.... learning so much... I'll have a volume of sermons after October!!

Read more...

Putting in the Miles

One of my life goals is to run a marathon. In January of this year, one of my mentors (Larry Bettencourt) finished his first marathon and this inspired me to make the decision to run my first this year. Pastor Larry and I decided that we'd run the Chicago Marathon together in October.

I started running in March and started our actual marathon training in May. Today I just finished my first 12 mile run. 12 miles...I've put in over 200 this year! Considering in high school I couldn't finish nor was I at all interested in finishing one mile...I'm even impressed!

Pastor Moore, who is training for his 3rd marathon told me that through my marathon train I would get a lot of sermon illustrations and life lessons. I'm sure I'll have a lot more... but here is one that's been building up in me.

Saturdays are our big runs... this is the day we generally increase in mileage each week... I've gone from 4 to 6 to 8 to 10 to 12. These days are what people call "putting in the mile days". You don't pay attention to your pace... you just run nice and slow and the whole point is to just break through physical barriers so your body can adjust.

I think where most people miss it in life is that they don't "put in the miles' they're supposed to put in. I've had several youth pastors (with experience) ask me how I got on staff at Victory. Honestly... I put in the miles. I often think that if I were a student out of Bible School and applied to work there... I wouldn't have a prayer, but I've been serving in this ministry for going on 6 years, I went to every service I could, helped out as often and anywhere I could, always went the extra mile, and went out of my way to look for ways to learn, serve, get mentored, etc.

When I suggest people pick up a second job and go to a larger church and just spend time serving there and learning the culture of a big church . . . I find that few people are willing to put in those miles... and that is why few people will ever accomplish what God has put in there hearts... they're not willing to stick it out and constantly day in and day out put in the mileage.

I could go on... but I don't like long blogs... I need to get better at this... more on the marathon and more lessons to come!

Read more...