Discovering Your Voice

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The foundation to every great blog, event/conference, magazine, book or speech is content. Everything rises and falls on it. Without good content you can’t attract or connect with a faithful audience. Now, I’ve read a lot of good blogs, been to a lot of good conferences, read a lot of good books and have heard a lot of good speeches, but what separates a good speech from a great one? What distinguishes between a good conference from a life changing one? The answer is simple: Content. Great content is developed because the writer or speaker understands three things: voice, niche, and audience.

When getting ready to produce a conference/event, what is the process to explore first? Which speaker(s) to invite. Why is that? Because the speaker(s) will bring the content, set the tone, and engage the audience. But, then more questions come, who’s the audience? What’s the topic or theme that will help shape the content for the speaker? And, finally, which speaker would be the best fit for this audience and why? Inviting high impact speakers that not only can bring great content, but also deliver it in a creative and engaging way will be key in how your event brand will be defined weeks, months and even years later.

I’ve noticed that young leaders including myself, have often times struggled with identifying which appropriate content is well suited for what audience. And, the reason this happens is because when young leaders are still discovering their own voice and niche it’s often times hard to lead others no matter what context it’s through. So, before you start crafting content through any context: event/conference producing, blogging, book writing, sermon or speech development, here’s a few things to keep in mind.

  • Know how God wired you and begin to explore your passions; great content will always come out of that
  • Develop beta content and watch to see who responds and relates with it
  • In developing beta content, you will begin to find your voice and discover your writing and/or speaking style
  • Within discovering your voice; you will begin to identify which age, profession or industry demographics you can target
  • Also, while discovering your voice and content style, you will quickly begin to relate and be drawn to other leaders, authors, speakers and events who fit within your writing or speaking style/flavor
  • After discovering your voice and relating with other leaders, authors, speakers and events that you’re automatically drawn to, you will begin to notice that those influences will have a big impact on your leadership style and personality

Your Thoughts?

The Three Pillars of an Anti-Leadership Culture- Personalities, Silos, and Church Politics

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Personality-driven (Celebrity culture) leadership styles, fragmented internal communications and relational church politics are “kryptonite” to the empowering and releasing of next generation leaders. How can we reach the world and release young leaders into ministry if we are concerned with the competition down the street or within our own church staff and volunteers? Ministry leadership should not mimic the leadership style of secular politics or Hollywood, and yet somehow it does in some church organizations.

These three items are what I call the “Three Pillars of a Anti-Leadership Culture.”

1. A personality driven culture revolves around a single person or personality. Rather than discipling and empowering leaders to surpass them, this leadership style creates a lid and a world that is centered their ability to lead. Young leaders within the organization requiring mentorship and release will not find it here; instead they will be met with mistrust, gossip, and at times being sidelined. Ultimately the ministry will implode if transformation to an outward and leadership focus doesn’t take place. I encourage you to read the “The Personality Factor” – an Outreach Magazine interview with Brad Abare and Phil Cooke.

2. The silo effect is a lack of communication, sharing of goals and community between departments within an organization. Sometimes, this is seen in larger churches with many ministries, departments, and personnel. Decisions are made that are not passed down to the rest of the organization, or information is only given to a select group. This why building authentic community and trust among staff and volunteers are vitally important. Real community has to be cultivated and nurtured; not executed or treated like an event or church service. When there is deep community among the staff; there is deep community among the congregation. But, when there is a silo effect among the staff; there is a silo effect among the congregation. When it comes to communications and building deep community, the congregation will always mirror what is happening among the staff.

3. Decision-making and implementation often runs into the hidden dragon of ministry:  church politics. Sometimes it’s a controlling leader or second tier leader, sometimes it’s in the flow of communication, or hidden deep in years of tradition. Clear vision and a commitment from all the leaders are essential to eliminating politics within the organization. Politics are meant to mask the truth and cover insecurity. Politics protect leaders from blame or taking responsibility. Church politics are meant to protect tradition and is the enemy of change and progression.

Your Thoughts?

Making Vision Portable

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Ever been part of a company or church organization and you’ve quietly asked yourself, what is the vision here? What are we trying to accomplish? In more times than not, if you are asking yourself that question, probably other people are asking it too.

When people say the name of your church or business, what is the first thing they think of? If people are having a hard time explaining the organization’s vision – than vision is not sticking. Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Community Church, Atlanta, GA, says, “For vision to stick it must be portable, memorable and motivational.”

When you think of Nike, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Just Do It. Phil Knight, the founder and CEO of Nike suffused his company culture along with their advertising campaign with the idea of the intense, inwardly focused competitor. The “Just Do It” campaign captured the Nike’s corporate philosophy of grit, determination and passion. Why? Because it was portable, memorable and motivational.

In prior years, we watched the national election campaigns. What was Barack Obama’s platform and vision for America? Change We Can Believe In. What was John McCain’s? I really can’t remember it, do you? What was Hillary Clinton’s? Don’t remember hers either. But all of us can remember Obama’s vision and campaign platform. Whether you agree or disagree with Obama’s politics is beside the point, because in the end, the Obama campaign made their vision portable, memorable and motivational.

How do you make vision portable?

1. Focus Your Vision – It’s been said, “If you can’t manage it, you can’t measure it.” Just because you have a nice slogan on your website, business card or banner doesn’t mean your organization has a thriving vision. If you look at what some organizations are doing and measure it against their claims, what you’ll find is often inconsistency. You can manage and measure focused vision, but not unfocused vision. Too many church and business organizations are doing too little by doing way too much. Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great referenced the ancient Greek parable of “The Fox and the Hedgehog.” Day after day, the cunning fox plans his attack on the unsuspected hedgehog. No matter how creative the fox is, the hedgehog always wins. Why? The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog only knows one big thing. Each time the fox attacks; the hedgehog simply rolls up into a ball of sharp spikes, creating an impenetrable defense. It’s what he does best. So, I ask you, what can you be the best at? The only way to create a focused vision is by focusing on the few things that you do very well. Identifying and strengthening what you are good at will help create that focused vision. Always remember, Less is More.

2. Cast Your Vision – Casting vision is a never-ending responsibility for any leader. Just when you think your vision has been casted enough, cast it one more time! But cast it strategically. Define what your vision is and who and what it is supposed to effect. Just when you think you’ve thoroughly explained the vision, it’s time to start over and communicate it again. You can never over communicate your vision.

3. Celebrate Your Vision – Develop a process systemically within your organization to celebrate your vision in its successes. Rejoice with your team when someone makes a home run for your organization.  Reward those who live-out the vision. Celebrating vision is simply reminding people where you are going by pointing out real life examples of individuals on your team that’s driving your vision forward.

At the end of the day, vision doesn’t become portable, memorable and motivational just because of a fancy slogan or a slick advertising campaign. Vision becomes portable by the way you focus it, cast it and celebrate it. When vision is portable it becomes contagious! That is my prayer for you and your organizations’ that you will lead with contagious vision.

Your Thoughts?

Serving Hearts & Resilient Vision

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I meet a lot of young people all the time. And, one of the qualities I find is that many of them have lots of vision and lots of great ideas. That’s a really good thing.  I love to meet and build relationships with other young leaders who have big vision, dreams and cool ideas for the future.  In my opinion, that’s the way it should be in any student ministry or college campus.

But, here’s something I’ve been finding and maybe you’ve been identifying with when working with young leaders (I’m including myself in this as I ask this question.)

Young leaders may have lots of vision and cool ideas, but do they have any resilient vision?

After I finished college from a well-known Christian university, this question became clear to me. Having a vision, dream or a cool idea doesn’t entitle you to lead it, just because you had a vision, dream or cool idea. Because first of all, it’s not your vision, it’s God’s and you serve Him to bring His will to earth.

I’m reminded of the story of David in the Bible. (Read 1 Samuel 16-17).  And we all know the story, when David received his purpose and vision for his life when Samuel anointed him to be King. David was looked upon as the youngest and irrelevant kid in the household or in other words as someone of very little importance.  Let’s break down the line of events between the time David discovered his vision and when he stepped into it. And, through this process let’s try to identify the key denominators the kept David moving forward.

  • David serving in his Fathers House (1 Sam 16:11)
  • David discovers his vision and anointed to be King (1 Sam 16:12-13)
  • David served Saul by ministering to him (1 Sam 16:23)
  • David served his brothers by bringing food to them (1 Sam 17:17-18)
  • David solved a problem for his leader, Saul – David killed Goliath (1 Sam 17: 45-51)
  • David’s popularity and national influence grew throughout all over Israel (1 Sam 18: 6-7)
  • Saul resented David for helping him solve his problem (1 Sam 18:8)
  • David kept serving his leader with music (1 Sam 18:10)
  • Saul tries to kill David (1 Sam 19)
  • David spares Saul’s life (1 Sam 24:3-4, 9-10)
  • David spares Saul’s life a second time (1 Sam 26: 5-11)
  • David becomes King over Israel (2 Sam 5 1-4)

Now, these are a lot of events in David’s life. But, let me pull out a three tests that David experienced through this time line.

1.The Serving Test – Look and see how many times David served throughout his life. It was before he discovered his vision and after. It was before he killed the giant and become a national influencer and after. And, he kept on serving Saul before he started to resent him and afterwards.

Vision doesn’t carry any weight or resilience just because you say that you have one. You must have a heart that doesn’t mind to serve quietly and humbly in someone else’s vision. If you can’t, then your vision and cool ideas will hold no weight or substance to them.  The first thing every leader is called to be is a servant-leader. This is the foundation on where your vision will stand.

2.The Problem Solving Test – God has put us on this earth to take dominion in it. And, I believe part of that process is helping others solve problems, come up with solutions, eliminate giants and obstacles that stand in the way of a fellow leader or one that is in authority – pastor, employer, etc… In this situation David became the solution for Saul and all of Israel’s biggest problems – Goliath and the Philistine armies.

Sometimes, I see a whole lot of young leaders with a whole lot of vision and passion, but not a whole lot of credibility. Why? Because, they haven’t done anything yet. Until, you can help solve someone else problems and eliminate someone else obstacles – your leadership and vision will have no credibility.  The best way to contribute value and build credibility around your vision and leadership is by humbly, creatively and sometimes boldly and aggressively become the solution to someone else’s headache.

3. The Persecution Test – It’s amazing to me that after you’ve established yourself as a servant-leader and then as a problem solver that can get things done, this one always comes up next. It’s bound to happen, so just get ready for it and get used to it. It’s part of the journey. This has been proven throughout history and is happening right now among people in the Body of Christ.

People at all different levels of influence will come against and be insecure around you after you have established a trend through your personal leadership that can get things done.  In my personal life, I’ve had pastors and church leaders gossip behind my back and try to slander my reputation, even after serving faithfully in their organizations. I’ve had friends turn away from me because I had to make tough, unpopular decisions. Was it hard? Yes! Did it hurt? Painfully! But, guess what, I’m still here, alive, laughing and smiling – because of what Jesus did through all of it!

The fact is the persecution test is going to happen to every leader. And, it will happen from those that are the closest to you — a friend, a family member, a church leader, etc…Going through this builds even more resilience inside your vision. When other people tried to reshape my identity, change who I was and persecute my vision, God was using it to build even greater identity, endurance, and purpose inside of my vision. When Saul started to resent and then later try to kill David – God was testing David’s heart and was building inside of his vision, resilient leadership.

These three tests will come over and over again throughout your journey. And, when they do, just remember, God is doing several things in your life:

  • Creating a servants heart in you: The Serving Test
  • Establishing credibility around you: The Problem- Solving Test
  • Building endurance and resilience within you: The Persecution Test

Your Thoughts?

Confessions of a Worship Leader – Guest Blogger: Laura Cooke

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Confessions of a Worship Leader: a bit of my story.

To my friends, the ones I actually know, have never met, and my mother who will inevitably read this…

I ask you to bear with me, because I need to share some things…

I should most definitely be asleep right now. In 7 hours, I will be on my way with the team to lead worship at a Southern Baptist Church in another city. Well, I think It’s still southern baptist, last time I was there it was. All I know is that we have to dress up, and the sun is rising sooner than I would like it to.

I’ve been thinking a lot about worship over the last 2 months. A lot about Kingdom. A lot about Jesus.
I don’t write this as a positioning piece, nor do I pen as a 95 thesis type of declaration. I’m going to blog a bit… and in so doing, hope to level with the truth… and end up on the side of the Lord…

I merely write because the idea of Kingdom burns so deep within me that I can’t not write. I have recently been asked a lot of questions about worship and my thoughts and beliefs..and, not that my position means any more in the kingdom than the beggar in Malawi, I humbly submit to you my story….

When I was a freshman in college, I got cut from a Music Ministries audition. I was crushed. In my extremely small self enveloped expanse of worldview, my life was over. I was hurt, I was angry…and I wanted answers. That ( as small as it might sound) started the most amazing journey. I remember when I sat on the stage of Christ Chapel at 18 and wept and asked the Lord to show me himself, because I realized the weight of the self-worship and idolatry I had engaged in in the name of ” contemporary worship”. I said the name Darlene more times than I said the name of Jesus, and I had entirely too many long coats and high heels in my closet and a perfected Australian accent to boot. ( insert as many jokes here as you would like about how many Hillsong songs we do in chapel…go ahead…)
And I remember the day that my journal read the following:

“Ah, so this is what humbled feels like. Weird, I don’t know that I’ve ever felt this, and that might be a really bad thing. I don’t care if I ever set foot on that stage again. I wouldn’t dream of trading in knowing You for standing on a stage. I want to know You. I want to fear you, and truly understand repentance and grace”

and I meant it.

With all the will and fear of the Lord that I could muster. I meant it.

And He meant it when He said
: Love the Lord Your God with all your heart mind soul and strength”
He also meant it when he said
: Thou shalt have no other gods before me”

And the two thoughts were perspectives to connect…

And so i sought. And I found.
Jesus.

Except, it wasn’t Jesus Christ Super-star that I found. He didn’t have a tour bus, or a record lable. He wasn’t sitting on the front row of the GMA’s. And he didn’t feel proud of himself when more hands in the building were raised than not during a power bridge of a song.

It was Isaiah 53 Jesus that I found.
( message version )
” There was nothing attractive about him , nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum. But the fact is, it was OUR pains he was carrying, our disfigurements all the things wrong with US. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was out sins that did that to him. that ripped and tore and crushed him, our sins!…..”

Whoa. Talk about a perspective check.
And suddenly, I couldn’t make right in my head what I had felt for my whole life I was ” Called To” –
Standing on a stage, in fancy clothes, while pre-teen girls wanted to be like me, dancing around and smiling, not even thinking about Jesus because I was too preoccupied with singing the right parts, and looking the right way…making the show happen to keep people coming back..Conjuring up the Spirit of God and emotionally manipulating them to make me their favorite worship leader…. Rubbish. It’s ALL rubbish before his throne. Every last single bit of it. trash.

Repentance. A true desire to change.

To leave behind the mental conclusions that what our western culture has deemed as acceptable, maybe, just maybe in light of the King…isnt?

I’m not saying that the stage in itself is bad. I’m not saying that the western culture is bad. I’m not saying that dressing fancy is bad. I’m involved in all three of these…

I do wonder, however, at the depth of the heart, if we were to expose every motive and ambition, sweep out the dark corners and open wide the closed doors of our lives, would modern day worship , and the modern day celebrity worship leader look ANYTHING like the Lord wanted his worship to look like in the first place?

I’ve heard more interpretations of the verse ” The time is now coming…. when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” …..
I’ve heard people say that if you are not worshiping in technical excellence, that you are not worshiping in ” truth’ – I’ve heard it said, if you are not worshiping honestly you are not worshiping in truth. I’ve heard many things…and I would say this…

If your offering of worship before the Lord comes from a pure heart and clean hands- regardless of what it looks like, sounds like- no one- NO ONE can tell you that it isn’t good enough.

The fear of the Lord is missing in most worship settings. Why is it that the modern day worship leader thinks that what they do and how they do it has ANY control over when the spirit of God comes or doesn’t come?
And I wonder if what we call the ” spirit of God” the Lord would consider to be part of Amos 5:20-24….
( message version)…again…
” I want nothing to do with your religious slogans and goals, your public relations and image-making. I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music : When was the last time you sang to me? ”

Fear and reverence of the Lord-knowing at the depth of who He is- is for us. How could we not worship?

Your Thoughts?


Laura Cooke is a worship leader at Oral Roberts University, Tulsa Oklahoma. You can friend her on Facebook here and follow her on Twitter here.

Know the Language of Your Audience; Not the Language of Your Denomination

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Ever been to a church service where the style and flavor of the service was not connecting or relating at all with the people sitting in the audience? Have you ever felt that the people leading a service were more concerned or equipped to serve a denominational style than the audience that God placed in front of them to connect with at that given moment?

Well, unfortunately I and about 4,000 other college students and young adults experienced one of these services just a couple of weeks ago. All I could think was…How sad can this be? 4,000 college students unengaged with the service and bored out of their minds. It’s sad when very smart and gifted leaders who have been called by God to preach the Gospel, still choose to minister through a denominational filter instead of an understanding of the audience he or she is about to minister too.

Let me say this. Church and ministry are changing. Why? Because the millennial generation is getting older and more influential in today’s culture. And, because of this fact it will and in some ways already is beginning to affect how church will be done in years down the road. So, buckle up and get ready, it will be an interesting ride.

When you begin to plan a church service and your audience are millennials, please, put aside the language or the style of your denomination. And, try to connect in relevant ways with the language of this generation. 1990’s worship music, a stage that looks like it just came out of a Christian TV set and a sermon that would make you fall asleep is not the language of the millennial generation.

Most of the time, this generation don’t want to hear another sermon, they just want to be a part of a conversation surrounding Biblical truths about what it means to be a dedicated Christ follower.

The truth is this generation needs mentors more than ever. But what is sad is a lot of older leaders in the faith are not allowing themselves to change how they connect with this generation. Some are more interested in staying to their denominational style of ministry than embracing what God wants to do through the next generation.

If you want to impact and connect with millennials, then know their language. Understanding the millennial language will help you gauge the effectiveness and spiritual impact on the environment, worship/music, teaching and relational community of your church service.

Your Thoughts?

Boundaries & Accountability – Part 3 (Financial Purpose)

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Now, before we get started, I just want to go on record and say I’m not an expert in financial coaching. I will leave the financial coaching to guys I respect in the field like Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace University. But, I do believe that having financial boundaries are extremely important. I believe that financial boundaries ignite purpose with your resources.

That’s why the Bible says in Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision; people cast of restraint.”

Where there are no boundaries, there is no restraint. And, where there is no restraint there is no vision.

You would be surprised at the people I have met throughout my life, very well known people I might add, who are always in trouble financially. They spend money they don’t have. And I’ve seen the opposite, people who have tons of money, but don’t drive their resources with any purpose or vision attached with it. They just spend and spend and spend. If they like it, they buy it. If they want it, they get it. And if both parties spend money they either do or don’t have…in the end they both become consumer driven individuals who have no vision with their financial resources.

I’ve seen poor and middle-class families become better visionaries over their resources then some rich families. And, I’ve seen rich families who are great stewards and vision developers with their resources than poor and middle-class families. It’s not an annual salary or your choice of career that determines your financial purpose; it’s your mindset on how you view money and how you manage it to serve your vision.

Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Suggested Financial Purpose and Boundaries:
•    10% – Tithe to your church
•    10% – Tithe to your household (Savings)
•    10% – Tithe to your vision (ministry, business venture, project, missions etc…)
•    70% – Live off the rest

What are some of your thoughts on how to build healthy financial boundaries for you and your household?

Boundaries & Accountability – Part 2 (Tech Toys)

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One of the biggest distractions for leaders and their families is an over emphasis on technology. In other words, if you can’t sit down and have dinner with your family without checking your Blackberry, Facebook or Twitter, you have some serious issues you need to work out.

I believe one of the most important things we can do as a innovative-leading generation is put boundaries with our tech toys. Technologies that are used for communication and marketing for business and ministry are meant to be used as a TOOL, not an ADDICTION.

Some things I would try:
•    No tech interruptions and net surfing during family time. (Turn off all iPhones, Blackberries, Twitters, Facebook’s and blogs)
•    Take a break from blogging ever so often (Guest bloggers are great!)
•    When you’re on vacation, don’t check emails
•    Take one day per week where you step away from all tech toys including email and twitter.

What are you doing in your life to place healthy boundaries with your tech toys? What would you suggest for others? When would you make exceptions?

Your Thoughts?

Boundaries & Accountability – Part 1 (Plagiarizing Leaders)

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The most effective leaders I know are those that have strong boundaries around their personal life. Today, I want to talk about plagiarism among leaders. I’ve been involved in ministry for over 10 years and it’s amazing to me of how many pastors plagiarize when they write and develop their sermons.

It is said, “If a pastor copies from one source, it’s plagiarizing. If he copies from multiple sources, he’s researching.” How pathetic.

Now, I’m not against researching if it’s used with integrity. Since equipping leaders with resources is a big part of what I do, I consider myself a content distributor. Which means I have a passion to expose young leaders to other pastors, churches, business tools and resources in the Body of Christ globally. But, when I do this, credit is always given.  I believe it is important that we give credit where credit is due.

Giving credit to a leader does several things:

  1. It gives honor to the leader or organization who came up with the idea
  2. It shows humility and security
  3. It exposes your audience to other leaders, thinkers, pastors and churches.
  4. It removes any doubt of copying

The most dangerous thing about plagiarizing, especially in ministry is that it proves that you have not been spending enough time in God’s Word or in His presence. It also proves that you have stopped learning. If you are a leader and you have stopped spending time in God’s Word and have stopped learning, then you have stopped growing.

Your Thoughts?

Quotes that Dramatically Changed My Thinking

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These are quotes from leaders that helped dramatically change my thinking. My goal is to frame each quote and hang in my office one day. So I will be reminded every day why we do what we do to build Kingdom minded people within the church and in the marketplace.

“Be stubborn with your vision, but be flexible with your plans.”
– Andy Stanley
Pastor of North Point Community Church

“To reach people nobody else is reaching, you’ll have to do things that nobody else is doing.”
– Craig Groeschel
Pastor of LifeChurch.tv

“The next generation product almost never comes from the previous generation.”
– Al Ries
Marketing Strategist
Ries & Ries Firm

“What do I believe is impossible to do in my field…but if it could be done would fundamentally change my business?”
–    Joel Barker
Best-selling author of Future Edge

“People establish a gut-level connection with a person based on their values and perception long before they buy into the person’s message.”
–    Phil Cooke
Best-selling author of Branding Faith

“Everyone is never going to like me…no matter what I say or do someone will always be pissed at me.  That is why I am through wearing myself out in the hopes that everyone will understand and affirm me.  I have ONE master…His name is Jesus…His opinion matters…and I am through tuning out His voice for fear that others may misunderstand and take shots at me.”
–    Perry Noble
Pastor of New Spring Church

“In the minds of great managers, consistent poor performance is not primarily a matter of weakness, stupidity, disobedience, or disrespect. It is a matter of miscasting.”
–    Marcus Buckingham
Best-selling author of Now, Discover Your Strengths

First figure out your partners, then figure out what ideas to pursue. The most important thing isn’t the market you target, the product you develop or the financing, but the founding team.
–    Jim Collins
Best-selling author of Good to Great

“God is preparing you for what He’s preparing for you.”
–    Steven Furtick
Pastor of Elevation Church

“Leaders can do anything, but they can’t do everything.”
–    Tim Elmore
Best-selling author of Habitudes