The Kingdom Herald - July 2013
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Transcript of The Kingdom Herald - July 2013
In This Issue5 Reasons Why
Staff Leave Churches
4
3 Ways to
Win the
Congregation
6
5 Major
Distractions in
Ministry
8
Spotlight on
Members
10
The Saints and Social Media
14
5 Ways to Inspire Teens
to Share the Gospel
17
Rookie’s You’re Out
21
How to Become a 360-
Degree Leader
26
Ten Tips for Preaching
from an iPad
27
The Secret Pain of Pastors
29
Churches, Businesses & Ministries
36
© Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved. Kingdom Builders Association of America, Inc.
Publishers Rev. Antwon D. James, President/CEO
Pastor Tremaine M. Combs, Vice President-At-Large/Chief of Staff Elder Matthew D. Ray, First Vice President
Pastor Cordell E. Fields, Second Vice President Bishop Umiko D. Jones, General Secretary
Rev. Jerome L. Williams, Executive Administrator
Vacant, Director of Communications & Public Relations The Kingdom Herald – Editor-In-Chief
5 Reasons Why Staff Leave Churches
by Will Mancini
We have all heard this when a staff member
leaves our team … ”God is calling me away.” I
have no doubt that is true because God has
moved my family several times over the course
of 14 years of ministry. God calls people away,
but there are factors that push staff members to
change churches. God uses “holy discontent” to
help people make moves in new directions.
Making a ministry move is not a bad thing. I
know church members and leaders take it
personally. The question many people wonder is
… WHY DID THEY LEAVE “US” … WHAT
IS WRONG WITH “US”? If you want the truth
… there are many more unhealthy churches than
healthy churches out there. Here are five reasons
I see staff members make ministry moves …
Disconnection from the “church” — Many
times, staff members leave because they just
do not connect with the vision and direction
of their current church. A staff member can
only serve in a church they don’t fully
believe in for so long.
Lack of support — When leaders lack
support from the lead pastor or overall
church leadership … when they have an
insufficient budget … when they have no
hope of ever getting needed space in a
facility. Yep, those three will do it. When
staff members don’t feel supported, many
times they leave.
Chasing THE LADDER — Many times it
is just this simple … sometimes staff
members are not given the freedom to move
into other ministry areas in their current
church. Staff members have to make moves
in order to go in a new direction … focus on
their passion … have more influence. I hate
the ministry “ladder,” but we know it exists.
Burnout — When leaders place ministry
ahead of everything else, burnout is on the
horizon. So many times, staff people leave
because they are have been beaten down by
the system, wrong priorities and lack of
balance.
Maturity — This happens when a staff
leader discovers who they are and who they
are not. That powerful combination leads
many staff members to new adventures.
What do you think? Why do staff leave a
church? Why have you left?
3 Ways to Win the Congregation by Jamie Harvill
hen I set out on my professional music
career in 1980, the first thing I learned
from my mentors was to connect with
the audience. I was taught that the stage is not like a
fish bowl, where the audience peers statically at the
action happening on stage. The potent energy that
flows back and forth from performer to the audience
is a very important aspect of the presentation. That
is why live performances haven’t been completely
obliterated by movies and television; people still
desire that back-and-forth, “being there”
camaraderie of a live program.
The concept of “entertainment,” in the context of
church, is forbidden in certain circles. But as I’ve
said before, using musical and dramatic techniques
to enhance the art of storytelling can help create a
flowing and enjoyable experience — one that
allows the audience to lose self-awareness, to the
point where they are fully engaged in the action on
the stage. To make sure that I’m not misunderstood,
I want to emphasize that delivering the message of
Christ and His redemptive power is, by far, the most
noble and virtuous use of the stage, cutting-edge
technology and excellence in all genres of
performance.
Performance Myths
The perspective of the audience differs from that of
the performer. Tom Jackson, a professional live
performance producer, helps bands develop their
live shows to effectively deliver a powerful
performance. In a teaching from one of his DVDs
entitled Stage Performance: Making Our Services
Rock, Tom spoke of several myths from a
performer’s point of view:
If we feel the music then the audience must
feel it too.
It’s all about the song (that the song is
strong enough to carry the performance).
If we play well, sing well and the audience
hears the words, we win.
There are no performance rules — we just
“wing it” because we are spontaneous.
“I’ve been doing it for ‘X’ amount of years;
I know what I’m doing.”
W
I feel comfortable onstage, so it must be
great.
If I’m uncomfortable, it must not be “me.”
If it worked for a bigger church then it will
work for me.
The difference between a great performance and an
average or poor performance is essentially the
connection with the audience. Jackson made a
humorous but accurate observation of a great
performer, using Bono, lead singer of U2, as an
example. He said Bono is “married” to the
audience, when most of us are just “dating” the
audience. It takes a great amount of work and skill
to create a great performance, and in doing so, we
earn the audience’s respect. I’ve personally seen
U2 perform live, and Bono had that huge indoor
sports arena in the palm of his hand!
Three Performance Basics:
1. Connect with Your Audience (Love Them and
They’ll Love You Back)
2. Lead Your Audience (They’re Gonna Follow
You!)
3. Your Audience Is Less Aware Than You
Think (Keep Your Flubs to Yourself)
The #1 thing to remember in a performance is:
Connect with your audience. Therefore, be prepared
and confident. Practice to the point where
everything you do flows from the subconscious —
as if the effort was second-hand. That way, your
body language will emit an air of confidence and
fluidity rather than being stiff and awkward. A
performer’s ability to be authentic, warm and
engaging, yet humble toward the audience, helps
them build confidence in you. When you exude a
lack of confidence, your audience feels unsure,
expecting you to make a mistake or misspeak.
Preparedness begets confidence!
The #2 thing to remember is: The audience wants to
be led. We help the audience along on our journey
through:
Directing their attention toward important
aspects of the performance through visual
and verbal cues (please stand; please sit;
“let’s welcome to the stage X, Y or Z”;
“Please direct your attention to the video
screens”; musical cut-offs; receiving
applause; etc.)
Giving them permission to respond
appropriately.
Helping them move through transitions in
the performance without losing focus.
Don’t take for granted that the audience knows what
to do … they don’t! Your job as a leader is to lead
them!
The #3 thing to remember is: The audience is
unaware. I could say ignorant, but that seems a little
harsh. What I mean to say is that the audience is not
as aware of the intricacies of our performance as we
are. Things aren’t always as obvious to our
audience until we direct their attention toward
something. Many times, our mistakes will go
unnoticed if we simply don’t bring attenuation to
them. Therefore, we must remain confident and in
control.
I once heard it said, “My play was a complete
success, but the audience was a failure!” Sometimes
as performers we may think that way, but in reality
we cannot blame our poor performance on the
audience. Our lack of preparation and planning will
hurt our performances.
Very few great artists “wing it.” A wise performer’s
every move and spoken word is scrutinized for
effectiveness, whether in worship or on a secular
stage. The key for every performer, worship leader
and preacher is to make what they do seem
effortless!
James Taylor, the great singer/songwriter, has said
that a live performance is a common emotional
experience for the performer and the audience. As
performers, we must plan, prepare and practice for a
performance. But there comes a time when we must
surrender to the moment — to be fully “present” in
our live performances and let things unfold. That’s
why each performance, even though they contain
the same elements, can be received and enjoyed in
various ways by different audiences.
Five Major
Distractions in
Ministry by Will Mancini
The term “scope creep” is a term
consultants use when their
clients expect more than what
the project originally outlined.
The idea is that the scope of the
project is slowly getting bigger,
usually in imperceptible
increments.
Of course, no consultant wants
scope creep to happen, but in an
effort to please the client, it's
hard to prevent sometimes.
The same dynamic is ever
present in ministry. It’s called
“opportunity creep.”
What is “opportunity creep?”
It's roughly the same idea, just
applied to all of the positive
ministry opportunities a pastor
may face in the days and weeks
of church life.
By calling it “creep” we are
acknowledging that it’s all too
easy to say yes too much. By
positioning this as a problem,
we are highlighting that a lack
of “opportunity management”
can distract and dilute our
ministry efforts.
Think about how many kinds of
opportunities cross a pastor’s
path:
We serve a congregation that’s a
bottomless well of members’
needs.
We are captured by the buzz of
new ideas, new people and new
initiatives happening in church
space.
We live in communities riddled
with issues that we would love
to “missionally” engage. We are
digitally connected to an ocean
of information and “friends.”
The bottom line: Church
leadership is rich soil for
opportunity creep.
It’s easy for opportunity after
opportunity to press in and vie
for the precious little time God
has given you.
The first step to dealing with
opportunity creep is to identify
the sources of opportunities in a
way that repositions them as
distractions.
If we don’t understand that most
opportunities are distractions in
disguise, it will be hard to say
“no” to the next seemingly
“good” thing.
See if these sources clarify the
point:
Opportunity Becomes
Distraction #1: The New is
Askew.
Who doesn’t love something
new? Especially for us creative
types, it's easy to feel the rush of
the next.
But the lure of the new can drive
us to do too much at the same
time, or too much too fast.
The opportunistic personalities
among us will look for the next
ministry “find” before going
deeper with what we already
have. This week, I was with a
church that lamented, “Our
people aren’t clear about who
we are because we repackage
ourselves every six months.”
In short, make sure the next new
thing is a deeply “you thing.”
Opportunity Becomes
Distraction #2: Off-Mission
Permission.
In the desire for more ministry,
it's easy to say “yes” to the ideas
of well-meaning members. The
problem is that most of their
ministry aspirations are
misdirected because they want
to create more church structure
and programming rather than
living out their gifts and calling
in life.
The church very quickly
becomes over programmed and
underdiscipled. The “more is
more” default mode of program
permission clutters a simple
discipleship experience in and
through the church.
Helping people dream big for
Jesus is beautiful,
overcomplicating church is not.
Opportunity Becomes
Distraction #3: Funny Money.
There is nothing more freeing
than an abundance of resources,
unless it comes with the
proverbial attached string.
Beware of that check-cutting,
money-slinging individual —
whether it's a new member or an
influential elder — that’s ready
to fund the next thing (that they
brought to the table).
If a new idea is connected to
designated giving, always ask,
“Would our vision really have
taken us in this direction?”
If people are not willing to
subordinate their giving to the
existing vision of the church,
then it’s probably a distraction
in disguise. (Sorry to break the
bad news.)
Opportunity Becomes
Distraction #4: Knowledge
Trafficking.
I enjoy learning, as do most
called into vocational ministry.
But when our pursuit of
knowledge outpaces our put-in-
use of knowledge, we’ll get used
to living with distraction.
To make matters worse, now
you can get a direct feed of
whatever-you-want-to-learn,
whenever-you-want-to-learn
through the 50 devices in your
life.
Don’t let your smart phone turn
you into a not-so-smart leader.
One of the greatest benefits of
organizational and personal
clarity, by the way, is the ability
to ruthlessly filter out
nonrelevant new data.
Opportunity Becomes
Distraction #5: Platform
Jacking.
The last source of distraction
meddles a bit more than the
others. Platform jacking is when
we divert too much time and
energy to gaining influence
through opportunities outside of
direct, day-to-day ministry
responsibilities.
There is certainly nothing wrong
with wanting to “bless the
capital ‘C’ church”— a noble
aspiration for sure! Yet, I am
amazed at how quickly the favor
of God on a pastor can back-fire
on the mission of the ministry.
The success of the local church
can become a “success
distraction” for the pastor who
spends increasing amounts of
time growing his or her
platform. Most of us have seen
this in someone else, so just be
discerning for yourself.
Elder Dwalunda Ray was born and raised in
Houston, Texas where she graduated from
Booker T. Washington High School for
Engineering Professions. She went on
to Texas Southern University
where she received her
Bachelors of Arts in
Psychology in 2005. From
the age of four, Elder Ray
attended The Church
Without Walls (TCWW)
where Dr. Ralph D. West
is Pastor.
Elder Ray
actively participated in
the young adult choir at
TCWW, as well as the
gospel choir on the campus
of Texas Southern, but in
2002, she felt a higher calling
from God in the pursuit of
ministry. At the age of nineteen,
Elder Ray accepted her calling to preach
the Word of God. Along with that call was the
charge to attend seminary in order to sharpen the
tools that God had given her. She moved to Fort
Worth in 2005 and attended Brite Divinity
School on the campus of Texas Christian
University where she received her Masters of
Divinity with a concentration in Black
Church Studies in December 2008.
She was ordained through the
Rhema Fellowship of
Churches by Bishop David
E. Martin in May, 2009.
Elder Ray is a
member of The
Fellowship Church in
Fort Worth, TX where
Patrick D. Joubert is her
Pastor. She is the founder
of Antioch Kingdom
Ministries (AKM on
Facebook) and her own
marketing business, D. Ray
Consulting. Her organizational
memberships include: Delta
Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Kingdom
Builders Association of America, Inc.,
and The Young Clergy Women Project.
TKH: How did you feel when you were informed
that you would be in the “spotlight”?
EDR: I was extremely honored and excited! I love
KBA and it is an awesome feeling to receive the
love in return.
TKH: How did you become aware of the
association? And what prompted you to join?
EDR: I had the esteemed honor of attending the
same church as our illustrious founder and
president, so I saw firsthand what the purpose and
vision was for KBA. I had a desire to become a
part of something that I believed was and is great
and a God-ordained organization that can bring
unification amongst denominations and believers
across the world.
TKH: So tell us a little bit about who you are,
family, your origin, current church/ministry; and
what you do there.
EDR: I am originally from Houston, TX, born to
Keith and Debbie Ray and I have a younger
brother, Keith II. I was one of those children who
basically went from the hospital to the church! The
church is literally all I’ve known. I grew up singing
in the choir and eventually began to teach the
children’s classes at my church. I accepted my
calling to the preaching ministry at the age of 19,
and after graduating from college in Houston, I
moved to Fort Worth to attend Brite Divinity
School. I graduated with a Masters of Divinity, was
ordained as an Elder in 2009, and have since been
using my gifts and degree knowledge while serving
as an associate at The Fellowship Church of Fort
Worth, TX. I am a preacher, praise team member,
Co-Director of the Singles Ministry, and the
Director of P.D.J. Ministries, my pastor’s
personal/media ministry.
TKH: Do you operate any other ministries outside
or your church?
EDR: Yes, as the founder of Antioch Kingdom
Ministries, I host workshops and conferences and
travel for preaching engagements in the name of
AKM.
TKH: What do you desire to see happen in a
greater way through your work with KBA as well
as your personal ministries?
EDR: I would love to see more women get actively
involved in KBA. In order for us to truly represent
the Kingdom, all of its citizens have to be
represented. As far as my personal ministry is
concerned, I want to see people focus on their
relationship with God and not the religiosity of
man CONCERNING God.
TKH: Given the current state of the church with
scandals among those in ministry and leadership;
where do we go from here?
EDR: We need to get real relationships with God. I
don’t question anyone’s salvation because I wasn’t
there when they got saved, but it is increasingly
evident that deliverance still needs to take place for
a great number of leaders and those who claim to
represent the church. We need to get back to the
basics: prayer, studying God’s word, and being
better DISCIPLES. If we could all get on one
accord and do that, the church could start looking
more prepared for its Groom.
TKH: So many of us in ministry and leadership
seem to have no life, what is that you do to have
fun?
EDR: I live my life! I listen to live bands, I go to
the movies, bowling, poetry houses, etc. My
sorority also keeps me busy with functions and
community service. I advise everyone to not be
ashamed to like going places other than church.
IT’S OKAY!
TKH: So what’s next on your agenda? (As in
books, albums, singles, ministry related)
EDR: I have quite a bit going on right now.
Antioch Kingdom Ministries is hosting “The Heart
of a Woman” Workshop on September 21, 2013,
and I am VERY excited. We’ll have some dynamic
teachers/preachers and expect for women to leave
in a better condition than when they came. I’m also
in the beginning stages of planning “Women with
Power” 2014, which will be the second major
conference hosted by AKM. Our Singles Ministry
at The Fellowship Church will be hosting its first
conference in 2014, so I’m excited about that as
well. Finally, I am working on a devotional entitled
“Think On It A Minute”, which was birthed from
several thought provoking and scriptural posts that
I used to make on social media sites. Someone
suggested that I consider putting those thoughts
into a devotional, and God began to move on me
concerning it, so I’m expecting to release that by
the end of 2014.
TKH: What could you offer as encouragement to
your fellow KBA members and our readers?
EDR: Keep yourselves aligned with the will of
God, listening to the voice of God, and seeking
after what’s on the mind of God. If you do that,
you can’t lose at ANYTHING that you desire in
life.
The Saints and
Social Media
Seven Reasons for the Saints
to be fully engaged in Social Media!
By: Larry W. Robinson
During one of my recent LIVE webcast, I asked J.
Richard Byrd, founder of The ChurchBrand
Architects, “what exactly is social media?” He
stated that, “social media is a platform used to
connect with other people.” As our conversation
progressed, the thought came, if that is the case
then, the saints must be exactly where the people
are.
Matthew 28: 18-20 (NIV) says, 18
Then Jesus came to them and said,
“All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. 19
Therefore go and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and
teaching them to obey everything I
have commanded you. And surely I
am with you always, to the very end of
the age.” (Emphasis added…)
The fact of the matter is millions of people are using
social media. Many of those people “may” never
step foot in your church, but I believe you are still
obligated to reach them with the Gospel. I would
like to present to you seven reasons why you should
be fully engaged in Social Media.
1. People are looking for the “Good News”.
Humanity’s soul has a void and only God
can fill that void. People are trying to
substitute that void by engaging in things
that distract their mind. Social media is one
of those things. Engage yourself in social
media by sharing your day to day journey on
how God is bringing you true peace, joy and
happiness.
2. Lost souls are thirsty for inspiration and
encouragement. People are trying to find
satisfaction in a myriad ways: pictures,
video, audio and the written text. You can be
a conduit to provide content to help them
drink from the Living Well of eternal
nourishment; Jesus Christ!
3. People are talking! They are posting status
messages, comments, pictures and videos
about their struggles, issues and everyday
life. You can be there to provide
enlightenment and to direct those to the true
source of their strength when life seems
stormy and uncertain.
4. People really do long for
human connection. Even though
people may initially connect
through a social network,
eventually they may want to
connect in person. If you are
marketing and promoting actual
events people will want to come.
They may not readily want to come to
a church service at first, but they might
attend a concert, workshop, seminar or
conference that provides solutions to
problems they have been talking about in
social media.
5. People have changed their hangout location.
Our message of Jesus Christ has not
changed, but the methods of communicating
the message should. Your neighbors may
dodge your knock at the door, but they will
rarely ignore your message if they are
connected with you through social media.
6. It is not cost effective to spend your entire
outreach budget on traditional forms of
media. More and more people are getting
their news and current events from social
media. Since people are looking at news
feeds and trending topics on social media, be
there to provide content that captures their
eye and engage their heart.
7. Do it today. Each day more and more people
are feeling like they are losing hope. As a
believer, you have the answer; Jesus. There
is no time to waste. The time is NOW.
Become social and use the new forms of
media to share God’s Love for ALL
humanity!
We are positioned in one of the unprecedented
times in human history. We have the ability to reach
more people in less time with fewer resources than
our forefathers. You no longer have to have a
“mega ministry to reach the masses”. With the
stroke of a few keys on your keyboard, an audio
upload to a podcast or a video upload to video
sharing site, you can communicate a message of
hope, love and encouragement that many people so
desperately need. In closing, there is a great
opportunity for you to reach a lost generation. Get
plugged in, share a status, tweet, send a
video; connect with somebody and share the Good
News.
Through the power of media, Larry W. Robinson
has created an unparalleled connection with people
around the world. Larry has informed inspired and
ignited listeners and viewers globally. His
achievements as an international media personality
have established him as one of the most notable and
inspirational public figures today. Visit
www.larrywrobinson.com to connect with Larry
today.
Coming Soon to KBA! Digital Member Center
+
5 Ways to Inspire Teens to
Share the Gospel by Greg Stier
Teenagers can be a tough audience and sharing the
gospel a tough subject. So how do you inspire a
tough audience to engage in the tough stuff of
evangelism?
As the leader of a ministry called Dare 2 Share, an
organization that annually equips tens of
thousands of teens to evangelize, I am in the
motivation business. I have to be. If a clinical
approach to evangelism were enough to motivate
teenagers, we could just do a video-based training
series for youth groups and leave it at that. But it
takes way more to motivate teens to actually go
beyond talking about evangelism to actually doing
it.
Here are the five essentials I have discovered
about motivating teenagers to share the gospel:
1. Reposition evangelism from being just
another Christian duty to being the ultimate
cause.
Jesus rebuked the religious grumblers and
mumblers of his day with a crystal clear
comeback: “For the Son of Man came to seek and
to save what was lost” Luke 19:10. The driving
mission of Jesus was a hands-on search and rescue
mission for the lost, disenfranchised, too-evil-to-
rescue sinners. Specifically in this passage, he was
referring to Zacchaeus, the tax collector who was
despised by the Jews and used by the Romans. But
once this tree climbing traitor put his faith in
Jesus, he gave half of his possessions to the poor
and quadrupled payback for any social injustices
he had committed.
Help your teens see Luke 19:1-10 as the key to
eradicating poverty, stopping human trafficking
and advancing social justice. The more we can
lead people to Jesus, the more they can create
change in their circle of influence. Stop separating
social justice from evangelism (like I did for
years) and view it as the real key to multiplying
change makers across the planet.
2. Share a lot of stories.
The more stories of changed lives your teens hear,
the more motivated they will be to evangelize.
Stories can capture the hearts of teenagers in a
way that mere lecture cannot. Maybe that’s why
Jesus was such a prolific storyteller. He bypassed
intellectual objections and went straight to the
hearts of his hearers. But Jesus wasn’t the only
storyteller in the New Testament.
When Paul and Barnabas were headed back to
Jerusalem, they told stories of changed lives along
the way: “The church sent them on their way, and
as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria,
they told how the Gentiles had been converted.
This news made all the believers very glad. When
they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by
the church and the apostles and elders, to whom
they reported everything God had done through
them” Acts 15:3,4.
Have teenagers share stories of those they are
engaging with the gospel. Tie stories into your
weekly talks. The more stories you share, the more
inspired your teens will be to share their faith.
3. “Create” more stories by taking your teens
out to evangelize.
If you want to have more stories to share, then
create them. In other words, go out and evangelize
with your teenagers. Go to a park with some of
your teens and have a pick up game of basketball
with the teenagers who are there, and, afterward,
share the good news of Jesus (or get one of your
teens to do it and you be their wingman).
There are many ways you can get your teens
involved with evangelism. Here are a few:
-Do a community survey. Use it as a way to take
the spiritual temperature of your neighborhood as
well as a springboard for evangelistic
conversations.
-Sponsor a free car wash and take prayer requests
of those in the cars (which can lead to more gospel
conversations).
-Take your teens to a local shopping mall, break
up in twos, and engage in conversations with other
teenagers.
-Give out free bottles of water at a busy walkway
on a hot day and use it as an opportunity to talk
about the living water with those you are serving.
There are many ways for teens to engage
evangelistically. Ultimately, the best place for
them to start sharing their faith is in their own
circle of friends. Hold them accountable to do just
that and let them do the same with you.
As you lead your teenagers to evangelize, you’ll
create more and more stories that you can share
with the rest of the youth group to inspire them to
do the same.
4. Talk about hell.
There I said it. Teenagers need to be reminded of
what’s at stake for those who die without Christ.
In a very real way, those who don’t know Jesus
are unknowingly headed 100 mph at a cliff that
leads to everlasting destruction. Our job as caring
Christians is to jerk the steering wheel … and to
get our teens to do the same with their friends.
Paul put it this way in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, “He
will punish those who do not know God and do
not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will
be punished with everlasting destruction and shut
out from the presence of the Lord and from the
glory of his might.”
Jude put it this way in Jude 1:23, “Save others by
snatching them from the fire … ”
John put it this way in John 3:36, “Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever
rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath
remains on them.”
Jesus put it this way in John 5:24, “Very truly I
tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him
who sent me has eternal life and will not be
judged, but has crossed over from death to life.”
We need to inspire our teens to help their friends
cross from death to life. We must equip them to
rescue their friends from the hell they are headed
to and the one they are going through apart from
Jesus Christ. (By the way, there’s an app to help
you do just that!)
5. Pray
Ultimately, the power to truly inspire teenagers to
share the gospel is rooted in the Holy Spirit. Pray
for your teenagers consistently, specifically and
fervently. Pray that they will be inspired to live
and give their faith in powerful ways. Intercede on
their behalf, that God will fill them with an
unstoppable passion to spread the good news.
As God answers your prayer, your youth group
meetings will be filled with an air of excitement
and more and more new believers! And that will
inspire everyone!
Coming soon . . . visit www.antoinejackson.org for more information.
by David Murray
That’s the question Josh Tandy, a real rookie
pastor, asks here.
I have a simple two letter answer.
EQ.
Or rather, the lack of it.
EQ is the emotional equivalent of IQ. Sometimes
called “emotional intelligence” or “social
intelligence,” and the lack of it is the primary
reason for the majority of pastoral failures.
That’s right, the main reason for rookie pastors
getting fired or, even worse, rookie pastors
destroying a church, is not intellectual, moral or
theological failure, but failure in basic common
sense humanity.
We’ve all seen it, haven’t we: Exceptionally
clever, technically skilled and self-disciplined
people utterly fail in pastoral ministry. They just
couldn’t connect with people at even the most
basic levels:
Saying hello/goodbye/please/thank you (especially
“thank you”).
Asking people, “How are you?” (and waiting for
an answer).
Being friendly.
Remembering names.
Showing interest in people’s children.
Listening without interrupting.
Teachability (especially learning from elders).
Apologizing for failings.
Avoiding unnecessary offense.
ABOVE ALL — Understanding the vital
difference between what you say and what people
hear.
Having spent a lot of time with seminary students
and young pastors over the past 10 years, I find
it’s getting easier to identify those whom the Lord
is most likely to use to bless and build his church
in pastoral ministry.
The Lord is sovereign, of course, and can blow all
our analysis and predictions out of the water, but
usually He uses “ordinary” means. And EQ is one
of the major means. (Have a look at the comments
on the Rookie Pastor article for vivid
confirmation.)
Which raises a huge question: How can we
train for this?
Robert Anderson offers one suggestion in The
Effective Pastor:
In the seminary in which I teach, as a part of a
course in philosophy of ministry I regularly bring
in our assistant librarian to teach a class in
etiquette.
Unfortunately, it probably is one of the classes
that is received the most poorly. I say
unfortunately because it is the class that often is
needed the most.
Not many of our graduates fail in the ministry
because they fall prey to doctrinal errors.
Numbers, however, have made an improper
impact on the ministry simply because they are
“klutzes,” are continually making themselves
offensive to people — and they will not change.
If they learned a few social graces in addition, and
were able to remember to express gratitude to
people for every kind action no matter how small,
they would be making major progress toward
becoming the type of respectable person the Bible
demands for the position of pastor.
The person who basks in his crudeness and
considers it a necessary part of his “macho” image
probably should seek another vocation besides the
pastorate.
Etiquette classes? Hmmm.
One friend I mentioned this to suggested “living in
the Proverbs more, having mentors, and having
friends who are willing to critique and correct you
in love.”
I agree wholeheartedly and would add:
1. Internships.
Multiple, structured internships in local churches.
2. Growing in grace.
Greater focus on spiritual formation in seminary
years (this can be done in the seminary or in the
local church). To the traditional emphasis on
“growing in knowledge” we need to add “growing
in grace.”
Why so many knowledge courses with multiple
specific learning outcomes, and so few (if any)
“grace courses” where specific graces such as
humility, patience, teachability, peacemaking,
gentleness are taught/cultivated/tested?
3. Personality testing.
Working on the assumption that no one can
counsel others without some measure of self-
knowledge and self-understanding, the first few
weeks of my counseling courses are taken up with
“self-counseling.” We’ve used Myers-Briggs,
DISC and other helpful tests, and encouraged a
strengths/weaknesses self-analysis, which also
build understanding of other personality types and
learning styles.
The difficulty is that the ones who need it most are
usually most skeptical of such tools and just go
through the motions.
4. Work experience.
Wherever possible, students should spend a
minimum of five years trying to hold down a job
and even progress in a career before studying for
the ministry. I know there are exceptions to this
rule, but they are very rare.
It would root out a lot of doomed candidates, and
it would tell us a huge amount about whether they
have the EQ for the ministry. As a bonus, the work
experience would also be worth any number of
seminary classes in terms of preparation for the
ministry.
I have to admit, though, every time a young man
has told me that he’s called to the ministry and
I’ve recommended that he go away and work for
five years before seminary, not one has taken my
advice. Thus far, the results speak for themselves.
5. Tougher love.
Churches and seminaries should be much more
ruthless in who they admit for training. Accepting
obvious “klutzes” does no good to the “klutz” or
his future “victims.”
How to Become a 360 Degree Leader by Michael Bayne
he question we all have as we lead is,
how can we make a lasting impact? What
I have learned over the years is, to make
a lasting impact you have to learn how to
be a 360 degree leader. You have to make sure
and lead those above, across and below you in
the organization.
Easier said than done! In a messy leadership
situation, in a church without clear direction, we
often struggled to know how to lead.
Truth is that you simply have to
commit to lead through the
mess or walk away. You
have to lead with a 360
degree mindset …
Lead Up
The need to lead
up never ends
because no matter
your role, you are
going to have
people in authority
over you. For some
of you, it’s a pastor.
For some of you, it’s a
board or a committee. For
some of you, it’s an
executive pastor, a board, an
administrator and a senior pastor.
You have a list of people over you.
If we walked around the room and were honest,
we could all list off five things our senior leaders
are doing wrong and could reveal their weak
spots in leading. You can do this because you are
a LEADER and LEADERS see these kind of
things. We are consumed with forward progress
and problem solving, so it’s natural to see the
problems of those above us. Let go of the guilt,
stop complaining, start leading up.
Embrace Authority — treat those in authority
over you as you want the people whom you lead
to treat you.
Build the Relationship — you have to work on
getting to know who your leaders are … connect
with them. Support them. Hang out with them.
Don’t avoid relationships with people in
authority over you no matter how you feel about
their leadership ability. Influence flows from
relationship.
Deliver Consistently —
when we do great work,
our superiors learn they
can trust us. Build trust
by doing great and
consistent work,
make your area one
that thrives.
Discover Your
Leaders'
Strengths — your
senior leader is good
at something.
Discover that and then
add value to that
strength.
Fill the Gap — add value to
your organization by working
carefully to fill the gaps being left by your
senior leadership.
Publicly Support — public support leads to
private influence and access.
Lead Across
The strength of an organization is revealed in the
strength of the leaders in the middle of the
organization. Leading across is not a one-time
event, not a project, it’s an ongoing process!
T
Care About More Than Just What is on Your
To-do List — leading across well starts with the
heart. When I care about the health of my
church, I can start caring for the leaders of the
church.
Don’t Pretend to Be the Perfect Leader — that
leader does not exist and if you are trapped in
trying to appear that way people will naturally
resist your influence. Be real, not perfect.
Build Bridges, Not Silos — see how each
ministry in your church can support the other and
stop keeping your resources and influence
trapped in a silo safe for only your ministry.
Develop Authentic Friendships — discover
who the people around you are, not just what
they do for the organization.
Strive for Production, Not Politics — resist the
temptation to advance your ministry as you step
on the people around you. Think long term, not
short term.
Lead Down
Lead the people who serve under your leadership
with the same principles you would embrace if
you led the entire organization. Don’t ever allow
the frustrations you have with the direction of
your organization to deter your effort to provide
effective leadership to the people you lead. You
are not born a great leader, you become a great
leader as you lead. As you lead, you are actually
in a continual leadership lab.
Walk Slowly — walk the halls of the ministry
you lead slowly and get to know the people you
are leading. Slow down long enough to actually
connect with people you are leading. Quality
relationships are the foundation of effective
leadership.
Believe in Your Team — look at potential and
ability when you look at your team, not always at
their weaknesses. Everyone needs someone to
believe in them … be that to the people you lead.
Give Away Opportunities to Lead — make
sure and take the spotlight off yourself and shine
it on other leaders.
Model the Behavior You Desire — it’s not
what a leader says that will last, it’s what a
leader does day-to-day that will be repeated in
the organization.
Continually Repeat the Vision — people have
to know the why if they are ever going to be able
to do the what with passion.
Reward Results — when you see the results you
want REWARD IT, don’t take it for granted.
What is rewarded and recognized will be
repeated.
The Kingdom Builders Association of America, Incorporated (KBA) is a multicultural
21st century interdenominational association of Kingdom Leaders. KBA is a Christian
organization whose God given command is to equip, encourage, and edify Kingdom
leaders.
The criteria for membership within KBA is to be licensed or ordained clergy; be an
active appointed or elected lay leader in your national, state, or local denomination,
fellowship, ministry or community. As well as be in agreement with our adopted
Statement of Faith. Our members represent diverse backgrounds, and serve in all five-
fold ministry gifts. We take pride in knowing that with Christ, all things are possible.
Our primary purpose is to Equip, Encourage, and Edify Kingdom Leaders, with a
biblical foundation from Proverbs 27:17, Ephesians 4:4-7 and 1 Corinthians 3:9. We
press to continue to be a source of outreach and help to our co-laborers of the Gospel.
Ten Tips for Preaching from an iPad by Brandon Hilgemann
iPad preaching is a growing trend. I have been
using an iPad to preach since mid-2011. I just use
a single page outline with only scripture
references, the essential big ideas and any
quotes/statistics that I need to reference. If not
anything fits on the one page, it is cut.
I have learned a few things from experience. So
today, I bring you ten lessons learned by
experience.
1. Turn Off Notifications.
The only thing worse than a cell phone ringing in
the middle of a prayer is the preacher’s iPad
ringing in the middle of a prayer. Make sure to
turn on the Do Not Disturb switch in Settings. I
also turn on Airplane Mode just to make sure I
don’t have anything popping up from Wi-Fi.
At one location where I preached, there was a very
weak Wi-Fi signal that I did not have the
password to. A Wi-Fi connection message kept
popping up while I was preaching.
You do not want any distractions from the
message God has given you.
2. Turn Off Auto-Lock.
I have forgotten to do this a few times. Five
minutes into the message, my iPad blacked out. It
totally threw me off.
I had to pause what I was saying, open the iPad
and swipe to unlock before resuming the message.
This is even worse if your iPad is password
protected.
Always make sure to open up Setting, tap General
and set Auto-Lock to Never.
3. Lower The Brightness.
If the stage is dark and the brightness is too high
your iPad will make your note stand glow. In
addition, your face will light up like you are
telling scary stories around a campfire. If you
wear glasses, the iPad can also reflect off your
lenses.
Eliminate this distraction. Adjust brightness
accordingly. The goal is easy readability for you
while glowing low enough so the audience does
not notice.
A cool trick that many people don’t know is that
you can invert the colors on the iPad to make the
screen dark. In Setting, tap General, then
Accessibility, and switch Invert Colors to On.
(Update: A great tip is that you can set up a triple
click of the home button to invert colors to save
time. Setting > General > Accessibility > Triple
Click.)
4. Do Not Draw Attention To Your IPad.
Do not show off your new gadget. Don’t say,
“Look at this amazingly awesome piece of
technology. Don’t you wish you were as cool as
me?”
You are not an Apple commercial. This is a tool to
help you as you proclaim God’s message. Don’t
let the iPad become a distraction from the main
focus.
I recommend getting a case that covers the logo. I
use this amazing case that looks like a vintage
book. Yes, it is as awesome as it looks. I definitely
recommend it.
5. Use A PDF Reader App For Notes.
I love having an editable Pages doc in case I want
to make last second changes but hate preaching off
the Pages App. One wrong tap and you deleted
your notes and brought up the editing tools,
keyboard, etc. It can be highly distracting. A PDF
viewer eliminates distractions and keeps it simple.
You easily convert a Pages doc to a PDF. Tap the
wrench-looking Tools icon in the upper right
corner. Hit Share and Print, then Open in Another
App. Choose PDF as a format, then Choose App.
You will then have the option to select any App
that handles PDFs.
Some people like using free apps
like iBooks or Kindle. However, my favorite
is GoodReader, because it lets me add notes,
highlight text (I color code illustrations, scripture,
videos, etc.) and crop the document to eliminate
margins and make the text larger and more
readable. It is worth the extra couple of bucks, in
my opinion.
6. Still Carry A Bible.
This is just a personal preference, but I still like to
have a physical Bible on stage with me.
Yes, I read and study the Bible almost entirely
online or in my iPad or iPhone, but I find that
there is just something powerful about a preacher
holding a physical Bible. It shows the audience
that your authority comes from God, not Steve
Jobs.
7. Make Sure The IPad Is Fully Charged.
Always make sure your iPad is fully charged. You
do not want the battery dying mid-sermon. Have a
charger with you just in case you need a last-
minute power up before
walking onto stage.
Fortunately, the iPad has
such an incredibly long
battery life that this has
rarely been a problem for
me.
8. Have A Backup.
Always, always, always
have a backup. Either a
physical copy of your
notes or a
Dropbox/Evernote/Google Doc you can pull up
with your phone. You never know when
technology might fail you. The battery could die
unexpectedly, you could accidentally spill coffee
on it or it might freeze up for no reason on you.
Always be prepared just in case. I have had to pull
out my backup a few times (more on that in #9).
9. Don't Leave your iPad Unattended.
I set my iPad down one time … just once! I forgot
about it, walked away, and when I came back it
was gone! Someone had the nerve to steal my iPad
only two minutes before I stood up to preach!
I was upset, but not as upset as I would have been
if I did not have a backup.
I will never make that $400 mistake again! Just
because you are in church does not mean that
someone won’t give into the temptation to steal an
easy target.
10. Don't Have an Open Beverage Next To
Your iPad.
I am all about baptism by full immersion—just not
for my iPad!
If enough liquid spills on an iPad, it is game over.
You do not want an open water bottle on your note
stand. You might get
excited while preaching,
swing your arms around
and accidentally knock it
over.
Not only will you lose
your iPad, you will have
to explain to the elders
why you cussed on stage.
(Just kidding.)
www.Liberty.edu
New Haven Missionary Baptist Church 3418 Schofield Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46218 Overseer Charles H. McClain Jr., Pastor
www.newhavenmbc.org
Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church 1901 Amanda Avenue
Fort Worth, Texas 76105 Dr. Bruce D. Datcher, Pastor www.theebenzerchurchorg
Greater Hope Christian Center COGIC 3733 North 7th Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212 Lynell Ray Sr., Pastor
Empowerment Temple Community Church
3114 North Main St. Taylor, Texas 76574
David Henderson, III., Pastor
Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church 2100 Randolph Street
Saint Charles, Missouri 63301
Tremaine M. Combs, Pastor
Greater Hope Missionary Baptist Church 2521 Bishop Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76105
Rev. Sherman L. Johnson, Pastor
The Fellowship Church 908 Crawford Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76104
Patrick D. Joubert, Senior Pastor
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