Archive for the ‘Leadership’ Category
I feel like I have been drinking out of a leadership fire hydrant. So often in leadership you can run dry…become a little stale. 
You may not know the next thing you are supposed to do or you may know exactly what God wants you to do…but you’re just too tired or a little afraid. Maybe it’s both of these on steroids! Whatever it is and wherever you are…it’s just so stinking refreshing and encouraging to be challenged to be the leader God has called you to be.
C3 has poured into and saturated my soul. Frankly, there is no way to quantify this experience for me and my team. I have never been to a better conference…really! If you want to get the cliff notes, check out Tony Morgan’s blog. Also, if you aren’t here, I would highly encourage any leader to pick up the DVDs at CreativePastors.com.
My personal take…Ed has raised his game. Just when I think the dude can’t get any better, he blows me away! His talk on betrayal is a non-negotiable for any leader. Mac Richard plowed the corn…so proud of him. 
He talked about the tension of leadership…the fact that you need to love the people you lead but not necessarily have the people love you back. I’m honored to be able to call both of these leaders my friends. By the way, Mac and his precious bride, Julie, will be with us this year at Northway…just trying to land a date. Ed will be back at Northway for C3 on Tour on Oct 13th. Off the chain!
Making new friends…Perry Noble made people laugh more than anyone I have EVER heard. If this pastor thing doesn’t work out, 
he is a shoe-in for Comedy Central. While funny, it was heavy, hard hitting stuff! Brian Houston officially has the lowest voice I have ever heard. This guy has to be one of the wisest and most secure leaders in the world. All of these leaders’ talks were priceless!
Speaking of leaders, I got to interview Lisa Young, Bil Cornelius, and Preston Mitchell today. We are lining up Perry Noble, Craig Groeschel, Mac Richard, and Steven Furtick…just to name a few. 
I’m really amped about what God is doing with Cremeans Couch! I’ll keep you posted for Cremeans Couch Reloaded…coming soon!
Last night was the kick off of C3, and let me tell you something…it was unbelievable! I don’t know how they do it, but somehow every year tops the last! My whole team was blown away! I’m stoked that they are here this year. Debbie and I love serving Jesus with these guys!
I’ve been at C3 for 4 years now, and it’s hard to quantify, but I can sense something different. What is it? Liberty and freedom. Scripture says, wherever the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty…and God’s spirit is all over Fellowship Church and this conference. Ed spoke on the fact that the church should be a place where there is celebration. He hit it out of the park as usual. I am just so proud to know him and Lisa and to have them as friends. It’s so encouraging to watch Ed and Fellowship Church continue to evolve. It would have been so easy for Ed to go into coast mode, but I sense he is more fired up than ever, and that inspires me.
I could leave and go back home tonight and be completely full! Tomorrow, my man, Mac Richard, is on…love this dude. He and his wife, Julie, have become good friends. Mac is one of the funniest dudes on the planet, and he will be our guest soon at Northway. I’ll blog more about him tomorrow. I also met Perry Noble and his wife, Lucretia…sweet couple. He is one tall dude! He makes me look short and my neck hurts from craning to look at him. I’m so looking forward to hearing these guys tomorrow. I don’t think I will be able to sleep.
By the way, leaders, both of these general session conference speakers will be on an upcoming edition of Cremeans Couch Reloaded…coming soon.
Dad is doing phenomenal! I’m so proud of the dude! He is cruising around taking laps with his walker, cutting up and cracking jokes to every living being! One nurse even said…“you’re such a dork!” He just eats that stuff up!
I was able to say goodbye yesterday to Dad…very emotional. Got to tell you, I’m emotionally spent.
Kristin, (I’ll blog about her tomorrow) was kind enough to drive me back to Kansas City for me to fly out to Texas. Why Texas? Every year, I will attend at least one leadership conference to get renewed, challenged, and stretched. C3 is my favorite! This year…Ed Young, TD Jakes, Brian Houston, Perry Noble, Tommy Barnett, and Mac Richard are all speaking. C3 has become almost like a reunion for me to see ministry friends and meet new ones. I love it! If any of your bloggers are going, shoot me an email. Love to meet you!
Can’t wait to see Debbie! I’m missing her big time! I also can’t wait to see some of my team! This year I’m bringing Nate, our Clifton Park Campus Pastor, and his bride, Robin, Brian, our Malta Campus Pastor, and his bride, Libby, David Bookhout, our Media Pastor, and his…my bad…he doesn’t have a bride. But his website, ladies, is davebookhout.com. This will be a life changing trip for us and our church.
Quick Random Factoid: 17,000 people leave the ministry every year because of stress. This is a great investment in my team, and I plan on doing a lot more! I wish I could bring the whole team…I’ll keep all of you posted on what we learn.
Thanks again to Josh at LifeChurch.tv-Albany for the invite and their wonderful hospitality! I dig these guys! I don’t think I have ever heard of local church staffs hanging out together…what a concept! Thanks Josh…you guys ROCK!
The highlight for me was Craig’s talk. Craig truly cares about his TEAM. You can see that he understands that leadership is stewardship. He is deeply concerned about their spiritual walk. He challenged them and us on Points of Vulnerability. Craig reminded all of us that God is doing something special, and because of this, the enemy has us on his hit list.
What were the…Points Of Vulnerability?
Common Sins
1.   Putting ministry before family
2.   Substituting ministry for intimacy with God
3.   Doing the work of God without His power
Comfort Sins
1.   Overeating
2.   Overspending
3.   Legal drugs
Heart Sins
1.   Comparison
2.   Pride
3.   Bitterness
4.   Sexual sin
After Craig lovingly plowed thru this in grace, he encouraged everyone to get with their accountability partner and keep it real and pray together. WOW…I’m speechless on observing this. Let me encourage you to assess your points of vulnerability and realize that the enemy wants to master you. But, God wants you to prayerfully master your vulnerability.
Several weeks ago, I did a series of posts on my blog about the church being ONE. (1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3)
I’m really excited that our staff has been invited to join LifeChurch.tv-Albany today for their All-Staff Meeting…which includes the staff of 13 campuses across the U.S.!
I love their Campus Pastor, Josh Brower, and their team is fantastic! I’m really looking forward to our team getting to hang out with their team. I’m so intrigued to see how in the world they pull all this off thru technology. AMAZING! Craig Groeschel, the Senior Pastor of LifeChurch.tv, has been a friend and mentor to me, and God has used Craig in a HUGE way to impact my life! His book “Confessions of a Pastor” rocked me!
I’m kicking off my own “Confessions of a Pastor” series this weekend at Northway Church. I’ll let all you bloggers know what the full experience is like and what I learn. Stay tuned.
I hate that after 18 years of ministry…I still get scared. The fear of failure can sometimes cause me to play defense. I don’t know about you, but I hate to lose. I’m a pretty competitive person… even when it comes to horse. Just ask Mark. 
In fact, IF I don’t KNOW that I can win…in whatever…. you name it….I procrastinate and hesitate.
You would think that after all that God has done in my life, it would be a “no brainer� to lose the whole “fear thing.� What’s so encouraging to me is that I’m not the only one who struggles with this. I was shocked to hear that even Ed Young still gets scared! Are you kidding me? But, Ed challenges himself and others to create an environment of failure and leverage their fears. Check out this excerpt from CREMEANS COUCH and ask yourself these questions…
- What are you scared of?
- Where are you playing defense?
- Where is your team playing defense?
- What are you procrastinating about that you know God wants you to do?
MONDAYS on my blog I’ll be featuring CREMEANS COUCH.
CREMEANS COUCH will feature video blog interviews where I’ll go one on one with leaders and movers and shakers, both large and small from all backgrounds!
CREMEANS COUCH will focus on COACHING and CREATIVITY to launch your week! I’ll ask leaders questions that you’ve always wanted to know the answers to…questions they don’t ask at conferences. Now stop reading this and go play OFFENSE! Fail BOLDLY!
Still trying to process all that God did this weekend… A myriad of mixed emotions…inspired, challenged, convicted.
Mark’s driving questions in his talk at Northway were unforgettable.
• Are we playing defense or offense for God?
• Are we running from…or chasing the lions in our lives?
Northway Church is coming up on year five this fall, and the reason we are where we are is because we’ve been a church on the OFFENSE! We’ve been a church that has chased the lion! But many times in 2007, as a leader, I’ve been playing defense. To say I’m irritated at myself on this one would be an understatement.
I love what Mark said about when we make our PROBLEMS bigger than God, we are actually reducing GOD to the size of our problems. Hello! My bad, again. I’m confident that God is bringing me into a new season of beginning again…getting back on offense…chasing the lion in the Northeast! Mark said, “Buddy, you take New York; I’ll take Washington, D.C. and we’ll meet somewhere in the middle.� I said, “Sounds good to me! Time to get busy!�
Leaders and bloggers, spread the word! Tuesday, I’ll be posting a video blog of my interview with Mark Batterson. And, later this week, I’ll be posting a video blog of some of my interview with Ed Young. This is gold! It’s raw…no holds barred. This is stuff you haven’t heard at any conference!
Here’s the Lion Chaser’s Manifesto that Mark shared. This is a keeper…I challenge you to memorize it!
Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don’t try to be who you’re not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion!
Ok. This could be the best summer of my life!
I had time with the kids in Maine and then off to Florida for 10 days with my beautiful babe bride! Then to return to the BEST CHURCH in the country… NORTHWAY CHURCH! Oh yeah….BONUS, ED YOUNG as our guest!
C’mon. Somebody pinch me! (Please do not actually try to do this as it could be hazardous for your health)
This weekend was simply the Best! So great to see everyone again and catch up!
As far as Ed’s, talk? INCREDIBLE! 
Hard to believe the dude just keeps getting better as a communicator!
He challenged all of us on the power of COMMITMENT! In order to go to a… “Hole Nutha Level” you have to be committed. The secret to success in anything….Spiritually, Relationally, Vocationally, is…
TO COMMIT NOT TO QUIT!
I’ve met a lot of people thru the years in ministry and sometimes when you get up close and personal, unfortunately they are not all they appear to be. But let me share an inside scoop with all of you in the blog world…. Ed Young is the real deal…passionate about Jesus, his family and the local church! He is gracious, down to earth, and one funny dude! You know what… of all his accomplishments, his family is his greatest! They are the best!
I’ll be sharing some behind the scenes…. leadership video blogs featuring Ed Young in the upcoming weeks, and this weekend at Northway, I’ll be talking along with Ed about when “Faith Doesn’t Work.� So keep checking in and don’t miss this weekend at Northway!
And, in two weeks (August 18th & 19th), Mark Batterson will be here!
