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Can Today’s Men Be Reached?

The absence of men in the church today is a major concern. Did you know that when men are committed to Jesus and take their family to church faithfully history shows that 85% of the time their children will follow in their footsteps. For this very reason we have decided to put on an exciting and compelling event just to reach men for Christ. There are many ways to do this but often Pastors and churches are not doing much in this area. If you are reaching men, our praise goes to your hard work! If you need help, this could be perfect for you!

All Pro Pastors is partnering with the Christian Business Men Connection Ministry to do something that you can do too and it will reap great rewards, guaranteed! Let us give you the details and you decide for yourself.

On October 18, we have invited Coach Joe Gibbs to come have an early breakfast with as many men as we can gather to come. Coach Joe Gibbs is one of the greatest NFL Football coaches of all time and today he owns what is perhaps the most successful NASCAR Team of the decade! He is a true sports “Champion”, but more important, he is a “Champion” for Jesus Christ. His life is a living storybook of trials, success, tragedy, victories, failure and ultimate success. The best part, his life story is still going on and he is ready to share it with you and all who come for breakfast.

Many men would love to meet Coach Gibbs, shake his hand and have a picture taken with him. He is willing to stay and meet every single one, give them his book “Game Plan for Life” , and also take a picture with each one individually. Why would he do this, because he knows that he has a God ordained mission to reach men for Jesus  and that God has given him this platform for this specific reason!  Hundreds of men will hear about Jesus in such a compelling and real way that they will take Him as their Savior. Many men will be led by the Holy Spirit to re-commit their lives to following Jesus. All a Church or Pastor needs to do is get their men excited about bringing their lost family and friends to the breakfast. It is the perfect opportunity to bring those you care about to hear the gospel from someone that they truly see as a success by all standards. There is one other important part of this, be prepared to see them get saved.

This “Game Plan for Life” breakfast will help start many new men’s ministries as well as Rev-Up some that need revived! Pastor, how often do you have someone cast the net, catch the fish and then ask “how many do you need”? Our question is, how many men could your church use who are ready to be discipled? I guess we could ask, is your men’s ministry full or can you use any more men in your church family who are excited for Jesus and want to know more!

This is an event that we are doing in Central Florida at the State Fair Grounds. We are expecting more than 1000 men to attend. Now, let me ask, what about you? If you live in the area go to www.allprocbmc.com and get plugged in. It is not to late to get started.

You may consider doing like some of the Pastors in central Florida are doing and make this a church wide major outreach to reach men. How would it impact the families in your church if the husbands that are inactive suddenly had a life-changing encounter with Jesus? Would some marriages be saved or restored? This is why we are passionate about this.

Let me in closing say, this is just one way to reach men for Jesus. There are many ways. Often the greatest challenge is to get off our butt and just do something! If what you are doing is working and you are happy with how many men you see getting saved, discipled and engaged in your ministry then Praise the Lord, if not, then do something different.

Pastors there are many evangelistic ministries throughout the world ready to partner with you. In America, every major city has tremendous groups of Christian Business Men ready to partner with you and help you build a strong discipleship plan for men. Search them out. It is easier today than anytime in history. What is your legacy going to be? Is your testimony going to one of a “Champion for Jesus Christ”? We pray that today you will get started and be prepared to hear those words, “well done my good and Faithful Servant”!

All Pro Pastors is here to serve, challenge and encourage you, why because we care! We continue to pray for you, your family and your ministry! Stay strong and courageous!

Become a member today!

If you can see how something like this could help your church and community contact Coach Joe Gibbs ministry “Game Plan for Life”.

 

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Life or Death is in the Power of Your Words

How well do you use your words in life as a leader? If you are not sure, just look at the relationships around you. Our words can get us into trouble or they can dissolve trouble. Loving words can be like a warm breath on a lit candle that can easily extinguish a heart simmering with anger. “Please forgive me” can be just as powerful a collection of words as “I Love you with all my heart!”  In this article, we will consider the power of our words as it relates to us as Leaders of the WORD.

My father gave me great advice the day I got married. He said to me, “Son, when you and your wife get into an argument, watch your words. Once you say them, you cannot take them back.” Although I have not always practiced this seasoned piece of wisdom, I do understand the incredible importance of it. As a Leader, we have to stop and consider a few ways we can learn to weigh our words in our heart before they are spoken (or shot) out of our mouth?

In a time of drought, even the smallest bit of water can help a thirsty land. It can also help a drying heart. One of the first ways to weigh our words is to consider if they will be received as a cool glass of water or a mason jar of gas. Like the brittle grass during an absence of rain, is a heart that is hurting. The smallest spark can set it on fire. The words you choose will determine either a blessing or a blaze. Remember in meetings and gatherings, fires are good for roasting marshmallows, not each other.

Another way to weigh our words is to consider what your subordinates expect of you. If you are married, has your spouse ever said “I don’t need your solutions; I just need your sympathy”? Many of us are fixers and when it comes to talking with our spouses and those that work for (or with) us, less is often more. If you are not sure- ASK. This not only determines the content of your words, it also impacts the way you listen. You may even say something like, “How can I best assist you?” Try it next time- you might be surprised at the response.

I remember a poem by H.W. Longfellow that that said, “I shot an arrow into the air, it fell to earth, I knew not where; for, so swiftly it flew, the sight could not follow it in its flight.” A third way we weigh our words is to consider its target. Will the words be encouraging or confronting? Is the point of the words to affirm a good choice or to expose a bad one? Regardless of the arrow, the string that sends it flying should be that of love and respect. When we speak the truth in love (EPH. 4:15), we never have to worry about a stray arrow causing unnecessary injury.

Musician Tommy Shaw stated, “Timing is everything.” If that is true in music, it is also important in our words because all of life is relationships. Our next way to weigh our words comes not from the ticking of the clock as it is the cadence of the conversation. When you are about to say something to someone, especially when it is a heated discussion, ask yourself, “At this time, will he/she hear what I am about to say?” If you are unsure about the importance of timing, please consider the Prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:1-13.

As we close, I want to provide one more way to weigh our words and that is at the foot of the cross. Only when our words are first baptized in the waters of worship to God will we be able to bring a proper sacrifice of speech to the Lord’s altar of healing. Words matter. The Apostle John wrote “In the beginning was the word (Logos), and the Word was with God and the word was God…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . .” (John 1:1, 14). When we run our words through the Word, they will always come out with grace and not growl.

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The Real Church

The Church of Jesus Christ is what it says, it belongs to Jesus Christ the Son of God the one who holds the universe together by the Word of His power. What does this mean ? 

Jesus said upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail. 

Regardless of how fragmented and divided we think the church is, He doesn’t look at it that way, He sees the potential in you and me and does not judge according to appearance. ( John 7: 24) 

There is no plan B, we are it, the unstoppable force that is growing stronger and bigger everyday. We think that there is a drop off of membership in church but in reality there is a grass roots, Kingdom minded, underground church that are not confined to a denomination or a building or even a network of churches but rather an organic entity inseparably linked by the blood of Christ and joined together by real communion and fellowship. This Church cannot be contained inside four walls and is forever expanding.

The Kingdom of God is always expanding but a system is always diminishing until only two people left and even they will be suspicious of each other. 

So the real church is not a system, or a building, nor a club or business but rather an organism who’s life blood comes from the very God we love and serve. We don’t go to church, we are the church and go to Jesus. We need to see the church that meets in Tampa, in Atlanta, in Orlando etc and that is why I’m so excited to see All Pro Pastors become a strong organization that has the resources to reach out to hurting Pastors. 

Who ministers to the minister? 

Where does the Pastor and his wife go for healing of past hurts, council regarding some of the challenges leadership face.? 

The real Church is made up of individuals who prefer their brother over themselves, who will go the extra mile without complaining, and who believe the best rather than listen to gossip because Love always believes the best. 

Welcome to the greatest force in the universe, the church of Jesus Christ 

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How to Pray with Assured Power!

Let us remember that CIA is Christian Identity Assurance. It is the simple fact of a Christian completely believing and being who God says he or she is.

We are taught in Philippians 2:13, “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure”. This is a fact of God helping us to be who he has created us to be. Given this premise, it truly is our duty to do our part through prayer and active steps to yield and align with the assistance God has provided for us to be his true followers.

Even though it is God who called me to ministry, I did not thirst and hunger for him as I should until I yielded and desired his purpose over mine. Please don’t misunderstand me, I wanted God, I loved him for the awesome sacrifice Jesus made for me, but I didn’t feel as if I could not live without him. When I denied myself and believed God was the most important part of my life then I was willing to give my life also for him. This is the essence of God’s words in Romans 12:1-2  “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. This awareness made me strongly desire Christian identity assurance prayers.

I gladly offer the Christian Identity Assurance prayers below to help you and your team grow to be all God has called you to be.

Christian Identity Assurance Prophetic Prayers:

Heavenly Father, we join our faith with Jesus and all others praying for your will. We now exercise the Christian Identity Assurance you have given us as your children.

Scripture Reference:

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways. Job 22:28

By Faith, we declare:

  1. In all our todays and tomorrows, we deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Jesus in Jesus name.
  2. In all our todays and tomorrows, the Lord has made us to have dominion over the works of His hands and has put all things under our feet
  3. In all our todays and tomorrows, we are kings and priests as declared by God
  4. In all our todays and tomorrows, we are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus
  5. In all our todays and tomorrows, we use our authority to declare a thing and it shall be established in Jesus name
  6. In all our todays and tomorrows, we use our authority to speak life and to speak death to glorify God in Jesus name
  7. In all our tomorrows, we trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt us in Jesus name.
  8. In all our todays and tomorrows, we know God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind in Jesus name

My recommendation is to pray these prayers frequently with your team and encourage them to pray these prayers till they are able to pray it from memory. It takes about 60 to 90 days. Enjoy the transformation.

Shalom and Glory to you.

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Dominion Empowers

  1. It should be abnormal for a Christian not to have an appetite for the impossible.
  1. It has been written in our spiritual DNA that we are to hunger for the impossible.
  2. Repentance means you change your way of thinking.

 

“Do not conform (be influenced) any longer to the pattern of this world, but be ye transformed (changed thinking) by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

 

  1. It is only in changing the way we think that we can discover the focus of Jesus’ ministry – the Kingdom!
  2. A stronghold defines the culture of a place!

 

  1. A renewed mind is the result of a surrendered heart.
  1. Faith offends the weak and unstable – people  of great faith are hard to live with.
  2. We must learn to hear what God is saying then step into the momentum of what He has said.

 

Jesus said, “Everything is possible for him who believes” (Mark 9:23).

 

  1. To repent is to change how we think until His Kingdom fills our consciousness.
  1. Repentance is not complete until it envisions His Kingdom.
  2. Some things are discovered by the desperate.  
  3. It’s that highly valued Kingdom attitude that marks the heart of true Kingdom royalty.

 

  1. The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) are the “lenses” that the Kingdom is seen through.
  1.    Repentance involves taking on the mind of Christ.
  1. There are promised results: receiving the Kingdom, being comforted, receiving an inheritance, being fed, obtaining mercy, and seeing God.
  2. Grace is different from the Law in that the favor of God comes before obedience. Under Grace the commandments of the Lord come fully equipped with the ability to perform them.
  3. Grace enables what it commands.

 

  1. The unseen world has influence over the visible.
  1. If the people of God will not reach for the Kingdom at hand, the realm of darkness is ready to display its ability to influence.
  2. Darkness always gives way to light.
  3. Faith is the mirror of the heart that reflects the realities of the unseen world – the actual substance of His Kingdom.
  4. Through the prayer of faith we are able to pull the reality of His world into our world.

 

  1. Faith actualizes what it realizes.
  1. Faith lives from the invisible world toward the visible.
  2. Faith provides eyes for the heart.
  3. Faith sees! It brings the Kingdom into focus.

 

“But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33)

“Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2)

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen” ( 2 Corinthians 4:18)

 

  1. Faith lives within the “revealed” will of God.
  2. Faith is neither intellectual nor anti-intellectual. It is superior to the intellect.

 

  1. Unbelief is anchored in what is visible or reasonable apart from God. It honors the natural realm as superior to the invisible.

“Jesus said to them, Only in his hometown among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor” (Mark 6:4)

  1. Unbelief is faith in the inferior.
  2. Living in denial will keep you from Kingdom faith.
  3. When we submit things of God to the intellect, unbelief and religion are the results.
  4. When we submit the mind to the things of God, we end up with faith and a renewed mind.
  1. When we learn to receive from our spirit our mind becomes the student and is therefore subject to the Holy Spirit.
  2.   “A major thief of faith and victory is believing that God doesn’t have a purpose for our lives in the future”. (RCB)
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Grow Your Church Spiritually, Numerically, and Financially

Here is a hard-core truth: “Healthy things grow. God has woven this principle into the very fabric of creation. The converse of this is true as well. When a living thing becomes unhealthy, growth stops and even reverses. Ask any farmer or gardener.” –Robert Morris, Pastor of 20,000+ member church

 

Here are a few facts for your consideration: According to the Barna Group, roughly 60 percent of the Protestant churches in the United States have fewer than 100 members and a full 98 percent have fewer than 1,000. In other words, small churches are the rule, not the exception. These numbers reveal the failure of our churches to effectively reach out into their communities.

 

Join the “2% Club”!

 

No matter the size of your church, I want to help you reach and break the 1,000-member mark so you can enter into the top 2% Club. I have spent the past fifteen years of my ministry in the trenches teaching and coaching Senior Pastors how to exponentially grow their churches spiritually, numerically, and financially. Over the years, I can’t even count how many times I have heard pastors say, “I can’t take it anymore! I know I need help, but I desperately want something more than just another good speaker or church growth program. I think I need some leadership coaching.”

 

I know firsthand what it’s like to hit what seem to be invisible walls of growth at the 150, 300, 500, 800, and 1,000 marks. The first church I pastored in a tiny town called Trillacoochee, Florida, faced these same challenges. However, a very successful megachurch pastor coached me on how to break those “perceived” barriers. The result—my church grew larger than the community in which it was located. For the past fifteen years I have helped many pastors break these barriers.

 

Crisis among Senior Pastors

 

Why do so many ministries stagnate, marriages fail, strange doctrines appear, sinful behaviors become commonplace, and leaders quit? Why are so many pastors and ministry leaders overwhelmed, burned out, frustrated, and contemplating quitting? I believe there is a very simple yet profound answer: because they have not been properly developed and trained with the leadership intelligence (LQ) necessary to grow a thriving church.

 

LQ Deficiencies—We Should have Seen it Coming

 

We should have seen the tragedy of September 11, 2001, coming. We had warnings; the first bombing of the World Trade Center, the Kenyan Embassy, the U.S.S. Cole, etc. We can say the same thing about the tragedies we have witnessed in ministry. The following statistics about pastors have been available from pollster George Barna for years:

  • 1,800 pastors leave the ministry every month
  • 40% will not be in the ministry in 10 years
  • 15% contemplate leaving the ministry every Monday morning
  • 65% would leave their position for a similar paying position
  • 50% feel unable to meet the needs of the job
  • 80% believe that pastoral ministry has adversely affected their families
  • 40% will have an extramarital affair during their career
  • 70% say they have lower self-esteem than when they started in ministry
  • 89% say they do not have the gift of leadership

 

As America’s #1 Confidence Coach, I have provided more than fifteen years of consulting, vision facilitation, and strategic planning to Senior Pastors. I have also trained over 335,000 church leaders in conferences, workshops, and Bible schools throughout the world. I know that these statistics can be turned around. There are many faithful and committed pastors and church leaders worldwide who need to know that they are not alone—there is help.

 

For years, pastors and ministry leaders have been asking:

  • How can I gain significant ground, sustain vigorous and healthy growth, and be uniquely able to accomplish all that God has given me—and survive?
  • How can I get to the point where I’m not dealing with my ministry alone?
  • How can I stop living my life at full bore before I burn out and forget who I really am?
  • How can I feel once again close to my first love, Christ?
  • Where do I go from here? I am frustrated, overwhelmed, and weary. Life seems like a cycle of endless work.
  • How can I remain strong and maintain my health, enthusiasm, zeal, supernatural love, and compassion for people?
  • How can I have confidence that I can say someday before the Lord, “I have finished the work that You gave me to do”?

 

My own personal research and the research of other successful consultants reveal that these questions stem from FIVE universal leadership deficiencies:

  1. Lack of Direction – Most pastors lack the clarity and proper structure needed to build a successful church and to leave a legacy. Result: Unfulfilled ministry dreams.
  2. Wrong Work Ethic – Because most pastors are operating out of their leadership position, they get so caught up doing the menial tasks of ministry that they do not have time to practice the two most important principles to growing their churches. Result: Church membership stagnates, morale decreases, and finances dry up.
  3. Lack of Time Management Skills – Most pastors, due to hyper-business, tend to fly by the seat of their pants and are unorganized. Result: Leader stagnates, lives with an unprotected anointing, and with a lack of intimacy with God and family. Result: Quality people leave the church, leader experiences burnout.
  4. Crisis and Change Management Skills – Most pastors have so much needless crisis and chaos going on around them. Rather than facing the facts, they avoid them, at great cost. Result: Leader becomes delusional; major ministry opportunities are missed and major mistakes are made.
  5. Lack of disciples being made through Leadership Development – Most pastors do not lead or properly disciple, coach, teach, train, or mentor those God has entrusted to them. Result: Lack of qualified and strong leaders to carry the load. We have been busy developing professional church goers instead of strong leaders needed to carry the load.

 

What Caused the Tragedy?

 

The principal reason for the dysfunction that manifests in frustration and eventually quitting the ministry is that leaders have never learned the following:

  • The wisdom to achieve all of God’s mandates while maintaining the quality of life He prescribes.
  • The understanding and practical application how to properly structure and build a ministry organization.
  • The methods, systems, strategic planning, and processes required and how to execute them.
  • The practical tools that must be worked versus falling for the clever slogans, sayings, steps, ideals, and theories that don’t work.
  • The skills that must be practiced so that the art of execution is passed down.

 

Pastors and ministry leaders have said to me repeatedly, “I’ve read all the church growth books, John Maxwell’s leadership books, have gone to conferences, and have listened to all the CDs. Can you please show me how to do this?” Most Senior Pastors have never been taught and trained in the foundational principals, personal development processes, and behavioral performance proficiencies of building a successful and efficiently functioning church. All they have been taught is “Preach the Bible, worship God, pray, stay positive, build a big building and they will come.” This philosophy worked in the “authoritarian autocratic one-man -show” leadership style of the ’80s, ’90s, and the beginning of the 21st century.

 

“My [Senior Pastors] are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6, paraphrased).

 

However, times have changed, the culture has drastically changed, and the problems we face are more complex. Without a doubt, leading a church in the 21st century demands a higher level of leadership intelligence (LQ) than at any other time in the history of the world. The old models of leadership are obsolete. Now, leadership is less about titles, positions, or how good you can preach—and more about influence and impact.

 

Learn how I built a bigger church attendance than my cities population—and you can too! FREE for Senior Pastors, my new book called The LQ Solution- Influence, Impact, and Increase. Simply click this link: http://ow.ly/6kCo30bwCEV

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Operating in Social Media Denial

Is your organization suffering from social media denial?

Despite 60 percent of Americans using some form of social media, according to the Pew Research Center, the prevailing belief by businesses is that social media is a fad, a phenomenon, just another version of the Internet.

In fact, 72 percent of businesses don’t even have a clear strategy or goals for social media activities, according to study by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Darla Moore School of Business researcher Rob Ployhart is working to change that. The management professor is conducting some of the first studies on social media and its use as a business strategy. To help executives struggling with the issue now, Ployhart provided guidance in a report released late October by SHRM.

“There is a lot of hype that goes along with technology,” Ployhart says. “After doing this review, I’m convinced that social media is radically different and that existing theories about communications can’t be applied the same way. It puts incredible power in the hands of employees and customers. One person sharing on social media is more powerful than 50 or more people saying it.”

Ployhart says one of the main reasons businesses haven’t pursued a social media strategy is the lack of data tied to return on investment.

“Usually people think about social media from the employee issue part of it – for disciplinary, firing and hiring – by establishing social media policies for what employees can and can’t do. They’re not looking at it from ‘how can I use this to drive results for my business?’” Says Ployhart, the Band of America Professor of Business Administration in the University of South Carolina’s Moore School.

He says a social media strategy for an organization must be supported by a set of company-wide policies that then are implemented as necessary throughout each department.

“In today’s world, we are all interconnected. Companies that are thinking about this proactively are the ones that are probably going to have an advantage in leveraging this technology,” Ployhart says. “I’d be surprised if the first few companies that get in there don’t have a lasting competitive advantage.”

“Many employees are reaching retirement age. So, how do we push knowledge down to younger employees?” he says.

“Social media and networking is exactly the way we should start thinking about it, and it is not even on the radar screen for most managers because they themselves are not comfortable with it or use it or see it in that kind of way. What they don’t understand is that the younger generation expects to use it and expects employers to use it, too.”

Information taken from www.insurancejournal.com

If you’d like to contact Strong Tower Insurance, we’d love to hear from you!
1.800.329.0093
www.mystrongtower.com

This blog provided to you by Strong Tower Insurance, Inc. Strong Tower Insurance is pleased to partner with All Pro Pastors in support of pastors and their congregations by offering a variety of insurance solutions to protect the mission of the church!

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Don’t Waste Your Time!

When Jesus sent the 70 out 2 by 2 he told them that if they were rejected to dust their feet off and leave town. He said to them, “Do not waste your time”! Another time Jesus said, “cast not pearls before swine lest they trample them under their feet”!

As a pastor it is very easy to feel that we have cast pearls before swine and that we have been rejected. The fact is, it is not you that has been rejected but Jesus. The Word of God is sharper than a two edged sword. It is quick to cut asunder the truth from the false and sin from the Holy!

Pastor, our question is “where and how do you invest your time?” If you are trying to convince people, perhaps you should consider the 70. If you are speaking to those who are insolent, hard hearted and religious, consider the swine.

As you are reflecting this week, consider the farmer. The farmer will sow his seed, fertilize the ground, water regularly, pull the weeds, re-plant where nothing has sprouted and ultimately harvest in the end. The farmer is quick to recognize where nothing is growing! He may first add a little fertilizer and try to encourage growth but when he sees that all is to no success, he must re-plant! He must start with new seed.

The farmer knows that if the seed is not growing he is wasting his time. Much like Jesus told the 70, don’t waste your time!

Pastor, if 10-20 percent of your flock is doing all the work and is hungry for Jesus, then consider spending 70-80 percent of your effort discipling and feeding them. Make them strong and healthy. Help their passion grow.

If they are the ones who are bearing fruit, then be sure to fertilize and water them as they grow and mature. Be a good farmer so that they will endure until the harvest.

This is why we say, “Invest in the best”! These are the ones who you can count on to stand strong with you and the Gospel!

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Leadership Words!

Leadership Words

Our words can get us into trouble or they can dissolve trouble. How well do you use your words in life as a leader? If you are not sure, just look at the relationships around you. Loving words can be like a warm breath on a lit candle that can easily extinguish a heart simmering with anger. “Please forgive me” can be just as powerful a collection of words as “I Love you with all my heart!”  In this article, we will consider the power of our words as it relates to us as Leaders of the WORD.

My father gave me great advice the day I got married. He said to me, “Son, when you and your wife get into an argument, watch your words. Once you say them, you cannot take them back.” Although I have not always practiced this seasoned piece of wisdom, I do understand the incredible importance of it. As a Leader, we have to stop and consider a few ways we can learn to weigh our words in our heart before they are spoken (or shot) out of our mouth?

In a time of drought, even the smallest bit of water can help a thirsty land. It can also help a drying heart. One of the first ways to weigh our words is to consider if they will be received as a cool glass of water or a mason jar of gas. Like the brittle grass during an absence of rain, is a heart that is hurting. The smallest spark can set it on fire. The words you choose will determine either a blessing or a blaze. Remember in meetings and gatherings, fires are good for roasting marshmallows, not each other.

Another way to weigh our words is to consider what your subordinates expect of you. If you are married, has your spouse ever said “I don’t need your solutions; I just need your sympathy”? Many of us are fixers and when it comes to talking with our spouses and those that work for (or with) us, less is often more. If you are not sure- ASK. This not only determines the content of your words, it also impacts the way you listen. You may even say something like, “How can I best assist you?” Try it next time- you might be surprised at the response.

I remember a poem by H.W. Longfellow that that said, “I shot an arrow into the air, it fell to earth, I knew not where; for, so swiftly it flew, the sight could not follow it in its flight.” A third way we weigh our words is to consider its target. Will the words be encouraging or confronting? Is the point of the words to affirm a good choice or to expose a bad one? Regardless of the arrow, the string that sends it flying should be that of love and respect. When we speak the truth in love (EPH. 4:15), we never have to worry about a stray arrow causing unnecessary injury.

Musician Tommy Shaw stated, “Timing is everything.” If that is true in music, it is also important in our words because all of life is relationships. Our next way to weigh our words comes not from the ticking of the clock as it is the cadence of the conversation. When you are about to say something to someone, especially when it is a heated discussion, ask yourself, “At this time, will he/she hear what I am about to say?” If you are unsure about the importance of timing, please consider the Prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:1-13.

As we close, I want to provide one more way to weigh our words and that is at the foot of the cross. Only when our words are first baptized in the waters of worship to God will we be able to bring a proper sacrifice of speech to the Lord’s altar of healing. Words matter. The Apostle John wrote “In the beginning was the word (Logos), and the Word was with God and the word was God…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . .” (John 1:1, 14). When we run our words through the Word, they will always come out with grace and not growl.

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Developing Leaders vs Gathering Followers

Developing Leaders vs. Gathering Followers

Your ultimate long‐term success as a leader will be determined by your ability to develop a team of leaders…those who know how to lead to the future and not just manage the present. In order to fulfill the vision, you must be able to guide the way the team works together in order to deliver the desired results.

Team success is the ability of their leader to rally all the team members to commit to the vision and common goals ‐ not because they have to, but because they want to.

Forming a team of mentally, emotionally, and spiritually mature leaders is worth your time and effort. The greater challenge is getting them to lay aside personal ambition and ideas for the sake of becoming a team centered only on the mission and vision. A group of followers working on the same effort is far different from a team of strategic‐thinking leaders focused on the same goals with a clear understanding and commitment to the same outcome‐based results.

Independent thinking team members normally focus on their own strengths, abilities and promote their own ideas of what success should look like. Most of the time, this leads to everyone pulling in different directions and momentum is lost, if it was ever there to begin with. As a leader, it is your primary task to inspire individual team members to check their ego at the door, set aside personal agendas and cultivate a passion for teamwork, team solutions and team wins. Look at yourself first.

Your top priority as a team leader, leader of leaders and most of all as a senior leader, is to have your team understand, focus and commit to the outcome‐based goals of the mission, vision, values and strategy. Without clarity about these four key elements, buy‐in by the team and commitment to work together as a team will never happen in any significant with developing leaders out of the followers you have gathered happens best when working together as a team is the only option. Team dynamics cannot develop in solo situations. Lone rangers, overbearing personalities and divisive behaviors have to be overcome and not tolerated for very long. As the leader, you must have the emotional strength and maturity to help clarify non‐productive behaviors in both strong‐willed and weak‐minded individuals. Somehow you must be able to persuade them to see the big picture; how every individual effort is not only valuable, but also vital to the team’s success.

Five principles critical for developing a team of leaders:

Provide adequate and accurate information; clarity about desired results and the rationale used to shape your views.

Anticipate and resolve conflicts quickly. As the leader, it’s your job to make sure overly competitive or domineering team members don’t exploit another’s vulnerability when discussing either positive or negative issues as they relate to the team’s on‐going efforts or final results.

Recruit, teach, train and deploy the right team members. Be slow to appoint so you won’t have to disappoint. No matter how talented they are, if their ego, personality and effort cannot complement the team, you have to decide what’s more important to you —individual contribution or the team’s success.

Provide prompt and adequate feedback. Waiting until the annual performance review means many significant coaching opportunities may be lost. Feedback for both individuals and the team as a whole is most effective in written form. And, I don’t mean the small and big wins on a regular basis.

Recognize and deal with promptly those that I refer to as “Vision Drainers.” The single biggest reason for teams not performing effectively and winning often is the emotional maturity of the leader. It often lies in the discomfort and sometimes the fear of giving honest feedback necessary to develop a group of followers into a team of leaders who win on a regular basis.

Remember, leaders who turn followers into leaders on a consistent basis are leaders who know what they are doing and why. Many times, there are those who give promise of being great leaders because of superficial personality and character traits. Intelligence, confidence and the ability to communicate are important. However, having all these does not mean they have the emotional maturity and ability to make good judgments, which are invaluable in turning followers into leaders.

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How to Complete Your Call when You’d Rather Quit

What makes a pastor rejoice and become thankful? When a pastor sees personal and organizational progress. Progress is when a pastor observes people’s lives being changed, church service attendance increases, spiritual commitment deepens, and finances increase—then the pastor has the freedom to expand serving and evangelizing others and hire the right staff and compensate them properly. I am humbled by the truth that 95% of Senior and Lead pastors whom I coach with the Holy Spirit’s help see an immediate increase in people saved, healed, and delivered as well as solid, responsible stewardship and financial growth. This has created thankful pastors who spread the word around about my ministry and leadership coaching programs.

 

What makes a pastor frustrated? The opposite is true: personal and organizational stagnation. Lack of spiritual hunger, decreasing conversions, attendance plateau or decline, frayed relationships, waning discipleship, and financial struggles. I cannot tell you how many leaders prior to receiving coaching told me that there were days, weeks, or just a few months away from quitting. In fact, many confessed they considered quitting every Monday.

 

Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord,

that you may fulfill it (Colossians 4:17).

 

Are you in a season of progress, stagnation or decline? Progress is the constant movement toward your God-given dreams and goals and a better life. Let’s look at the Three Turnaround Strategies that will help you increase your pastoral intelligence so you can move forward and fulfill your ministry assignment.

 

Strategy 1 – See it as it is.

 

The first strategy of turnaround leadership is not to just “be positive.” One of my megachurch pastor clients thought if he would just keep thinking positive, problematic ministry leaders would change in his church. I told him, “If I were you, I would quickly fire some of your disgruntled employees,” and I named a few. He did not listen to me and the negative staff, along with the congregants they influence, actually ran him out of his church after he had started the church and pastored there for thirty-seven years. You can think positive thoughts about your church all day long—but negative things will continue to fester.

 

Tell yourself nothing but the truth.

 

If you want to be successfully effective, you have to start telling yourself the truth. Refuse living in denial. If you are not progressing, then realize that what you have been doing is not working. There is nothing wrong with having a problem…unless it’s the same problem you had last year.

  • It’s hard to admit your church is not growing because your sermons are only “good” simply because you are not spending the time necessary to preach “GREAT” messages.
  • It’s hard to admit that your church is not growing because you have not equipped 100 or more highly qualified leaders in your church, and you have been pastoring 5, 10, or even 20+ years.
  • It’s hard to admit that your church is not growing because you don’t have the leadership skills necessary to lead a church the size of God’s dreams for your church.

 

On the other hand, it’s easy to blame the economy, your geographical area, and your church members for the lack of spiritual, numerical, and financial growth. As I am sure you have preached to others, “The truth will set you free.” Increase your Leadership Intelligence (LQ) by memorizing this:

 

NOTHING CAN GET BETTER UNTIL YOU ADMIT SOMETHING IS WRONG.

 

Strategy 2 – See it better than it is.

 

Great pastors have trained themselves to look beyond “what is” and have learned to use their God-given imagination to see what “could be.” Great pastors only tolerate the present and live in the future. Everything created was actually created twice—first in the mind then in the realm of the physical.

 

Refuse to see things worse than they really are.

 

Some pastors see a thing worse than what it is so they have an excuse for not doing anything about it. It’s time to cut your excuses in half and double the actions you take as a pastor. I don’t know how often I have seen pastors get stuck because they are afraid to either fire a person who is underperforming or too afraid to make the one change they know they have needed to make for a long time.

 

I graciously encouraged one pastor to fire a poor-performing children’s church pastor. He said, “If I fire this person, he will start another church, and I will lose 50-100 people.” After an entire year of working with the disgruntled, lazy associate pastor, he finally fired him. Nobody left the church, and the children’s church doubled in size in four months.

 

I lovingly told one pastor he preached too long. He said, “If I preach for only a half hour, almost everybody in my church would leave next week.” When he finally decided to take my advice and told his leaders he was going to preach for half an hour, the entire team stood up and applauded. By the way, his church started growing after that, and he broke the 1,000-member barrier.

The number one responsibility of a leader is to see. Jesus said you are the blind leading the blind and the blind lead everybody into the ditch. Point people in the direction of a bigger, brighter, and better future. See things ten times better than what they are!

 

WHAT IS SEEABLE BECOMES BELIEVABLE AND WHAT IS BELIEVABLE BECOMES POSSIBLE.

 

Mandate 3 – Make it the new way you see it.

 

The third strategy of turnaround is do whatever it takes to make what you see on the inside manifested on the outside. You need some TRACTION—a TRAC to take ACTION on. In order to turn your ministry dreams into reality, you need a detailed strategic plan to give you the TRAC you need to run on. I have coached some leaders who have notebooks full of plans, but they fail to execute the proper action steps needed to move their churches and ministries forward. It’s of the utmost importance that you get a successfully proven M.A.P.—Massive Action Plan!

 

A fool with a plan can outsmart a genius with no plan. –T. Boone Pickens, Texas billionaire and successful businessman

 

A DREAM WITHOUT A STRATEGIC PLAN IS A FANTASY, AND A DREAM WITHOUT TAKING MASSIVE ACTION WILL BECOME A NIGHTMARE.

 

Smart leaders leverage the advantages of a personal consultant or coach. Don’t try to make the changes alone. Don’t rely on your own wisdom. What got you “here” will not get you “there.” Proverbs 15:22 paraphrased says, “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers [coaches, consultants, mentors] they succeed.”

 

Avoid the biggest lie: I cannot afford a coach. I have seen this lie paralyze several ministry leaders. However, I have witnessed with my own eyes Senior Pastors who have stepped out in faith and hired a leadership coach and the process propelled themselves to the next level…and beyond.

 

Look at the biblical teams that God put together who changed history: Abraham and Sarah, Moses and Aaron, Joshua and Caleb, Deborah and Barak, David and Jonathan, Esther and Mordecai, Jeremiah and Baruch, Mary and Joseph, the apostles, Paul and Silas, Priscilla and Aquila, etc. You can’t afford not to team up!

 

It’s time for progress. It’s time to move forward toward your ministry dreams. It’s time to enjoy being in the ministry again!

 

About Keith Johnson

Keith Johnson is known as one of the premier speakers on the subjects of Christian leadership, confidence building, and strategic planning. For the past 16 years, his messages, books, and leadership coaching has helped some of the largest and most prestigious churches in the world to experience spiritual, numerical, and financial growth. Keith is an amazon best-selling author and recognized by other leaders as America’s #1 Confidence Coach.
http://KeithJohnson.tv/Helping-Pastors

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The Lord’s Leader: The Cloth of Service

I finally decided to go through my wallet and pull out some items with the hope of making it smaller. Since I have two daughters, I never have to worry about having any cash but the collection of receipts, business cards, and the like seem to make the wallet a bit unmanageable as well as uncomfortable. As I begin the process, what started out as a simple task became an interesting “spring cleaning” adventure. I decided to dump out everything in the wallet and “start fresh” with what was just needed for the day to day journey. As I finished, I felt the wallet and it was then that I discovered a long lost treasure. It was not a 20$ bill (remember, I have two daughters) nor a coupon for a free burger (just used that one) but an old torn, worn, piece of dingy white cloth. I hold the cloth between my fingers and remember when I placed it into the wallet. I placed the cloth into “service” in June 2006 when I spoke at a men’s breakfast at Turkey Creek First Baptist in Plant City, Florida. The “Cloth of Service” event was from John 13:1-16 where Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, took off his outer garment and picked up a water basin and a towel and began to wash the feet of the disciples. Here was the Creator of the universe stooping to pour water over dirty feet and lovingly and tenderly dry them- even the feet of Judas, the one to whom Jesus knew would betray him hours later. It was a powerful picture of what we are called to do as a “chosen people and a holy priesthood”. I challenged each of the men to take a small cloth that had been cut for them and commit with me to live a life of service that is worthy of the “washing of the feet by Jesus”. It is a commitment that I have tried to hold true since that day and the little cloth in my wallet is a steady reminder of that promise. As we enter into this journey of leadership through the All Pro Pastors’ newsletter, we will learn that Godly leadership comes not from the positon we hold, but the person we become. It is also not just about the experiences we will have in life but how we “Express God” by the simple acts of love throughout our life. I want us as Pastors and Ministers of the Gospel to make a commitment to be willing to figuratively wash the feet of more than each other (fellow Christians) but to be willing to wash the feet of those that despise you, persecute you, and even hurt you. You see, the cloth is more than a piece of fabric- it is an article of clothing that requires a commitment and cost. Jesus said in John13:13-16, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” I desperately desire to not only be blessed by God; I want to be a blessing for Him. Will you join me?

Dr. Daniel Middlebrooks

CEO, Chaplaincy Care, INC

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