JDGreear.com

Writing Stuff Down

I am a consummate note taker. I carry around a little tiny pocket notebook and a pen at all times. I do this for two main reasons:

• I never know when I will encounter a good idea... be it for a sermon, for the church, or something to do for my wife. Sometimes it is on a television show, sometimes while reading the Bible, sometimes in the midst of working out, sometimes when trying to merge onto the interstate. The best ones come in the shower or when I wake up at 3 a.m. Yes, I do feel like a total dork when having a casual conversation with a friend and I pull out a notebook to write something down, but that's better than the alternative of racking my brain later trying to remember what they said. As I have explained before, I've only had 3 or 4 really good completely original brilliant thoughts in my life. The rest I've learned from other people and written down.
• One of the greatest causes of stress in my life, I think, is trying to remember so many things. I have a short attention span as it is, and my RAM seems pretty small. I hate, hate, hate the feeling of knowing that earlier that day I had a great idea and now can't remember it anymore. I get such a peaceful feeling after having committed something to paper. As a high school teacher told me, "Faint ink is better than a good memory."

When I read books, I jot down all my thoughts in the front cover so later I can go back and find them. After all, it doesn't matter how many books you've read or how many you've own, but if you can access the info that is in them when you need it. Yes, it is a little annoying to read and take notes, but, again, it's better than losing all that material. Proverbs says, "The lazy man fails to collect what he shot while hunting." In other words, if you spend the time "hunting" the info in reading the book, why not spend a few more minutes "capturing" the information in a format you can access later? Otherwise, you are greatly reducing the profit your reading is giving you.

When I listen to sermons in the car, I carry around a dictaphone.

It has been a huge help to me... I have also noted in the reading of biographies that a lot of thinkers much smarter than me did the same thing: Abraham Lincoln carried around random slips of paper to write on and even died with his pocket full of notes, as did Charles Darwin; both Blaise Pascal and Jonathan Edwards were known to arrive home with a couple dozen hand written notes pinned to their jackets. Yes, they looked like dorks, but we remember them hundreds of years after their deaths and don't even know the names of the cool people anymore.

How do you capture information? How do you reduce the stress caused by trying to remember something?

The Pastor's Primary Responsibility

During the summer I take, somewhat sporadically, some time to 'vacation.' I try to spend some time with family, but I also try to take time, alone, to hear from God.

One thing which I've been thinking a lot about this past week on vacation is what my "primary" responsibility as Pastor is... there's so many things that are part of my job, and that I enjoy doing... vision casting, preacher-teacher, counselor, staff-coach. But none of these I see as my PRIMARY role.

My primary role as Pastor is to know the Word and hear from God. I'm not just trying to talk spiritual mumbo-jumbo. The Word of God has a power in it that cannot be replaced or duplicated by anything else. Consider these examples:

• Martin Luther summed up his world-transforming ministry this way: "I simply taught, preached, wrote God's word; otherwise I did nothing. And then, while I slept, drank Wittenberg beer with Philip and Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened all who opposed me. I did nothing; the Word did it all. For it is almighty and takes captive the hearts, and if the hearts are captured, the evil work will fall of itself."
• Billy Graham was once asked, "If you had your life to live over, what would you do differently?" He said, "One of my great regrets is that I have not studied enough. I wish I had studied more and preached less. People have pressured me into speaking to groups when I should have been studying and preparing. Donald Grey Barnhouse said that if he knew the Lord was coming back in 3 years, he would spend 2 of them studying and 1 preaching. I'm trying to make that up now."
• The Apostles were asked to meet a genuine ministry need in Acts 6--the hunger of some of their widows. Can't you hear people around them saying, "Now, what good is it to do all that preaching if people from your own congregation are starving?" The Apostles' response, "We must devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word." It's not that they turned a deaf ear--they saw to it that others stepped in to meet the need, but they knew that the greatest thing they could do for their community was devote themselves to the Word. The result is recorded in vs. 7, "The Word of God kept on spreading and the number of disciples increased greatly..."
• Jesus and the Apostles several times warned of ministries that would "succeed" on the surface but which eternity would reveal to be nothing. Think of the parable of the seeds (Mark 4), Paul's warning of the work that turns out to be stubble that won't endure the fire (neither the fire of persecution nor the fire of God's all seeing eye), or Jesus' warning about houses built on sand (Matt 7:24-27)Yes, I'm talking to my megachurch pastor friends who think that a large church proves the blessing of God. If we have a large congregation full of the kinds of "fruit" that won't endure the tests of persecution, will we have anything lasting to show for our ministry?
• Puritan Robert Murray McCheyenne: "What my people most need from me are not my clever sermons but my personal holiness."

That is why I say that I must make my primary task, as Pastor of the Summit, knowing the Word and hearing from God. It is the Word alone that creates lasting fruit. I would do a disservice to everyone if I did not make it my primary task.

It's not that the other things aren't important, just that nothing can replace the Word. As Martin Luther noted, if I get the Word right, I can sleep and drink beer (even though I don't drink, but you know how those Germans are...) and the revolution will happen.

In the Apostles' day, it was waiting on tables which threatened to take away their time from prayer and the Word. What do you think most threatens to take away pastors' time from the Word today?

Here's what I see...

• networking
• reading leadership books
• going to pastors' conferences
• reading blogs
• putting creativity into messages
• staying up on technology
• denominational politicking
• staying up with the latest church growth theories
• email
• meetings

Again, not that any of these things aren't important. But brothers, know the Word!

Leadership Pipeline Resources

The concept of the "leadership pipeline" is an important one if you are leading any growing organization. The basic gist, per Ram Charan and others at the Harvard School of Business, is that people who led an organization at one level are often unprepared to lead at the next level... as the organization grows, their job changes, and what made them good at one level may not be sufficient to make them excel at the next. For example, take a superb salesman... He is winsome, great with customers, and a good time manager. If the salesman is promoted to manage other salesman, however, those things that made him a good salesman don't ensure he will make a good manager of other salesmen.

In a small business, or church, the 4 basic levels are: managing self; managing others; manager of managers; and enterprise manager.

Some people will discover they have found their niche where they are, and are content not to climb the leadership pipeline (i.e., they are content to remain an expert salesman: that is ok, and they can excel at that--better to do what you're good at than pretend to be something else). Others will want to develop the skills necessary to lead at the next level. At the Summit we are committed to developing our leaders as far as they can be developed. Here is an initial reading list I have put together for developing requisite skills at the various levels. As a pastoral team, we are preparing to go through John Maxwell's workbook of "Developing the Leaders Around You." If you have other suggestions... or what you do for leadership development, I'd love to know that.

Level 1: Managing Self
·    Practicing Greatness: Reggie McNeal
·    Leadership and Self-Deception: the Arbinger Institute
·    How to Be a Rainmaker: Jeffrey Fox
·    The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Steven Covey
·    In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day: Mark Batterson
·    Getting Things Done: Jim Allen
·    Developing the Leader Within You: John Maxwell

Level 2: Managing Others
·    Courageous Leadership: Bill Hybels
·    Good to Great: Jim Collins
·    The Purple Cow: Seth Godin
·    The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: John Maxwell
·    Developing the Leaders Around You: John Maxwell

Level 3: Managing Managers/Functional Manager
·    What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
·    Built to Last: Jim Collins

Level 4: Enterprise Manager
·    Blue Ocean Strategy: Chan Kim

Workbooks:
·    Developing the Leader Within You: John Maxwell
·    Developing the Leaders Around You: John Maxwell

Pastor: Primarily a Theologian or a Manager?

I thought this was a great perspective by Al Mohler from his conclusion to the book A Theology for the Church in which he discusses the necessity of effective pastors people who strive to know and walk with God deeply:

The managerial revolution has left many pastors feeling more like administrators than theologians, dealing with matters of organizational theory before ever turning to the deep truths of God’s word and the application of these truths to everyday life. The rise of therapeutic concern s within the culture means that many pastors, and many of their church members, believe that their pastoral calling is best understood as a 'helping profession.'  As such, the pastor is seen as someone who functions in a therapeutic role in which theology is often seen as more of a problem than a solution... (but) Congregations that are fed nothing more than ambiguous ‘principles’ supposedly drawn from God’s word are doomed to spiritual immaturity, which will become visible in compromise, complacency, and a host of other spiritual ills… (However) we are the stewards of sound words and the guardians of doctrinal treasure that has been entrusted to us at the very core of our calling as pastors. The pastor who is no theologian is no pastor.

As a Pastor, it is often difficult to balance what "works"--doing what it takes to get people in the doors and truly discipling them to know God. As a pastor I am somewhat of an executive manager, and need to be skilled at making things work... and I really do want to make the word of God so relevant that people, as in the days of Solomon, come from far and wide amazed at its relevance to their lives.

I have determined that what my primary responsibility is to help people know God, and the best way to do that is to grow deep with Him myself. In the words of Robert Murray McCheyenne, "What my people most need from me are not great sermons but my personal holiness." It's a hard balance and Summit, you can pray for your pastors in this!

Leading People (and Yourself) to Potential

Part of my calling as a pastor-leader is to push people beyond what they think they can do. My associate pastor described the process like this: J.D. comes in and tells his idea and we tell him all the reasons it can’t happen. He tells us we’ll do it anyway. We try it, and end up accomplishing more than we thought we could.

But then again, I’ve had staff members tell me that I pushed them too hard… I was driving them to hate their job and want to quit. We are not God, and to remind us of that God made us need a lot of time for rest, family, friends and SLEEP.

How far can you stretch people without burning them? That’s the leadership art. Usually farther than they think, but not as far as you think.

I'm learning that the same thing is true of how I lead myself. I had a chance to meet with a CEO of a Fortune 500 company recently. He told me that what he loved about “working for himself” is that no one told him what to do or set standards he had to reach. What he hated about it is that he couldn’t imagine working for anyone who demanded more out of him than he did of himself. If you don't think this way, you probably shouldn't work for yourself or lead a church.

But the greatest thing I can do for my church is to stay close with God, maintain physical and emotional health, and have a solid family. Plus, before I will answer to God for my "success" as a Pastor, I will answer to HIm as a Christian, husband and father.

Leading People (and Yourself) to Potential

Part of my calling as a pastor-leader is to push people beyond what they think they can do. My associate pastor described the process like this: J.D. comes in and tells his idea and we tell him all the reasons it can’t happen. He tells us we’ll do it anyway. We try it, and end up accomplishing more than we thought we could.

But then again, I’ve had staff members tell me that I pushed them too hard… I was driving them to hate their job and want to quit. We are not God, and to remind us of that God made us need a lot of time for rest, family, friends and SLEEP.

How far can you stretch people without burning them? That’s the leadership art. Usually farther than they think, but not as far as you think.

I'm learning that the same thing is true of how I lead myself. I had a chance to meet with a CEO of a Fortune 500 company recently. He told me that what he loved about “working for himself” is that no one told him what to do or set standards he had to reach. What he hated about it is that he couldn’t imagine working for anyone who demanded more out of him than he did of himself. If you don't think this way, you probably shouldn't work for yourself or lead a church.

But the greatest thing I can do for my church is to stay close with God, maintain physical and emotional health, and have a solid family. Plus, before I will answer to God for my "success" as a Pastor, I will answer to HIm as a Christian, husband and father.

The Leadership Pipeline and a Growing Church

Recently our pastoral team read the book The Leadership Pipeline by Ram Charan, et al. What an incredible look at how leadership has to change in a growing organization. When we first start out we are managing only ourselves, but as we grow we have to begin to manage others. And that requires a whole different set of skills... what made you productive and valuable at first may not be as helpful when you succeed "through" other people. From there you grow into being a manager of managers, which requires a lot of different skills... primarily learning how to cast vision and establish goals for others to rally around. From there you become a "functional manager," which has to see the big picture of what the entire organization is trying to do as you manage the managers of managers of departments that have quite distinct agendas. As the Summit continues to grow, we as a staff are learning where we need to grow in order to effectively administrate, manage, and lead God's people

At any rate, it's a great book and I'd thoroughly recommend it.

The church is not a place where sloppy leadership can be tolerated. There's just too much at stake, and Jesus deserves more.

Will Another Charles Spurgeon Please Stand Up?

Finally finished the last chapter of Arnold Dallimore’s excellent biography of Charles Spurgeon (being somewhat A.D.D., I read no less than 9 books at once and sometimes forget to finish the ones I start).

The book makes me scream out again, “Where today are the great doctrinal preachers who are also extremely effective at winning people to Christ?” Why is it today that these two qualities seem to be at odds among preachers?

The only thing that that disheartened me about Dallimore’s book was the way he ended it… he traced the history of Spurgeon’s church after Spurgeon died, which today is a congregation of about 350 (down from 20,000 in Spurgeon’s day. He pointed out that this congregation still faithfully preaches “Spurgeon’s Calvinistic doctrine,” so, the author said, “Spurgeon’s work still goes on.”

Not at 350 it doesn’t. Unfortunately, 350 is the average size of most doctrinally centered congregations… (I know there are many faithful ministries whom God has not blessed with growth, but what disturbs me is their complacency about it. In the words of Spurgeon, "It is conceivable to think of a fisherman who doesn't catch fish. But it is inconceivable to think of one that is satisfied with that.")

So, where are the great Spurgeons who can preach great, delicious doctrine and grow churches like crazy by reaching unchurched people? And don’t give me this bunk about, "Well, people today just can’t handle depth like they used to…" Hogwash. People don’t change, and the Gospel is still relevant. Is it because today's "doctrinally deep" pastors don't drip with the compassion for lost people that drove Spurgeon?

So will another Charles Spurgeon please stand up? We so desperately need a few today. Here is the coolest quote from the book:

During the 1880s a group of American ministers visited England, prompted especially by a desire to hear some of the celebrated preachers of that land. On a Sunday morning they attended the City Temple where Dr. Joseph Parker was the pastor. Some 2000 people filled the building, and Parker's forceful personality dominated the service. His voice was commanding, his language descriptive, his imagination lively, and his manner animated. The sermon was Scriptural, the congregation hung upon his words, and the Americans came away saying, "What a wonderful preacher is Joseph Parker."

In the evening they went to hear Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. The building was much larger than the City Temple, and the congregation was more that twice it's size. Spurgeon's voice was much more expressive and moving and his oratory noticably superior. But they soon forgot all about the great building, the immense congregation, and the magnificent voice. They even overlooked their intention to compare the various features of the two preachers, and when the service was over they found themselves saying, "What a wonderful Savior is Jesus Christ."