A friend of mine put this verse on a post-it note yesterday and laid it on my desk.
“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.” ~ 2 Cor. 4:1
What a good reminder. I encourage you to pass it along to someone you know in ministry.
From Jim Collins’s book Beyond Entrepreneurship: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company:
1. People execute well if they’re clear on what they need to do. How can people possibly do well if they don’t have a clear idea of what “doing well” means — if they don’t have clear goals, benchmarks, and expectations?
2. People execute well if they have the right skills for the job.The right skills come from talents, temperament, and proper training.
3. People execute well if they’re given freedom and support.No one does a good job with people looking over his shoulder; when people are treated like children, they’ll lower themselves to those expectations. Also, people need the tools and support to do their job well. To use an extreme illustration, imagine how difficult it would be for Federal Express employees to make on-time delivery without reliable trucks.
4. People execute well if they’re appreciated for their efforts.All people want their efforts to be appreciated. We’ve consciously chosen the term appreciated rather than rewarded because it more accurately captures that excellent performers value respect and appreciation as much as, and often even more than, money.
5. People execute well if they see the importance of their work.
(HT: Matt Perman)
Steve Timmis and Tim Chester, from their helpful book, Gospel-Centred Church:
“Effective gospel ministry is long term, low key and relational.”
Leaders need room to risk and room to fail. Todd Heistand writes well here on the leadership culture he’s trying to create in his church:
We embrace creativity, innovation and risk for the sake of the gospel.
One of the values we have held onto since our inception has been creating a culture of innovation, experimentation and risk taking. We believe God has gifted us to be creative and that he invites us to be that way with how we expresses our witness as a congregation. You don’t have to look very far to see how this has been expressed (Art Shows, Fashion Shows, We meet in a warehouse, etc). Seth Godin once said,”If your organization requires success before commitment, it will have neither.” What he is saying here is that there is an element of risk that is required for an organization (and I would argue, the gospel) to move forward. Of course, we don’t just risk for risk’s sake. We take risks when they seem missionally helpful and don’t go against our core commitments (theologically and practically). It’s amazing how quickly people want to seek safety when faced with uncertainty. If you don’t set this up as a value early on and intentionally, you will always lean back into safety. Keeping this value a value is harder and harder the older you get and more established are.
We must learn to embrace “failed” projects and ideas as opportunities for growth.
In a culture of creativity and innovation, failure is not only inevitable, it is required. In an innovative environment there must be room to fail or innovation will be squashed and creativity will be stifled. For every iPod or iPhone there is a Apple Newton (Apple’s attempt at a PDA in 1993), Apple Pippin (apple’s foray into the video game console market – not to be confused with Scottie Pippen) and the Apple G4 Cube (a boxy computer that never sold). Never heard of those? That’s the point. Apple, a company that is a cultural icon of innovation and creativity, has had some major failures in its time. Some of the greatest lessons and learnings come from failed experiments. Often, failed projects, experiments, etc are good tutors for redefining our mission and vision by reminding us what is important.
Only a handful of people have come into my life and impacted me up close. Yes, I can point to pastors like John Piper and C.J. Mahaney who have had a profound influence on my life from afar. But only a few have invested their lives into my life becoming like a father to me in the gospel (1 Cor. 4:15). One of those men is Jim Luebe.
I met Jim as a college student at the University of Northern Iowa. As a relatively new believer in Christ, he took an interest in me and saw in me the potential for leadership. I remember sitting down with him one day and him turning to Joshua 1:9 which says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” He looked at me and said that God had called me to lead just like Joshua. So I needed to be strong and courageous knowing that He would be with me! Hearing those words propelled me to take action and be the man God made me to be.
Jim also started a small group bible study with me and 3 other guys. I think he affectionately called us “The Four Horsemen.” We met in the mornings on campus and studied through different books of the Bible. We prayed together and were accountable to each other. We also spent time with him in his home. Jim intentionally let us see into his life, his marriage, his struggles, and even his sin. But his heart was not mainly that we know him; he wanted us to know Christ! Specifically, he wanted me to know the basics of living for Christ – The Word, Prayer, Fellowship, and Witnessing. But he didn’t just teach these things, he lived them out. He never asked me to do anything he hadn’t done first — and that principle of leadership has stuck with me. Jim is also a man of vision. And he gave me opportunities to lead with vision. Most older guys don’t give younger guys the freedom to fail. Jim did. And in doing so, I learned to dream big and believe God could do great things — more than I could ask or think (Eph. 3:20).
And I’d be remiss to not mention how Jim showed me the importance of family. He loves his wife and his boys. I didn’t think about that very much as a college student, but now I do, having been married for 12 years with 3 kids of my own. Little did he know that he was giving me a model of how to put my wife and kids first in the midst of ministry.
Some of you know that Jim is now the Collegiate Director for the U.S. Navigators. He and his sweet wife (Beth) continue to invest their lives into college students with a desire that they might become lifelong laborers in Christ’s kingdom. Sometimes I can still hear Jim’s distinct voice in the back of my mind telling me about a friend of his that he described as “a faithful laborer over time.”
Yes, only a handful of people come into our lives and impact us up close. Jim Luebe is one of those people for me. And my prayer is that I would be that for others in my life and ministry.
*Read this article he wrote to collegiate grads about true success in college ministry
Great leaders see the potential in people and empower them to become the best they can be. They create a leadership culture within their organization that attracts other leaders to them. Take Kentucky basketball coach, John Calipari for example. Prior to the NCAA Tournament, Calipari sat down with each of his players individually and had the same conversation with each one:
“Tell me what you look like when you’re playing your best,” he said he told them. “Let’s really be specific. What are you doing? What does it look like?”
After each player answered, Calipari said something that surprised many of them: “As your coach, how can I help you be that player?” (Eric Crawford, Courier Journal).
Do you see what he did right there? He told his players to picture themselves playing at their fullest potential and then empowered them to get there with his help. That’s good leadership.
Today my friend Lisle and I are heading out to Chicago for Catalyst One Day, a leadership conference with Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel. These guys are gifted leaders and I’m looking forward to learning from them on the theme of Momentum–something all of us want in our churches and personal lives. Hopefully I’ll post a couple thoughts on the conference in the coming days.
Last weekend I attended a retreat called, Men at the Cross. It was an intense experience where we identified different barries in our lives that keep us from becoming all of what God wants for us to be in our families, with our friends, and in this world.
Personally, I left encouraged to be the man God made me to be in Christ. The picture on the left is a small group of guys I got to know from all around the country. It was a great weekend!
Alan Nelson on how to identify and develop leaders before the age of 14:
After half a century of attending church and half of that leading, I’ve concluded that the most important and overlooked ministry is the identification and development of leaders before the age of 14. God has strategically placed people who work with children and middle schoolers as catalysts for changing history. The problem is that we’re consumed with broader tasks and have little vision or training for this specific opportunity. A major reason for this is that our culture perceives leading as an adult activity. We thereby miss a critical window for leadership training.
When you lose sight of God, it changes everything – just as it did for Saul in 1 Sam. 18:6-29. While David’s eyes were on God and his kingdom, Saul’s eyes were on himself and his kingdom leaving him angry (1 Sam. 18:8) and afraid (18:12).
I encourage you to listen to Tony Rose’s sermon on what happens in our lives when we lose sight of God. 
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These were his helpful application questions:
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