I posted this earlier today on my blog, but wanted to share it here as well.

Someone asked me recently, “What do you do when you can’t hear God?”

Here were my answers:

<strong>1- Just keep doing the last thing you know you heard Him say?</strong>
He won’t lead you astray, and if you know what He said before, just keep doing that until you hear something different.

<strong>2- Keep moving toward Him.</strong>
Sometimes when my wife or kids are saying something upstairs and I’m downstairs I can’t hear them. So I have to move closer to them to make it out. I’ll get up and walk upstairs so I can hear what they are trying to say. The same is true with God. While there is no magic formula, keep moving closer to Him. Spend time talking to Him, and listening for Him. Pray, read, serve, worship… Remember, “<a href=”http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua%201:5;&version=31;”>I will never leave you nor forsake you</a>”…He’s there, you just can’t hear Him.

<strong>3- Go to the places He speaks to you most.</strong>
This isn’t hard. Some of these will be the similar for everyone, and some will be extremely personal. Read the Bible, pray, worship, go to church, go on a Mission’s trip, practice solitude, journal…it might be that these places cause you to cut out distractions that are limiting your ability to hear, or it may just be comfort.

<strong>4- Anticipate.</strong>
Unlike us, when God speaks, He has something to say. My Pastor spoke last Christmas about the 400 years of silence “between” the Old and New Testament. When He finally spoke…<a href=”http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%201:20-21;&version=31;”>WOW</a>!

I don’t offer this post as if I always hear God’s voice, never get discouraged, or that you aren’t human if you are experiencing these things. I offer them as encouragement.

I pray that you have an incredible conversation with God today.

The world turned a page tonight for my son Jason and his wife Andrea as our family welcomed Sadie Hope Isaacs at 8.0 lbs and 20 inches.  Our first granddaughter to compliment those incredible grandsons, Cooper David and Branson Christopher!

When I held her tonight (12:45 am), I remembered how good God is and how faithful He is to all generations. I’ve waited 27 years to hold a girl and it was magical…

Congrats to Jason and Andrea…their lives will never be the same…nor will mine!

Good night, Sadie “lady” — we are glad you are here!

A lot being said these days about marketing.  Seth Godin is discussing ad clicks on his site here and I’ve read a good deal recently about how branding is important, even in the work of church/ministry.  In most cases, I’m on board with the general concepts, although I find some things just a little “over the edge”…

As an example, tonight Kathy and I shopped for groceries for the first time in our new home town of Akron, Ohio.  There were two stores close to the house, so we picked the one that looked the biggest.  Walking the aisles getting used to new brands and locations is one of the downsides of moving (UGH).  

In the dairy section of this store I found the following labeling on eggs…

Cage-Free eggs “our range free hens produce the best eggs and you can tell the difference!”

Omega-3 enhanced eggs “gain the extra heart health with our eggs from hens who produce additional Omega 3 with every egg!” (how so?)

I chose Grade A Large eggs but took time to read the branding and wondered about the meeting where these two concepts were discussed…

“A lot of people are on the kick for animal cruelty and if we position ourselves outside of that, we might pick up some new folks…”

“You know this Omega 3 thing for heart health just might give us the edge in the market and push our market share over the top!  Now, how do we get more of that stuff into our hens?”

Change eggs for leaders in any field and the concepts are much the same.

How do we or should we promote our churches or ministries while remaining true to the purity of our calling and vision?

Just wondering…

In the last 10 months, my Pastor has allowed me to be a member of 2 search teams for Executive Level Ministry positions at <a href=”http://www.mtparan.com”>our church</a>. The first was for Director of Children’s Ministry, which we filled in January, and most recently we interviewed candidates for a Director of Discipleship.

These 2 searches have accrued more than 150 resumes. After searching through them, we have conducted phone interviews, presented names to our Senior Pastor, and he has invited certain individuals to come for several days worth of on-site interviews with our team. After those have been conducted, he compiles all the data, opinions, and his own personal findings, and he extends an invitation to someone to join our team. It’s a wonderful, long, and productive process.

In both processes I have attempted to weight out these options:

- Is it better to have a utility player who can adapt and play multiple positions? or

- Is it better to have a niche player who is good at his/her job, but isn’t suited to move around much?

I see pros and cons in both. Utility players, are not necessarily better teammates, but they do allow you more flexibility as a team in the short term and long term. They usually have a competence in multiple areas, which can make them appealing. With that, though, comes a downside of either limited experience, competence, or skill in any one, certain area.

For the niche player, they usually bring to the table a plethora of experience in one area. They know the skills, training, and nuances needed to succeed. But, they are landlocked to that job for this time. If growth, timing, or personnel require changes to be made, they may not provide the flexibility to adjust job descriptions or tasks.

This is not a question about the 2 jobs we have searched or hired for. This is a more general question of leadership.

Would you as a leader prefer a team of utility players or niche players? Where might it be necessary for both to exist? Why? 

I recently asked some questions to Brent about his family and Four Points Church. They have been meeting for a year now, and there official launch service is in September. Please be praying for the church and the Stephens Family.

Q. When did you feel like God was leading you to plant a church? (How long ago)

A. 2003. I was in the process of building a community youth center in Fitzgerald, GA. The work was tremendous… Organizing volunteer work groups, raising money, building a network of support from community leaders, creating design and atmosphere of building, and negotiating contracts for land, labor, etc. I was green in my first full time ministry position and completely overwhelmed. At 4am one night I asked God why He was doing this to me. He gently spoke to me saying, “this is preparation because you are going to plant a church for me.” At that point I had no idea what planting a church meant. I do now.

Q. Why Acworth GA?

A. At the advice of a successful church planter, we made a list of cities we loved and felt we could live the rest of our lives and raise our family. Atlanta was the number one city. I called a friend in the Atlanta area and asked if he knew a good place that needed a church. He said I should drive through Acworth. We did drive through Acworth and knew immediately this was the place we were supposed to be.

Q. What is your vision for Four Points Church?

A. Easy on culture… Strong on Jesus and the Bible. We want people to know Jesus. We accept them under all circumstances until they can make a decision based on a full understanding of scripture (creation, the fall (depravity), the law, redemption through Jesus). We like it laid back with lots of coffee and conversation. We are not interested in building another church… We are not interested in following trends. Our goal is to provide an environment where people meet Jesus and are transformed by His presence.

Q. What has been the hardest thing about planting a church so far?

A. Everything is hard. Building a core group when you don’t know anybody, raising money to provide ministry in the community, deciding what equipment to buy, etc. The hardest thing though is the emotional, spiritual, and physical weight the church places on me. It rips me from my family because there is always something to do. At times I feel completely devastated with nothing else to give. I have to continually run to the cross and let Jesus remind me that it’s not about me… This is His church. His words are the only thing that helps.

Q. What excites you most right now about the local church (globally)?

A. Tradition is changing. People are realizing there are more ways than one to express Jesus plan for the church. I think it is important for my generation to not create a new tradition to burden our children’s children, but to remain open to whatever methodology reaches and disciples people in Jesus name.

Q. Tell me about your wife and kids?

A. My wife is unbelievable. She works so hard at maintaining normalcy for our home and children while carrying a tremendous load with the church. This year has been so stressful and she has handled it with strength and grace (thanks to Jesus). I have three kids who are the joy of my life. James David is 5 and just started kindergarten. Abbey is 3 and my little princess. Bryar is 6 months and the best baby ever.

Q. What is 1 thing that we can help you pray about for 4 points?

A. Jesus will continue to empower us through the Holy Spirit to witness for Him. That our efforts will produce lasting fruit for the Kingdom of God that will far outlive us. The right people will continue to come to help us achieve God’s will for this city.L
pppppp
Please continue to pray for Brent and Four Points Church.

I’m big on models.  One of my concerns in our church is the lack of exposure for good ones and the “too high” profile exposure of not-so-good ones.  Especially young leaders need good models.  So, I’m wondering…who are the models that you emulate and why?

Pick a leadership characteristic you are attempting to model and identify the leader who has demonstrated this in such as way as to inspire your pursuit…

Keep the dialogue on a positive tone…elevate one another

I’ll be interested in your comments!

As I watched the Women’s Gymnastics Individual Finals last night I heard the commentators say, “she just loves the pressure.” That’s a unique outlook. Most people don’t like pressure, they avoid it. It’s definitely one of the things that sets elite athletes apart. I think the same can be said of leaders.

Sitting in our creative team meeting yesterday, someone said, “I just want you guys to know that I feel the pressure too, and it’s great.” They weren’t talking about something negative. There’s something great happening right now. We’re experiencing an incredible, extended season after summer camp of positive energy, intense worship, Spiritual growth, and “buy-in” for where we’re headed.

How do you maintain that? How do you build each week on what happened the week before? How much of this is human effort and how much is totally dependent on God? (please don’t email me, I realize it’s all God).

There’s a pressure, and our staff feels it. But it’s a good kind of pressure, and we’d much rather feel it, than the alternative.

How do you handle this kind of pressure?

Been thinking recently about what it means to be a servant-leader.

Chris Sligh (formerly of American Idol) has a great new CD with a song called “Empty Me” in which he confesses “I’ve seen enough of the bright lights…to know what happens to me…so empty me of me so I can be…filled with you”

What are the visual images which come to mind when we hear the word…servant?  When we think of the term…do we think of slaves or people humiliated with drivel?

Serving is a strong term and it is beginning to mean more to me than ever.  Serving another is an even stronger concept for me.  Jesus was strong in his approach and instruction to the disciples when he teaches that to be first–you must be last–you must serve others.

I once heard that General Wilkes Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, sent a telegram to the International Salvation Army convention with this one message…OTHERS!  Such an attitude is rare in this world which is so self-focused and even rare in the body of Christ where we love the uppermost seats and recognition. I’ve said on this board often but I will say it again…THERE IS TOO MUCH EGO IN THE MINISTRY!

How do we change that?

Is it possible to change that?

I love what Andy Stanley said at Catalyst two years ago…people love humble leaders and the challenge is the more humble you become the more people want to put you on a pedestal.  He’s right.  We all love affirmation but it can be intoxicating and can cloud your vision.

I’ll have more later…

Care to jump in?

They loaded my truck today and as I watched “Victor” and “Crispin” work the boxes and furniture onto the truck, I marveled at the magic of packing trucks for a living and found amusement in the decisions which were made at the last, trying to work those last pieces in.  

Do you find that in solving problems or resolving issues in your leadership environment that it is usually the final pieces of the puzzle which can be the most tricky?  In our attempts to create win-win for all sides, sometimes the details at the end can be so critical.  Good leaders are careful to analyze and evaluate the total picture…like my new friends who removed some things to make better use of the space for others.

Any thoughts?

I’m home now, throwing things in boxes and mapquesting locations I’ve never considered before.  During this break, I offer the following reflections of our recently completed 72nd General Assembly…

• I am proud of my church.  The movement in leadership, the diversity of ethnic leadership, the openness to the move of the Spirit even in business sessions let me know our church is still a force and not a relic.
• The makeup of our leadership teams offers great hope for more innovation, creativity and expansion of a worldview for the Church of God.  Of particular interest was the transition in World Missions…the leaders there will breath some new life into our missions efforts.
• Hispanic influence is growing and I like the feel of the environment with more Latino input.  As a people, they are evangelism minded, low maintenance, for the most part not ego-driven and servant minded.  Their leadership skills are excellent.
• We still need to modernize our approaches.  There are things we have allowed to age in terms of presentation and my hope is we will see greater innovation and creativity in places of public presentation. Things like projection of motions, amendments, etc. are not hard technologically and I loved the wireless voting and speed of response.
• The support teams which comprise the General Assembly Cabinet are outstanding. This was my third year to chair the ushers for worship services and my team this year was awesome!  Great men and women who worked hard and enjoyed the community created.  Without such outstanding volunteers, this enormous meeting could not come off as it does.
• Dr. Culpepper impressed me with his courage and leadership. Time will tell on how the church responds and how he leads, but for this week, he courageous grabbed the reins and steered the General Council through the navigation of a four year stalemate on the tithe reduction.  It was impressive.
• The diversity of the Council of 18 will be interesting…I am hoping that soon we can elect some pastoral representation from churches under 200 and at least one bi-vocational pastor.  That would be change!
• I’m proud of my friend Steve Darnell who is assuming the state overseer position in California.  He is a great leader and as time advances, the larger church will see that.  Good for you, Steve!

Finally, this blog has been and remains committed to “forward” leadership thoughts and so it is with great anticipation that we advance in our hopes for the future.  Each of us will bear responsibility for that and we must courageous embrace what is ahead of us.  Looking back too long can be devastating.  Roots and wings are both necessary for serious leaders to accomplish life assignments in the kingdom.

Feel free to respond to these reflections or make your own…