In 2023 we placed a major emphasis on our Core Four – the four core behaviors we want to see in all New Day staff. Last year we shared what the core four was and gave out prizes to help reinforce the behaviors we wanted to see. Now unfortunately, we can’t keep the prize wheel going, but I do want to keep the momentum going, so this year I’m going to cover one of our core four each quarter. And today we’re covering “educate.”
I’ve done 15 years of coaching and one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is that growing churches are led by growing leaders. Over the weekend I finished a two hour audio resource on how to read more and in it the presenter said “When the pastor stops growing the church stops growing.” Well, let me take these two statements and apply them to you. Growing departments are led by growing leaders. And when the department leader stops growing, the department stops growing.
This is why at New Day we place a major emphasis on professional development. It’s the key to us succeeding in this season and the key to preparing for the new heights that God wants to take us to. So today let me remind you of the primary ways leaders can educate themselves.
- Read a book. As someone once rightly stated, “Leaders are readers.” Books are absolutely amazing. Someone gets a bachelors degree, a masters degree and a doctorate degree. Then they start a business, lead it to explosive growth, then sustain it for 3-4 decades. Then they write a book sharing the summary of all they’ve learned over the course of their life and sell it for $20. I often feel like I’m doing something immoral when I purchase their wisdom at such a paltry price. But since it’s not immoral, I try to take maximum advantage of this amazing deal.
- Listen to an audio resource. There are many church leaders who have taken what they’ve learned and turned it into an audio resource. This might be a podcast or a resource you can purchase and download from an online store. Click here for a sample. They teach on super relevant subjects such as 10 Ways to Increase Your Ministry Influence, Developing a One Year Personal Growth Plan, Discovering Work-Life Harmony, How to Handle Criticism, Managing the Stress of Ministry, Leading Effective Meetings, Secrets of Effective Delegation, and Time Management for Busy Pastors (just to name a few). Nelson Searcy taught me, “When your hands are busy, but your mind is free, it’s a great time to listen to an audio resource.” When you’re driving to or from work, your hands are busy driving, but your mind is free. When you’re getting ready in the morning, your hands are busy, but your mind is free. Etc.
- Seek wise counsel. Now I did a whole lesson on this last week so I’ll keep this one brief, but suffice it to say that a fantastic way to educate yourself is to seek wise counsel from other leaders (who are your counterpart at another church) who are more experienced than you, have greater knowledge than you and lead at a larger church than you. Here’s why finding this kind of person is so important. They have already done what you’re looking to do, so they can tell you how to get there. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to learn from some theorist. I want to learn from a practitioner. You can brainstorm with a peer, but you should seek wise counsel from someone further down the road than you. Now since we’re a growing church, this will require you, from time to time to update the list of people your turn to. When we were less than 100 people, I sought wise counsel from pastors that led churches of 300. But once we passed 300 ourselves, I had to update my list and began learning from pastors of churches of 500. But once we passed 500 I had to update my list again and began learning from pastors of churches that were 1,000 or more, which is what I’m doing now. But in time, as the Lord keeps blessing, I’ll have to update my list yet again. And so will you, so keep in mind that this isn’t a static list, rather an evolving one. Side note: I failed at keeping this one brief 🙂 It’s the longest one! lol
- Participate in a coaching network. As I mentioned earlier I’m in my 15th year of coaching and it’s truly made all the difference in my life. For a leader to be developed it requires three things: 1) knowledge, 2) experiences and 3) coaching. It’s great to get knowledge. And even greater to get experience. But of paramount importance is to get coaching. You need someone to pour into your life, trying to help you reach your full potential. Since the Super Bowl was yesterday, let me remind you that even professional athletes have coaches. If this doesn’t illustrate the importance of coaching, I don’t know what can. These players are the best of best, yet even they need coaching.
- Do a site-visit. One of the keys to Sam Walton’s success (the founder of Walmart) was that he was forever doing site-visits. Every time he traveled, even if it was for vacation, he made a point to check out one of his competitors. Just to be clear, he was not looking to pat himself on the back, identifying all the areas where he was doing better than them. No! He aimed for the exact opposite. He was looking for the one or two things they were doing better than him. He would make note of these things and when he got back from vacation or a work trip, he would be sure to implement whatever he learned at his stores. And in this way Walmart got better, one site-visit at a time. After I learned this from Sam many years ago, I started doing site-visits myself. And everywhere I go I look for what they are doing better than us, and when I get back, I implement whatever I learned at New Day. And in this way New Day gets better, one site-visit at a time. So everywhere you go, try to bring back one thing worth the cost of your trip.
- Go to a conference. Rick Warren used to say “If you want to grow a church to 200 go to seminary. If you want to grow a church to 2,000 go to a seminar.” Here, in a pithy manner, he’s highlighting the value of attending a conference. At a conference 1) you learn great content, 2) you meet others who are doing what you do (which is great because if you’re to seek wise counsel from qualified people you’re going to need to meet others who do what you do), 3) you learn of other great churches that you might want to do a site-visit at, and 4) you get exposed to helpful resources.
We will never fill our region with Jesus loving, gospel preaching, disciple making churches if we aren’t willing to pay a price, so let me remind you that the call to ministry, is a call to prepare for what you’re believing God to do in and through you. So let’s commit afresh and anew to “educate.”
Let’s also remember that how much (or little) you develop your leadership will have a direct impact on the quality of leaders you’re able to attract and keep on your team. Christian leadership guru John Maxwell has often say something along these lines: If you want to attract 6s and 7s, then you need to be an 8 or a 9. If you are a 6 or 7 you might attract an 8 or a 9 but you’ll never keep them. 8s and 9s want to follow a 10. So if you’re a 6 or a 7, the people who will stick around and be willing to follow your leadership will 5s and below.
Now if this doesn’t motivate you to be willing to pay a price when it comes to your professional development, I don’t know what will! This is what drives me to do so much PD. I want to level up the leadership of our church, and I know that to level up the leadership of our church I have to level up myself. If I want to have 7s and 8s on staff, then I need to become a 9 or a 10 (which is exactly what I’m working extremely hard to become). And what is true for me is also true for you. If you want to level up your department, then you must first level up yourself (and this is where “Educate” comes into play).
DISCUSSION QUESTION: Today we’re going to break up in groups, and I want everyone to share how doing one of the above six things benefited you in 2023 (in hopes that in seeing the value of doing these things, you’ll be inspired to do them again in 2024).