The president’s spiritual adviser disagrees with him on gay marriage, but calls the church to a wiser response.

A couple days ago, I mentioned that 46% of Americans felt that Facebook is a fad.

I love statistics, even if I think 37% of them are made up.

But I thought that you might enjoy some other recent statistics.  See if you line up with the American public:

58% of Americans think the economy will be fine by this time next year?  (I doubt it… although I think it may be more stable after the election… it usually is).

22% of Americans are positive the end of the world will occur in their lifetime.  (My Baptist upbringing tells me that I should expect Jesus’ return at any moment… and I do.  I remember that question being asked in a church I attended years ago, and the consensus was that Jesus wouldn’t come back for another 50+ years.  That thought was foreign to me.  Hell is hot and time is short.  I hope in many ways it ends soon, but I’m also loving life and family).

16.6% of American think President Obama is a Muslim.  (I’m not quite sure what the President is and isn’t, but I doubt he’s Muslim.)

32% of Americans think scientists are unsure if global warming is real.  (I think it’s funny that you don’t hear much about evil global warming any more.  Like Facebook, I think it was more fad).

28% of Americans think gay marriage should be illegal.  (I don’t really have a dog in that fight.  I’m married to a woman and plan to keep it that way.  I do think that it’s just a matter of time before the acceptance of gay marriage is the norm.)

21% of Americans think that the internet should be regulated by the FCC.  (I’m guessing that these are the same people that believe the president is Muslim).

So… what do you think on these issues?  Are you in line with the American public?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Todd

For those of you who have implemented my weekly message run-through, I have found a great tool I want to share with you.

If you don’t know what a weekly message run-through is, check out this past blog where I explain it: http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/blog/2011/04/18/how-to-make-this-sundays-service-excellent-at-your-church/

Simply stated, the way you do the weekly message run-through will greatly affect the way the message goes on Sunday morning. We try and get everything the same for the run-through as it will be on Sunday morning.

The teaching table we use at the run-through is the same. If there is a clip, we play it. We use the same teaching notes and all the Sunday slides are on the screen. We do everything at the run through identical to how it will be done on Sunday mornings with the exception of one item… a countdown clock.

On Sunday’s we have a countdown timer on stage to ensure that the service is able to stay focused on what God has called us to accomplish for each Sunday and instead of having to haul that large countdown back and forth to the office, I have begun to use a simple and free online version.

It is found at http://www.online-stopwatch.com/countdown-timer/

This gives me that ability to have a timer but keeps me from having to break my back!

So, if you are not yet doing a sermon run-through, make steps today to get it on your calendar. If you are doing a run-through, use this great online timer to make sure that your message is the length it should be!

Let me know how it goes!

Nelson

P.S. To learn more about implementing a proven message run-through strategy, starting this week, download your FREE copy of my brand new “Double the Effectiveness of Your Preaching” E-Book by clicking here.

In September, news of Rob Bell surprised the world once again when he announced plans to leave his church in Grand Rapids and move to Los Angeles to pursue broader interests—one of those being the development of a script for an ABC television show loosely based on his life. He also plans to continue touring and speaking; he is working now on his “Fit to Smash Ice” tour.

Each week, Neue asks a question that is meant to challenge,
inspire and
encourage today’s ministry leaders. Feel free to
respond and discuss in the comment section. This week, we want to know:

Has your church ever had to replace a pastor? What was that process like?

The Making of a Leader

We can do many things. But, we are made to do few. The Process is what Makes us unique. It defines us, shapes us, and reveals our calling. Beauty is revealed in the process, and influence is gained through the journey.

We are here. We desire to be there. As leaders, we all want to get there as quick as possible, yet we know that the process is what builds our character. It’s what MAKES us who we are. There is no fabrication of influence. No skipping the essential steps. No fast-forwarding through the benchmark moments of clarity and wisdom gained. We must earn the right to be heard. Our story is being handcrafted through the process.

The Making of a Leader is about a long obedience in the same direction and being faithful to the process. It takes time, and there is no overnight formula or transformation. Right now God wants to define and refine who you are created to be, and what He’s called you to do.

We’re all in the process of being made.

Made to Make a Difference.

This is the Making of a leader.

Make.

Be sure to check out the speakers AND also to get your free download of 30 NEW songs.

What speaker are you most excited about hearing?

Don’t believe me?

There is a new website that will prove it to you.  It will hand-feed you a Martin Luther insult from one of his many writings.

It’s a great way to get that little pick-me-up that you need for your day.

Try it now! Thank me later.

Todd

PS – What’s the biggest insult anyone has had the courage to tell you in ministry?  (I find that people will say things inside the four walls of the church that they would NEVER EVER consider saying ‘in real life’.)

I’d love to hear yours…

Jason Hatley here . . . Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey and Founder of  WorshipLeaderInsights.com.

Do you remember the story of Michael that I shared with you last week? He is a fellow worship leader (and a member of my coaching network) who, after leading a round of auditions, recently found himself at the helm of a fast growing worship ministry.

Like many of us would be . . . a new level of leadership is a bit overwhelming, but he’s growing through it and doing a great job.

Have you ever found yourself there . . . under the mounting stress of leading a worship team (regardless of the size) that just felt like it was more than you could handle at the time? I have!

Wherever you are in ministry — whether you lead 20 or 200 people on your worship team — there are leadership principles that can help remove the stress and maximize the gifts and opportunities that a growing worship ministry holds.

We kicked off this 3-part series by talking about how our personal growth ALWAYS precedes our ministry growth last week.

And now here’s leadership principle #2 . . .

#2 – New Leadership Challenges require New Leaders

You can’t do it all by yourself. You need other leaders around you to help you carry the load.

There are too many “Lone Ranger” worship leaders. Their slogan is, “No one can do it as well as me, as fast as me, or the way I like it, so I’ll do it all myself.”

The problem with that thinking is two-fold:

a) There’s only so much one person can do before they’re overwhelmed and under-achieving. You will never become all that God has called you to be leading your team by yourself.

b) If you try to do it all yourself, you are robbing (yes, robbing) potential leaders on your team of becoming all that God has called them to be, too!

The truth is . . . in a growing worship ministry there is far more to do than one person possibly can, so  you have to raise up leaders around you. By doing so, they grow their leadership gifts and contribute to the kingdom. AND you are able to do the things that only you can do.

I remember vividly when this principle became clear in my life. In the early days of The Journey I was leading worship 48-50 Sundays a year — I call that ministry suicide by the way .

As we added more and more services I realized I couldn’t do this alone. I started investing in a member of our worship team and he became a volunteer worship leader. And then I kicked it into overdrive and really started developing new leaders. Over the course of a couple years we had built a team of 8-10 volunteer worship leaders who were not only leading on Sunday but also helping carry the leadership load in other areas of our team as well.

It was a huge relief. And as our team grew I was able to empower them to lead more and more, so that I could focus on the things that only I could do.

Listen – If you’re overwhelmed right now by the leadership challenge in front of you, that means you haven’t raised up enough leaders to help you succeed through it.

I could go on for an hour about how to select leaders, what are the criteria for becoming a leader (we just talked about this in my coaching networks), what is the process for grooming leaders, how do you help them succeed, and on we could go.

We don’t have time to get into all of that, so let me share with you a quick system you can use to get started . . .

Step 1: I do / You watch — Before a new person can lead well they must be shown a model for what it looks like to lead well. At this stage, you demonstrate for your new leader what success in their area looks like. They watch, take notes, discuss with you, etc.

Step 2: We do together — After your new leader has seen an example of excellence in this area, now you’re ready to give them some responsibility . . . but don’t throw them in the deep end without swimming right beside them! Have them lead alongside of you . . . a song at rehearsal, a meeting with your production team members, etc. In this stage they are growing their leadership abilities and you are right beside them every step of the way.

Step 3: You do / I watch — After showing competency as a leader, you can now allow them to take the lead . . . BUT, don’t abdicate responsibility for that area. They may be leading some rehearsals now, but always under your watchful care, and with a free-flow of communication and feedback between the two of you.

Simple as it may seem . . . that’s the best way to raise new leaders on your team!

By the way — if you want to learn more about how we select leaders, develop criteria, build a system for training and development, etc. at The Journey, then it’s time to join my next coaching network. Those are the types of in-the-trenches practical strategies that we discuss in these networks.

Check out www.worshipleaderinsights.com/coaching to learn more!

Your partner in ministry,

PS -Want to learn the audition process that Michael has been using to grow his Worship Team and the leadership tactics for how to deal with the new leadership challenges that come with it? Check out the How to Double Your Worship Team in a Day resource.

And if you try the auditions system, give it an honest run and do it just like I teach it, and it doesn’t work for you . . . return it to us within 365 days of purchase for a full refund.

Nearly half of Americans think so.

According to Mashable: A poll conducted by the Associated Press and CNBC found that 46% of respondents think Facebook will fade away as new platforms come along in the future. However, about 43% believe the site will likely be successful for the long haul.

So… what do YOU think?

My guess is that it will fade just like most things do.

So will Twitter.

It will be like a cassette tape.  Or a CD (for that matter).

We’ll still be connecting online, but with something newer and shinier than Facebook.

Using facebook in 2015 may be like sending a fax today.

As we’ve seen… things change quickly… very quickly.

What do YOU think the future will look like?  Will Facebook be a huge part of it or not?

And how are YOU using Facebook differently today than you did… say… a year ago?

(For me… I use Facebook primarily with people that I actually know in real life.  I use Twitter to follow people around ideas and thoughts.)

Would love to hear your input!

Todd

While 80 percent of Americans still claim to be Christians, the devil is in the details.