If you are like me you awoke, or was informed late Sunday night about the US bagging the most wanted terrorist in the world, Osama Bin Laden.

Listening to the numerous accounts of exactly what occurred prior to, and the actual operation, gave me some leadership pointers…

1- Never Give up on an objective, no matter how illusive it may seem.

2- Always send in your BEST team when a goal is in sight.

3- Even with those who say they are with you…as Reagan said, “Trust but Verify.”

4- Surround your self with a few that in a fire fight, you would trust your life too.

5- If needed for the safety and success of the mission…Blow crap up!

6- Be willing to risk much for a mission with God sized results.

7- Remain nameless, bury your enemy at sea and return to your family in joy!

That is all! What say you?

Having guided businesses, churches and organizations through many large changes and observing others who have navigated the same waters, I have noticed some essentials in making change occur and lasting…

1- Communication

For real, lasting change to occur it has to be clearly and masterfully communicated. Which means you need the ability to communicate the idea well, and a platform from which to communicate it. Cater your presentation to those you are communicating to. Different audience, different form of communication. Absorption is the goal!

2- Urgency

Change comes when a sense of urgency is present. Change falls prey to procrastination far to often. Those we lead need to understand and feel the urgency and necessity of our shift. If it feels like something isn’t really urgent, it will get filed away to “another day” and stall or kill the change initiative.

3- Faith

Lasting change has to be a God thing. It must be be authored by God and not by man. If you know it’s a God thing, that fact will give you faith when things don’t seem to be going well. If you didn’t cook it, you aren’t responsible for the way it tastes.

4- Passion

People don’t follow a “lukewarm” leader. People and other leaders follow the leader that is on fire with passion! Lasting change will never come through a leader that presents the new direction in a “matter of fact” way. It has to be burning deep within her soul. Passion goes viral when the leader lives it, communicates it and has fire for it.

5- Determination

Change is hard, and when leading a change, resistance and push back may be in abundance. But…Never stop. The God authored agent of change can’t quit. Pulling the plug option must never be on the table (This is God authored remember). All obstacles must be met by an undeterred leader.

6- Innovation

Creativity is an incredible God thing. The smart leader will embrace his “inner artist” and seek it out from among those around him and use it to the fullest. Innovation arises from the ability to take what you have and marry it to a solid vision, then something new and exciting emerges. It gives breathe and life to the “how” of the new change.

7- Need

We don’t change for the sake of change. The beginning stages of change are birthed through an honest examination of the end product. When what is being produced becomes completely unacceptable, and we can accurately measure what a change would produce, then the power of the need becomes the fuel for lift off.

8- Plan

Lasting change comes on the wheels of a well thought out and prayed through plan. The simpler in the over all scope the better. The new plan must be explainable by those who follow, so they can answer questions about it. No one really likes change, but present a change that is difficult to explain, and you’re dead in the water.

9- Influence

Leadership boils down to INFLUENCE. If you don’t have a high degree of influence, your chances of pulling off a lasting change in an organization are slim at best. So if your tenure or trust is short, you would be wise to hold off on any large changes until your influence is firmly in place.

Is there another essential you would add? Make it a perfect “10″

“I’m not great, I just help make others great!”

That was the comment a friend of mine made to me the other day. Honestly he was saying it with some frustration! From his perspective, he is training and building leaders, and some of them become “A-List” dudes.

He was a little discouraged why he wasn’t on that list, but those he helps seemed to make it. I told him what an honor he had. He gets to be…

The Goose that lays the Golden eggs!

For all eternity he will be known as the producer and shaper of great leaders. The ones he helps are the eggs. In other words, they have to come out of the gooses BUTT!

So, which would you rather be, the producer of golden eggs, or the egg that passes through the goose butt? Just a small reminder of what each of us should have our eye on.

Producing and Reproducing leaders. Don’t settle for being an egg! You need to lay some others as well.

What do you say?

Duct tape is Awesome. Especially for those of us who don’t own, nor know how to use a chest of tools. We have (2) things in our tool box, a hammer and a roll of Duct tape.

Duct tape is a roll of “Fix it” magic. Leaders are supposed to something like that. A whole role of magic, that can fix things!

Leaders can learn a lot from Duct tape, here are my top 10:

1- We bind a group together.

2- We stop destructive leaks.

3- We keep the winds of gossip out.

4- We hold the heat of vision in.

5- We tie up loose ends that could harm.

6- We mute the lips of dream stealers.

7- We demonstrate strength under pressure.

8- We stick with something until it’s finished

9- We fix things with speed and simplicity

10- We’re Cool and come in an array of designer colors!

Can you learn anything from Duct tape? What say you?

Where will you be in 3-5 years? I know we all have plans, goals & visions for the future. But are there any “Radars” now that can serve as indicators of our future success? I… think there are.

Leaders and those that succeed in any field don’t have achievement thrust upon them by some magic wand. The truly successful arrive at their destination by doing, growing, learning and creating. And all of those should be on your radar now… if not, you aren’t going to make it.

DOING

You need to be doing life with other leaders further along the path you’re traveling. You need coaches, mentors and peers that cheer, challenge and change you. These relationships don’t just fall on you. One word…. INITIATE

GROWING

The best way to get where you want to go, is to travel with others going in the same direction. There is serious power and protection in numbers. So you need be with a group and groups that bring synergy to your life. One word… NETWORK

LEARNING

The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop growing as a leader. You stall out and your potential shrinks and withers away. You must learn from those you agree with, and those you don’t. Be open! One word… READ

CREATING

This is the one many leave out. Leaders are creators. We have the vision to merge opportunity with ability and resources to produce the desired outcome. However many leaders generate this picture mentally, but stop. One word… Go

So. If you want to know where you will be in 3-5 years, answer the questions:

Who am I learning from?
Who am I walking with?
Who am I reading?
What am I making?

Where do you plan to be in 3-5 years? What say you?

Rural America is typically the last place to look for growing churches, much less thriving student ministries. But I believe that students in smaller cities across this country are starving for “Fresh Bread.” They are no longer satisfied with the religion of their parents; thus, we as student pastors and leaders must heed this call and do everything possible to reach them.

In my years of being a student pastor in a small town, I have identified four important aspects of building and sustaining a successful ministry.

Real Relationships – People in smaller cities are suspicious of outsiders. I have seen many youth pastors come into a church expecting it to be just like their last one. To build a student ministry in a small town, it must be built with trust. This trust only comes from building “real” relationships with the people there. They need to know that you are there for them, and not just to build your resume.

Get to know the people, their customs, their lingo, and build their trust. Once you have that, they will follow your leadership.

Redefined Faith – One of the greatest hindrances to a God-led student ministry in a small town is religion. It is typical to see several generations of a family at a single church, regardless if the church is dead or not. This stagnation has caused many students to regard church as antiquated and useless. It is our job to redefine faith in Jesus as a life-giving relationship, and not as a life-hindering system of rules. In order to do this, we must ourselves be full of God’s Spirit and guided by His direction. It’s hard to give something to others that you do not have yourself.

There is a huge difference between having religion and having a relationship with Jesus.

Realized Potential – Student pastors in small cities typically cite two major problems to their growth: no budget and no space. There is nothing worse than having a great vision with no support or any practical way to get there. Still, the potential is there. Student ministries in smaller cities can have a huge impact on the surrounding area. Pour your vision into those around you and let it catch fire. If God has given you the dream, then it is His responsibility to see it come to pass; all you must do is persevere.

Just because you are small doesn’t mean you have to act like it.

Regained Confidence – The typical length a student pastor stays at a church is about 18 months. This is much more prevalent in small cities. Because of this quick turn around in leadership, most student ministries never really make any forward progress. This is sad due to the potential that a dynamic ministry can have on a small city. I strongly believe that if God places you at a church, even for a short time, it is your responsibility to build a ministry that will last beyond your tenure. The mark of a quality leader is equipping others to lead once you are gone.

Leave things better than when you came.

What are your thoughts on student ministry in small cities? Have anything else to add, sound off below!

The past several days we have been at our annual “staff retreat.” I must say we have an incredible team!

I hope most leaders can say that about their team with the same sincerity and enthusiasm as I can.  I have noticed something over the years as we have met and worked through issues, from easy to the very difficult.

As our team has matured some signs have become more obvious and really stand out to me…

Dream- A mature team can dream together! They laugh, and come up with the most ridiculous ideas, and narrow them down to the God ones and follow a great vision and see it come to pass.

Discuss- There is open, honest & transparent communication in an environment of complete trust and vulnerability. This atmosphere nurtures creative thought and gives a platform where all are heard and respected.

Disagree- There is no way to get 30 leaders in a room and discuss the future, systems, processes & plans and there not be disagreement! In that fertile soil of opposing thought, the greatest ideas are birthed!

Depart- When all is said and done, and all the points are brought forward, fought over, and finalized. It doesn’t matter if your idea won, got shot down or compromised on. All depart with greater honor for one another and move to a higher level of mutual respect. All disagreements are left on the table, and the team moves forward as one!

I am blessed to work with such a godly mature team! Is there another attribute you would care to add?….

These are 5 things I love to see on Sundays…

1. Someone you have poured your life into… SOAR!
2. Children telling their parents they LOVE THEIR church
3. People reaching for the tissue under their seats
4. Conversations about the miracles God is doing
5. People from different nations, tribes & tongues, loving one another

I love to see these things because they are outward signs that a great God is moving on the inside!

Jesus had a tribe of 12. He didn’t come to win the world but came to die for the world! He invested in and equipped a tribe of 12 that did win the world! What a great challenge for leaders!

Jesus didn’t spend His earthly ministry trying to do everything himself, or His vision for His church would not have survived! He had to invest in others to the point they were not just PASSIONATE about the Gospel vision, they OWNED it, and it OWNED them!

We need to examine our philosophy and strategy of leadership. Are we trying to carry a single or multiple visions by ourselves, burning the candle at both ends “trying to get it done.” Or, are we investing and equipping a group of leaders that will move things and go places we never imagined. I believe that was Jesus’ heart, and that’s why He said, “greater things will you do.”

When God gives a BIG vision, that person generally doesn’t see it fulfilled! (i.e., Moses, Abraham & Jesus)

If the vision is only about YOU it will die with you. Invest and plant it it others and the vision will live WITHOUT you! That’s what Jesus did!

Are you willing to lead like Jesus did, and give the vision away?