the reluctant leader

Lunch Break Prayer & Fasting

Sometimes working in ministry can start to feel more like work and less like ministry. Prayer seems to solve that.

At our Nashville ministry office, some of us are starting to fast and pray together every Thurs during the lunch hour.

Last Thurs I prayed in the Every Nation boardroom with 14 men and women who skipped lunch – pastors, IT gurus, data processors, campus missionaries, accountants, consultants…

We divided our lunch hour into five 10-minute blocks. I know 5 x 10 is only 50 minutes, not 60, but I figured someone would get long-winded and we would fill the hour anyway.

Here’s how we passed the time:

10 min – word
John 6:29 The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.
Heb 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
We usually focus on WHAT we believe, but I think WHO we believe is more important. We need to put our faith in God, and the more we know Him, the easier it is to believe Him and His word.

10 min – Nashville – our Jerusalem
We prayed for our city government, the music industry, the poor, our high schools, universities, Nash churches, Pastor Rice, Bethel and Steven Curtis Chapman’s family.

10 min – USA – our Judea
We prayed for our government, for revival, for Amr churches, our new EN church plants and the economy.

10 min – the nations – the ends of the earth
We prayed for Iran and our Iranian friend who is still jail.

10 min – our personal prayer needs 
We prayed Acts 16:31 for all unsaved Dads and Moms.

Not sure what we’ll pray about in a few hours, but I can’t wait to pray with the people I work with.

*** 2 new accidential missionary posts:
Chinese Generosity
            &
Persecution Update

Purpose-Driven Help for the Reluctant Evangelist

While on the cross-trainer in the gym this morning, Purpose-Driven guru Rick Warren said something that  really helped me. (Rick was not in my gym, but he was in my iPod via his podcast.)

As always, Rick was talking about reaching the lost, on purpose. Not random acts of evangelism on unsuspecting strangers. Not manipulative ambush evangelism. Not door to door harassment evangelism. We're talking about Purpose-Driven evangelism. What else would you expect from the Pope of Purpose?

When the interviewer asked Rick what evangelism program Saddleback Church uses, Rick said they have never used an evangelism program. Rather, they simply encourage their people to figure out what they love to do - basketball, biking, poker, antique shopping.

Once they know what they love to do, they are encouraged to do that stuff with unchurched people, rather than with Christians only.

If we are just average at being Christians, and if we spend time developing relationships with the lost, it is just a matter of time until we have a natural relational opportunity to introduce our non-churched friends to Christ.

Novel idea, hanging out with lost people. If we make a habit of this, we might one day he accused of  being friends of sinners, or something horrible like that.

Ideas From the Edge

In my last reluctant leader blog I promised one more Ed quote. (That would be Dr Dr Ed Stetzer, church planting guru extraordinaire.)

Here it is:

“Good ideas don’t come from the center, but from the periphery. Good leaders listen to and pull ideas from the periphery to the center. If the center becomes adversarial with the edge, good ideas are lost and good people on the periphery are eventually lost.”

This edge/center principle equally applies whether you are leading a business, a church, a small group, a department of volunteers (ushers, kids church, worship team) or a church movement.   

Here are some creative leaders - idea generators - who are or were on the periphery.

-    Jack Hayford was the creative radical of the Foursquare denomination 25 years ago. He was the edge. Now Pastor Jack, King’s College and Church on the Way are the center of the Foursquare movement.
-    Rick Warren’s Purpose-Driven model was not exactly the center for traditional Southern Baptists 15 years ago. Now his ideas are gradually being pulled from the edge closer to the center.
-    Ed Young Jr and Andy Stanley are more recent versions of Baptist leaders on the edge whose methods will eventually become the center.
-    Gary Lamb and a host of other untucked blogging Baptist church planters are still periphery guys, but as their numerical success becomes known, everyone will try untucking their shirts and writing blogs as the latest can’t-lose church growth strategy.

Here are a couple examples from my own church, Victory Christian Fellowship in Metro Manila, Philippines.

-    When Luther Mancao started preaching (and doing) that “cell church” stuff in 1990, it fell on deaf ears (mine). But as he kept giving me books and teaching and demonstrating small group discipleship, his ideas eventually found their way from the edge to the center.
-    When Ferdie Cabiling returned from South America four years ago with this crazy idea for Victory Weekends, it was definitely an idea from the edge. Now it is as center as can be.
-    Joey Bonifacio has ideas from the edge on a daily basis. That’s one reason our church keeps on growing. 

The list could go on and on, but since this blog is not sponsored by Eveready, it will not.

So what’s the point?

To me, the point is that I need to listen to and try to understand those creative and radical people who live and work on the periphery of my staff, my church and my movement. Many of these ideas from the edge are a hundred times better then anything we are currently doing.

Then again, some creative ideas are just plain nuts, but we’ll never really know until we listen.

(Speaking of nuts, check out my latest blog “American Athletic Superiority” on my accidental missionary multiply site.)     

Plank in the Eye Syndrome

Why is it so easy to read a book or hear a sermon and apply it to someone else? Why can’t we apply truth to ourselves and not worry about others? Why can’t we let the Holy Spirit convict and change others, just as He does us? Why do we act as if He needs our help dealing with His people?

Jesus had something to say about those who apply truth to others while ignoring their own issues:

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother,  ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
                                                                                                                        (Matthew 7:3-5)

Jesus called these spiritual inspectors hypocrites. Ouch. That would be me at times – the times I read or hear something and apply it to others rather than to myself - the times I focus on the dust in other's eyes while ignoring the log in mine.

A couple of the blogs I occasionally read both mentioned this idea recently. Check out what  Steven Furtick and Perry Noble think about picking splinters out of the eyes of others.   

Discipleship is Friendship

When we are in the Philippines, Monday is my day off. But not today, because I was the opening speaker at our Leader Summit '07, this morning.

As soon as I stepped into the room and saw hundreds of Filipino students wholeheartedly worshiping God, my mind raced back to 1984 when we first came to Manila to start a church that would reach Manila's University-Belt. God sure had bigger plans than I did. I am glad I stayed out of His way enough to get our church where it is today.

The 800 student leaders in that room this morning will all be facilitating discipleship groups on their campuses when school starts in 2 weeks. Our ENCM-Philippines staff is doing a great job of equipping and empowering students to make disciples.

As I was driving to the meeting this morning, I though back to my college days - a long time ago! Most of what I had then, I no longer have. My white Toyota Celica. My black Yamaha motorcycle. My Guild guitar. My hair. All gone. Never to be seen again.

About the only thing I still have from those days are my friends.

I reminded the 800 student leaders what Joey Bonifacio has preached and blogged a million times - that discipleship is relationship.

Joey is right about that. The best discipleship flows out of and produces the best relationships. Discipleship is not a class to take. It is not a program to make a church bigger. It is not a doctrine to learn.

Discipleship is relationship.

But, what kind of relationship? Some relationships are life-giving, others are life-draining. Some are healthy, others are dysfunctional. I think a healthy discipleship relationship should be a Christ-centered friendship.  

Friendship discipleship may sound good, but is that how Jesus did discipleship? I think so.

Consider the following verses.

- In John 15:13-15, Jesus referred to his disciples as friends.
- In John 21:5, he called some struggling  disciples (back-slidders?) his friends.
- In Luke 7:34, the religious leaders described him as a "friend of sinners".

Solid disciples. Struggling disciples. Sinners. Jesus treated them like friends.

In fact, it seems like the only people who weren't his friends were the self-righteous, judgmental hypocrites. The Pharisees and Sadducees. The religious critics who were professionals at tearing people down rather than building them up.

If Jesus treated his disciples - the ones who were following him and the ones who were running from him - like friends, then don't you think we should do the same?

Discipleship should be Christ-centered friendship.

And, if we do friendship-based discipleship like Jesus did, 30 years later we may not have our college car, waste-line or hairline, but we will still have our friends.   

 

Becoming a Christ-Like Leader

Evangelicals Today publisher and editor, Bishop Ef Tendero, always faxes a deadline and topic reminder to my office that includes this line: "You may write on any aspect of the theme, but should the Lord lead you to write on another topic, please feel free to do so."

I have been a columnist for the Evangelicals Today magazine since 1993, and in those 14 years I think I have written on the assigned topic three times, maybe.

This month's topic is "Becoming a Christlike Leader." While I did not exactly write on the theme for the July ET issue, I have been thinking about what it means to be a Christlike leader.

Here are some of my thoughts about Jesus' leadership style.

- Jesus led people not programs. Therefore, if we want to be Christlike leaders, we must learn to relate to and lead people. I think my friend, Joey B has it right when he constantly says that "discipleship is relationship." I will add that leadership is relationship.

- Jesus asked more questions than He answered. By asking questions He made people think. He never came across as a know-it-all, even though He actually knew it all. If we want to lead like Jesus led, we must learn to ask the right questions, and we must shut up long enough to let people answer.

- Jesus gave lots of second chances. Everyone Jesus led made mistakes, yet He never seemed to give up on them. He often corrected them, but he didn't give up on them. If we want to become Christlike leaders, we must accept that the people we led (and their leaders - that would be us) will fall, fail, make bad decisions and do dumb things. We must also learn to forgive 490 times. And we must give people second, third and fourth chances.

- Jesus was not afraid to offend or to be misunderstood. He preached, ministered and lived to please One and only One. He said and did what He felt was right from heaven's perspective, no matter what anyone on earth thought about it. If we are to be Christlike leaders, we must lead to please God, not man.

- Jesus served those He led. He washed their feet. This is the exact opposite of how many in the corporate and political world model leadership. Unfortunately, the serve-me leadership style has also crept into the church.  If we want to lead like Jesus led, we must have the attitude of servants.   

Jesus was the greatest leader ever, and these are just a few reasons why. I think I have a long way to go before I even come close to being a Christlike leader. But, since He gives multiple second chances, I will keep trying, I will keep changing, and I will keep leading.         

 

Leadership is...Getting Out of the Way

I recently realized that at some point in my life - and I'm not exactly sure when - but a major shift happened in the way I approach ministry, leadership and maybe life in general. 

I used to be obsessed with trying to learn to be a good leader.

Since I am not a "natural" leader, I knew I had to somehow obtain those elusive leadership skills. So, I read leadership books. I took seminary classes. I studies church, political and business leaders. I sought mentors. All of this helped, I think. But it seems like I still had to learn most of my lasting leadership lessons the hard way - by taking a risk, falling flat on my face, getting up and trying again.   

As time went on, leadership books and seminary classes gradually started to bore me. I was no longer pumped about being a better leader. I am not sure whether that is good or bad, but that is the truth.

I got bored with Kouzes & Posner, Noel Tichy, Jim Collins, Robert Clinton, Aubry Malphurs, Patrick Lencioni, Hanz Finzel, John Maxwell and all the other leadership gurus and their books. I just couldn't take another paragraph about leadership.

Again, I don't know when or why it happened, but my new obsession became, not how to be a better leader, but how to help those around me become better leaders.

Once I got bored with leadership books and my obsession changed, it didn't take long for me to realize that in order to help others become better leaders, I would sometimes have to get out of their way so they could actually lead - so they could take a risk, so they could fall flat on their faces, so they could start over and try again, and again, and again.

To become better leaders people need the freedom to succeed and fail without our interference or intervention. With all due respect to the leadership books and seminary classes, I think I really learned leadership through trial and error and trying again.

I remember a t-shirt I had back when No Fear was a cool new brand. It said something like this: "Lead, Follow, or Get the #&$%@* Out of the Way!"

I think those No Fear people were on to something with that "get out of the way" line. For several years I have been trying the "stay out of the way" leadership development strategy, in order to help those around me become the best leaders they can be.

That seemed to be what Jesus was hinting at when He told his disciples that it was better for them that He go away. They had a hard time with that plan, but it worked out OK, their countless leadership mistakes notwithstanding.

All that to say, Leadership is...Getting Out of the Way.