It’s Never Too Late To Start Over…

Someone recently asked me to define a “good day”!  I told them that was an easy task.  Every day I wake up in the morning and can get out of bed and help others is a good day!  Therefore, everyday is a good day for me!  In fact, when people ask me how I enjoy being a Pastor and Consultant, I tell them; “when you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life”!  And I LOVE what I do.  My website motto is: “Our goal is to facilitate Your Success”!  Check it out at: www.agleadershipservices.com.

I feel like the luckiest (most blessed, for my religious friends) man in the world.  I have a wonderful wife and children, a wonderful church family, wonderful friends, good health, financial security (as much as someone can have during our recession), and most importantly, a wonderful God I serve.  I have purpose in my life every day when I get up in the morning.  It doesn’t get much better than this…

It would be easy for me to feel guilty about not blogging for the last number of months.  It’s easy to start something, but it takes some sticktuitiveness (that’s a real word!) and perseverance to keep on keepin’ on.  And once you’ve “blown it”, doesn’t it seem so very hard to start up again?  It’s kind of like dieting (which I’ve been doing all of my life, ugh!!).  Once you blow it, it’s soooo hard to not just “pig out” because, well… I blew it, so I might as well REALLY blow it!!!  I’m so frustrated and disappointed in myself I owe it to myself to have a really good pity party!

Here’s the good news.  His mercy is new and fresh every morning!!!  The essence of mercy is “not receiving what we really deserve”!  And frankly, without Jesus, I deserve nothing but judgment.  Thankfully, every day is a new day and a fresh start.  In fact, no matter how many times you fall… to be successful, you just need to get up one more time than you’ve fallen… and you’ll finish the race.

Have you fallen down…  Are you really tired and discouraged…  Just get up ONE more time… because it’s never too late to start over!  Remember, it’s not how you start that matters…  It’s how you finish!!!  Now, join with me and let’s finish strong!!!

Difficult Challenges Of Being A Pastor; Part 3

 I’ve now shared with you 6 of the 8 most challenging situations for a pastor. I’ll share the last two issues and then bring closure to these postings today.

Challenge # 7 Raising money can be a nightmare for many pastors. We’re (blanked) if we do, and we’re (blanked) if we don’t! People are very sensitive to the church asking for money because it is many people’s perspective that’s all we do. If the truth be told, more pastors “fear” talking about money than those in the minority that overly challenge people in their financial stewardship.

Challenge # 8 Embracing change is the last challenge that I’m going to address. This may be the most important challenge of all those addressed. Although it is believed by many pastors that church people are unwilling to change to bring about growth, I’ve noted something different. I’ve noted that pastors are just as resistant to change as their church people are. We must all continue being change agents so that we can “keep pace with the Holy Spirit”.

Certainly this is not an all inclusive list of issues, but it surely is an accurate statement of challenges that all leaders experience when they’re attempting to grow an organization. It can be very frustrating because of the passion and vision of their hearts for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

May God help us not look at others. May He help us “own” our stuff. And may we not deflect, nor “blame shift” and become victims. When we accept responsibility for what happens we become empowered to make the necessary changes.

May His Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

Make it a great weekend and I’ll catch up with you on Monday.

Until then…

JPF

Difficult Challenges Of Being A Pastor; Part 2

Picking up where we left off yesterday, we’ll hit 3 more challenges today and finish up the week with the last 3 on Friday.  So here we go:

 Challenge # 5

Training Leaders is one of the most important issues for a pastor because if he/she doesn’t raise up leaders they end up being a one man/women show.  And everyone knows that is a quick path to burnout.  The other issue is having good materials to train leaders once you find willing bodies.

 Challenge # 6

Finding good musicians is another unending battle that every pastor experiences.  Finding musicians that are moldable is a difficult task at best.  And if you as a pastor, along with your spouse are not a singer or musician, you are completely at their mercy.  Excuse me for this thought, but managing musicians can be like herding cats. 

 Challenge # 7

Fostering diversity is another issue that every pastor needs to embrace, but is challenged to get people out of their comfort zones.  To truly be an expression of cultural diversity means challenging the status quo and being extremely proactive in facilitating the extraction of people from their homogeneous perches.

 The bottom line is this; to be a shepherd in the 21^st century is without a doubt one of the most difficult vocations that anyone can choose.  Therefore only those that are called should venture into this challenging but exciting arena.  And I applaud and pray for each and every one of you reading this post!

 Tomorrow we’ll talk about raising money, as well as the challenge being change agents in a culture that is constantly evolving.

 Until then…

JPF

Difficult Challenges Of Being A Pastor

Today is part 2 of several posts regarding the challenges of being a pastor in the 21^st century.  Yesterday’s post was one of the most popular yet.  I’m guessing that people can relate to what I’m sharing.  I’m going to share some specific issues which are challenging to those of us that are “called” to serve the church.

 Challenge # 1

Either establishing or embracing the DNA (culture) for your church.  If you are a church planter then you have the opportunity to create your own DNA, but if you have gone into a church that was already established, the DNA is already in place.  You will need to bend (some times painfully so) in order to “fit” into the culture until you have the “authority” to bring about some changes.  It’s a very slow process I might add.

Challenge # 2

Establishing a vision/mission that is God’s vision for the church.  Usually we have these grandiose ideas that we’re all going to have megachurches and be megachurch pastors speaking to leaders all over the world.  Sharing with others the keys to success and how we did it.  …and then the alarm goes off and we wake up!!  J  Be yourself!

 Challenge # 3

Once establishing a vision/mission it is necessary to be able to clarify it for the masses that are going to be fulfilling the vision of the house.  You’d be surprised how muddy the waters get when we ask people to verbalize the vision.  You will have as many expressions of the vision as you have people.  You must work hard to internalize what you have on paper.

 Challenge # 4

After clarifying the vision/mission you have to develop a strategic plan to accomplish the “dream” that you’ve now set forth.  That is easier said than done.  Many pastors are practitioners more than strategists.  We need to understand what… who… and how!

 To be continued tomorrow…

Until then…

 JPF

Thoughts About Being a Lifelong Pastor

Having been a pastor for over 30 years now I’d like to share with you some thoughts about what makes a pastor’s life challenging.  Don’t get me wrong, I love pastoring, but it’s a tough profession.

I’ve told young potential pastors that “if there is anything else in the world that you can do instead of being a pastor and be fulfilled… do it!!!”  Pastoring is one of the most challenging of all of the people helping professions.

You are expected to be a “specialist” although you have only been trained to function as a generalist.  You need to be all things to all people.  This is a daunting task.  To meet everyone at their point of need no matter their age, education, socioeconomic status, gender, culture, or a myriad of other factors.

You need to be able to do a multitude of tasks well, the least of which is your ability to teach or preach.  Many young people are enamored with the thought of studying hour after hour preparing sermons and teaching that fulfills their youthful zeal and idealistic view of what pastoring is all about.  Studying and speaking is about 10% of what you do in the pastorate.  That is the reality of the situation.

Your training in Bible College or Seminary is a drop in the bucket of the education and training that you need in order to be successful as a pastor in the 21^st century.  You must embrace the value of becoming a lifelong learner in order to have any chance of lasting in this field as a long term leader.

Tomorrow I’m going to share with you some of the specific issues and realities I’ve struggled with through the years regarding the challenges of being a pastor in the US in the 21^st century.

 Until then…

 Make it a great day!

JPF

a new day has dawned…

 The 21st century has brought many challenges to the church. If the church (as we now know it) is going to survive, we are going to need to make some wholesale changes. No more can we open our doors and think that people are going to come in because we’re there. We are living in a post-Christian society, therefore we better have something to offer worth people’s time, energy, and resources.

At our church we are simplifying our ministry and reinventing ourselves with a lean ministry philosopy in mind. People’s lives are frenetic in general to say the least. There’s no time to spend unprofitable hours at the church. We’re going to be lucky to get people for a couple hours a week. We better make them count. We’ve developed a strategy to accomplish a new paradigm for a new era.

We’re propagating a three-fold process to help people keep a balanced lifestyle. It’s simple: Receive… Relate… Serve… In order to keep it simple we recommend to our folks to attend one service per week. Attend one small group per week. And serve others one time per week. It’s simple, but it’s a discipleship process that fits the 21st century.

The day of asking people to be at church every time the doors open is effectively an expectation of the past. This is a battle that we WILL NOT win. We must change our expectations to survive and flourish.

Remember this; it’s as simple as loving God (receive), loving people (relate), and serving the world (serve).

Simplicity is in… Complexity is out…

Your thoughts?

JPF

Hurting People Hurt Other People

I was with a friend the other day and we talked about his former church and their leadership. He communicated that the leader was a cult leader and the church a cult. He then couched his language by saying “my wife doesn’t like the term cult. She prefers the phrase “abusive” leader and church.

Wow! How about that. From the frying pan into the fire. I’m not sure which is worse. The amazing thing is that many of our pastors and churches in the US are called by both these names. I too, have been accused of being a cult leader and leading a cult.

What is the difference between a cult leader and an abusive leader?

A cult leader is one who is leading the flock astray, away from the orthodox understanding of Christianity. Leading them into doctrine that seduces people to do or be what the leader wants them to do or be, as opposed to what the scriptures have to say.

An abusive leader is one who has much woundedness and baggage that keeps them from leading a functional church. In fact, the leaders’ dysfunction will most often begin to be a part of the DNA of the church itself. They are usually hurting people and they end up hurting other people. In the end, one is abusing people and the other is “abusing” the scriptures.

In any case, neither one is good. May God help those of us in the pastoral trenches to not pass on our own stuff to others. Better yet, may we recognize and seek healing that we might be whole, body, SOUL, and spirit. My prayer is that I may be a leader that leads people in a healthy way to be all that they can be for Christ.

Any thoughts?

JPF

Human Doings or Human Beings

One of the leadership lessons I’ve learned the hard way is that although I’m a Type A; High I; High D; ESTJ; Lion, etc., which causes me to be very task oriented, people matter more than tasks.

I have a Ph.D. in Organizational Development which means that I am very linear and value an organization’s efficient and effective structure.  As a result, in my earlier years of leadership I was very task oriented.  The task no matter what it was had to be accomplished regardless of obstacles.  In fact, all obstacles were to be unceremoniously removed, even if it were people.  I’m embarassed to say this, but it is true.  The job must get done.  The show must go on, even at the expense of other people.

Now this was never an intentional effort on my part to hurt or discourage people who were unable to “keep pace”, but none the less, I regret terribly hurting other people in the name of the Lord along the way.

Here’s another one of the mantra’s I’ve adopted: “who you are is more important than what you do”!  You are created to be a human being not a human doing!

God cares for people more than anything else in the world.  I’ve learned that I need to care for those I work with and in turn they will “do the work of the ministry” for God’s Kingdom.

Even in my coaching sessions I’ve adopted a philosophy that deals first with the person and then with the task.  The cliché that one hears so flippantly yet it is so profound is simply this: “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care”.

I now love people first and accomplish Kingdom work second, after people are loved and cared for.  It’s not either or, but both and!

Always remember this: God made people to be human beings, not human doings!

Can anyone else relate to this challenge?

JPF

As A Leader Do You Always Need To Be Right ?

“Let go of your attachment to being right, and suddenly your mind is more open.  You’re able to benefit from the unique viewpoints of others, without being crippled by your own judgment.”                                                                                            Ralph Marston

Remember the old cliché in regard to your spouse?  “Do you want to be right or happy”?  It’s a joke of course, but there is truth in the statement for sure!

How about this statement for those of us in leadership?  Are you secure enough in your leadership to be wrong?  Or do you always need to be right in order to save face among those you lead?

I learned a lesson a long time ago and I’m still in the process of learning.  The need to be right can be one of our worst enemies.  And the root of that need often times is a result of our lack of security in ourselves.  We’re afraid that people will think that we’re less than a top flight leader if we show weakness through a lack of knowledge, experience, or skill and happen to make a wrong decision.

Today in this day and age values like humility, transparency, and vulnerability are seen as a statement of strength and security to those who are being led by you.  But it must be sincere, not simply an attempt to manipulate someone into doing what you want them to do for you.

 You see, the other value that is important today, especially to young leaders is authenticity.  If you are not authentic these behaviors become counterproductive due to the insincerity that is recognized in you.

 I’m learning to embrace each of these as lifelong character qualities that not only make you successful, but make you a significant figure in the lives of those you lead.

Which is more important to you, the person or the objective?  I would say if you take care of loving and caring for the individual, they will take care of the objective you have assigned for them.  I’m afraid that it often doesn’t work the other way around.  People aren’t stupid, they know whether you are authentic or not.

Ask yourself today am I willing to possibly forgo some degree of success short term to be a significant influence in the lives of those you lead and see long term success?

The choice is up to you!

JPF

About My Mantra

A couple of people have commented on my mantra which is this: “That which I am a part of is more important than which part I play”.

Let me share with you a couple of leadership thoughts about how I arrived at this life defining statement.

Bob Buford in his first book entitled Half-Time discussed the fact that men in particular tend to be geared toward success in their given field of expertise.  We guys tend to dive in and find great fulfillment in our occupation or our vocation.  We are hunters.  We are gatherers.  We are warriors.

Buford suggests that men spend the first half of their lives seeking SUCCESS, but tend to spend the second half searching for a sense of SIGNIFICANCE.

I too felt that it was incumbent upon me to become successful in whatever field of endeavor that I would pursue.  I worked very hard (my son thought I worked too hard, and too long) to become the best that I could be in my chosen field. 

Sometimes some of us will even violate our own value system in order to become someone considered successful.  I’m thankful that although I have always been a hard worker I have never substituted the value of success for the even more important value of family.

In attempting to be successful we can tend to compare ourselves to others.  If we’re doing better than them, we feel good about ourselves.  If they are doing better than us, then we may feel insignificant and insecure.  That’s why I always encourage those I coach to become the best “you” that you can become.  Comparisons lead to pride or insecurity.  Neither is becoming of healthy, mature, secure, and truly successful human beings.  

Success has its limitations.  Whatever you accomplish here on earth stays here on earth.  Only that which we do for others, in other words, only that which we give away is going to last.  True success is leaving a legacy behind of others who have “stood on your shoulders” and have become all that they could be.

What is your desire?  Are you driven for success and the desire to be called successful by others?  Or are you someone who doesn’t care which part you play, as long as you’re in the game?  Even if that means that no one knows your name?  I chose the latter a long time ago.  How about you?  And by the way, you can be both!  Just don’t violate your eternal values!

Are you successful or are you significant?  Or are you able to claim both terms for yourself?  I’d love to hear from you. 

JPF