A Must for All Leaders

John W. Gardner wrote the following nearly fifty years ago in his book entitled, Excellence; “In short, the varied leadership of our society must come to recognize that one of the great functions of leaders is to help a society to achieve the best that is in it.”

There is no place where that statement takes on greater significance than in the church. Significantly, it is not directed at a single leadership level or age group within the church.

Simply put: Leaders must lead.

The purpose of their leadership is also very clear. Leaders must lead an organization/church “to achieve the best that is in it.”

It does not take an above average IQ to state the obvious: As followers of Jesus Christ, Christ is in us and is head of the church. Therefore our responsibility is to be the best of who we are and do what we were created to do.

As leaders and part of the church, we are not called to be the best of who we are - - we are called to be the best of who HE is.

When those of the church begin to live as followers of Christ and take up the responsibility of leading, we will not have to tell anyone about His church. People will be drawn to His church in numbers that will stagger us.

Separation of Church and State Revisited - A Shift in Terminology

I have again spent some time in our nation's capital. It seems only too appropriate to look back at thoughts from 2008.

Over the past few months, there has been a quiet shift in terminology from the leadership of our nation. Beginning with Secretary of State Clinton then to President Obama. The shift has been from using the term "Freedom of Religion" to "Freedom of Worship." I believe that puts our nation on a very slippery slide. It could easily be interpreted to mean that we are free to go inside the church of our choice to worship but do not bring anything outside the church.

By clear definition, worship and religion are two distinctly different issue. One can have freedom of worship is they truly have freedom of religion. To have only freedom of worship, does not guarantee freedom of religion.

From my Blog posted August, 2008.

Several things came out of Pastor Rick Warren's Presidential forum last week.

The first issue for me was how many Christians were ready to pass judgment before the event took place. Many were ready to condemn Pastor Warren for not asking tough enough questions before the evening started.

The biggest issues was a statement attributed to Pastor Warren..... he said that he "believes in the separation of church and state but does not believe in the separation of faith and politics. "

That is a statement we all need to hear. I believe that our politics should be shaped by our faith. For too many I feel their faith is shaped by the politics. Frankly, if our politics are shaped by our faith, we do not need to have church in our government.

It is similar to the fight for prayer in schools. The reason so many want prayer in schools is because prayer was out of our homes before it left our schools.

Our nation will be changed when we live out our faith in every area of our lives without it being mandated by government.

A Lesson from Mary Poppins

Last evening, Billie and I had an extraordinary evening with Courtney and Judy in Washington DC. Beginning with a dinner that surpassed even our wildest expectations and then to the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts to watch the stage production of Mary Poppins.

A scene in Act 1 of Mary Poppins happened so quickly, it was very easy to miss it. Yet it stuck with me and I thought about it even after arriving home.

In the scene, a gentleman gave each of the two children a "six-pence." The young man proudly stated that he knew what it was worth. The response of the gentleman is the power statement. He stated and I am paraphrasing, "You may think you know the worth, but you will not know the value until you spend it."

I am not sure that I heard anything after that statement for the next few minutes.

That is a statement we need to remember in life about ourselves and others.

God has given each of us time, talents and treasures. The world tries to put a price on them. The world tries to tell us what each of them are worth. But, what is the true value?

Each day has a worth. Yet, how different we feel about the value of the day based on what we have done or more importantly, what we have given of our day to others.

The worth of $50 is $50. Yet to the person who has much, $50 does not have much value. However to the person who has little or nothing, $50 may seem like a fortune.

Giving an hour of your day to a person whose life seems to be coming apart may have greater value than a day doing something else.

I finished the night thinking about my life. It is not a question of what my life is worth. I think my life is worth Christ dying on a cross for me. But what will the value of my life be when I am all done? That will be determined by how I decide to spend every moment God gives me.

Each of us need to ask ourselves - not what is our life worth, but what will the value of our life be?

You may think you know what your life is worth, but you will not know the value until you spend it. Spend your life wisely.

It is Not Enough to Know Where You Want to Go

Very often leaders believe it is enough just to know where they want to go. The fact is that "the where" must be accompanied by a clear "how to get there."

The Reverend Billy Graham tells a story of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach. Wanting to mail a letter, he asked a young boy where the post office was Located.

After the boy had told him, Rev. Graham thanked him and said, “If you’ll come to the Church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone about God and how to get to Heaven.”

“I don’t think I’ll be there,” the boy said. “Can you really get me to heaven, mister, if you don’t even know your way to the post office”

I am a believer that God-sized visions need to be combined with God-sized plans and men and women of God who are willing to work. I mean really work - God-sized work.

I love Isaiah 32:8. "But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands."

I also want to caution leaders from getting the false idea that we are to seek God for the where and then figure out the how on our own, as if we were really that smart.

No, God is in the where and the how.

Some leaders use the term of being "aligned" with God's vision and plans. I want to be painted on them. I do not want to be alongside aligned. I want to be painted on so well that to remove me from God's vision and plans someone will have to work hard to scrape me off. I want my life to be one and the same with God's vision and plans for me to serve Him.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jer 29:11,NIV)


So, it seems fairly simple - - Get a vision and get to work. Or, as Pastor Mark Batterson stated as one of the NCC core values, "Pray like it depends on God and then work like it depends on you."

Our Vision - A Chosen Generation

Yesterday I wrote about vision. I am sure that many wondered if the vision of ACG can be seen with the eyes of the heart and mind.

Here it is for the world to know.

ACG Vision: To see an explosion of dynamic intergenerational churches reproducing among God’s people.

I love the idea of being a part of something that is "God-size" and not "me size."

Close your eyes and picture your church as a place where all age-groups matter - a place "where everyone serves and gets to be served." Picture your church pouring into the lives of people of all ages in communities and churches in your community, city, state, country and even around the world.

Picture the families of your church worshiping, growing and serving together.

Picture all that and you will know why I think God created me and what I believe God wants me to pour into with all my energy and strength.

I am loving the journey.

Seeing the Vision

Yesterday I attended one of the services of National Community Church (NCC) in Washington D.C. Having read several of Pastor Mark Batterson’s books and followed his blog, I have wanted to visit NCC for quite a while.

Sitting in the Loews Theater in Georgetown, the Service had a different feel to it. It was very comfortable and it still felt very much like “church.”

I had read on Mark’s blog that NCC was opening the 6th location in September. In addition to the various locations for weekend services, the ministry “atlas” listed over 60 small groups that meet all over the area. It was impressive and very accommodating.

In his message, Pastor Mark (re)cast the vision “20/20.” I do not believe it mattered if you were hearing it for the first time, such as in my case; or if you had been a part of the church for a long time - - When you heard it and you could immediately “See it.” I knew instantly what he meant and my mind instantly started to see the other locations. It took no explanation. Twenty locations by the year 2020.

How clear is the vision of your church or organization? Can you state it clearly? Does it stick?

Vision is a color portrait of an achievable future that is painted on the heart and mind.

A vision must be seen with the eyes of your heart as well as the eyes of your mind.

Here is an easy test - - Ask 5-10 people within your organization or church if they know the vision. But first, can you repeat the vision without referring to your notes? Can you see it?

Before people will follow you, they need to know you have a vision for where you are going.