The fear of failure paralyzes too many people.

I’ve found one of the best gifts God can give a leader is the gift of failure.

Too many of us are not doing what we feel called to do because we’re afraid to fail.

As I observe the people around me, it seems the most effective have failed far more times than the least effective.

The people making the biggest impact seem to:

1) Try something outlandish.

2) Fail.

3) Learn.

4) Adjust.

5) Try something that works better.

Failure is never final. It is often the first step to success.

If you haven’t failed in awhile, why don’t you try something crazy and see what happens.

This one lesson we all need to learn. Thanks for the reminder Craig.

Of all things I was thinking about candy. Not just candy, but the wrapper that candy comes in. I mean, candy itself is pretty unimpressive to look at. Sure, it tastes good but it ain’t much to look at. If I put a bunch of tootsie rolls on a table NO ONE would want them. If I handed you a stick of unwrapped gum you would probably try to hang a poster with it, not chew it. Without packaging most candy is strange looking and awkward.

So, candy companies go to great lengths to market their product and brand their taste so before you even take a bite, a lick, or a chomp you know what you’re getting. You’re excited about what the wrapping says is underneath and not the reality of what you’re getting. Pretty brilliant strategy for candy companies, but a really bad idea for the church.

Too many churches have been duped into thinking that there’s nothing compelling about the Gospel message itself and without a shiny, pretty, and appealing package people will never be interested. We mask the beauty and power of Jesus Christ’s Gospel and try to fool people into thinking it’s something else. It doesn’t matter if that “something else” is masked in all sorts of positivity it still shows a lack of confidence in and understanding of the Gospel. Though we may fool ourselves into thinking so, the Gospel is not chained by the wrapper we put on it. Sure, a well market wrapper can be effective, but every ounce of marketing and production we put forth to promote the Gospel should be done with the realization that it is the truth of Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that will change people. Not our brilliant packaging.

Ask yourself this question. Is the Gospel I’m living/preaching/spreading just as powerful without the packaging, or is it just a tootsie roll on the table?

As I write this the outside temperature is 37 degrees. I even felt a little bit of sleet falling as I walked in from my car. By all accounts, this is not a great day for baseball, but that doesn’t seem to matter to anyone in Cincinnati. Like every year the great hoopla surrounding opening day continued, despite the weather. There was a parade, tv specials, and everywhere you go people are wearing their Reds gear.

Though I am a great lover of all sports I am not a huge fan of baseball, and because of this I haven’t really participated in any of the opening day festivities today. Sure, if the weather was awesome outside I might have gone to the parade, or a cookout or something that celebrates the event, but not when the situation is less than ideal. I guess you could say that I’m, quite literally, a “fair weather” fan.

Here’s what I’ve learned today as I’ve watched this city’s response to the sport they love. I’ve noticed that no matter how bad the situation looks or how uncomfortable it makes them, true followers of the game WILL continue to celebrate. If you haven’t guessed where I’m going yet then let me finish this thought….Even when things look difficult in the church, or less than ideal, true followers of Christ still show up and celebrate. It doesn’t matter if it’s inconvenient, or a bit uncomfortable for them they still show up to celebrate the grace and freedom that they have in Christ Jesus; they still do it. It doesn’t matter if service to the church or its mission adds to their already busy schedule; true followers make time.

I’ve been leaving you with a lot of questions this week and I want to continue that for at least one more post. Are you a committed follower of Christ, or simply a “fair weather” fan? The truth of our answers could be killing the church and we need to do something about it.

I have preached every Sunday from August 2008 until tomorrow. Tomorrow marks my first Sunday not preaching in over 7 months. Don’t get me wrong, I love to preach and teach God’s word, I believe it’s what he put me on this earth to do, but I can’t put into words the burden that I carry every week as I prepare to preach from God’s inspired Word. Every Saturday evening my mind is occupied. I am thinking about the message that I have prepared to inspire, challenge, and prepare people for action. I’m thinking about what God will do through the message, and how important my delivery of it is. I’m also trying to recall everything I have researched, studied, and read over the last week as it will be crucial to my ability to deliver the message. It’s like writing a 10 page research paper each week and then reciting it from a few note cards. My mind and heart are heavy with responsibility, and sleep is hard to come by.

So, you would think on the evening before a Sunday when I’m not preaching that my mind would be clear and all that usually overwhelms and excites me would be far form my mind, but you’d be wrong. I’m so excited about what God will do through the teaching tomorrow that I probably won’t be able to sleep tonight either. It might sound like I’m a constant basket case, but I believe that the more care and attention I give the teaching of God’s word each week, the more possibility it has to impact someone. IT SHOULD BE IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO OCCUPY MY MIND EVERY WEEK!

I pray that God will never allow this zeal to fade from my heart or mind, and if it does that he will raise up a man to replace me; because the teaching of God’s word deserves it.

The college atmosphere is unlike any other. It is always exciting and never seems to lose its appeal. People are always off to do something cool or try something new, and it really is a collaborative common community that I find fascinating; even on a campus of 15,000 students.

As I often do, I wondered how the church could re-create this exciting and contagious atmosphere where people are mystically connected by a common thread. A place where people just seem to want to congregate and where it’s okay to just be, even when you don’t have anything specific to do.

We need to make the church this kind of place in order to reach the generation that is slipping away. Any ideas?

Here’s part of his post, but you can check it out in all it’s glory by clicking here.

“What if everyone in your church shared your attitude…

…about others? Would people be drawn to your church because of the love and compassion they receive? Or would they run because of the judgment and criticism that abounds?”

Insightful, I know. But here’s my favorite part of Mike’s post.

“One reason that some believers can get away with junk attitudes is because everyone doesn’t share their attitude. They can afford to be selfish and self-centered . They can afford to be critical and judgmental. They can afford to do that because not everyone shares their attitude.”

Put yourself to the test. Would you want everyone to share your attitude at your church, work, or in your home? Think about what that would do to those places, and if it wouldn’t dramatically change those places for the better, CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE!

After reading I have to agree that TRUST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF CHURCH STAFF RELATIONS. If it isn’t there it can make the lead pastor’s life miserable and crazy. Listen some of the things that Lori articulated about this key factor.

“Consistently displayed loyalty builds trust between leaders and their staff. You can show your loyalty in many ways, but the more a leader feels your unwavering commitment to them, the more they’ll feel able to allow you to carry.
• Over-communicate your support and belief in what God has called your leader to do
• Show your loyalty to them by your commitment to help in even the smallest, seemingly insignificant ways
• Follow through to completion all the tasks your leader asks you to do. A leader needs to have confidence that even if something isn’t done right the first time, you are committed to working until his vision for the project is fulfilled
• Above all, allow them to know and feel your complete support and belief in how God has called them to lead so that even in difficult decisions or processes, your leader knows he has you to lean on and you’ll stand with him through any outcome
Commit yourself to being the kind of person your leader can rely on to stand with them through anything and you’ll be amazed at how God will use you as a source of strength.”

You can read the entire blog entry here.

If you read my blog or talk to me on a regular basis, you know what a difficult venture starting Horizon Christian Church has been for my family and I, but after only a few months of Sunday services I can truly say that God is rocking the world of the people who are involved, and making this church something far bigger than I ever dreamed it could be this early.

Not all of what God is doing is through numerical growth, though we are are seeing steady growth in that area, it’s through things like life and perspective change. Almost every day I pray that God will change someone’s perspective on the church or their personal relationship with him through our church, and so far I have been blown away. I can’t wait to see what he will do in the future as we partner with more and more people to spread the Gospel message.

Just remember. You can go through weeks, months, and sometimes even years of difficulty before you ever see the fruits of your labors laid out before your eyes. Just because you aren’t seeing “results” doesn’t mean you aren’t causing “results” to happen.

Musical ability will never be as important as spiritual zeal
Coming from a pretty diverse musical background playing in bars, clubs, festivals, and churches the one thing I knew when I entered worship ministry was that I had to be good. I thought that my musical ability and how well I presented the music would lead people to worship, and while I also see that as an important part I now know that it is not nearly the most important thing.

If a worship minister displays zeal and passion for seeking God and doing whatever it takes to lead people to His feet in worship people, will likely follow. That kind of heart is easy to follow, but when we are only concerned with what the music sounds like and how the set flows, then we are totally missing the point of leading people into worship of God.

Believe me, I’m the first guy to preach quality and excellence in our church’s presentation of worship, the line I walk seeking perfection every week is sometimes a struggle for me, but the day that becomes more important than keeping an ear open to God’s leading is the day that we have missed the point of worship.

Now, I don’t do this very often because I hate it when people give me advice that I didn’t ask for, but here’s some free advice for all you Sr. Ministers out there. When your looking for a worship minister to transform the way your church thinks about worship and take your services to the next level, DON’T HIRE THE GUY YOU THINK HAS THE MOST TALENT! Hire the guy that you think has the most PASSION for seeking God and growing in their relationship with Him. Worship is all about growth and coming to a greater understanding of God, and if the leader ain’t growing, then no one is gonna.

It has been good to reflect, and with these final words I am going to release my involvement in vocational worship ministry for good. I’m okay with that because at Horizon I have a great guy to hand it to. It’s all your B-rye.

Helpful feedback is hard to find
If you are a musician or have ever done anything on a stage at church you might be shaking your head saying, “people are ALWAYS willing to give me feedback. It isn’t hard to find.” So let me reiterate: “HELPFUL feedback is hard to find.”

More so than any other position within a church, EVERYONE thinks they know a little something about how to do the music, and accordingly it seems that everyone is willing to share that with their worship minister. They’ll say things like, “I loved that song, I just wish there were a picture on the screen for me to look at while you sang it.” or “I just don’t like that song, we just sang the same words over and over.”

While most of the time, the feedback received from members of the congregation is meant to help, it just doesn’t. Most people in the church that offer you advice, are really only trying to do one of three things: encourage you, discourage you, or convince you to help them accomplish their own personal agenda. (Notice I said MOST people. There are always exceptions, so please don’t send me an email about how I have tried to lump every church goer in America together.)

For these reasons I believe that it is VERY important that every worship minister find a few people who they can trust to be truly honest with them and ask them to offer regular constructive criticism. The best candidates for this role are often the people that never offer their advice unless it is asked for. It would also be helpful if these people were from outside the church.

The truth is, ministers (no matter what their job is) cannot let all of their feedback come from their general congregation. While it is good to have a grip on how your congregation views your ministry, we must constantly have people making us aware of how we are performing our ministry with an unbiased eye.