Exiled Community

I drove into Richmond, Virginia on Monday night to attend the Virginia Conference Church Plant Boot Camp with Jim Griffith of Griffithcoaching.com.  There are people here from all over Virginia, Eastern Pa, Wisconsin, New England, Ohio, North Carolina, and Minnesota. While I came by myself (short notice), there are many teams here from church plants in the UMC.

The first day of workshops consisted of The 10 Most Common Mistakes a New Start Makes, Self-Care, Creating Mission Alignment, and some nuts and bolts stuff about creating a good first impression.  The first few session were pretty good– with some good thoughts on them.  The 1st impressions sessions was decent, nothing groundbreaking, but it came out of order.  The coaches have talk repreatedly that a major reason a new start fails is because of a premature launch…which made it intersting when we discussed the nuts and bolts of how to do a full fledge worship gathering before discussion the when and how of developing a launch team and plan.

The second day focused a lot of how to determine your public launch timeline.  There were a couple of bombs today.  First, the presenters said that critical mass to reach before a public launch is 149.  They believed that this was an important number because it is big enough where the pastor will need other leaders to hand off responsibility to….and that it creates more momentum.  My guess for “critical mass” was 75-100.  When we began the H2O Gathering at Avenue UMC, our first Sunday was 91 and we rarely dipped below that in the first few weeks. 

I have one more day left of the boot camp and I will post some more thoughts in the following days.

I’m taking the class Mission of Jesus in Mark in a couple of weeks at seminary, and I have been reading The Mission of God by Christopher J. H. Wright for the class.  The book is very interesting- while a little heavy.  Something the author said about God and authority made me think about leadership within the church.

When people start talking about power and authority- it can sometimes lead to a negative conversation.  In fact, Andy Stanley spoke about power- and called it a four letter word (yes, it’s five letters)…Stanley asks the question- “what happens when you look around the room and realize that you have the more power?”  (Check out the video below to see a funny take on this from funnymen Tripp and Tyler)  There must be a balance for a pastor or leader when exercising power and authority- but we cannot deny that we likely have power and authority because of our position.  Sometimes- power and authority is granted to us because of our title.  Other times it is earnred.  Power and authority can also be lost.

When I was a 10th grader in high school, I was on the varsity basketball team.  We had a coach who believed in the cuss and yell at your team method of spurring us on to victory.  This coach believed that he had the power and authority to belittle and yell at his players.  When leaders are granted power and authority- it is not a free pass to become little Napoleon’s or to become a tyrant. 

Wright, in his book writes, “Authority is not just a list of positive commands; authority includes legitimating permission.  Authority authorizes; it grants freedom to act within boundaries.“  As Christians, as we pursue the missio dei, God authorizes us (even empowers us) to bring about the kingdom of God.  We have been given boundaries and are free to act within those boundaries.

As Christian leaders- we too must use authority in liberating ways.  Being granted power should not mean that we become micro-managers (or worse- tyrants), but means that we establish boundaries and empower other leaders to work vibrantly, creatively, and freely within those boundaries.  This is a real use of authority.

In what ways are you using authority to liberate and empower other leaders to use their gifts, talents and abilities to the fullest?  How do you go about establishing the boundaries in which ministry takes place?  What are some authority fails that you’ve experienced?

While I am not a soccer (futbol) fan, I have enjoyed watching some of the World Cup this year (a 42′ HD TV certainly helps).  I tried to watch the USA games and now that they are out of the tournament, I have lost a little interest in the whole affair.  If I had to pick another team, I would choose between Brazil and Paraguay as those are two countries that I have spend some time in. (I was in Paraguay during the previous World Cup.)  I have flags for both nations- which makes me feel as if I could cheer for them better than I could cheer for Ghana or Spain.  I lean to cheering for Brazil because, in my limited soccer knowledge, I know that they are good.  Very good.  But I also know that cheering for Brazil is similar to cheering for the Yankees or the Red Sox. 

That aside, watch Brazil play soccer makes one realize why soccer get called the “beautiful game.”  I was captivated watching them play one of their earlier rounds as the team played with unity, artistry, and excellence.  One thing that was evident in the game (and any team game involving passing a ball) was the importance of vision.  In soccer (hockey, basketball, football, etc.), a player must be able to see the whole field in front of them.  In order to do that, their head must be up- not looking at the ball.  (I can remember my Dad and other basketball coaches telling me to “keep your head up!”)  Vision alone is not enough to be successful, but the player must have anticipation.  So often in soccer, a player passes to an empty spot because they anticipate that their teammate is running to that spot to receive the pass.  Vision and anticipation is a lot hard to defend than just reactionary movement.

Vision and anticipation are two important components to Church leadership as well.  As leaders, we must have vision of the entire landscape of our church.  We can’t just rely on what we can see right in front of us, but must use our peripheral vision in order to see what others are unable to see.  A soccer player is always scanning the field looking for the next opportunity to strike.  Likewise, the church leader must be scanning trends, social dynamics, and other opportunities in order to lead effectively.

Likewise, a leader needs anticipation.  Vision will help the leader see what is coming before anyone else realizes it.  Anticipation helps the leader jump start change or a new direction in stride rather than reacting to the new circumstances.  Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Church uses the example of a surfer.  A surfer is scanning the horizon (vision) for the just the right wave to ride (anticipation).  A surfer will pass up inferior waves until just the right one comes along.  As leaders, if we are using our vision and anticipating changes, we may, in essence, be passing to an empty spot on the field- but if we have done the hard work of leadership we know that the empty spot won’t be empty for long as someone fills that spot and advances for an opportunity to score.  Now vision and anticipation do not always lead to a goal- and they won’t always lead to successful leadership- but the more we practice it, the better we get at advancing the ball towards to goal. 

How are you practicing vision and anticipation as a leader?  What are some places where you are looking for trends in anticipation for the next wave?  What kind of pushback do you get when you’re passing to an “empty space” as a leader?