What People Really Think

I was with Elijah tonight as he was getting a haircut. The hairdresser was making small talk while I waited, and while she snipped. She asked me what I did for a living. “I’m a pastor,” I said. She stopped snipping, looked up at me and with a puzzled tone asked, “Really?” She obviously thought I was teasing. She quickly caught on that I was not kidding and said, “Not that you couldn’t be, but aren’t they usually old, and not cool? You look too cool to be a pastor.” She brought the conversation back around to that topic at least three times during the haircut. I told her that I was on staff at a “cool” church and that we work hard at being relevant and normal. We talked a bit more about it and I could tell that something in her mind was being challenged. It seemed like for the first time she was considering that it's possible for pastors, believers in Jesus for that matter, to not live with their heads in the sand. They can engage culture and even...enjoy some of it. Did a pastor just write that? As we finished, Melody and I left with the kids and I was glad that I could help to break a stereotype that she had set up in her mind.

Look, I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t a flattering thing to hear. I mean, no one really wants to hear that they are “un-cool.” But, I have to say that it also got me thinking…and I didn’t like where my thoughts led. I wonder how many other people have the same perception when it comes to pastors, followers of Jesus, the Church. And if pastors are believed to be un-cool and out of touch, what must so many people think about the One we are supposed to represent? The Church still has a lot of work to do in demonstrating that God is extremely relevant, and that He is many things, but He is not an old man upstairs out of touch with the lives people are living.

I wish I would have followed up her question with a question of my own: “What do you think God is like?” The good thing about hair is that it grows. Next time Elijah gets a haircut I plan on asking that very question.

Just Say No?

How do you keep from burning out in ministry? What do you do to ensure that the ministry God called you to be a part of is the one that you fulfill? Paul tells Timothy: Fulfill your ministry (2 Timothy 4:5). I love how Paul personalizes this for his young friend. Paul knows that Timothy isn’t responsible for fulfilling anyone else’s calling or ministry, but his own. And for some reason, he must have known that Timothy needed to hear those words. Maybe Timothy was a guy who felt pressured because he saw all kinds of needs, but not enough volunteers to meet those needs; so he tried doing too much and Paul knew that would end in burnout. Maybe Timothy just leaned toward taking on too much. Perhaps he was a highly driven person who tried doing it all. Or, maybe he was getting weary in ministry and Paul wanted to encourage him to continue on and steward well the ministry God called him to. Regardless, Paul clearly communicated to Timothy the importance of completing what God called him to do.

Someone said the key to leadership is staying focused. As Community Group leaders, it is essential that we have a clear vision of what God has called us to do. If we don’t, it would be easy to lose focus, take on too much, or bail before we complete the task. Listen, don’t try doing it all. Do what God has called you to do. Sometimes that means saying “No,” even to good things. Jesus was willing and able to do that because He knew what His calling was, and He wouldn’t be deterred. That doesn’t mean He didn’t go above and beyond, it just means that He was crystal clear about His mission and fulfilled His ministry.

Fulfill your ministry. That doesn't mean we silo ourselves and automatically "just say no." But, it does mean that we continually evaluate our calendars and make sure that we are giving our primary calling all it requires.

Surviving the Blur

Sometimes I think the toughest part of writing a sermon is not deciding what to put in, but choosing what you have to leave out.

Recently I gave a talk at LifePoint for our summer teaching series called Stages. My talk was called: Surviving the Blur. You can listen to it here. In the talk I gave 5 insights for succeeding in the blur of parenting young children. I had more material than I could put in the message, so here is some of the material from the talk, and some that was left on the cutting room floor.

• You’ll never get this time back.
• Just because they sometimes make bad choices, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad parent.
• You have an opportunity to disciple world-changers.
• They are training ground for your spiritual development.
• They already know more than you think they know.
• They hold a very special place in the heart of God.
• You can change their behavior, you can only influence their beliefs.
• You need to invest relationally now so you can influence relationally later.
• They know the real you, whether you know it or not.
• Concern yourself more with being the right kind of parent than having the right kind of children.
• Your children are a stewardship from God.
• Stop striving for perfection, embrace consistency.
• If you have to choose between quality time and quantity time…choose both.
• Be the child you want your children to be.
• Give yourself a break.
• Savor the seconds of this fleeting stage.
• The danger with this stage isn’t life passing you by, it’s you passing life by.
• Teach them what it means to love Jesus.
• You have more to contribute than you think you do.

New Leader's Crash Course

The Small Group Exchange is a great website all about groups. They recently published an article I wrote entitled: "New Leader's Crash Course." You can click here to check it out.

Are you new to small group leadership? Well rest easy friend, we’ve all been new to it at some point! Just think, even Andy Stanley and Bill Hybels...