You Can Know God

Accountability

Accountability, as most people know it, is overrated. Pastors with Elder boards and finance committees still manage to cheat with the secretary or buy themselves new cars. Corporations with Boards of Directors still find ways to rob the shareholders. Even Christians with accountability groups asking them questions look their accountability partners in the eyes and lie.

That's because accountability can't just be a system. You can't simplify it to a sheet of paper or track it in a flow chart. No matter what boards or committes you report to, there's still the possibility that you'll do an end-around to get around the system to get what you want.

Now we do have some accountability systems in place here at Oak Leaf Church. I can't sign checks or access the online banking information. We have a Board of Directors that sets my salary and looks through our annual report. We have a finance team that meets with our Executive Pastor. We have systems in place where our male staff doesn't counsel women alone and so on. But accountability isn't a system; it's an attitude.

We are a very staff led church, and our systems are set up that way, but I think it's smart to seek advice and to surround yourself with other Christians who can help you. For me personally, I want people that know me and want our church to succeed to have the freedom to speak truth to me. That's one reason I put together a Pastor's Advisory Team - a group of people in our church - who meet with me once a month to offer advice. I don't HAVE to do this...it isn't some requirement in our church, but it's smart. That's why I talk to other pastors and church leaders on a regular basis about issues facing Oak Leaf Church.  People that don't have the spirit of accountability will not be accountable no matter what system is around them.

Ten Confessions, Part 2

The other day, I confessed ten things I don't do as the pastor of Oak Leaf Church. Today, let me talk about ten things I actually do. In fact, here's a PDF of my actual job description if you care to take a look.

1. I study a lot. I block off time in my calendar to study. Sometimes, I leave the office and go to Starbucks to study.

2. I lead the church. This is the big picture kind of stuff. I'm thinking through our fist financial campaign, if and where we're going to build, what kind of spiritual initiatives we need to do. I'm the big picture guy, the chart the course guy and the overall leader of this church.

3. I work hard on my teaching. For any given sermon series, I may read 6-8 different books. I study other teachers. I watch messages online and listen to podcasts - for personal growth but also for ways to become better. I read books about public speaking. I have a teaching calendar that is complete through all of 2008 and think long and hard about what I'm going to say on Sunday. I'll change up the teaching calendar based on what God is saying to me, but I take teaching very seriously. That's one of the reasons I don't do some of the things I do...so I can devote the proper amount of time to this mission.

4. I spend time with the staff. I help develop our staff as leaders and spend a good bit of time with these great people. We are a staff led church, and I want our staff to constantly be developing and growing as leaders. I try to help them dream big and accomplish their mission.

5. I read a lot of books and blogs. I'm currently tracking 54 blogs via bloglines. I try to stay up with some pastors of churches so I can stay sharp.  I read magazines and articles a lot.  I think leaders have to keep learning or we'll just dry up.

6. I think and dream and plan. I'm the big picture, dreamer guy on our staff.  I think about the question, "What if..."  Questions like, "what if we did a Sunday night service at the local bar?" I'm constantly creating plans and strategies.  I have to go through lots of good ideas until you get to the great idea.

7. I meet with key people in our church and in the community. I should be more involved in the community, and I'm trying to do more of this.  I'm asking our staff to pick up a few things so I can get more involved with local organizations like the Chamber of Commerce.

8. I take charge of our marketing and communication. Until we hire a communications director, I write most every letter that comes out from our church. I've created just about every postcard that we've sent out. I develop our marketing and branding strategy. That may change in the future, but for now, this is one of the things that I own. This is more work than most people realize, which is why I have a special place in my heart for graphics people and communications people.  I read a lot of marketing stuff and rip out cool things from design and print magazines.

9. I listen to God. In the Bible, the pastor was the shepherd...the spiritual leader. I take that pretty seriously. I know God speaks to all people...and that people don't have to go through some kind of holy man to get to God. They have direct access too. But I believe the job of a pastor is to hear from God and lead the people. It's pretty serious business. When I stand up on Sunday, I want people to know that I'm not just making up stuff or passing on something I heard from Dr. Phil or Joel Osteen. I want people to know that I've heard from God.

10. I meet with church planters. I can't do this with everyone, but I probably connect with a church planter or leader once a week. I'm humbled and honored that people would come to us for advice. We did a ton of that when we first started (still do!), so I'm happy to pass on what we've learned. That's one reason I write this blog and share our successes and failures at Behind the Leaf.

There you go. Of course, there's other crazy stuff that just comes up in my schedule, but this is what I really do week in and week out.

Original

It's been said that God hasn't called to us be original, but to accomplish His mission. When I moved to Cartersville, I didn't come here to reinvent the wheel. And during our first 14 months as a church, I don't think we've done anything that's unique to the church planting movement.

Hey, we should have a band. Along with 10,000 other churches.
Hey, let's meet in a movie theater. Thousands of others.
Let's do a series on the family. Genius idea.

Sometimes, we're accused of copying other churches. I am honored to be in contact with some great churches that have great ideas. And when we talk to these churches, we find out that they got great ideas from other churches.

We're not the only church in the country that has a kids policy like we do. It's not original. We're not going to be the first to drop eggs out of a helicopter.  We got the idea from Elevation (and we'll change it up to meet our needs).  When I stand up to teach about grace, forgiveness, the Trinity, or theHoly Spirit, I do so knowing thousands of people have already done it before me.

Ideas come from all places, but in reality, they all come from God THROUGH other places.  The fact that there are some great people and great churches to learn from doesn't negate the fact that I have to hear from God.  That I have to pray.  That I have to seek His will.  That I don't become a copycat, but become a steward.

We Learn

As a church, we try our best to learn from other people and from other churches. We are constantly trying to stretch ourselves and think different. If you only hang around people who are exactly like you, then you won't grow. If churches only seek advice from other churches exactly like them or exactly the same size as them, then that advice will always be limited.

Over the last year, we've had the opportunity to learn from some great leaders and some great churches. Anthony (our executive pastor) is in contact with a few other executive pastors at some pretty big churches. We've been blessed to be able to bounce ideas off them and get feedback. When I hear about someone knocking it out of the park somewhere, I don't get offended or jealous...I try to find out what they are doing so I can learn.

We read books and go to conferences because we haven't figured all of this out. The moment we think we have arrived is the moment we're done. I want to keep surrounding myself with people who will push me, challenge me and encourage me. That's why I read books, listen to sermons from other pastors, and even watch church services online.

From time to time, we get emails and calls from other church planters and church leaders. We're honored by that. And humbled. We certainly don't have it all figured out, but as these others guys have invested in us and answered our questions, we want to do the same thing. I try and meet with church planters on Thursdays. We started a behind the scenes blog to answer some of this church related stuff, and we're open and honest with people when they ask us questions.

To grow as a leader, you have to get around people who think bigger than you. I hope I can always stay a learner.

Answers to Prayer

With the move to Woodland, Rhetta (our Director of Volunteers) has been looking to put together a Parking Team. This is a pretty important ministry area, and we've all been praying for the right people. Sunday, she talked to one particular guy. Yesterday, they had a little e-mail conversation. It went like this.

Rhetta: Just following up with you about volunteering. There are lots of opportunities.
Rick: Where do you need help the most?
Rhetta: With 4 kids, I bet you're good at corralling people? What do you think about parking?
Rick: I was an LSE (Landing Signalman) in the Navy, that’s the guy on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier that tells the aircraft where to go. I always knew that would come in handy.

God is putting the right people into place. Rick is an answer to prayer. If God has gifted you, wired you, or trained you in some capacity, you can use those passions in the church to lead people from where they are to where God wants them to be. If you'd like to jump in, just meet us at Woodland on Saturday from 9 AM until at least 2 PM. Or e-mail Rhetta and she'll help you find your place. You might be an answer to a prayer.

Dealing with Criticism

In the past 14 months, I've endured a little bit of criticism. We weren't welcomed with open arms by churches in our community. There are blogs out there dedicated to tearing down what God is doing in our church (in the name of discernment). And there are people in our community and people that you talk to who do not hate us, but do not understand. I wanted to take a moment and talk about how I deal with this criticism.

1. Understand, we are going to be criticized. It's just going to happen. Sometimes, it will come from the outside...from people who do not know God. Sometimes, it will come from those supposedly on our side. That's the most disheartening thing - when someone who is supposed to believe in and pray to the same God as you and me attacks your motives. Sometimes, the criticism will come indirectly - from rumors and gossip. Like the rumors going around that we don't take up an offering and have to borrow money from other churches to pay staff or that I drank a beer on the stage to prove a point. The fact is, whenever you attempt to do something, there will be people there to criticize. Every great leader in history was criticized.

2. People are going to be against us. They were against Jesus, and He was the Son of God. Whether it's a school board or some other group, there will be people who do not want us to succeed. Amazingly, some other churches will be against us. But that's not our fight. It's not our place to go around and get everyone to be on our side. God will sort things out in the end. Let's just be faithful to what God called us to do and to who God called us to be.

3. Don’t get bogged down in trying to justify things. I had to come to grips with this myself. I had to stop responding to bloggers, who criticize what God is doing at our church from beyond the anonomity of their computer screen. I could literally spend all day trying to justify to people why we do what we do, and if I did that, I would not be doing what God has called me to do. I can quickly tell the difference between someone who is genuinely seeking to understand or has some honest feedback, and an armchair quarterback who thinks they know everything there is to know about the vast mind and will of God. My advice to all Oak Leaf people is not to go to these discernment sites and get dragged into idle, godless talk. I used to go read them for entertainment value, but I'd get tempted to get sucked into worthless debates. Now, I don't visit these sites and I don't care at all what they have to say. I'm a much better person because I refuse to hang around with hateful, hurtful people. Dr. Phil would be proud. :)

4. Don’t give credence to anonymous comments. Just delete them or ignore them. If someone is not man or woman enough to sign their name, then you don't want to hear from them. If you send me an anonomous e-mail or blog comment, it goes directly to the trash. Same goes for letters and phone calls that come from people like this. There used to be a lady in Cartersville that would comment on one of these sites and I'd try to answer her questions, but she would never tell me who she is. That's a weak person who only wants to argue and spread gossip and rumors in the name of Christianity.

5. Consider the source. Receiving counsel and instruction is wise. Proverbs is filled with admonitions like this. There have been many people that care about me who have pointed out something that caused me to altar my path. We should be quick to listen to people that know us, that have our back, and that want the best for us. There's a big difference in criticism from people you know and people that you don't know. I surround mysef with people that will often tell me what I need to hear (not what I want to hear). Every week in staff meeting, we pick things apart...not because we're being critical, but because we want to be better. As our church gets bigger, there will be people on the fringe that have better ways to do thing. I always say that the complaint box is located at the back of the box truck that we unload every Sunday morning. When these committed people, who sacrifice and give and lead in our church, offer suggestions and constructive criticism, you better believe that I listen.

6. Remember the Lord and remember the vision. When the outsiders came to Nehemiah and attacked him, Nehemiah told people to "remember the Lord." Satan wants to sidetrack, but we must remain focused. We can't spend all our time chasing rabbits that we forget what we're hunting for in the first place. We came to Cartersville to lead people from where they are to where God wants them to be. I don't really care if I get invited to speak at some giant pastor's conference - this is my mission field. I'm not here to win favor in the eyes of other pastors or website operators, I'm trying to please Jesus and help people follow Him. When you feel the heat from people attacking our church, think of all the changed lives. Think of all God has done. Remember His faithfulness.

7. Some things are not worth your time. Responding to every critic and dealing with every criticism that comes your way is not a good use of your time. If you go to Oak Leaf Church, you may come into contact with people who absolutely hate our church.  You'll be able to tell pretty quickly if it's a discussion worth having. You're not going to convince everyone that what we are doing is of God, and that's okay. Jesus was 100% God and everybody wasn't on board with His mission.

If you're going to be a leader, then that means you're going to be out front.  And being out front makes you a target.

Numbers

One of the constant criticism about churches like ours is that we're all about the numbers. I wanted to take a moment and talk about that straight up.

First of all, numbers are not bad. I've got three kids. I know how much money is direct deposited into my bank account. Scales at the gym can tell you how far you need to go. And numbers are not anti-spiritual. Read the Bible and you'll find that God frequently had leaders perform counts of the people and counts of the armies. (In the case of Gideon, God was going for a smaller number, but the number still mattered). Specific numbers were given about the ark and the tabernacle. The book of Acts describes how many people were saved in a day. Jesus fed the 5,000 and had 12 disciples. I could go on.

Numbers are ONE of the measuring tools that we use in our church. Just like doctors use numbers (blood pressure, height, weight, temperature, etc) to measure the health of a baby, numbers are one of the tools that we use to see if our church is healthy. Not only do we track attendance, we also keep track of the offering, how many people are serving, and how many people are connected in groups. Numbers help us make good decisions. We know how many people come to what service. We know how many kids are in classrooms. We know how many teachers it takes to operate those classrooms. Numbers help us lead and make good decisions. Numbers are one of the signs of life, but they are not the only sign.

It's also possible to have an unhealthy fascination with numbers. A couple of years ago, I wrote a book on student ministry and devoted a whole chapter to this. I once worked at a church that had what I believe to be an unhealthy fascination with numbers. On Monday morning, we were encouraged to comb through the rolls to look for people who might have been there but were not marked present. That was so that we could send the most accurate (but it always turned out to be the highest) number to the final report. We wouldn't count on low days (like holiday weekends), but would instead stick an "average" number into the Excel sheet. The thought was that the low number wasn't really a true attendance weekend (though according to this same principle, we should have pulled out Easter and the high-attendance weekends).

Anthony met a couple guys yesterday that were encouraged by their pastor to use iPods and Gameboys to get baptisms to a certain number by the end of the months.  There are lots of people that do things like this to get the numbers.  And it's deceitful.  There are people that base their success solely off of numbers.  And it's unhealthy.  All this to say that it's possible to get so hung up on the numbers, that you forget the point.

The point is - numbers represent people. And we're never going to apologize for being concerned about people.  I'd rather see 25 people saved than 24 people saved...who wouldn't?  I want as many people as possible to come to Oak Leaf Church. I want to see as many people possible come to know Jesus. I want more people connected in groups, going on mission trips, and serving in the Church. We're going to keep inviting people and we're going to do what we can to keep growing. I believe that God wants the church to grow - not just deeper through discipleship but broader through evangelism. The Great Commission commands us to go make more disciples, and that's what we're going to do.

Recipe for Success

In our Lead Team meeting this week, Anthony started us off by looking at Nehemiah. I f you remember the story, this guy went to his king and asked for permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls. It's one of my favorite Bible stories - there are so many leadership lessons in those few chapters. As Nehemiah and his people get to work, they run into a couple of problems. Interestingly, we've run into these same problems at Oak Leaf Church.

1. Tired workers. Some of the people came to Nehemiah and complained that they were tired. They had been working hard. Many worked with one hand and held a sword in the other hand (in case of attack). Wall rebuilding is hard work. So is starting a church. We have so many people that work so hard to make things happen, and it's easy to get tired. One reason we talk about volunteers so much is that we don't wan't people to have two jobs until everybody has one. There will be days that leaders don't think they have enough help. There will be mornings when the 5 AM alarm clock seems like it's going off way earlier. There will be times when the mission seems like it could go on vacation for a week. Yea, we all get tired.

2. Complaining neighbors. Pressure didn't just come from the inside - there were some people that didn't like this construction project and they took every chance they could get to gossip, spread rumors and plan attacks. As a church, we've experienced that, too. We get accused of being soft on sin (though I just taught pretty tough messages on abortion and homosexuality). Some people think we're a cult. Other churches ignore us or talk bad about us. I heard recently about a rumor going around that we didn't take an offering because we didn't want to offend people so that's why we had to borrow money from other churches. People (mostly church people) get ticked at some of our postcards and fliers, because it doesn't look very churchy. There was not a church in town that helped us when we came here - even though I personally met with many pastors. I got so sick of pastors who would say "let me know what you need," and in the next breath, deny our request for help (and throwing in the requisite "we'll pray for you" comment).  I'm a little tired of people that say "I'm a Christian" in one breath, and then take every opportunity they can find to bash or block our church.  The bottom line is that the bigger we get, the more complainers there will be.  Nehemiah experienced this, too.

Solution?

When these two problems reared their head, Nehemiah got the people together for a pep talk and I just love his simple message. He said, "Remember the Lord." In other words, Nehemiah was reminding the people that this wall project was God's project. He reminded everybody just WHY they were doing what they are doing. Never lose sight of the purpose, He told them. Remember the reason that we're all here. Keep the focus on that, not on how tired you are or how loud the complainers get.

Oak Leaf Church - people are going to talk bad about us (mostly because they are jealous or because they don't take the time to understand). You are going to get tired (this is a lot of work and it doesn't happen by accident). When those things happen, the simplest thing you can do is "Remember the Lord." He's the one that called us to do what we're doing. He's the one that gifted you for service. He's the one that is behind this whole thing. This is not some scheme of man, this is a God-sized project.  We couldn't get 900 people at church on Sunday if we tried.  We're not doing anything different than what we did 6 weeks ago, but in the last 6 weeks, 270 new people have started attending OLC.  We cannot explain away what this is...it's a God thing.  Let's stay focused on that.

Volunteers Becoming Leaders

Growth is slow. You can't really watch your kids grow. They look about the same size the next day. But slowly, they are growing. And by the end of the summer, their clothes will look a little different.

One of the signs of slow growth that I've seen over the last year or so is that some of our volunteers are becoming leaders. It starts with a person just jumping in to serve. But over time, they don't wait to be told what to do, they just start directing others towards that. I've seen that with guys on our setup team - who just solve problems without coming to a staff person. I'm seen that on our kids team and with our greeters. Volunteers are becoming leaders.

And just so you know, we are looking for some more leaders and volunteers as we make this move...on the production team (like gadgets?), hospitality team (like people?), and KidVenture team (like kids?)

Good to Great

Last month, our staff read Good to Great (I've read it several times, and always come away with something new to process). Here's two thoughts from this current read:

1. The medicine is for the patients, not the profits. This was a statement that a drug company used to help them stay focused on the mission. In our church, it's not about building facilities or gaining power, it's about taking the good news to those that need to hear it. So much of what we do at a church is for people that are not even at our church.

2. Don't pursue every opportunity, only those that fit. I have more ideas than I have energy. Our church has more missions opportunities than it does money. Because of our focus on our mission, you are not going to see us start a Christian school or a sports ministry or do a Fall Festival. We're not just going to do things because other churches do them or because they are good ideas. In some churches, you hear pastors encouraging people to start ministries, rather than suggest them to the leadership. At Oak Leaf, we're not starting them just because someone wants to. We're only going to do things that fit in with our strategy. I can give you a couple of examples.

• There are some that want us to do Limelight (our student service) every week instead of once a month. But just because we can, doesn't mean we should. We could not do it well if we had to do it every month. And that would cause it to suffer.


• We tried to do a once a month service on a weeknight with some more teaching and worship, but we didn't have the time, energy or resources to pull it off. Good idea, but it didn't fit at the time. So we pulled the plug and learned a lesson.


• Occasionally, people suggest that we start a mens ministry (too many times this is an excuse to go camping or something manly...you can go do these things with the guys without the church making an official ministry out of it) I tell people our men's ministry meets at 6 AM at the back of the box truck. Seriously. Guys can jump in, and what better way to do ministry!

Leadership isn't just adding things. Sometimes, it's saying no to opportunities in order to focus on the ones that matter most.