Tag Archives: leadership

Leaving Well

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24 Days

That’s all the time I have left in my current role as Worship Arts Director at Saanich Baptist Church.

I’m young, I’ve only got 7 years of ministry experience under my belt.  In those 7 years I have seen a few comings and goings of ministry staff.  I’ve noticed things about each one.  I’ve especially admired those who have remained committed to their church until the very last day they collect a pay cheque.  I have noticed how much the people they are leading and serving have appreciated that commitment.  I have noticed that it makes it much easier for the next person who comes in to fill that gap.  I have also tragically witnessed the disarray, frustration, and fizzling out of church goers who perhaps felt abandoned by the staff member in transition.

When I told my Sr. Pastor that I was leaving I told him I would be committed to the very end.  I meant it.  I meant it because I respected and appreciated him.  I meant it because I love the people I serve.  I meant it because my congregation deserves the very best I have to give.  I meant it because I truly believe it will make me a better leader as I transition into what’s next.

24 days.

You’re probably not going to be surprised to hear this but it’s hard.  The temptation is certainly to coast.  I’m excited about vacation.  I’m excited about the new ministry opportunity that awaits me.  And that’s just it, it’s waiting.  It will wait.  It’s not going anywhere.  And for right now this is where I am, this is where I want to be, and this is the opportunity God has given me.

I have 4 Sundays left.  4 Sundays to lead the congregation I love in worship of our amazing God.  24 days of coffee conversations with volunteers.  24 days of thanking, giving, serving, loving, listening, teaching, striving, and singing my guts out.  24 days of solid ministry.  And 25 days from this moment I’ll sigh a deep sigh, and smile, and say, “that was awesome”.

We all come to times of transition.  Don’t miss the opportunity in front of you by looking past it to something that hasn’t even arrived yet.  You won’t please everyone on your way out, because you can never please everyone.  But stay committed to the end, for your sake and those who are counting on you.

Let’s do this!

Preaching in the Mirror: Egos and Insecurities

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Chris Synesael ‏ @chris_synesael

One of the things I hate about preaching – is preaching the sermon to myself first.

This tweet by a friend of mine this past week has inspired a series that I’m going to call “Preaching in the Mirror”.  Taking time to examine where you’re at is a great way to grow as a leader, especially when you’re examining yourself through the lens of scripture.

By the way, my friend Chris is a fantastic preacher.  He pastors a church in Victoria, BC called West Village.  You can check them out at www.westvillagechurch.com

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Part 1: “Egos and Insecurities”

(I would suggest reading Colossians 3 and then read the rest of the post.)

If you were born destined to become a musician you were also born with an extra helping of insecurities.  Insecurities morph over time into a mask called an “ego”.  Egos make ugly masks.

Many of us struggle with these things.  It’s rampant for artists as we put so much of ourselves into our work but most of the world knows what it’s like to deal with these nagging companions.

I struggle with insecurities.  There have been times where that translates into an ego, usually if I feel threatened…and insecure.  Such a vicious cycle.  I want to be seen as someone who has the answer.  I want to be seen as someone who knows what they’re doing.

Here’s the truth.  Get ready for it because it flips all of the above thoughts upside down.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things (insecurities). 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God….you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Colossians 3:1-3, 9b-10

Insecurities are part of our human nature, but we died to that old nature and we are now alive in Christ.  His peace can fill us, His character can shape us, His reflection can be seen in us.

Do not allow your insecurities to take root.  You belong to Jesus.  Your identity is in Him.  At the end of this life it won’t matter what someone else thought of your style, skills, wit, or knowledge.  What will matter is if you set your mind on Jesus.  What will matter is how people saw Jesus alive inside of you.

I want to be seen as someone who loves Jesus.  I want to be seen as someone who has found peace in the knowledge that my identity rests in who He is.

 

For me it was time to preach at myself.  Is it time you do the same?

Rockstar

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John the Baptist was a Rockstar

That dude had tons of followers everywhere he went.  People wanted to know what he had to say.  They wanted to know what he was up to, where he was going, what he had for breakfast (…I hear it was locusts).

The funny thing about John is that he didn’t really talk like a rockstar.  He was never promoting his next book.  He was never promoting his next worship album.  He was never promoting his line of camel hair cardigans.

All John did was promote his cousin…and his cousin was Jesus.

here’s some direct quotes from the rockstar himself

“I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord(Jesus).’”

John 1:23

“[Jesus] must become greater; I must become less.”

John 3:30

“The Father loves the Son(Jesus) and has placed everything in his hands.”

John 3:35

Being involved in worship ministry in the North American church it can sometimes be hard to escape the label of “rockstar”.  It may not be your fault but there is generally a certain way that worship leaders are treated that can be dangerous.  It’s culture’s fault really.  But it’s also true that many worship leaders crave that kind of treatment.  And that’s a dark road to travel down.

It is very likely that you will experience points in your life when people will follow you.  They might really want to hear what you have to say.  They might think your music is amazing, or that you’re a brilliant song writer, or that you have an incredible voice.  They might say a whole lot of great things about you…

…and when they do…what are you going to say?

Because you could take those compliments served up on a silver platter of “finally someone is recognizing how hard I work” and cash them in at the emotional bank.

Ooooorrrr

You could respond in a way that gives all the glory to Jesus, like John did.  Don’t be fake about it.  EVERYONE can see through fake humility.  Practice humility.  And remind yourself that it’s all about Jesus.  Lead worship like it’s all about Jesus.  Interact with your volunteers like it’s all about Jesus.  Speak to your congregation like it’s all about Jesus.  Write songs like it’s all about Jesus.

And when you face that tension of rockstar and servant…well, you get the idea.

Authentic

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The Grammy awards are my version of Super Bowl Sunday.

I love the music.  I love the drama.  I love the showmanship.  I love the passing off from one generation to the next.  I love the spectacle.  I love Paul McCartney :)

This year I was really impressed with Dave Grohl, the front-man of one of the best Rock bands from the past 20 years, the Foo Fighters.  They came away with 4 Grammys this year.  That’s no small feat!  I loved Grohl’s acceptance speech for the “Best Rock Performance” award.

(video was removed, here’s his speach)

Dave Grohl’s Grammys acceptance speech:

“This is a great honour, because this record was a special record for our band. Rather than go to the best studio in the world down the street in Hollywood and rather than use all of the fanciest computers that money can buy, we made this one in my garage with some microphones and a tape machine…

“To me this award means a lot because it shows that the human element of music is what’s important. Singing into a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that’s the most important thing for people to do.

“It’s not about being perfect, it’s not about sounding absolutely correct, it’s not about what goes on in a computer. It’s about what goes on in here [your heart] and what goes on in here [your head].”

Grohl has been in the music business for a while.  He’s seen and experienced how quickly stars can be made and stars can be forgotten, all within the span of a year or two.  Those that create a relationship with their fans seem to be able to last longer.  But, it’s still frightening to me to think about how this pressure we put on our pop stars is so crushing.  Pressure to look, act, and sound perfect.  Pressure to be unique.  It must be difficult to live under a microscope.

The average for how long a worship pastor will be on staff at a church in North America is only 2 years.  I found that stat in an issue of worship leader magazine a few years back and was shocked when I read it. Seems eerily similar to the pattern of pop stars.

I think there a lot of contributing factors to such short tenures for worship pastors but I’d like to focus on one.  Lack of authenticity.

Grohl knows and understands the power of authenticity; “the human element” as he calls it.  It’s the real person behind the music, and for the worship leader, it’s the real person behind the microphone on Sundays.  I know there is pressure on worship leaders to make things look perfect, to sound perfect, to flow perfectly.  There is pressure on us when we open our mouths to speak not to say anything that will be distracting.  There is the pressure of the evaluation meeting, the pressure of Christmas and Easter, the pressure of finding volunteers.  You don’t have to look very hard to find it in this role.

Authenticity can be your defense against pressure.  The more time I spend in this area of ministry the more I am convinced this is true.

1. Be Authentic In Your Relationship With God

  • Do you feel the need to fake it?  Why?  You need to spend some time getting reconnected to God.  Allow your identity to be found in Him.  Invite His truth to influence your life, your planning, and your actions.  There will be times where God feels distant, but don’t stop pursuing Him.  Never fake your relationship with God.  You simply can’t be in ministry if that’s how you’re operating.

2. Be Authentic With People

  • Conflict sucks.  I hate it.  I try to avoid it sometimes and wind up sitting on a frustration ball of resentment.  Be authentic with how you feel.  Be honest and open in one-on-one meetings (which is the right place for it) and express your view of the situation.  This is important with your Sr. Pastor and it’s important with your volunteers.

3. Be Authentic With Your Congregation

  • Don’t be a plastic worship leader.  Don’t try to be another worship leader who you think is really cool.  Just be yourself.  Practice what you are going to say from the front but say it in your own words.  There will be days when your life is messy and for the good of your congregation you will need to put on a brave face.  When that’s the case use that situation to identify with how some of the people you are leading might also be hurting and grab on tight to the promise of God’s faithfulness as you worship.

 

My prayer is that we would be a generation of authentic worshipers.  Not the “post-modern” kind but the “overflow and response to God’s goodness in our lives” kind.

   let is be so

Winter Leadership Boost

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This weekend I had the fantastic opportunity to take in a few of the sessions from the 2011 Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit.  We organized a small gathering at our church to take in some great leadership wisdom with some of our ministry volunteers.

The summit is always awesome.  This year I spent most of my time taking it in from the sound booth.  I always underestimate the speakers at the summit.  Partly because half the time I’ve never heard of them, and the other half of the time…well, I have no excuse for the other half.

Today I would like to share with you some of the insights and thoughts from a few of the speakers.  So, from my vantage point in the sound booth I bring you…

Caleb’s Summit Snippets  

Bill Hybels – 5 Critical Questions

author of “The Power of a Whisper”

1. What is your current leadership challenge level?

  • Are you under challenged? (not good)
  • Are you appropriately challenged? (pretty good spot to be in)
  • Are you over challenged? (hard to keep that up and stay human)
  • The best place to be is just above appropriately challenged, so that you’re pushing yourself, but not killing yourself.

2. What Is Your Plan For Dealing With Challenging People In Your Organization?

  • Willow Creek has an aggressive but well thought out plan for this.  I think it depends on the size of your organization and every situation is different.  Do you have a plan?
  • If you don’t deal with challenging people then you are in danger of de-motivating your good people

3. Are You Naming, Facing, and Resolving the organizational problems that exist?

  • …because you’ve got to.

4.  When Is The Last Time You Re-examined the Core of What Your Organization Is All About?

  • We are in the life transformation business
  • What 5 words would you use to describe Christianity (the Gospel)? – I encourage you to do this

5. What if you made your next 5 years of ministry your best?

If you’d like to see the rest of my notes from the other sessions click HERE

I’d love to hear some of your thoughts if you’d like to share in the comments section.