Leading Well on the Last Lap

It's been a busy week at the church. 63 volunteers PAID to come out and spend a week on our campus to participate in several remodeling and upgrade projects. It's been an incredible experience, but yesterday afternoon, I noticed that the staff was getting a little weary.

This morning, I came in early and fired off an email of encouragement to them. I've included it below, so let it be an encouragement to you as well, as you prepare for your weekend services.

Just a quick word of encouragement to each of you regarding these closing hours of the Extreme Makeover Project:

As the project winds down, we can easily find ourselves assaulted with little details and we know we're going to have a lot of volunteers at the same time. If we're stressed by the details and not utilizing the volunteers well, this project can reflect poorly on us and may cause people to not volunteer again, plus, we won't be ready for Sunday.

So, here's my quick bullet list:

1. Make a list. Nothing becomes dynamic until it becomes specific.
Simply write out a to-do list.
2. Keep your energy high. Your followers will typically assume a lower energy level than you because you're the leader.
3. Encourage and thank people. Remember, they're not getting paid for this. In fact, they paid to do this! Thanks and praise from a pastor is a powerful motivator.
4. Think: What would Tim say? Seriously. Consider every speck of dust, misplaced scrap of wood, carpet stain, etc. Hundreds of "guests" will be visiting our "house" on Sunday and (judging from Wednesday PM) their expectations will be rather high.
5. Smile.
6. Find an excuse to throw a party.
7. Finish well. Even if you have to keep people late today and tomorrow, finish the job.

Thanks, and I love you guys so much!

Tim

What Conferences Are You Attending?

It's important for me to get away from the office from time to time. It not only allows me to refresh my self from the daily weight of pastoring, but it also gives me the opportunity to come together with other like-minded ministers to be stretched and challenged.

I have several conferences and events that I'm planning to attend in the 2nd half of 2006, and here they are... (drum roll, please)

October: Catalyst Conference in Atlanta with John Maxwell. Yeah, Maxwell still does some cool stuff, and this is certainly his liveliest conference. I've attended twice in the past, and have been greatly challenged each time. This year, I'm bringing along my three youngest staff pastors with me to the conference. If I had to choose just one conference to attend this year, it would be this one.

November: Drive Conference in Atlanta with Andy Stanley. This guy is on the edge with new methods of communicating the timeless message of Jesus. I've visited his campus a couple of times in the past, but this will be my first time to attend his Drive Conference. I'm bringing the entire pastoral staff team with me to this conference because it appears to have a strong draw for local church leaders in all positions.

December: I am tentatively planning to attend a church planting seminar in San Diego sponsored by the Assemblies of God. I don’t know enough about it yet, so….we'll see...more on that later.

I'll let you know what I thought of each of these conferences after the fact, so stay tuned!

Rocks

On Sunday, I surprised everyone in church and did something totally different. About halfway through my message, I dismissed every woman and child (age 12 and under) from the auditorium. I asked them to hang out in the hallway, enjoy some donuts, and wait for the guys.

To make this work, I first asked every man to stand up and walk to the front. I explained that we were going to have a "huddle", but one of the important aspects of a huddle is that the other people aren't supposed to hear what is being said. I then dismissed the ladies and children and had the ushers close the doors.

There, in front of me, was this huge clump of men. They were just standing there. They were mesmerized at what was happening.

I then asked for my staff pastors to begin passing buckets full of rocks to the men, requesting that each man take one. Then we distributed Sharpie markers.

My message on Sunday was about how God is known as The Rock, and that we are made in his image. In other words, when we're at our best, we're like The Rock. I proceeded to give the guys three characteristics of a rock that were really action items that they subsequently penned on their rocks. After 15 minutes, it was all over.

It was amazing!

They loved the illustration and they adored their rocks! I've never seen such happy men as they were carrying their rocks out of the service.

After the service, one lady said to me, "on Mother's Day, all the ladies got flowers and they were so happy, but on Father's Day you gave all the guys rocks, and they were actually happy, too! Go figure."

Why was this such a hit? I think it worked for a few reasons:
1. The ladies didn't get to hear what I told the guys, so the men didn't feel elbows in their ribs. Guys appreciate that.
2. We were up close and personal. We were crammed into the front. I turned off my microphone and had to raise my voice. It felt like a locker room pep talk.
3. I didn't give the men another book to read. Instead, I simply gave them three words to think about and attempt to live by.
4. I gave them the "object" of my object lesson to take home with them. Ladies and children were clustering around the men after the service. Men were retelling my sermon to their families as the rocks were being passed around. It was a surreal moment for me as a pastor.
5. Not one lady complained about me "kicking them out of the service." Now, that's nothing short of amazing!

What I really loved the best was that I felt like I successfully connected with every man in my church on a Sunday morning (of all times).

I even like my own rocks. On the back of one, I have my wife's name. On the back of the other (from the second service), I have my son's names. I want to be a rock for my boys and for my lover.

The Father's Day Knockout

What promises do you make to men regarding Father's Day? I believe that if you don't make some promises regarding what your Father's Day service will look like, you're likely to not reach the guys on the fringe...the ones we really want to impact.

Men who go to church every Sunday will naturally be there. They come out for everything, and you know that they'll be there. But, ever since I was a kid, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. Attendance would go up just a little bit on Mother's Day and it would go down just a little bit on Father's Day. Take a look at your attendance records and I'll bet you see the same thing.

Why? It's my feeling that SOME men don't want to go to church on Father's Day and get beat up, coming away from services with a bloody nose.

You see, on Mother's Day, we're really good a offering the typical 10 Reasons Why Moms are Awesome sermons. But on Father's Day, we tend to offer something different. It's usually something like, 10 Reasons Why Most Men Are Losers and Are Contributing to the Moral Landslide of America. Well, maybe not to that extreme, but you get the picture!

I've never been an advocate of The Father's Day Knockout sermon approach, and have attempted to use the day to build up, acknowledge, and encourage the men. In fact, this year, I've been doing a series for men building up toward Father's Day that captures the heart and soul of men.

I've primarily enjoyed my series entitled, Becoming A Better Man because the men are literally sitting on the edges of their seats, they're engaging their hearts, and they're discussing the teachings in the hallways and in small groups. This has thus set a great stage for Father's Day.

In preparation for Father's Day, here are my promises to our men:

What Fathers Day is like at my church:
It is NOT at day to beat up on the guys and make them feel like losers, barely hanging on by the grace of God.
It IS a day to encourage and build up men.
It IS a day to offer practical advice and direction from the Bible for men’s lives.
It IS a day for men to be acknowledged as the rock-solid individuals God created them to be.
It IS a day men will enjoy that will leave an impression.

Here's my challenge: Make similar promises to your men and enjoy the ride!

You're Not One of Those Story-Telling Preachers, Are You?

Seriously, I had someone ask me that question recently. He wanted to know if I was one of "those story-telling preachers." The guy went on to say, "I like preachers that just preach the Word."

I was taken back at the question, but then inwardly chuckled and thought to myself... "this guy is so bound up in his religiosity!!"

Guess how I answered his question?!

I replied by saying, "I just try to preach like Jesus did."

His response was actually positive. I guess, to him, that meant that I was preaching "the Word." Little did he know that he was knocking the Son of God's ministry style. I guess this guy doesn't know the Word the way he thought he did.

Today, I found a fantastic, satirical article about this very subject. If you're a teaching pastor, you'll love this article entitled, Jesus and Preaching Problems by Clint Heacock.

Dealing With "666"

Check out my post on the "apocalyptic date" of June 6, 2006 on my other blog. I've had many people in my church tell me how they appreciated my approach to dealing with "666."

Tim Woody: My Thoughts - "666, The Day of Man"

The 40 Factor

Last fall, I celebrated my 40th birthday. It came and went with little impact or emotion. I didn't feel "over the hill" nor did I have an anti-euphoric reaction and sink into depression. The whole "turning 40" thing has been relatively uneventful.

What has happened, though, over the past several months, is that I've been involved in a mental review of how I've changed. I now have enough time and space to observe my life from a broader perspective, and can see that I've changed quite a bit!

Change is good, especially if it makes us more like Jesus!

So, here's my "40 Factor" short list:
1. I'm less judgmental.
Coming from a very conservative Pentecostal background, I was raised with a general attitude of skepticism. I would assess people in a negative light if they weren't like me. I was mentally equipped with a lengthy list of self-concocted, non-biblical standards that all Christians should live by. Pretty scary, isn't it?!

This started changing when I was in my early 30's, and now, I believe I've made a significant departure from the arrogance of judgmentalism. Who am I to judge people? I can't see their hearts. Who made me the Chief of the Thought Police? Judging is God's job! This attitude shift has caused me to make some radical, positive changes in my approach to ministry and life.


2. I'm healthier.
Especially in my early years of ministry, I would often work 90-100 hours per week in a relentless pursuit of saving the world. I didn't eat right. I didn't exercise. I was stressed. I didn't do recreation. My relationships were weak. My family life was strained. You get the picture.

When I finally realized that I wasn't God, but instead needed to be more like Him, I chose to make some adjustments for the sake of my health. I started taking time off, enjoying life, exercising, eating right, smiling more, and ending each day satisfied that I had given God my best, even though I didn't ignite the Great Global Revival of 1993.


3. I'm happier.
For some reason, I used to feel that enjoying life and expressing my heart were were somehow less than godly. Even though at my core, I've always been a "non-conformist", I felt the need to conform to other people's expectations of me. I couldn't be happy because I wasn't being ME!

Those days are long gone!!! I've chosen to accept the gift of Jesus Christ and live life to its fullest (John 10:10)! There's no more condemnation or guilt because I didn't conform to someone else's expectations. I freely express my joys, passions, sorrows and sins. I'm set free to walk with more confidence, peace, love and forgiveness. I LIKE living this way!!


I'm far from perfect, but I'm growing and changing. This makes for one satisfied 40-year-old!