We welcome Brandon Cox back today with another insightful article that is sure to encourage and promote servant leadership around the globe! Thanks Brandon for sharing! You can learn more about Brandon at his website.

I just returned from a conference with close to 5,000 attendees, mostly pastors and church planters. The content was incredible and the people who lead it care deeply about the audience. The theme spoke to the soul and the workshops were spot on in terms of practical, helpful advice. In fact, Exponential is probably one of the best conferences I’ve ever attended and I hope to come back.

But like any good conference, there are side effects. Pastors are intriguing creatures who have a tendency to be some of the best at acting and projecting. I conclude this partly out of observation and experience and partly out of empirical data collected from DISC profiles that demonstrates that we have a tendency to adjust to the expectations around us to an extent that becomes difficult to sustain over time, often leading to burnout and emotional wreckage.

I also share it out of my own personal experience. I’m an introvert by nature and I find it easy to retreat into a shell, projecting confidence but feeling on the inside that I’m surrounded by people who couldn’t possibly find me valuable. I’ve learned to combat that lie with the truth of Scripture, basing my self-worth on the assessment Jesus made of me in the garden of Gethsemane. He purposefully went to the cross for me even knowing my faults and failures in advance. He did the same for you.

I want to speak a word of encouragement to Pastors about your value. Listen loudly to these two truths:

1. There are no LARGE churches. Some are smaller than others, but “large” is a relative word we should measure in terms of our actual cultural impact. Until we’ve saturated a community with the gospel and are seeing 90% or more of the population living life in a proper relationship with Jesus, we’ll just assume all churches are still small. I was on staff at Saddleback, a church that saw about 40,000 people this past Easter Sunday, but Orange County has a population of 3 million. Saddleback is small. There are too many people without Jesus and on their way to hell for any of us to boast in our numbers. We’re way behind.

2. There are no SMALL pastors. Stop sizing yourself up according to the relative size of your church. We tend to assume that large churches are led by large pastors, and small churches by small pastors. That’s a lie, from the devil, from the pit of hell. It smells like smoke. It takes a big leader to step before a congregation and shepherd them. A small church absolutely does not equal a small pastor!

I’m not concluding that all pastors are healthy. Yes, there are church leaders who are ego-driven, bigoted, dictatorial, and hypocritical. But assuming you’re in a right relationship with Jesus, you’re not small. Your impact is impossible to calculate and only eternity will show the full extent of the investment you’ve made into people.

You are valuable enough to God to move Him to send His Son Jesus to the cross for you. You are, as Paul put it in 1 Timothy 1:12, “counted worthy” being put into the ministry. You were chosen for the greatest task on the planet – telling others the good news, and your choosing is based entirely on grace so that neither you nor any other pastor on the face of the earth can ever boast in being bigger. In God’s eyes, there are just no small pastors!

As you may know, Melodee and I are leading a tour of Israel in February of 2013. (That’s 10 months from now.) Here’s the link for details: http://eaglesinleadership.org/israel-trip-2013/

As I have been inviting people, a most curious pattern has occurred that recently I took notice of. Let me explain. My initiation goes like this:

“Would love to invite you to Israel with me in 2013! This will be an amazing trip! I know you would be SO transformed. There are hardly words to explain what happens inside when you go. You will NEVER be the same after you go to Israel. (And I am teaching all along the way!) I will be glad to answer ALL your questions.”

“Would you at least pray and ask God this question: ‘Why shouldn’t I go to Israel with Doc?’ and let him answer. I’ll be praying with you! I also have a sample fund raising letter if you would like help there too. Details here: http://eaglesinleadership.org/israel-trip-2013/. Message me with any questions.”

Reponses Reveal the Soul

As I post these via email or Facebook, one group of people, after a period of reflection and consideration reply, “Doc, I’ll pray about that.” The other group, almost immediately, reply, “Sorry Doc, I couldn’t afford that.”

At first I simply took no notice of it. And then, upon further reflection, I realized something: How many times do I simply discount a thing without ever consulting God? I mean, seriously, how did I know I should go on this trip at this time? I did it by faith. You see, I don’t have the money for this trip either yet!

But what if God wanted you to go and you never asked him? We tout pious platitudes like, “Where God guides, God provides!” However, what if God did allow you this [or some other] opportunity and you or I simply dismissed it because, we don’t have money.

A Changed Perspective

“Where God guides, God provides!” Do I believe it? Yes, I do! So, through this process I have come to a fresh approach. When God allows an opportunity to come my way, I say this to Him; Since you have allowed this to come my way, I believe you want me to consider and pray about it. I will plan to go until you say, “No.”

And so, now I take every opportunity as direction for prayer and for work. So, Israel is a go. And I am working to fund this trip because God has given me the opportunity to go. (I even wrote a fund raising letter and will mail those soon as well!) Why? Because I believe that, “Where God guides, God provides!”

What do your actions show you really believe?

Editor’s Note: We welcome our friend Alan Hirsch today. Writing on a most poignant issue today for the Christian leader, Alan has agreed to share this “gem” with us. It will included in his foreword to Lance Ford’s new book Unleader. Thanks for sharing Alan!

I must admit to been increasingly concerned with the culture of celebrity that surrounds the adulation of many popular Christian leaders in the West.  Aside from the fake, contrived, “heroism” that is embodied in such forms of leadership, to my eyes it looks like it an illegitimate attempt to steal glory from Jesus Himself.  The celebrity is a mere slave to the crowd; he or she needs the crowd as much as they long for a celebrity.  But this is not Christian leadership; it is way too codependent, narcissistic, and emotionally parasitical to be viewed as an extension of genuine discipleship—adherence to Jesus.  Clearly Jesus himself, while willingly serving the people, was never subservient to the crass, consumeristic,  groupthink of the undiscipled crowd.  Neither were any of our great saints and heroes—Paul, Augustine, Patrick, Francis, Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King.  It marks them off as different from the false heroisms of our day.

The second phrase in the Lord’s prayer affirms that God’s name (representing all that He is and signifies) is to be made holy (hallowed) through the obedient actions as His people in every arena of their lives. In other words in biblical worldview, God’s name is hallowed when I do things that cause others to honor and respect God and all that He is to the world.  To hallow the Name is therefore the highest ethical act we can do as believers….it is to bring glory to the One we love through the things that we do.  Its not hard to see that it lies at the heart of worship itself. Our lives must point beyond ourselves to that of the One we serve.  This is the very meaning of Christ-like-ness.  It also lies at the heart to the whole Biblical notion of being a witness. The quality of our lives do matter. In other words people read the message of our lives and God’s reputation is somehow bound up with them.

But implied in this call to hallow the Name is also the possibility of its opposite, what the rabbis call “blaspheming the Name”.   To blaspheme the Name of God is to distort its meaning in the world so that the character and purposes of God are thereby obscured, His glory veiled, and His name cursed by others because of what we as his witnesses do. Blasphemy inverts holiness and makes it inaccessible to others.  Our lives can therefore either hallow or blaspheme the Name. In short, it means bearing fundamentally false witness.  This is a justifiably a horror to all that love God truly.  Leaders, those people whose actions are amplified because of their influence on others, more than anything else are required to live a consistent life worthy of the Name they represent.  If they are not doing this, their acts distort (also in an amplified way) the nature and meaning of the Gospel itself.  God gets the blame when we get it wrong!

Viewed as such, Christian celebrity, especially in that ideological, primadonna-ish, spin-loaded,  cult of self that it embodies, distorts what Jesus essentially stands for and therefore amounts to false witness.  As someone who is involved in many of the forums that could so easily lend themselves to the cultivation of such celebrity, along with it’s false representation of leadership, I have to admit that I can discern in myself a slow but inexorable slide towards pride and conceit. I need to be constantly addressed by the Gospel, called to account by Lord and community, to repent and constantly surrender myself to the call to be an adoring follower of the He who won my salvation through culturally ignominious means—a life of suffering love and a death on cross.

Editor’s Note: Our good friend, Brandon Cox, is planting Grace Hills Church in Northwest Arkansas. As he does, his passion flows into his people and reveals his desire to stay focused on the mission of Jesus. Enjoy this reprint of his recent post, used with Brandon’s permission. You can check out Brandon Cox and his ministry at his website.

Grace Hills Church is eleven Sundays old, officially, and about eight months old, unofficially. And we’re in trouble. If we don’t do something, all of our effort will be in vain and all hope of planting the kind of church Jesus had in mind will be lost.

No, we’re not out of money. God has provided every step of the way. No, we’re not losing people. In fact, we’re seeing new attenders every week. And no, we’re not losing our leaders. We’re seeing new leaders emerge as each week passes. But I still contend that we’re in jeopardy of losing everything important to us… if we don’t fight for it.

Churches do not automatically thrive. The American church, as a local institution, has proven that it can coast along in almost-dead mode for many years. But there are no churches that are effectively reaching and changing their surrounding culture by accident. Recently, Rick Warren wrote a brief piece on Pastors.com about breaking three common barriers to church growth. In the comments, a troubling attitude emerged that is probably not too uncommon among believers in American churches – that growth is up to God (which I wholeheartedly agree with) and so any intentional effort to cause growth is somehow wrong (which I couldn’t disagree with more).

We’ve been having “good Sundays” at Grace Hills, but I’m still very much on guard. In fact, I sometimes find myself troubled at the rising threats against our success, not from any force outside of our fellowship, but from within it. Let me elaborate on some ways I believe the mission is in jeopardy even now…

If we fail to intentionally be the church, we will unintentionally just do church. And that’s true, no matter how much we say we’re going to “be the church.” Doing the Sunday gathering thing is what we’re good at, and even though we spend a lot of time and money on it, it’s still easier than scattering to be the church in our community.

If we fail to intentionally make disciples, we will unintentionally just make fans. I believe in making Jesus famous and bringing people into the enjoyment of His glory, but our mission is more than increasing the popularity of the church. The mission is to help people become reproducing, sold out Jesus-followers.

If we fail to intentionally be authentic, we will unintentionally just perform. I’ve performed before. In fact, I’m a recovering performer and have struggled with an addiction to the approval of others, so admitting my weaknesses is tough, but essential. I no longer trust my autopilot to lead me into genuine authenticity. Being real takes effort, and if we aren’t real, nobody heals.

If we fail to intentionally embrace all people, we will unintentionally play favorites. And the apostle James warned us about the danger of insulting the cross by picking and choosing those with whom we want to do ministry. Rather than hanging out with only the “churchy” people, of our color, of our political persuasion, of our cultural background etc., the gospel itself demands that we purposely break free and seek out new friendships for the gospel’s sake.

If we fail to intentionally be generous, we will unintentionally consume everything. By default, we spend it all, and we tend to spend pretty much all of our resources on ourselves. Churches tend to fall into the trap of sustaining their institutional machinery, maintaining their buildings and budgets, and begging for more volunteers and bigger offerings to keep the snowball rolling. Generosity requires purposeful sacrifice (if we can even use that word in light of the cross).

Grace Hills is in jeopardy of existing for us rather than them. We’re in jeopardy of growing the institution of the church rather than the people of the church. And we’re always in jeopardy of becoming a well-liked brand rather than pointing the culture to the infinite goodness of God.

So what should we do? How do we stop our drift and shift out of autopilot? With focus, intention, and effort, we need to:

• Check our hearts and our motives.
• Remind ourselves of the mission often.
• Repeat the vision regularly.
• Keep Jesus at the center.
• Put people before the organization.
• Do it all with a sense of desperation.

After all, if we fail to take the reins, we’re already as good as dead no matter how long we keep the doors open. So… go.

Photo Credit: baptisttwentyone.com

So many times we fail to tell others about the amazing lovingkindness of the Lord for fear! This week, as we have been reading through the Bible, we came across Gideon in Judges 6. He was commissioned by the Lord to remove the oppression tyranny of the Midianites from Israel. But he was afraid. Their dialogue is instructive to us who are called to share Christ with our world …

“The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not sending you?”” (Judges 6:14, HCSB)

• God’s mission isn’t dependent upon our strength!

God knows what we can do the way we are. Our task is to move out by faith.

“He said to Him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”” (Judges 6:15, HCSB)

• God’s mission isn’t dependent upon our status!

You don’t need to be a Bible school graduate or a long-time Christ follower to share the benefits you have received from the Lord. All you need to do is tell your story!

““But I will be with you,” the Lord said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.”” (Judges 6:16, HCSB)

• God’s mission is empowered by His presence!

Ultimately, this is the bottom-line. You go, God gives the help and strength. All we have to do is tell people how God has changed our lives. He will convert hearts!

Share your faith this week by sharing your stories of God’s mercy, grace and compassion; not your church stories with church jargon. As the Psalmist says …

“Praise Him for His powerful acts; praise Him for His abundant greatness.” (Psalm 150:2, HCSB)

That’s my take on the mission. I would love to hear yours. Please take a moment and comment below. Thank you!

As I downloaded yet another app this week, I thought of the fun and convenience technology has brought to our lives. You know what I mean – apps for finding a great place to eat, mapping your route to your destination, saving at local businesses, reading books and magazines, watching TV shows … not to mention tweeting, posting to Facebook and checking email.

And while all of this makes like easier, I also noticed a trend in the lives of many busy urbanites: Segmenting life and using people like apps.

Think with me about how this works. We used to get together for some relational time over dinner just for a fun time. Now we are in constant contact, reading each other’s news stream as our lives pass by. We start to think, “I wonder how Jane could help me do this?” or “I’ll bet I could get Jim to do this for me.” We seem to be changing friendships into merchandizing opportunities, connections into selfish applications.

Nowhere does this seem to take on more of a dark side than in our relationship with the Lord of the Universe. Someone recently commented on this saying, “Jesus can fix that for you!” At that moment I thought, “Is Jesus our 24/7 concierge? Did Jesus become the new (or old) Siri?

While the Lord Jesus is a friend to sinners and has called us to “ask and you will receive” (John 16:24), the Bible clearly states that he is not an app –

“Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for.” (1 John 5:14–15, HCSB)

The bottom line is this: Jesus calls us to promote His kingdom and His agenda. When we choose to do so, there are limitless resources than we can’t even imagine at our fingertips. This week, access the Lord of Grace and Mercy and advance His mission – but remember, He’s not an app; He is Lord.

by Pastor Mark Haines

We welcome Pastor Mark Haines to Eagles In Leadership this week. He is a happy husband, father, grandfather and pastor living in the Great Lakes Bay Region of Michigan. You can learn more about him at his website.

Our church has been struggling financially.  Many of our members lost their jobs as well as their savings in this recession.  How can we pray for our church’s finances?

Here are a few suggestions based on God’s principles for finances and generosity.

Principle #1: God evaluates your giving based on your heart motives and your ability to give, not on the amount of your offering.

(Mark 12:41—44; 2 Corinthians 8:2)

• Ask God to help your congregation’s constituents to see every tithe and gift to the Lord is important.  That way no one will miss out on a blessing by thinking his/her giving won’t be missed.
• Pray for the ability to give generously.

Principle #2: Find help and instruction to help everyone in your church to enjoy the freedom of getting out of debt.

(Romans 13:8; Proverbs 22:7)

• Pray that the families and individuals in your church will pay off any outstanding debts they may have in order to experience financial freedom.

Principle #3: Giving should come from the cheerful generous heart of one who loves God.

(2 Corinthians 9:6—8)

• Pray for your church members to love the Lord so much that they see giving to Him through the church as a joy and a privilege. Then, they will give generously as God enables them.

Principle #4: Give to God not only as an act of thanksgiving, but also in obedience to His command. When you obey Him, He promises to meet all your needs and to bless your lives.

(Malachi 3:6-10; Philippians 4:19)

• Ask the Lord to give each member the courage to accept God’s challenge to test Him by giving at least a tithe (10%) of his/her income, even if it seems impossible.
• Thank the Lord for honoring His promise to pour out a blessing on those who give.
• Ask that as God pours out His blessings, whether material or spiritual, the person receiving them will know them as God’s blessings sent because of their obedient giving.

Principle #5: Your tithe should be the first thing you pay.

(1 Corinthians 16:2)

• Ask the Lord give each member the courage to trust Him to meet all his or her needs as they give to Him first and then pay their bills.

Principle #6: Money can be used for good or for evil.

(1 Timothy 6:6—10, 17—19)

• Ask the Lord to give each member the sense of contentment we all need to resist greed, and the desire to “keep up with the Jones’s.”
• Pray for wisdom in how you spend and invest your money, especially so you can reap eternal dividends.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

How do you pray for your church’s finances?

By Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

My phone rang yesterday afternoon. It was one of our city council members in El Segundo, California, where I recently accepted a lead pastor position. His kind words of welcome and thanks for my recent note touched my heart. He also offered to go to lunch or coffee soon and get better acquainted.

He was responding to a note I had sent to him, and all of our elected officials, the week before. The note said, in part, “I wanted to introduce myself and let you know I am looking forward to getting to know you in the coming months and years. One of the things that are very important to me is developing a good working relationship with each of the community leaders, including you.

“Part of what I want to accomplish is to build this great relationship with our congregation and the community. As I begin to work on this, I have asked the members of our church to invest in you and the entire council. To start do this on our part, I have asked the congregation to pray for you, our city leaders and our city. In order to make that happen, we have given them a set of prayer targets (on the inside flap of the enclosed church program). We adapted these prayer targets from the city website and newsletter.

“It is my hope that we can get together soon and have coffee or lunch, my treat! Melodee, my wife, and I have yet to move into the community. Until then, be assured of my support.”

With the note, I also included a copy of that week’s worship program, and drew attention to the flap which had this information in it:

Praying for Our Community … Praying for Our City Leaders

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.” (1 Timothy 2:1–2, NLT)

This week we ask you to pray for the leaders of the city of El Segundo. Please pray for wisdom as they lead, understanding as they work and compassion as they serve the city. Please pray for the following leaders.” And then we posted the names and positions of all city elected leaders. We let our congregation know that our prayer points are adapted directly from the city’s web page.

One of the tenants of our vision and mission is this: “A community will not care about the church until the church cares for it’s community.”

Could your community use a dose of tangible care from your church? We believe ours could.

As we walked the streets of our community this weekend giving away small bags of Valentine’s candy, my heart almost broke as I thought about all the people near our worship facility.

Who are they? What’s their story? Do they know Christ? What aches and pains do they carry?

“Hi, we’re your neighbor and wanted to give you this bag of Valentine’s candy and say, ‘Happy Valentine’s Day!’” The reactions were positive and several remarked how no one had ever done this before that they could remember.

Just a few candies and a flier for the upcoming month’s small group and worship schedule; No hard sell. We just wanted to let the people around us know that we were their neighbors and that we cared.

“No one has ever done this before,” keeps ringing in my heart and head. How can we live near people and not “see” them, get to know them and connect with them?

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39, NKJV)

By Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

Over the course of the past 2 years I have been thinking about the alarming statistics concerning the American Church. My friend, Len Sweet, says that 75% of the churches in America are dying, 23% of them are plateaued (often taking those from dying churches) and the remaining 2% are growing due to conversion growth. (Personal conversation) Even the simplest of anecdotal evidence shows the vast majority of churches in America are in trouble.

With that in mind, I have been focused on the paradigm we Church leaders use for commitment of Christ and His Church in the USA and find it flawed. In fact, when we talk about “commitment,” we often use softer words like “attendance.” However, in the real word “commitment” has some harsh realities. Take housing as one example …

• Owners pay for everything – and take the responsibility for everything. In return, all of the benefits belong to them. Their hard work and total investment often pays off over the long term with great rewards.

• Renters pay for some things – and take the responsibility for only their things.  In contrast, a renter has a short-term commitment (a monthly or annual lease) and gains the benefits of the home / apartment / room for a short period of time, without the long-term appreciation of the property and the financial pay-off it might bring. They also enjoy none of the maintenance and financial responsibility beyond the negotiated rental agreement.

• Freeloaders pay for nothing – and take no responsibility for anything. All too often someone, often children or friends, take advantage of us through an unforeseen tragedy or the misguided goodness of our hearts. Once in, these parasites consume our resources returning nothing of value. In fact, it is these sponges that often seem to think we exist to clean their clothes, feed their stomachs and put up with their messes – again, without ever lifting a hand to help with their own untidiness.

The applications of such a thought pattern are many … and are reinforced by the King Himself who said,

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23, NKJV)

Paul reinforces this line of thought by saying …

“For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10, NKJV)

Perhaps 2012 is a time to call our people to ownership of the Kingdom of God and to stop renting or worse, freeloading … should membership or leadership be filled with renters or freeloaders?

That’s my thought. I’d love to hear yours. Take a moment and give me your feedback in the comment section.

By Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

As they did renovation on the old building not far from my house recently, I noticed that the frontage of the building was, in reality a façade! While it appeared to be a very large structure, it was, in reality a much smaller building, hiding behind a false front … like many Christians I fear.

Have you ever read these verses … I mean, ever REALLY read them?

“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24, ESV)

The façade of faith simply ignores verses like this. I mean, does Jesus really expect us to do this? I have become convinced that he does.

My friend Dave Ferguson has challenged us this year to lead ourselves every day. As I have taken time to review my life each morning, using the REMS tool he wrote about at the beginning of the month, I have come to realize that I simply need to do an accounting of my relationships each day.

Is there anyone who “has something against you?” is one of the questions I ask myself often. As I ask and answer this question honestly, and take the steps to reconcile relationships, I painfully rip off the façade of faith. What a liberating feeling it is to live in genuine faith!

So, let me ask you: Is there anyone who “has something against you” right now? How are you going to take care of it? How will you “be reconciled to your brother” before you go back to worship next weekend?

By Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

As the Christmas season came to a close, I can remember how the focus for many was on themselves. They were interested in what THEY were going to get, what parties THEY were going to and what things THEY were going to be doing.

In contrast to this was Christmas morning as we bundled out of the car to head for the restaurant for breakfast … a Christmas tradition in our family. As we stepped onto the sidewalk a homeless man with a shopping cart and a little dog asked if we could spare any change. Since I don’t carry any, I politely told him I had nothing on me.

Sitting at the booth, my wife Melodee ordered him a “to go” breakfast, and when it arrived, she immediately took it to him. The jumbo coffee and hot breakfast were gratefully received. When she came back to the table I sat there in awe of my wife who was more interested in being of service to this one man in a difficult situation than she was about how well we were served our traditional Christmas breakfast – her breakfast was cold.

This year, we can all remember that there are two motivations in life – one selfish, the other selfless. Do we see the needs all around us? Do we love our neighbor as we love ourselves? As we ate our breakfast Christmas morning, I was sure that one person did, and she was sitting right across from me.

And that brought a question to my mind as I sat there: Will I be more interested in my service of others or how others serve me in 2012? What about you?

By Dave Ferguson

We welcome our good friend Dave Ferguson back to Eagles in Leadership today. We know this article could change your 2012 in ways only God can imagine. With that in mind, we submit this great idea to you for your consideration:

My good friend Bob Bouwer was having lunch with the campus pastor of COMMUNITY a couple weeks ago when he said, “Everyday at the top of my journal I write these three letters:  E (emotional), P (physical) and S (spiritual) and then give myself a 1-10 rating.” He went on to explain how this daily routine of rigorous self-evaluation helps keep him in a healthy place.

As I heard Bob talk I was inspired to do the same; but to use a tool that is a regular part of our coaching of leaders at COMMUNITY and explained on page 120 of Exponential:  How You and Your Friends Can Start a Missional Church Movement.  We refer to this tool as “checking your RPM’S.”  This tool is based on Luke 2:52 that says, “Jesus grew in wisdom (mental) and stature (physical), and in favor with God (spiritual) and men (relational).”  So for the last week on a daily bais I have put at the top of my journal these four letters: R (relational), P (physicial), M (mental) and S (spiritual) and given myself a 1-10 rating.

I am already convinced that using this tool on a daily basis, rather than just during coaching sessions may be one of the most powerful self-leadership tools around.  I would strongly encourage you to try it for yourself.  Let me briefly explain each of these and give you a few questions to ask in your own daily self-evaluation.

RELATIONAL:  Our relational world typically includes the people with whom we interact on a regular basis: our immediate family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and small group members. Here are some questions you can ask yourself.

• How are my relationships at home?
• What about my marriage, dating, or family life is going well? What’s not going so well? What would I like to change?
• Who do I consider my closest friend? How is God using that relationship to grow me?
• What are my relationships at work like?
• Which of my relationships give my energy and life? Which are the most challenging or draining?

PHYSICAL:  Our physical well-being is often the most overlooked aspect of a leaders life. Yet diet, exercise, sleep, and rest are all vital to our ability to lead effectively. If we are serious about developing as a whole person, we have to take seriously our physical well-being.  Here are some good questions to ask:

• Am I getting enough rest?
• How is my current energy level?
• What am I doing to maintain good health when it comes to exercise and eating habits?
• Is there anything about my physical health that I’d like to change?

MENTAL:  Another often-overlooked aspect is the development of our minds. In order for us to stay sharp and be a lifelong learners, we need to be challenged. Here are some questions we can ask to see if we are developing mentally:

• What have I been learning lately?
• How am I applying what I are learning?
• What magazines, books, or websites do I read or access?
• What thoughts have been dominating my mind? Are they drawing me closer to God? Are they pulling me away from him?

SPIRITUAL:   It is also imperative that we discover and act on whatever it is that helps us grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus. Here are some questions we can ask to see how we are developing spiritually:

• How would I describe my relationship with Christ right now?
• What does it look like when I am feeling closely connected to God?
• Which spiritual disciplines seem to help me draw closer to Jesus? Prayer? Journaling? Worship? Solitude?
• Who is holding me accountable to practicing these disciplines?
• What has God been saying to me lately through his Word? The Holy Spirit? Other Christ followers? Prayer?

The longer I am in leadership the more I am convinced that the most important leadership we can offer is self-leadership.  Use this tool everyday and lead yourself!

This article was first published on December 15, 2011 at daveferguson.org and is used by permission.

Visit most any urban church in America and you will often find a small group of people rattling around in a large facility. The “glory days” for the church have passed them by and things are currently being held together by the barest of means.

If you look and listen carefully, you will find many signs of the impending death of that local church. But, like many other topics in life, no one speaks of the elephant in the room. What are we avoiding?

#1 – Infrequent adult baptisms

Adult baptisms indicate conversions … life is happening on a missional level. When there have been few to none of these in the recent past, death is lurking at the door!

#2 – Reluctance to participate

Whatever the reason for the attitude, when people disengage from the ministry to and mission of the church, forward momentum ceases.

#3 – A desire to decide

Coupled with the reluctance to participate, an urban church often has to deal with people who would rather tell others how to live and do church. Such hypocrisy taints the spirit of the body and people flee such manipulation, thus shrinking the resources and size of the congregation even more.

#4 – Acceptance of entropy

With less, the church services and facilities deteriorate. Since the Gospel is “go and serve,” the urban church now stands as a statue to a by-gone era in the midst of a teeming metropolis of lost people.

#5 – A hostility towards innovation

Arthritis sets in to the small group left and any new movement causes an eruption of the inflammation that plagues God’s people. Stakeholders nix any new idea for fear what remains will be lost.

While no one seems to speak of these things, they are crushing the urban church. Innovation and a fresh wind of the Spirit are needed to restore the vision and mission of Jesus Christ in the local, urban church. Eagles In Leadership exists to help you live and thrive in the changing setting of your urban center. If you would like to learn more, feel free to contact us at admin[@]eaglesinleadership.org.

It seems every time Eagles In Leadership is asked to come and help an urban church, one of the key issues strangling the life out of that faith community is their church governing structure. Notably, you will find the current version of their constitution dating from the 1940s or 1950s – usually the post-WWII years when church planting was in a growth surge.

This is understandably so; polity is usually cultural and often tied to the origins of the congregation – we reproduce what we know. However, as someone wisely pointed out, “This isn’t the ‘50s anymore!”

How can you tell if your governing structure needs a retool?

• Everybody wants to be in charge! (This is often known as congregational rule.) The problem is, you can’t find this structure in the New Testament and urban ministry isn’t about being in charge – it’s about touching lives with the hope and healing of Jesus Christ. It’s about deployment not government!

• The Pastor is an employee! Since a post-WWII structure made everyone the boss, they have to have someone to boss! That “someone” becomes the pastor(s). In an urban church, where the lead pastor is often a community leader, organizer and influencer, such a model simply stifles the progress of the Gospel. Look in the New Testament and seek after words that catch this idea: “And Paul and Barnabas told the community leaders, ‘We will check with our congregation and reply to you after the next quarterly business meeting, after the congregation discusses the matter and come to a majority vote.’” Obviously, you won’t find it! Urban ministry is about making decisions on the fly – understanding that the pastor(s) – like the people – are already authorized for ministry and don’t need a majority vote to do it!  Pastors are leaders of sheep, not employees of companies!

• The people are to be served! Part of the constitution (and the ethos) of the shrinking urban church is the fundamental idea that those people will never grow up; that they will always need a baby-sitter, i.e., the pastor. Essential to the WWII-era constitution is the idea that, “We deserve and expect the pastor to serve us!” Read: Marry, bury, visit, coddle, placate and care for us in any way we so deem. (If you’ve ever been to a business meeting in a “congregationally ruled” church, you totally understand.) Urban churches need to become armies of men, women, teens and children who transform their neighborhoods with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, just as you see happening in the book of Acts! A nursery can’t do this. Only a trained, equipped army of willing workers can! A church’s people are the workers of the ministry, not the babies of the nursery!

• The community exists for the growth of the church! Often we have the wrong target in the urban center: We believe the whole purpose for our existence is to grow the church! So, when someone visits, we begin sizing him or her up for a much-needed infusion of help in our children’s program, our music ministry or committee because the constitution demands we have these! Yet, urban ministry is all about bringing the love and leadership of Jesus to the broken all around us – out in the community – in an effort to see them changed through the work of the Spirit so that they might help others who need such similar rescuing!

• Whatever else you do as a new person, don’t change anything here! Part of every struggling urban church is the non-negotiable truth that the constitution and the culture it birthed and built should never be changed. It is almost as holy as the Bible itself. When someone suggests that we no longer need 4 business meetings a year, three or four bullies will pull down Heaven and Hell to stop such change! Any change is to be stopped at any cost. This creates a real problem because every new member brings change and affects the very DNA of the church! One of the reasons urban churches die is because new people often want to accomplish something for Christ, but realize change and growth isn’t possible in this WWII-era church! Church ministry isn’t about the procedures of the past; it’s about the people in the present!

Urban churches need a structure that addresses where they are now! If we can be of help to you in structuring your church for the 21^st century, please, let us know!

You can email us at transformed [at] eaglesinleadership.org

Photo Credit: medicaltipsinfo.blogspot.com

You probably know the feeling – life was supposed to turn out differently, but it didn’t. You thought God would rescue you, but he hasn’t. You know the dire hopelessness as God has stopped speaking and no one seems to be able to tell you how long the situation will continue. Friends and family without Christ scoff at the idea that there is a God who cares when they talk with you about your situation and they revile God’s name constantly in your presence.

Asaph understood what you feel. After the Temple of Solomon has been destroyed he penned this prayer in Psalm 74 to appeal to God. He was desperate as well. His prayer is a great example to all of us when all seems lost.

When all seems lost, in prayer appeal to …

• God’s reputation (the enemy scoffs at God’s name) v. 18
• God’s people (the psalmist calls them “your dove” and “your poor”) v. 19
• God’s covenant (“have regard for your covenant”) v. 20
• God’s poor (called “downtrodden” and “poor and needy”) v. 21
• God’s cause (“Arise, O God, defend your cause”) v. 22
• God’s enemies (“Don’t forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you”) v. 23

Perhaps you need a little help to “flesh out” how you would pray this prayer. Let me give you a real-life example to consider:

Dear Lord, you know we have been unemployed for a long time and finances are gone. All seems lost, and even our friends say, “Our prayers don’t seem to be working.” Your reputation is at stake. Remember us, your children by faith. Have regard for the covenant with Jesus. You have said You would “never leave us or forsake us” (Hebrews 13:5). We are nearly at the end of ourselves, without resources and in need. Arise, Lord, defend your cause in our lives. Don’t allow your enemies to laugh at You and claim your inability or non-existence. Rescue us quickly Lord, In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If all seems lost, cry out to Jesus for his help and don’t stop trusting. In reality, he is moving the pieces of life around and soon he will rescue you! And if he doesn’t, your reward in eternity will be great!

That’s my take, and I would love to hear yours. Please feel free to comment below.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:25–34, ESV)

I sometimes wonder if we really believe Jesus. I mean come on, isn’t it a bit hypocritical of me when I trust God for my eternal destiny through the substitutionary death of Jesus, but cant trust Jesus with my financial situation today?

Think about it with me for a moment, which is of more value – money or my eternal life? Of course, for many, the theological answer to this question is “my eternal life.” Yet, if we are honest, the operational answer for many of us is, “my financial life.”

Over the past weeks Melodee and I have watched as people who truly seek the kingdom of God first have sowed fresh vitality into our lives through generous gifts. While God is preparing our next full-time ministry, finances have exhausted themselves. Our prayer partners have not only prayed; they have showered us with their sacrifices to meet our financial shortfall.

In the past 16 months since our last fulltime ministry, we have learned what it means to focus Biblically on money. We use the following 5 principles, whether we have much or little.

M – Make Jesus master of our finances.

Since everything we have belongs to God, following the leadership of Jesus when it comes to the resources he has given us only makes sense. When we have had need, he has supplied through the Body of Christ. When others have had need, he had supplied their needs through our excess.

O – Only spend the money we have.

While many find this confusing, the Bible is clear that we are to “owe no one anything.” (Romans 13:8) Therefore, if we don’t have it, we don’t spend it.

N – Never use credit cards unless we have the money to pay for it now. (There are perks to using credit cards correctly.)

This is an important corollary to the previous point. We use our credit cards for the perks. However, we don’t use them if we don’t have the money to pay for the items when we buy them.

E – Exude generosity.

A woman in a dollar store this past month asked if we would buy her a bag of chips and a soda. She was hungry. She even handed us all of her money – about nine cents – which we refused. Such a small gesture could have been met with resistance, since we were about out of money ourselves. However, this kindness was met by an unexpected check in the mailbox when we returned home!

Y – Yield to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to give.

When a friend’s financial situation grew dark last year, God simply told us to give him $500 to help. We did without consideration, because we knew it was the Holy Spirit prompting us.

These simple principles have helped us in our financial troubles. While money is not what matters most in our lives, it is clear that God desires us to trust him with our financial resources.

We would love to hear from you about your financial journey with Christ in the center. Please take a few minutes and comment below!

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For daily insights into the Christian life, leadership and the Bible, you can follow Dr. Smith on Twitter and on Facebook.

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Host a Reaching Your Community In Your Generation Seminar!

The world around us changes approximately every 18 months! Such change brings great challenges to our mission. Eagles In Leadership has designed a weekend to help you energize your congregation or organization to fulfill the Great Commission in your community. You can bring this weekend to your church or organization!

The weekend revolves around four key messages:

• Help! My Community Is Changing!
• What’s Your Dream for Your Church? (And How Do You Reach It?)
• Healthy Churches Grow!
• Reaching Your Community In Your Generation! (It’s All About the Mission!)

You can learn more here.

Artwork Credit: smallbiztrends.com

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” ” (Matthew 28:18–20, ESV)

Have you ever wondered what on earth you are here for? Often such a thought comes when we are “in between” things. If you are unemployed, or moving to a new place or city, or looking for the right church family you may experience this kind of question.

Jesus was clear that EVERYONE is responsible for one key task – to reach our world in our generation. This means we are to make disciples where we are! How does this look, practically?

My Mission

Jesus is clear – I am an “army of one” to reach the people around me in my lifetime. If I am married, we are a team. If I have a family we are a bigger team. However I slice it, my mission is to reach my world in my generation.

My Jerusalem

But,  the world is huge – where do I start? In my community – my Jerusalem! We start where we are. When we have won everyone around us, we move on!

My Neighborhood

Who am I supposed to start with? I start with my neighborhood! That is where God planted me. That is where God wants me to start!

My Neighbors

Who do I speak with? My neighbors! For me, that is Steve, Kevin, Jean Claude, Marcy, etc. God put me in proximity to these people so that I can demonstrate the love and leadership of Jesus through intentional acts of kindness. In essence, we do life together in my neighborhood! That’s the springboard for my mission – to introduce them to Jesus!

My Responsibility

The bottom line is this: God placed me in my neighborhood to touch the lives of the people who live here with the sacrificial love of Jesus. To do less would be to walk in rebellion to the command of Jesus of making disciples. I can use any and all the excuses I can think of, but, when I stand before Jesus they will all wash away and all that will be left is the solid reality of what I have done and why.

It’s your mission, your Jerusalem, your neighborhood, your neighbors, and your responsibility. Will you follow Jesus and love them to him?

That’s how I see it. I would love to hear from you and hear how you have taken responsibility for your world in your generation! Add a comment below, please!

<<<>>>

For daily insights into the Christian life, leadership and the Bible, you can follow Dr. Smith on Twitter and on Facebook.

<<<>>>

Host a Reaching Your Community In Your Generation Seminar!

The world around us changes approximately every 18 months! Such change brings great challenges to our mission. Eagles In Leadership has designed a weekend to help you energize your congregation or organization to fulfill the Great Commission in your community. You can bring this weekend to your church or organization!

The weekend revolves around four key messages:

• Help! My Community Is Changing!
• What’s Your Dream for Your Church? (And How Do You Reach It?)
• Healthy Churches Grow!
• Reaching Your Community In Your Generation! (It’s All About the Mission!)

You can learn more here.

Artwork Credit: relationship-economy.com

The process of transition from a sick church to a healthy church is not an easy process! And when it begins, at least 5 things are true:

In Times of Transition

1)      Things do not stay the same

While we all like the security of stability, changes happen when we reorient our faith community to the health regimen of the New Testament.

2)      People are not what they seemed

As we evaluate everything based on spiritual health, the people around us who have been pretending feel exposed and often demonstrate their immaturity in graphic ways.

3)      The Church is no longer about me

Growing up is what health is all about in the local church and the core of spiritual growth is becoming “others-centered” and setting aside our own personal agenda.

4)      God can no longer be distant

In a sick church, God needs not be close, or even present, if we are to read Jesus’ words in Revelation 2-3 accurately. All that changes when we seek the health and life of Jesus in our midst!

5)      Life’s purpose is no longer a theory

Singing a few songs and giving a few bucks in the offering was all right when I just had to say I believed. Now, I need to discover why I am alive and present and what my part in God’s bigger plan is … and that takes some honest soul searching and practical changing.

In other words, when things begin to change from sick to healthy in our church, change reveals a lot about what we thought was true, but was just a façade. We need to be prepared for that.

Those are my thoughts. I would love to hear yours! Please comment below.

Artwork Credit: southsidenazarene.ca

Yesterday we spoke of four common attitudes in the sick church. However, we also said that healthy churches grow, according to the New Testament:

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”

“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:11–16, ESV)

In other words, healthy churches grow because the people who make up those churches are growing. What does this look like, practically?

Healthy churches exhibit certain attitudes

• The people are Humble

Healthy people serve others and the community they live in. In other words, they refuse to be the center of their universe. Paul says that they do the “work of the ministry.” In a healthy, growing church, you will always see a large percentage of the people serving. (In a sick church about 10% of the people serve the remaining 90%.)

• The people are Evangelistic

When someone begins to understand the amazing gift of grace that Jesus has given them, they have to tell their friends about it. Those words of God’s love are received well because the healthy Christ-follower is already serving their neighbors and friend, coworkers and fellow students – the people they are sharing Christ with. (Again, in a sick church, evangelism is either the pastor’s job or for those with the gift of evangelism.)

• The people are Adaptable

Things change. The healthy church moves on because the mission is more important than the method. People’s lives are more important than the traditions and tools of the past. In their adaptation, the baptistery finds use often. People are reached for Christ on a regular basis. This opens new avenues for the demonstration of the love and leadership of Jesus.

• The people are Loving

People care in the healthy church. They are not superficial or just friendly with one another. When someone new comes along, they welcome and genuinely are interested in them. They connect. When a need arises, they simply meet it, or involve their small group to take care of it. They don’t need to get the pastoral staff involved because they ARE the church!

• The people are Transparent

Beyond the superficiality of a quick “Hello” as we pass by, these people grow deep together, doing life together through small groups, in mission and in community outreach. They spend enough time together to see past the veneer and look into the real heart of one another. Foibles and failures show up, are dealt with and loved through in the healthy church.

• The people are Helpful

You will seldom hear of a project or need that wasn’t met in the healthy church. Why? Because healthy people serve and give – generosity is their signature trademark. Whether it is a comment heard on the patio on the weekend or a need shared in small group, God’s people rise to the occasion and care for it quickly because they are family, and that’s what family does.

• The people are Yielded

Agendas don’t find their way to the community of faith in a healthy church unless it is the agenda of Jesus. These people understand that just like Jesus, they are not here to be served, but to serve and give their lives as ransom for others. (See Matthew 20.20-28) This affords them the lifestyle of putting others first on a consistent and powerful basis.

This is the church of health, and it grows! Healthy churches grow because every member is a minister.

Those are my thoughts. I would love to hear yours! Please comment below.