Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Leaders Produce Leaders
My goal in everything I do is to serve God although I fail quite often. One thing that has been eating at me ever since I started this blog series is what is the ultimate goal of my ministry? Of course I want to see people come to Christ and of Course I want to see people grow in that relationship but what is the most important thing I can do through my ministry to reach and grow as many people as possible. I think the answer is to produce new leaders. Look at sports for example. Organizations are shying away from hiring the big name head coaches and General managers (the smart ones are anyways) they are hiring coaches and GMs from within winning organizations. The successful, intelligent leaders within organizations more than often produce others like them. In turn the leaders that come from me can produce more leaders and so on. If we are constantly producing new leaders in the church those leaders can go to new church plants and reach more people and produce new leaders who can go to other new church plants and so on. I hope that through my struggles learning Leadership I can help some one else learn leadership. I think the true sign of a great leader is how many leaders they have produced. As for me I am fairly certain I have not produced any. How about you?
Monday, March 9, 2009
Learning Leadership Part 3
Okay so I have decided to start some series in this blog.. This series is called learning leadership. I am not a great leader and I am not ashamed to admit it. I am new to being on staff at a church and I am new to the role I play in my church. Most of my life I have been the one to do the work and let others take the credit. I love it that way and I would not have it any other way. I do not like the lime light and I enjoy criticism. I know I am weird. I do however enjoy when my team does a great job and people recognize it. That said being a leader of a team at Discover Point over the past year had taught me a ton lessons. Don't get me wrong I am still learning everyday but I thought I might share what I am learning.
3. Staying Positive goes along way
I was planning on blogging today about how leaders should stay humble but because of circumstances today and over the weekend today's topic made a lot more sense.
I am an I.T guy by trade. Today our main servers mother board went out. We had to send people home because without that server we can't run our plant (which is a problem in and of itself). We do not have a good back up because of money and corporate restrictions. Last I checked on Friday the server was fine and running smoothly so I left for the weekend thinking things were fine. I got call at 6am this morning telling me of the situation. So I got up out of bed and rushed to the plant. I worked all morning to get it back up and finally called our service company to order the parts I needed. Well the parts were no where in Atlanta so we had to order them out of Texas (They will be arriving tomorrow at 9am thank God). I know most of you guys understand business. So you must understand for a plant our size to be shut down for a whole day is a huge deal. Who does everyone blame when stuff like this happens, the IT guy. Is it my fault? Sure in some ways. Other ways not so much. Does it really matter who fault is was? The thing needed to get fixed and some one needed do it and not point fingers. Some one needed to stay positive even though the situation was grime. Was that me? No! I was visible stressed and anxious all day. I don't think I was ever negative but I was for sure not a calming presence. Instead my plant manger and Vice President remained calm and cool handled every problem that came their way, advised me and pushed me through he day and to them I am thankful.
another Example
On Sunday we announced some changes coming to Discover Point. These changes will effect our volunteer structure and will really shake up some things for the better at the church. It will however decrease some of the current volunteers roles. I was not sure how some people were going to take the news. Philip told the whole church during the service and was absolutely brilliant in doing so. He stayed positive and that went a long way towards easing the minds of some of our current volunteers.
Lesson learned stay positive.
3. Staying Positive goes along way
I was planning on blogging today about how leaders should stay humble but because of circumstances today and over the weekend today's topic made a lot more sense.
I am an I.T guy by trade. Today our main servers mother board went out. We had to send people home because without that server we can't run our plant (which is a problem in and of itself). We do not have a good back up because of money and corporate restrictions. Last I checked on Friday the server was fine and running smoothly so I left for the weekend thinking things were fine. I got call at 6am this morning telling me of the situation. So I got up out of bed and rushed to the plant. I worked all morning to get it back up and finally called our service company to order the parts I needed. Well the parts were no where in Atlanta so we had to order them out of Texas (They will be arriving tomorrow at 9am thank God). I know most of you guys understand business. So you must understand for a plant our size to be shut down for a whole day is a huge deal. Who does everyone blame when stuff like this happens, the IT guy. Is it my fault? Sure in some ways. Other ways not so much. Does it really matter who fault is was? The thing needed to get fixed and some one needed do it and not point fingers. Some one needed to stay positive even though the situation was grime. Was that me? No! I was visible stressed and anxious all day. I don't think I was ever negative but I was for sure not a calming presence. Instead my plant manger and Vice President remained calm and cool handled every problem that came their way, advised me and pushed me through he day and to them I am thankful.
another Example
On Sunday we announced some changes coming to Discover Point. These changes will effect our volunteer structure and will really shake up some things for the better at the church. It will however decrease some of the current volunteers roles. I was not sure how some people were going to take the news. Philip told the whole church during the service and was absolutely brilliant in doing so. He stayed positive and that went a long way towards easing the minds of some of our current volunteers.
Lesson learned stay positive.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Learning Leadership Part 2
Okay so I have decided to start some series in this blog starting with today's blog. This series is called learning leadership. I am not a great leader and I am not ashamed to admit it. I am new to being on staff at a church and I am new to the role I play in my church. Most of my life I have been the one to do the work and let others take the credit. I love it that way and I would not have it any other way. I do not like the lime light and I enjoy criticism. I know I am weird. I do however enjoy when my team does a great job and people recognize it. That said being a leader of a team at Discover Point over the past year had taught me a ton lessons. Don't get me wrong I am still learning everyday but I thought I might share what I am learning.
2. Can't dodge tough choices
You can't, there is no getting around it. The second you dodge a tough choice everyone knows it and you lose credibility as a leader. On top of that the longer you let what ever it is go on the worse it gets and the harder it gets to change things. Everyone that you are leading gets frustrated when they see what is going on and it makes it tougher to lead them. The is probably one of the hardest life lessons I am having to learn is that leaders even if they are not in charge cannot dodge the hard decisions. I am not saying you should not pray about them or think long and hard before making them. Consult with people you trust but in the end you must make the choice and go with it. Some times that may mean hurting someones feelings, it may mean you have to do more work but in the end what is best for the mission is the choice you have to make. This is by far the hardest thing I am learning but the tough choices are not easy. So are you a leader or just another person in charge?
2. Can't dodge tough choices
You can't, there is no getting around it. The second you dodge a tough choice everyone knows it and you lose credibility as a leader. On top of that the longer you let what ever it is go on the worse it gets and the harder it gets to change things. Everyone that you are leading gets frustrated when they see what is going on and it makes it tougher to lead them. The is probably one of the hardest life lessons I am having to learn is that leaders even if they are not in charge cannot dodge the hard decisions. I am not saying you should not pray about them or think long and hard before making them. Consult with people you trust but in the end you must make the choice and go with it. Some times that may mean hurting someones feelings, it may mean you have to do more work but in the end what is best for the mission is the choice you have to make. This is by far the hardest thing I am learning but the tough choices are not easy. So are you a leader or just another person in charge?
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Learning Leadership Part 1
Okay so I have decided to start some series in this blog starting with today's blog. This series is called learning leadership. I am not a great leader and I am not ashamed to admit it. I am new to being on staff at a church and I am new to the role I play in my church. Most of my life I have been the one to do the work and let others take the credit. I love it that way and I would not have it any other way. I do not like the lime light and I enjoy criticism. I know I am weird. I do however enjoy when my team does a great job and people recognize it. That said being a leader of a team at Discover Point over the past year had taught me a ton lessons. Don't get me wrong I am still learning everyday but I thought I might share what I am learning.
1. You can't blame the equipment.
No matter how old, not matter how broken the equipment is you have to make it work. I have that when things are their worst is when I am most creative. You can't sit around waiting for more money you have to rely on your team and your own creativity to make things work. Right now we are waiting to move into a new building and we are getting some great new equipment and as hard as I am preparing to move into the new building I am working just as hard to make next week our greatest week ever. I find myself brain storming for ideas for the building we are still in. The equipment we have is old and broken but we make it work and we have great services. Heck the large concrete gym we meet in is a acoustical nightmare but you never hear that used as an excuse anymore (we did for a little while) and trust me its bad. Long and short if your standing around waiting for something to happen it never will. Work with what you have be creative and the other around you will follow.
1. You can't blame the equipment.
No matter how old, not matter how broken the equipment is you have to make it work. I have that when things are their worst is when I am most creative. You can't sit around waiting for more money you have to rely on your team and your own creativity to make things work. Right now we are waiting to move into a new building and we are getting some great new equipment and as hard as I am preparing to move into the new building I am working just as hard to make next week our greatest week ever. I find myself brain storming for ideas for the building we are still in. The equipment we have is old and broken but we make it work and we have great services. Heck the large concrete gym we meet in is a acoustical nightmare but you never hear that used as an excuse anymore (we did for a little while) and trust me its bad. Long and short if your standing around waiting for something to happen it never will. Work with what you have be creative and the other around you will follow.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Passionate Leadership
Philip spoke this past Sunday on Volunteering. He said it is not something you should be guilted into doing but it is something you should desire to do. Volunteering and serving the Lord is a privilege. I have never found more satisfaction in life then when I am using my gifts to serve God for no other reason then the fact that I want to see people come to know Jesus. Many of you know I work a second job as an IT guy and I love it but I will never love the It job as much as I love my staff position at Discover Point. I am passionate about what I do. The other staff will tell you if I get heated on a subject they will have a 1000 word essay on the matter in their inboxes the next morning (I know they get sick of that). Philip right now is very passionate about getting into the new building and for good reason. We have very passionate people about volunteering in our church. Don't get me wrong passion can sometimes be a bad thing but passion in the right person used correctly can be life changing to the people around them.
Passion is surely a huge quality in a leader but does being passionate make you a leader? I have a Friend of mine who is a youth pastor in South Carolina. They were trying to build a middle school program but did not have the financial means to hire a full time middle school pastor. They were using volunteers. One volunteer stepped up and really tried to take charge of the program. He seemed passionate about what he was doing. He would tell everyone how much he loved working with middle schoolers. After a while though it became very clear that this volunteer was not a leader and despite much counseling with the staff it was evident that something needed to change because the there was no structure to the group. The volunteer was becoming more of a chaperon than a leader. There was no spiritual growth happening in the middle schoolers. They're were a lot of other things but let just say this is a intelligent staff full of down to earth guys who love everyone and who give everyone a chance to serve. They were frustrated. So they hired a full time middle school pastor and offered the volunteer a chance to be a huge part of the program. The volunteer got upset but still excepted the position. After awhile the new middle school pastor got frustrated and came to the staff and ask if they would pray about finding a positing for this volunteer because he had become lackluster and lazy. What they staff originally thought was passion was really a control need. The volunteer was only passionate when they were in control. The staff has since counseled the volunteer and plugged him into a position where he is more qualified. I am very proud of this staff for the way they handled the whole thing. The volunteer is happy and did not leave the church and the middle school program is growing. Passion is defiantly a huge quality in a leader. But there are defiantly other characteristics that a leader has to have to truly be a leader not just passion alone. Can you be a true leader without passion?
Passion is surely a huge quality in a leader but does being passionate make you a leader? I have a Friend of mine who is a youth pastor in South Carolina. They were trying to build a middle school program but did not have the financial means to hire a full time middle school pastor. They were using volunteers. One volunteer stepped up and really tried to take charge of the program. He seemed passionate about what he was doing. He would tell everyone how much he loved working with middle schoolers. After a while though it became very clear that this volunteer was not a leader and despite much counseling with the staff it was evident that something needed to change because the there was no structure to the group. The volunteer was becoming more of a chaperon than a leader. There was no spiritual growth happening in the middle schoolers. They're were a lot of other things but let just say this is a intelligent staff full of down to earth guys who love everyone and who give everyone a chance to serve. They were frustrated. So they hired a full time middle school pastor and offered the volunteer a chance to be a huge part of the program. The volunteer got upset but still excepted the position. After awhile the new middle school pastor got frustrated and came to the staff and ask if they would pray about finding a positing for this volunteer because he had become lackluster and lazy. What they staff originally thought was passion was really a control need. The volunteer was only passionate when they were in control. The staff has since counseled the volunteer and plugged him into a position where he is more qualified. I am very proud of this staff for the way they handled the whole thing. The volunteer is happy and did not leave the church and the middle school program is growing. Passion is defiantly a huge quality in a leader. But there are defiantly other characteristics that a leader has to have to truly be a leader not just passion alone. Can you be a true leader without passion?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
