Let's Do Life Together
Last week, I announced the official release of my second book, Stoker! We are two weeks away and I am so excited for you to be able to read it! I also finished the recording of the audiobook today for those who would rather listen to my voice bring ear candy to your soul.
In the meantime, here’s a section from Chapter 6 titled, “The 5 C’s of Church Growth and Impact.”…
One of the best ways to fight burnout in ministry (or anything really) is to surround yourself with people who care more about you than what you can do for them. The people you do ministry with directly impacts your spiritual health. Life is more about relationships than it is about responsibilities. The people around you are either making you better or worse, so choose wisely. Did you know that birds that fly together use 70% less energy than if they were to fly alone? My point is you need to have a great team around you and great teams don’t develop overnight. Great teams have to be built. I think that is why I love GM’s (General Manager) in sports. It’s their job to draft, trade, or sign free agents that will mesh well with other players – creating the best team, not necessarily creating all-stars. It’s also why we love underdog stories. It’s usually the team that can play like a team that advances. When everyone knows their role and does their “job” with excellence, the organization as a whole succeeds. It’s not about filling roles just to fill them. It’s about getting the right people in the right role and releasing them into their destiny.
The Church needs to be heavily involved in the community. We need to be connecting to people far from God and far from church. We need to actually go and be the church outside of the four walls where we worship on the weekends. Did you know that 39 of the 40 miracles recorded in the book of Acts happened outside the church in the community? Did you know that 122 of the 132 contacts (4 happened in the synagogue and 6 were in the temple) that Jesus had with people recorded in the New Testament were out in the mainstream of life? If your church closed its doors today, would the community be disappointed? Would they even notice? Are you in your community? If not, go talk to some organizations, schools, businesses, etc. and ask them how you can serve them (without expecting anything in return). I promise they’ll be surprised when they find out there are no strings attached. They may even be more open to listen to what you have to say down the road when they witness your love and service first.
What I’m trying to say is we are designed for relationships! We were never meant to do life alone. It’s time to focus on connecting with real human beings and get involved in each others lives.