There are several keys to successful leadership in ministry, but one of the main keys is humility. The humble spirit is what God desires and is what causes the windows of heaven to open to our prayers.  The humble spirit helps us to walk in the assur…

I live in the south. We haven’t been into Starbucks very long compared to Seattle, LA, or even Alexandria, Virginia. I went when I traveled, but it just wasn’t an option at home so I settled for making my own … Continue reading →

Recently i was asked by our exe. pastor to make a list of values that we as a staff team should live by when dealing with each other. It sent me on a journey, so i thought i would share my thoughts with you.

Tell me what you think of these 10 Values to live by as a teammate.

There are some things that should be the desire from all staff members.
Here are ten values, I as a staff should live, love & lead by.

1. Love God. I want to be a person who authentically loves God every day. There is not a need for an extremely gifted person who seems to only live a life of religious routine. I want to truly know and love God and love working with the team, God has synced me with.

2. Live a life of faith. I want to model walking with the Lord in true faith, by stepping out in ways that don’t always make sense to our human minds. Peter walking on the water was witnessed by the others. I do not want to witness the miraculous, i want to experience it!

3. Be a true spiritual leader. In the church, we call ourselves “spiritual leaders,” so I want to actually lead in spiritual things. I need to be spiritually-focused and spirit-led in interacting with the team.

4. Know and love Scripture. I want to be in Scripture regularly, interacting with it, and seeking to know it better. My entire Christian faith stems from the truths of Scripture, therefore, i seek to know it for myself and for the team I am in spiritual leadership with.

5. Avoid behavior management. I desire to be more concerned about the spiritual condition of our team than them having proper or improper behavior. I want them to witness, regularly, my heart and my actions being in tune with the spirit of the team. My most opportune moment for this is when disagreements occur.

6. Hang with the team. Relationships are started at a meeting, but built outside of that time. I desire to spend as much time with the team outside of weekly meetings as possible, without compromising my family or personal time.

7. Know the big picture. I want to, regardless of the age-stage I am working with, to realize that my branch in this ministry, as vital as it may be, is just a part of a life-long discipleship process of the individuals i am leading with the my fellow teammates. My ministry isn’t the end, but simply a means to a much greater end (Philippians 1:6) for every student I lead for a season thate we, as a team, groom for eternity.

8. Integrate into families. Having relationships with the team is great, but getting to know and love their families is far better. We are players on the starting line-up. I want to find ways to positively reinforce what we are endeavoring to do in our meetings by having a greater chemistry between families, not just colleagues.

9. Force thought. I desire to force our team to think, not just be given answers. Far too many meetings have been spoon-fed activities & ideas into my life, never being forced to think through own my own and then share from my perspective. This is detrimental, and a major cause of team detachment. I want to respectfully challenge the process and base the outcome off the truth that is the Word of God and for the betterment of the Whole.

10. Be teachable. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to teach someone who is unteachable. I define a teacher as a constant student who has learned (and is still learning)a lesson worth passing on. I need to understand that this is the means by which the Lord brings me to greater maturity (1 Peter 5:1-2; Ephesians 4:11-16).

hope i helped, gw

One of the things i do each day is read from Oswald Chambers’ devotional, My Utmost for His Highest. This was the devotion today. It spoke profoundly to me, so i thought i would share it with you, as well.

262011
Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart . . . . For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man . . . —Matthew 15:18-20

Initially we trust in our ignorance, calling it innocence, and next we trust our innocence, calling it purity. Then when we hear these strong statements from our Lord, we shrink back, saying, “But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart.” We resent what He reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust the penetration of His Word into my heart, or would I prefer to trust my own “innocent ignorance”? If I will take an honest look at myself, becoming fully aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test, I am very likely to have a rude awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I will be appalled at the possibilities of the evil and the wrong within me. But as long as I remain under the false security of my own “innocence,” I am living in a fool’s paradise. If I have never been an openly rude and abusive person, the only reason is my own cowardice coupled with the sense of protection I receive from living a civilized life. But when I am open and completely exposed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis of me.

The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolute unblemished purity.

I don’t often just read the Bible during study. There’s too much conversation going on for simple reading. I’m too busy praying to God and preaching to myself to just scan over the words. I’m not super-spiritual; reading Scripture’s just not a quiet endeavor. You read it, and the words dig their way down deep. […]

I originally wrote this last summer, as I was trying to figure out what to write today this is what came to mind… I don’t remember where I saw this video first, but…It’s AMAZING! Watch the whole video, you won’t … Continue reading →