Leaders On The Shelf by Lahoma Dade

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Have you ever wondered what to do with the dream that is in your heart? Sometimes I think about things and today, I was thinking about a “shelf life.”  You know as you go in the cabinet and you pull something off the shelf. If you are anything like me, you have to check the date on things.

I wonder if our dreams have “shelf life” or an expiration date. I wanted to make a cake, so not only did I have to check on the cake mix, but I had to look in the fridge to make sure my eggs were still good, I noticed the “best if used by date.”

Many people believe that our desires and dreams have a “best if used by date” or a particular length of time that they can sit on the shelf. As a young leader, I feel like this is what I get from so many people that I interact with. In fact, some dreams of those close to me have sat on the shelf so long, it’s like they aren’t even good anymore. Leaders dream big, but as life happens, we put things on the shelf.

Often times we can get in the mode of thinking things like, how would God ever expect me to do anything with this since I have all these obligations to meet? Or God knows all my mistakes, insecurities, financial situation, weaknesses, etc. Further, there is no way God could be asking me to do anything more than what I am already doing, finding ourselves very busy, but barren.

Honestly, I don’t believe that your dream and what God has placed in the inside of you has a shelf life. I don’t believe that one single iota expires, but I do believe that there is a “best if used by date.”

Today!

Today you are “best if used by God.” My prayer is that the dream, vision, passion and desire that you were created for begins to consume you and come off the shelf. I give you permission to dust it off and pick it back up because it is not expired and it is not over. My prayer is that the satisfaction that came from the shelf or simply shows itself as an idea becomes real and tangible for you.

Here are some practical tools to get what is on the inside of you out. It starts and ends with Gods will for your life and prayer, but here are some steps to taking your dream from the shelf:

Search the word. Discover what God says about what he has placed on the inside of you. Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Jer. 29:11

Honor God with your gifts. Ephesians 4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

 

Envision what it is you were created to do. Write out everything that you see (Habakkuk 2:2 – Then the LORD answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.)

Let God work the details Phil 1:6

 

Faith factor. By faith….

Listen to what the Lord whispers – Small still voice, My sheep know my voice and they listen to me. Spend time in quiet and remove some of the noise and distraction in your life.

Involve yourself in a community of like minded individuals. Connect with people who have a desire for more.  I heard it once said that if you want to be better at something play with people at a higher level. Connect here with us at All Called.

Follow through and finish what you start.

Experience walking in the purpose for what you were created.

I encourage you with this final thought;  Don’t ever give up on your dreams them or we lay them to rest before it is time to do so. Dream big, think, and live out loud. Instead of waiting until the “best if used by date,” start today. Because I believe that today is your day. We are the chosen generation.

Your Thoughts?

Lahoma Dade is the president/founder of All Called Ministries, a non-profit organization created to empower, support, and propel individuals to live out their dreams. The mission is to challenge leaders to fulfill their God birthed destinies using gifts, talents, experience and knowledge under the leadership of Christ. Follow Lahoma on Twitter HERE and friend her on Facebook HERE. Become of FAN of All Called on Facebook HERE. She resides in Austin, TX and attends Shoreline Church. You can email at info@allcalled.com.

God Uses Ugly by Mike Foster

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This past weekend I was listening to the amazing song “Healer” written by Mike Guglielmucci. Worshipers all over the world were crazy about this song and called it anointed by God.

That was until Mike’s world fell apart when he admitted to fabricating a story about having cancer. A story that negatively impacted the song “Healer” and the opinions about it.

People were rightfully angry and felt deceived. And so the song Mike had written just sort of disappeared and was dropped from worship set lists across the world.

So here is the idea I want us to discuss. It revolves around our temptation to dismiss the work of a fallen individual.

I believe whatever we are creating is in a constant state of redemption. Why? Because God sees the invisible pride, arrogance and deceit in our hearts as we are creating it. Even when no one else does. And yet he still chooses to use our stuff for beautiful things.

Read the rest of this article by visiting People of the Second Chance

About the Author: Mike Foster is co-founder of People of the Second Change. He also serves as the Creative Principal at Plain Joe Studios, a design firm that specializes in strategic ideation, interactive media, and environmental design. In addition to his role on Plain Joe’s executive team, Mike leads an innovative non profit organization called Ethur. He and his wife Jennifer live in Southern California with their two children. Follow Mike on Twitter HERE and Friend him on Facebook HERE.

What is People of the Second Change?

People of the Second Chance gives voice to a scandalous movement of radical grace in life and leadership. We challenge the common misconceptions about failure and success and stand with those who have hit rock bottom in their personal and professional lives. We are a community that is committed to stretch ourselves in the areas of relational forgiveness, personal transparency, and advocate for mercy over judgment.

We are not ashamed of our scars, wounds, or failures and leverage them as a source of strength and character development.

People of the Second Chance have experienced a second chance so we  actively support social justice organizations and advocate for the vulnerable, forgotten, and left behind.

We are People of the Second Chance.

What They Don’t Talk About In Seminary with Ed Young, Jr. and Ed Young, Sr.

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Video interview from the C3 Creative Church Conference 2010 at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX. Ed Young, Jr. interviews his Father, Ed Young, Sr., pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston, TX as they discuss different leadership issues that we never talk about in seminary.

There Has To Be More Than This?

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Every now and then, I catch myself asking this question, “there has to be more than this?” More of what you ask? More of His presence, more of His word, more life, more anointing, more power, and deeper community with my relationships. Often times I get real tired of surface ministry, superficial relationships and watered down church services and communities with no substance in it. I say this with no negative intent towards any ministry, church or person in mind, only speaking from my heart of where I am at in my own spiritual and leadership journey.

Often times, I’ll talk with other young lay leaders and staff church leaders in other parts of the country, and surprisingly, they catch themselves asking it as well, “there has to be more than this?” I have concluded from my own journey, when I catch myself asking this question, it means I’m spiritually craving more of God in my life. This is good. This also means that the current spiritual diet is not cutting it anymore. It’s a sign that our spiritual capacity in God is growing and it requires a deeper level of communion and intimacy with God. It also means God is starting to prune things out of our lives, so He can restructure our priorities, so they align with His priorities.

If you’re reading this today and you find yourself asking, “There has to be more to my (Fill in Blank: Christian life, relationships, purpose, etc…)__________ than this?” Then you’re in a good place. Begin to press into that spiritual frustration. Because there is more! God wants to reveal himself to you, your family, your friends and your church, in new ways you haven’t even experienced yet. Never get satisfied with the status-quo. Be a leader who hates average Christian living, religious ruts, and mediocrity. If you want to remain confident in your purpose, never lose the hunger pains for More of God.

Your Thoughts?

7 Elements of Student Ministry Directing by Stacy McVane

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Communication and relationships are the most important aspect of any church organization.  Developing great relationships across the entire church staff, and not just within your department is crucial to the vision.  In order to have unity and continue to stick to the vision of Shoreline Church – Unveiling God’s Love, I must be able to communicate and find some sort of commonality with everybody on staff.  Respecting and adhering to other departments’ processes and systems gives you credibility and opportunity to serve one another.  Developing relationships is always a blast!

I was having a conversation about communication with Joel Maguire, the Men’s Student Life Director of Shoreline’s Leadership College.  He said, “Unvoiced expectations will always equal unmet expectations.”  This is such a true statement.  If it weren’t for the volunteers at Shoreline Church, we wouldn’t have a church.  Volunteers want to know what is expected of them so they can meet and exceed expectations.  People want to be asked to help and serve.  Everybody wants an opportunity to make an impact.

From my perspective, these are some practical elements of directing student ministries from Ji-High to Young Adults:

  1. Be the person who has all the answers to all the questions.  If you don’t have the answer, tell the person you will find out and get back to them.  Make sure you follow through on what you say.  I had four leaders call me about a specific incident.  I let them know I didn’t have an answer because I wasn’t there, but I would get back to them.  I researched, found the answer, and called each one of them back to dialog about the incident.
  2. Work yourself out of a job.  Bring someone with you everywhere you go.  Always be mentoring someone.  Multiply your leadership.  It’s not necessary to be at the Lift Young Adults service on Sunday nights because Nadine Matthews can run it.
  3. Make sure everyone is clear on the vision of the ministry and what the win is.  The win at every Lift service is to have no first time guests sitting alone.  Adrian Cardenas makes sure this happens at our Lift 7th-12th grade service with our Lift Rats (a team of teenagers who love on our guests) and Jenny Heggem makes sure this happens at our Lift 6th-8th grade service.
  4. Plan ahead and be flexible with change.  Always plan, but always be ready to change the plan if asked to.  If my supervisor, Pastor Earl McClellan wants some part of our Lift Young Adults service to change, I make sure to leave enough room for change to happen.  If I have a question, I can always ask after the service.  Take action at the moment and debrief later.
  5. Look for the gifts, talents, and passions of others.  Jessica Worthey is passionate about 6th-8th grade young ladies and I knew she would love to lead a small group of ladies in the home of Grace Wall’s parents.  Jessica loves her small group and the young ladies are learning about relationships and leadership with Jessica.
  6. Learn emotional flexibility.  Be able to pray with someone and comfort them and then move on to tasks related the rest of the service.
  7. Be Prepared and be yourself. This is the best piece of advice I have ever received from my brother-in-law, Pastor Sam Mata. I do my best when I adhere to that advice.

After serving on staff at Shoreline Church for nearly eight years, I’ve had to learn to be confident in who I am.  I am God’s child, made out of His love and grace.  I have a purpose made specifically by God.  If I concentrate on these truths and not on my position, there comes a freedom to rely and depend on God rather than striving to get things done in my own strength.

Your Thoughts?

Stacy McVane is the Executive Director of Lift Student Ministries at Shoreline Church, Austin, TX. You can follow her on Twitter HERE and friend her on Facebook HERE. Visit her website at www.StacyMcVane.com.

The Debate Over Missional & Attractional Churches by Dan Mastrapa

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I remember the first time I heard the word “missional” several years ago. I looked it up in my Bible concordance – couldn’t find it there. Searched through some Bible commentaries – not there either. Hit the search engines and some obscure websites would come up. Today it’s quite a different story. Missional has the same buzz quality and conference drawing power that seeker-sensitive had back in the 80s and 90s.

The missional vs. attractional church wars continue to rage on with each side having their own cadre of acolytes, heroes and apologists. Questions about the validity of each style are numerous. Can I be a missional church and still be attractional? Can an attractional church be missional? In a UFC mixed-martial arts cage match between a missional lead pastor and an attractional lead pastor, who would win?

Perhaps we should stop approaching the debate about being missional or attractional from a pragmatic and methodological vantage point. Could it be that if we look to Jesus we might gain a better understanding of what we should be engaging in?

Jesus was focused on his mission, manifesting God’s Kingdom that was now accessible to all. Jesus was also attractional in his ministry. The effects of the in-breaking Kingdom (miracles) and his powerful message, caused many to come seek him out. They came out to the “show” and were impacted by the message and his life. Many times though, Jesus would touch individual lives on the way. He would eat and drink with sinners, much to the chagrin of the religious elite. When we look at the what and the how of Jesus’ ministry, we can see that he was both missional and attractional.

We can all point to missional churches that are extremely attractional, attractional churches that are intentionally missional, attractional churches that suck at attracting, and self-proclaimed missional communities that have yet to engage in mission and move out from their worship circle. Our churches should be both and not either/or. These labels of missional and attractional need to take a back seat to what every church should be. What we should be are Gospel-centered churches that engage passionately in His mission and will use attractional means to reach some.

Having recently planted a new church community that would be considered missionally focused, I have come to value all of my experience pastoring in an attractional church. It has helped me to bring along a community of Christ followers into missional engagement while not throwing out the proverbial baby with the bath water. We have emphasized service as worship and de-emphasized the worship service, not discarded it altogether. We strive to be people-centered and not program-centered. None of this has been easy, but it has been life giving. The one thing that I lean back on is what Jesus said, “I will build my church.”

So where does that leave the whole missional/attractional debate? Can a church that is not about the mission of Jesus, truly be called a church? Can a church that is more interested in their personal agenda and not about caring for their community, be a church? Can a church that cares more about their production value, big budget and elaborate facilities than caring for and building community be a church?

Just sayin’.

Dan Mastrapa is the Lead Pastor of SentChurch.tv in Sanford, FL. You can follow him on twitter HERE and friend him on Facebook HERE. Visit his blog at www.danmastrapa.com

Just Say NO!

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In order to stay sane and effective, there is one word we all must come to love, and it’s NO. I love this word. No – builds boundaries. No – directs a vision and calling. No – replaces confusion with clarity and direction. No also helps walk-out the different seasons of life. I’ll never forget what Casey Treat, pastor Christian Faith Center, Seattle, WA, says, “When you know what you’re called to do, you also know what you’re not called to do.”

How many times in a year do people bring ideas and opportunities to implement into your schedule or ministry organization? I love new ideas and new opportunities, but let’s face it, you can’t do everything. I respect leaders and church organizations that say NO to a lot of ministry opportunities that come by. Why? Because they understand three things:

  • They know their vision
  • They know their culture
  • They understand the life cycle of seasons – personally and organizationally

Now, I’m not advocating that we should say no to every opportunity or new idea that comes across our paths. All ministry leaders have a responsibility to keep their finger on the pulse of what God’s doing beyond their church walls. Staying on top of the happenings could lead to awesome ideas and opportunities. However, I’m aware of several churches that helped fund great ideas and opportunities, but never implemented it within their own church. Why? Because they saw the need and impact it would have on the Kingdom, but it wasn’t a fit within the vision of their church organization.

I’ve noticed that healthy leaders and healthy organizations say no far more than they say yes. I know quite a few churches and ministry organizations that say YES to almost everything because they have a religious addiction to keep people happy. When this happens, corporate and personal vision gets foggy and unclear because of a million ideas and opportunities trying to be implemented at the same time. It’s at these moments leaders start finding themselves trying to do what everyone else is doing, instead of following what God has called them to do personally and corporately.

Tim Elmore, president of Growing Leaders, Atlanta, GA illustrates this principle in his book, Habitudes: Volume 3. He uses the image called, Rivers & Floods. Leaders and  organizations will either function as a river or as a flood. A river flows in one direction, bringing life to everything around it. However, a flood goes in many different directions causing damage and disaster to everything in it’s path.

As leaders, we should build our lives and our organizations that functions like a river, not a flood. But, to do that, we must value the word NO. To be a leader who builds and functions like a river, learn to say NO!

Your Thoughts?

Events vs. The Process – A Leadership Culture

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In every ministry organization there is a leadership culture. That culture is created by events or community. Events ignite the process, but a life-giving community helps the process for real life change. Is your church organization driven by events or the process? Our prayer is that it’s both! The Growing Leaders team in Atlanta, GA produced this video. It’s a great illustration for this leadership lesson.

Fun Memories With Oral Roberts

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On December 15, 2009, Oral Roberts, 91, chancellor and founder of Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma went home to be with the Lord. Words cannot express how much of an impact this one man made on several generations of leaders and world changers. I will never forget my first interaction with Oral Roberts when I was a young boy. It’s actually kind of funny.

I was living in Orange Country, CA and I was in the seventh grade. Our church invited Oral Roberts to speak. I will never forget his popular message which was his ministry trademark, called The Fourth Man. That message was the first sermon I heard Oral preach. When Oral spoke you could hear a pin drop in that place. After the church service was over, I had to run to the bathroom because church went way longer than normal, but hey, Oral Roberts was in the house, that’s to be expected. I ran into the bathroom, because I really had to..you know…go. After standing at the urinal for about 10 seconds, this very tall man comes up and starts using the urinal right next to me and lo and behold it was Oral Roberts. Now, as funny and as awkward as this story may sound, this was my first time to meet Oral Roberts, and ironically, it had to be in the men’s bathroom. What can I say, weird scenarios seem to always happen to me like this. Now, I was in the seventh grade at the time. I remember saying, “I really enjoyed your sermon today, Mr. Roberts.” He just turned and smiled real big and said, “how old are you young man?” I am twelve. And, then he said, “As you grow, keep your eyes on Jesus and make him the center of your life.” He went on to ask me, “have you thought about where you might go to college?” Now, when you’re in the seventh grade and a twelve year old, where to go to college is the least concern on your mind. So, I said, “No, sir, I don’t know where I’m going yet.” “Well, let me help you with that,” Oral said. “Go to my university in Tulsa.” Oral was never scared to get to the point and was the best recruiter for ORU, wherever he went. After we finished washing our hands in the men’s bathroom, Oral looked at me one more time and said “remember, young man, keep your eyes focused on Jesus and when you finish High School, go to ORU. It was a pleasure to meet you.” At the time, my little twelve year old mind didn’t fully recognize exactly who I was speaking with. To me, it was just another old preacher our church invited to come speak. After leaving church, I went home and did some research on who Oral Roberts was and what exactly is Oral Roberts University. I didn’t expect that a small interaction with a great leader could change the course of my life’s direction forever. After researching tuition costs, I probably should have asked Oral for a full four-year scholarship, when we were talking in the bathroom.

Now, years later and being a graduate from Oral Roberts University, people always asked me, what made you choose ORU? I always told them, “Chancellor Roberts was my recruiter and he told me to keep my eyes focused on Jesus and to go to ORU; it made sense.” After looking back on my past decisions in my life, going to ORU was the smartest financial investment I’ve ever made. The learning experience, the relationships and the ministry investment was so worth it.

If you’re an ORU grad, what’s your story? Or if you are a pastor or ministry leader that has had multiple learning experiences and humorous stories by interacting with Oral Roberts over the years we would love to hear them and share them with our online community of young leaders. If so, post your story on the our website below. Or tweet them to us @davidlawrenceatx and hit #impelOralRoberts.

5 Reasons Why I Love My Church (Shoreline)

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One of the reasons why we launched Renue.me is because we believe in championing the cause of the local church. We also believe that every follower of Christ should be plugged into a life-giving church. Here are a few reasons why I love my church. I attend Shoreline Christian Center, Austin, TX. The senior pastors are Rob & Laura Koke.

1. People Feel Loved: There is a genuine love for people that flows through the culture of the church. The vision of church is “Unveiling God’s Love.” The reputation of Shoreline proceeds itself, because when people come to Shoreline, they know they will feel God’s love in a authentic way. That’s our prayer anyway.

2.  Leadership Diversity: Now, when I say diversity, I’m not talking about racial diversity, I’m talking about diversity among leadership styles. If you step back and look closely at the key leaders (the one’s who are the most visible) on the church staff you will find lots of diversity in personalities and leadership styles. You’ll find some leaders who have a calm, gentle strength in their leadership style and you’ll find others that have a loud and more dynamic approach. But, in it all I love how every leader, regardless of their leadership style have the same heart to work as ONE. Our senior pastor does an excellent job to empower, nurture and release his staff leaders to flourish in their God-given leadership abilities.

3. Always Thinking Outward: Shoreline is a very large church. Sometimes you can feel lost in the crowd. But, from a Kingdom perspective, Shoreline is just a small church that has a mega-vision. What does that mean? That means what is happening now is small compared to where God wants to take us as a Body in the future. An outward mindset to serve our community, nation and the world is evident in the culture of our church. We’re always thinking and experimenting with new ways to reach new people for Christ. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, but you’ll never know unless you step-out into the unknown and try new things. I’ve noticed that’s what my church likes to do. I like that.

4. An Entrepreneur Spirit Among Our Young Adults: I have noticed that there is a large amount of young adults within our church that have decided to step out to pusue the vision God has put in their hearts. I love it! That’s the way it should be, but unfortunately it isn’t in every young adult ministry. We have young adults leading ministry non-profits, social causes, event/conference productions, authors/life coaches, and the list goes on and on. There is a large amount of young adults within our church that have lots of vision to step out into the unknown and take a risk. Why you ask? The real question is…why not? When you’re in your 20-something’s, you don’t have a whole lot to lose except by doing nothing.

5. People Believe The Best In You: One thing I love about my church is the incredible amount of encouragement I get from leaders and friends. I don’t think there is a week that goes by when I don’t hear someone encouraging someone else. The culture of the church loves to believe the best in people and are consistently encouraging others to pursue their dreams.

Below are some of our church leaders on Twitter that I think you should follow. You’ll get some great encouragement and insight from their tweets:

What are some reasons why you love your church?