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
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.
A little over a week ago our oldest son Brandon married Brittany Schneider in one of the most beautiful and fun weddings I’ve ever attended. It was one of the highlights of my life to stand by his side as best man and watch my son make one of the biggest commitments of his life. A commitment to serve, cherish, adore, protect and love the woman that God hand picked for him to spend his life with. The words to this song he wrote and sang for Brittany express the commitment they made to one another on that day. On this Valentines Day listen to the words and make a fresh commitment to your spouse. Remember Solomon said in Proverbs 18:22, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and receives favor from the Lord.”
Here’s one of the shots my Brother-In-Law Kip from Karson Photography shot that day. CLICK HERE to see more pics from that day
I was having lunch with David Putman (at Pappasitos, you’ve gotta try the fajitas) the other day and we were talking about the upcoming Velocity Church Planters Conference. David is one of the co-founders of the churchplanters.com as well as the conference so I took the opportunity to ask a few questions.
Mac: Tell me about the background of Velocity, why did you guys start this particular conference?
David: This is our sixth conference year. When I joined the Mountain Lake team back in 2004 I own the URL www.churchplanters.com. At that time our church was experiencing incredible growth as a new church plant. We were “the little engine that could”. We were a group of ordinary guys with a very ordinary church plant. There was nothing special about our number or anything else. God began to do some amazing things in us and through us. We felt as if God could work through us he could anyone. Our message was simple, “God wants to use you in your church.” We felt like that message needed to be repeated.
Mac: What are you personally most excited about this years conference?
David: To me it’s all about the relationships. I can’t wait to see guys who have made churchplanters.com conference an annual part of their life. We aren’t a network, but we are. We share a strong affinity. I am also excited about hearing some new voices like JD Geear and Pete Wilson. Over the past year I have gotten especially close to Billy Hornsby and his son-in-law Chris Hodges pastor of Church of the Highlands will close out our conference. The guys from ARC are so life giving I think that is going to be a special treat.
Mac: How will the conference benefit a church planter and his team?
David: I consider our conference a sort of church planting revival every year. I think people are going to come second guessing it and their ministries and leave supercharged. There will be tons of inspiration, but there are also tons of practical help coming from our breakouts. I think part of the answer is in your question, every church planter should come and bring their team.
Mac: It’s not to late to register! Go to www.churchplanters.com today! Email me if you’d like $20 off regular price conference ticket. Also if you’re a LAUNCH Network partner or interested in hearing more about the LAUNCH model join us during Tuesday’s Conference lunch break. Email me at maclake@launchstrong to sign up or to get more info.
It drives me crazy when I think I’ve learned something only to find myself in a situation where my mind goes blank.
Before going on my first trip to Honduras I worked hard to learn some key Spanish words and phrases. When we arrived I had my opportunity to use what I had been learning. But as I encountered my first native Honduran I opened my mouth and nothing came out. My mind went totally blank and I couldn’t remember a word. There’s a huge difference between being familiar with something and really learning it.
The same thing happened to me the other day but it wasn’t a foreign language I stumbled over, instead it was the language of leadership. Through my reading over the past couple of weeks i had became familiar with a great leadership concept. Suddenly I found myself in a meeting where this concept would add value, but my mind went blank and I couldn’t find the words to explain what I had been reading. I was familiar with the principle but hadn’t truly learned it yet.
You know you’ve learned something when you can share it, explain it and teach it to others. Too often we read or hear great leadership principles but then we rush right past it failing to find ways to apply and integrate it into our personal leadership habits. If you really want to learn the language of leadership it requires 5 behaviors:
Repetition – I must hear the principle again and again.
Meditation – I must process what I’m learning and think through how the principle applies to my current leadership situation.
Application – I must find ways to put the principle into practice regularly so that it can begin to become a habit and eventually a skill.
Evaluation – I must ask myself and others how I’m doing in the execution of the new competency so I can get better over time.
Multiplication – I must teach others the new skill I’ve developed.
Remember just because you read it, heard it or saw it doesn’t mean that you learned it.
Every organization is filled with people, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s filled with followers. It’s dangerous when a leader begins to mistake attendance for commitment. We must realize…
Some people are in our organization because they’re compensated.
Some people are in our organization just because they want something to keep them busy
Some people are in our organization because ours is the closest to helping them achieve their personal agenda
Some people are in our organization because their friends are there
But it’s not likely that everyone in our organization is a fully committed follower. The leader who mistakes attendance for commitment grows careless in the intentional development of followership. A follower, a true follower is someone who believes in and gives their all for the cause of the organization. They find joy in their contribution. They honor and look to the leader for the vision. They find ways to add value to the vision. True followers will take risks, make sacrifice and become evangelists for the organization.
What can you do this week to cultivate fully committed followers in your organization?
Leaders tend to have strong personalities, strong opinions and strong convictions. As a result we’re easily susceptible to a spirit of pride. Solomon warns us in Proverbs 18:12 “Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.”I don’t know that there is anything more dangerous to our leadership influence than deeply rooted pride.
Pride encumbers learning
Pride blocks reconciliation
Pride blinds wisdom
Pride destroys authentic relationships
Pride inhibits vulnerability
Pride limits team innovation
Pride injures the confidence of others around you
Pride breeds an atmosphere of condemnation
Pride diminishes the contribution of others
Pride ignores the power of God
Pride fails to ask for help
Pride results in an ego driven organization
Pride comes before the fall
So think about it, is there any sense of pride in your life and leadership that’s limiting God’s work through you?
If something doesn’t move for a while it usually gets stiff or stagnate. There are times in every leaders life where we get stuck in patterns of immobility and before we know it we’re asking ourselves, “What’s wrong with me?”, “Why have I lost my passion?” OR “Is it time for me to move on to a new job?” If you’re feeling a little stagnant, before you make any big moves, take some time to think through the following questions:
If I could add one thing to my job description what would it be? Why?
If I could eliminate one thing from my job description what would it be? Why?
What’s the most stimulating thing I’m doing in my job right now? What about that responsibility gives me so much energy?
Who is actively challenging me to grow and stretch as a leader? If the answer is no one, who can you invite to play that role in your life?
What strengths have I been neglecting and allowing to atrophy? What do I need to do to re-stimulate those strengths?
What about my current routine is draining me and preventing me from dreaming and innovating new ideas?
Have I read anything in the past 30 days that has stirred my thinking? If the answer is nothing, who can I ask for reading suggestions?
Do I have any goals that are inspiring me to give my all and trust God for outcomes bigger than what I’m able to do on my own?
Are the obstacles I’m facing demotivating me or motivating me toward greater determination?
As you reflect on these questions write out your thoughts and create a growth plan that will get your blood pumping again! The choice is yours…get moving or grow stagnant.
In the face of this tough economy I find that many churches are cutting their development dollars. As they take a magnifying glass and a scalpel to their budget it’s the conferences fees, travel expenses and book allowance that are among the first being cut. I understand, things are tight, but just because you cut your development budget doesn’t mean you need to cut leadership development. Here are a few development ideas you can use when dollars are tight.
Bring in instead of Go Out. Instead of sending 5-10 people to a conference and paying their registration, hotel, food and travel expenses. Bring in a speaker for a day. You get the advantage of more time, personalized attention, up close and personal Q & A, and many times the benefit of an ongoing relationship where you can pick up the phone and call them. A few I would recommend: Tony Morgan, Alan Danielson, Mark Howell, Bill Donahue, Geoff Surratt, Sherry Surratt, Mindy Caliguire.
Peer to Peer rather than Expert to Novice. Take advantage of the collective wisdom of your leaders. Take a leadership subject, gather your leaders in a room and let them learn from each other. Here is a simple format you can follow: (1) Introduce the Leadership Topic, for example: Decision Making, Innovation, etc. (2) Brainstorm a list of challenges or struggles typically associated with that topic. (3) Ask the group to brainstorm key principles for leading well in regard to that particular leadership subject. (4) Rank the ideas according to priority. (5) Develop an action plan
Leadership Lunch & Learn. Announce that you are doing a once a month Leadership Lunch and Learn for the next six months. Tell everyone to bring a brown bag lunch (once again saving your organizations budget). Have everyone read a chapter or two of a book and come prepared to discuss what they learned.
10 Minute Trainings. Use 10 minutes of your weekly team meeting to focus on a leadership competency. Have different members of your team lead this portion of the meeting. Here is a real simple four part agenda you can use that will keep it short but beneficial. TOPIC- Introduce the leadership topic. TROUBLE – Share the typical problems or mistakes associated with that leadership topic TIPS- Share 3-4 tips to help your team lead better in that area. TAKE AWAY – Challenge everyone to identify one way they can make application in their personal leadership.
Mentoring. While there may be a shortage of dollars in your organization, it’s likely there’s not a shortage of wisdom and experience. Approach your more seasoned and experienced leaders and challenge them (I say require them) to begin mentoring 1-3 less experienced individuals in your organization. This is a great chance to teach your people not to rely on conferences or outside resources for leadership development. And this will be a huge step in helping your organization begin to build a leadership development culture. Not sure how to mentor check out the following posts: Guidelines for Establishing a Mentoring Relationship, Mentoring Made Easy.
Leverage your business people. If you’re leading a church look around your congregation or community for well respected business leaders and invite them to come and lead a session with your team. I’ve found that in most cases they are honored that you would ask and feel it’s a significant way to use their gifts and experience to benefit the church.
What are other things you’ve done at your church or organization to ensure development is continuing despite a tight budget?
Mac Lake is the Chief Launch Officer of The Launch Network, a Church Planting Network based out of Atlanta, Georgia. He and his wife Cindy have three children Brandon, Jordan and Brianna. [read more...]
