10 Leadership Tips October 2011

Firm Foundations for Fall

10 Spend time in God's Word regularly.

9 Survey students to determine needs in the coming year.

8 Begin meeting 1on1 with 2-3 students ( " ...make disciples...").



7 Get a profile on each student to find out more abt them. Also, give them to your volunteer team.

6 Develop teaching/ preaching plan for the year (try a 3-4 year plan if you're feeling adventurous).

5 Provide Sunday School/small group leaders a detailed educational plan.

4 Start a weekly (or at least monthly) newsletter to communicate the vision of your ministry and
impotant info abt upcoming events.

3 Develop schedule to visit students homes over the next year to meet parents/ guardians.

2 Plan a year of adult volunteers mtgs to pray, encourage, equip, resource, & plan. Also, hold evaluation mtgs with adult volunteers /evaluate each event.

1 Find a fresh way to encounter God this fall. Try a retreat, conference, vacation, etc....

Bonus

Plan now for summer. It is never too early to lay the ground work for what can be your busiest and most impactful season of ministry

The Baker's Dozen or So

Things to do this year…

Love God. (Mk 12:30)

Love family. (Eph 5:25-26/1 Tim 3:4-5)

Love others. (Mk 12:31)

Love the body of Christ. (Gal 6:10/Jn 17:20-21)

Be effective and productive. (2 Pe 1:3-8)

Dream big. (Eph 3:14-21)

Lead well. (1 Cor 11:1)

Be hospitable to those who do not believe in Christ. (Col 4:5)

Pray for our president. (1 Tim 2:1-3)

Be willing to give. (2 Cor 9:7)

Be less selfish. (Phil 2:1-4)

Treat my body right. (1 Cor 6:19-20)

Enjoy the life God has given me. (Jn 10:10)

Not be driven by fear. (1 Tim 4:7)

Learn something new. (Lk 2:52)

Quit talking and do something.
(“Why don’t you kiss her ‘stead of talking her to death?!?” from It’s a Wonderful Life or Philemon 6)

Write something. (2 Tim 2:2)

Get out. (MT 28:19-20)

LEARN LOTS/STAY SHARP

-Subscribe to periodicals on ministry, business, leadership, technology, education, or management to broaden your knowledge or skills in a certain field. If budget is a concern, visit friends who have subscriptions or visit bookstores and read their periodicals to expand your thoughts on the front edge of ministry

and business.

-Discuss current ministry ideas with a group of friends and colleagues.

-Read a book that will grow you personally.

-Read a book that will grow you professionally.

-Visit websites of current leaders in and out of the church that can speak into your life as

a leader.

-Learn how to download podcasts and listen to current business and ministry leaders. If this is not your cup of tea, find a reliable source of sermon CD’s or tapes from solid, trusted Bible teachers and church leaders.

-Start learning a new language.

-Buy or check out a new commentary and read it.

-Do a book, word, character, or theme study of scripture you haven’t really gotten into before.

-Prepare a sermon you might not even need right now to have waiting in the wings.

-Ask someone to critique your leadership or your communication.

-Write something intended for a larger audience.

-Fill in others here…

Matter!

I lost a friend last week. A friend on earth and a brother in the Kingdom. He was 14. His funeral was today. He died after complications from heart surgery. He's been walking down a path of heart problems and subsequent surgeries his whole life and this time was more than his body could handle. Sometimes I guess our bodies just won't do what we or others tell them to.

His seemingly, untimely death reminds me to live to matter!

Don't waste a minute! Don't miss a moment! Live significantly while you can! Hug your kids a little closer a little longer. Hold you wife's hand more often and let it take you where only lovers can go. Find time to do more than you normally would have with the people you are closest to and do a little more for those you may not know so well.

Wake up. Pay attention. Notice those around you. Invest in them. Do not go through life without living, loving, or longing to connect and better those around you. time is short. Leave your mark. Matter!

ts

Quick List on Life and Ministry

1 Be a Follower of Christ First
2 Love Much
3 Speak Up
4 Have a Plan
5 Work Hard
6 “Set an Example…”
7 Be Open to Change
8 Embrace Your Limits
9 Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
10 Be Patient
11 Help Someone Else
12 Don’t Rely On Stuff more than Authenticity
13 Think Ahead
14 Think Globally
15 Don’t Screw Up
16 Defend the Defenseless
17 Be Kind
18 Do Something Better
19 Do Something New
20 Do Something!

Matter!

ts

The Spirituality behind Bananas

Banana is a funny word, weird fruit even. I love the repetition of vowels and consonants in the a-n-a-n-a. Then they trick you and throw an s in there for good measure just to keep you honest. The banana is fascinating really.

I mean, you can take a banana, stick it in the freezer, it turns black, you peel it and the inside can be unharmed. Amazing!

How do you eat a banana? That is assuming you even like bananas. Some don’t, in fact, some are repulsed by them. I don’t know if I am repulsed by any fruit really. Although I do like some more than others, like grapes (red or white…I used to think red grapes were different and never tried them, then I realized much later in my life that red grapes are in fact the same as if not better than white grapes, but I do like white grape juice better) over pineapple. Although pineapple is gaining a strong place among liked fruits.

I have actually met people who have been afraid of fruit. Like a real, substantial fear of strawberries or somehting. I mean, I can understand a fear of wig heads or snakes or clowns, but c'mon, what can a strawberry do? Anyway, some people eat bananas as long as they are not bruised. The bruises make the banana soft, but some do have an hankerin’ for a good bruised banana. I will eat bruised bananas, but I there is a cut off where the banana becomes too bruised. I am sure you can understand that.

I digress. When you eat bananas, how do you eat them. I don’t mean to ask whether you eat them over cereal or dried or something along those lines, but I want to know…Peel then eat or peel while eating?

Here are the results of a recent survey*:

Survey
Todd/Peel then eat
Angela/Peel while eating
Hunter/Peel while eating
Hope/Peel while eating
Bob/Peels to end, leaving tip of peel to hold
Karen/Peel while eating

(*Non-scientific Poll. Probably a pretty large margin of error.)

So I was thinking about bananas and about my walk with God…
I am not saying those that do not peel then eat aren’t full on, running after what God has for them, but I am saying that we shouldn't hesitate and play it safe when it comes to following God. Peel it, man! Go after the things God calls you to. Where will we be if we are always neat, tidy, peel-while-eating believers. Hey, following God, I mean in that serious obedience, sacrificed, surrendered life kind of way is not always clean, neat, and tidy.

I think that we have to understand that truly following Christ means that we will get our hands messy, and we will sometimes have to eat the bruised parts…(whoa….that’s a whole other survey now isn’t it?)

Long Time, No Blog (The Wimpification of the American Christian)

I was just wondering tonight why we, as believers in our country, are content to just sit in our pews or chairs or bean bags (wherever you sit on the church worship center food chain) and settle for totally missing the cross for a few laughs, a good video, or challenging lesson that we soon file away into some place in our history never to drawn on again. Or we just are content to show up and never engage or really not even pay attention or engage with the living body of Christ that has assembled with us.



We absolutely have no understanding of the cross and for what Christ did for us and what we have in all of that!

I can tell it happens because we have rendered the Gospel, this Great Salvation, useless, ineffective. You see, our lives often are no different, our lives do not reflect any part of the life that God has called us to. I am guilty, too. So many times I am a poor reflector of God's glory, of this life inside of me. Or maybe I just have painted over the life on the outside so it hides light on the inside. Whatever the picture, dangerous and tragic none-the-less.

We have stopped in the participation in our faith daily, privately to weekly, corporately. We have ceased living out this life God put in us through Christ.

Don't get me wrong...I think pews are fine, chairs are fine, bean bags are fine, I love a good video (I saw one tonight that was really good), and think challenging Truth from Biblical messages (That was good tonight as well) are vital. But seriously Church, let us scrape off the paint that hides the light, let's clean the mirror so the light can radiate, so Christ can reflect. Let us not wimp out and accept some cheap, empty religion or soon-gone experience we have traded for true life in Christ. Don't wimp out. The world needs more.

Philemon 6