Mac came up with 7 principles for how Jesus raised up the leaders around him after reading straight through the gospels looking through a lens of leadership development.

1) Confidence – Jesus saw people for what they could be, not just who they were at the time.
2) Connection – Jesus had a strong relational connection with the people he invested in.

Mac refers to the two things above as the central ingredients of leadership development.

3) Content – He gave them parables and stories to go talk about. They had things to learn and grow with during their time away from Him. Their leadership development was not totally dependent on their time with him.

4) Coaching – When Peter sank in the water Jesus asked him, “Why did you doubt?” while he was still in the water. He didn’t wait to ask him when he got back in the boat. He coached him in the middle of his experience.

5) Challenges – Jesus put the disciples into situations where they had to practice their leadership apart from him.
6) Cluster – Jesus created an environment where the disciples could connect with one another peer to peer.
7) Conference (Large group learning) – Throughout the year Jesus had gatherings where thousands would show up. The gatherings were so compelling that people would not even leave to go eat.

Mac shared that leadership is a messy process that requires discipline. I couldn’t agree more.

For more on Mac’s thoughts on Leadership visit http://maclakeonline.com

Everyone Belongs,

Paul

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Here are a couple of quick thoughts that can replicate any ministry or department, and not just a big event.

1) It’s not about a single personality. A fast growing ministry cannot be dependent on the person at the top. This is not just a Senior Pastor issue (although that happens), it’s about whomever the top leader is in the ministry/department.

The person who is ultimately responsible has got to communicate clear vision and values and give them away. When a church comes to me about participating in Community Makeover (CMO) here’s the first question, Do you have a leader strong enough to recruit and care for other leaders and to put a simple structure in place? The first thing you need is a leader of leaders who’s not afraid to replicate themselves at the risk of sharing glory, credit, etc. They need to know their strengths and have people around them to compensate for their weaknesses. Every leader will learn and share the same values and vision, and be able to speak about them in a way that it is clear they own the vision.

Too many churches/organizations stay small because everything has to run through a certain person. Sometimes we pretend their are checks and balances to prevent this by putting whole committees in place. In reality everyone is waiting for approval of the Head Deacon or whomever. This type of control freak leader stifles the growth of their area and a whole organization. The trap for this kind of leader is the happy knowledge that the organization has not grown past their leadership…and it never will.

2) The structure can’t be complicated. There cannot be layers of structure that create barriers to communication and creativity. If you care for people well you don’t have to use terms like “Chain of Command”. If you take the time to invest just a little bit relationally with people you will create an environment of mutual trust. This type of environment allows people to be creative, and allows the leader to be able to come back and tweak the creativity if needed.

Every volunteer should be able to get answers to their questions no matter who they ask, and every leader must be approachable.

CMO is not complicated. The entire structure of this enormous event can be boiled down into four parts moving together like Bono and the boys to help a church of 50 or 5,000 ‘rattle and hum’ along with excellence. It can be applied to any church environment whose desire is to allow leaders to lead.

When it comes to CMO having the right leader and a simple structure allows churches to own the event themselves. This is crucial. The goal of the makeover is not to connect people in different counties back to our non profit, Engage Atlanta. Engage does not want to plan the Outreach of any given church. The desire of Engage is to create an environment that allows churches to connect to each other and reach out to their own community the way they are being led to. Maybe the churches can even work together in the future. We create a catalyst opportunity for churches to engage their community with the love of Jesus Christ. The church is still in the community after CMO is over, and the church ‘makes disciples’ not the non-profit.

The desire is that getting people involved and recruiting new leaders through this event helps set up ministries to have greater success in reaching their community in the months that follow.

Everyone Belongs,

Paul

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One of the purposes of this Community Makeover is to change some of the impressions people have about church. Most people who do not attend church have some serious questions about why there are so many different brands. Methodists, Baptists, Assembly of God, Seventh Day Adventist, the church for the white people, and the church for the African-American.  Often churches are set apart by dress code, hair length, music-style, music volume, and more. Our preferences give the people watching Christ-followers the perception that we aren’t working for the same goal, and we can’t get along. Perception is reality. All of the preferences that we put into place to help draw people to Jesus can actually become the very things that keep people away.

So what kind of perception do we give when we all wear the same color shirt, and get our hands dirty? What kind of perception do we give when we all sing in the same color shirt?

I believe that this Community Makeover pulls people toward finding out more about the Jesus that the people in the red shirts are singing about. When we set aside all the things we use to distinguish ourselves, He becomes the thing that sets us apart.

Everyone Belongs,

Paul

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At West Ridge Church we share a value with thousands of other churches. I think Willow Creek must have put this down on paper somewhere first, but here it is. “People matter to God, and, therefore, ought to matter to the church.” It’s amazing that we even have to put this one down, but we do. Being a part of a church from the beginning allows you to see a ton of miracles and blessings. Perhaps I was ignorant, but I never would have guessed that the more people we have the more intentional you have to be to minister to them. The more we grow the more we have to remind ourselves, “people matter.”

I haven’t gotten my blog on in the new year, but I have a little bit of inspiration from some people that I have been allowed to invest in this week. So over the next couple of days, I’m going to share some current stories that have served as a reminder to me. It will be an exercise for me, and hopefully will benefit others as well.

Everyone Belongs, 

Paul

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I haven’t gotten my blog on in the new year, but I have a little bit of inspiration from some people that I have been allowed to invest in this week. So over the next couple of days, I’m going to share some current stories that have served as a reminder to me. It will be an exercise for me, and hopefully will benefit others as well.

Everyone Belongs, 

Paul

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A couple things: This would not be possible if we made this all about us. After years of investment in the same community (by our church) the power of partnership is ‘expanding our territory’ more than anything else. We have partnered with multiple community groups and key non-profits to be able to reach out. Because of the generosity of our church, our community ,and the 4 other churches who have partnered with West Ridge Church (Pumpkinvine Baptist, Hope Methodist, Church at the Ridge, Cedarcrest Church) we will have enough food and gifts for every family.

Even if a family does not come to the party, food boxes are being delivered Monday. 1500 families will get some kind of Christmas assistance.

So one last challenge: For whomever reads this today and tomorrow, please pray for what is going to happen on this campus. We are praying with great expectations. God has shown us this was His idea. And He has stepped in to make sure it happens the right way.

Along with prayer here is some encouragement. My wife and I have cut back on Christmas this year. There are lots of reasons for it, and none of them have to do with personal hardship. It is very simple. We are extraordinarily blessed.  Over the years we have become more aware of the needs in our own community, and with my travels to Burkina Faso, the lens with which we see the world has changed. I’m not trying to be pious. My boys are getting some good gifts! We are just not going overboard. The main reason for cutting back was to be sure we engaged with A Fresh Hope and CAYA and the West Ridge Gift Offering, even if in just a small way, without letting the season pass us by.

Don’t let the season pass you by. We can still use canned goods and gifts tomorrow. And if you go to West Ridge (or another church that is doing something similar), the easiest thing you can do to engage this community and the world at Christmas is to give a larger gift to Christ than any other single gift you are giving this year. Participate in the Gift Offering this year as a way of thanking God for all the good gifts He sends our way.

I’ll post an update on this event tomorrow night or Monday.

Everyone Belongs, 

Paul

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