By Justin Gravitt:

Are you afraid of the dark? is more than a 90’s TV series. If you listen closely during this pandemic, you’ll likely hear screams bubbling up from within. The show centered around the “Midnight Society,” a group of teens who gathered together to tell spooky stories. Their fascination with terror is tested as the horror begins to creep into the real world. In each episode, they are forced to face the dark.

So what about you? Are you afraid of the dark?

Don’t answer too fast. Fear of darkness lurks in the heart of most people. Take time to consider how you’ve been responding to this in-between season known as COVID-19. Like it or not, we are in the dark now.

Darkness forces itself upon us and beckons us to be still, to rest, and to wrestle with our limits. Each night it carries us from one day to the next. It stands in between what has been and what will be. It’s one of humanity’s most compelling metaphors for evil and the state of internal confusion that comes when the unknown frustrates our ability to see the future.

Sound familiar?

In less than two months, our lives have been turned upside down. Our morning commute’s been replaced by a morning walk to our home “work station.” Running errands now involves suiting up with face mask, latex gloves, and antiseptic wipes. Sunday services are now a show to tune into, rather than a people to connect with and worship God together. Church leaders who used to connect and care for people in person now care by communicating content into a camera. The darkness has destroyed our normal. It’s disrupted our lives, and the scariest part is that no one knows how long this will last or what will come next.

Most Christians associate darkness with evil. Scripture repeatedly contrasts light and dark. The good and the evil. John 1 is one such example, Jesus is shown as the light shining into the darkness. The darkness neither understands nor can it overcome His light. Scripture uses darkness in other ways as well.

Scripture also uses darkness as a season of suffering and uncertainty. On a number of occasions, God uses darkness (again, not evil here) to grow His disciples. In Lamentations, Jeremiah writes that God has “made me dwell in darkness like those long dead. He has walled me in so that I cannot escape,” (3:6–7a). In Job the word darkness occurs 26 times and at one point Job says of God, “He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; he has shrouded my path in darkness” (19:8). Since God uses darkness to mature us as disciples we need to know how to respond when darkness falls.

Isaiah 50:10–11 helps us understand how to respond to periods of darkness. It says,

“… Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: you will lie down in torment.”

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Darkness is no joke! It demands one of three responses. Let’s look at them from most common to least common.

1. Distract Ourselves from It

Consumers are experts in distraction. When they see a hint of darkness they divert their attention to something more pleasing. We provide ourselves with flaming torches by devoting ourselves to work, accomplishment, binge watching Netflix, reading, avoiding news, etc. The options are nearly endless in a consumeristic culture. And we are well-practiced in diversion. Even in times of darkness we dabble in distraction so we don’t have to deal with our inner darkness.

2. Deny It

The second way to handle darkness is to deny it. Denial is an attempt to ignore or overpower the darkness. Instead of recognizing the new reality and adjusting, we seek to keep going as before. In the horror movie, those who deny are the ones we are yelling at to not investigate the strange noise outside. “Don’t you know what’s happening?!” Denying a period of darkness asserts our strength while ignoring our humanity.

3. Dwell in It

This is clearly what God desires. Dwelling in darkness requires us to trust and rely on God. Our humanity moves us to self-protect and escape. Dwelling requires us to recognize our inability to change it and, as Job learned, our right to know why (Job 38). It demands that we remain dependent. We can only be still and know God (Psalm 46:10). It calls us to live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Dwelling calls us to stand firm because we trust His goodness and His plan for us. The darkness is a purifying agent; when we dwell we recognize God’s power over us and His presence with us in it. We dwell because we want to know Christ and be like Him in His death as well as His life (Phil 3:10–11).

The darkness is an invitation to suffer (Philippians 1:29). It is a call to hold the line, not to push it away with distraction and denial. It is an opportunity to hold onto our faith when everything around us seems to be falling apart. It’s a chance to prove our allegiance to the God of the light and the dark. And it allows us to know God in our hour of testing, not just in our hour of blessing.

So are you afraid of the dark? I am. I fear it in the “fear God” sense. The darkness (again not evil) demands my respect and sobriety as a purifying instrument of God. The darkness is a tool that He uses to draw me to Himself. It can effectively drive out my natural human desire to self-protect and to remain comfortably committed to my own agenda. It’s like another practice that can lead us to grow through tough times. Let’s respond well and let it do its work.

By Justin Gravitt

The post Pandemic Disciple Making: Dwelling in Darkness appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: Pandemic Disciple Making: Dwelling in Darkness

The post Pandemic Disciple Making: Dwelling in Darkness appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By: Brandon A. Cox

Source: The Church is Messy, Isn’t It?

The post The Church is Messy, Isn’t It? appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By: UnSeminary

This has been a strange season to be working in the local church. 

Just a few months ago, we all made the pivot to entirely digital and that felt like the biggest change in our history of leading in the local church. At that point, we thought it would only be a few weeks that we would need to be in lockdown. Now we find ourselves facing what seems to be an even more complex season of ministry. 

This transition to whatever the next normal looks like is going to be incredibly difficult to navigate. This will likely include some mixed variety of digital services, small group meetings, and some version of large group meetings in our auditoriums. 

I love church leaders. I spend a lot of time thinking about how we can be more effective and what we can do to reach more people around us. 

Over the last few months, I’ve spent quite a bit of time listening to and chatting with church leaders from across the country. While none of the fears that I write about here have been explicitly expressed by the individual leaders that I spoke with, they do resonate with the conversations that I’ve been having. My challenge to senior leaders today is to find time in the coming weeks to listen carefully to what your leaders are saying and even more carefully to what they’re not saying.

These fears represent some real pain points that our staff are going through in this season as we face what comes next in our churches. So, here are five fears about reopening that your staff may be feeling but aren’t talking to you about. 

I don’t like crowds anymore. 

This past weekend I was at an Ikea. It was kind of a fun experience lining up outside in a winding queue like I was waiting for my favorite Walt Disney World ride. It was interesting looking at the different types of masks people were wearing. But something hit me when I actually stepped foot inside the Ikea.

This wave of unexpected fear came over me as I stood in the silverware section with maybe 35 to 40 other people milling around me. I didn’t realize that months of being socially isolated had actually made me fearful in crowds. There is no doubt that some staff on your team are worried about coming back, and while we’re cheering that our churches are reopening and are looking forward to 30%, 40%, or maybe even 50% of our community returning to our buildings, there are some staff that will find this to be a fearful or overwhelming experience.

Giving our staff an opportunity to distance themselves from our community as they arrive will be an important part of our reopening plan. Even those affectionate folks among us who used to high five and hug everybody who came through the front door may find themselves with increasing amounts of stress when it comes to growing audience sizes in the coming weeks. 

I’m done with church online. 

A few weeks ago, I was enjoying a peaceful Sunday morning engaging with our church online while making some pancakes with fresh blueberries. When I came back to the screen to watch what was going on, a deep heaviness suddenly fell over me.

We’ve been celebrating this amazing season of digital ministry, but that’s mostly because we haven’t had any alternative. As senior leaders, we’ve been telling our people that this represents the future. We’ve been communicating how important it is for us to shift all of our ministries to digital and online in order to continue to connect with our people. However, I suspect that many of our staff are just done with church online. 

We’re starting to see that this is the case in the broader church, as attendance is dropping and engagement is decreasing. Many of our staff are probably fearful of actually telling us that they are also tired of it, despite the fact that their perspective might actually help us fix the issue.

Let’s create space to address the ways that church online isn’t meeting our needs and what we need to do to change that. If we could talk honestly about what is inadequate about the church online experience now that we’ve all been in it for weeks, we might actually be able push to a deeper level of innovation. 

What is it about church online that is so dissatisfactory? How do we change those things for the future waves of this pandemic and also for people who may never enter the doors of our church but are connecting online?

I work in kids’ ministry. We’re opening without my area. What does that mean?

One of the saddest things I’ve seen in this reopening process is that some churches across the country are planning to open without any form of kids’ ministry. 

The not so subtle message you’re sending to your kids’ ministry team is what they have suspected all along: kids’ ministry is nothing more than babysitting so that adults can sit freely in the main room. 

Over the years, we’ve used language that has caused our kids’ ministry people to be suspicious of whether we might think that kids’ ministry is second best to what’s happening in the adult world. If your church is looking at opening without kids’ ministry, you are making a grievous strategic error. 

Kids’ ministry has always cultivated some of the most innovative leaders in the church. Kids’ ministry is a growth engine and is one of the major reasons why growing churches are growing. To reopen a church without kids’ ministry, I would contest, is not actually reopening the church. If you cannot open kids’ ministry, do not reopen your adult ministry. There are many strategic reasons to consider here but think about the damage you’ll be doing to your staff and leaders, not to mention your wider church, if you don’t include kids’ ministry as an important part of your whole. 

I’m tired. (Like, really tired.)

I’ll say it again, this has been a very strange season for people who work in the local church. There’s a meme that’s been floating around that says, “How is it that we’re not doing any public meetings or anything at the church building, but our staff are busier than ever before?” That’s very true. I would suspect that in your church, many people haven’t taken any vacation time during these last three months because there hasn’t been anywhere to go or anything to do. On top of that, people have been wondering about the future of their jobs. So the thought of taking time off right now has not made sense.

The problem is we’re heading into a reopening phase that will be more demanding than the phase we just went through. The complexity of ministry is only going to increase in the coming weeks and months, let alone if we find ourselves with a substantial second wave of coronavirus that forces us back into a lockdown scenario.

Your team is tired.

I would strongly recommend that you think through what you’re going to do with vacation time in the coming weeks and months. People need to push back, unplug, and not worry about the live feed or what’s happening in the chat room. One more week to rest, to sleep in, to find some sense of new normal. I understand that this can be difficult in this season, but if we don’t give our people an opportunity to take time off, it will only impact our ministries and our team’s ability to stay healthy in the long run.

I feel a little lost. 

This has been a destabilizing season; there’s no doubt about that. There are people on your team today who are not really sure what’s next. The path is unclear. Ministry during normal seasons is already a bit destabilizing and uncomfortable because we’re constantly dealing with people who have real issues and our job is to help them take steps closer to Jesus. The wins are sometimes not entirely evident and the rewards can feel few on a week in week out basis. Our job in this season is to clarify the roles that people need to be filling and the work that we’re asking them to do.

In this season, it’s up to you and me as leaders to give clear direction, even if that means brand new job descriptions and weekly, monthly, and/or quarterly key performance indicators that our teams can push towards. Team members may feel strange raising their hand to say that they feel lost because they might fear that will reflect poorly on their ability to cope in this season. Take time now to get back to the basics around defining the win and clarifying the next steps for your team.

In times of great adversity, the church shines. 

There’s no doubt that these weeks and months have been filled with all kinds of adversity. We need to work carefully and closely with our teams to help them weather this season and to pivot well into what’s coming next. There are some resources below to help you with the conversations that you’re going to have in the coming weeks as you flesh out where your people are at and work through your reopening plan:

A Template for Discussion in a One on One Meeting4 Leadership Personalities Needed for Your Church Team6 Thoughts on Perfectionism and Church Leadership7 Leadership Tensions in Growing Churches

Source: 5 Fears About Reopening that Church Staff Aren’t Telling Their Leaders

The post 5 Fears About Reopening that Church Staff Aren’t Telling Their Leaders appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By: Brandon A. Cox

Source: Real Faith Moves Past Fear

The post Real Faith Moves Past Fear appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By: Discipleship.org

Spiritual maturity is revealed more by our relating than by our knowing or by our going.

That’s an uncommon belief. Churches throughout the world pursue maturity through teaching and preaching that’s aimed at the head and feet, not the deepest parts of a person’s heart.

For me the result was a faith that understood what to do and why, but left me clueless about how to overcome my fears and social anxiety. Those who have invested in my life have helped me realize that there’s a difference between social anxiety (shyness) and introversion. Yet, if left unchecked both have the power to neuter a person’s disciple making efforts.

The struggle is more common than you might think. At least half of the pastors and church leaders I work with are actively trying to overcome relational deficiencies in order to become effective disciple makers. Not long ago, I shared with you “3 Keys to Help Introverts Become Excellent Disciple Makers.”

Today, I’m offering you a resource that dives even deeper into this topic.

At last years, National Disciple Making Forum, I led a workshop on this topic. It was very well received and I wanted to pass it on to you. The title and description are below. If you want to listen to it, you can do so here. If you’d like to listen and see the slides that I used you can click on the video below.

One last thing. I’ll be leading a new workshop at this year’s National Disciple Making Forum. If you’re interested in growing as a disciple maker or in helping your church move in that direction, would you consider joining me?

Get Real & Go Deep by Freeing People Instead of Sidelining Them – Disciple making is for everyone, not just for “people people.” So how do you develop those who are hindered by social anxiety, personality make-up, or just plain awkwardness? Everyone can become a relational disciple maker. Journey with us as we cover how to relationally help those who struggle interpersonally.

Written by Justin Gravitt

Justin Gravitt is the Dayton (Ohio) Area Director for Navigator Church Ministries. Read more from Justin at his blog, “One Disciple to Another,” where this article first appeared.

The post Introverts, Disciple Making, & Freedom from Fear appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: Introverts, Disciple Making, & Freedom from Fear

The post Introverts, Disciple Making, & Freedom from Fear appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Shawn Lovejoy:

“We have never seen anything like this.”

At the time of this writing, the COVID-19 Virus has been labeled a “pandemic”, businesses are suspending operations or working remotely, churches are scrambling to figure out how to hold gatherings, America is essentially closed, and we’re hearing statements like the above consistently.

The word “unprecedented” is being used a lot.

Uncertainty is at an all time high.

Many stabilizing forces in our world feel unstable.

Uncertainty, unprecedented times and unstable futures tend to spark feelings of fear in the people and teams we lead.

So what do you do? What’s a leader’s responsibility during moments like this? You’re the leader, what are people looking to you for?

In a word: Leadership.

This is what you signed up for. While none of us saw this moment coming, this moment is what you are here for. In moments of crisis, leaders lead. When everyone else feels crippled by fear, this is your time to courageously lead.

I heard it said recently that…

“The inconvenient often becomes the vehicle through which the impossible becomes the inevitable.”

I believe this season of inconvenience and fear can be leveraged if you will posture your leadership in three ways. Here are 3 things you can do as the leader to help people fight fear and achieve what may seem impossible…

Be a Voice and Presence of Peace

During tense times followers take their emotional cues from leaders. The person in room with the most peace is often the person in room with the most influence. In your meetings, give extra time to encourage your team. They are thinking about providing for their families and protecting their health. Speak words of calm and peace. Carry a calm demeanor. Smile. Of course be your authentic self, share your concerns and create urgency…but as the leader, lead with peace. Especially in seasons of chaos, people follow people of peace more than people with a position.

Ignite Passion

I read recently that “Passion obliterates panic.” When we point to something larger to live and work for, it has a way of eclipsing the tensions of the moment. It’s why people dive into work or hobbies to alleviate stress. Take extra time to feed the dreams of the people on your team. Feed people’s need to be seen, heard and cared for. Point to the “why” behind your work. In this time of national crisis, reframe your why in a manner that connects to today. Remember, those who are passionate about something are less likely to be those who panic about everything.

Bring Practical Solutions

Inspiration matters. In fact, right now, it is an essential. That said, people you lead need to some practical “hows” during a crisis as well. Practical leadership doesn’t mean you have to provide a roadmap all the way to the end goal, no one expects you to predict the future, but it does mean you provide the first step or two. Sit down with your team and map out one day at a time. Start by giving clarity for today. Set short term priorities. Define, as Stephen Covey says, what the “big rocks” that matter most are. The next right thing to do being made clear serves as an anchor to our team. Keeping people clearly focused on what’s next guards people from being fearfully consumed with what may never come to be.

At the church my family attends, our pastor is leading us through this “unprecedented” time. The most practical thing he did on Sunday was give us homework for the week of reading Psalm 91 everyday as a personal prayer. Did he tell us how we’re going to survive this health crisis? No. Did he say what to do about the stock market? No. Did he give me the plan to protect my business? No. But he did give me a practical next step to focus my energies on.

Lead your team through the fear they feel and the season they find themselves in by bringing similarly practical solution, igniting and fueling passion in your team, and being a leader guided by peace.

It takes courage to lead.

This is your moment.

You can do this.

I’m cheering you on.

……………………………………………………………………………

Could you use someone to process your next step to take as a leader with? Don’t navigate this season in isolation. Our team is offering a Free 30 Minute Coaching Call where one of our coaches will jump on a call with you and help provide you perspective and peace about what’s next. Schedule a call with us today.

schedule a call today

Lets Talk About Coaching

Source: 3 Ways To Lead Through Times of Fear & Uncertainty

The post 3 Ways To Lead Through Times of Fear & Uncertainty appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Discipleship.org: Are you a disciple making rookie?

Rook • ie

Meaning: A new recruit, especially in the army or police. A member of an athletic team in his first full season.

In sports, rookies represent hope. Some arrive to the team as hyped prospects expected to be the future of the franchise. Others are unknown players who have defied expectations to get there. Fans watch rookies eagerly because they each unfold a unique story. How will this one work out?

At some point every disciple maker was a rookie. I still remember the first meeting I had as a discipler. I had prepared and prayed a lot for my meeting with Brad and as we sat down together I was nearly shaking with fear!

Like most disciple making rookies, I was afraid of so many things: looking stupid, coming on too strong, and most of all, failing. I lacked what every rookie lacks: experience. And as you know, there’s no substitute for experience.

Experience is earned. It’s impossible to get experience by completing discipleship curriculum or listening to sermons. In fact, no amount of disciple making knowledge or understanding can make someone a disciple maker. Disciple makers are made by making disciples. And since the process of making a disciple is never without challenge, each experience has the potential to bring growth.

I’m no longer a disciple making rookie. Somehow, I’ve accumulated over twenty years of disciple making experience (I don’t feel that old!). My experience is broad and deep. I’ve discipled younger students and older adults, men and women (in triads), Americans and Asians (Africans too), new believers and seasoned Christians, extroverts and introverts; you get the picture.

Like a wily veteran on a sports team, I want rookie disciple makers to learn from my mistakes and the mistakes I’ve seen others make. It turns out that most rookie disciple makers make similar mistakes. So, this post is the first in the “Rookie Mistakes” series.

Let’s start with the biggest mistake made by rookie disciple makers. What is it? Rookie disciple makers are often driven by fear instead of trust.

Unlike other mistakes, the posture of fear drives rookie disciple makers to make decisions that are self-protective rather than Jesus modeled. Instead of discipling a person who is FAT, they disciple someone who is friendly. This protects them from being rejected. Instead of using the Bible as the main tool in discipling they use curriculum. This keeps them from being wrong. Instead of formally inviting someone to start being discipled, they keep the relationship loose and undefined. This keeps them from being accountable. Instead of opening up about their struggles, they hide behind tools. And there are still other ways that fear pollutes disciple making.

Fear may never completely go away in disciple making, but it doesn’t have to drive your discipling practices. Veteran disciple makers have learned to manage it by marinating in these two truths:

1. Failure Is an Option

Are you ready to fail at disciple making? I’m not looking for an enthusiastic YES. No discipler should be eager to crash and burn, but veteran disciple makers know that sometimes it doesn’t work out like you hoped. Regardless of how spiritual you are or how prepared you are, there’s no guarantee of success.

Fear of failure can imprison rookie disciple makers. Instead of focusing on the needs of the disciple, she focuses on avoiding failure. If a disciple maker is grounded in Christ, she can handle failure. . .even if failure is largely her fault. As they say, failure doesn’t have to be fatal.

I’ve failed and lived to tell about it. I’ve discipled people who have never passed it on, who have ghosted me, and who have simply rejected the offer of being discipled. Each time, it’s hurt. But it’s also been a learning experience for me. Maybe I failed. So what? The ability to handle failure is part of maturity. And disciple making is the work of someone more mature helping those less spiritually mature. Don’t fear failure!

2. Trust Over Fear

There are plenty of other fears that rookie disciple makers carry. Some fear being exposed for lack of understanding or existing sin in their life, others fear their relational weaknesses being uncovered, others fear of giving bad advice, etc.

For a disciple maker the antidote to fear isn’t courage, it’s trust. Veteran disciple makers disarm fear by trusting deeply God’s call to disciple. Since Jesus has promised His presence as we disciple (Matt. 28:19-20) we can disciple from a place of safety. It’s okay if we look stupid, ill-equipped, weak, or incompetent because He is with us. He has sent us and so our power comes from Him, not in our sufficiency.

In fact, experience has shown me that our weaknesses have far more power in discipling than our strengths do. It’s as if when the Bible says, “His power is made perfect in our weakness” that it’s really true (because it is) (2 Cor. 12:9)!

Soaking in these truths disarm fear and allow us to surrender the results to God. When we disciple we are obedient to His call on our life. Since Jesus is with us, what can man do to us?

So, if you are a rookie disciple maker, beware of being driven by fear. Not only will fear cause you to make many less than ideal choices as a disciple maker, it will also weaken the power of a healthy disciple making relationship. If left untended it will obliterate both your disciple making relationships and your long-term survival discipler.

Those who disciple for the long haul have learned to make peace with failure and to trust God instead of wilting under their fears. I’m praying you will do the same!

Written by Justin Gravitt

Justin Gravitt is the Dayton (Ohio) Area Director for Navigator Church Ministries. Read more from Justin at his blog, “One Disciple to Another,” where this article first appeared.

The post Rookie Disciple Making Mistakes: Driven by Fear appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: Rookie Disciple Making Mistakes: Driven by Fear

The post Rookie Disciple Making Mistakes: Driven by Fear appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Carey Nieuwhof: As a leader, there are things you do every day.

Some help—others, not so much.

I’ve found that as I’ve grown as a leader, I’ve regularly had to change how I think, how I lead and even what I say.

Fortunately, there are hacks you can learn along the way that will help you get better faster.

What follows are some things you can easily banish as a leader starting today. Eliminating all of them or most of them will give you immediate traction.

Here are 7 things you should stop doing today if you want to make progress.

1. Lead by intentions

Your kids aren’t going to remember your intentions. Neither will your wife or your church. The people who count on you only ever see your actions.

Which likely means no one’s going to stand next to your casket or urn and say “He wished he was nicer” or “He had always hoped to be more strategic” or “She really wanted to overcome her fear”.

Legacies never get built on intentions. They’re built on action.

So get over your intentions and start acting.

Legacies never get built on intentions. They’re built on action.Click To Tweet

2. Use words that start with “Some”

If you want to get nothing meaningful done, just use words that start with “some” a lot. Like in every conversation or meeting you’re in.

What ‘some’ words? Well….

Somebody

Someday

Sometime

Something

These words end up sounding like this: Somebody should do something about that sometime someday.

Guaranteed zero action happens. Ever.

Leadership is not simply talk. In fact, talking about doing something again and again is not leadership, it’s delusion.

Talking about doing something again and again is not leadership, it’s delusion.Click To Tweet

There’s only one ‘some’ word I can think of that I like, and that’s somehow.

Somehow can be an amazing word when you’re up against and impossible task and someone asks you “How on earth will we do this?” and you reply “I don’t know. But somehow we’ll figure it out.”

Now that’s awesome.

But someone somewhere sometimes means no-one nowhere ever. Trust me.

Someone, somewhere, sometimes means no-one nowhere ever.Click To Tweet

3. Unnecessary meetings

The value of meetings once you get beyond the creative process, or meetings to nail down a few executional details or meetings connect for a check-in to sync up the team is pretty low.

For the most part, meetings are the enemy of work.

Far too many leaders waste their lives in meetings. Instead of doing what they’re called to do, they meet about what they’re supposed to be doing.

Dreams can be born in meetings, but far more often, dreams die in meetings.

Meetings are the enemy of work. Do your work instead.

Meetings are the enemy of work. Do your work instead.Click To Tweet

4. Fear

Fear is the thief of hope. It kills leadership. It murders courage.

Way too many leaders I know, live in fear.

The difference between effective leaders and ineffective leaders is simple: all leaders feel fear. The effective ones push past it.

Fear is the thief of hope. It kills leadership. It murders courage.Click To Tweet

So what’s the antidote to fear?

While there are a few, believe it or not, I think one of the antidotes to fear is the fear the right thing.

If you’re going to be afraid, I suggest you fear this:

Be afraid of never accomplishing your mission.

That will give you courage, or at least determination. And that in turn, will grow your faith.

If you’re going to be afraid, be afraid of never accomplishing your mission.Click To Tweet

5. The Desire to Be Liked

Leadership requires you to take people to destinations they would not go without your leadership.

Stop for a moment and, if you would, re-read that sentence.

Do you see the challenge?

Leadership is inherently difficult because it requires a leader to take people where they don’t naturally want to go.

So you have a choice as a leader.

You can focus on leading people, or focus on being liked.

When you focus on being liked, you will instinctively try to please the people you’re leading. And when you do, you will become confused.

Pleasing people is inherently confusing because people don’t agree. One person wants it one way. Another wants it another way.

And soon, you’re bending over backward to make everyone happy, which of course means that in the end, you will end up making no one happy, including yourself. It’s actually a recipe for misery for everyone.

It’s also a recipe for inertia.

If you focus on being liked, you’ll never lead. You will never have the courage to do what needs to be done.

If you focus on being liked, you’ll never lead.Click To Tweet

6. Selfishness

Ambition can be a good thing. It’s great to have hopes and dreams for your mission.

But selfish ambition is a different creature.

Ambition kills servants of God and turns them into servants of themselves.

Enough said.

Ambition kills servants of God and turns them into servants of themselves.Click To Tweet

7. Blaming Others

It’s so easy to blame everyone else and everything else for your lack of progress as a leader.

If you want to keep not making progress, keep blaming others.

The opposite of blame is responsibility. If you think about the leaders you admire most, they’re probably the most responsible leaders you know.

Great leaders never assign blame. Instead, they assume responsibility.

Great leaders never assign blame. Instead, they assume responsibility.Click To Tweet

Get Ahead…Work On You

It is a crazy world, and if you’re not careful, it can take you under. That’s what happened to me when, after my first decade in leadership, I burned out.

If you’re trying to find the time for what matters most in life, my High Impact Leader course, is my online, on-demand course designed to help you get time, energy and priorities working in your favour.

Many leaders who have taken it are recovering 3 productive hours a day.  That’s about 1000 hours of found time each year. That’s a lot of time for what matters most.

Here are what some alumni are saying about The High Impact Leader Course”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you for providing the course again. It has absolutely made an impact in my life and family already that I can’t even describe.” – Joel Rowland, Clayton County, North Carolina

“Just wow.  Thank you, thank you.” Dave Campbell,  Sioux Falls South Dakota

“A game changer.” Pam Perkins,  Colorado Springs, Colorado

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What About You?

Those are 7 things I check myself on regularly.

What about you? What would you add to the list?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

The post Your Stop Doing List: 7 Things To Banish Today To Make Progress appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: Your Stop Doing List: 7 Things To Banish Today To Make Progress

The post Your Stop Doing List: 7 Things To Banish Today To Make Progress appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Carey Nieuwhof: See if you recognize this. There are some kinds of leaders (often in churches and not-for-profits) who are wonderful with people, but whose organizations don’t produce great results. Often there’s little accountability, a general drift, poor metrics and just a lack of overall excellence. But the leader’s a really nice person.

There are other leaders (often in rapidly growing churches and businesses) who are not so great with people, but there’s tight accountability, laser-like focus, clear results and tremendous progress.

You probably already recognize your own style in the above descriptions.

Maybe you just love people, but it’s just hard to see progress in your mission. Deadlines mean almost nothing. Most people show up for an event both under-prepared and unclear about what’s really going on. The quality of people’s work is mediocre at best, but most people just shrug it off anyway.

But at least you somewhat enjoy being together. Except there are no new people to join the party because the party just isn’t that great.

Or maybe you’re driven. Results are everywhere. All your graphs go up and to the right. You’re gaining a reputation for quality and excellence. Sharp thinkers and bright leaders are attracted to your organization. Unlike so many of your peers, you get it done. You’re crushing it.

…

The post The Single Best Way To Fully Motivate Your Team appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: The Single Best Way To Fully Motivate Your Team

The post The Single Best Way To Fully Motivate Your Team appeared first on Passion for Planting.

Source: Overcoming Three Big Leadership Fears

The post Overcoming Three Big Leadership Fears appeared first on Passion for Planting.