These leadership nuggets though apply to all fields and I’m going to use the next several posts to share with you my findings.

• Pray on behalf of those you’re burdened for
• Know the people’s sins so you can intercede for them
  • And own those community sins.  You cannot detach yourself from the people and reach them.
• Claim God’s promises that relate to the situation
• Specifically name what practical actions you are going to take and ask for success
• Take action immediately “make me successful today”
• Pray for the others you don’t even know who have the same burden or are called to the same work

Last month though Katy and I attended a church planting conference in Cartersville.  Michael Lukaszewski (believe it or not – pronounces the way it looks) is the pastor of Oak Leaf Church in Cartersville and in session one of the church’s ‘Nuts and Bolts’ conference, he really challenged me.  He stepped before a group of hundreds of church planters seeking wisdom about church systems and strategies and addressed the deeper issue: spirituality.  Michael went through the story of Nehemiah, a book I had already been studying for leadership principles (posts coming soon) and mentioned how though Nehemiah had a passion and a vision, he was still patient and faithful in an extended time of waiting.  That time of waiting ultimately caused Nehemiah to be more prepared when his chance to carry out his God-given vision arose.

I’ve never been one to adapt a habit or system just to copy someone else, but after a very honest (and even heated) conversation with my wife on the way home, I determined that I needed to set aside forty days.  For the past month (and several more days) I have determined not to take any more steps toward church planting.  Rather than raising funds, making plans, and meeting with people, I have prayed.  Each morning during this time I have began the day by asking God what my prayer focus should be for the day, and then I have journaled what God has taught me throughout the days.

I have been lead to pray for things like purity, God’s favor, our marriage, and the less fortunate.  Most successful church plant stories include unexplained acts of God that will not come to a person or group that is pursuing their agenda and plan rather than God Himself.

So if any of you have wondered why you have not received any church planting updates from me lately, it’s because there simply is nothing to update you on.  My focus right now is not progress; it’s not movement.  My focus is God.  If I don’t make sure I have that right at this point, it will become more and more difficult to realign myself once things are in motion.  I’m taking the time now to make sure I don’t see the end as being another church in Chattanooga, but rather being in a place where I hear from God and am able to be used by Him.

Though we are still early in the game, we are being aggressive in pursuing any opportunities that could get us into Chattanooga or having us better prepared once we get there.  I have looked into a few job options up in C-town.  We are attending a one day conference for church planters later this month.  And I’m counting on my book selling half a million copies so I can quit work.

Ok, so maybe the last one is not very likely.  But we will be doing fundraising soon so we can minister full time and get plugged in to the city of Chattanooga.  So if you know of anyone with a generous heart, the resources to give, and a love for the people and souls in Chattanooga, please shoot me an email!  I plan on being intentional about building relationships with those who could partner with us in this way.

I also hope in the next year to put myself under the mentoring of some guys who have been successful church planters.  One of those is Michael Lukaszewski. Michael planted Oak Leaf church in Cartersville and is a great leader.  For real, you need to follow his blog and his twitter account as I think he always has solid and interesting things to say.  Michael and his staff are leading a one day conference for church planters and their teams.  By being just one day, June 26^th, and costing just $10, the Oak Leaf team is going out of their way to make this a user friendly resource for church planters in Georgia.

The conference is called nuts and bolts and if you would like information or to go with Katy and I, just click on the link or email me.

I’m looking forward to the conference Michael!

That being said……I see principles for learning in everything.  So I thought how I would go about appealing to “King James” if I were a NBA team owner.  In wiring it out I realized some of the same principles apply in attracting friends, customers, or church visitors.

1. Get rid of hindrances

The Cleveland Cavs have already gone about doing this by firing their coach and general manager, both of whom Lebron is rumored to have disapproved of.  The Cavs are also not resigning any other players that Lebron did not get along with.  If your church or business has some potential “hang-ups” for guests such as location, rules, confusing or mixed messages, you may want to reevaluate these and see if having them is worth losing people over.

2. Consult him on major decisions

Following up on the last point, do you really think the Cleveland Cavs fired their coach and GM without the ok of LBJ?  I don’t!  Who are you trying to appeal to?  Well have you ever thought to ask their opinion on what you do and how?

One of our plans for outreach before we church plant is to approach the people in the community we intend to plant in and ask them to fill out and return a survey about their view of church and what kind of a church they would be willing to attend.

3. Make things comfortable and familiar

In the Lebron James case, the Cavs already have the advantage in this because they are the team closest his home town.  I still believe though that they should bring in his old High School coach as a team assistant.  Lebron loves his old coach and knowing he could be close to him on the professional team would certainly be appealing.

Likewise, what could you do to bring this element to your place of business or worship?  Don’t be so caught up in the idea of having everything as “new” that you alienate people by making them confused and uncomfortable as soon as they walk in your door.

4. Put our best effort forward

If we are trying to sign the best basketball player in the country, we’re not just going to hope, wish, or even pray that he signs with us.  We are going to put forth a solid effort and make him feel valued.  We would bring in the best coach we could get.  We would sign players that would compliment Lebron’s game and let him know we are serious about winning.

If people think you are after them for money or inflated numbers, they will walk.  Are you putting your time and resources into a good presentation and a solid product or are you assuming people will come and already dreaming about the next step?

5. Appeal to his dream

If you know Lebron James (as I obviously do!) you know that his dream is to become an international icon.  Ok, so that’s public knowledge.  But what would you do with that knowledge.  Again, if I were a team owner, I would be spending money out of my pocket to rent advertising space in every major country on the planet and posting a huge image of number 23.  If I care about Lebron, then I care about his dream.  And I would take initiative in helping make his dream happen.  People will always be loyal to those who are helping them accomplish their dream.

What is it people in your family or your community want?  How are you going to help them take steps toward fulfilling that?

So….that’s my foolproof plan for signing Lebron James and reaching your community.  You’re welcome NBA general managers!

• Vision
• Faith
• Leadership
• Purity

Salvation and Life Change

• The lost in Chattanooga
• Friends
• Family members
• Homeless
• Addicted
• Opportunities

The Church Plant

• God to grow it
• Relationships
• Finances
• The right place
• People
• Unity
• Launch/core team

My Marriage

• Sacrifice
• Love
• Purity
• Trust
• Partnership

My Relationship with God

• Clarity
• Wisdom
• Faith
• Power in prayer
• To hear from God
  • LISTEN!!!!

So this last Thursday’s service was my first day of duty and I showed up wondering how things would go leading a team of people I did not know and most of whom were older than me.  The position fit like a glove and was a reminder for me of how church leadership is my niche and how much I had missed it.  If you are wanting to be in leadership one day, the best advice I could give you would be to find some, any, leadership role you can now – even if it’s going into the men’s room to see which side of the toilet the hand rails are one (yes, someone asked me to do this).

In getting things set up and people in their place to hand out bulletins and take up the offering, I encountered two different reactions from guys.  It just goes to show that there are leadership lessons everywhere.

1. The “ok, let’s go, hurry up” follower

One young man was super pumped to be ushering that night and apparently equally as pumped that I was his leader.  From the moment I walked in and put on my walkie-talkie (which is the true sign of being in charge), this guy was at my side, following me around, wanting to know my plan.  Fifteen minutes before we were to be in place, while some of the others ushers will still eating dinner, this guy was pressuring me to head over to the auditorium and get started.

This guy was all in for the mission.  He was going to hold me accountable and make sure I was leading the way.  But he is also the kind of follower who can push a leader to go too soon, abandon the game plan, and get ahead of the process.  “ok, let’s go” guy will stroke a leader’s ego and make them feel like someone has their back, but be careful they don’t set your pace for you.

2. The “yeah, yeah, I got it” follower

As I made my rounds to the ushers assigning positions and covering the game plan, I had one guy push back a little.  As I described in detail how things needed to go, he avoided eye contact and continually interrupted me by saying, “yeah, ok.  Piece of cake.  Got it!”  Perhaps he has plenty of ushering experience under his belt, but I had observed how just the week before the ushers had got confused and sent a basket down a certain isle three times.  I was going into great details in order to be simple and specific in making sure such an incident did not happen again.

Follower number two however seemed insulted that I was telling him what I expected of him.  Though it is noble that he wanted to be trusted and was letting it known he could handle the responsibility, his attitude came off as almost challenging of authority.  Leaders should not be micromanagers yet the downfall sometimes of this kind of follower is that they overlook the details, which can lead to major problems.

Again, leadership principles are everywhere and experience is the best teacher.  Better I learn to deal with the different types of followers now than when the stakes are higher and I deeply offend someone.

Something I have been receiving from God is that I am good enough.  Not that I could or should ever think I can do anything great without Him, but that He can use me just as greatly as He has used any of those I admire.  In months past it was really difficult for me to meet with great church leaders or experienced ministry “professionals.”  I felt as though I should be accepting everything they had to say and was no one to be disagreeing with them.  I would always walk away grateful for the advice, but still knowing that some of what they said was not true to my personal vision.

A repeated phrase though that I have heard from many I respect is that “you must fight for your vision.”  I have had young, old, traditional, and contemporary church leaders express the importance of not allowing others to derail or cloud what God has put on my heart.  Some have even advised I be “mean” about my vision.  It took some growth on my part though to come to the point where I felt I could humbly, yet boldly, determine that if what I feel called to is truly going to be my vision, and if I’m going to be the one who holds to it and leads a ministry to carry it out, I have to believe in myself and recognize that I am good enough.  I may see others as better than myself, but if I know I have heard from God about what is the call for me and my specific ministry, then that’s what I must stick to if I’m going to be obedient.

If God’s sees us as good enough to put a call on our lives, we must see ourselves as good enough to pursue it.

For me, my dream is to plant a new, exciting, dynamic church in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  I can sit and dream about that all day (and I do) or even read, pray, and prepare for it as much as I want, but if I don’t ever transfer that dream to others who can work with me, it’s not going to happen.  Teams always accomplish more and great leaders will assemble great teams that will cause things to run smoother and each person to get better.  The word leadership scares some people but this could mean an executive hiring good managers or a man seeking to marry the right girl.  Bringing other valuable people into the picture always makes the team stronger and increases the chance for success.

Leaders, bosses, and owners who are insecure may fear criticism or opposition if other people get heavily involved.  That’s why I love what Maxwell says in this chapter when he states, “A dream that cannot survive honest criticism is a dream that’s likely never to be attained.”  A consultant may be needed.  Perhaps going to a counselor is a good idea……if you are serious about seeing your dream come to fruition.

As I seek to do this with my own dream, I made a lot of notes on the pages where Maxwell laid out a guide for recruiting others.  He said to transfer the dream to others so that they become interested and invested.  To do this, transfer (or communicate) the dream logically, emotionally, and visually.  Appeal to them.  Show them the need as well as how they will benefit.  Realize too that others will buy into the dreamer before the dream.  They will be looking to see if you’re real or not.

Now, it doesn’t take much to get me going these days as far as getting excited about my dream.  Just driving through the city of Chattanooga or someone in a crowd whispering a phrase that rhymes with “church planting” will make me want to run circles or loudly regurgitate all I know about starting a church.  Working through this book served as even additional motivation as well as a honing guide for laying out my dream.

The book was written (or at least I read it) with a very seasoned, mentoring tone.  Each chapter served as a question challenging the reader to gauge the reality, validity, and authenticity of one’s personal dream.  There was an incredible balance of motivating the reader to pursue his dreams, while also strongly urging them to be honest about the possibility of such a dream coming true.  Never was there a section that could be interpreted as belittling a dream or discouraging someone from thinking big.  Maxwell was even careful to say that it is ok if someone cannot clearly articulate their dream but that they should be working on that as the next step.  The importance of involving others was also stressed because anything that is greater than one person requires more than one person.

The book connected with me so deeply where I am right now in the preparation stage of pursuing my dream, I have decided to review the book and write a series of posts that will include book excerpts and my thoughts as I went through the material.  I would love to lead a book study on the volume, but since I’m not, we will do a cyber one on here for several days.  Feel free to follow along!