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5 Reasons Churches should Often Celebrate Successes

Sep 2nd, 2010 by Charles Stone

Recently our church celebrated our 25th year anniversary. I’ve been privileged to serve as the lead pastor for six years.

Here’s how we celebrated.

Our creative arts team created a fantastic experience that told the story of the last 25 years in all three of our services that weekend. It included several video testimonies, several ‘best of’ dramas, and some of the church’s favorite solos through the years. I spoke for less that five minutes. I made the change ‘on the fly’ to can my 15 minute prepared message (a first for me) because I felt it would intrude into the moment. We finished the service with some incredible worship, some of the best since I’ve been here. We also held a picnic on Sunday afternoon that provided lots of fellowship time for former members to mingle with their friends still at the church.

I reflected on this experience and believe these five reasons justify regular celebrations, whether to celebrate major milestones such as a 25th year anniversary, or to celebrate small wins.

  1. Scripture often tells us to remember God’s blessings. Celebration helps us do that (Ps 77.11)
  2. Celebration helps people feel like they are part of a movement that is truly ‘winning’.
  3. Celebration helps mitigate the message that our ’success’ culture often breeds that we don’t measure up.
  4. Celebration builds confidence in leadership that they are leading the church in the right direction.
  5. Celebration taps that ‘made in God’s image’ part of us. God created us to worship and when we celebrate His goodness, we feel most fully alive.

So, our 25th year anniversary reminded me that as a pastor, I must lead our church to often celebrate our wins, even the small ones.

How do you regularly celebrate your church’s wins?

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4 Leadership Principles Latino Pastors taught this Gringo Pastor

Aug 25th, 2010 by Charles Stone

My wife and I just returned from a conference in Bogota, Colombia where we taught pastors and their wives. We were privileged to serve with Juan Carlos Flores Zúñiga and his wife Orietta who arranged the conference through his organization. Lance Witt and his wife Connie were also on the teaching team. He served as the executive pastor at Saddleback for several years and now leads his own ministry. Vicente Castillo, a pastor from Mexico also taught.

We served over 75 pastors and their spouses and it was a humbling experience. These gracious people reminded me of 4 crucial leadership principles.

  1. Leaders who grow must must cultivate a hunger to keep growing. I was amazed at how these pastors took prodigious notes as I spoke. Their desire to learn was palpable.
  2. Godly leaders embody an attitude of gratitude. Although all the pastors showed appreciation, one brought tears to my eyes. He said many years ago an American missionary gave him a small new testament. That small bible became instrumental in his conversion. He said with great joy, “God bless America.” He viewed America as a tool in God’s hand to point him to Jesus.
  3. The best leaders never stop sacrificing for the greater cause of the Kingdom. I learned that many of these pastors left good paying jobs as engineers, business executives, and other professional vocations to serve Christ full-time. Unfortunately, in America we are tempted to settle into a comfortable life-style in ministry and forget Jesus’ call to continual sacrifice.
  4. God uses leaders who show child-like faith. I sat in a restaurant and listened to a pastor’s wife tell story after story how God had miraculously provided for them. She described God’s work with such freshness and enthusiasm that the Lord convicted me of my sometimes lack of this kind of faith.

Leaders must constantly remind themselves that these four principles really matter to God. And, He uses the most unlikely people and places to remind us, as He did for me.

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7 Key Leadership Learnings from Willow Creek’s Leadership Summit

Aug 11th, 2010 by Charles Stone

Last week I attended Willow Creek’s Leadership Summit at a local video venue. As usual, the speaker line-up was superb.

I used my iPad to capture my learnings and these these seven stood out.

  1. We can hear the whispers from God when we lower the ambient noise in our lives. Bill Hybels, The Power of the Whisper
  2. In leadership conversations, what is your question to statement’s ratio? We should be asking more questions. We spend too much time being interesting than being interested. Jim Collins, How the Mighty Fall
  3. No one has to be forced to do what they are passionate about. Christine Caine
  4. Don’t let the devil ride because he is going to want to drive. Adam Hamilton
  5. Complaints arrive as unappointed guests. They resist eviction. Trust evicts complaints. Jeff Manion, When Christians get it Wrong
  6. The carrot and stick approach to motivation works for simple tasks but not for tasks that require creativity. Daniel Pink, author of Drive.
  7. We spend too much time trying to change the bottom (meaning that we focus too much on trying to change non-performers). Jack Welch, author of Winning.

Jim Collins told us that he had lots of free stuff on his web site. He was right. Check it out and you’ll find some great free stuff for leaders.

If you’d like a free chapter of my latest book, 5 Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them, endorsed by Ed Stetzer, you can get one here. It’s based on what I learned from a study of 2,000 pastors I commissioned Lifeway Research, Barna Research, and Christianity Today to do for the book.

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Four questions spiritual leaders should ask to avoid ministry flameout

Aug 9th, 2010 by Charles Stone

I commissioned Barna Research, Lifeway Research, and Christianity Today to survey almost 2,000 pastors to discover what issues can cause a ministry or a leader’s passion for ministry to die. I based my latest book on those findings. You can download a free chapter of the book here.
Out of those findings, four key questions emerged that every spiritual leader should ask himself at least once a year. ” These four questions can help us face up to areas, that if left unattended, have the potential to kill our ministries or at best, drain the passion from our souls.
Here they are.
  1. Do you have a safe person in your life with whom you can process ministry problems and pain?
  2. Have you looked deep enough inside to discover what truly bothers you about your ministry?
  3. If those who see how you respond to ministry problems were asked to tell you what they thought, would they say you need to make some major changes?
  4. To whom and how should you communicate your frustrations (your board, your staff, the church)?

It would do us well to heed Socrates wise advice when he wrote, “Know thyself.”

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Posted in Leadership, leadership assessment, ministry, self-care | 2 Comments »

the iphone app that improved my ability to concentrate

Jul 28th, 2010 by Charles Stone

One of the most precious commodities a pastor has is time. Ministry always beckons us to do more than time permits. I once heard a researcher state that most people have 35 hours of unfinished work ahead of them. However, if we use the time we have most effectively, we’ll become more fruitful for the Kingdom.

Preparing sermons, at least for senior pastors, is one of the most time consuming Kingdom commitments. Although I don’t preach every week, I still must prepare over 35 original messages each year. Each week I study 15-20 hours to prepare one sermon. That’s a good chunk of my week which requires concentration.

A year or so ago I purchased a $2.99 iPhone app that has proved invaluable to help me concentrate when I study. When I fully concentrate, I make much more progress than when my mind gets distracted.

That app, Ambiance, is a simple collection of natural (and man-made) sounds that I play on my iPhone through my headphones. In case you are wondering, I don’t make money on the sale of this app and I’m not connected in any way to the company.

The standard iPhone headphones work ok, but I purchased a pair of noise canceling headphones (Philips SBC HN060) that block out most ambient noise. You can purchase more expensive ones, but this set works great for me.

So when I study at Panera or MacDonalds ($1 cokes there) I plug in, play a repetitive waterfall or beach sound, and become totally oblivious to the people and sounds around me. My ability to concentrate skyrockets.

As Paul the Apostle wrote in Ephesians 5.16, … make every minute count. (CEV) This simple $2.99 purchase has helped me put that command into practice.

Related posts:  How an iPad benefits pastors


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360 Degree Assessment-an invaluable tool for leadership growth

Jul 26th, 2010 by Charles Stone

Leaders need healthy feedback to lead well. An excellent process, a 360 assessment, has helped me grow in several areas.

Simply put, as the diagram pictures, a 360 assessment seeks input from your peers, your supervisor, your subordinates, and a few others.

I’ve had two 360’s done on me, one very extensive, and one very simple that I recommend to other pastors and spiritual leaders.

Recently, the simple assessment gave each of our staff pastors 1 to 3 growth areas on which to focus. One of mine was to make sure that when I talked to other leaders, I would put myself in their shoes and ask, “Would I feel loved at this moment.” I’m a task guy, and this simple learning has helped me focus more on building relationships.

Here’s the process we used in the simple 360 assessment.

  1. I asked each pastor to give me the names of a few of their leaders who they’d want to receive constructive input.
  2. I compiled this list and added a few more.
  3. We sent three questions to each of these people and asked them to honesty answer the questions.
  4. We kept them anonymous by sending the responses to one leader not on staff who compiled the responses.
  5. I and one of our elders (a psychologist) compiled themes out of the responses. We also culled any hurtful comments or those that had no true bearing on leadership growth.
  6. I met with each pastor and shared the themes we discovered (usually 1-3 areas on which to focus).
  7. Each pastor then selected 2 people in his ministry orbit with whom he would share his growth areas and ask for regular accountability.

The end result? A way to address growth areas in a positive and proactive way.

Below you’ll find the email we sent to those we asked to evaluate.

Dear name,

As part of our annual review process we are collecting information about the potential and performance of our staff pastors. You are one of several chosen either by the pastor being evaluated or by me.

Would you please help by giving us your candid feedback, with truth and love, to the questions below?

The answers you give will not be presented verbatim to the pastor, nor will the pastor know who made any specific comment. The responses will be kept anonymous.  After the responses are received (around six respondents per pastor) name (the psychologist) and I will group them into themes.  Then I and one of the other elders will perform the annual review with that pastor along with a self-review each pastor will do on himself.

We want to serve our church with our best.  I will also participate by having the pastors, elders, and deacons anonymously answer the same questions about me.

Here are the questions:

1. What’s going well under name’s leadership?
2. What’s not going well under name’s leadership?

3. What’s missing under name’s leadership?

Please respond with your answers to the email address below within the next five days. Name (the objective leader) will receive them and remove your name to keep them totally anonymous.

Healthy evaluation and feedback can become a tremendous tool to lift our leadership game. I encourage you to use a 360 assessment with your staff. It may feel a bit scary before it’s done. But if done well, you and your leaders will profit from the experience.

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The Four Steps to Moral Failure for a Spiritual Leader

Jul 14th, 2010 by Charles Stone

I’m listening to a fascinating interview on Focus on the Family’s Pastor-to-Pastor series between HB London and Archibald Hart.

They’re discussing how depression from burnout can lead to loss of vision, loss of ideals, an “I don’t care attitude,” and potentially result in moral compromise.

Dr. Hart describes the progression of steps to moral failure using what he calls the four A’s.

  1. Arrogance: I can do no wrong, I can handle life myself, I don’t need anyone
  2. Adventurous addiction: I get taken with excitement and become energized with what I am doing
  3. Aloneness: I become more at risk as I cut myself off from others
  4. Adultery: I turn to sex as the only thing that gives me a kick that can make up for what I feel I have lost

Listening to these four A’s caused me to pause to make sure I don’t go down that path. Often pastors and other spiritual leaders slowly move down the path of moral compromise without realizing it. That’s why I wrote the book 5 Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them. The small, sub-surface issues we don’t see can lead to devastation in our lives and ministry unless we pay attention to them. The book shows how to become aware of these ministry killers and what to do to kill them before they kill us.

You can download a free chapter here if you’d like to check it out first.

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Retro preaching for hi-tech pastors: why and how I used a flannelgraph

Jul 12th, 2010 by Charles Stone

I’m a techno geek … I stood in line for 5 hours to get the latest iPhone, I use a MacBookPro, I use an iPad on stage when I preach, I twitter, and I write a blog.

Our church is techno … we use video extensively, power point, YouVersion which allows people to follow the sermon on their mobile phone, and we’ve done texting feedback during services.

Yet, sometimes I feel like I’m drowning in too much technology.

Recently during our programming meeting, our creative director suggested that we use a different medium to help the sermon delivery…the old flannelgraph.

In case you’ve never heard of a flannelgraph, it was a Bible teaching technique extensively used many years ago. Sunday school teachers would prop up the flannelgraph on an easle (a large piece of cardboard with flannel on the outside) and as she taught us the Bible lesson that day, she’d stick cardboard images of people and Bible objects on the flannelgraph. The flannel on the back of the images would stick to the flannel on the board. Thus, the flannelgraph. Today the flannelgraph is being used quite extensively in areas around the world with illiterate populations.

This past Sunday we tried it. I taught from Ephesians 2 and 3 where Paul uses several word pictures. These metaphors made it easy to find and cut out images.

Here’s how it added to my teaching.

  1. It was drastically different from how I usually teach. Its novelty helped the message stick.
  2. It helped those familiar with the flannel graph feel a bit of nostalgia, which endeared them to the medium which enhanced the message.
  3. It helped me easily remember the next point. I simply picked up the picture and stuck it on the board.
  4. As I walked back to the board, it was easy to keep reviewing the main points when I referred back to the images.
  5. It built interest as the people wondered what was next.
  6. It helped visual learners stay more focused.

So, if you’d like mix things up a bit, give it a try. All it takes is a board (wood or foam core), some felt, and some pictures (I used velcro on the back to make them more sticky) and … PRESTO, you have a flannelgraph.

Although we still used powerpoint images on the screens so people could see the images in detail, I now have a new tool in my preaching toolbox.

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4 Ways Pastors can Maximize Before and After Service Times

Jul 6th, 2010 by Charles Stone

I’ve been in full-time vocational ministry nearly 30 years and used to  think that the most important use of my time was preaching the message. I still believe that, especially for the masses, but perhaps the second most important time is what I do right before the service and right after the service.

I call it the “ministry of presence.” My high visibility as I chat with people, shake their hands, and give them a listening ear provides a tiny “one-on-one” window into their hearts. I believe those brief interactions often affect them more than the sermon itself.

Here are four simple choices to maximize that time.

  1. Look for the “deer-in-the-headlights” look. This look often telegraphs new people. I look at peoples’ eyes and I can usually catch their “I’m new here and have no idea what to do or where to go.” I will introduce myself and try to make them feel that I really care. A touch like that from a pastor can make a profound impact on a new person.
  2. Seek out those in wheelchairs, those with canes, or those with other physical or mental challenges. One guy, Robin, comes to our service in a motorized wheelchair. A mobile ventilator attached to his wheelchair keeps him alive. Another boy, Nicholas, is confined to his wheelchair. He is twelve. One older teen walks with a bent body and slurs her words when she talks. I don’t let a service go by without talking, touching, and affirming them.
  3. Give your full attention to people when you do talk to them. Avoid the, “talking to one person while you are getting ready to talk to the next person” persona. People quickly sense half-hearted listeners.
  4. Finally, steer clear of the monopolizers. This may sound harsh, but some people will take your entire time before and after a service as they talk about themselves or some problem. I will often walk up a different aisle so as to avoid getting cornered by a monopolizer.

These simple practices have made many powerful spiritual deposits in others as I offer them my “ministry of presence.”

Try out these ideas this month and see if you, too, feel God’s pleasure.

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Leaders who Rush: what I learned today from the blind and broken

Jun 23rd, 2010 by Charles Stone

Jules Bastien-Lepage: The Blind Beggar

Two experiences this morning caused me to pause not only my body, but my leader’s mind that seems to always churn, thinking about the next project or task.

This first occurred at a local diner as I ate breakfast with a friend.  The both I choose gave me a view of the exterior entrance to the diner. Out of my peripheral vision, I noticed a middle-aged man walk up to the glass door. Nothing odd there…until he reached for the door handle. He missed it, by about a foot. For about fifteen seconds he kept fumbling with his right hand to find the handle. I thought that a bit odd at first. He finally opened the door. The view from where I sat also allowed me to see the inside entrance. As he walked in, the waitress spoke to him. Then she gently held his arm and directed him to a table. He was almost blind.

In an instant I felt both compassion toward this man and gratefulness for my vision.

When I arrived at the office an hour later, the second experience forced me again to push the mental pause button.

The older daughter of one of our admin staff takes care of a young boy confined to a wheelchair. His body is broken, he can’t speak, he drools, but his mind remains intact. She had left him alone in his wheelchair a few moments to go into our conference room. I stood at the end of the hall and noticed him alone. I walked up to him, patted him on the head and shoulder and said something like, “You’re a bit wet. That rain is a mess out there.” As drool slid off his lips, he responded was a loud grunt, the best his body would allow him to articulate.

As I reflect on these two experiences, I was reminded of a concept that Phil Yancey, the great author, described as ‘time between time.’ He explains that he tries to discipline himself to mentally pause between each day’s activity to reflect over what he just experienced and to prepare his heart for what comes next.

My encounter with a blind man and a boy with a broken body reminded me of those moments in time, the ‘time between time,’ that are often pregnant with meaning.

Leaders are always looking ahead for the next hill to climb. But sometimes, we must pause and make ourselves fully present in the moment so we don’t miss God’s subtle, but important lessons.

related post: The Guy on the Ventilator

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