Posts Tagged ‘John Maxwell’

Are We Training our Successors?

Posted: February 5, 2013 in Leadership
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John F. Kennedy was right when he said, “It is time for a new generation of leadership.” That thought provokes a debate concerning leadership: Are leaders born or are leaders developed. Max Depree wrote, “Leadership is Art,” i.e., leadership can be learned. Jesus commanded, “Make disciples” in the Great Commission. Making disciples means making followers of Christ who will produce leaders for Christ. Are leaders born or are leaders developed? The answer is “yes.” Some individuals are born with leadership ability which still must be developed. But, leadership can be learned by every person who has a desire to impact his or her culture.

John Maxwell’s now famous definition of leadership is “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.” The greatest spiritual leader in my formative years was my Christian mother. She does not have a college education. She has never held a powerful corporate position. She has never received political awards. But she read God’s Word to my brothers and me nearly every night, prayed with us and took us to church three times a week. She was light and salt. She influenced me to Christ.

If Maxwell’s definition is true then leadership can be developed. As Maxwell says, “If you are a 6 on the leadership scale of 1 to 10, you can become an 8.” If we are going to be light and salt then we must develop as leaders and develop others as leaders. If you work in Sunday School, you are a leader developing leaders. If you listen to verses from clubbers in AWANA, you are a leader developing leaders. If you sponser a youth group, you are a leader developing leaders. If you are a Christian, you are a leader in your classroom or at your work site developing leaders. You are a leader with influence.

There is a difference between a leader and a great leader Henry Blackaby said, “Leaders lead followers. Great leaders lead leaders.” That means, great leaders leave a legacy of leaders. Peter Drucker in The Effective Executive challenged, “There is no success without a successor.”  After I surrendered to the Lord and to the call to preach my first opportunity to serve in my local church was as teacher of Junior High Boys. I helped each boy teach a Sunday School lesson. The boys ministered to shut-ins and alcoholics in an Alcoholic Home. Several of the boys trusted Christ as Savior. One is a pastor and others are faithfully serving the Lord in local churches.

There are Biblical examples of the Law of Legacy. Joshua succeeded and exceeded Moses. Elisha succeeded and exceeded Elijah. The Twelve disciples succeeded Christ and exceeded Christ according to Jesus own words in John 14:12.

Samuel was a leader. But Samuel was not a great leader (1 Sam. 8:1) because Samuel led followers. Samuel left no successor. The Christian life is not a 100 yard dash but a Relay Race where the baton is handed off to another. To whom will you pass the baton of leadership?

Let’s look at one leader who left a legacy of leadership. God deposited truth with Paul (1 Tim. 1:11; Luke 12:48) at Paul’s conversion. Paul invested that deposit of truth with Timothy (1 Tim.1:18). How? He won Timothy to Christ in Acts 14. He invested time and energy into Timothy’s spiritual growth (Acts 16:1-3). Timothy was then to deposit the same truth to other leaders (2 Tim. 2:1, 2). Timothy is now pastor at the church of Ephesus when Paul writes 2 Timothy.

Timothy is a 2nd generation leader who is depositing the truth in a 3rd generation of leaders. Those leaders, the 3rd generation, were to deposit the truth into the next generation, the 4th generation (2 Tim. 2:2b). In whom are you depositing the truth of God’s Word?

Only leaders produce leader

David produced leaders (giant killers) because he was a giant killer (2 Sam. 21:1-22). Saul did not produce leaders (giant killers) because he killed no giants. What are some practical ways we can grow as leaders and  produce leaders?

1. Never do ministry alone (Acts 13:2).

2. Create a leadership atmosphere or culture through seminars and preaching on leadership.

3. Train leaders through training sessions. Take your leaders or potential leaders through a book on leadership like Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership or Henry Blackaby’s Spiritual Leadership.

4. Expose your people and family to leaders.

5. Associate with leaders yourself (boards, fellowships, etc). Les Olila wisely said there should be three kinds of people in our lives. We need a mentor or a Paul who is stretching us spiritually. We need a disciple or a Timothy whom we are mentoring. We also need a partner or a Barnabas who is encouraging us. Our Barnabas is not a mentor or disciple, just a friend.

6. Study leadership and read about leaders such as “Walking with the Giants” by Warren Wiersbe.

7. Watch leaders and learn from them.

8. Lead! The question is not, “What will be my legacy?” But, “Who will be my legacy?” Your lasting value as a leader will be measured by your successor.

Are We Empowering Others?

Posted: February 5, 2013 in Leadership
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Stephen Covey emphasizes two kinds of delegation. The first is gofer delegation which emphasizes the methods. The Gofer’s Creed is “Just tell me what you want me to do and I will do it.” The second and better kind of delegation is stewardship delegation which emphasizes the results. Stewardship delegation is the delegation of responsibilities or ministries that the person has been equipped to accomplish; not menial errands. Covey’s stewardship delegation is closer to Maxwell’s empowerment.

Maxwell, however, sees a difference between delegation and empowerment. An example of delegation would have been Paul on the first missionary journey immediately after leading Timothy to Christ, Paul would have sent Timothy to a church like Ephesus. Empowerment is what Paul actually did. Paul instructed first Timothy, modeled what he wanted Timothy to be and do (Acts 16), gave Timothy some experience and accountability (Acts 18:5). Then Paul sent Timothy, having empowered him, to his greatest assignment with the authority to be the pastor (1 Tim. 1:1-3).

Insecure leaders do not empower. Secure leaders surround themselves with the best and the brightest people and are not jealous or threatened. Maxwell writes about the Henry Fords (Senior and the Second) who did not empower their leaders but undermined them to the detriment of The Ford Motor Company. Maxwell writes, “Any time an executive gained power and influence, Henry Ford II would undercut the person’s authority by either moving him into a position with less clout, supporting the executive’s subordinates, or publicly humiliating him. This continued all the days Henry II was at Ford.” The Fords did not practice the leadership law of empowerment which says that only secure leaders give power to others.

Another reason leaders do not empower and give responsibility and authority to others is the co-dependency of the leader on his followers. The leader should be a launching pad for those he is training. But if the leader is co-dependent, the leader is a leaning post. When you need people you cannot lead them. If you need people’s approval you will never make the tough decisions.

Maxwell teaches us how to empower others.

First, you must trust your people with responsibility.

If you want them to grow you must let them go. Was Jesus threatened when He knew His disciples would accomplish more that He would as far as man hours and ministries opportunities as He predicted in John 14:12? No! That is exactly why Jesus poured three years of His life into them. This also means that we must let those we are empowering make mistakes and then learn those valuable lessons that only mistakes teach.

Also, you must train them for competency.

When we and our leaders stop growing so will our ministries. This means we must budget money for specific training in their areas of ministry. This money can be spent on books, periodicals, seminars, or master level courses. This line item in the budget sends a message to the entire church about how serious this church takes leadership training.

Next, you must unleash them with authority.

How did Jesus train? He first instructed His disciples (Matthew 10:1-42). He showed them how ministry is done (Matthew 11:1). Jesus then sent His disciple out for field experience (Luke 10:1). He also gave them authority that was equal to the responsibility (Luke 10:9). Finally, Jesus held them accountable (Luke 10:17).

You must monitor your people through accountability.

Jesus held His disciples accountable for their ministries (Luke 10:17). Accountability is not following our people around like a highway patrolman tailing us. Accountability is planned follow-up where they know they will report on the progress of the project or the ministry.

Lastly, you must care about them and believe in them for maximum potential.

The leader cares enough for his people that he believes in them and wants them to succeed. How do you know if you are an empowering leader? The moment you experience more joy in the success of others than in your own success.

Sermon: Church Conflicts, What’s New?

Posted: October 17, 2012 in Sermons
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Here is a list of alleged gray areas that I read that churches have conflicts over:

•   Should music in a worship service be mellow or upbeat?

•   Should you sing from the hymnal or use an overhead?

•   What instruments are allowable in a worship service? Organ? Organ and piano? Drums, keyboards, and saxophone, along with the organ and piano?

•   Is it okay to sing music composed in the last twenty years, or is it, “the older the music the more sacred”?

•   Can a person sing in the choir who is not a church member? Can a person sing a solo who is not in the choir? Should the choir members wear robes? If so, what color?

•   Should the Sunday school curriculum be the same for each class or can teachers choose topics?

•   Should the adult classes be divided by age or topic or both?

•   Should the Sunday school meet before the worship service or after?

•   Should a church have adult Sunday school or one longer service?

•   Should offerings be taken in Sunday school? If so, should the money be used for Sunday school materials only or budget needs or both?

•   Should people being baptized wear robes or casual clothes? If robes, should the color be white or can they be another color?

•   Should churches build buildings, rent public buildings, or meet in homes? If building a building, which building should be built first – the multi-purpose building or a sanctuary?

•   How should the building be financed? Should you borrow money, sell bonds, or pay as you go with cash? If it is cash only, what method of fundraising is to be employed? Can outside organizations help?

•   Should missionaries be supported for certain terms or for life?

•   Should missionaries be given inflationary raises or should the amount of money remain the same?

•   Should church planting missionaries take precedent over other medical missions?

•   Should an offering be taken in church by passing offering plates or placing a box in the back of the sanctuary or neither?

•   Should people simply pledge their annual giving and mail it in whenever they choose? (Stephen Davey, Wisdom for the Heart)

Even in the Book of Acts, there is one conflict after the other. In Acts 5, there is the first church battle over money involving Ananias and Sapphira. The widows in Acts 6 next stirred up a dispute. The first heretic, Simon Magnus, in Acts 8 disrupted church unity for awhile. False teachers invaded Paul’s newly founded churches in Acts 15, which required a Church Council to solve. From the conflict riddled early church we learn:

1. We Need To Expect Conflict.

Malcolm Forbes, founder of Forbes Magazine and father of Steve Forbes, said, “If you have a job without aggravations, you don’t have a job.” We could paraphrase and say, “If you have a ministry without aggravations, you don’t have a ministry.” Spurgeon, who knew much about conflict, wrote, “The Devil never beats a dead horse.” Ian Murray chronicles Spurgeon’s three great conflicts in The Forgotten Spurgeon. The last, The Down-Grade Controversy ended Spurgeon’s life and ministry prematurely.

In Galatians 2, Paul had conflict with Peter and Barnabas because of Peter’s doctrinal compromise. This conflict took place in Acts 12:25 after Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch. In Acts 15:36, Paul had conflict with Barnabas over a third party (nephew John Mark). In 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Paul had conflict with the Corinthians because of their carnality. Paul dealt with conflict between two church members in Philippians 4:1-2. Vance Havner cleverly put it this way, “More harm has been done to the church by termites on the inside than woodpeckers on the outside.”

2. We Need To Deal With Conflict.

Paul confronted every conflict in 1 Corinthians. Conflict is like cancer, if you ignore the cancer, it only gets worse and eventually becomes incurable. John Maxwell teaches the 24-hour policy. If there is a conflict between you and someone else, try to resolve it in 24 hours. If you delay, anger and bitterness only fester and finally explode. Bob Jones Senior noted, “You must have little problems to avoid bigger problems.” Jesus taught us how to deal with the little problem before it becomes bigger in the steps He laid out in dealing with conflict in Matthew 18:15-17. If there is a conflict between you and someone else you don’t get on the phone with an urgent prayer request or spill your guts on Facebook. You go to that person “alone.”

3. We Need to Respond Properly when Rebuked in Conflicts

Peter showed his humility when rebuked by Paul in Galatians 2. Peter was not bitter with Paul as evidenced in 2 Peter 3:15, “Our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him.”

After the conflict in Acts 15:36 over taking Mark on the church’s second missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas are mentioned together by Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:6. Mark eventually won back Paul’s confidence in 2 Timothy 4:11. The Corinthians also properly responded to Paul’s rebuke according to Romans 15:25-26.

Charles H. Spurgeon once had a church member who on every Monday, sent Spurgeon a card listing all the mistakes from the previous day’s messages on Sunday. How did Spurgeon respond? Did Spurgeon become defensive? No! Spurgeon corrected his mistakes and benefited from the church member’s criticism. Hence, Spurgeon preached better sermons. What have we changed in our lives because someone has pointed it out to us in the last six months? Spurgeon gave this advice to believers who are being criticized:

Brother, if any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him; for you are worse than he thinks you to be. If he charges you falsely on some point, yet be satisfied, for if he knew you better he might change the accusation, and you would be no gainer by the correction. If you have your moral portrait painted, and it is ugly, be satisfied; for it only needs a few blacker touches, and it would be still nearer the truth.

4. We Need To Grow in Conflicts

Paul teaches us not to retaliate in Romans 12:17. About Christ when He was wrongly accused and treated, Peter wrote, “When he was reviled, reviled not again” (1 Peter 2:23). Jesus taught us to “pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Matthew Henry wrote, “There is a strange paradox in Christianity, you have such a humble Savior, and proud saints.”

On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger and its crew embarked on a mission to broaden educational horizons and promote the advancement of scientific knowledge. The most outstanding objective of the Challenger 51-L mission was the delivery of educational lessons from space by teacher Christa McAuliffe. A lesson was, indeed, delivered, but not one which anyone expected.

Just 75 seconds after liftoff, tragedy struck. Before a watching world the shuttle suddenly erupted overhead, disintegrating the cabin along with its crew. The debris of metal, blood and bones plummeted to earth, along with our nation’s glory.

What had gone wrong? That was the pressing question everyone asked. As teams of researchers examined the wreckage, the specific cause was soon found. The problem was with the O-rings (circular rubber seals), which had been designed to fit snugly into the joints of the booster engine sections. Evidently, the O-rings had become defective under adverse conditions, and the resulting mechanical failure led to the tragedy. Was that the whole story?

The truth eventually got out. The New York Times put it frankly: the ultimate cause of the space shuttle disaster was pride. A group of top managers failed to listen carefully to the warnings, advice and criticisms given by those down the line who were concerned about the operational reliability of certain parts of the booster engine under conditions of abnormal stress. Just think: heeding criticism could have saved seven human lives (The Spring 1999 issue of The Journal of Biblical Counseling, (Vol. 17, No. 3) by Dr. Alfred J. Poirier, former Chairman of the Board of Directors for Peacemaker Ministries).

From C. J. Mahaney’s writings on the subject of criticism:

  • A leader can expect criticism because of his own sin, which will inevitably be present in his heart and service, no matter how mature or well meaning he is (James 3:1, 2).
  • A leader can expect criticism because there are limitations to his gifting, meaning there will always be weaknesses in his leadership.
  • A leader can expect criticism because we often perform below average. (After one sermon, a guy asked me, “So where do you work during the week?” My sermon apparently gave him the impression that preaching wasn’t my vocation.)
  • A leader can expect criticism because people can be proud and ungrateful.
  • A leader can expect criticism because, well, it is a sinful and fallen world. The world is filled with armchair quarterbacks.
  • A leader can expect criticism because it is part of God’s sanctification process—a tool that he uses to reveal idols and accelerate the pastor’s growth in humility.

Over and over again in Proverbs, wisdom is linked to responding to rebukes: Proverbs 9:8: “Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.” Proverbs 19:25: “Reprove one that has understanding, and he will understand knowledge.”

Mark grew because he responded humbly to Paul’s correction. He became a helper to Paul again and then also to Peter. He finally was privileged to write one of the Gospels in the New Testament.

One of my favorite quotes from J. Oswald Sanders is my conclusion to handling conflict: “No leader is exempt from criticism, and his humility will nowhere be seen more clearly than in the manner in which he accepts and reacts to it” (Spiritual Leadership, page 177).

Sermon: Church Conflicts, What’s New?

Posted: October 17, 2012 in Sermons
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Here is a list of alleged gray areas that I read that churches have conflicts over:

•   Should music in a worship service be mellow or upbeat?

•   Should you sing from the hymnal or use an overhead?

•   What instruments are allowable in a worship service? Organ? Organ and piano? Drums, keyboards, and saxophone, along with the organ and piano?

•   Is it okay to sing music composed in the last twenty years, or is it, “the older the music the more sacred”?

•   Can a person sing in the choir who is not a church member? Can a person sing a solo who is not in the choir? Should the choir members wear robes? If so, what color?

•   Should the Sunday school curriculum be the same for each class or can teachers choose topics?

•   Should the adult classes be divided by age or topic or both?

•   Should the Sunday school meet before the worship service or after?

•   Should a church have adult Sunday school or one longer service?

•   Should offerings be taken in Sunday school? If so, should the money be used for Sunday school materials only or budget needs or both?

•   Should people being baptized wear robes or casual clothes? If robes, should the color be white or can they be another color?

•   Should churches build buildings, rent public buildings, or meet in homes? If building a building, which building should be built first – the multi-purpose building or a sanctuary?

•   How should the building be financed? Should you borrow money, sell bonds, or pay as you go with cash? If it is cash only, what method of fundraising is to be employed? Can outside organizations help?

•   Should missionaries be supported for certain terms or for life?

•   Should missionaries be given inflationary raises or should the amount of money remain the same?

•   Should church planting missionaries take precedent over other medical missions?

•   Should an offering be taken in church by passing offering plates or placing a box in the back of the sanctuary or neither?

•   Should people simply pledge their annual giving and mail it in whenever they choose? (Stephen Davey, Wisdom for the Heart)

Even in the Book of Acts, there is one conflict after the other. In Acts 5, there is the first church battle over money involving Ananias and Sapphira. The widows in Acts 6 next stirred up a dispute. The first heretic, Simon Magnus, in Acts 8 disrupted church unity for awhile. False teachers invaded Paul’s newly founded churches in Acts 15, which required a Church Council to solve. From the conflict riddled early church we learn:

1. We Need To Expect Conflict.

Malcolm Forbes, founder of Forbes Magazine and father of Steve Forbes, said, “If you have a job without aggravations, you don’t have a job.” We could paraphrase and say, “If you have a ministry without aggravations, you don’t have a ministry.” Spurgeon, who knew much about conflict, wrote, “The Devil never beats a dead horse.” Ian Murray chronicles Spurgeon’s three great conflicts in The Forgotten Spurgeon. The last, The Down-Grade Controversy ended Spurgeon’s life and ministry prematurely.

In Galatians 2, Paul had conflict with Peter and Barnabas because of Peter’s doctrinal compromise. This conflict took place in Acts 12:25 after Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch. In Acts 15:36, Paul had conflict with Barnabas over a third party (nephew John Mark). In 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Paul had conflict with the Corinthians because of their carnality. Paul dealt with conflict between two church members in Philippians 4:1-2. Vance Havner cleverly put it this way, “More harm has been done to the church by termites on the inside than woodpeckers on the outside.”

2. We Need To Deal With Conflict.

Paul confronted every conflict in 1 Corinthians. Conflict is like cancer, if you ignore the cancer, it only gets worse and eventually becomes incurable. John Maxwell teaches the 24-hour policy. If there is a conflict between you and someone else, try to resolve it in 24 hours. If you delay, anger and bitterness only fester and finally explode. Bob Jones Senior noted, “You must have little problems to avoid bigger problems.” Jesus taught us how to deal with the little problem before it becomes bigger in the steps He laid out in dealing with conflict in Matthew 18:15-17. If there is a conflict between you and someone else you don’t get on the phone with an urgent prayer request or spill your guts on Facebook. You go to that person “alone.”

3. We Need to Respond Properly when Rebuked in Conflicts

Peter showed his humility when rebuked by Paul in Galatians 2. Peter was not bitter with Paul as evidenced in 2 Peter 3:15, “Our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him.”

After the conflict in Acts 15:36 over taking Mark on the church’s second missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas are mentioned together by Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:6. Mark eventually won back Paul’s confidence in 2 Timothy 4:11. The Corinthians also properly responded to Paul’s rebuke according to Romans 15:25-26.

Charles H. Spurgeon once had a church member who on every Monday, sent Spurgeon a card listing all the mistakes from the previous day’s messages on Sunday. How did Spurgeon respond? Did Spurgeon become defensive? No! Spurgeon corrected his mistakes and benefited from the church member’s criticism. Hence, Spurgeon preached better sermons. What have we changed in our lives because someone has pointed it out to us in the last six months? Spurgeon gave this advice to believers who are being criticized:

Brother, if any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him; for you are worse than he thinks you to be. If he charges you falsely on some point, yet be satisfied, for if he knew you better he might change the accusation, and you would be no gainer by the correction. If you have your moral portrait painted, and it is ugly, be satisfied; for it only needs a few blacker touches, and it would be still nearer the truth.

4. We Need To Grow in Conflicts

Paul teaches us not to retaliate in Romans 12:17. About Christ when He was wrongly accused and treated, Peter wrote, “When he was reviled, reviled not again” (1 Peter 2:23). Jesus taught us to “pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Matthew Henry wrote, “There is a strange paradox in Christianity, you have such a humble Savior, and proud saints.”

On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger and its crew embarked on a mission to broaden educational horizons and promote the advancement of scientific knowledge. The most outstanding objective of the Challenger 51-L mission was the delivery of educational lessons from space by teacher Christa McAuliffe. A lesson was, indeed, delivered, but not one which anyone expected.

Just 75 seconds after liftoff, tragedy struck. Before a watching world the shuttle suddenly erupted overhead, disintegrating the cabin along with its crew. The debris of metal, blood and bones plummeted to earth, along with our nation’s glory.

What had gone wrong? That was the pressing question everyone asked. As teams of researchers examined the wreckage, the specific cause was soon found. The problem was with the O-rings (circular rubber seals), which had been designed to fit snugly into the joints of the booster engine sections. Evidently, the O-rings had become defective under adverse conditions, and the resulting mechanical failure led to the tragedy. Was that the whole story?

The truth eventually got out. The New York Times put it frankly: the ultimate cause of the space shuttle disaster was pride. A group of top managers failed to listen carefully to the warnings, advice and criticisms given by those down the line who were concerned about the operational reliability of certain parts of the booster engine under conditions of abnormal stress. Just think: heeding criticism could have saved seven human lives (The Spring 1999 issue of The Journal of Biblical Counseling, (Vol. 17, No. 3) by Dr. Alfred J. Poirier, former Chairman of the Board of Directors for Peacemaker Ministries).

From C. J. Mahaney’s writings on the subject of criticism:

  • A leader can expect criticism because of his own sin, which will inevitably be present in his heart and service, no matter how mature or well meaning he is (James 3:1, 2).
  • A leader can expect criticism because there are limitations to his gifting, meaning there will always be weaknesses in his leadership.
  • A leader can expect criticism because we often perform below average. (After one sermon, a guy asked me, “So where do you work during the week?” My sermon apparently gave him the impression that preaching wasn’t my vocation.)
  • A leader can expect criticism because people can be proud and ungrateful.
  • A leader can expect criticism because, well, it is a sinful and fallen world. The world is filled with armchair quarterbacks.
  • A leader can expect criticism because it is part of God’s sanctification process—a tool that he uses to reveal idols and accelerate the pastor’s growth in humility.

Over and over again in Proverbs, wisdom is linked to responding to rebukes: Proverbs 9:8: “Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.” Proverbs 19:25: “Reprove one that has understanding, and he will understand knowledge.”

Mark grew because he responded humbly to Paul’s correction. He became a helper to Paul again and then also to Peter. He finally was privileged to write one of the Gospels in the New Testament.

One of my favorite quotes from J. Oswald Sanders is my conclusion to handling conflict: “No leader is exempt from criticism, and his humility will nowhere be seen more clearly than in the manner in which he accepts and reacts to it” (Spiritual Leadership, page 177).

Do We Want to Improve or Just be Approved?

Posted: February 2, 2012 in Homiletics/Preaching
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Spurgeon would occasionally find a nasty anonymous letter lying on his pulpit when he would stand up to preach. There would be a letter but no name. One day he got to the pulpit and there was a piece of paper with one word written in large letters….IDIOT…. So Spurgeon said to his congregation, “Normally I get letters without signatures, but today I got a signiture without a letter.”

J. Oswald Sanders said, “No leader is exempt from criticism, and his humility will nowhere be seen more clearly than in the manner in which he accepts and reacts to it” (Spiritual Leadership, page 110). As leaders we must accept graciously the wrong kind of criticism and encourage the constructive kind.

I read this post by Michael Duduit, editor of Preaching Magizine, and thought every preacher would be encouraged, rebuked, and challenged. At least I was.

In his book Maximum Achievement, Brian Tracy observes, “Virtually everything you do is the result of habit. The way you talk, the way you work, drive, think, interact with others, spend money and deal with the important people in your life are all largely habitual.” Tracy adds: “The good news is that all habits are learned, and they can therefore be unlearned.”

As a preacher, what kind of habits have you developed — in your study, in your speaking, in your sermons? It’s very easy for any of us to fall into patterns of which we may not even be aware, but that are painfully obvious to those who hear us each week.

While you’ll likely have to analyze your own study patterns to see if you’ve developed any bad habits (such as breaking into your message prep regularly to answer e-mail), it’s possible to get others to help you evaluate your messages to see what habits you may have picked up. Why not trade out three or four recent videotaped messages with a trusted colleague so each of you can evaluate the other in terms of presentation and content patterns?

Great golfers regularly get coaches to help them evaluate their swing. Great hitters have coaches who help them recognize and eliminate bad habits. As a preacher, seek out others who can help evaluate and coach you (PreachingNOW@preachingmagizine-info.com Vol. 9, No 2, January 12, 2010). PreachingNOW is a free weekly email newsletter produced by Michael Duduit.

Sometimes we preachers do not have to seek out others who will evaluate (a kind word) our preaching. I remember reading the story of Charles H. Spurgeon’s Monday morning critic. Spurgeon said every Monday for awhile he would receive an anonymous card from one of his members at Metropolitan Tabernacle who recorded all of Spurgeon’s mistakes he made in his Sunday sermons. What was Spurgeon’s response? What would have been my response after several months of criticism? Spurgeon said he carefully considered each remark and where he could improve his preaching. Perhaps that is one reason we still read his sermons today.

Here is how Mark Driscoll advised preachers to get feedback on their preaching:

1) Exhibit a humble attitude that really seeks input even if it is negative

2) Make yourself available after preaching for instant feedback

3) Set up a section on the church’s website for questions and discussion of the sermon

4) Humbly consider the pleas of those who lovely confront you

5) Appoint preselected people to write feedback reports on the sermon

6) Encourage leaders to channel feedback from more timid members

Mark Driscoll tells this story, “One friend of mine who pastors a large church went so far as to pay a non-Christian neighbor to attend his church and write up a full report of what it was like to find the building, park, be greeted, sit the service, hear the sermon, and hang out for coffee afterward. He said it was the best money the church ever spent” (Vintage Church, chapter 4 “Why is Preaching Important?”).

John Maxwell provokes leaders to ask themselves, “Do you want to improve or be approved?” We cannot have it both ways. Thank God for those solicited coaches and unsolicited critics who can be used by God to not only humble us but, like a whetstone, sharpen our ministry to others.

Another great resource is Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast entitled Better Before Bigger. Andy Stanley quotes Truett Cathy who said this about Click-fi-A, “If we get better our customers will demand we get bigger.” Stanley quotes Cathy to warn churches about striving just to get big for the sake of getting big. We should want to grow in order to help more people spiritually.

Stanley says there are two steps to getting better in any organization or ministry.

The first step is clarification and the second is evaluation. Clarification identifies what constitutes a win for our ministry or even our preaching. For Stanley, a win in his preaching is if people enjoy his preaching so much they want to come back. If they come back enough God’s Word will help them. For there to be clarification there must be evaluation. So Stanley and his staff on Mondays evaluate all of their ministries which they call environments. One of the environments is preaching. So he and his staff talk about his preaching. Stanley starts the conversation by giving himself a grade so the others are more comfortable in evaluating his preaching.

“Even a Turkey can Fly in a Tornado” Book Review of The Total Money Makeover

Posted: September 10, 2011 in Book Reviews
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Dave Ramsey makes this comment, “even a turkey can fly in a tornado” in introducing his best seller The Total Money Makeover. He is describing the problem of greed. People buy stuff just because the money is available. This was part of the problem in the economic downturn in 2008. Here is what Dave Ramsey calls the 30,000 foot view that you would get from an airplane:

1. Greedy, broke people who wanted houses they could not afford got loans at high interest rates from greedy banks. These bad loans were called subprime loans. 80% of the subprime or bad loans were ARMs (adjustable-rate-mortgages). When housing prices started to decline, the ARMs began to reset at higher interest rates, refinancing was more difficult and mortgage payments could no longer be paid.

2. The greedy people could not pay their subprime mortgages and had to foreclose in recorded numbers.

3. The record number of foreclosures drove down the value and prices of homes.

4. Wall Street panicked and stocks plummeted.

5. People’s 401 (k) s dropped in value along with home estimates.

6. People stopped spending money and the economy slowed.

7. Companies went out of business. Ramsey gives a simple example: People stopped buying washers and dryers, so the washer-and dryer manufacturer started laying people off, jobs were lost and unemployment arose above nine percent.

Warren Buffett said, “When the tide goes out you can tell who was skinny-dipping.” Finally, Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac got caught selling packaged subprime loans as bonds.

Until each of us conquers greed we will be like the turkey who crashed landed and the skinny dipper who got caught nude in ankle deep surf. It will take sacrifice to over come our debt as a nation and individual. We can’t continue to spend like a drunken Congressman.

John Maxwell says, “If you pay now you can play later. But if you play now you will pay later.” Dave Ramsey similarly advices, “If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.” If you sacrifice now and get out of debt, later you can grow wealth and be able to give more to help others. We have to learn to say “no” to things we can not afford now so later we can say “yes” to spending to the glory of God.

Book Reveiw “The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make” Chapter 2: Putting Paperwork Before Peoplework

Posted: December 29, 2010 in Book Reviews, Leadership
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“Putting Paperwork before Peoplework” is the title of chapter two in The Top Ten Mistake Leaders Make by Hans Finzel. This chapter is about the confessions of a Type A Personality. Finzel says that in spite of living in the telecommunication age “we will only impact people spiritually and permanently by one-on-one contact.”

Task-oriented style of leadership, the extreme cases are called obsessive-compulsive, put paperwork before people work. Finzel had devised a test to determine if you are task or people oriented: “When someone walks into your office, or wherever you happen to work, and interrupts your task at hand for the sake of conversation, how do you react? Do you view that person as an interruption or an opportunity? Does your face brighten as your people antenna powers up, or do you grimace inside at the ‘interruption’? If you relax and converse until the chat has a natural closure, you’re obviously a people person. But if you press to squirm your way out of the conversation with a bombardment of verbal and nonverbal clues, then you are one of us: the dreaded type As.”

Characteristics of stress junkies are “being impatient, excessively time-conscious, insecure about one’s status, highly competitive, hostile and aggressive, and incapable of relaxation.”

Most organizations demand Type A producers. Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Inc. says that “leaders ship.” But this demand is counter-productive to the organization. Bennis and Nanus in Leaders from their leadership surveys reported “What we have found is that the higher the rank, the more interpersonal and human the undertaking. Our top executives spend 90 percent of their time concerned with the messiness of people problems.”

Jesus is our model as Luke 4:40 indicates: “Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.”

Also Paul had people work as his goal of ministry: “Whom (Christ) we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect (mature) in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily” (Colossians 1:28, 29).

Why is people work so important? “People change through direct contact….Every survey I have ever heard about regarding this question (How are people changed?) comes back with one resounding answer: A person or a number of key people with whom one has had real-life personal contact has been the primary change agent in the person’s life.”

Here are some practical steps for paper pushers to take to push the paper aside:

1. Love your wastebasket. You don’t have to read everything that lands on your desk.

2. Do lunches away from work.

3. Take time off with your coworkers, spouse, children, and friends.

4. Plan getaways with combinations of the above.

5. Pray for people.

6. Exercise with your colleagues.

7. Change locations to get out among people.

8. Delegate more.

9. Learn to ‘ransack’ instead of reading everything.

10. See people as priority one.

11. MbWA—Manage by Wandering Around. John Maxwell stresses this same step when he talks about walking slowly through crowds.

Back to the Basics Series: Disappointments, Part Two

Posted: December 9, 2010 in Sermons
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Leadership guru, John Maxwell wrote, “A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession.” Peter Drucker agreed, “There is no success without a successor.” The advice of these leaders is the action David took in facing disappointment.

How Do I Respond to Disappointments? By NOT focusing on the disappointments!

1. Instead of Focusing on Disappointments Remember God’s Past Blessing (2 Sam 7:8-9).

A. God took David from a shepherd’s pasture to the king’s palace. Shepherds were poor, exposed to the harsh elements, tended smelly sheep, wore simple clothing, and were the bottom rung of society. Now David was rich surrounded by a plush palace, wearing kingly garments, and exalted to the highest position in the land.

B. If you think God is withholding something from you, remember all the spiritual blessings He has given you in salvation. David does this in Psalm 40:1-3. Think about where you are in life and where you would have been had not God intervened with salvation.

2. Instead of Focusing on Disappointments Consider what God is Going to do through you in the Future (2 Samuel 7:10-17).

A. David wanted to build God a material house or temple.

B. God prophesied that He was going to build David a spiritual house or dynasty.

C. David’s greatest contribution would not be made in his life but after he was gone and “slept with his fathers” (7:12).

1) In the future David’s people would dwell in “a place” with safety (7:10).

2) In the future David’s descendants would build God a temple (7:13) for which David supplied Solomon the blueprint and materials (1 Chronicles 28:11-21). From this point in David’s life, he prepared for his son’s success.

3) In the future David’s people would have leaders from David’s influence (7:16) when David is sleeping with his fathers.

D. Instead of focusing on some disappointment in this life why not set your heart on what will outlast you in eternity, like helping the next generation accomplish more for the Lord than we will.

3. Instead of Focusing on Disappointments Accept What God is Doing in you in the Present (2 Samuel 7:18-29).

A. David now focuses on what is really important:

1) Not his material house but his spiritual legacy.

2) Our spiritual legacy is not what we leave behind but whom we leave behind.

3) If we do our job our next generation will accomplish more than we will (7:19).

a) Joshua not only succeeded Moses he exceeded Moses. Joshua was able to do what Moses could not or did not. Joshua lead God’s people into the Promised Land.

b) Elisha not only succeeded Elijah he exceeded Elijah. Elisha had a double portion of God’s Spirit and performed twice as many miracles as Elijah.

B. What is important is what will outlast us.

1) A good name (Ecc 7:1)

2) The unsaved we have led to the Lord (1 Thess 2:19)

3) Believers we have impacted to serve the Lord (2 Tim 2:2)

4) A generation of leaders (“house” in 7:23-29) whose impact will be eternal

The Christian life is not a 100 dash or the 100 metre sprint. The Christian life is more like a Relay Race. In a Relay race the baton has been handed to us and we must hand it to the next runner in the 20 yard space called the Exchange Zone. Coaches say the relay race is won by the cleanest and quickest exchange of batons in the Exchange Zone so the next runner can get that 10th of a second advantage over the next runner and win the race.

To whom will we hand the baton of Christianity at Gospel Baptist Church? Think of Gospel Baptist Church as the Exchange Zone. Are we preparing the next generation of leaders? To have a successful win in a Relay race you must have a runner with the baton and a runner who has been trained to the take the baton and finish the race.

I see clubbers in AWANAs, little students in Sunday school and boys and girls in Children’s Church as future runners who will feed into our Power Zone youth group to whom we will eventually pass the baton of leadership.

Who will financially support this ministry in the near future?

Who will consistently be fed in our services to grow strong in the Lord?

Who will faithfully serve as teachers, deacons, ministry leaders, and even pastors?

Are we going to let a pebble of disappointment on the Relay Race trip us up and cause us to abandon the race? Focus on the goal of preparing our successors. Live for the next generation. Get your eyes off your disappointment and onto our future leaders.

Back to the Basics Series: Disappointments, Part One

Posted: December 8, 2010 in Sermons
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Disappointment visits all of us. Disappointment means “not as appointed.” Disappointments range from our picnics cancelled because of rain to our being laid off our jobs. With the increase in the unemployment from 9.6 to 9.8 in November, more people experienced this disappointment.

Disappointment is the lot of even the most dedicated believers. Elisabeth Elliot is the widow and biographer of missionary Jim Elliot who was martyred by the Auca Indians in Ecuador, South America. Her book Through Gates of Splendor tells this amazing story. Elisabeth went to Ecuador to put into writing the language of a tribe in Ecuador so that tribe could possess the Bible in their language. A Spanish-speaking believer helped Elizabeth for one month until he was shot. She continued her difficult task alone for eight more months and then left that field of ministry for another. She also left nearly a year’s worth of files of linguistic work for her co-workers to continue. Elisabeth soon learned that within two weeks all her translation work had been stolen with no backup copies. Humanly speaking, all her work had been in vain. Here is Elisabeth’s response to this huge disappointment:

I simply had to bow in the knowledge that God was his own interpreter. . . . We must allow God to do what he wants to do. And if you are thinking that you known the will of God for your life and you are anxious to do that, you are probably in for a very rude awakening because nobody knows the will of God for his entire life. . . . (Eternity, January 1969, p. 18).

David the man after God’s own heart, like Elisabeth Elliot, experienced many disappointments.

1. The disappointment of the death of his son in 2 Samuel 18:33. A pastor friend of mine whose daughter recently died said: “Children are supposed to bury their children, not parents their children.”

2. The disappointment of friends in 2 Samuel 15:31. David’s friend Ahithophel betrayed him. In Psalm 41:9, David wrote of Ahithophel’s betrayal which is quoted by Christ in reference to Judas betrayal of Christ (John 13:18-21). Even Christ experienced this disappointment.

3. The disappointment of career in 2 Samuel 15:13. Not only is unemployment up but also underemployment: Those who have lost hope of finding work or full-time work.

4. The disappointment of our decisions in 2 Samuel 12:13. David confessed his sins and did not blame others. Most of us are farsighted when it comes to the faults of others and not just far sighted when it comes to our faults but nearly blind.

J. Dwight Pentecost in his book God’s Answers to Man’s Problems writes that there are two areas of disappointments. The first is disappointments because of circumstances and the second area of disappointment is with people. Pentecost writes a great line: “We live by a double standard. We expect of men what we do not hold ourselves responsible for; and if we committed the same failure that disappoints us in others, we would excuse ourselves. But because somebody else does it we hold them responsible and we’re swept away by disappointment” (page 51).

5. The disappointment with God in 2 Samuel 7. David wanted to build God a majestic house and God would not permit him.

Every test tested positive that David was doing God’s will in wanting to build the temple.

1. Circumstances were right in 2 Samuel 7:1

A. The first word in this story “and” connects this scene to the previous scene of David returning the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Now that the all important Ark of the Covenant is back why not build an appropriate dwelling place for the symbol of God’s presence?  

 B. David had defeated all his enemies and now he could concentrate on building God a temple.

C. Circumstances sometimes dictate God’s will. In the New Testament these circumstances are called “open doors” as in 1 Corinthians 16:9.

2. Desires are godly in 2 Samuel 7:2-3.

A. David is ashamed that his house is more elaborate than God’s house. Haggai the prophet actually rebuked God’s people for giving more attention to their houses than God’s house in Haggai 1:4.

B. Sometimes God does lead us through God given desires (Psalm 37:4; 1 Timothy 3:1).

3. Wise counsel from Godly men in 2 Samuel 7:3.

A. Nathan here spoke before prayed. He does not make the same mistake in 12:1.

B. Proverbs states that “in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”

4. Others will do what David was not allowed in 2 Samuel 7:13.

 A. Solomon will be permitted to build God’s temple.

B. I remember reading many years ago a tract entitled, “Others may but you may not.” What God permits for one believer may not be God’s will for you.

5. God said, “No!” in 2 Samuel 7:4-7.

A. Notice the author says, “The Word of the Lord came to Nathan.”

B. God’s Word is the only infallible test for God’s will.

In my next post, we will consider how to exactly respond to disappointments.

How to Handle Critics! (For Preachers Only)

Posted: March 2, 2010 in Homiletics/Preaching, Pastoral Theology
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Spurgeon would occasionally find a nasty anonymous letter lying on his pulpit when he would stand up to preach. There would be a letter but no name. One day he got to the pulpit and there was a piece of paper with one word written in large letters….IDIOT…. So Spurgeon said to his congregation, “Normally I get letters without signatures, but today I got a signature without a letter.”

J. Oswald Sanders said, “No leader is exempt from criticism, and his humility will nowhere be seen more clearly than in the manner in which he accepts and reacts to it” (Spiritual Leadership, page 110). As leaders we must accept graciously the wrong kind of criticism and encourage the constructive kind.

I read this post by Michael Duduit, editor of Preaching Magizine, and thought every preacher would be encouraged, rebuked, and challenged. At least I was. He quotes Brian Tracy in his book Maximum Achievement: ”Virtually everything you do is the result of habit. The way you talk, the way you work, drive, think, interact with others, spend money and deal with the important people in your life are all largely habitual.” Tracy adds: “The good news is that all habits are learned, and they can therefore be unlearned.”

As a preacher, what kind of habits have you developed — in your study, in your speaking, in your sermons? It’s very easy for any of us to fall into patterns of which we may not even be aware, but that are painfully obvious to those who hear us each week.

While you’ll likely have to analyze your own study patterns to see if you’ve developed any bad habits (such as breaking into your message prep regularly to answer e-mail), it’s possible to get others to help you evaluate your messages to see what habits you may have picked up. Why not trade out three or four recent videotaped messages with a trusted colleague so each of you can evaluate the other in terms of presentation and content patterns?

Great golfers regularly get coaches to help them evaluate their swing. Great hitters have coaches who help them recognize and eliminate bad habits. As a preacher, seek out others who can help evaluate and coach you (PreachingNOW@preachingmagizine-info.com Vol. 9, No 2, January 12, 2010). PreachingNOW is a free weekly email newsletter produced by Michael Duduit.

Sometimes we preachers do not have to seek out others who will evaluate (a kind word) our preaching. I remember reading the story of Charles H. Spurgeon’s Monday morning critic. Spurgeon said every Monday for awhile he would receive an anonymous card from one of his members at Metropolitan Tabernacle who recorded all of Spurgeon’s mistakes he made in his Sunday sermons. What was Spurgeon’s response? What would have been my response after several months of criticism? Spurgeon said he carefully considered each remark and where he could improve his preaching. Perhaps that is one reason we still read his sermons today.

Here is how Mark Driscoll advised preachers to get feedback on their preaching:

1) Exhibit a humble attitude that really seeks input even if it is negative

2) Make yourself available after preaching for instant feedback

3) Set up a section on the church’s website for questions and discussion of the sermon

4) Humbly consider the pleas of those who lovely confront you

5) Appoint preselected people to write feedback reports on the sermon

6) Encourage leaders to channel feedback from more timid members

Mark Driscoll tells this story, “One friend of mine who pastors a large church went so far as to pay a non-Christian neighbor to attend his church and write up a full report of what it was like to find the building, park, be greeted, sit the service, hear the sermon, and hang out for coffee afterward. He said it was the best money the church ever spent” (Vintage Church, chapter 4 “Why is Preaching Important?”).

John Maxwell provokes leaders to ask themselves, “Do you want to improve or be approved?” We cannot have it both ways. Thank God for those solicited coaches and unsolicited critics who can be used by God to not only humble us but, like a whetstone, sharpen our ministry to others.

Another great resource is Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast entitled Better Before Bigger. Andy Stanley quotes Truett Cathy who said this about Click-fi-A, “If we get better our customers will demand we get bigger.” Stanley quotes Cathy to warn churches about striving just to get big for the sake of getting big. We should want to grow in order to help more people spiritually.

Stanley says there are two steps to getting better in any organization or ministry.

The first step is clarification and the second is evaluation. Clarification identifies what constitutes a win for our ministry or even our preaching. For Stanley, a win in his preaching is if people enjoy his preaching so much they want to come back. If they come back enough God’s Word will help them. For there to be clarification there must be evaluation. So Stanley and his staff on Mondays evaluate all of their ministries which they call environments. One of the environments is preaching. So he and his staff talk about his preaching. Stanley starts the conversation by giving himself a grade so the others are more comfortable in evaluating his preaching.

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