Accomplish more by doing less.

Only do what you can do and delegate the rest.  THIS IS A HUGE DISCIPLINE that I am just now starting to understand.  It involves making every decision through that lens.  

I want to organize our church for growth not control.  I want to empower God’s church to exponentially grow!

As with every step of leadership and going to the next level there will be some growing pains, some transitional troubles – but if we avoid pain we avoid progress!

Going to the next level implies leaving “something” behind: thoughts, attitudes, actions, beliefs, philosophies, programs, and even relationships.  The old way of doing things must be surrendered to the next level way of doing things.

As we go to the next level in our leadership there will be some who leave.  Because some people embrace the WAY things were done more than the WHY behind those ways.

What got you here won’t get you there.  In fact, what helped you get here may be the very thing keeping you from getting there.

The difference between “where you are” and “where God wants you to be” is how much pain you are willing to endure.

Because I am unwilling to burn myself and my family out…I will be an EQUIPPER AND NOT A DOER.

Because I am unwilling to frustrate God’s people to the point of failure…I will be an EQUIPPER AND NOT A DOER.

The best way for me to care for and lead this church is to multiply leadership.  At TheDC we have a pastoral team which is an extension of the lead pastor; and we have LIFE GROUPS to help care for and grow our Body to maturity (Eph.4:11-12).

The lead pastor can’t be and shouldn’t be the ONLY ONE OR THE PRIMARY ONE TO MEET PEOPLE’S NEEDS.  That is a sure fire recipe for leadership burn out and membership frustration.

When the lead pastor thinks he is the ONLY ONE who can meet the REAL NEEDS of the church then he suffers from THE SUPERMAN SYNDROME.  It is a real condition where one thinks he can save everyone, where in fact he is the only one who can really save anyone!  YIKES, that is scary!

Most churches in America plateau around an attendance of 125 because the lead pastor is not willing to become an EQUIPPER INSTEAD OF A DOER.  I refuse to be the bottleneck.

Multiplying leadership ensures that everyone is cared for but no one person is trying to care for too many.  At TheDC we have LIFE GROUPS to help us care for and lead every person in this church with a personal touch.

We can organize for control or growth, but we can’t do both.

As the lead pastor I have chosen to organize this church for growth by multiplying the leadership around me, by sharing the leadership around me.

I am compelled by the Bible to believe that sharing leadership is the best way to serve an ever growing community.

I realize I must release control in favor of growth; as I release more and more ministry into the hands of TeamDC I am empowering God’s church for exponential growth.

As the lead pastor it is my primary responsibility to equip the staff to lead this church.  Honestly, if I can’t develop leaders around me to adequately care for and lead this church then I should just hang up my hat now.

Because I am unwilling to tell the rest of Manchester to GO TO HELL…I will not be the bottleneck to this church.

In every organization there is a top level leader; that leader is always the LID TO GROWTH.  I realize that in order for this organization to grow to its fullest potential then I must be growing to my fullest potential; otherwise I am the lid; I am the cap for growth.

Because I don’t want to be the GROWTH BARRIER TO THIS CHURCH…I will be an EQUIPPER AND NOT A DOER.

As the lead pastor to this church I must DO WHAT ONLY I CAN DO (receive the vision from Jesus, communicate that vision through preaching & teaching, and equip the staff to lead this church) and then DELEGATE THE REST.

Andy Stanley has said numerous times, “LESS IS MORE – DO LESS & ACCOMPLISH MORE”. He is talking about the art of “doing what only I can do, and then delegating the rest”. Of course in order to delegate we must develop others.

By doing less and developing more – we can actually multiply our ministry efforts. We can go from one leader to 12 leaders by “DOING LESS & DEVELOPING MORE”.

But one thing we do as leaders is we try and DO BOTH. You can’t really DO BOTH effectively. You will either “DO MORE & DEVELOP LESS” or you will “DO LESS & DEVELOP MORE”.

Now for “Moses on Leadership”…

The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other. They waited before him from morning till evening. (Exo 18:13 NLT)

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A LOT OF NEEDS WHEN YOU ARE AROUND PEOPLE! SO, IT TAKES SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE THE MEETING OF THOSE NEEDS. AS WE GROW SO WILL OUR SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES.

If you are in leadership you will have days that feel like this one. When all you do is hear people’s “disputes against each other”.

When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?” (Exo 18:14 NLT)

IF WE WANT TO GROW TO THE NEXT LEVEL THEN WE MUST LEARN FROM THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY AT THE NEXT LEVEL.

Jethro, wasn’t just a nosy father-in-law he was a successful business man who knew how to run a giant sheep herding organization. Who do you think Moses sat under all those years when he ran away from Egypt?

It takes humility to listen to others and genuinely receive their advice. It takes humility to place yourself at the feet of another, and you may even get a few kicks in the pants, but the results are wisdom, strength, and honor.

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Act 6:1-4 ESV)

THE WORD OF GOD: WE MUST LEARN IT, LIVE IT, AND LEAD OTHERS IN IT.

If we as a community of faith-dwellers are going to be effective in the mission Jesus has given to us then we must be committed to learning the Word of God, living the Word of God, and leading others in the Word of God.

The Church is the ground and pillar of the truth. The Church must be the proclaimer of truth, the Word of God.

The Pastor is responsible for clearly and consistently proclaiming the truth of God’s Word.

The above passage represents a scenario quite common in every local church around the world. There are lots of needs, and there is a fraction who feel as though they are getting the short end of the stick. I know none of you out there have ever dealt with this, but believe it or not it is quite common:)

By the way, if you feel overwhelmed in ministry it probably means you are in involved with people. Because wherever there are people, there are lots of needs. And lots of needs can be overwhelming.

Which is why as the needs grow the systems we use to meet those needs must also grow.

As an organization grows, so much the infrastructure and systems.

The apostles state, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.”

This doesn’t mean that “serving the widows was unimportant or even less important” but it does mean that “it would be wrong for the apostles to ignore what ONLY THEY COULD DO”, which is PREACH THE WORD AND CAST THE VISION JESUS HAS GIVEN TO THEM.

Since the needs of the widows were so important and the apostles cared deeply for them, they decided to be more strategic about the vision. They knew that if they were to best CARE FOR & LEAD THE CHURCH GOD HAD ENTRUSTED TO THEM, they would need to EQUIP OTHERS TO LEAD AND CARE FOR THE CHURCH, while they focused on doing what only they could do (receive the vision from Jesus, preach the word, and develop other leaders).

IT WAS ANTI-MISSION FOR THE APOSTLES TO FOCUS ON DOING INSTEAD OF DEVELOPING (other leaders to care for the needs of the widows).

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. (Eph 4:11-13 NLT)

This piece of Scripture lays out a simple groundwork for church leadership, health, and growth. God gives gifts (who are actually leaders) to the Church. These leaders (who are gifts from God) have an INTENSE RESPONSIBILITY & ROLE.

“Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ.”

To simplify: the Pastor’s role is to EQUIP GOD’S PEOPLE TO DO HIS WORK & BUILD UP THE CHURCH.

Currently, as the Lead Pastor of TheDC.tv my role is to EQUIP THE STAFF TO THE LEAD THE CHURCH.

Jesus gives leaders to the church, not to do all the ministry, but to equip others to do the ministry.

Pastors must be “equippers” if they are to best care for and lead the church God has entrusted to them.

1. VISION CASTER - Jesus is the Dream Master and He has called me to receive that vision and be the Vision Caster. I must deal with the vision. I must spend time with Jesus and it must be evident that I am spending time with Jesus (as it was evident with the early disciples in the book of Acts 4:13). I must be stretching myself as a leader and vision caster by being around others great leaders, reading books by great leaders, and submitting myself to the tutorship of other great leaders. I must fight to receive the vision from Jesus and I must lovingly lead our flock to reach this city according to the vision God has given. Fighting for the vision of Jesus is of utmost concern. We must all embrace the vision, but as the senior leader if I don’t have it down then nobody else will.

2. TEACHER - Jesus is our Master Teacher, and He enables and gifts leaders in His church to teach. As the senior communicator at The Dialogue Church it is my job to really invest in the study of God’s Word and the presentation of God’s word. I must communicate the timeless truths of God in a culturally relevant way. I want to give straight up talks from the Bible in a way that people can understand (in their own language). This forces me to be a student of both the Bible and the culture.

3. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPER – Jesus was an amazing leader, and only leaders can reproduce leaders. As the senior leader of this spiritual organization it my responsibility (as Eph.4:10-12 states) to constantly raise up leaders. If I spend all of my time trying to DO all of the ministry I will be hurting God’s church. I will be neglecting what Jesus has called me to, and I will frustrating the people by keeping them from doing what God has called them to do.

I must focus on what only I can do and then delegate the rest. If we are to be a healthy growing community of faith, Body of believers, an army of servants then we must know our role and embrace it for the benefit of Jesus and His mission.

I discovered that I was spending too much time trying to figure out the graphics of our church, the branding of our church when God had already equipped others in the Body to do this. Now, as a church plant I will be involved with many things in the beginning, but I must work my way out of these jobs if I am to be loyal to what Jesus has called me to do.

As an artist, I enjoy working with the graphics, but this is not about what I enjoy this is about where I can add the most value to God’s mission. And as the senior leader there are some things that only I can do and must do.

This isn’t about the senior leader being any more important; it is about knowing your role and embracing it for the cause of Christ.

If the pilot of an airplane was spending all of his/her time serving drinks, reminding people to put their seat belts on, cleaning the bathrooms, greeting people on the way in, grabbing pillows, fixing mechanical issues, designing airplanes, THEN WHO WOULD FLY THE PLANE? Who would make sure that the plan was headed in the right direction and away from destruction? Who would navigate through the storms and keep the passengers focused on the destination?

It is interesting to note that wolves often appear as sheep. They come in at first just like one of us, just like one of the family. In fact, they may pose as prophets (thinking in their own mind that they are speaking truth and doing God and everybody else a big favor by sharing their superior knowledge with the rest of us). But Jesus warns us against such spiritual vermin. He says to watch out for these viscious “vision vandals”. These guys will creep into the church when no one is looking and seek to bring about division – and they do it in the most deceptive ways. In fact, they will probably drag some sheep off with them – and definitely cause a lot of damage if not dealt with.

I can tell you from experience that it is not fun fighting off wolves. Not because I don’t like defending God’s church and God’s mission but because this battle doesn’t always start out with a clearly defined enemy. In fact, the enemy may be a “friend” or a fellow ministry “leader” in the church. The enemy starts out in sheep’s clothing. It is likely someone that you have shared a lot of Starbucks Coffee with, or had a lot of family meals together with. Possibly, your kids played together, you took vacations together or simply invested a lot of yourself in this person. But do not be deceived Jesus warns – they will devour your vision and subvert your gift of leadership and they will take others down with them. The sheep are to be protected at all costs – and that means putting down some wolves from time to time.

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. (Matthew 7:15 NIV)

Now, as a leader and pastor I will face those who want to invade God’s church with their own agenda. The Bible calls these people wolves. People with an agenda can often times appear like your best friend, in fact if they are really “good” at what they do they will most likely try to befriend you. They may even believe that they are doing you a favor by pushing this agenda onto you – they might even believe that God wants you to swallow this agenda. But I can assure you that God pours His vision into the pastor first – and as long as that pastor is putting Jesus first no other agenda will matter. No political agenda is bigger than Jesus. No moral agenda is bigger than Jesus. No personal agenda is bigger than Jesus.