Ministry for the Long Haul

"God calls us to work with believers who crumble, grumble, and grouse." I must admit these words strike a cord of resonance as I talk with pastors and leaders in the church worldwide. Questions of how to sustain ministers and leaders in the midst of an ever constant need are valuable and not easily answerable. I pray the words and resources of this article are encouraging. I pray these words will produce grit and sustenance as you traverse the road of ministry in this season. 

http://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2015/summer-2015/in-it-for-long-haul.html

Developing Leaders all the Time

"Investing in young leaders is a sure sign that we're thinking about the future and not content with mere short-term success." -Scott Thomas

Even though the language of "developing leaders" is a little different from the Biblical command of "making disciples", I think the idea of developing leaders within the church is along the same heart as Jesus words and actions. Jesus chose a handful of persons to grow close to and invest in more specifically. Below is an article that will help you develop your own heart for investing in the lives of those around you. 

http://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2013/winter/developing-future-leaders.html

To view this article, you must first register for free. If you're not able to do that, here's the 7 principles the article suggests for "Training the next generation of church leaders."

1. Nurture Their Inner Lives
2. Focus on Their Potential
3. Let the Lead (and fail) and Lead Again
4. Encourage Innovation and Risk Taking
5. Think Long-term and Short
6. Help Them Create Life Plans
7. Model Humility

I think the article is a great reminder that we must invest in people. The people we are investing in are humans. They live, breath, and make decisions every day. The truth is that humans, unlike robots, have a tendency to be messy. As living organisms, there is a process of growth that must also have the capacity to fail. Without that capacity, no life could come. 

May we be a Church searching after people to walk beside in their mess, encouraging them along the way to grow in the grace and love of Christ.  

A New Year is Around the Corner

It's hard to believe another year has come and gone, but it's true. In just a short time we'll be celebrating another New Year, hopefully with family and friends nearby. This time every year I hear many rumors and murmurings of resolutions for the new year. 

Do you ever participate in this tradition?  Maybe it's called something different in your culture?  Perhaps you intentionally stay awake from this type of talk. My mom every year prays for a word (or two)... she prays for a word of focus from the Lord made apparent through the Bible. It's been incredible to see how this word or theme surfaces again and again in her life. 

Whether this is part of your story or not, focusing our lives and ministries on specific goals or hopes can be extremely life-giving when sought after with balance.  I found these articles from the last few years that might help you formulate some of your own hopes and goals for the next year.  Happy New Year! 

http://christianmediamagazine.com/7-new-year-resolutions-pastor-church-leader/

https://chognews.org/2014/01/31/new-year-resolutions-for-the-church-and-pastor/

How do you invest in the next generation of leaders and why is it so important?

By Andrei  (3WLN Participant from Russia) 

It sounds like a really good question for the church to always keep in mind if we want to reach our maximum and want our ministry to be effective. Without investing in future generations the Church, or any other organization in this world, has no future. A classical passage that comes to mind in this regard is from 2 Tim. 2:2. It contains a call of the Apostle Paul to succession in ministry that includes 1) Paul – the first generation of Christian believers; 2) Timothy – a representative of the next generation (here – it is a second generation); 3) reliable men (i.e. the third generation in this sequence); and 4) others they are supposed to be able to teach (i.e. the fourth generation). 

Because of faithful followers of Christ who lived out this principle for hundreds of years despite persecution and risk taking, the precious gift of faith was brought to us. How can we stop this? How dare we? 

Last summer, as I was spending some time with my family at a very beautiful place by the lake in Middle Asia., I was surprised to see an alley of birch trees there leading to the lake making the place even more beautiful to anyone from Russia. We associate the birch tree with home because they grow in most places throughout Russia. What else struck me about those birch trees is the fact that amidst the tall, evidently mature trees there were some young ones. They were probably replacing the trees that had died or had been cut down for some reason. Profound spiritual lesson learned from gardening… 

Those young and beautiful birches became a symbol to me of being intentional about raising new leaders who may be young and inexperienced in some things, but who must be with the older and more mature ones learning from them and teaching them, too. Today the changes in our daily lives are so fast and overwhelming that only ‘youngsters’ can not only keep up with the pace with which the changes come and go like swirling wind, but can even thrive and enjoy the constant change of things. We need each other to support, bless, encourage and serve in a manner that will be constantly glorifying God! 

I was ordained when I was only 22. Too young, too little experience in life, too little self-confidence, too great a task. But fortunately to me and other church leaders I serve with, I had people in my life who invested so much into me when I was making my first steps in my faith. I am eternally grateful to my friends and mentors for their time and all their effort. Because of this practice in the Chelyabinsk church from the very beginning, investing in the next generations has become a part of our DNA. We are constantly looking for people who can help us in ministry: leading or co-leading a small group, a seminar or a meeting, reading a Bible passage during the church service, preach, counsel, do worship and so on and so forth. We must do to others what previous generations of missionaries and church planters – mostly from the USA – did to us when the church just got started. 

. We are excited about the internship program for pastors that we first observed in the Hong-Kong church some years ago. We have a young guy, Zhenya, who is now interested in giving it a try. We pray for wisdom in how we can do it better as a team of four pastors so that new generations of pastors follow in our footsteps. I will have the privilege of investing and learning together with Zhenya for the next few months, and I am looking forward to this journey. 

But when do we start investing into others? I believe that the answer to this question includes or should include all ages: from babies – onward. Babies physically and spiritually also. We cannot afford wasting time and numerous opportunities that every age brings to model succession of our faith, experience in ministry, of our very life in all its complexity and unpredictability – to the next generations. 

Jesus did it. The apostles, including Paul, did it. Generations and generations of church leaders throughout church history did it. Now it is our turn and chance to do likewise. May Jesus bless us all!

Gratitude as a way of Leading

Receiving cards and letters of gratitude is always an uplifting experience. I particularly remember my early days as a leader and how I would keep those notes in an envelope. On particularly hard days I would go back to that envelope and refuel by soaking in the words of gratitude once again.  

Expressing gratitude can be a challenging practice, but as leaders it is an important one to engage. Andy Stanley, in the below podcast and outline, speaks to the importance of gratitude and what the result will be. 

https://www.andystanley.com/podcasts/

APPLICATION GUIDE – DECEMBER 2016

In the Wake of Leadership by Andy Stanley

Creating a culture of gratitude generates a culture of generosity.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Leadership requires us to keep our focus out front and we often forget to pause, look back, and thank those who have contributed to our success.

• The demands of tomorrow can quickly overshadow the accomplishments of today.

• Much of the success achieved by leaders is built on the service of others.

• A culture of gratitude is important because it generates generosity. People are motivated to be more generous with their time and talent when they are recognized and gratitude is expressed.

• Leaders set the tone for a culture of gratitude.

When expressing gratitude:

o Be specific. The more detail and more specificity that are added to a thank you, the more

impact it will make.
o Be Honest. Don’t say thank you for things for which you are not thankful. People can

sense insincerity.
o Go Public. Public gratitude is powerful. It communicates that the leader is paying attention.

• Every leader should have a stack of thank-you cards on his or her desk and should take time each

  day to write to someone who needs to be thanked.

• Look for ways to reach as far down into the organization as possible to say thank you.

• Failure to express gratitude comes at a cost. Failure to express gratitude is ingratitude.

  QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION OR TEAM DISCUSSION:

1. As a leader, how generous are you with your gratitude? How would you evaluate your organization’s ability to express gratitude?

2. What would change in your organization if you started each staff meeting by writing thank-you notes? As a leader, what other ways can you think of to express your gratitude?

3. Who can you thank today whose service has contributed to your success?