Good or Bad: Leadership

As a leader you have to ask yourself what kind of legacy you want to leave.

Do you want to leave lives changed to the glory of God, or for your name and the joy of your success?
Do you want to leave with money in the bank, or $11 million of debt in the bank?
Do you want to stay true to Jesus or let the culture sway you?
Do you want to be forgotten because you developed a solid team, or remembered for the good 'ol days when you were around?

You see, there are two kinds of leaders. One makes mistakes, the other lives mistakes. One propels people, the other drags them. One will just be honest from their pulpit, and the other will exaggerate, inflate or just straight up lie.

I know people who look to this one church from Pensacola, Florida, as if it was the greatest thing that ever happened. In sure God moved there, but it's obvious God moved on. If success if built upon a person other than the person of Jesus, then that success will be temporal and all about that leader. The leader moves, the movement dies, and it all falls apart.
Jesus died, and the church still is here.
Good leaders are never talked about for the good ol days, because today is a good ol day and they maximise that opportunity.  What days are you talking about? What days are people talking about in the wake of your leadership?
Those answers will help define if you're simply a good leader or a bad one - or if you're following a good or bad one.

Don't waste time following guys who have good ol days. You have tomorrow to live towards.

Anti-Vax is Criminal Negligence

Commenting on a popular topic right now.

Vaccinations.

There, I said it. And just to get it out of the way, I fully believe that if you do not vaccinate your children, then you should be charged with criminal negligence, be fine at minimum $5,000, and have your children vaccinated at your own expense.
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The Bible says, "If you know the good you ought to do, and do not do it," you've sinned.
Don't give the garbage excuse that it's a personal choice that doesn't affect anyone. Imagine a suicide bomber said that. You'd think they were crazy... Maybe double the crazy.... But still, maybe stupid is more accurate.
Facts people.
"I don't want to put my child at risk." Yes, some people have adverse reactions to vaccines. But they are extremely rare and you're not to be "concerned about your own interests, but also the interests of others". You are to count other people as more important than yourself. To do that properly requires risk. 
Seat belts kill people and hurt people, too. But the calculated risk is less wearing a seat belt than if you don't. So, the government made a law that said you have to wear seat belts. Calculated risk. One side logically out weighs the other. Vaccinate your children. 
If you want the actual research, use credible research. True story. Ignore Peele who have to change their story every time facts are revealed.
Grow up. Take social responsibility seriously. Care for the health of your own and other people's children.

Follow Jesus

I believe that sin is exactly what the Bible, the word of God, says sin is.
I had this thought when I was listening to a sermon about following Jesus...
The LGBTQ movement leaders explain that is you tell someone that's gay, that they can change, that that is offensive.
Isn't it more offensive that they say people can't change? I mean, side from being full of nonsense, hypocrisy (they say they can didn't with us, Christians, but we can't disagree with them)... They really don't do much to actually, logically, help their cause. But that's not my point in this post.
I want to briefly talk about following Jesus.
Did you know that you can start following Jesus before you're a Christian? Or even before you get your life all figures out and cleaned up? Did you know that it is Christ by his Holy Spirit that will change you? Jesus will work inside of you. Shape you into who HE wants you to become.
You can start following Jesus if your rich or poor, gay or straight, weak or strong, man or woman, anything else you can think of. Jesus will take you as you are. But he won't leave you as you are. Any one that meets Jesus or has an authentic experience with the holy spirit will walk away different.
My hope for you if that you walk away different to the glory of God and the joy of your salvation.

Ministry & Contributions

You complain that the church isn't going forward, but if anyone criticises your ministry, then they must hate your ministry or be against you personally.
What if your critic is actually for the church? What if they care more about what Christ had called the church to than your ministry?
It may me wise to filter your ministry through these standards: 

I'll get the hardest and obviously most controversial one out of the way first:
1. Is your ministry a financial drain or contributor to the church?
Let's remember something that takes the emotion out of this topic. Sunday mornings provide the cash you need to operate your ministry. You may have 100 people coming to your ministry, but if there is no transition from it to the Sunday service, and those people are just attending your ministry, then you officially have a drain (that is unless they donate directly to your ministry). What I'm not taking about are food kitchens or homeless shelters. I'm taking about your average mid week youth and children's ministries. Are they building up the church or are they draining it? Great, you have 100 students - maybe 50 different families on a conservative level- how many have connected to your church? How many of them have even attended just one service in the last year?
Unless you have some legitimate reason why there is no contribution, at the very least, don't ask for a budget raise. Maybe you need to re-evaluate your ministry and if it is really serving the church or just your ego.
If you say it's not about the money, then humbly ask your church leadership to by pass giving you any funds for your ministry. Your church needs money to operate, and operate your ministry.

2. How is your ministry contributing physically to the church? .
Are you making only messes and never cleaning after yourself?
Do you have so much stuff it's hard to make the church look neat and tidy?
Do you have redundant spaces... A prize cart and a prize room. 3 storage areas that are the biggest areas? Are you adding to the church or adding to your ministry?
The reality is, if your stuff doesn't ultimately help the church, it's ultimately about you and not Jesus. You can totally have things unique to your ministry, but does it hurt the over all church? Vines hanging from the ceiling with power chords in the second largest room in the church is a great example. You know, where other kids ministries, church breakfasts and lunches happen.
Keep it mobile, keep it small, and clean. If the lights have to be off for it to look 'OK', then your set up is probably not as quality as you think it is.

3. How is your ministry contributing to the church emotionally?
Do you drain your leaders? Do you expect more of your volunteers than is reasonable? Do you build them up or tear them down? What about behind their backs? How do you talk about their families? Again, what about behind their back? Do they feel as though you respect them or use them? Really?
You see, the way you talk about your volunteers and their families will always get back to them. They will stop helping if they feel abused, neglected, over worked, under worked, or betrayed.
Did you know how you talk about or to your own family will affect them, too?  If your a woman who always publicly talks down to your husband... If I was smart, I would never let you near a microphone for leadership. Never. Same with a man to his wife. How you treat your own family emotionally will directly effect how you treat their family as well as how they perceive how you view their family.

4. How does your ministry effect the church spiritually?
You may be teaching all the right things about the Bible, but if you're not taking care of the first 3 things previously discussed, you ARE dropping the ball in this area. Because as it's already been made clear, the ministry is about you, not Jesus.
The Pharisees had much knowledge and a huge prayer life. They were at 'church', every Sunday.
Knowledge puffs up, prayer can be selfish, and attendance means nothing.
Does your ministry encourage the church to pursue the calling of God, or chastise it for not showing up to help you?
Do you pray for your leadership to lead and guide YOU well? Are you expecting stupid things of your leadership and church? Be honest.

This may be over simplified, offensive, or even incomplete, but I do believe that if you sit back and evaluate through these questions, you'll at least be able to figure out where you're close to in regards to your church and it's health or success.

A practical step may be acknowledging you shouldn't be in leadership at this time. Taking time off may be the best leadership decision you've ever, or will ever, make.

Faith.

I've been told I need to have faith. What is this faith that this person was speaking of?
You see, I was sick - a cough that lasted two weeks. This person said to me, "Have you commanded it away?"
"I have tried. But it didn't work."
"You just don't have faith," then she stopped, realised she was talking to one of her pastors and said, "Well, you're a pastor, of course you have faith."
I just nodded and gave an affirming, "Yeah..."
She then proceeded to tell me that if I tell it long enough to be gone, it will go away. I wanted to respond with some snide remark about white blood cells doing their job, but kept it to myself.
Arrogance is not faith. Many church leaders shout things about 'taking authority'. But these leaders fail to remember that all authority is God given. And if they don't necessarily assume they can take authority over God and tell him what to do, some think they can take authority over creation. These folks forget that we were given dominion over creation in terms of being stewards, not gods. Creation submits to Christ over us any day. Those who assume authority over anything God has authority over himself do not understand the Lordship of Christ. We are his servants, even if we are the keepers of the garden... It's still His garden, after all.

To believe that someone who is sick just doesn't have faith is pure foolishness. Maybe the reason they are sick is because they don't have faith for food to eat. Maybe they're sick because they don't have faith for proper education  ... Or tooth brushes... Or even a proper bed. Those of little faith...
Or maybe those who have 'great faith' aren't actually great givers... But, I don't know. I can't judge them like they do others.
I will judge the rubbish that they spew out, though. 
Faith is far different than thinking you're God. Faith is trusting God to deliver you from or through whatever you're dealing with.
I trust the God I serve with my life. He knows what he wants to accomplish in, through, and around me. If that requires healings, great. But the greatest healing - the greatest miracle - is that of the relationship between God and anyone. And because I've read my Bible, I know he wants to do that in, through, and around me. In the end everyone who serves Jesus will be healed. So, let's be sure to keep our priorities straight: not everyone will go to heaven, but of all the ones who do, they will be healed. So let's see people get saved!