Book Review: The Catalyst Leader by Brad Lomenick

This May I had the opportunity to go to Catalyst Dallas, a conference of innovation and challenge for ministers. One of the books I chose from the selected giveaways was one called The Catalyst Leader by Brad Lomenick. This book has 8 essentials for becoming a change maker.  This book provides insight into Lomenick’s accession to the leader of Catalyst. Each of the 8 essentials are described in detail, and matched with stories from how the lessons were learned and implemented. For me, I am glad I picked this book out and happy that I made the time to read it. This is a good book that I would gladly recommend.

11 Attributes Of Great Leadership

1. Honesty – Tell the truth; even if lying is easier.

2. Integrity – Do what’s right; even if nobody is watching.

3. Visionary – Have some vision for where you’re going; empower your team to get you there and if you don’t do anything else.

4.  Self-Awareness – Know who you are; the good, the bad and the ugly.

5. Risk Taker – Be willing to try new things, new strategies and embrace new ideas; even if the ideas aren’t yours.

6. Caring – Truly care about those you lead; people can care less about how much you know until they know how much you care.

7. Stand For Something – Lead by convictions; know why you do what you do and why you think what you think.

8. Spirit Of Development – Develop other leaders; without leadership development, the pipeline of leadership is halted.

9. Good Listener – Be willing to listen; if you’re always talking, there is a good chance you are not listening.

10. Lifetime Leaner – Learn from anything and everything; no matter how many degrees or titles you have, you always have the capacity to learn.

11. Humility – Stay levelheaded and don’t think that you’re better than others; no matter how much success, praise or fortune you receive. 

Scott Williams is the original author of this post.

Bible Story-ing

--> -->

Storying through the Bible is a method/strategy to engage a group of people in learning Scripture. There is great flexibility in teaching this way and you could walk through the Bible from the Old Testament to the Cross, work through the Gospels, highlighting different aspects of Jesus’ life, or work through a specific book like Acts. In order to maximize effectiveness, a group should follow this general outline:

1.     Every week the small-group leader learns one of the stories to tell or they assign someone in their group to learn the story.

2.     The assigned storyteller learns the story so that he or she can tell it without reading it – not word for word but so the story remains true to the meaning.

3.     While the storyteller is telling the story, the small group reads along to see if the storyteller has missed anything.

4.     When the story is finished, the storyteller or the leader of the group will rebuild the story pointing out anything that was missed.

5.     The leader often asks someone to tell the story back to everyone without reading it.

6.     No one knows who will be asked, so everyone pays attention just in case he or she is chosen.

7.     Once the story has been told, rebuilt, and told again, the small group leader asks questions that draw out the important truths in the story:

·      What new thing did you discover in the story that you did not know before?

·      What did you learn about God?

·      What did you learn about people?

·      Which person is most like you in the story?

·      What will you take away from this discussion?

·      What will you do with what you have learned?

• If the leader is asked a question they do not know the answer to, they need to say, “I don’t know, but I will know by next week.”

This post was basically taken from Jim Putman’s Real-LifeDiscipleship (p. 158)

Apologizing Well

This is an old post from Scott Hodge worth reading. I thinking admitting when you're wrong is a key aspect of leadership. Although we all want to avoid mistakes, they are bound to happen, and when they do we need to own them! Here is the article:

Apologizing has become somewhat of a lost art, don't you think? And to a large degree it's understandable because no one likes to admit failure - it's humiliating and when done well, there's no room for pride to stick around. Which is why it's so hard to do! Yet.....you know this as well as I do...apologizing well is one of the most powerful gestures we could ever show another human being.

So here's five quick thoughts on how to do it well.

1. Acknowledge your failure.


"I have failed you. I've let you down. I have done wrong."

2. Acknowledge the impact of the failure.

"I have failed you....and as a result, I know I've caused you a lot of pain....I've put you in a very precarious position.....I have hurt you."

What NOT to say: "I'm sorry you were offended by what I did." NO. That sucks. Take responsibility.

3. Tell them you're sorry.

"I've failed you....and I know it has caused you a lot of pain....and I just want you to know that I am truly sorry."


4. Commit to change.

"....and I'll do whatever I can to make sure that never happens again."

5. Be Quiet.

This is where we get into trouble. Because the tendency is to add on:

"I'm sorry....it's just that..."

"I'm sorry....but I didn't mean it!"

"I'm sorry...it's just that you..."

No. Don't make excuses. Don't complicate it. Don't qualify it.

MENTORING MINISTRY STRATEGY

1. Define success by relational connection

2. Help older believers embrace their responsibility

3. Invest in families (partner with entire families)

4. Value differences in a healthy way

5. Allow younger people to have a voice (we have to listen to what they are saying)

8 THINGS A MENOTR SHOULD DO

1. Start with someone you know (if you are not approached by someone and you desire to mentor)

2. The mentor should be further along in life and the Christian walk

3. Ask Questions

4. Share experience

5. Learn Together (books, resources, Bible study)

6. Look for “real life issue” to capitalize on

7. Keep Growing

8. Connect the mentoree with your family

6 ROLES OF A MENTOR

1. Treat the mentoree like a person, not a project
• Projects, not people, require agendas
• God is working in that person, our job is not to force them in a direction we think we should go
• Think relationship, not and end goal

2. Ask, “What is God already doing here?”

3. Understand the difference between beliefs (biblical) and opinions (personal)

4. Understand the difference between spiritual maturity and maturing
• A person is moving closer to God or further away – relationship with God

5. Trust God to carry the mentoree to completion

6. Participate in experiences together (with your mentoree)

WHY MENTOR?

Starting next Tuesday, I will have 3 posts concentrating on mentoring. My ideas have been generated and/or taken from The Slow Fade by Joiner, Bomar & Smith. For today, the focus will be on getting you to think about the topic and why you should be mentored and/or mentor someone else.

WHY MENTOR?

• To join God in the work He is already doing in someone’s life.
• When we discover who we are in God, we discover our purpose and find meaning.
• Teach them they can never outrun the arm of grace!
• Mutual transformation; God transforms you, not just the mentoree!

Book Review: The Slow Fade by Joiner, Bomar & Smith

This is another book I picked up at Drive Conference 2010. My initial thought was that The Slow Fade by Joiner, Bomar & Smith would serve as a good resource in connecting with college students for our Ignite Worship Service geared at reaching young adults. Instead, I discovered that I picked up a guide to mentoring. Although not explicitly stated, this book provided all the resources necessary to starting a mentoring ministry.

Chapter 4, “Mentoring Redefined,” presented a detailed description of the role of a mentor – again there is no list, but I did come up with 6 key roles from this chapter. Chapter 5, “A New Bread of Leader,” described 8 things a mentor should be intentional about doing. Appendix A “A Note To Ministry Leaders,” gave Chuck Bomar’s mentoring ministry strategy.

Overall, this is by far the best book I have read on “How To” mentor. While the premise for this book deals with this subject, the title and subtitle do not, which is the only knock on it. If you work with college students (the intended target of this book) or young adults, you really need to read through this book. I am already excited to equip some of our mentors with the tools learned from reading this book… and not being able to sleep (tonight) finally paid dividends!

How To Burnout In 5 Easy Steps

From Serving Strong:

Staying strong is overrated. All this talk about avoiding the wall? Hooey. You were born to burnout. You were meant for serving weak. Want a quick way to burnout in ministry leadership? Here are 5 easy steps:

1. Seek Unforgiveness. Someone hurt you lately? Cool. Here's what you do: Hold a grudge. That's right. Don't give in to the temptation to be the weaker one. Keep steady. Better yet, give them the silent treatment. Yeah! It will teach them a lesson and you'll be well on your way to burning out.

2. Pursue Passionlessness. Ask yourself this question: "What ministry fuels my passion?" Got your answer? Good. Now do something (anything) that is the opposite of your answer. Do the thing that is a total drag for you. Give it your all. Seek the boredom. Revel in the difficulty. It will annoy those around you and you'll be well on your way to burning out.

3. Engage In Prayerlessness. Got prayer concerns? Want to touch the heart of God? Want to seek and sense His will for your life? Forget it. You're looking to burnout, right? Good. Then cut ALL prayer from your routine. Don't pray in the morning. Don't pray when you're stressed or sad. And don't pray when things are going well. Think of the time you'll save. It will grieve the Holy Spirit and you'll be well on your way to burning out.

4. Be An Impostor. Are you introverted by nature? Be extroverted. Are you methodical? Be spontaneous. Are you a people person? Then be a recluse. You have to understand that being yourself is simply going to keep you from burning out. So don't be yourself. Better yet, try to be just like someone else. It will irritate your loved ones and you'll be well on your way to burning out.

5. Over-identify. In your work with others, you will feel their pain. This is good. Dwell on it. Identify it so deeply that you begin to feel responsible for it. This will give you ownership of their pain, as though you were the cause. You will sink in the quicksand of their misery. You won't be able to help them because you'll be so depressed yourself. This will help others become co-dependent and you'll be well on your way to burning out.

So you see, if you are interested in burning out, it's quite simple really. Just follow these 5 easy steps and we'll see you in rehab!

6 Best Coaching Questions

This is from EXPONENTIAL (Book Excerpt)

Got a coach? Need a coach? Here are six great coaching questions from my friend Dave Ferguson...

There are from his new book: Exponential: How You and Your Friends Can Start a Missional Church Movement (Co-Authored with Dave's brother, Jon!)

1) “How are you?”

Remember at the heart of effecting coaching is a relational investment. It may sound cliché, but it’s still true: “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” We begin every coaching conversation by checking in to see how the person we are coaching is really doing.

2) “What are you celebrating?”

Every meeting at Community begins with some form of this question. Often it’s stated like this: “Where are you/we winning?” Whether it’s a one-on-one meeting, a group meeting, a staff meeting, or a temporary task force, we begin by celebrating how God is at work in our life, ministry, and church. Moving from “How are you?” to “What are you celebrating?” keeps the tone of the meeting very relational and positive. It’s tempting to quickly focus on what’s not working or what is broken. This question keeps the conversation focused on where the leader is feeling successful.

3) "What challenges are you facing?"

You might be thinking, “Finally we get to something productive.” Yes, the previous questions are very relational, but if it helps any, remember that when it comes to coaching the relationship really is the task. This question gives your leader an opportunity to talk openly about the things that aren’t going very well in his group or team.

4) "How will you do about those challenges?"

Once a leader has disclosed some areas where he or she may be experiencing some challenges with his life, group, or team it is tempting to quickly move into “fix-it” mode and tries to solve the problem for him. There are times when a leader will need your insight and wisdom. However, the best way you can serve a leader is to help them tap into the wisdom and insight God has already given them to deal with whatever situation they are facing. It is the coach’s role to draw those answers or solutions out of the leader.

5) "How can I help you?"

Finally, the question we’ve wanted to ask. This is an important question, but if you never get to this question because the leader has already come up with an action plan as you walked through the previous questions, considers yourself an extremely effective coach. There are times when a coach needs to step in and offer whatever assistance is necessary to help a leader in need. One of the three tasks that flow out of the relational investment is “serving”, and one of the ways you can best serve a leader is to help them through a tough situation.

6) "How can I pray for you?"

The best way to wrap up a coaching conversation is to ask the leader how you can be praying for him. It is also a great opportunity for the coach to ask the leader to be praying for her. This is one way a coach can help the leader know that this relationship is mutually beneficial. After the leader has had a chance to express some areas where he is in need of prayer, take a few moments to pray for the leader and reassure him that you will be praying for him regularly.


The dream of God is not for the church to be led by a one-man show, but that it would be a great team led by great coaches. Our role is to equip and empower the people of the church to do the work of ministry. When the game is on the line and the final point needs to be scored, the ball will be in the hands of our leaders and those leaders need to be coached to take the winning shot.

To give full credit, you can also find this article here.

What Not to Do In A Meeting

This week I read a post on 10 Annoying Meeting Behaviors. While I agreed with each of them, it made me look at myself in hopes of improving myself in meetings. To be clear these are not areas I have mastered, but 10 things I do not want to be guilty of committing! Here is the list:

1. Arriving late
2. Taking phone calls (exception: spouse or kids)
3. Checking e-mail
4. Engaging in side conversations
5. Not taking notes (doodling does not count!)
6. Talking too much
7. Interrupting others
8. Not coming prepared
9. Chasing rabbits
10. Not speaking up

The C's of Hiring Church Staff/Pastors

Last week a member of our personnel team and I met to discuss vision and leadership. During the breakfast we also discussed what to look for when hiring a person to serve in a church. My response to that question on what the main things are when being or looking at a candidate are 3 C’s (I think I got these from Bill Hybles ):

1. Chemistry – are they the type of person you want to spend time with
2. Character – are they the type of person you want to be like personally, in your marriage and family, walk with Christ
3. Competence – are they the type of person you want as your lead pastor in areas of service, theology, past work, maturation, church growth

While I see that a pastoral candidate must have a clear walk with God, they must also have a clear vision for where they want to lead the church (or ministry area). With this is mind, vision and philosophy of ministry are extremely important as well. The final added consideration would be to look at the makeup of the candidate to determine if they would have synergy with the ministry setting. These are thoughts I have had to think through in recent weeks.

What is the Key to Success in Ministry?

what is the key to success in ministry?: in two words. I see success and stewardship as synonymous. It's not about how big your church is. It's about doing the best you can with what you have where you are. It's about cultivating your God-given gifts and using them to glorify God.

Here are five "two word" answers:

1) Keep Learning

When you stop learning you stop leading. I never want to become a closed system. If you keep learning you cannot fail. Why? Because failure is not learning the lessons God is trying to teach you. If you learned something you did not fail.

2) Take Risks

Playing it safe is risky. I'm more afraid of missing opportunities than making mistakes. I think that is a leadership mindset. You obviously need to discern if they are God-ordained. But our greatest regrets will be the lions we did not chase!

3) Stay Humble

This one is huge. Don't let pride take root in your heart. I'm so grateful for a failed church plant on my resume because it's a constant reminder that "unless the Lord builds the house they who labor, labor in vain." If you stay humble there is nothing God cannot do in you and through you.

4) Dream Big

The size of your dream reveals the size of your faith. More faith = bigger dreams. I'm convinced that God-sized dreams are one key to spiritual growth. God-sized dreams force you to live on your knees in raw dependence upon God. Live your life in a way that requires divine intervention.

5) Be Yourself

You need to come to terms with who you are and who you aren't. Ten years ago I was trying to be a pastor. I'm now trying to be myself. And there is a difference. Life is too short and ministry is too hard to be in an environment where you can't give true expression to your unique gifts, personality, and calling.

I'm obviously making a lot of assumptions here. For example, spiritual growth is all about becoming more and more like Jesus. That's a given. And I'm assuming a strong devotional life that includes prayer and Bible study. So these five tips are "beyond basics" if you will.

This is a repost by Mark Batterson from his blog.

A NINES Review

9/9/9 there was an online conference put on by the Leadership Network. They had several quality speakers, and although I was unable to listen to each of them, there were many great things to glean from those I did listen to. Here are some of the highlights:

Ed Stetzer – God’s mission is the opposite of self 1. Pastor’s on mission seek God’s glory and God’s mission, not our own
a. When we worry about stuff, it’s typically our stuff instead of God’s
b. We need to encounter God so we can be on mission for God
2. Those on mission reflect being with God
3. Those on mission no longer live for themselves

Scott Wilson – Raising the Leadership Bar• Leadership sets the bar for where the church can grow, you church cannot grow beyond your own leadership
• Ephesians 4:11-ff, equip the saints for ministry
• Pastor’s are the anointed few… people in the pews need to move from spectators to being players, pastors need to move from being players to coaches
• Pastors are not here to do the job, they are here to equip members to do the work
1. As leaders we grow– we should all read 35 leadership book and listen to 120 leadership CD’s - $500 bonus if you do it, if you don’t grow you gotta go.
2. As leaders we need to mentor leadership – mentoring leaders
3. As leaders we need to multiply leadership – leaders building leaders

Bryan Carter – How to be a succession pastor1. Learn to live with a shadow: honor the person you follow
2. Learn to lead yourself: be your own self… be who you are
3. Learn to be patient: it takes 5-7 years to be their pastor, don’t get in a hurry

David Foster – Importance of Preparation• In communicating the Gospel, you must prepare to deliver God’s message to His people
• To stay fresh you must take hours to prepare God’s message (prayer, think and write)
• Preparation is the key to longevity and effectiveness
• Speak out of the overflow of what you are experiencing yourself

Rick Rusaw – How can we be the best church FOR the community?

Leonard Sweet – How do you deal with a big head?• How do you deal with pride and success…
• Create in me a clean heart oh God and give me a right spirit
• Humble confidence, confident humility is found in God (Phil 4:13)

The NINES Leadership Broadcast

The NINES broadcast from Leadership Network and Catalyst.

I'm excited about the opportunity to see the presentations and themes. The desire behind those involved in the leadership is, "that this program might birth a robust discussion around theology, mission, and ministry." There will be some things with which you will agree and some things with which you won't. Hopefully, this will be beneficial to all.

Here is an outline of some of the speakers. This does not include everyone, but should give you an idea of when to watch. (All times are Central.)

9AM -- Troy Gramling, Mark Beeson, Anne Jackson, Dave Ferguson, Scott Hodge

10AM -- Perry Noble, Stacy Spencer

11AM -- Dino Rizzo, Nancy Beach, Steven Furtick, Reggie McNeal

12PM -- Craig Groeschel, Leonard Sweet, Greg Surratt, Jon Tyson

1PM -- Margaret Feinberg, Larry Osborne, Matt Carter, Pete Wilson

2PM -- Neil Cole, Reggie Joiner, JD Greear

3PM -- Mark Batterson, Dan Kimball, Mark DeYmaz

4PM -- Jud Wilhite, Brian McLaren, Bob Roberts, Rick McKinley, John Ortberg

5PM -- Alan Hirsch, John Bishop, Toby Slough, Ed Stetzer

6PM -- Mark Driscoll, Darrin Patrick, Brad Powell

7PM -- Darrin Whitehead, Brian Bloye

8PM -- Eric Bryant, Nancy Ortberg, Rick Warren

Traits of a Successful Leader

1. Know (establish) who you are
2. Constantly stay in contact with your people (superior or subordinates)
3. Stick to your mission (focus)
4. View things differently
5. Be bold in the things you say and do
6. Always have a vision (that is what ties people together)
7. Let the success of others be your greatest accomplishment

For me personally, focus is the primary ingredient for success. With so many distractions in any area of life, those who keep the main thing the main thing tend to also be those that God seems to be blessing. Another key thought is to not allow good things to sacrifice the best thing!

Thoughts on Preparing a Lesson

The following was produced by my friend Jerry Adams during a recent leadership development meeting at First Baptist Jenks.

Preparing the Teacher

• Understand your Responsibility: James 3:1 & 2 Timothy 2:15
• Understand the Need to Pray
• Be Taught before Teaching: Be willing to do whatever God asks you to do
• Be a Servant Leader: Actions speak louder than words

Preparing the Lesson
1. Historical Background: Understand the big picture of the book your teaching
2. Observe: Who, what, when, where, why, & how of the passage
3. Interpretation: Summarize the main point into one sentence
4. Application: How did it apply and how does it apply today

Helpful Hint: Try to ask questions that drive people to look for answers in God’s Word.

5 Things Church Workers Should Never Say

1. “That’s Not My Responsibility”This comment may cause team members to feel as though they’ve covered themselves, but the guest doesn’t care who is responsible. The guest merely wants the question answered or the request filled. The risk of dropping the ball increases each time a request, question or need is passed on to another person.

2. “I Don’t Know.”If a team member doesn’t have an answer, he or she must be resourceful enough to find it. It’s OK not to know an answer; it’s not OK to leave it there. The team member must take the initiative to find the answer. “I don’t know” must always be followed up with “but I’ll find out.”

3. “No.”Yeah, but sometimes the answer is “no.” Why would we not say “no” if the answer to a question is “no”? Simply because, when you’re the guest, you expect the answer to be “yes.” You want to be satisfied. When you hear “no” without an alternative or an explanation, you’re unsatisfied.

4. “They,” “Them,” and “You Guys” Everyone wants to appear competent. When we don’t have the answers or the rule is difficult to explain, the temptation to blame someone else is tremendous. It can be difficult for people to recognize this temptation in themselves. But when the team member says, “They said” or “It’s up to them” or “You guys had better,” he or she is communicating a lack of ownership. When guests overhear this language or pick up on this attitude, they doubt the church itself.

5. “I’m Just A Volunteer.”I always ask sales associates or clerks, “How are you?” It’s amazing how many times they respond, “I’ll be doin’ much better when I can leave this place! Only two more hours to go.” Too many people are unhappy working day after day in the same, grueling job. That should
never happen in the church. Those who plug in to a ministry should do because they fully embrace its mission and vision. If they do, no one will ever hear these words from them.

by Mark Waltz