Don't panic. The last time I posted something similar to this, everyone was asking, "Is he OK?". I'm better than OK. I'm as good as I've ever been. I'm riding high, feeling more empowered and "in the zone" than I have since we planted the church. In fact I almost titled this blog "BIGGER THAN YOU OR ME", because I truly believe we are riding this wave right in the middle of God's will and He has given me the responsibility to lead. It's become much easier to make tough decisions because this movement has grown much larger than any individual or personality. With that said I want to post the thoughts of the executive pastor from Oakleaf. A church blog I follow. Someone mentioned today, after watching Krohn and I interact on some church decisions that they for the first time realized how much work was going on behind the scenes. That tough decisions and details have to be handled for all of the stuff that happens on Sunday to work. In reality it can be very tough. I push Krohn hard. He works hard. We are learning together. The other staff (all volunteer) work hard as well and I often push them just as hard even though they don't get paid. The phrase I use often is "meat and potatoes vs icing". Lots of things in ministry are fun. Lots more are basic, got to get done, grueling maintenance stuff. Without the meat and potatoes, the icing is meaningless. I think he says it well. Ministry can harden you but I'm doing everything I can to keep a tender heart and live in grace. Sometimes I will be tough, tenacious, even hard and direct.... because the stakes are high and I will defend TheBOD to my last breath. I am not alone. There is true value in what God is doing in the lives of people at TheBOD. Others are rising up to defend the culture of grace and love that rests on our body as well. I believe we are about to hit another gear. Not sure why I sense it so strongly but something big is about to break and we are about to go to a whole new level. Be praying hard and.... of course... DON'T BLINK.
The post:
I have had many conversations with our staff over the last couple days about tenacity and follow-through. Basically, we have been discussing operating with our best practices and core values.
Excellence is one of our core values and often it is one of the hardest ones to consistently follow. It isn’t that we cannot determine the difference between good enough and going over the top, but it’s that its much tougher to do things the best way, impressive way, and a way that will make an impression on as consistent basis.
One of the other huge hurdles that people face when they take on the role of a pastor at a church plant is being able to seamlessly transition between looking at the big picture and specifics. They have to be able to see it from all angles then work inside their ministry areas. It’s actually more difficult then you think to think like a manager and then still pastor the volunteers in your area. Huge to-do-lists, overwhelming projects, and a constantly evolving ministry can be distracting.
Tenacity, follow-through, and mental toughness is the only way to be successful in this kind of ministry. I often reference my days as a landscaper to illustrate my point. My go to illustration is the day a dump truck dropped off 50+ yards of mulch at a house we had to landscape. I had to clear the driveway it was dumped into in one day with only one helper. We had two shovels, two rakes, and two wheelbarrows. We worked non-stop for 8 hours to clear the pile and have it done for the opening house the next morning.
That project and many others like it didn’t tempt me to quit because it was physically taxing. It was the mental gymnastics to keep shoveling instead of sitting down in front of the frightening pile of mulch built up my attitude to stick with it…even when it was overwhelming. Unfortunately, you can’t teach people mental toughness…it’s learned. The mental toughness necessary to stick with a church plant when lousy stuff happens, when hard decisions have to be made, when giving goes up and down and when people quit on your church is the only thing that will ensure long-term success.
What’s your mulch pile?
same pile, different city. great thoughts and very encouraging. great to meet you and Krohn the other day. praying for what God wants and is doing through the Bod and Bod-ers. thanks for the 'push' today in this blog. Gotta get back to the wheelbarrow. Phillip
Posted by: Phillip | June 04, 2008 at 01:56 PM