Archive for category Leadership
Why Leadership is Necessary
Posted by tomelmore in Leadership on June 11, 2010
If there is one thing I that I have learned over the years it’s leaders have the ability to MOVE THINGS forward…..At Thrive that means I can’t (and won’t ) do it all. Our leadership team is filled with people that are taking areas of our ministry and making them better. They are more effective and more people are jumping in to be a part of the vision as the result.
If a church wants to grow Leadership is necessary and needs to be intentional
Here’s what leaders “do best”….
1. Leaders are not afraid of going where no one else has gone – they see fear as their opportunity.
2. Leaders are problem solvers – all ministries have challenges, leaders help navigate a path through the obstacles and to God’s preferred future.
3. Leaders gather people around the dream! The most effective leaders I have encountered have the ability to bring people close to them and help them OWN the DREAM (not just cram it down their throats, but share it in a way that almost becomes contagious).
4. Leaders surround themselves with diversity! It takes people with all different, unique gifts to accomplish God sized dreams….it takes a complete body….each contributing what only they can do.
5. Leaders love to see progress! If lives aren’t being changed, people aren’t growing and being empowered, a leader will lose interest….can you imagine what it was like to be a disciple with Jesus – each day was an adventure and life change was happening….
I am looking forward to our monthly Leaders Gathering this Sunday afternoon; it’s so much fun to be connected to do life with great leaders…
Do whatever it takes not to miss this Sunday…we are a Purple Cow church that is committed to reaching the 70%.
See you Sunday
Tom
With Leadership comes Pain…
Posted by tomelmore in Leadership on June 2, 2010
Three weeks ago I attended the All Access Conference in Baton Rouge, LA. The final speaker I heard before we made our way back to Katy was Craig Groeschel (the Sr. pastor of LifeChurch.tv in OK)
He talked about one of the things that ALL LEADERS have in common…..PAIN. I’m not a cry baby (ok, sometimes) but when Criag’s session ended I teared up and knew that God wanted to do great things through me, my family and the church and it would be directly connected to how much pain I could endure…..this message, simply put …rocked my world!
Here’s are the Cliff notes from it – Craig Groeschel, LifeChurch.tv
I believe some of the future leaders of the church are in this room.
I’ve been overwhelmed by the success of the church plants in ARC, the integrity of the leaders, and the mix of Spirit-empowered and strategic leadership.
We joined because I didn’t see anyone planting better churches than ARC.
Now I want to talk about something not really fun but true: A Leader’s Constant Companion.
It’s pain. Most of us don’t want to hurt. In pastoral leadership, you are going to get stung, and if you’re not careful you’ll start leading out of a defensive posture. But the Gospels say we should step into the pain our Savior experienced for us.
If you plant a church, a great church, a prevailing church–you will hurt.
The difference between where you are and where God wants you to be is the pain you’re unwilling to endure.
2 Corinthians 11: 23-28
As if all this physical pain wasn’t enough, he carries a daily burden for all the churches.
Our potential in life is often equal to the pain we’re willing to endure.
Ask God to increase your pain threshhold……
…..for unjustified rejection and criticism
The more you do, the more you’ll be criticized. The media will attack you, the non-Christians will, and the Christians will attack you the most. You have to learn to endure it with integrity. Jesus said if they persecuted him they will persecute us.
If you’re not being criticized, you’re not preaching the Gospel!
If you’re not hurting, you’re not leading.
You have to know who you are in Christ so when they shoot at you you can deflect it with the shield of faith.
The quickest way to forget about what God thinks about you is to focus on what people think about you. Take it, smile, and keep preaching Christ.
…….for making painful decisions
Church planters will make their most significant painful decisions in the first twelve months. It’s like God is asking if he can trust us with more.
We had one-third of our church in a small group that was led by someone with faulty theology. I confronted it and they left the church. You have to have the courage to press through the pain in these issues.
So think about what volunteer or staff person needs to be removed. Do you love the work of God enough to make the hard decision? Some of you will have to shut down a ministry or program.
It’s going to hurt. Do it.
…….for God’s pruning
John 15: God prunes so we’ll be even more fruitful. This is the wintertime before the spring, and allows you to do what God’s calling you to.
If you blame yourself for the decline, you’ll take the credit for the increase.
My mentor once said, “I have one promise for you. God is going to break you.”
When you look at other people and say “I want what they have,” remember–you don’t know the pain they have endured, the pain of their families. It’s the stuff no one wants that results in what everyone wants.
I don’t hurt much…..not like Paul. But I count it an honor to suffer a little for the one who suffered so much for me. So church planters, church leaders–step into the pain.
Tom
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GROW Part 2
Posted by tomelmore in General, Leadership, Thrive on May 21, 2010
I love learning from great leaders. If you look behind the scenes of great churches you will almost always find GROWING LEADERS….. The last few weeks I have had the opportunity of being around some of the country’s best leaders, pastors and church planters. I thought I would share with you a few nuggets that made me stop and think.
* The biggest “sin” of senior pastors is lying. If they are open with their struggles..Their people will be too.
* Mega Ministry’s come out of Mega Marriages
* Too often pastors are trying to “answer questions” no one is really asking
* Serving without connection to Vision = Division
* Your ceiling will eventually become the floor you stand on (I Love this one!)
* Always choose TRUST over TALENT
* Fear of success is just as bad as fear of failure
* Best phrase ever -”Wow, I’ve never seen that done in church before!”
* If Billy Graham were 22 yrs old – what would he do to reach lost people?
* Would the people closest to you “feel honored” if you became successful?
* Tighten up your church systems and allow your people to have a break during the summer
* A “good” pace means you are done growing…….
* The best way to save time is to be coached by someone who has what you want.
Let’s keep growing Thrive Church!
tom
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GROW
Posted by tomelmore in General, Leadership, Thrive on May 7, 2010
Over the next few weeks I want to share some of the things I learned at the “All Access 2010 Conference” by the ARC in Baton Rouge as well as my Church Planting Coaching Network that met this week in Wisconsin. 
Here are some highlights from Chris Hodges. He is the Lead Pastor of Church of the Highlands in Alabama. They have grown to over 16,000 people weekly. Great Thoughts on “Growth”
Chris Hodges / All Access 2010
1. WE Grow OUR-self FIRST
- The Church began in Acts 1:4 with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. That was God’s way of growing the church’s initial leadership.
- Too many leaders want to see results without first developing themselves. All healthy church growth happens through the Pastor’s personal growth.
2. WE Grow for the RIGHT Reasons
- We need to remember to keep our hearts pure first – then realize that God has given us a JOB to GROW THE CHURCH!
- It’s is not for our ego, pride or to find our personal value (which should already be found as a son or daughter of Jesus Christ)
- Luke 17:8 (A powerful prayer from this passage) – Tells us to keep our hearts pure. We need to realize our motives will determine the value of our fruit.
- Growth is about GOD not your personal insecurity or identity crisis
3. JUST GROW
- I Cor 3:7-8 = we will be rewarded according to our labor – we are God’s workers – He needs us (the church) to get it together so the Kingdom of God Grows
- We have lost sight of our assignment – heaven and hell are realities that too many churches are ignoring by refusing to engage culture with God’s timeless truth.
HOW DO WE GROW?
1. Refocus on the GREAT COMMISSION
- We have an assignment from our king
- There is a lot of distraction / feel good / social justice flow / we are feeding bellies that are still going to hell….
- Social Justice is a TOOL to communicate the message of Christ not the end itself.
2. KEEP SCORE
- If people matter – we need to be willing to measure it
- Your team needs to know what matters – they need to know what is a “WIN”
- The numbers need to tell us if we are doing our job or not
3. If it’s not working - CHANGE IT
- Take responsibility for not being effective and make changes
- Remove programs
- Change styles
- Be willing to kill the SACRED COWS so people will WIN SPIRITUALLY
Tom
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What I am Learning as a Leader: Part 2
Posted by tomelmore in General, Leadership, Thrive on March 11, 2010
Here is part two of some of the principles I am learning/applying as a leader….hope this stuff inspires you as much as it has me….
The kingdom of God needs leaders that are Growing, Risking and are Inspired…..let’s bring it!!!
* Great Reminder – people do what they get rewarded for….who needs to be rewarded right now?
* The people that are serious about GROWING want good feedback…good husbands/wives ask for feedback from their spouse!
* Great Churches require GREAT MARRIAGES……time to get on it guys…
* You don’t know if your staff is loyal until you disappoint them….
* As a leader you don’t always need more $$$ – you need more focus ….how true it is…
* Uncommon Dreams require a clutter free mind – remove distractions from your life and schedule…
* Uncommon Dreams need to be fed – what are you listening to that is feeding your dreams?
“The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top and not at the bottom.” Deut. 23:18 NIV
tom
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What I am Learning as a Leader…
Posted by tomelmore in Leadership, Philosophy, Thrive on March 10, 2010
Yesterday I jumped on a plane and went to Corpus Christi. What did I do there? I met with 15 other pastors in a Pastors Coaching network (yes even pastors have to keep growing) We were “coached up” from Bill Cornelius -the Lead pastor of Bay Area fellowship. He leads a church of over 7,000 in Corpus.
The guy is a great leader and challenged me BIG time!!!
Here’s some of my “walk away” points…. enjoy
* The most important person that buys into the vision is your wife. They often determine the church’s growth potential…if the wife is not “all in” eventually no one else will be…
* Your staff can’t handle all the vision God has given you as the pastor right now..they are overwhelmed making it happen in the day to day – give it to them slowly…
* You can be taught to do something but still lack the CONFIDENCE to do it – Confidence in God and yourself is key to growing a church…
* Keep a time log for a week – you will be surprised how much time you waste on TV and things that steal your potential…
* You have to BELIEVE that GOD BELIEVES IN YOU….so true
* Often as a leader you have to encourage yourself to push through what people tell you and the negative stuff you tell yourself…
* Even if it’s negative – learn to preach it positive…
* Always advertise – be everywhere in your community – the worst reputation for a church is “no reputation”…
* Somebody with less skills and less ability is doing it better than you RIGHT NOW – it’s time to get on it!
* You need to put a DEMAND on your FAITH – if there’s no tension – there’s no vision!
Great trip…great principles…
Can’t wait for Sunday
tom
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8 Steps to a Boring Church…
Posted by tomelmore in General, Leadership on January 15, 2010
This Blog was soooo good I had to re-post it….it’s from a Perry Noble, pastor of New Spring Church in Anderson, SC. He hit the bulls eye on this one! Enjoy -Tom
I know some people do not agree with me…but I FIRMLY believe that church should not be a boring place…because…
· The Bible is NOT boring–the teachings of God’s Word are more relevant and exciting that anything on the planet.
· Jesus was NOT boring – to see His life lived out in the Scriptures AND to see WHO HE IS should inspire AWE, not apathy!
· Our message is NOT boring – Jesus was DEAD, came BACK TO LIFE and offers us the same opportunity, to cross over from death to life and be reconciled to God–THAT’S FREAKIN AWESOME!!!
· The Book of Acts is NOT boring – there is NOWHERE in the book of Acts that ritual replaced relationship!
If the tomb is empty, Jesus is alive and HOPE is possible then HIS church should reflect that.
BUT…if you want to make sure your church is boring, here are Eight Simple Steps…
#1 – There has GOT to be apathetic leadership – Seriously, the leaders in the church MUST be obsessed with not rocking the boat and pursuing personal comfort
#2 – There CANNOT be a desire to reach people far from God! Seriously, new birth can bring excitement to a church, which is NOT what people in pursuit of boredom desire. SO…don’t focus on the Gospel…instead teach lots of history lessons and talk about things that very few people actually care about. This will keep people far from God away from your group of people, thus not messing up the chemistry in your holy huddle. WHATEVER you do…DO NOT talk about the Gospel…it changes people!!!
#3 – DO NOT call for ANY type of commitment from ANYONE–EVER! People MUST be allowed to come and go as they please…and must NEVER be made to feel uncomfortable under any type of circumstances. If people begin responding to God it will increase the excitement level, which cannot happen in a boring place.
#4 – Always be predictable. Do the same songs at the same times, pray the same prayers and make SURE that people can look at their watch at any point in the service and know exactly what’s coming next.
#5 – Make excuses when things are done poorly! WHATEVER you do…do NOT address the obvious issues that are right under your nose. In fact, if you will simply criticize any church or ministry that IS seeing success it will take the attention off of your dysfunction and allow you to maintain the current state of your church.
#6 – PLEASE make sure not to make ANY type of references to culture in your church services. If you want to have a boring church then you’ve GOT to make people believe that the lives they live Monday through Saturday and then the life they live on Sunday are two separate things. You cannot teach that Scripture speaks to culture…because if people begin making that connection then they will begin to experience what Jesus promised in John 10:10!
#7 – You’ve GOT to allow people to pretend that their lives are perfect! Seriously, if someone has a problem then you must either put them out of your church OR tell them to act as if they are perfect.
If people begin to bring their junk to your church and Jesus begins to help them work through it and they get delivered from it…your church cannot maintain its boring status.
#8 – You MUST focus on the external and NOT the internal. Make the way people dress the MOST important issue…and the way they LIVE a non- issue!!!
