Yesterday I shared with you three questions to help you discover your passion. This is a helpful process to put you in touch with your deepest passions. But what do you do when your passion begins to wane? How do you get it back…or should you get it back?

The truth is that your passions will evolve over time. Rarely does a singular passion drive your for the entirety of your life. And if it does, it often takes on a new shape or form that keeps it exciting and relevant. What fired you up yesterday may frankly bore you today. While you have to work hard to maintain focus in life and in your organization, you also need passion to keep you moving forward.

So what should you do when you begin to lose your passion? I would suggest that you to listen to yourself talk. In his book, Ladder Shifts, Dr. Sam Chand observes the importance of passion and shares an example from the life of Bill Gates. Chand writes:

“When Gates started Microsoft, you’d hear his passion about his work whenever he spoke. Talk with him today, however, and you might be surprised to find that his passion has shifted. That’s exactly what one writer from New York magazine discovered while listening to Gates speak not long after he stepped down as Microsoft CEO to run the Gates Foundation”

“It was clear to all in the auditorium that software no longer got Gates’ juices pumping the way his work at the foundation did,” the article says. “Technology questions were answered quickly, without passion, whereas questions about global health elicited lengthy disquisitions full of detail and emotion. The way he talked about wiping out malaria was how he used to talk about wiping out Netscape.” (p. 98-99)

People respond differently when their passion loses its luster. Some go on a permanent mental vacation. Others buckle down and refocus their commitment. But it doesn’t take long for boredom to rear its head again. No matter how many tweaks you make, the wind of passion no longer fills your sails. Yes, you might experience an occasional burst of energy as you make an adjustment here or there, but it’s only temporary at best.

So listen to yourself speak. Where has the energy in your voice shifted to? When I was preparing for a transition several years ago, a friend of mine said, “Stephen, I can hear renewed passion in your voice.” He was right. My passion had faded with my role and was finding a new voice in a new opportunity.

Question: When you listen to yourself talk (and when others listen to you) where do you (and they) hear your passion come alive?

I’ve spent a good deal of time helping people discover how God wired them and how they could use their unique design to make a difference in the world. It’s no secret that to find your “place of service,” you must understand your gifts, abilities, skills, personality, and passions. And there are loads of assessments to help you clarify who God made you to be such as Strengthsfinder, Myers-Briggs, and Assessme.

All of these are important, but I’ve found that “passion” is the hardest one for people to pinpoint. Without passion, you’ll find yourself on cruise control. You’ll go through the motions with little emotion to keep you engaged. You can have an exceptionally honed set of skills, but without passion, your skills will yawn with boredom. You’ll scratch your head and wonder, “Is this all there is?”

One step that will help you discover your passions is to answer three questions. These questions provide a practical framework to help you explore your passions.

1. Which needs, problems, or issues do you feel challenged to serve? These are often cause-oriented passions that bring great levels of satisfaction because you feel like you’re truly making a difference with the world’s biggest needs. Some of these causes might include relational issues (marriage, parenting, abuse), emotional issues (insecurities, anger, emotional health), social issues (sanctity of life, poverty, homelessness, hunger, justice), political issues (policy, law), educational issues (tutoring, mentoring, at-risk children), financial issues (stewardship, financial counseling), or health issues (disease, disabilities, fitness, nutrition, disorders, addictions). This list could be endless, but you get the point.

2. Which people do you feel moved to help? Passions are sometimes tied to the people we will serve more than what we will actually do. You might be moved to help a specific age group (children, youth, adults, seniors), gender (male or female), culture (a certain nationality or people group), or a very specific audience who you connect with best. The best strategy is to identify the audience you feel drawn to serve and then determine how your unique skills can best help that particular audience.

3. Which activities do you deeply enjoy? Finally, some passions are tied to the activities we enjoy doing the most. These activities my be:

• Heart Activities – These are activities that rely on empathy, relationship-building, encouraging, connecting, and hospitality.
• Head Activities – These activities often involve dreaming, researching, creating, strategizing, and organizing.
• Hand Activities – These activities involve things like helping, serving, building, performing, and constructing.

If you’re struggling to figure out your passions, ask yourself these three questions. Reflect on your past experience and really hunt for those times when you felt alive and full of energy. Then combine your God-given abilities with your newly discovered passion to make your mark on the world.

Question: What else have you found helpful in discovering passions?  

A great deal rides on a leader’s ability to cast vision. Not only must leaders capture a vision, they must effectively communicate the vision in such a way that they inspire teams and catalyze forward movement in organizations. Unfortunately, leaders tend to complicate vision casting. But as business author, Dave Anderson observes, the key to effective vision casting is to keep it simple…“The best things ever spoken or written were brief.” Dave sites the following example:

• The Lord’s prayer has 66 words in it
• The Gettysburg Address has 286 words
• The Declaration of Independence has 1,332 words

On the other hand, the United States Department of Agriculture regulation on the sale of cabbage has 26,911 words. Your vision must have substance, but you must keep vision casting simple. People don’t remember complicated messages.

Question: What can you do to simplify your message? How clear and concise is your vision?

You may be familiar with the axiom, “You either have big PROBLEMS and a little god or little problems and a big GOD.” It’s all a matter of perspective. While it’s an easy thing to say, it’s a much harder thing to live…especially when you’re leading in a crisis.

Moses understood the overwhelming feeling of despair and inadequacy when God called him to lead the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. In Exodus 6:29 God addresses Moses, saying, “I am God. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I say to you.” But Moses, full of fear and insecurity, shot right back, “Look at me. I stutter. Why would Pharaoh listen to me?” (Exodus 6:30).

Have you ever felt that way? God prompts you to do something and your immediate default button is to remind God of all of the reasons why His idea is a bad idea. Shaking your head you say, “Look at me.” You do your best to draw God’s attention to everything that’s wrong with you…your lack of talent, resources, skill, and good looks.

But I love God’s response to Moses. When Moses says, “Look at me…” God doesn’t waste a minute and fires right back: “Look at me” (Exodus 7:1). And then He proceeds to tell Moses,

“I’ll make you as a god to Pharaoh and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to speak everything I command you, and your brother Aaron will tell it to Pharaoh. Then he will release the Israelites from his land. At the same time I am going to put Pharaoh’s back up and follow it up by filling Egypt with signs and wonders. Pharaoh is not going to listen to you, but I will have my way against Egypt and bring out my soldiers, my people the Israelites, from Egypt by mighty acts of judgment. The Egyptians will realize that I am God when I step in and take the Israelites out of their country.”

God knows how to put things in perspective. When we’re crying, “Look at me,” God is quick to shoot back, “No! You look at me.” You can’t put your problems in perspective until you take your eyes off your problems and put them squarely on God. Then you’ll understand how God responds to your problems. So the next time you’re tempted to wallow in your insecurities, inadequacies, inabilities, and inferiority, step into the shadow of God. Be reminded of how big God really is. Let God’s still small voice speak three big words: ”Look at me.”

Question: In what area of your life is God saying, “Look at me.”

Every pastor with a vision for small groups knows that they must do more than recruit small group leaders, but they must develop and equip their leaders too. Most pastors don’t need convincing, they simply need a systematic process and strategy. So here’s a simple lens to help you see leadership development more clearly:

1. ON-SITE TRAINING: Growth Opportunities that are Event Driven - When most pastors think of leadership development, they often think about an event that happens on-site and challenges and energizes their leaders. While training events cannot fully solve your leadership development needs, they do offer inspiration.

I’ve often said, “Events inspire change. Process creates change. Habits sustain change.” We all want to see people develop the habits to lead effectively, but sometimes they need the inspiration to get started. On-site training events with all of your leaders in one setting can offer motivation, inspiration, and practical tips to get the leadership ball rolling. A couple of on-site training events per year can be a great rallying point for your entire small group leadership team.

2. ON-DEMAND RESOURCES: Growth Opportunities that are Web-Driven - More than ever, technology should be leveraged to provide instant developmental tools and growth opportunities for your small group leaders. Whether it’s podcasts, blogs, free downloads, relevant websites, social media tools, small group software, or any other number of tools, work hard to create online resources that are immediately accessible.

Most leaders don’t know they need training until they’re hit with a problem. That’s when they need to know where to go to get what they need. I put 24 short and practical 2-10 minute training sessions online dealing with everything from childcare to group discussion, prayer to group multiplication, serving to conflict resolution, as a practical way to provide immediate training for our leaders. Most of your leaders won’t remember what you shared in your training events three months ago…but they will remember where to go for help if you’ve created a strong web presence.

3. ON-GOING RELATIONSHIPS: Growth Opportunities that are Relationally Driven - The third strategy to develop and equip your small group leaders is to provide relational support through coaches or community leaders. Mobilizing a team of people to provide follow-up, conduct huddles, and provide supportive coaching will help your leaders continue their journey without feeling overwhelmed, ill-equipped, or wondering where to turn in times of need.

The strategies above leverage training, resources, and relationships to help your leaders continue to grow and develop. Furthermore, it keeps you from forcing your leaders into a one-size-fits-all growth strategy. Some leaders will prefer training, others will appreciate the immediacy of online resources, and others will enjoy the personal nature of relational support. Having an on-site, on-demand, and on-going developmental system will help you meet your leadership development needs.

Question: What other strategies have you found helpful in developing and equipping leaders?

In leadership, it’s really easy to make people dependent on you for their growth and progress. In fact, when we mentor emerging leaders, it’s very tempting to make ourselves the end all answer for the mentee. In her book, The Art of Mentoring, Dr. Shirley Peddy offers a great reminder of our role in mentoring: “A mentor’s principle purpose is to help another develop the qualities he needs to attain his goals–without a mentor.”

Understanding that phrase, “Without a mentor”, is the difference-maker in mentoring. Our purpose is not to make people co-dependent, unable to function in leadership without us. Rather, as Dr. Peddy observes, our job is to embrace a mentoring process in which we lead, follow, and get out of the way. She observes:

“I think of leading as showing the way by role modeling, experience, or example; following, as advising and counseing (when asked) and getting out of the way as the art of withdrawing from a supportive relationship, while leaving the door open for a more collegial one.”

The only way to lead, follow, and get out of the way is to help mentees develop four essential qualities so they can attain their goals without becoming dependent on us. These four qualities include:

1. Wisdom - Peddy refers to wisdom as an understanding of how the “system” works. In every organizations there is a culture, a system, and processes that people must understand in order to function well and achieve success. As mentors, it’s our job to help the people we serve develop this “wisdom” so they are “accepted as an integral part of the organization.”

2. Judgment - Every decision and action has consequences. Dr. Peddy observes, “A mentor, with objectivity and perspective, can help a mentee understand the long-term impact of his choices.” Mentors don’t make the decisions for their mentees, but rather ask the right questions so that emerging leaders can evaluate their alternatives and assess likely outcomes.

3. Resilience - Dr. Peddy observes, “Resilience is learning from mistakes and coming back with renewed confidence, strength, and determination.” Good mentors use their own failures as opportunities to coach mentees and offer valuable perspective in the journey to success. Their perspective helps emerging leaders bounce back from failure and put setbacks in the proper light.

4. Independence - Mentors have the ability to affirm a mentee’s growth, achievement, success, abilities, and potential. They help emerging leaders grow in confidence and as a result “accept increasing challenges and reasonable risks.” Independence occurs when a mentee receives the necessary support to confidently leave the nest and venture into new territory.

“Leading” allows for wisdom and judgment to develop. “Following” fosters an environment for resilience in which the mentor becomes a sounding board for the mentee. And “Getting out of the way” enables the independence necessary for the mentee to spread their wings and pursue their goals.

Question: What else can mentors do to lead, follow, and get out of the way?

Every church comes to that important moment in their growth where they begin hiring staff. When a church is small, a bad hire can severely handicap your ministry. But regardless of your church’s size, you never want to make a bad hire, which, honestly, is nearly impossible to completely avoid. No matter how many layers there are in your hiring process, and no matter how many assessments you do, there’s always a gamble when hiring new staff.

In a previous post I shared 8 Ideas for Creating an Effective Hiring Process. Today, I’d like to share seven types of questions to ask when conducting an interview.

1. History Questions - These questions address education, work history and responsibilities, why they are leaving their current place of employment, what they found most fulfilling and demotivating in their work history, and general information about the candidate. It’s like a “get to know you” aspect of interviewing.

2. Spiritual Journey & Personal Growth Questions - These questions explore the candidates spiritual journey, when and how they came to Christ, significant highlights in their spiritual journey, understanding how their beliefs resonate with your church (and denomination), whether or not they’ve ever been involved in a church split, and gauging their commitment to personal and professional growth.

3. Character Questions - Character is obviously a non-negotiable when hiring staff. Character questions address integrity, greatest character strengths and weaknesses, how the candidate has handled past moral or ethical dilemmas, and whether or not the candidate has ever been involved in adultery, theft, child abuse, pornography, etc.

4. Chemistry, Values, and Philosophy Questions - This is one of the most difficult aspects to evaluate in a candidate. Honestly, the more time you can spend interacting with them  the better you’ll be able to assess their fit. Do a personality assessment and an emotional intelligence assessment. Furthermore, there should be opportunity to see them interact with your team face to face. Ask them questions about their core values as well as if there’s a particular model of ministry that they resonate with most (purpose-driven, emergent, seeker-sensitive, multi-site, cell church, traditional, missional, etc.). If your church operates by one model but they are passionate about a different model, they may find themselves frustrated in your system. Furthermore, two good question to ask are:

• What are two ways I would find challenging in leading you?
• What would other people who have worked with you say about you (boos, peers, direct reports)?

5. Passion Questions - Just because a candidate has the right skill set to do the job doesn’t mean they will find fulfillment in the role. There must be passion for what they will be doing. Passion questions include:

• What is important to you in a church? In the leadership of the church?
• What are you most passionate about in life and in your work?
• What do you consider to be your life mission and/or life goals?
• Where do you see yourself in 5/10 years?
• How would a role on our team help you further fulfill your life mission and goals?

6. Competence Questions - These questions drill down on the candidate’s ability to do the job, their experience, and how God has uniquely wired them. Competence questions include:

• Where do you fall on the Creator/Developer/Manager scale?
• What kind of leader are you (Doer Leader, Equipper Leader, “Leader” Leader)?
• What are your natural abilities and skills and how are you using them?
• What are your primary spiritual gifts and how are you using them?
• Would you consider yourself more “task-oriented” or “people-oriented”? Which one puts emotional energy in your sails?
• What computer programs are you proficient in?
• What in your previous work environments contributed to your success (things beside your own personal competencies)?
• What aspects of this ministry role do you enjoy most? Least?
• Describe your leadership/management style when working with a team.
• On a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being the best) how would you rank your time management skills? Attention to detail? Self-Starter? Follow-Through on Tasks and Projects?
• Questions specifically related to the role and experience in areas related to the role.

7. General Questions - Conclude your questions by asking how soon they would be available to start (should an offer be extended), how their family feels about the opportunity, how long they could see themselves in this role, and what their specific salary requirements are. While salary can be addressed in more detail in a later interview, I always ask this question in the first interview so that we don’t continue the interview process if the candidate is completely outside of our ballpark.

Obviously you need to give the candidate the opportunity to ask you questions as well. In fact, a good interview is not just about you interviewing them, but them having the opportunity to interview you too. Be sure to check out 8 Ideas for Creating an Effective Hiring Process to further guide your interview strategy.

Question: What questions have you found helpful in the interview process?

When people talk about the “call” of God, sometimes it’s with a bit of mystery. In fact, sometimes it’s outright bizarre. But the idea of “calling” is found throughout Scripture. God calls people to tasks, projects, ministry, countries, roles, fields, and industries. Because calling originates with God, He’s big enough to determine the subject of your calling. The question is: how does God call people?

In Exodus 3, we read about Moses’ burning bush experience. Something grabbed me about the issue of God’s calling when I read this passage:

“God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’” (Exodus 3:4)

I believe this verse reveals an important aspect of calling. Too often we expect God to knock us off our feet with an undeniable calling. In fact, most of us would admit that if we had a burning bush experience, we’d be able to hear God speak to us just fine. But notice what this verse says: “God saw that he [Moses] had stopped to look.” It was only after Moses stopped to look that God began to speak.

Sometimes I wonder if we miss God’s call because we don’t stop to look first. We’re so hurried with our busy schedules that we don’t stop to see where God is already at work. God might want to call you to serve the underprivileged, but He’s waiting for you to stop and look and those in your community who are struggling in poverty. God might want to call you to serve your local church, but He’s waiting for you to stop and look at the needs in your church. God might want to call you to run for a political office, but He’s waiting for you to stop and look at the needs of those you would serve.

I’ve said this before…Calling and vision is often birthed out of a need. But unless you stop to look at the need, the calling may never come and the vision may never form. If you’re wondering why God’s not speaking to you, perhaps He’s waiting for you to “look.”

When you face a problem, it’s easy to get myopic and lose perspective. It’s easy to stand paralyzed in the shadow of the problem. And it’s easy to feel like God has abandoned you, leaving you to face your problem alone. Problems are emotional. They highlight our pain so much that we allow them to hide our God.

Because problems are emotional, it’s important to understand the emotional side of God. God doesn’t stand by as a cold heartless deity with no interest in our problems, trials, and challenges. In His sovereignty, He listens, remembers, sees, and understands.

We see this response in Exodus when the children of Israel were in Egyptian bondage. The Israelites were groaning and crying out for relief from their hard labor. In Exodus 2:24-25 we read God’s response to this overwhelming pain. Notice how deeply God was moved by the Israelites problem:

“God LISTENED to their groanings.

God REMEMBERED his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

God SAW what was going on with Israel.

God UNDERSTOOD.”

Isn’t that what all of us are looking for when we face our own problems? God’s response isn’t restricted to Bible times. He still LISTENS, REMEMBERS, SEES, and UNDERSTANDS. So the next time you stand toe to toe with a problem, don’t forget the posture God has assumed right alongside of you. He’s listening to your cry for help, remembering His promises to you, sees every detail of your problem, and understands what you need in your darkest hour. If that’s how God responds to your problems, run to Him in your pain rather than letting your problems overshadow the emotional side of God.

I am always inspired by the story of Joseph in the Bible. Here’s a guy who, despite a mountain of challenges, stayed faithful to God and ultimately became second in charge in Egypt. His life is an inspiring leadership story. In fact, you could say that Joseph exhibited a leadership six-pack that contributed to his success.

After being sold by his brothers to the Ishmaelites and then sold by the Ishmaelites to Potiphar (one of Pharaoh’s officials), Genesis 39 gives us a glimpse of six leadership qualities Joseph possessed. These qualities were the foundation for his growing influence while serving Potiphar, after being falsely accused of attempted rape, and while serving in prison.

1.  Spiritual Authority – A common theme is woven over and over throughout Joseph’s story: “God was with Joseph and things went very well with him” (Genesis 39:2). Despite the unfair accusations hurled at Joseph, the depth of his relationship with God served as the firm foundation of his leadership. Spiritual authority—not position, charisma, expertise, or manipulation—was his primary source of influence. Author and professor Bobby Clinton says that spiritual authority is the true power base for mature ministry and enables a leader to influence followers through persuasion, modeling, and moral expertise.

2. Management Skills - Genesis 39 says that Potiphar “put him [Joseph] in charge of all his personal affairs, turning everything over to him.” When Joseph was thrown in prison, “The head jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners–he ended up managing the whole operation.” Joseph’s excellence in management and organizational skills led to greater influence and responsibility. You might argue that God simply opened all of the right doors and all Joseph had to do was walk through them. While there may be some truth to that statement, I would suggest that Joseph didn’t hinder God’s blessing because he demonstrated faithful stewardship of the abilities and skills God had entrusted to him.

3. People Skills -The Bible says that Potiphar became very fond of Joseph and when Joseph was in prison, God “put him on good terms with the head jailer.” Joseph had a knack for connecting with people. His God-given relational skills put him on good terms with people and fostered relational equity with others in positions of influence. It was Theodore Roosevelt who said, “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” Joseph mastered that skill.

4.  Personal Appearance - I know this one is controversial, but please hear me out. The Bible says, “Joseph was a strikingly handsome man” (Genesis 39:6)… so handsome that Potiphar’s wife wanted to sleep with him. I realize that a few people in the world are not “beautifully challenged,” but for the rest of us, we have to work at making ourselves presentable. My point is, right or wrong, people judge a book by its cover. You don’t have to be a knock-out model or dress like a Hollywood star to be a leader. But I do believe you need to take care of yourself, use good hygiene, stay healthy, and manage your weight. You can be the smartest person in the room but limit your influence because of a failure to present yourself well. Like it or not, most people assume your external appearance is a shadow of your internal disciplines…and vice versa.

5.  Earned Trust - You cannot demand people to trust you. Trust is earned over time by consistent and honorable behavior. When Potiphar’s wife tried to entice Joseph to sleep with him, he responded, “How could I violate his [Potiphar's] trust…” Joseph earned trust with his boss and he wasn’t about to sacrifice it on the altar of momentary pleasure. Craig Weatherup observed, “You don’t build trust by talking about it. You build it by achieving results, always with integrity and in a manner that shows real personal regard for the people with whom you work.”

6. Unwavering Character - Joseph had repeated opportunities to sleep with Potiphar’s wife, but he resisted every one of them. He said, “How could I violate his trust and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9) and, “…he stood his ground. He refused to go to bed with her” (Genesis 39:10). As an official for Pharaoh, Potiphar probably could have had Joseph killed…or at the least quietly arranged his death. But Joseph’s character was like an echo in the recesses of Potiphar’s decision-making. Andy Stanley says, “Your accomplishments as a leader will make your name known. Your character will determine what people associate with your name.” Although Potiphar was furious, he had always associated Joseph’s name with character and integrity. Perhaps, in the depth of his soul, Potiphar knew Joseph was innocent.

If you read Joseph’s entire story, other leadership lessons are obvious (there’s certainly more than six qualities we can draw from Joseph’s life). One of those “extra” lessons is what I would call The Six-Pack Ring. When you purchase a six-pack of canned soft drinks, it’s usually fastened together by a six-pack ring. This plastic yoke keeps the six-pack connected together. I believe Joseph had a ring that fastened his leadership six-pack together: perspective.

Joseph’s ability to maintain the right perspective allowed him to finish well. Having perspective enables leaders to successfully navigate tests, trials, and seemingly unfair circumstances. It gives leaders the ability to see God at work when it would be easier to jump ship. And when Joseph’s brothers kneeled before Joseph trembling with fear (ultimately fulfilling his dream), Joseph allowed perspective to win the day: “Don’t be afraid. Do I act for God? Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now–life for many people. Easy now, you have nothing to fear; I’ll take care of you and your children” (Genesis 50:19-21). That is true, God-honoring perspective at work. Few leaders have it…but it’s a game changer in leadership.

Question: What are your thoughts on the leadership six-pack? How have you seen the leadership six-pack exhibited in leaders you respect?