My friends at RightNow.org not only put out some great small group curriculum but they put out some very funny video shorts.  Check out this great video about Shallow Small Groups.

How are things going? Really, how are they going? Have you stopped lately to ask yourself this question? Or are you running so hard and fast that you know things aren’t going like you want, but you don’t have time to think about why. Pull over, take a break and do a Mistakes Audit.

I’m not talking about being self-critical or negative. I mean stop, take some time and think ask yourself some important questions:  What mistakes am I currently making that is hurting the progress of my organization?  Why am I making these mistakes?  What do I need to do differently?  Who can I get to help me?  What can I learn from the mistakes I’ve been making?  If you really want to benefit from this exercise make sure you put your answers in writing.

Here are four benefits I think you will discover when you do a Mistakes Audit:

• You can make some necessary adjustments that will improve your performance and results.
• You will add to your leadership wisdom. Don’t just look for what you might be doing wrong but ask the questions: Why? What do I need to change? What I am learning from my mistakes?
• You will be able to teach others from your learnings and strengthen their leadership as a result.
• Your team will gain a greater level of respect because of your authenticity, (If you share it with them!).

Don’t forget one of the best ways you can gain leadership wisdom is by learning from your mistakes.

I was in the Saddleback studios this past week shooting a segment for a brand new conference coming up September 14-15 called The Twelve. This ground breaking conference is for small group ministry leaders at churches around the world. It will be webcast over a two-day ‘live’ conference timeframe, and then the sessions will be available on-demand for registrants for the next 30 days. Speakers include Rick Warren, Reggie McNeal, Geoff Surratt, Mark Howell, Greg Anderson and more.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Ron Wilbur and asked him to share a little bit about this upcoming conference. For more information or to register to go THIS LINK

There is nothing worse than not being motivated. The Gallup organization indicates that as many as 74% of US employees are not “fully engaged” in their work. In other words they are going through the motions but not finding meaning or fulfillment in their work. So what can you do to kick start your motivation and get a little fire back in your belly? Here are a few simple ideas.

Be a Ferocious learner. When you are learning it expands your mind and gives you new ideas. And fresh ideas are like gasoline in your motivational tank.

Exercise Daily. Sometimes our lack of motivation is not emotional but physical. Get outside, get moving and you’ll find that when the endorphins start firing you will get a spring in your step both physically and mentally.

Put Your Strengths to Work. There’s nothing more motivating and fulfilling than doing the things you’re good at. Take a look at your week and plan out your projects and time based around those things that you do best. When you do this you’ll begin to see results and get that feeling that you’re making a difference.

Study Best Practices. Sometimes we aren’t motivated because we’re stuck in routine, doing the same things the same ways. Take some time, look around you at some of the industry leaders in your field and study their best practices. This will give you fresh ideas which will lead to fresh motivation.

Get away. Sometimes a simple change of scenery can give you a whole new perspective. Schedule some time to get away to your favorite think spot or vacation spot. Build in some think time and see what happens, it’s likely this time of mediation will lead to some inspiration.

Put Your Goals in Writing. Schedule an hour where you can think through what God might want you to accomplish over the next six months. Pray it through, think it through, talk it through, then write it down. I find that every time I put my goals in writing in sparks a new fire in my heart.

Okay, there are 6 ideas to get you going. What else would you add to this list?

One of the most important questions a workaholic pastor can ask himself is: What am I sacrificing for the Gospel?  As I’ve pointed out this past week God never asks us to sacrifice our health or our marriage.  But when we confuse busyness for sacrifice we excuse our illegitimate behaviors as the pursuit of Kingdom impact.  In reality these behaviors are evidence of pride and a deficient view of God. I’ll never forget driving down the road when my kids where younger and one of my sons said, “Dad I hate you being a pastor”.  When I asked why he spoke of my ever constant distraction with serving “my church”.  While I never would have said it out load, my behavior screamed that “God needs me in order to accomplish His work in my community.”  That’s pride. That’s a low view of God. And that’s an attitude that leads pastors down a dangerous path. An over pre-occupation with ministry communicates to our children that our relationship with “our church” is a greater priority than our relationship with them.

#3 God doesn’t ask us to sacrifice our family. Many pastors, especially church planters, have children who are in the formative years of life. Right after Cindy and I announced that we were going to plant a church back in 1997 I heard a well-known pastor exclaim, “If you have young children DO NOT plant a church!” That terrified us, but it was too late, the journey had begun and the calling was too obvious.  So right then and there we decided that our kids would be better because of ministry.  To be honest it was difficult.  The demands of planting were high.  But we worked hard to have special time with our kids, show them the benefits of being in ministry and include them in the God-moments along our ministry journey. Ministry can be a great classroom where our children have a front row seat to witness the provision and power of God. But ministry can also be a pre-occupation that causes us to put parenting on autopilot.

Self-Evaluation: Am I sacrificing my family because of my pre-occupation with ministry?

I was talking with a friend the other day about pastors who have moral failures in their marriage when he said something incredibly insightful, “A man who has an affair with ministry makes himself more vulnerable to an affair with another woman.” The demands of ministry can be draining, but they can also be addicting. When we succumb to any addictive behavior we become enslaved by that behavior and begin to make illegitimate sacrifices to meet our perceived need.  As I pointed out in yesterday’s post there are some things that God never asks us to sacrifice.  Our health is one, but our marriage is another.

#2 God doesn’t ask us to sacrifice our marriage. Cindy shared a static with me the other day that claims 80% of pastors wives wish their husband had chosen a different occupation.  God designed the husband wife relationship to complete one another (Genesis 2:18).  Yet many couples find that the demands of ministry actually drive them further apart.  God never asked us to sacrifice our marriage for the sake of the Gospel.  in fact, in Ephesians 5 Paul tells us the demonstration of our love for our wives should reflect Christ love for the Church.  We can easy begin to view our marriage partner solely as a ministry partner, and when we do we begin to use them instead of love and serve them. Our role as husband and leader of the home is to make sure our wives are walking in the fulfillment of God’s plan and purpose for their lives.  But there is a lurking temptation to continually plug them into roles outside their gifting for the sake of “our church”, strap them to certain expectations for the image of “our church” or neglect them for the calling of “our church”

Self-Evaluation: Am I sacrificing my marriage because of the demands of ministry?

Do you ever question the sacrifices you make for the Gospel? Jesus calls us to a life of sacrifice. In Luke 9:23 He said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Over the years I’ve watched dedicated Christ followers do this very thing by giving up prestige, power, lucrative careers, comfort, and even personal dreams to follow Christ. Choosing a life of sacrifice they dedicate 100% of their lives for Kingdom causes.

But sometimes leaders mistakenly confuse busyness, harried activity or workaholism as sacrifice. Like Christ, Paul urges a life of sacrifice. In Romans 12 he challenges us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. But look at the result, “then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” I don’t think God’s will is for sacrifice to deteriorate our physical, emotional, or relational health. There are some things that God never asked us to sacrifice.

#1- God doesn’t ask us to sacrifice our physical health. While technology has done wonders to make us more productive, it’s also made us more accessible and busier than ever. Too many pastors run on crazy schedules not taking care of themselves physically, totally ignoring the disciplines of exercise and eating healthy. Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 6:19-20 our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Yet often times we consider the mismanagement of our health to be a lesser sin. Anyone who says, “I’m too busy to exercise” is in danger of reducing the efficiency and effectiveness of future ministry.

Self-Evaluation: Am I sacrificing my health because of the busyness of ministry?

I was in Las Vegas recently visiting with Vance Pitman, lead pastor at Hope Baptist Church, when I heard him say that the US is now the 4th largest lost nation in the world.  That statistic floored me!  Then he told me that the majority of the lost people of our country live in the Western states.  Because of several visits in the West over the past two years that statistic didn’t shock me because every time I’m there I’m overwhelmed with the absence of churches.  You can drive around an area with a population of thousands of people and not find one church.

In an effort to plant more churches in this region of our country we are excited to announce that we are starting a new LAUNCH Hub in Las Vegas.  LAUNCH Las Vegas will assess, equip and encourage church planters who feel called to the Western United States.

We will be hosting our first Church Planters Assessment Retreat in Las Vegas on June 20-21.  If you feel God is calling you to plant in the West fill out the church planter application HERE.  If you’re a church that has a heart for planting in the West and would like to invest with us in this enormous challenge click HERE.

Watch the video below where Vance shares his heart and pray about how God may be calling you to help in this cause.

We are excited to announce that LAUNCH will be hosting one of the Best Practices Pre-session Intensives at Exponential this year.   We will be focusing on Nurturing Spiritual Vitality and Family Health

Join us as we engage church planting couples who are learning how to effectively build strong, healthy families while building strong, healthy churches.  We’ll discuss the questions and situations that can potentially hijack our families.  How do we create and maintain “safe” friendships?  How do we protect our children from the expectations of others?  Where do we go to build relationships outside of the church?  When and how do we communicate with our children about major ministry transitions?  Who should be in our inner circles?  What are appropriate guardrails for safeguarding relationships and reputation?  Our family is our most significant ministry.  We’ll help you formulate a game plan for success.

Sessions will be lead by various LAUNCH partners and their wives including: Brian and Amy Bloye, Mac and Cindy Lake, Chip and Lisa Henderson, JR and Devon Lee,  Chip and Colleen Judd.

TUESDAY
Session 1: Common Challenges in the Planters Home
Session 2: Taking care of your own soul
Session 3: Maintaining a Vibrant Marriage – Panel Discussion
Session 4:  Parenting – Helping your children with the pressures of being a church plant family
WEDNESDAY
Session 5:  Finding Safe Friendships
Session 6:  Building healthy boundaries –Panel Discussion
Session 7: Game Plan
Closing Challenge:  Brian Bloye

Sign up today by CLICKING HERE

Dates / Times: Tues, April 26, 1pm – 5pm and Wed, April 27, 9am – 12pm

Cost: $59

As a leader you are responsible for the development of those under your care.  But sometimes due to the nature of your schedule or physical proximity you find it impossible to actually observe the person you’re responsible for overseeing.  So how can you “critique them” or “coach them” if you never have the chance to observe them.  Admittedly this is not the ideal situation but it’s many leaders reality. So what do you do?

I’ve found that while all of us have our blind-spots, most people do a fairly good job at self-evaluation. (There are exceptions)  So if you find yourself in this less than ideal situation ask them to self-assess.  Here are a few questions you can use as you coach them.

• What do you feel you’re doing best in your current position?
• What strengths are you currently using to help you achieve your results?
• What strength could you focus on developing that would make you 20% more effective?
• What are 2-3 things you would like to do better?
• What do you think others on your team would say you do best?
• What do you think others on your team would say you need to improve?
• If you could change one aspect of your leadership what would it be and why?
• What are the three skills you feel you need in order to be most successful in your role?  How would you rate yourself on each of those using an A, B, C, D or F grading scale.

As the individual answers these types of questions it then gives you the opportunity to share your opinion based on what you perceive.  While you may not see them in action on a regular basis, you certainly see or feel the results of what they’re doing.

Again I want to emphasize the ideal situation is for you as the leader to observe and give positive and constructive feedback based on what you witnessed.  But when that’s impossible, your best option is to trust that people are actually pretty good as self-assessment.