10 Church Leadership "Everydays" and "Foundationals"

Have the church leadership thrown away their manners, their beliefs and their standard?
If you feel me speaking to you, I may very well be!
1. You don't order people to do work or serve somewhere. You don't own your congregation and do not have the right to make them do something. So telling them things like, "you better do this" or "you have to do this" or "you will be doing this"is not an option for you. The power of suggestion and asking is in play. If they have made a commitment you roster them and get confirmation.
So don't forget the P's and Q's that your parents taught you!
2. You don't tell the team that these are the rules now and not remember to apply them when someone else comes into the picture or someone fights or forgets it. Stand by the decision you make and the vision you have and get the church to understand why it is important to do certain things, and how to do them.
3. You can't "expect" your team to be inspired by themselves. You need to inspire them. Encourage them. Bless them. Thank them. Tell all of them how their contribution and effort play an integral part of church growth.
4. Don't make decisions for them. Your church is filled with people not robots, people with feelings, time schedules, likes and dislikes. I highly doubt anyone wants you to tell them how and when to live their lives. Again, suggestion is key.
5. Don't take advantage of those that are more shy or on the quiet side when it comes to speaking their mind. Be a leader who gives them an opportunity to speak up, make their own mind about something and gives them the time to make that decision.  Don't be a PUSHOVER. A leader who will encourage the person to be honest with their feelings, belief systems and brings up leaders even if they seem to be the quiet type.
Your passion for God must not make people want to run away from you but rather see it as a desirable quality. 
6. Stop being a gossiper. I find it insulting that I have to say and see this but it stands true to some that come to you and tell you something wrong or bad about another person. Then go to the other person and say something about you to them. Stop being a back stabber. Let your words be few when it comes to this. Be wise and please do not think that people have not noticed when you are doing it.
As a leader you must know that you are being watched and people will take you for your word(s).
7. Stop being jealous and stop enabling the competition spirit . Stop wanting to be someone else. Just because I can sing doesn't mean I can be or make me want to be Darlene Zschech. I rather be me and allow God to work through me. So stop being jealous and stop trying to "out do" someone who is at your same level of serving at church. Whether it is between worship leaders, preachers or pastors. Be yourself and make yourself available to God so He can do amazing things through you.
8. As leaders we all have a platform whether it is huge or small. When you are serving make sure you are not doing it with a mirror in front of you. This life of servanthood isn't for yourself. It isn't for you to feel good, to check whether you sound and look perfect and better than another. It is so that the church can get closer to God, find themselves in Him and allow Him to work on their hearts so they can grow and become who God has called them to be. So when you are up there it is SO NOT ABOUT YOU.
Work for God, not for yourself. I have seen my share of people fall off their high horses when they don't get this very foundational rule.
9. Evaluating a leader's performance and telling him/her how they are doing is not criticizing them or telling them that they are not valuable but that they have potential and you want to see that growth in them.
When the pastor I was interning with, gave me a very genuine, honest evaluation and said I had to do better, if I grumbled and mumbled under my breath, I would not have been able to learn from him and grow as a leader myself. It is a day I will always remember as someone took the time to care enough to tell me. So be an adult when dealing with each other. Stop hiding from your responsibility to improve and grow your leaders and stop being a baby when you have to hear it and deal with it.
Be an adult, submit, learn and see God manifest in more amazing ways than you can imagine.
10. Preparation, learning and rehearsing are keys to anything we want or need to do. Whether it is an event, church service, prayer meeting, worship, leadership, preaching, don't think it as not important cause it will affect not only you but your team and your church eventually.
Don't be selfish and not care. Make sacrifices so that what you put out on your platform is only your best. After all, everything you do, you do for God, right? Be ready to put in the effort and stop making excuses of being busy. If at work you have to prepare, if at home you have to prepare, if at every relationship you have to work, then it is very obvious that when you are doing things for church you have to prepare.
So even if God changes you agenda by surprise you are prepared for Him to do that as well.

Side Note:****
This post was formerly known as "Things Church Leaders Need to Get Straight", but some guys felt it was too harsh and some felt that it should not have been said this way, but here's the thing I had to hear it, see it, experience it and live under it. And I know that a lot of people feel this way, it is our responsibility to bring change where it is needed so our church can be healthy and strong and the people that come there will feel at home, safe as they should always feel than feeling attacked. So I hope that all that read this will see my heart behind wanting the best for everyone and bringing to light the things that matter. Much love to all! 

Success Is in the Details: Worship Team Meetings

The hallmark of any successful sports franchise is its meticulous preparation. Winning coaches and players speak of the relentless drive to prepare for every game, regardless of the opponent or setting. How often have you heard of a team losing to an inferior opponent because they were looking past them to next week's game? Success means there is no such thing as an "off" day.
Many pastors, musicians and media staff also live for the big event. These leaders desire to be successful in the collective goal of connecting people to God, recognize the value of meticulous preparation, and see the potential of designing worship in teams. Yet, these same groups often fail to create worship experiences that transform lives because they forget the details of preparation.
Success comes in the details. In worship, as in sports, the first step is to evaluate the process. A weekly worship design team meeting should be more than a calendar-sharing session. Ideally, the team is designing a worship event where lives are transformed through the creative presentation of the Gospel. Each worship element is not pre-determined, but developed together as a group.

Every church, regardless of congregational size and worship design team experience, can learn something from a self-evaluation process. The are a number of details to cover.
Frequency: How Often to Meet
The first detail is how often the team meets. While worship styles vary wildly across regions, denominations, and congregational sizes, there seem to be only a few basic models for planning. We've outlined 3 popular methods below with some notes. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but a starting point for figuring out your church's own unique solution.
1. Single team meeting weekly
This is perhaps the most common model for designing worship in a team. A weekly worship team can be staff, volunteer, or a mix of the two. There is a set weekly time, either during the workday or in the evening. It is recommended that this design team time and day remain generally the same each week. For example Tuesdays at 2:00pm might work well with an all-staff team. Evenings will probably be better if volunteers are involved.
In some ways, the weekly meeting is an easier model, particularly in terms of facilitating the logistics of planning. Small church planning structures, which are often highly relationship-driven, rely on ongoing communication between the preacher, music leader and other staff or volunteer team members. This communication happens face to face during the meeting, but also, and sometimes to a greater degree, takes place outside the team meeting via email and telephone.
Weekly meetings are also arguably easier in terms of managing interpersonal dynamics, because the team has more interaction with each other. This presumably leads to stronger relationships. (Of course, a high level of team interaction can have the opposite effect, but in our experience the more often a team meets the better its member relationships form and maintain.) If team members have sufficiently flexible schedules to do weekly meetings, the overall nearness of the team will likely be much stronger just because of the frequency of the gatherings.
More likely than not, teams that meet weekly are going to be staff. Understand that for many staff members, the idea of another meeting isn't something that will be relished at first. Be proactive about making the meetings uplifting, casual, creative and fun. If done right, design team day will become the highlight of the week.
2. Multiple teams meeting weekly or on rotation
Although weekly worship planning has its pros, one of its cons is that it can become exhausting, especially for volunteers who have busy lives outside of the team. Burnout can happen pretty fast. Having multiple teams sharing the worship design burden can be a great solution to this problem.
In this model, several different teams design worship. For example, there may be 4 teams, each meeting once a month with the paid staff (usually a pastor, a music person, and or a media specialist). The paid staff come to every meeting and help to carry out the individual services. Planning could be for the upcoming week, or it may be for several weeks ahead.
Usually this method of planning includes a mix of preacher, music leader and key technical and creative volunteers. It might also be made up of an all-staff team. The worship producer is the link and becomes highly important to keeping continuity between teams. Teams that don't have a producer in place should add one before moving forward on this method.
The length of these meetings can vary, but ideally they are around 2 to 3 hours. It is not necessary to determine every single song, prayer, and creative element within the group meeting time, but deciding the overall creative (theme/metaphor) direction for the service, and an order of worship should be the goal. Individuals outside the meeting can then carry out specific tasks.
Churches who preach in series, use the Revised Common Lectionary, or follow standard liturgy may find this method particularly useful, since the structure of the church calendar can facilitate planning ahead. However, such a structure is dependant on a preacher who plans ahead.
3. Single team meeting once every few weeks or monthly
If filling one good team, much less a whole bunch of them, seems like an enormous task, consider using one team, but spreading the meetings out to once or twice a month. This third common model may be the most realistic model for small and mostly volunteer-based teams.
The overarching goal in this model is to set the creative direction for several services at one meeting. When teams come together, the view is like a lens kept on wide-angle. Meetings are for brainstorming themes, metaphors, songs, and other creative elements for upcoming services. Only devote an hour or so to each service, hopefully less. Using this model means that more creative decisions are made outside of the meetings by individuals communicating via email, text, and telephone.
As you put your team together or restructure your existing team, keep in mind the things that can deflate the team. One detractor to morale often comes from looking at the way other successful teams prepare. At most large church conferences, the official playbook reads: a) worship is the primary event of the congregation, so b) it is due the most resources, and c) if given adequate resources, it will produce a growing church. In other words, act like a big church in the approach to worship design, and eventually you'll become a big church. This may or may not be true. Examples may be cited either way. Even if it is true, however, not every congregation seeks to become a clone of its most frequently modeled mega-church. Enjoy the freedom you have to discover your own indigenous structure for designing worship!
Agenda: How to Meet
Let's be real: Agenda is not a very popular word with creative people. It usually ranks somewhere near the bottom of the list between handcuffs and sunrise. The word itself belies its intent. An agenda is simply a guide for how to meet. To make the most of our time, we need to establish a regular process for our team meetings. Successful sports teams don't begin practice without a game plan in mind, so you shouldn't either. As with frequency, various solutions exist according to the gifts and the needs of each individual team. Here's one sample model for your worship design team:
1. Small group development/prayer (10-45 minutes)
Focus your initial attention on nurturing and developing Christian community within your worship design teams. The sense of safe space and what is said here, stays here is crucial to fostering creativity and modeling life as the body of Christ to the congregation.
If the meeting is held during a workday, this time may be limited to 10-15 minutes, with mutual sharing and prayer. If in the evening, the team may consider a longer mall group time prior to worship planning. The less frequently the team sees one another outside of the meeting, the more critical this step is.
We have worked on some teams that took small group development seriously. Others assumed that because they met regularly and were all Christians, they'd automatically take on the nature of a small group. This is not necessarily the case.
One team Len worked with only met once a month. Since the team took the small group covenant seriously, they would spend 45 minutes to an hour over dinner, sharing personal life stories and struggles and prayer, before ever moving to the work of worship.
2. Debrief time (10-15 minutes)
Taking a few minutes to evaluate what has just happened in worship can be very instructive. This may entail comments from each team member regarding successes and failures from the previous Sunday or Sundays. It may also be a focused discussion on ways to improve a single aspect of the worship process.
Len worked with one church that had a tendency to drift toward discussions of problems with sound during this period of the meeting. Every week ended up as a gripe session over such topics as dropped wireless microphones or missed cues, in spite of the fact that the team agreed such discussions weren't very helpful. The team finally solved their sound problem by buying an egg timer. Each week in the meeting, when the debrief stage began, a team member would pull out the egg timer and set it to 10 minutes. When the buzzer sounded, all debriefing, including the weekly sound discussion, was done.
3. Word (10-20 minutes)
With debriefing done, the preacher lays out the basis for the upcoming worship experience.
A warning: This is a difficult art to master. We have seen many preachers, used to operating as a lone ranger, develop too much while getting used to the team process. Let's create a sample preacher called Rev. Dunn, who comes to the meeting with core and supplemental scripture texts, main points, and illustrations already noted. Pastor Dunn has the notes pre-written and has already passed them out as a Word document outline via email, supposedly to foster creative thinking. Or even worse, the team receives the notes orally in detailed fashion, in a way that doesn't foster openness and discussion.
Occasionally, too much works. When creative people look over the pastors notes and come prepared with notes about themes, titles, metaphors and creative elements, it can jumpstart an open discussion. In our experience, however, this is rare. More often, the result is squelched creativity. People often treat the notes as a final copy rather than a draft and are unable or unwilling to offer or accept changes or modifications. There is still much power in the printed word to create a sense of finality.
Rev. Dunn's model is only likely to work on a veteran team operating with a high degree of mutual experience and trust. Even then it can undermine creative potential.
Others, wanting to utilize the creativity of the team, bring too little. In this scenario, the preacher (let's call this one Rev. Dunno) comes to the meeting with, well, nothing, save a general hunch about a direction and maybe some potential texts that match the season, series or Christian calendar. Rev. Dunno understands the power of the creative team, but he provides insufficient direction on which the team can brainstorm. The result is often brainstorms that are only brain mists, or even brainsunshinydays. There is little creative traction, and the team suffers through long periods of awkward silence.
Both Dunn and Dunno miss the potential of the team. Good team worship design happens under the thoughtful direction of a preacher who is capable of providing a core scripture, general reflections, and even a personal illustration or two. This preacher, though, knows how and when to open up discussion, talking a little but not too much, and then asking questions to elicit helpful feedback.
4. Brainstorm (30-60 minutes)
The previous stage, Word, and this stage blend together on good teams. For example, as the preacher shares reflections on a scripture or a story, someone in the room makes a mental jump that reminds me of a movie I saw recently.
Pastoral, theological, cultural, visual, artistic and technological discussions intermingle during this time, which is the most exciting part of the process and the reason most people sign on.
This time may last up to an hour or more. There might be periods of silence and periods in which everyone has something to share and is equally passionate. Creativity can be both quiet and fierce. Do not fear this process. Embrace it, and let it run free. The more openly the team allows itself to think, the better worship will be.
The brainstorm process is so vital, we will focus on it more in an upcoming article.
5. Decision (10-20 minutes)
Brainstorming eventually reaches a point of diminishing returns. This point is usually obvious; it is when a series of good ideas begins to be followed by much worse ideas.
When this happens, it's time to look for consensus on the main idea of the service and its theme, metaphor and goals.
On the main idea, consensus is vital. Does everyone in the room agree on what the upcoming worship service is about? Can the theme be articulated in a sentence or two?
What is the primary means to communicate the theme? What is the primary visual metaphor? The title? Is there a collective goal for the service, such as an offer of salvation or a call to action on a specific mission project? The more the team can agree on these details, the clearer the service will be. A tiny degree of confusion at this point can blossom into full chaos later, so be careful.
The decision stage may or may not include a specific order of worship (see Frequency, above). Teams that cannot make time for decisions within the meeting time can charge a member with this task for later distribution via email.
6. Rinse, Lather, Repeat (optional)
Some teams have the set goal of designing multiple services in one meeting. For these teams, the next step is to start over at #3 with a different text, hopefully following a break.
7. Administrative (10 min)
Place all housekeeping tasks at the end of the meeting when everyone is ready to go. This ensures that they don?Äôt take over valuable planning time.
Being intentional about how often you meet and how you meet can make all of the difference in how your team's season ends. If you want your team to experience more wins than losses, take the time to figure out when and how you should prepare for the big game. Remember, team development is a process, and the most important thing is how those in worship see Jesus through our performance during the big event. 

All copyright belongs to Church leaders and Midnight Oil Productions

Midnight Oil Productions is passionate about worship that authentically communicates to today's digital culture. Their goal for Midnight Oil is to further the vision of worship for the digital age through ideas, resources and seminars that work for local churches. Their vision for Midnight Oil began in 1998 and the ministry in April 2002. It is the continuation of a calling that started for each of us way back before there was an Internet.More from MidnightOilProductions or visit MidnightOilProductions atwww.midnightoilproductions.com/blog/

5 Thoughts on Leadership from the Life of David

I read an interesting story from the life of the Biblical character of David again recently. The story says a great deal about leadership and what is required to lead successfully.

Here’s what I read:
When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,” he inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” The LORD answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines, and save Keilah. But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah, we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces?” 1 Samuel 23:1-3
Notice David had a vision…a word from God. This was a bigger request than David, and his men probably felt incapable of doing it. They were still a young army. This was prior to David reigning as king. He had been anointed king by God but did not yet have the position. He was hiding from Saul. He didn’t have a king’s palace. He spent much of his time in a cave. This new assignment was scary, his army was questioning him, and the future was unknown.
Have you experienced a situation like this as a leader?
Thankfully, David’s story had a happy ending: (Imagine that…since God put him up to it.)
Once again, David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.” 5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines, and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. 1 Samuel 23:4-5
This story prompts some thoughts on leadership:
1. We seldom get to rest for long - I told our staff recently, as we’ve rounded our fifth year as an explosive growing church plant, that there is no promise that there is coming a season of rest. The next five years are likely to be as wild as the last five years. In my experience, growing organizations are always changing, new challenges come often, and people frequently feel stretched. I might write more about this thought later, but that means we have to get better as individuals to face the difficult days to come.
2. Next steps are scary - If they weren’t, again, people wouldn’t need a leader. Next steps involve risk, require faith, and the future is an unknown.
3. Leaders lead - That’s what leaders do…they take people where they need to go, maybe even where they want to go, and sometimes, where they are hesitant, afraid, or may not yet be prepared to go. People don’t need a leader to stay where they are currently.
4. Big visions require faith – God doesn’t call us to that which is easy. He would receive no glory in us doing things we can naturally do…and seriously…What kind of a dream is it if it’s easily completed?
5. Victory won’t come unless we move forward – You can’t realize the rewards of a God-given vision until you take the required actions. Standing still is safer, but it doesn’t bring the satisfaction of a well-executed, bold move of faith.
What are you being called to these days that is bigger than you? Does any of this ring true for your organization or time in leadership?

All Copyright belongs to Church leaders and Ron Edmondson.

Ron Edmondson is a pastor and church leader passionate about planting churches, helping established churches thrive, and assisting pastors and those in ministry think through leadership, strategy and life. Ron has over 20 years business experience, mostly as a self-employed business owner, and he's been in full-time ministry for over 8 years.
More from Ron Edmondson or visit Ron at http://www.ronedmondson.com/

How to Keep Criticism in Check by Steven Furtick

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” 
Genesis 41:41-43
If you saw Joseph in his prime, you’d probably think, “Oh, that must be nice.” Or negatively, “He’s sold God out, and all he cares about now is power and money.”

Really? Here’s the backstory:
Betrayed by his brothers and thrown into a pit. Then sold into slavery. Then falsely accused of rape by his master’s wife. Then thrown into prison. All this over the course of thirteen hellish years. And the Bible says that through it all, God was positioning him to save a nation and his family.
Jealous now?
Critical now?
We’ve got to be very careful about being jealous over other people’s blessings without knowing the backstory. It can be so easy to look at someone who’s in a good position or a church that’s really successful and be envious of what God has given them. Or be critical of it.
But you don’t know the road that person had to take to get to where they are today. You don’t know the price they’ve had to pay to get their church to where it’s at today.
They might have had to go through hell. Just like Joseph did. And they might have been faithful through it all. Just like Joseph was.
Would you still want their blessing if you knew the backstory? Would you be willing to go through the same thing to get it? Would you be as critical if you knew the whole story?
God’s blessings were never meant to trigger envy or suspicion.
Don’t waste any more time being jealous of someone else’s blessings. God has given you exactly what you need to do exactly what He’s called you to do.
And don’t be critical of other people’s blessings either. God’s given them exactly what they need, too.
Don’t envy where God has taken other people. Stop lamenting the hand He’s dealt you. It’s better than you think.
So good, in fact, that there’s someone else in the world that would probably be jealous of it.

All Copyright belongs to Churchleaders.com and Steven Furtick!

Steven Furtick is the Lead Pastor of Elevation Church, an incredible move of God in Charlotte, NC with more than 6,000 in attendance each week among three locations. He is the author of the forthcoming book, Sun Stand Still. He lives in Charlotte with his wife Holly and their two sons, Elijah and Graham.More from Steven Furtick or visit Steven at www.stevenfurtick.com

8 Things That Will Change You and Your Church by Perry Noble

1. Ask God to absolutely set you on fire…to ignite you with passion that consumes you so that you are not merely working in a job but fulfilling His vision for your life.  People who work a job make a living…but people who are fulfilling their passion/calling make a difference!  (See Jeremiah 20:9)
2. Make the decision that you are going to lead out of CONVICTION of the Holy Spirit rather than theCONVENIENCE of doing what is easy rather than what is right.
3. Beg God to allow you to see people the way He sees people.  I think one of the fundamental problems in the body of Christ is that our eyes no longer see as His eyes see!  However, if we take off our “church colored glasses” and begin to see the world the way HE sees it…it changes EVERYTHING!  (See II Corinthians 5:16)
4. Make the decision that you don’t have to have all of the answers before you obey the voice of the Lord.  I once heard Francis Chan say, “When I read the Bible, it makes perfect sense not to know what is going to happen next!”  THAT might be one of the most freeing statements I’ve ever heard!  Hebrews 11:1 and Hebrews 11:6 have been HUGE for me personally in this regard.  YOUR church can do EXACTLY what God has told you to do…GO FOR IT!
5. Understand that everyone is NOT going to understand you…and that you can’t make it your goal to make sure that everyone understands and approves.  (See Galatians 1:10 and Proverbs 29:25)

6. Quit running to the online audience that will never darken the doors of your church to seek their approval.  Enough said!
7. PRAY BOLD PRAYERS for your church!  The early church prayed for boldness…we pray for safety.  The early church prayed for people to come to Christ…we pray for Sister So-and-so’s hangnail!  The early church prayed for the church to expand and the Gospel to advance…we pray that we can keep our churches small and safe.  Let’s BEG God for things to happen in our churches that are UNEXPLAINABLE and UNDENIABLE so that HE can receive ALL the glory!
8. STOP trying to be everyone else and be who God called you to be…your church should be a result of responding to the REVELATION of God and not the IMITATION of others!

All copyright belongs to Perry Noble and Churchleaders.com

Perry Noble is the founding and senior pastor of NewSpring Church in Anderson, Greenville and Florence, South Carolina. At just nine years old, the church averages over 10,000 people during weekend services and is launching another campus in Columbia, South Carolina. Perry is convicted about speaking the truth as plainly as possible. A prolific blogger, he’s also the author of Blueprints: How to Build Godly Relationships.More from Perry Noble or visit Perry at www.perrynoble.com

6 Warning Signs of Leadership Failure by Gary Foster

Our local churches (and huge, publicly traded companies) go down in flames under the guidance of capable leaders with questionable ethics. In the recent past, we've witnessed the public downfall of leaders from almost every arena of society. One day, they're on top of the heap; the next, shame and infamy are heaped on them.
While our outrage at disgraced leaders may be justified, we fail to realize how quickly "they" become "us." The distance between beloved leader and despised failure is shorter than we think. Fallen leaders never set out to sacrifice their integrity, abandon ethical behavior, or exploit those they lead. But it happened! Their failures should be our cautions. Mark Sanborn, in his article "Why Leaders Fail," gives us six warning signs of leadership failure we should heed:

The distance between beloved leader and despised failure is shorter than we think.

Warning Sign #1: A Shift in Focus
Leaders are usually distinguished by their ability to "think big." But as their focus shifts, their thinking shrinks. Often, leaders simply lose sight of what's important. They micromanage, get caught up in minutiae, and succumb to perfectionism in trivial decisions better left to others. Even more subtle is an obsession with "doing" rather than "becoming." A leader's greatest influence flows from inner vision and integrity, but it's possible for a leader to become infatuated with action and, in the process, lose touch with the all-important development of character. Busier isn't always better. What is your primary focus right now? If you can't write it on the back of your business card, then your leadership suffers from a lack of clarity.
Warning Sign #2: Poor Communication
Lack of focus disorients a leader and sets the stage for poor communication. Followers can't possibly understand a leader's intent when the leader isn't even sure what it is! Sometimes, leaders delude themselves into believing that committed followers can sense their goals and carry out their wishes without being told. When misunderstandings arise, managers blame their people for lack of effort (or commitment) rather than recognizing their own communication negligence. "Say what you mean, and mean what you say" is timeless advice, but it must be preceded by knowing what you mean! Clarity of purpose is the starting point for all effective communication.
Warning Sign #3: Risk Aversion
Past victories create pressure for leaders: "Will I be able to sustain outstanding performance?" The longer a leader is successful, the higher his or her perceived cost of failure will be. When driven by the fear of failure, leaders are unable to take reasonable risks. They limit themselves to tried and proven pathways. Attempts at innovation—key to their initial success—diminish and eventually disappear. Which is more important to you: the journey or the destination? Are you still taking reasonable risks? Prudent leadership avoids reckless risk, but neither is it paralyzed by fear.
Warning Sign #4: Ethics Slip
A leader's credibility depends upon two qualities: what he or she does (competency) and who he or she is (character). Deficiencies in either create an integrity problem. The highest principle of leadership is integrity. When ethical compromise is rationalized as necessary for the "greater good," a leader is on the slippery slope of failure. All too often, leaders see their followers as pawns, mere means to an end. As a result, they confuse manipulation with leadership. Such leaders rapidly lose respect. To save face, they cease to be people "perceivers" and become people "pleasers," using popularity to ease the guilt of lapsed integrity. Are there areas of conflict between what you believe and how you behave?
Warning Sign #5: Poor Self-Management
If a leader doesn't take care of him/herself, no one else will. Unless a leader is blessed with unusually perceptive followers, nobody will pick up on signs of fatigue and stress. Leaders are counted on to produce, but they aren't superheroes with limitless energy. While leadership is invigorating, it is also tiring. Like anyone other mere mortal, leaders are susceptible to feeling drained, depressed, and demotivated. Those who neglect their physical, psychological, emotional, or spiritual needs are headed for disaster. Make time for refreshment and replenishment. Take care of yourself. Self-preservation isn't selfish; it’s vital to the health of those you lead.
Warning Sign #6: Lost Love
Leaders face impending disaster when they abandon their first love. The hard work of leadership should be fulfilling and fun. However, when divorced from their dreams, leaders may find the responsibility of leadership to be frustrating and fruitless. To stay motivated, leaders must stick to what they love and rediscover what compelled them to accept the mantle of leadership in the first place. To make sure that you stay on the track of following your first love, frequently ask yourself these three questions: Why did I initially pursue leadership? Have those reasons changed? Do I still want to lead?
The warning signs in life—from stoplights to prescription labels—are intended for our good. They protect us from disaster, and we would be foolish to ignore them. Don't be afraid to take an honest look at yourself.

All copyright belongs to Gary Foster and Churchleaders.com

Adapted from Mark Sanborn, "Why Leaders Fail" Leadership Wired, 08/08.

Gary D. Foster founded and leads Gary D. Foster Consulting, a marketing and management service specializing in helping religious product companies and ministries discover and optimize new revenue streams and to better leverage existing ones. He served as an executive with Focus on the Family, where he managed their award-winning book publishing operation and $110 million direct-mail fundraising division. He also spent 12 years with the Christian Booksellers Association, where he served as President and CEO of CBA Service Corporation. He also served in executive product development and marketing positions with Cook Communications Ministries, Moody Press and Moody Magazine. Learn more about Gary at www.GaryDFoster.com.

A21 Campaign MARCH 2011 UPDATE

This last month we saw an HISTORIC victory in Greece as another trafficker was convicted!! This time, the penalty given was unprecedented!Here is a brief snapshot into the courtroom…

As Katrina* approached the witness stand, her heart was beating like never before. This was the moment she had been anxiously waiting for, and it was going to take all of her courage to testify. With tears in her eyes, she stood face to face with her trafficker. All of the horrible memories began to flood her mind, but she pressed through the pain and began to speak every shocking detail of what she had endured at the hands of her trafficker. She said to the judges, "I am here to say to everyone, I am not a prostitute as they call me. I am a girl who came to Greece for a better life, and they raped my body and my soul. They exploited me."

As the trial proceeded, witness after witness were called in against Katrina,* and seven lawyers spoke in the defense of her trafficker. Many false accusations were made against her, and they did all they could to instill fear through methods of intimidation, threats, and embarrassment. One of our lawyers had the privilege of representing Katrina* in court, and was able to shed light in a very dark situation.

When the judges retreated to form their final decision, Katrina* sat in anticipation, unsure if her abuser would be imprisoned or walk free. When the judges entered the room after 1.5 hours of deliberation, there was a death-like silence in the atmosphere. Then the Chair of Court read aloud the court's final decision.

Katrina's* trafficker was found GUILTY of trafficking in persons, prostituting, and repeated rape. He was sentenced to 15.5 years in prison, and a € 108,000 Euro fine ($150,000.00 USD)! Thanks to Katrina's brave testimony, and the determination of our lawyer, one more trafficker has been taken off the street.

This conviction is unprecedented in Greece, and will serve as an example for many future cases.

It is our hope that Katrina's story will be one of many victorious endings for the millions of girls who are currently trapped in a living nightmare of sex trafficking. In order to make this dream a reality, we believe that it is going to take all of us playing our individual part to truly end this injustice.

This is one of the reasons why we have created a resource to equip both students and adults to make a difference. The A21 Abolition Pack is a great tool for people who want to take action to see human trafficking abolished. These packs include a leadership and events manual, two A21 promotional videos, and PDF versions of our brochure and prayer guide. If you are interested in ordering this resource, or A21 merchandise, please visit our webstore.

Thank you so much for your passionate pursuit of justice and generous support. As we continue to take steps to expand our efforts on the ground throughout Eastern Europe, we recognize that all of our efforts would not be possible without individuals around the globe taking action to see girls, like Katrina,* walk in FREEDOM.

Do you have a facebook account? The A21 Campaign is excited to announce that we are going to be launching an A21 Fan page on the 21^st of March! This is going to be a great tool to spread awareness about human trafficking and will be a place where you can post your ideas and photos, comment on our discussion board, and will be an interactive way to stay connected to the cause. In the meantime, be sure to stay connected through the A21 Facebook Cause and Twitter.

Of Mints & Musicians by Phil Christensen

Melrose Community Church was dying. Literally. With a congregation of mostly senior citizens, Pastor Martin scheduled many more funerals than newcomer desserts.
Martin almost hated following up visitors, because he kept hearing the same thing: "You have a nice church..." then they'd fumble for the right words. "But good worship is really important to us. We'll keep looking."
As a worship development missionary, I was asked to help Melrose improve the quality and depth of their worship. New to Melrose, Pastor Martin believed that attractive, fresh praise was a key part of renewal.
"We've got a good guitarist and a percussionist in the wings," he told me, "but Cookie, our pianist, is...a little difficult. She's never played with other musicians, and our first practice is in two weeks."
Cookie, now in her 40's, had played piano at Melrose Community Church since she was a little girl. She'd suffered through a bitter divorce and her grown children avoided her. Undoubtedly, Cookie found great comfort in her role as church pianist.

I visited Melrose the following week, but nothing could have prepared me for Cookie's piano playing.
Her ragtime left hand bounced octaves like a pogo stick. Her classical right hand was a whirlwind of melodies and counter-melodies and trills and runs. An eternal sustain pedal gave new meaning to "blended worship." If she had an arpeggio in mind, she'd slow the song down to make it fit!
Worship with Cookie was a loud and wild ride, and this was clearly one reason people were avoiding Melrose Community Church.
At the end of the service I introduced myself to Cookie, thanking her for her faithfulness. I asked if we could spend a few moments talking about the upcoming worship team; she agreed as she nervously bundled up her sheet music.
I asked if she'd played much with other musicians. She said she hadn't, but was sure she'd do fine.
It was time to jump the big hurdle.
"You've been serving the Lord here at Melrose since you were a kid, haven't you?" She nodded.
"These upcoming weeks," I told her, "will be a great time for you to learn and grow." I asked if I could show her a couple of ideas about working piano parts around a guitar. Cookie agreed.
Sharing the piano bench, I played the simple descending chords of "As the Deer." I explained that I'd chosen half-notes to leave room for the flow of the strumming guitar.

When I asked if this made sense, Cookie floored me with her response. "Sir," she looked me straight in the eye, "your breath is so offensive, I could not possibly concentrate on anything you're saying."
Apologizing, I asked her if she had a breath mint. She glared at me, folded her arms, and simply said, "no."
I excused myself and found an Altoid, but when I returned to Cookie, she was in tears. Her voice trembled and she waved a thin finger at me, "everyone's always telling me I'm not good enough! I'm sick of hearing it! I AM good! I AM talented!" Her shoulders heaved while she sobbed uncontrollably.
I may have had coffee breath, but I suspect Cookie was mostly bothered by the words on my breath. I had come to her with words of change.
I apologized for upsetting her and assured her she was quite talented.  She could not stop crying, though, and I excused myself while Pastor Martin attempted damage control.
Cookie never was able to change, but renewal finally prevailed at Melrose. After months of musical train wrecks, the church bought her a synthesizer that could be turned down in the mix. Not ideal, but workable, I suppose.

I learned at least three valuable lessons from Cookie, and pass them along to others who work with church musicians.
First, like "iron sharpens iron (Pr. 27:17)," musicians need to spend time working with other players. Years of solo work can cause us to become musically eccentric and ingrown. Good tempo, tasteful arrangements and a sense of flow are usually developed as players mutually submit to one another.
Second, if you need to approach an emotional artist with a sensitive issue, don't put it off. Be bold and "speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15)." Through 30 years -- and a half-dozen pastors -- Cookie was apparently never challenged to temper her musical bad habits. She and the church suffered as a result.
Third, and though I don't have Scripture for it, keep mints with you. If you must speak words of change, let them be carried on the sweetest breath possible.

All copyright belongs to www.churchleaders.com and Phil Christensen.

Phil is a husband, father, and worship pastor. In Autumn 2010, he will begin his 10th year of service at Stonebridge Church (The ministry formerly known as CHEF.
More from Phil Christensen or visit Phil atwww.philchristensen.com

The L-Myth by Paul Andrew

In his bestselling book “The E-Myth” Michael Gerber attacks some common misconceptions around what it means to be an entrepreneur. He debunks why people become entrepreneurs, what a business really is, and helps explain why so many people struggle with their small business that was supposed to give them “freedom”.

I believe there’s an L-Myth too. The Leadership Myth has kept many a capable person from believing they could lead others.


Millions of people have accepted fallacies like these-
* “Real leaders are born leaders” – as though it’s a birthright… yet so many of us need to lead, even when it doesn’t come easily
* “You need to be an extrovert to be a leader” – as though it’s a personality type… yet some of the best leaders in history were quiet achievers or introverts
* “The leader has to be the smartest person in the room” – as though it’s an IQ test… yet many smart people don’t lead, and many world-class leaders didn’t finish school let alone their PhD
* “You can’t learn to be a leader” – as though it’s a completely mysterious art… yet there is a science of leadership too

In many ways I write these articles on The Leadership Coach™ for the 90% of leaders who find themselves leading out necessity. Not because they were born leaders. Not because they love the limelight or were the best and brightest. But because there was a need or an opportunity and they stepped up.


I actually believe that leadership is more an attitude than it is a position. That it’s more about the way we carry ourselves and our organisations than it is about the corner office or the fancy title.


Everyone leading. That’s the goal. Thinking like leaders, acting like leaders, making choices like leaders, carrying the vision like leaders, taking responsibility like leaders.


So great companies don’t build leadership structures, they build leadership cultures. They harness the latent leadership in all of us.


It’s time we rethink leadership.


So what do YOU think are the myths or half-truths people believe that keep them from becoming the leaders they could be?

Check out more of Paul Andrew's Stuff, here. 

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership By John C. Maxwell

Probably one of the most important reads for a beginner leader, pastor, church leader, business leader from any walk of life.
Here's a free PDF of the book.

http://www.marshallcf.com/assets/book%20summaries/the%2021%20irrefutable%20laws%20of%20leadership-w.pdf