Max McLean (nationally known Alliance Seminary alum) and Warren Bird have written a book-with-DVD titled Unleashing the Word. It’s designed to help your readers (and maybe you too) release the passion of the living Word. It’s story based, many taken from our district churches and from the Scripture reading team at Max’s current church, Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan.

Although the book is about reading Scripture aloud, I want to show you Max McLean quoting the Bible, because you’ll quickly see the power when the word is unleashed. See these two highly engaging examples from Mark:

Warren blogged about the book here, with links on how you can order it.

I highly recommend it.

When pastors meet with their staff, how much time is given over to discipleship verses management?  You might respond, “They shouldn’t need discipleship at this stage in their life.”  I can only answer that question in the context of my own life right now.  I serve as District Superintendent and have been a pastor for 28 years.  I should have my life in order by now.  Indeed, at times I feel like things are humming along and my life’s priorities “appear” to line up with Christ.  This summer helped me to remember that the sanctified life is not a straight line growth pattern.  Life hit us this summer in a way that challenged my disciplines.  What was once a steady pattern suddenly became a challenge.  Responsibilities were thrust upon me that I did not ask for.  We said good bye to my father in law when he died suddenly in July.  Now we have a struggling mom who needs more than we can give.  Life is like that.  Now I have to find Jesus in it all.  To that end, I need to be discipled.  Our staff need supervision – yes.  But what they also need is to be discipled.  They need to wrestle with their hopes and dreams with someone who cares for them.  They need someone to listen and speak into their lives.  When a staff person is given priority time by their senior pastor to be developed as a disciple, not only does that person grow in maturity, but that person moves from being an employee that was hired to get a job done, to a team member this is highly valued.  Coaching is a tool that can assist us in this process, especially when the coaching of staff is not directed at the tasks of ministry, but at their relationship with Christ and the implications for daily living.  Let’s build each other up in the faith!  This same principle applies to our elders and other leaders.

I never liked the analogies on the SAT’s but let me take a stab at one here. Coaching is to discipleship as a fishing rod is to fishing. Coaching is a useful tool in the making of disciples. Perhaps we should consider how our discipleship process needs to change to implement coaching principles so we can see great obedience to Christ by seeing the heart of Christ formed in them. I will be writing more about this in the future.

The principle of “Energy Transformation” is the key to empowering this opportunity.  Even negative forces can be tapped for positive gain.  For example, I can be wiped out by a strong ocean wave, or I can learn to ride the same “destructive” wave with a surf board, and enjoy the ride.  How can we as spiritual leaders use the negative and failing economy to move people forward in their faith?  I believe this is an important topic of conversation, and I hope to see many people blogging on this topic. 

Let me share with you what one church is planning to do this month.  The church recognized that many people have less dollars to spend and that many families can no longer put food on the table.  They have taken that negative energy and used it to launch a food program with Angel Food Ministries.  Through this organization, the church can provide $65 dollars worth of groceries for $30 (feeds a family of 4 for one full week).  The menu includes a healthy diet of meat, dairy, bread, etc.  The church simply takes the orders and then picks up the boxes of food for distribution once a week.  The program has no restrictions on who can order so church members as well as community members can participate.  Way to go Christ Community Church in Newton and Pastor Frank Leone!

You can see how this could help people and the church in the community.  Members are saving $35 per week (church of 100 families could save $3,500 per week).  The community is served and the church is experienced by the community as a compassionate people.   People in the church could even purchase a box of food for someone they know has lost their job.  This organization even takes food stamps, so those on public assistance can maximize their purchases.  Additionally, this is a great way to get a small group into community service. 

I hope you will post your ideas on how you are turning this financial crisis into an opportunity to advance the gospel of Christ. 

A clear example of this is that I set a goal to become healthier this past September.  With my coach, we set clear markers of what that would look like and put together an action plan.  Today I am exercising 4 times a week at the gym, I’ve lost 20 pounds, and I am eating a healthy diet that I can maintain for life.  I just read a statistic that came from a study which investaged people who make New Year resolutions.  They found that less than 1 out of 10 people kept even one resolution.  That didn’t suprise me because that has been my own experience.  I had made many commitments to the goals I have listed above, but I kept going the other way!  However, with a coach, I am achieving my goals.  I found that to be true in each of my life accounts.  If having a coach doesn’t help you achieve your goals, than I say, “Don’t waste your time.”  But my experience both as a leader being coached, and as a coach, that having someone work with you personally on issues that you feel are most worthy of your effort makes all the difference in the world.  Another big difference for me in having a coach is that I am setting different goals than I might have if I didn’t have a coach.  My coach helps me to look at things differently than I do alone.  Therefore, I find myself addressing issues in my leadership and personal life that otherwise would have continued to limit my effectiveness.

However, the most important thing that has helped me become a better coach has been the experience of having an ongoing coach in my life.  I just signed up for another year.  Coaching is an art that is learned through through experience.  I find myself so often asking similar questions of those I am coaching, than that my own coach had asked me.

To become more effective as a coach, you almost have to have a coach yourself.  Plus, if you don’t have a coach, you are communicating that coaching is not that important…at least for you.

My coach asked me to write down every way I am casting vision and then to send it to him. When we went over it, I was pretty confident that he would be impressed with my understanding and implementation. After complimenting me, my coach asked me a penetrating question, “Do the people you lead know your heart?” Good question… He went on to share with me that he felt the best vision casting is done by osmosis. It is not so much the goals that are set, but what is in the heart that draws people together to accomplish the dream.

I am wrestling with that key question, “Do people know my heart?” Do people know what I am most passionate about? Helping people to see your heart takes a different approach than crafting a vision statement or drawing up “big hairy audacious goals.” Perhaps it will help you in your vision casting to ask this question as well.

First of all, I never thought of myself as someone who had difficulty in saying no. But I found that I didn’t like to disappoint people in their expectations of me. When I tried to make a grid of importance to screen out unimportant things, I found myself coming to the conclusion that everything deserves a yes rather than a no. I made a list of things that I am good at and things that I am poor. I ran my to-do-list through the grid of my goals and the District vision. I could justify just about anything.

I am learning that I am more of a people pleaser that I like to admit. I don’t like that feeling of disappointment when I turn down a speaking engagement or decline to add the third church on a single Sunday. I know I can’t coach everyone who wants me as a coach, but I find it very difficult to say no.

Saying “no” means that I can “yes” to the things that will make the greatest difference. That is the lesson I am struggling to learn. I’m not there yet, but I am in the fight to be more effective. The side benefit is that I will have something left to give my family when I come home. On second thought, perhaps that is the primary benefit…

What does your “no” list look like? For me (an achiever by nature), the list is short. If you are an achiever, you probably could benefit from this exercise.