by Jeff Shinabarger

The less I try to do everything, the more I value the abilities and gifts of the people around me. Just after returning from a sabbatical where my wife, Andre, and I spent considerable time choosing priorities and prioritizing family, I promised to speak at two different events on consecutive nights of the week. When I sheepishly reported my plan, she reminded me of our shared commitment.

I hate having to call someone back to change my answer, but knew it was the right thing to do. This is when I stumbled upon a significant truth. Every opportunity not right for me brings an opportunity for someone else. When I claim more than what I can handle, I limit the opportunities for another person in my community. In essence, when we choose to do what we ought to do, forsaking all else, we create opportunities and access for others.

When I declined the speaking opportunity, I asked if I could recommend a friend of mine who would be incredible for their gathering. This created access to a new opportunity for him. My “no” turned into someone else’s “yes.”

Have you ever stopped to think about how you have arrived where you are today? I guarantee you that someone gave you an opportunity. Someone believed in your abilities and gave you a platform to live out what it is that makes you breathe today. Don’t we all want to be part of a community that has the best interest of others at its heart?

The greatest love you can give a friend is to help him or her find and achieve their calling. Let me say it another way. My greatest responsibility as a friend is to help others discover what only they are made to do. I want to be involved in a community that does everything possible to help each other find the unique value that only they can contribute to the world. I want to be a part of a community that works together to create platforms for that talent. I want to do less, so my friends can do what only they can do.

When you think about your aspirations for your closest friends do you really want them to succeed? Are you willing to celebrate their victories the way you’d celebrate your own? Wouldn’t you love to join a community of people helping each other pursue their dreams, aspirations, and purposes?

It starts with you and it starts with me. As you walk through your day, think about the people you love. How can you use your influence to help them succeed? What access do you have that can further the calling of a friend? When you give your opportunities and energy to serve the calling of others, everyone wins.

Jeff Shinabarger is the author of More or Less: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity. He is a social entrepreneur, experience designer, cofounder of the Q event, and creative director at Catalyst. He is also the founder of Plywood People, an innovative community addressing social needs through creative services. He’s been featured in national media such as CNN, NPR, and Relevant Magazine and has been interviewed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Chicago Sun-Times, among others. He and his family live in East Atlanta Village.

by Gary Fenton

Read any book about leadership and the word vision is addressed throughout. For good reason, the strength of a leader is often tied to their ability to communicate and rally support behind their vision. But it is easy to misunderstand the definition and application of a church leader’s vision.

Every ministry leader has a vision for their ministry. Sometimes a ministry’s lack of energy or a church’s stagnate growth is attributed to the absence of a leader’s vision. While some leaders are better than others at succinctly communicating their vision, they all have a picture in their mind of what they want their ministry to be and to become. A leader’s vision may be that things never change. And the problem isn’t that the leader lacks vision, the problem is that their vision doesn’t produce an attractive or relevant ministry environment. When conflict arises on a church staff, it is nearly always because two ministry leaders have competing visions and not that either has an absence of vision.

Vision and strategy are different. Vision is what a leader wants the ministry to be or become. If vision is to be communicated, it must move from a mental picture to a word picture. The vision is the destination. Strategy is a tactical plan for how to move toward the destination. Developing leaders sometimes confuse strategy with vision, creating a plan that may or may not work toward fulfilling the vision. For example, a staff member may propose an event to intentionally attract unchurched families to the church campus. But what do you want to accomplish in the lives of attending nonbelievers? Do you want them to just show up? Or do you want them to take a first step toward becoming disciples? Vision driven strategy will always include plans to help newcomers return to the church where environments and mentors are waiting to disciple those same people. Conversely, many churches have the stated vision of reaching non-believers, yet their strategies (and church culture) only appeal to existing Christians. Vision must precede strategy. Vision without strategy is wishful thinking. Strategy without vision is simply a way to organize busy work.

You may have to ask a senior pastor to help you understand his vision. Invite the senior pastor to paint a picture of what the church looks like one year and three years from today. Without understanding his goals for the church, you may be running on a track parallel (or perpendicular) to your senior leader’s goals. And when you understand your pastor’s vision, you can shape the vision of your own ministry to support the bigger picture goals. It will be much easier to gain the mindshare of your senior pastor when you can speak his language, helping him to see how your ministry vision aligns with the overarching goals for the church.

Keep in mind that not all church leaders can explain or interpret vision well. They may struggle to put their goals into words. Other staff members and influential lay leaders may be better at vision interpretation than the pastor. Because there is always a subjective dimension to interpretation and application, it may help to seek the perspective of key staff and church members.

Learn about the history of the church’s vision or mission statement. Sometimes a vision is a reaction to a previous (or ongoing) problem in the church. Occasionally, the official mission incorporates goals imposed by a pastor or a committee and without explanation. Understanding how the vision was formed can help shape its application inside your own ministry.

Design the events and environments under your leadership to support the big picture goals of the church. Use the vocabulary and imagery of your senior pastor’s vision to describe the goals of your own ministry. When promoting your ministry within the church, begin with the end in mind. Talk about what you want to ultimately accomplish rather than focusing on what problem you want to solve. For example, invite prospective volunteers to make an eternal impact rather than draft workers to fulfill a state mandated childcare ratio.

Dr. Gary Fenton is the senior pastor of Dawson Memorial Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Gary blogs at www.CharacterPath.com and can be found on Twitter @CharacterPath.

Carey Nieuwhof, senior pastor of Connexus Community Church, interviews Mark Beeson, senior pastor of Granger Community Church. Granger Community Church received national recognition in 2001 as one of the fastest growing, most relevant churches of that time. But over time, Granger began to lose their vision. Hear Mark’s perspective on why this happened and what they did to get back on track. For more information about Mark and Granger Community Church, check out Mark’s blog at: http://www.markbeeson.com

YouLead Feature: Mark Beeson Podcast

Developed by Orange, YouLead is designed to develop the leadership skills of yourself, your team and your volunteers. It centers on answering three basic questions: What can I do to continue learning as a leader? How can I be intentional about connecting with my volunteers consistently? What can we do to stay on the same page as a team? We do this by creating materials that can be digested in 20 easy minutes. Click here to learn more about a subscription to YouLead.

by Perry Noble

Charisse, my five-year-old little girl, looked up at me with really big eyes just the other day and informed me that I was going to need to start putting the toilet seat down because she had recently went to the bathroom and “fell in!” (Lots of men have had this same conversation with their wife/daughters!)  It brought FIVE things to mind . . .

1. When we get in a hurry as leaders we tend to not pay attention to how our decisions might impact others. (If we are going to lead like Jesus we MUST be way more concerned about others than we are ourselves!)
2. If a leader will take a little extra time and make sure the details are covered it makes it a lot easier for those who are following him/her. (A person who does not take a little time now will have to take a lot of time later repairing the damage from the “mess”—I can promise you she will not forget “falling in!”)
3. Laziness as a leader will often result in unfortunate circumstances for those who follow. (I can promise she was not happy about “falling in!”)
4. When unfortunate circumstances take place (falling in the toilet) a good leader will always ask “what could I have done differently in that situation” (put the lid down), instead of blaming someone else for the mess. (Sure, I could have told her to make sure the lid was down. The reality is that if I had taken the extra time and did what a good leader/father should have done, then she would not have gone for a swim!)
5. Two of the MOST POWERFUL WORDS for a leader to say are, “I’m sorry,” when they are confronted with a careless mistake that they made rather than trying to rationalize the situation.

BELIEVE ME. From now on, I am going to make sure the lid is down! (And every woman out there said, “Amen!”)

Perry Noble is the founding and senior pastor of NewSpring Church, which has campuses in Anderson, Columbia, Florence, and Greenville, South Carolina. At 11 years old, the church averages over 10,000 people across all campuses. Perry is a gifted communicator and teacher, convicted about speaking the truth as plainly as possible. God has given him a vision and a passion for helping people meet Jesus, and each week he shares God’s Word and its practical application in our daily lives. Perry, his wife, Lucretia, and their daughter, Charisse, live in Anderson, South Carolina.

It’s rare to meet someone in leadership who wouldn’t appreciate a few (or 50) more volunteers. And when it comes to a model like XP3 College, which essentially runs on the willingness of adult volunteers, this topic is crucial. Some of you may’ve recruited all the volunteers you need, while others may need help with recruitment (we’ll write a future Ezine article on this; or email us and we can brainstorm with you), regardless, recruiting is just the start; training is the key.

In The Slow Fade, Reggie, Chuck and I (Abbie) talk about “protecting your investment,” which in the book’s context, means the Church’s investment in our youth from nursery through high school. Today, I’m tweaking this a bit to mean protecting your investment in volunteers, not just for your sake, but for theirs.

Most of us can recall a time we got burnt out (and possibly bitter) by way of a volunteer position. So, as one now stewarding those positions, how do you assure that that will not be the case for your volunteers? Well, you may not be able to assure it, but here are three training tips we’ve seen be fruitful when it comes to investing well in your XP3 College volunteers:

1. Emphasize the user-friendliness of XP3 College. The last thing a volunteer wants is something complicated. You should probably assume that your volunteers are already “running on fumes” and are serving not because they have heaps of energy and margin in their lives, but because they have a heart for the college-age crowd. We’ve intentionally designed the Conversations to be just that, a conversation, and not a complicated program that requires complex amounts of preparation, or knowledge. Reading through of the two-ish page “Mentor’s Guide” should equip your volunteers well and with everything they need. With this said, emphasize that the greatest gift they can offer is themselves, not a perfected program or script, which leads to the next point.
2. Reiterate the idea of a conversation “guide,” not a “script.” It’s tempting as a mentor to feel like you need to control the conversation and lead its every turn. “Control” and “guide” are very different verbs, though. Remind your mentors that the goal of XP3 College is to stimulate discussion, not to agree, or land, on an exact belief. Although this goes against the grain of many assumptions about mentoring, we believe guiding, or facilitating, a conversation with this age-stage is the most fruitful and transformative approach (versus indoctrinating, or pushing conclusive endpoints). Easier said than done, however, as this entails that mentors listen more than they talk and offer advice in drops, not bucket-loads. In the end, we believe this not only enables transformation, but frees up mentors to be “present” and not “perfected,” cooperative “learners” and not “experts.”
3. Initiate dialog about how God is using their role as a mentor, or how a particular Conversation is effecting their life. A high value of XP3 College is something we call “mutual transformation.” In essence, it means that by God’s grace, the one being mentored will be transformed, as will the one mentoring. Most models in the area of mentoring reflect a teacher/pupil set-up, which isn’t always wrong, but it also isn’t always the most effective means of growth. By asking your mentors how God is teaching them through their role, or growing them through a given Conversation, you’re investing in them, while you affirm God’s promise that in all things, He’s at work for the good, teaching, counseling and transforming.

Abbie is the author of Can You Keep Your Faith in College, The Slow Fade, with Reggie Joiner and Chuck Bomar and Celibate Sex. She holds degrees from Emory University and Talbot Seminary’s Institute of Spiritual Formation and resides in Savannah, Georgia, with her husband Micah. Abbie is also a writer for XP3 College, part of the Orange Strategy to reach 18- to 25-year-olds.

Are you a senior leader within your ministry? You might be thinking this will be great for my family ministry team, but I’m not going to go to Orange Conference 2013.

What you might not be aware of is that there’s something in this for you. In fact, here are five ways you as a senior pastor, elder or executive pastor could benefit by attending OC13:

• We have a senior leaders track dedicated to you. Jeanne Stevens, Tom Shefchunas, Jon Acuff, Brian White, Michael Lukaszewski, and I will be bringing you our best insights on helping you make progress as a senior leader.
• Some of the best leadership voices will be speaking. This includes Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, Perry Noble, Jeff Shinabarger, Kara Powell, Doug Fields, Charles Jenkins, Bob Goff and more—because we are committed to your leadership.
• Network. Network. Network. You are going to be in rooms with ministry leaders who are a doing what you do all week. There is no better time to network than now.
• An aligned team is an effective team. You certainly can’t become an Orange church without having an aligned team. And the truth is you can’t become an effective church without having an aligned team. So, when you come to Orange Conference you’ll be able to process what you’re learning about senior leadership and families with your entire team. As a result, you’ll be able to run faster in the same direction together.
• You speak to families every week. If you think about it, most of the people you speak to on a Sunday morning are part of a family. So, if you still think family ministry isn’t for you, think again. If most of the people you speak to on a Sunday morning are part of a family, and most of the people you seek to reach have some connection with family, why not get better at connecting with families? They’ll thank you for it.

It’s not too late to attend. If you want to register, click here. If you want more information on the senior leaders track click here and select the track from the dropdown menu. And if you’re a senior leader who has been to an Orange event before, leave your comments below.

Who doesn’t like an underdog?
According to this article, I’m not the only one who was cheering for the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles during this year’s March Madness.

Nicknamed “Dunk City,” they played with reckless abandon and obvious joy. Their coach said that the key was not taking themselves too seriously while still working hard.

Why Sherwood Brown stood out
Player Sherwood Brown gave a pre-game locker room speech intended to fire them up, to go out and prove they deserved to be there. Then he backed up those words by scoring 24 points to help his team move on.

After that first tournament game, Sherwood went over to shake the announcers’ hands. You can hear the announcers chuckling and see their big smiles as he moves down the line. See a video of it here.

How Kids Succeed
This made me think of an interview highlighting research collected and written in a book by Paul Tough.

The specific story I thought of was how a Chicago teenager named Kewauna did something similar. To listen for yourself, click here.

One of the skills she was taught in her program was to go up to college professors on the first day of class, introduce herself, shake hands and sit down in the front row.

To me, this was like declaring: “I’m here. I’m going to bring everything I’ve got and you’re going to see me again. I’m going to stick it out and win.” And it works.

Declaring You’re Here to Stay
Isn’t that what Sherwood Brown was essentially saying too? Now, he may not be the type of kid that needs to be coached in self-confidence and putting yourself out there. But many do.

For me, with my oldest, I’ve been reminded to encourage him to order for himself at a restaurant, to call friends on the phone if he wants to get together and thanking umpires or referees at the end of a game, rather than doing any of it for him.

What does this make you think about?

by David Loy

We asked David to share his experience with Camp KidJam—from ministry leader attendee to joining CKJ as an intern. Here’s his story!

All my life, I’ve always enjoyed doing ministry in our church. So naturally, when our children’s pastor, Eric, mentioned to me that I could get involved with our Upstreet team, and help him lead a class, I was all for it. Through that single decision, so many ministry opportunities have come into my life.

I remember in the summer of 2011, Eric offered to let me join him as one of the male leaders in our children ministry’s trip to Camp Kidjam. I remember during one of the night sessions my mom leaned over to me and said, “David, I would love nothing more for you to be able to intern with them.” Even though I thought that a chance like that would never arise, little did I know that God had a bigger plan.

Through a friendship that I made with one of the camera guys on staff during that week, I was able to talk to Colette Taylor, the camp director, about the 2012 camps. Even though I got a late start at emailing her, she worked with me and we were able to get the dates set as to when I would be able to intern. From the first day that I met everyone, all the way up to the last day when I had to leave, I always felt loved and appreciated (even when I accidently deleted some photos we needed for the “I Spy” track on the camp camera). I first met everyone when they arrived at Wake Forest for the two camps that they would be having there. I was immediately overwhelmed with greetings like: “Hi! My name is _______. But you can call me _____;” “Dude, I love your shirt. My name is ________ and I do _________;” and “Hey, I’m your roommate, and bro, we’re gonna have a blast working together.” No matter what the age, whether it was a sophomore in high school or a senior in college, everyone made sure that I knew who they were and that I quickly got the hang of how things ran.

Originally, I was only doing two camps—the 2^nd one at Wake Forest, and the 1^st of the Texas camps. However, within literally three days of being on staff and being surrounded with such great people to work with, I was already calling my mom and working things out with Colette to extend my flight ticket so I could do both camps at Texas. I enjoyed every second of working with the Kidjam staff and making new friends in the process. But I can honestly say that my favorite moment of it all was when I realized that, while I had intended to go and minister to the kids I was working with, I was being ministered to also. From the late night chats where we would share our hearts on something that God has challenged us with, to worshiping together as a family in a small Texas chapel on our day off, or even to the Christmas staff party, there was always some form of love and ministry being shown to me. I can’t stress enough how much these past camps meant to me as a believer and as a children’s leader at my church. But I can stress one thing plainly, I’m doing all nine camps this summer—and if that doesn’t say anything about how much a junior in high school likes working with that staff, then I don’t know what will.

Camp KidJam™ is a new concept in children’s camp designed not only for kids, but for their leaders. As a component of the Orange Strategy, developed by The reThink Group, Camp KidJam is designed around the principles of 252 Basics, which teach children to grow in wisdom, faith and friendship. Camp KidJam is designed to provide a fun experience for kids, unique workshops to develop adult leaders and to elevate the significance of small groups for children. To learn more about attending camp with your children’s ministry group, or to learn more about being an intern, visit the Camp KidJam website.

David Loy leads at Green Street Baptist Church in High Point, NC.

A few years ago a friend of mine mentioned that she was going to spend the next three hours sitting in the dentist chair getting a root canal. My reaction? A stab of envy. Odd, I know! It was in that moment that I realized that I was running on empty.

I just finished reading the book Leading on Empty, for the third time. It’s a book I frequent often, this time to write a piece for YouLead. I laughed as I remembered my own warning signs that I needed a break, here are a few Wayne Cordeiro, author of Leading on Empty, mentions:

You may be leading on empty if:

• One year in solitary confinement is sounding more and more like a good option.
• Your ministry leader calls for the third time wondering where you have been. You consider changing your phone number and possibly moving.
• Every time somebody praises you for your work, you suspiciously eye them, certain that they will ask you to do one more thing.
• You think you would like to work at McDonald’s. It might be nice to see something more fried than you feel.
• You find yourself seeing the long wait in line at the post office as a blessing from God.

But in all seriousness, when we have lost our vision and our passion for what we are doing, everything around us suffers. We can’t be the spouse or parent that God has called us to be, we can’t be a good friend, and we don’t have the strength or energy to do our job. The job that once brought us closer to our heavenly Father can sometimes push us further from Him, when we are leading on empty.

“We will all experience fatigue in the midst of a demanding ministry unless time is set aside to rest and realign ourselves back to God and His original design.” (Leading on Empty, p. 166)

God wasn’t kidding when He told us we needed to take a break! Did you know:

“Serotonin is a chemical like an endorphin. It’s a natural, feel-good hormone. It replenishes during times of rest and then fuels you while you’re working. If, however you continue to drive yourself without replenishing, your store of serotonin will be depleted. As a substitute, your body will be forced to replace the serotonin with adrenaline . . . . Should you continue to run on adrenaline, it will destroy your system. You will burn out sooner on the inside than you’re able to see on the outside.” (Leading on Empty, p. 26)

The end of the school year is almost upon us; summer programming is weighing on our minds, followed by fall kickoffs. We say it’s just a season but in reality that season never ends. So, what are you going to do to rest, to renew your soul?

“Lead out of rest and allow your soul to catch up to you. Only then will you be able to put your heart into everything God asks of you. Without rest, you are leading on empty.” (Leading on Empty, p. 128)

For more resources on the subject of Leading on Empty check out YouLead.

by Brad Lomenick

A good friend asked me the other day my thoughts on how to lead the 20-somethings on his staff. This is a question I’m asked quite often, whether about 20-somethings or more generally the millennial generation, primarily those born after 1982 and now firmly entrenched in the workforce. We gather thousands of leaders who fit this category on an annual basis at our Catalyst leadership events all over the country, and most of our Catalyst staff are under the age of 30.

I have to admit, I don’t always get this right. As a 100 percent Gen X’er, my tendency is to lean away from several of these points, and lead how I’ve been led over the years by Boomers and Busters. But I’m working on it.

So with that said, here you go, a few thoughts on leading Millenials:

1. Give them freedom with their schedule. I’ll admit, this one is tough for me.

2. Provide them projects, not a career. Career is just not the same anymore. They desire options. Just like free agents.

3. Create a family environment. Work, family and social are all intertwined, so make sure the work environment is experiential and family oriented. Everything is connected.

4. Cause is important. Tie in compassion and justice to the “normal.” Causes and opportunities to give back are important.

5. Embrace social media. It’s here to stay.

6. They are more tech savvy than any other generation ever. Technology is the norm. XBOX, iPhones, laptops, iPads are just normal. If you want a response, text first, then call. Or DM first. Or send a Facebook message. Not anti calls, though.

7. Lead each person uniquely. Don’t create standards or rules that apply to everyone. Customize your approach. (I’ll admit, this one is difficult too!)

8. Make authenticity and honesty the standard for your corporate culture. Millenials are cynical at their core, and don’t trust someone just because they are in charge.

9. Millenials are not as interested in “climbing the corporate ladder.” Instead, they are more concerned about making a difference and leaving their mark.

10. Give them opportunities early with major responsibility. They don’t want to wait their turn. They want to make a difference now. And they will find an outlet for influence and responsibility somewhere else if you don’t give it to them. Empower them early and often.

11. All about the larger win, not the personal small gain. Young leaders in general have an abundance mentality instead of scarcity mentality.

12. Partnering and collaboration are important. They’re not interested in drawing lines. Collaboration is the new currency, along with generosity.

13. They’re not about working for a personality. They’re not interested in laboring long hours to build a temporal kingdom for one person. But will work their guts out for a cause and vision bigger than themselves.

14. They deeply desire mentoring, learning and discipleship. Many older leaders think Millenials aren’t interested in generational wisdom transfer. Not true at all. Younger leaders are hungry for mentoring and discipleship, so build it into your organizational environment.

15. Coach them and encourage them. They want to gain wisdom through experience. Come alongside them, don’t just tell them what to do.

16. Create opportunities for quality time—individually and corporately. They want to be led by example, and not just by words.

17. Hold them accountable. They want to be held accountable by those who are living it out. Measure them and give them constant feedback.

18. They’ve been exposed to just about everything, so the sky is the limit in their minds. Older leaders have to understand younger leaders have a much broader and global perspective, which makes wowing Millenials much more difficult.

19. Recognize their values, not just their strengths. It ain’t just about the skillz, baby. Don’t use them without truly knowing them.

20. Provide a system that creates stability. Clear expectations with the freedom to succeed, and providing stability on the emotional, financial, and organizational side.

This leadership content and more can be found in Brad Lomenick’s upcoming leadership book, “The Catalyst Leader,” from Thomas Nelson Publishers, releasing April 16, 2013. http://CatalystLeader.com. Preorder here: http://tinyurl.com/cbx9uru.

Brad Lomenick is president and lead visionary of Catalyst, one of America’s most influential leadership movements. Follow Brad on Twitter @bradlomenick and read more of his leadership thoughts at http://BradLomenick.com.