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Stop Praying For Your Church

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Ok. Don’t stop praying for your church. BUT, stop praying for JUST your church. The Kingdom is bigger than the church God has called you to serve. The mission we have been called to is bigger than your church.

You know, Jesus said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Nowhere is that more evident than in the church of America today. We have become so segmented, so territorial, that we are little more than impotent. Our communities are hungry for life and we’re just shooting blanks. What little growth most of us see is not the calling home of lost sheep but the transfer of disgruntled ones.

As church leaders, if we are not:

  • praying for other churches
  • sharing resources
  • working together
  • lifting each other up
  • celebrating each other’s victories

…then we do not understand the heart of God.

It’s time to work together. We are THE Church…THE bride of Christ…THE body. Imagine what our communities would look like if it stopped being about us and started being about Him.

Agree or disagree?



Written by on April 16, 2012 and categorized under Impact

2 Guidelines No Team Should Have

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I was looking at an employee board today. Don’t’ ask me why. It was there. I was there. Anyway…I noticed a sheet stapled to the far left corner that contained a list of guidelines or expectations for each employee on staff at the organization. Most of the guidelines were very good. They fit with what I would assume is the DNA of the company based on its line of business. Two of the guidelines, however, jumped out at me:

Number 1 – “Leave your personal life at home.” – This is ludicrous. People are more than who they are at work. They have personal lives. The two are bound to mix. Are you asking Sue, who just lost her mother after a 2-year battle with cancer, to show up all smiles and giggles and act like nothing is wrong? I understand the thought here is to avoid letting problems affect customer relations. BUT…a great leader knows he must lead the WHOLE person. A great leader helps those he leads to find balance between work and personal affairs because he cares about the people he leads and he knows that only when when the WHOLE person is healthy will the team be healthy.

Number 2 – “Worry about what you’re doing and not what anyone else is doing.” Hello? T-E-A-M. Again, I understand the concept they are shooting for…don’t complain about everybody else. But, all this guideline does is create an environment where you have a bunch of people doing their job in proximity to each other. A great leader builds a great TEAM where each member of the team has a passion to do their very best to help everyone else do their very best. That kind of team knows that it can only truly win when every member wins.

I can’t fault this particular organization for having these guidelines. I’ve seen them in multiple locations and have even worked under them before. All I’m saying, is we have to be careful that our expectations build the team and not limit it.



Written by on March 21, 2012 and categorized under Impact, Innovation

When Your Eden Becomes Your Egypt

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When we think about the relationship between God’s chosen people and Egypt, almost without fail our minds fall to when God sent Moses to rescue them from their place of slavery. But, what we sometimes forget is that their time in Egypt wasn’t always bad.

There was a time, when they first entered the land, that it was a place of salvation and reconciliation. It was their Eden in a world that had fallen victim to a great famine. It was the place where brothers were given an opportunity to repent for past mistakes and a father was reunited with a long-lost son. It was the right place for them to be…at least, until it wasn’t.

So what happens when the place we once called Eden becomes our Egypt? What happens when the place we know God called us to no longer holds vision and passion…but instead feels like a weight that you know you must cast off before you can move forward to a new promise? How do we keep from losing our minds and becoming completely ineffective?

I’ve found 3 things that have helped me in those times:

  • STAY ENGAGED - God still has you there for a reason. Keep doing what He called you to and don’t allow yourself to sit still and just wait.
  • STAY ENCOURAGED - Surround yourself with people who know your heart and your new calling who will encourage and pray for you during your time of transition.
  • STAY ENAMORED – Don’t lose your intimate love for God. Press into Him…now more than ever or you will find yourself disillusioned and discouraged.

Have you ever been in that place of transition? What helped you make it through?



Written by on March 14, 2012 and categorized under Impact, Individuality

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