kgharney – Page 6

Leadership Challenge…Heading Into the Weekend – Receiving Critique

No one really likes critique. Most leaders cringe when someone points out what they don’t like or agree with.

But, healthy leaders will welcome and receive critique…even from a person who is not kind in the way they express their concerns.

I am a local church pastor. This means I have a lot of people who feel they have the right and sometimes the obligation to tell me how they would have preached a sermon, what they would have done if they were in my role, and what I did wrong (in their estimation). What I have tried to do through the years (and not always successfully), is to glean any helpful insights I can from the critique of others. It is easier when a person comes with grace. But, it is still valuable to keep an open heart and ears when someone comes with hostility or even a mean spirit. Their immaturity does not mean that what they are saying is wrong.

So, here is the journey I am on. When someone comes with their personal evaluation or criticism, I try to listen, not say much, and then thank them for being willing to share what is on their heart. Then, I pray. I sift through what they said. I try to toss out what is untrue, unkind, or unhelpful. But, I hold on to what is valuable, true, and can help grow me as a leader.

One of the most vicious attacks I have ever received (and I don’t have time to tell the story right now) also became a catalyst for growth and maturity in my life. Most of what this couple said and did came out of their pain and was not true or helpful. But, there were a couple of lessons that God has used to grow me as a leader.

So, when I do my best to listen to critique, God wins and I grow!

Organic Outreach Encouragement…For the Middle of the Week – Slow Down

Organic Outreach Encouragement

Slow down. It is one of the keys to organic outreach.

I had a chance to share my faith, tell my conversation story, and make a new friend recently. It all happened over a salad. I was grabbing a quick dinner and a friend wanted to introduce me to a buddy of his. His friend is an adherent of a religion different than mine.

I had limited time, but knew I needed to slow down and join these guys for a relaxed conversation. We talked for almost an hour. It was warm, this gentleman was kind and articulate, and we really hit it off. I look forward to getting to know him better in the coming months. If I had grabbed my dinner and headed out, as I had intended on doing, I would have missed meeting a fascinating person. As I slowed down, God opened a door for a wonderful conversation about faith.

As you walk through this coming week, look for chances to slow down. Create margin in your schedule. Make space for people…and see what God decides to do!

Draw Near to God…Thoughts for a Monday Morning – A Dangerous Book

Draw Near to God

Do you want to walk close with God and experience intimacy with Jesus and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in fresh new ways? Dig into the Bible, accept what it teaches, and live it out. One of the most reckless, radical, and bold things a person can do in our world today is declare that they believe what the Bible teaches.

A few decades ago, if a young girl got pregnant and was not married, people were shocked. For better or for worse, it was a scandal. Sometimes that girl would move away for a time. People were concerned for her. The reality caused people to blush.

Our culture has become a blush free zone! It is difficult to shock anyone anymore. We have exposed ourselves, and the next generation, to things that used to cause embarrassment and shock…now it is all common place. Just think about it, today, if a girl is 16, pregnant, and not married, she can be on a TV show designed just for her! That’s true, MTV has a show in season four called, you guessed it, “16 and Pregnant”. Welcome to our world.

Here is what I am discovering. If you want to be bold, stand out, and even cause people to blush in a culture that accepts almost everything, just live out your Christian faith with courage and hold to what the Bible teaches. Try telling someone that you believe in sexual purity and that marriage is designed for one man and one woman for a lifetime. You will discover that not everything is still acceptable in our culture. Say, with conviction, “I believe Jesus is not ‘a’ way to God, but He is ‘the’ way to God!” You will learn that people don’t like absolute statements like this. About the only way to raise an eyebrow or cause someone to resist you, in this crazy world, is to stand on what the Bible teaches.

Give it a try and see what happens.

Leadership Challenge…Heading Into the Weekend: Pray and Wait

Leadership Challenge

For the past year my wife and I led a small group (in partnership with another couple). We walked through the whole epic story of the Bible in a thirty-one week journey called, The Story. At the end of the year Sherry and I felt we should drop out of this group and start a new one. We loved the old group, and some of them stayed together and invited in a few new people, but we felt God prompt us to start fresh.

We invited a few couples that we wanted to see connect closer in the church and they said yes. But, we still had room for four more people. Sherry and I agreed that we should not just go and find people to fill the slots. Instead, we should wait and pray, trusting that if God had someone he wanted in our group, He is perfectly capable of showing us!

In the four days leading up to the first meeting of our new group, two things happened. First, a leader from another local church (see Wednesday’s blog) contacted me about helping a couple from his church get connected at Shoreline. We called them, they said yes, and they had a great time when we met Sunday. Next, a leader from our church talked to me and said, “My wife and I need to get in a Reckless Faith small group.” I mentioned that we had a spot and he said, “We would love to be in your group and learn from how you and Sherry work together.” They to are in the group and love it!

It would have been easy to just go find people to plug into our group. When we prayed and waited, God surprised us with just the right people.

Leadership Challenge…Heading Into the Weekend – Work Hard and Play Hard

Leadership Challenge

Christian leaders are some of the hardest workers I have ever met. The checklist is never done and the needs never go away. Like the legendary monster, the Hydra, when we cut off one head of the massive list of things to do, it seems like two grow back in its place. If a Christian leader walks away from the office, church, or pile of responsibilities, there is rarely someone else there to cover for us. So, when we walk away, we leave things undone!

That’s right. We need to learn to walk away knowing that there are still people with needs, work that can be done, and ministry that could be offered. We walk away profoundly aware that some things might not get done…and that must be OK. If we don’t learn to rest, Sabbath, and play, we will explode or implode. In the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20), God calls us to rest. It is expected of us. In creation, the omnipotent God rested as an example for His kids.

How is the rhythm of your life right now? Are you resting, playing, and feeling released to walk away? Or, are to driven, tired, and unable to relax because there is so much to do. Here is my encouragement as a pastor and friend, learn to walk away…each week. It is a spiritual discipline that leads to peace and freedom.

Organic Outreach Encouragement…The Most Important Thing That We Avoid!

Organic Outreach Encouragement

Over the past twenty-two years my wife Sherry and I have had the opportunity and privilege of writing over seventy small group studies in partnership with some amazing pastors and leaders. These cover topics such as Parenting, Marriage, The Sermon on the Mount, Prayer, Community, Perseverance, Outreach, and many more.

Every three months we get a report that tells us how many copies of each study have been purchased worldwide. Here is the sad reality, almost every quarter of the year, the small group study that focuses on reaching out to people who are far from God, and sharing faith naturally, is one of the worst selling studies. Even though every church and Christian in the world says, “We believe in outreach and want to share the love and message of Jesus with the world,” most are still afraid to be equipped and sent out with the message and truth of Jesus. We believe in the gospel, but don’t know how to shine the light of Jesus in this dark world.

Evangelism, Faith-Sharing, Organic Outreach…call it what you want. This is the most important thing that most of us tend to avoid!

I want to challenge you to stop avoiding it and begin to be trained. Here are two ways to get started:

Come to the Organic Outreach Conference this November in Monterey California: OOC

Read one of the Organic Outreach books: Organic Outreach for Ordinary People, Organic Outreach for Churches, or Organic Outreach for Families. Organic Outreach Books

Take a step, this week, and focus on something that matters more than we dream and makes an impact for eternity…reaching out with the good news of Jesus!