Next In Line Leadership: 2009

Monday, December 28, 2009

Blog Hiatus

I'll be taking a short blog hiatus this week. Just wanted to let you know, so you don't expect any content this week. I'll be back next week, revived, energized, and ready to talk some leadership!

Training Tommorrow's Leaders Today,
Matt

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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Next In Line Leadership Reads of the Week

Monday, December 21, 2009

Credibility ≠ Likability

I heard one of my professors say this a while back, and it made me think quite a bit. Deep down, we all have this need to be liked. Well, unless we’re sociopathic. Unfortunately, many of us need this so much that we let it get in the way of our teaching. This is not good.
For just a minute, examine yourself and ask yourself if this is what you do. Would you rather be liked, seen as a friend, or teach the hard lesson and be seen as a jerk for a week?
In the long term, of course, the answer is “I want to be both.” I think we can have both, but not always at the same time. Don’t misread what I’m saying. You want likability too. You won’t do much for the cause of Christ by being a jerk-face. But there will be times when you’ll have to choose between the two, and that’s what I’m talking about here.
Sometimes it is demanded of us that we do the right thing, say the right thing, even if our student isn’t going to like it, or us, for a while because of it.
Their future and their godliness is more important than whether they like what we have to say, or us. Sometimes we have to bite the bullet, say or do the hard thing, and let the chips fall where they will. They may not speak to you for a couple of weeks, but in the end, when they “come to themselves” they will realize that you said what you did, or did what you did, for their benefit. You’ve just established credibility.
Whether they realize it or not, you need credibility with your students. They will know when you’re softballing it for them. Hardballing might not get you any friendly texts that week, but in the long run you’ll establish yourself as someone who truly cares.
This principle might be even more difficult in a leadership team, where you are probably closer knit. However, here more than in youth group this principle is so important. Softballing doesn’t help anybody. We’re messing with the future, and God has called us to raise up these leaders. Credibility is imperative. Say the hard things. Your leaders should be able to take it. When it comes time for a yearly review, don’t hold back. Be real, be truthful.
Credibility will allow you to build leaders.
Question: Are You Choosing Likability Over Credibility? How Do You Balance The Two?

Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today,
Matt

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Developing Principles

Leaders lead from their principles. Principles are like the big filter that all information goes through in your brain. Information is processed through them, and a person’s behavior is processed through them.
When it comes to leaders and leading, we want those principles to be Christ-Centered. Consider Jesus’ saying about the eye being the lamp of the body (Matthew 6:22-23). Jesus is saying that whatever is at the center of your life is going to dictate how you behave and what you think. This is a scary thought when you really sit down and consider it.
If we try to lead from anything other than Christ, we may become leaders, but to what end? The answer of course is ourselves, our fame, our fortune, etc. As we seek to raise a new generation of leaders, we have to impart Christ-honoring principles in everything we do.
There are so many ways that the world offers to do leadership, and some of them might even make sense to us. However, if we can’t find a Biblical parallel, we had probably better stay away from it. Our students need to be inundated with Biblical leadership principles, and not those of the world. There are plenty of worldly leaders out there who are not the salt and light of the earth.
The next generation of leaders will have to be different. They will have to be Biblical. They will have to be relevant. Here’s a few thoughts on training them to be these things:
1. Train your students with Biblical Leadership Principles. Make sure that anything that you encounter from a secular source can be corroborated with scripture. This usually isn’t as hard as it sounds, but you’d be surprised what doesn’t pass the smell test.
2. Give your students opportunity to practice leading in Biblical ways. Establishing principles isn’t just about learning them, it’s about doing them. See James 1:22
3. Model Biblical leadership for them. Always lead in a Biblical manner. Monkey see monkey do.
4. Don’t always assume you have to move on and teach something exciting. If we don’t instill Biblical principles in our students, we haven’t succeeded.
5. Long after the fancy “tip of the day” stuff is long forgotten, if you’ve given your students a bedrock of Christian Leadership Principles, your young people will still lead out of them. That is where we have to spend our time.
Question: What is the Best Way You Have Found To Instill Christian Leadership Principles?

Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today,
Matt

Monday, December 14, 2009

Don't Pretend It's Working

Have you ever become so stretched in your personal and professional life that you let things slide? Of course you probably have, and so have I. Many times we become so busy, and therefore caught up, that we will let programs or curriculum continue long after they have stopped being effective.
When our consciousness begins to nag at us about it, we justify ourselves by thinking that maybe the students can glean something from it, no matter how terrible it is. This is not good thinking, so think again.
If we continue using a program or curriculum that isn’t working, our students will not so slowly lose respect for us. Here’s why:
1. They know it’s not working, and they know you know that it’s not working. You’re not fooling anyone.
2. If you use something that isn’t working, they are going to assume that you don’t care. And if you don’t care, neither do they.
3. You aren’t modeling responsible leadership when you allow a failing program or curriculum to continue. You aren’t being a leader, and they know it.
Don’t turn a blind eye when things aren’t working. It only aggravates the problem. Be responsible, be the leader, and set things right. Walk your leadership students through why you are changing things up. Help them to understand the process and the reason. They will learn a lot more from that process than they will if you let a dying program linger.
Question: Have You Ever Found Yourself Nursing an Ailing Program? How Did You Finally Put Things Right?
Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today,
Matt

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Reads of the Week

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Young Leader's Prayer Life

One of the problems I have been seeing as I develop young leaders is the complete lack of or at least seriously deficient prayer life of young people. This is partly my fault, as a Youth Leader it’s obvious that I have been deficient in teaching and modeling this area of spiritual disciplines. But it runs a lot deeper than just my youth group, and I’m willing to bet that if you’re honest with yourself about you and your students, your prayer life and that of your group leaves something to be desired.
My friend Jerry Powell has been reminding me lately just how important a leaders prayer life is. I couldn’t agree more, but I think that often as leaders we struggle with our own prayer life so much that we also neglect to train our students in prayer and show them just how important prayer is to a leader.
So how important is prayer?
Well, Paul says to “pray without ceasing,” so it must be pretty important. On a practical level, prayer is so important that we can’t live without it. Praying shows a reliance on God for all things. It shows more than just a list of things we want; it signifies that we know where all things come from.
So much of the bible is devoted to prayer. We have plenty of biblical role models if we want to study prayer.
I think our first step is to get our prayer lives in order. Once our lives are in order, then we can begin to speak into the lives of our students about prayer.
So how do we teach our students the importance of a prayerful attitude and life?
1. Model it for them. There’s no better way to help them develop a prayerful attitude and life than by modeling it for them.
2. Show them the Bible. Show your students how important prayer is in the Bible. Show them biblical characters and how and when they prayed. Do studies on the prayers of Paul.
3. Assign accountability partners. Let your students remind each other about the need to pray.
4. Remind them. Use social media and texting to remind your students to pray. Keep a weekly prayer list for your group.
5. Give them Practice. Have your students pray every time you meet. They will get used to it. Remember, many times behavior changes attitudes.
In the Trenches,
Matt

Monday, December 7, 2009

Leadership Lessons from Tiger Woods

When “Saturday Night Live” does a Parody of your misdeeds, you know you’re newsworthy. Unfortunately for Tiger Woods, it’s no laughing matter, and it shouldn’t be a laughing matter to any leader who pays attention to the missteps of those in the public eye.
Tiger Wood’s fall from grace carries with it a poignant message to all of us who are leaders. Mr. Woods may be the best golfer who has lived, and he has definitely done a lot for the sport in the way of racial reconciliation, but all this means squat in the face of the news last week that his family life isn’t what everyone thought it was.
I have heard many people (especially in the talk radio industry) asking why Tiger’s indiscretions should matter in the face of his talents. This is a good question, and one that needs to be asked by all leaders. We have seen what happens to Christian leaders when they make mistakes: generally speaking, they lose their ministries. Now, I’m not comparing the work of ministry leaders and Tiger Woods, but what I am saying is that the same principal that has the nation giving a collective sigh of betrayal over Tiger is the one that will sink any leader that betrays the trust of their followers.
Mr. Woods may have never claimed to be a paragon of virtue, but people have invested in him emotionally. They don’t just see him as a golfer. Golfing is just what brought him into the limelight. Now, he’s a role model, a guy you see on the television selling you goods. He’s become a household name, and a certain amount of trust and emotional investment go into that. Unfortunately, it’s that very trust that people feel has now been violated. Even though they didn’t know Tiger Woods apart from his public persona, the masses thought they did. Thus his fall has been great.
If Tiger Woods, who plays golf and appears in a few commercials, takes this kind of fall when he screws up; how much greater will the fall of a Christian leader be? People don’t just emotionally invest in us, they invest their lives and the lives of their families. We are with them in their greatest moments of joy, and in their moments of greatest sorrow. We share life with them. Further, as leaders we guide them, give them advice, and do so in the name of God.
If a fan of Tiger Woods involves themselves emotionally, those who follow us intertwine their lives with us. To these people, a moral failing like Mr. Woods’ isn’t just a news headline, it’s a horrible violation of trust and family that tears them apart.
Now, obviously we fail and fail badly, but I think the difference between Mr. Woods and us is what we do with that sin. He obviously tried to hide it. And it came out in the worst way. This says something about the merits of transparency, but that is another post for another day.
In the meantime, let’s remember that those people we serve wrap their lives up in ours, and it is our God-given responsibility to shepherd them well. We owe them more than to play with their trust or hide our failings from them; and if we do, we shouldn’t be surprised when we end up the butt of a joke on “Saturday Night Live,” or worse.
In the Trenches,
Matt

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

What Motivates You?

What motivates you to run a leadership development team? I was thinking about motivation this last week, and I asked myself this question.
My motivation comes from many quarters. I love teenagers, and want them to have the best of options as they go into life. My motivation also comes from a general dissatisfaction with the status quo in Christian leadership. By raising up a new generation of leaders, the status quo can be broken. I also feel very strongly about giving the next generation ALL of the tools they need to lead in a manner that is honoring to Christ.
What motivates you?
Is it an intense love for your students and their future?
Is it a way to take some of the work off of you in the youth ministry?
Whatever motivates us will eventually become known, so you had better be honest with yourself right now. You know that you’re students are more discerning than we’d like to think. They smell a phony a mile out.
Being up front about our motivation will help them understand the way you teach and why you teach.
By the way, find out what motivates your students as well. Why are they on the leadership team?
By working to eliminate greed, self-centeredness, and laziness from our motivation, we teach better and become more effective. When we eliminate these traits from our student’s perspectives, we turn out better leaders.

In the Trenches,
Matt

Monday, November 30, 2009

Practicing Leadership

My wife and I live right across from the High School and it’s football field. We don’t have to leave the house to hear the play by play on Friday night, we just turn off the radio.
Saturday morning, we were greeted to a new sound coming from the football field: a young person announcing a little-league football game. I stepped out onto the front porch to listen for a few minutes, and it was true.
The school, or little league program; whichever it was, had the foresight to let an interested young person announce a little league game. No doubt that this young person was elated at the opportunity, and from his voice you could tell he was having a great time. The opportunity also allowed this young person some on-the-job training that could very well sprout into a lifelong passion and career.
We should learn from this little league game. We need to hand off as many opportunities to our leadership students as we can. They will no doubt be excited (and nervous) about the opportunities, and it is great training for larger ministry in the future. The opportunity we offer them also just might spark a passion that they didn’t know they had, leading to a lifetime of service to our Savior.
Don’t pass off responsibilities that you should be taking care of; this isn’t the reason to have a leadership team. The school probably wouldn’t let that same young person announce the high school game on Friday night. But, after about five years of experience gained in little league, and then maybe Junior High and junior varsity games, that young man might be ready to tackle a Friday Night.
We need to be very intentional about the opportunities we give our leadership students. Let’s get them into practice.
Practice makes perfect.
In the Trenches,
Matt

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Reads of the Week

Friday, November 27, 2009

New Opportunities

My church had a pastor from South Dakota in over the weekend. Our church has a partnership with his church. He came down this last weekend to talk about all of the ministries and ministry opportunities that he was dealing with in his church.
As I listened, my head started filling with ideas. Good ideas (or so I think). I had taken the leadership team to his presentation in order to brainstorm ideas for a possible mission trip. We generated a lot of ideas altogether.
These ideas are all good, and after this pastor’s talk, we discussed our different ideas with him. He seemed quite elated with them. Now we have a lot of ideas to sort through and start to put together as we plan a mission trip for our church.
The question now becomes this: How do we balance this new opportunity with the opportunities already in front of us? How do we decide between them? How much time do we put into planning this ministry opportunity and what role will the leadership team have in it?
New opportunities are a great thing. They keep us fresh, keep us thinking, and keep us working for the Lord. Beware though that they don’t replace existing commitments and thought processes that you are currently working on.
The challenge for my leadership team now is to balance this opportunity with a mission trip to Peru in June of 2010, some projects that we are working on individually, and the amount of time we devote to it now, as opposed to in the near future.
My challenge is to juggle the logistics and planning of such an endeavor with the leadership training opportunities that such a trip will present. How much do I hand over to the leadership development team? How large will this trip become?
These challenges are good and bad. They will try our leadership team and stretch us. We will learn. On the other hand, some of us will lose focus. This is the first time that I’ve allowed so much to be on the team’s plate. It is overwhelming to most teenagers.
New Challenges are great. I personally love them (my gifts set is particularly fitted to new ministry opportunities). In fact, I get giddy about them. But there is a dark side, and if we’re not careful, new opportunities rob us of our ability to keep on track with existing projects. They can also take up too much of our time.
Just some thoughts. Would relish your thoughts as well.

In the Trenches,
Matt

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Get into the Personal

As we are teaching our students how to be biblical leaders, we must keep in mind that as their mentors and teachers, we need to be careful not to neglect their personal lives.
The following quote from a Tony Morgan blog has haunted me this week, and I hope it haunts you as well:
“At the end of Brian’s message today, he invited people to come forward for prayer and anointing. I was one of a number of pastors and elders who were available to pray with folks.
The experience impacted me. It reminded me that the people that walk through the doors of our church every Sunday may look okay on the outside, but many are dealing with some tough stuff on the inside. Addictions. Marriages collapsing. Kid’s heading in a wrong direction. Medical challenges. Financial crisis. Lack of purpose.”
Our students are human beings, not information repositories. We often (I often) make the mistake of filling them full of knowledge and practice and scripture and all of those wonderful things without attending to their needs.
Big Mistake.
The student who is going through a personal crisis (and we all do) is not going to be able to concentrate on how to be a leader.
The student who just had a fight with her mom is not going to be on her “A” game.
Remember that you are more than a teacher to these students. You are a pastor, a mentor, a guide. You are sometimes the person that they trust the most with spiritual matters. Don’t neglect them by treating them like robots.
Leaders are people too.
In the Trenches,
Matt

Monday, November 23, 2009

More Than Motivation

What are we offering our students?
Are we offering them a spiritual pep talk and sending them out into the world?
How’s that going?
At first, they need a refill every week, so they come back. Sooner or later, they realize that what you’re offering them doesn’t and can’t last, so they stop coming. That’s the problem with motivation. Motivation brought on by emotional pep talks is extremely satisfying in the moment, but as the experience fades, so does the motivation.
So what are you offering your students?
We have to offer something more than motivation.
We have to give our students something to stand on, so they don’t have to come to you for motivation. Jesus gives life, He gives them the Holy Spirit, and He gives them purpose. When you understand your purpose, you don’t need motivation so much. When you have the Holy Spirit, He’s there to help when you start to slow down.
Our job isn’t to give motivation. It’s to lay the foundation of Christian Leadership Principles and to help them discover their purpose. It’s to go on the journey with them and help them make sense of it, but not to motivate them. This does lead to them not needing us so much, but it’s not us they’re supposed to lean on, it’s Jesus.
When we offer our leadership students motivation, this is what we get:
1. Students are dependent on us.
2. Students lose interest quickly.
3. Students looking to external motivation, and not to the Holy Spirit’s prompting.

Knock off the self-help stuff and give them something they can use.
In the Trenches,
Matt

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Training Opportunities

Here are five excuses I often hear about why a person couldn’t or shouldn’t take advantage of a training opportunity, and why they are full of it:
1. I don’t have time
While it is true that you may not have a lot of time, since you probably work at least 2 full time jobs (counting your ministry), and never see your spouse anyway, don’t let time become a factor in continuing education. The fact is, learning is a great way to spend your time. Remember, a day without learning something new is a wasted day.

2. I don’t have the money
This one probably rings true as well, but I guarantee you that there are ways to get money for training, and a whole lot of training that is free. Just the other day I went to a discipleship training seminar put on by Dare 2 Share. Now obviously, I had to sit through a pitch on their upcoming conference season, but the training was good (and they fed me). If you want to go to some training that actually costs money, ask the governing board of your church. Or, if you know it’s important, ask some people who support you and your work. It’s not out of the way to ask some of the people you minister to.

3. I shouldn’t take off from Work
Yes, you should. I know you have a lot of work to do, but training is renewing and many times energizing. And besides, you’re going to bring back the things that you learned and apply them in your ministry. You’re kinda working anyway.

4. That conference isn’t part of my denomination
May I say that this is the excuse that I disdain the most. I know we all like to hang around people that we agree with, but believe it or not, your denomination doesn’t have the corner on training or new ideas. It’s amazing what happens when different denominations get together to worship, learn, and train eachother. Make sure your discomfort with other trains of thought isn’t keeping you from an amazing training opportunity.

5. I can learn all that from a book
No, you can’t. While it may be true that you could get some of the same information, what you won’t get is community, other ideas, and an opportunity to synthesize those ideas with other people. I love to read, so this is my favorite, but it’s just not true. Many of us (myself included) learn well from just reading, but we give up the boost to education that other people bring to the table.

Let’s make sure that we’re taking every opportunity to make ourselves the very best we can be. Our God deserves it, our ministries deserve it, and we deserve it. Let’s also be a positive model to our leadership students to show them that they should take advantage of every opportunity they get to better themselves. It’s a lesson that will serve them, and us, a lifetime.

In the Trenches,
Matt

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

The Crisis Point

What is a Crisis Point, and how can we use them to develop young leaders?
For our sake, the Crisis point is anytime our students are faced with a decision whose outcome causes them to grow spiritually, or to maintain the status quo in their walk with Christ. It can be a point for change in behavior, or thinking. Our students may go through many crisis points every day. Their decision at these points has tremendous effect on their lives, their spiritual growth, and their leadership.
Many educators and counselors use Crisis Points in their education and therapy to bring a person to the point of a decision based on learning and experiences. Others, instead of facilitating the experiences, look to use them as they come up naturally in life. Whatever side of that coin you fall on, I think these points are crucial in leadership development. These practices can also be used to train leaders. Here’s what I’m thinking:
1. Crisis Points reflect a time of possible growth in our student’s lives. We should be standing with them, counseling with them, helping them out in any way we can, but we should never make the decision for them. Doing so decisively kills any chance of growth the student may have.
2. Many times, a crisis point and its decision will necessitate a drastic change in lifestyle for the decision maker. Some students won’t make the decision because of the security or safety that could be lost. As we see our students at these crossroads, help them through fears that they may have. Don’t sugarcoat the options, but help them face fear as a believer should: in faith.
3. As leadership developers, we can often create Crisis Points for growing our leaders, or giving them the opportunity to grow, with our lessons and especially our activities. Examples of this can include giving people the opportunity to lead a group for the first time, or coaching an individual who needs to make a change in their lifestyle. We have to be careful not to manipulate our students into making a decision we want them to make, but to always allow the student to make a decision and grow on their own.
Crisis Points are very important times in our lives, and they don’t stop when adolescence ends. We need to help our students identify these times as we come alongside them and help them through.
How do you use Crisis Points to help develop leadership in students?

In the Trenches,
Matt

Monday, November 16, 2009

Count the Cost Student Edition

When we start a Student Leadership Team, it can be pretty exciting. Many students think that this is the cream of the crop, the youth pastor’s favorites. Many people will probably join this team without realizing what it will cost them.
One of Jesus’ favorite subjects was the cost of discipleship. Jesus constantly told His disciples and those around them that it would cost them everything; and He wasn’t kidding. Jesus’ teaching became so difficult that many people stopped following Him.
Have we let our students know what it will cost to join a leadership team? To be a leader? Have we been real with them, or have we sugar-coated it so more people will be interested? This is a very important question.
So what will it cost to join the leadership team?

Here’s a few of the things it costs to join the leadership team at my church:
1. A leadership team member should be a sold out Jesus Freak, living their life for Jesus. This is no small feat in itself.
2. Time: It costs at least an extra two hours per week for a weekly meeting, bible study, and planning. Often it costs more than that because at least once a month we have a leadership outing, where the leadership team goes to a conference, a camp, or to some other related event.
3. Resources: We buy extra materials ourselves, we donate money and time to other organizations, and organize projects on our own. The extra trips we take also take money and other resources.
4. Extra Study: I expect leadership students to be into their disciplines. I expect that they are going to read their bible more and spend more time in prayer because of their calling.
5. Dedication: If these are truly tomorrow’s leaders, then I expect them to take everything with a certain degree of seriousness. I expect them to be at the meetings, at church, and at youth group.
6. Use What You Learn: If a student is going to spend all the time learning to be a leader, then why wouldn’t they want to use that knowledge to further God’s Kingdom?

When I first started a leadership team, I didn’t express my expectations to the group. As a result there was often chaos and hurt feelings. These days, they know ahead of time what’s expected of them. There are still some problems, but one of them is not expectation. This is what it costs to join the leadership team.
Just as we are to count the cost of being a disciple of Jesus, our students should be made aware of the cost of joining a leadership group. You don’t want to waste their time, and you don’t want to waste yours.
Make sure you tell them what it’s going to cost. Make it plain to them. This is where a contract comes in handy, but more about that another time. You want them to know what’s expected of them, and you want them to be as serious about becoming tomorrow’s leaders as you are about molding them into tomorrow’s leaders.
In the Trenches,
Matt

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Bible Study

As we work with our students to develop their leadership skills, we should take a holistic approach. While I believe that laying a foundation of leadership principles is important in the development of every young person called to leadership, I believe just as wholeheartedly that they must lead out of their character.
Leaders lead from their character. They can’t lead if they don’t have anything to lead from. This character is developed primarily by the Word of God. It is developed by God over our lifetime through the reading of and meditation on His word.
What this means to us who develop leaders is that we can’t merely teach leadership principles when you teach your students. We have to incorporate spiritual disciplines, especially the reading and study of the Bible.
In my leadership group, we mix lessons on leadership with a Bible Study. Even if we have a lot of things going on and don’t get to the leadership lesson, we definitely get to the Bible Study. Right now we are going through the book of Revelation. We have camped out in chapters two and three studying the letters to the seven churches.
What a treasure trove of leadership lessons there are there! And that’s not beginner’s stuff, either. That’s hard-core boots-on-the-ground leadership lessons. That brings the leadership principles we are imparting face-to-face with real life scenarios in a local church setting.
By incorporating a Bible study into your leadership time, you can accomplish many things, and here is a list of the things that I think are very important:
• It gives your students a base of biblical knowledge, and encourages them to read the bible for themselves.
• Through the Bible, God builds our character, from which we lead.
• The Bible allows our students to see real leaders at work.
• The Bible gives the students historical situations with which to apply the leadership principles they are leading.

Get your students into the word. In the end, that will be more productive than just teaching them leadership principles. If you want to round them out well, teach them both.

In the Trenches,
Matt

How To Destroy a Leadership Team in One Easy Step

Want to destroy a leadership team in a hurry? Here’s how: Don’t get to know your students. It’s that easy. Don’t learn anything more than their names. who needs to know more than that anyway?
Okay, you do. You need to know a lot more than just their names. Your leadership development team is going to hinge on intentional relationship building. If you want your team to be cohesive, meaningful, and fruitful, you must get involved in the lives of your students.
What drives them? What scares them? What are they truly passionate about? What can’t they stand? These are all things that you want to know; and that they want to share. This isn’t a shallow relationship, this is the real thing. Know them.
I know that this is risky. It involves emotional involvement. Emotional involvement means possible (probable) hurt. It comes with the territory. Get used to it. Remember, these relationships are there to build leadership principles on, not for your emotional health.
If you want to connect, if you want to have real impact on the lives of your leadership team, cultivate real relationships with your students. Be real with them and insist they be real with you. You’ll find that as you do, your group will begin to operate as a real team. And that’s when the real learning starts.
In the Trenches,
Matt