I just finished reading The Creative Leader: Unleashing the Power of Your Creative Potential. It’s been an enjoyable and challenging read. I don’t know that I would ever do ministry just the way Ed does, but that’s really kind of the point - duplication and imitation squelches creativity.
As we’ve journeyed through change at Bethel, we’ve witnessed some friction here and there. God has graciously bound us together and I feel great about our unified direction, but one portion of the book ministered to my heart for days on end - it was a timely word.
Pay attention to what people have to say and evaluate their suggestions honestly. But don’t allow their fear of change to cause you creative cramps… Creativity is a long-term investment. If your top leaders are not totally committed to the vertical vision, then fear of friction will dismantle this God-given virtue. At Fellowship, we do not value upsetting people, but we do value upsetting their equilibrium to challenge them for spiritual growth… To be sure, creativity must be biblically driven and it must honor God. However, when we have our people off balance, we have a great potential to catch them off guard with a powerful punch from the pages of Scripture… It is very tempting to want to please people, but leaders often experience leadership cramps when they allow their vision to be compromised to appease a few negative people. Once the vision goes horizontal, disaster will follow.
One of the toughest aspects of leadership for me is finding the confidence to lead with conviction regardless of the reactions of people. We all want to be liked, and praise is one of the most dangerous traps for leaders. We certainly ought to be listeners and learners or we’ll stunt our growth, but at the end of the day, God has called us to lead, and if we aren’t leading, we aren’t leaders. (Profound, I know!)
This book has challenged me to be more creative in how I minister to people, how I present the word, and to be willing to do what it takes to reach people instead of just trying to keeping the fish tank peaceful. I highly recommend that every leader get this book, read it, and apply it by exploring your God-implanted creativity.
I just wanted to praise God for an awesome Sunday! Camp had such an impact on me that I wanted to challenge our people to line up behind me as I repented of small-mindedness, self-centeredness, and short-sightedness. I want to have the mind of Jesus and see people as He sees them - in need of Him, in need of healing, and in need of life change.
At the end of the day, two couples joined by letter (one was our new Youth Pastor and wife), two kids were received for baptism, and another indicated after church he wanted to be baptized as well. Though I can’t wait until next Sunday, I REALLY can’t wait to meet a need this week!
It’s amazing how lives can be changed where there are few phones and no televisions next to a lake in rural Oklahoma. We arrived home yesterday from church camp at Grand Lake Baptist Assembly near Grove, OK. We were completely exhausted from the heat, the driving, the activities, the odd sleeping hours and eating routine, but I feel so blessed to have gone and experienced it all.
At the end of the week, at least fifty young people had made the decision to receive Christ as Savior and begin a personal relationship with Him. The numbers, however, don’t tell the half of the real story of how lives are impacted by this very important week. I wanted to reflect on some interesting experiences, and you may hear about some of them in future posts as well. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
“I will rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” -Isaiah 61:10
Angie and I drove from our home in Beebe, Arkansas to the campus of Central Baptist College in Conway for classes. I was on a diet at the time and had a chocolate diet shake in the car. Just as we pulled into the parking lot of the school, I spilled and splattered that shake all over my shirt. So there I was, just before class, with a diet shake all over my clothes. Know what I did? I went home. I missed class and changed clothes!
A more dedicated student would have stuck it out, no matter the embarrassment. I, on the other hand, am rather picky about such things and just had to have different clothes on. Ever feel like that? We get stained in life. For some, there are the big stains that are embarrassing because of their public nature. While every sin is serious, for most of us, the stains seem more like little annoying spots that we just can’t wash away no matter what cleaning method we try.
But then there’s God. He saves. He forgives. He washes away every stain in the blood of the Lamb. Isaiah declared that we could greatly rejoice because God has given us new clothes! We stand before the Judge in a spotless robe of white because of the blood, the name, the nature of Jesus who died in our place.
“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and , having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” -Romans 6:17 (ESV)
I sometimes face days when I come to the end of my schedule and ask myself, “Did I really spend today doing the things that were most important?” Call it the tyranny of the urgent, but I sometimes find myself spending a little too much time focusing on administration and not enough on consecration. A Pastor’s study time is often robbed by the pressing needs of the moment, the tasks that must be completed yesterday. There are often times, like today, when I push back the tasks I could be doing in favor of the great task I should be doing - prayerfully studying God’s Word.
It is the teaching of God’s truth (or “doctrine” as we used to call it) that will transform lives forever. Paul reminded the Roman believers that it was when they obeyed the doctrine taught them that they were freed from slavery and became slaves of righteousness instead. As I dwelt upon this verse, I read a message by a preacher of the past, Sterling Price. In his message, Dr. Price eloquently put my thoughts into words…
I do not think the world cares much about our creeds or our doctrines; but when by grace we translate doctrines into deeds and creeds into character thus showing forth what Christ can be and do in human lives, then the world is convicted and attracted. The world cares little about our preaching of the doctrines and principles of the Kingdom of God; but develop these living seeds, let men see the flowers and the fruit, let them become acquainted with their fragrance and lusciousness, and there is little doubt but that they will seek personal possession of the seed from which these have been produced.
Christianity is addicted to “relavent, life-oriented” teaching today. But the apostles seemed to opt for “all the counsel of God” in the content of their teacing. Then they sought to translate Bible doctrine into the everyday language of changed lives. So study all of the truth God has revealed, then seek to apply it by living out the spirit of that truth. The world may not come running, but people will no longer be able to point to shallow, selfish Christian living as an excuse to reject the Lord Jesus. It is truth that transforms!
