Harold B. Lee said, “The most important work you and I will ever do will be inside the walls of our own homes”. I read that statement and it immediately hits home for me. I will usually work 40-45 hours in a week. Maybe more sometimes doing various things to get our church ready for the week and to help people in need and write music and all this other stuff. Because of the nature of my job, I get to spend a fair amount of time at home as well. I carve out time to spend with my wife and 3 children and do my best to make sure that they know that they are first in my heart. I am by no means sitting here typing this and wanting you to believe that I achieve perfect balance everyday and that I can easily pull that off in three easy steps. I’d be rich right now from writing that book and doing all the seminars, with TOTAL balance still being reached at the same time of course.

Being in the pastoral spotlight for most of my life, I’ve learned a few things. One, that spotlight is really hot! Two, it doesn’t just shine on you. It shines on everyone in your family. When I was younger I simply hated that. I was blessed to grow up in a family that was stable and where I was raised and nurtured to love and fear God. We weren’t a drama filled family where there was always something to point to. So as a result, that light was moved in closer. In the culture I grew up in, there was ALWAYS something going on behind the scenes and so if you looked hard enough, there was something bound to show up. I think it may have frustrated some people that there wasn’t much to uncover. One of the things that people could say (which was a plus), was that my father taught his family how to love and serve God. It showed at church and wherever else we ended up. Of course, it wasn’t long before my dad started Christian Fellowship and I started to lead the worship. I was 10 when I started doing that and although those were some tough years in the beginning, it was clear that I had a heart to worship because that’s the way I was trained.

I always wonder what would happen if I spent all this time leading people and even teaching some younger than me what it means to be a lead worshiper and then realize that my family doesn’t even know. I sometimes think, “What if I’m not being that leader in my own home?” “What if my kids don’t know how to worship or who they’re worshiping?” Then I have moments like this past Sunday morning during our sound check and run through when the band was singing ‘All the Earth Will Sing Your Praises’ by Paul Baloche and my oldest daughter, Kahmylia, is standing right in front of the stage all by herself singing at the top of her lungs, dancing with her hands raised in the midst of her own little praise session. At that point I saw firsthand that they are catching something that I’m telling them. 

Again, I’m not writing this today as some sort of expert. Any of you that know me know that is about as far from the truth as you can get. But I know when God is speaking to me and when He takes me through things in my life I want to share them with others so that maybe I can help someone else see. So I leave you with a popular scripture to go with this post today. It sometimes seems cliche because it gets used so much. But parents, leaders and those teachers who are just starting back to school, don’t take it lightly because it’s true. I’m a living example of it. I’m hoping to continue the trend with my own.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)

I’m trying to get better about posting these things on Sunday morning before service, but I still haven’t nailed down my new Sunday morning routine. I’ll get better at it. Anyway, yesterday was a really great day at The Word at Shaw. We had a great time of worship and praise. The set didn’t seem like it was a killer set, but in the end God was glorified and it was a lot of fun. It seems as if lately our band is really starting to find its place. Here’s what we sang yesterday

Our God-Chris Tomlin

Enough- Chris Tomlin

Revelation Song-Jennie Lee Riddle

O Praise Him- David Crowder

All The Earth Will Sing Your Praises-Paul Baloche

In other news, the air at the church was fixed and we had a cool Sunday for the first time. Praise the Lord!!!

When I was a boy, I used to think that my dad was extremely scary. I also knew enough to know that he held he power. This was a terrifying situation for me. If I wanted something I knew that at the end of the day it was probably going to have to go through him and I was totally content with just not having anything. Later I realized that my dad is not as scary as I made him out to be as a little boy. I wonder how much more enjoyable those toddler years would have been had I not thought my dad would kill me? LOL Anyway, once I was able to grasp that he wasn’t just the mean dude that looked for ways to discipline me and tell me where I was wrong I realized that I had a loving father who wanted to give me the world if I would just come to him. Spending time with my dad was and is one of my greatest joys. There is a joy and confidence in knowing that I can go to my dad with anything and he will listen and help and give what he can to help me get what I need. As perfect as I think my dad is, I know he has some flaws. Even in those flaws he does his best to create an environment that allows me to come to him with whatever and know that his desire is to help me.

When I read Hebrews 4, I see that same sort of love from the Father in a completely perfect way. So many times we hear the last scripture in that chapter because it gets manipulated to mean that we can go boldly to the Lord and he’ll give us what we want. The scripture does tell us to approach with a childlike faith, but that’s another portion of scripture. This whole chapter speaks to a loving, all-knowing Father who has the answers. The things that are happening in your life and in this world is nothing new to him. So that’s why he tells us to “draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace” (v. 16 ASV). We should be able to do that knowing that he loves us and is fighting for us. He knows that we will need that mercy and grace that he is offering in a major way. It’s there for you if you go and ask for it.

I’ll never forget the afternoon that became real to me. I was a little kid playing baseball in the driveway with a Wiffle bat. My mom had told me not to play in front of the car cause I might break something. I was in the backyard at first, but after lunch I found myself in front of the car. My friend Derrick through me a fat pitch and I was getting ready to crush it. Instead, I caught the corner of my mom’s Buick Park Avenue and obliterated the tail light (okay, maybe not OBLITERATED, but I was like 8, let me have this). I became completely riddled with fear. My mom came out and was furious. But she didn’t spank me. She did something worse. She said those fateful words that I’m sure all kids hate to hear: “Wait until your father comes home”. I spent the next 3 hours or so in my room waiting for death. If it were today’s world, I would have said goodbye to all my Facebook friends. I would have created a Twitter hashtag that said #Harryslastday. I knew the end was near. When my dad came home my mom was ready for the show to begin. She told him what I had done and how I had pretty much been in my room in terror for hours. Then the time came. He called me to the living room. That was the longest walk EVER! But my father did something that he had never done in a situation like this. He got down on his knee and held me tight and let me cry on his shoulder. He talked to me and showed me great mercy. We talked about how it was wrong that I had disobeyed my mom and how I shouldn’t do that again. But it struck him that I spent the whole afternoon living in fear. He didn’t want to have a child that lived in fear believing that his father was there just to punish him.

Our Father in heaven feels the same way. We are given the freedom to approach him with everything knowing that mercy and grace flow freely. Are you living in that freedom? Or are you sitting in your room afraid to ask? Think about it…

The schedule is planned months in advance. The list of speakers and concerts is a mile long. You have your hotel room and flight arrangements confirmed. You just printed up some new business cards for top notch networking. You even went so far as to already have cash for the booths and vendors. Where are you headed? To one of the 4200 worship conferences that will happen over the next few months. They start earlier and earlier now. It used to be a few key ones over the summer that you didn’t want to miss. Now there are like 37 a year and they never stop. I find it hard to pick just one to attend because they are different. Now you have to pick based on location. The one at the mega-church in Texas looks cool, but this one is at a church close to Disney! Then you think, “Would Jesus ride Splash Mountain?” No? Just me? Okay never mind…

Why is the worship conference so cool? Well, generally you’re getting an up close and personal view of some super talented artists that you don’t get to see all the time. You’re getting to meet some other musicians around the country that you never knew existed. A lot of the time you’re hearing songs before they become popular in the mainstream and so you have some new music to bring back home. The worship times are AWESOME because you’re in a room full of people who can sing. I think one of the biggest things is that, for at least four days or so, there is someone else sitting right next to you that knows what you mean when you say things like ‘Nashville Number System’ or ‘diminished fifth’ or ‘Breedlove Passport C250′ or ‘Marshall Half Stack’. You have a hall pass (to steal from a bad movie) to be a music geek and it is completely okay.

I’m writing to you, O Worship Conference because sadly, I won’t be attending any this year. I will miss the name tags on sponsor lanyards. I will miss all the free stuff and discounted subscription to Worship Leader magazine. I will miss that rare opportunity to shake the hand of the person who you listen to on CD or the radio. I will miss the overpriced hotel room and the late night jam sessions with all the guitar players from some remote town in Indiana who happen to be AMAZING! None of that for me this year. I miss you, Worship Conference. You are the church’s midsummer classic. Maybe next year, friend. Maybe next year.

Last week we talked about vision and how it is important to keep vision in front of your volunteers and other church workers. This is also important for you to keep your vision in front of you. That seems like an interesting comment and almost like it doesn’t make much sense. But just like your volunteers, sometimes you lose sight of the vision because you’re so entangled in the details of everyday life and getting the job done. When that happens you have to be able to step back and refocus. When you can successfully do that then you will do a better job of helping to refocus your team.

I personally have had to do that which is part of the reason that I was writing what I did last week. I’m no revolutionary person or super thinker, but when I experience things I feel like there may be someone out there who hadn’t thought about things that way and I want to share with them. There are times when we have to remember why we are doing what we are doing and what the big picture is.

Today I get to do that in a special way. Today is my 9th wedding anniversary. I’m quite excited for this because it’s an opportunity to spend time with just my wife, which is something you don’t often get when you have 3 children and one of them is under the age of 1. But more than that, we get to spend time reflecting on why we fell in love in the first place. We get a night to pull away from the rest of our world, the work and kids and big decisions and all this other stuff, and just focus on us. It may not be a big thing, but it will be enough to help us get refocused before we jump back into life as we know. And maybe, just maybe, we can shift our focus knowing that the person right beside us loves us that much more.

This one is so crucial that I think I should have started with it. If I’ve learned NOTHING over all my time of working in churches and being on staff, I’ve learned that it takes a lot more than just the people who are paid to be there to make a church run successfully. There are many, many volunteers that give up their time and talents to keep a church moving. Sometimes we don’t take the time to truly realize that until someone is getting ready to leave and then we notice how much that person used to handle. Here are a couple pointers that are good to keep close. Or at least they’ve been helpful to me.

Thank Your Volunteers Regularly

I know some churches and other places that have big things for their volunteers and staff at the end of the year, and I think that’s a great idea (more on that later). But I think one of the best ways to keep people motivated and the vision fresh is to thank them on a regular basis. Sometimes we will wait until that one big thing at the end of the year and neglect to share how much we appreciate people the rest of the year. I believe that we have make sure our volunteers are constant affirmed in what they are doing because, as I said before, they keep us going. They need to know all the time that they are important. I don’t think you have to buy people gifts every week, that can get expensive. But a kind, heartfelt word can go a long way.

Don’t Be Afraid to Share the Spotlight With Your Volunteers

As I said before, volunteers are a way of life in many places but especially in the church. Sometimes it’s good to give them recognition among the others in the church as well as giving them regular praise. Be willing to let people know that you appreciate the people that give up their time to help you achieve success in what you’re doing. It will infuse them with energy.

Don’t Be Afraid to Spoil Your Volunteers

I think having banquets and appreciation events for volunteers is SUPER cool. I think they are important and vital. There is absolutely nothing wrong with spoiling your volunteers. Give them an opportunity to be themselves. So much is formal and regulated about what we do that it is good to give everyone a chance to breathe. You never know what you might learn about someone at a dinner table that you didn’t know before. You may find out that you really like the same TV shows or share an insane love for Twizzlers

All of these points that I’ve made are just to say that it is important to show people that they matter and are needed. It has to be done regularly. It also has to be done well and with all heart. You can’t thank someone half-heartedly. It doesn’t work. Treat your people well. It makes ministry fun. Treat people well. God says so.

Yesterday we talked about casting vision for you group of followers and volunteers. Today we are going to talk about how to handle the details without losing sight of the vision. Personally, the details can be the hardest part for me. I am a big picture kind of person and although I know what my details are, but sometimes I have a difficult time sharing those details accurately with those around me. Believe it or not, when I get to that situation it causes people to lose sight of the vision. So if the vision is the what, the details are the how. Here are a couple reasons why the how is so important.

They Let People Know You Have a Plan

There are always people that have big ideas. I have big ideas all the time. Granted some of them are just me being silly, but I can come up with a big idea rather quickly. The major difference between a pipe dream and something people can get behind is the plan to get an idea to work. To use yesterday’s analogy, a forest becomes a forest because individual trees continue to grow. A big idea comes to fruition because the plans are cultivated and people can easily see them.

They Let People Know Specifically How They Can Help

In a church small or large, there are always people willing to help. When those people respond to the call, it is good to have precise details for them to follow. People want to feel useful and like they are helping. If you don’t have good plans then you just have people that are just waiting and confused as to why you have them working. When you can give a solid plan, people will work enthusiastically to help you get things accomplished.

The How Helps You Achieve The What

All of your details should point to the end game which is the big idea. I liken this to an a capella group. Have you ever been to a group rehearsal? Sometimes you can walk into the middle of a rehearsal and wonder why the song is so boring because the part that is being practiced seems so weird and almost unmusical. As they continue to work through these parts you wonder how they will fit together. Sometimes it’s not until they can put all the parts together that you can hear how each part fits into the song as a whole. All of that hard work was pushing toward a final goal. When you start to put the pieces together then people can see just how the job you’ve asked them to do is working toward the big plan. You have to keep the big plan accessible to make sure you keep volunteers motivated. Any thoughts?

Tomorrow we will talk about appreciating the people who are giving their time to help you achieve your goals.

As the saying goes, “Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees”, or at least that’s how I’ve heard it. I remember when I first heard that and how it didn’t make much sense. I also remember when it started to make sense and how cool I thought that was. It was then when I started to look for metaphors and analogies to help explain what I was trying to say to people. Sometimes they are corny, sometimes they aren’t. Either way, they work. But that’s for another time. This week I want to try to talk about casting vision to help your team get the big picture and then sharing ways to effectively share the details as they are needed. Today we are going to talk about big picture stuff.

It seems like everyone is either launching or relaunching or gearing up for the new school year. Lots of churches do the same thing around this time. They know that people will be coming back from vacations and getting ready to settle back in for the long school year. So they will try to get things set up to open up the year with a bang to get people reignited about church and the activities that are taking place. That kind of preparation is happening all over the church and there is generally a lot of buzz at everyone is pretty busy. Children’s ministry is planning their new curriculum. Drama is working on new skits and costumes. The pastor is working on new sermon series. It’s no different in the worship department either. We’ve been listening to new music all summer and have tons of new ideas for music that can be shared in corporate worship. Some may even be looking toward Christmas already. Whatever the situation may be, there has to be a plan. Your volunteers will follow you if you give them something to follow. It is always good to share with them where things are going so they don’t just feel like working drones. I’ve been in that place before and it is NOT a fun place to be in. Especially when we are talking about the church. So here are a couple ways I think you can cast vision that will help your people continue to see the whole forest and NOT perish (Proverbs 29:18).

Take An Awesome Picture Of The Forest

Yesterday I was standing in the church parking lot when a little car drives past with this weird contraption on the top. Turns out it was a Google Maps vehicle making video for the street view maps you see on their website. I imagine that if that video comes out bad they probably won’t use it. Why? Because if they were to upload fuzzy video of the corner of Tower Grove and Shaw then people wouldn’t really know if they were there or not based on the map that Google really wants you to use. So the picture has to be clear so people know they are in the right place. If your people aren’t given a clear picture at the beginning. They won’t be able to go where they need to go and you will run off without them. You’ve already visited the forest so you know where to go. Remember that the trees will confuse them if they haven’t seen the forest yet.

Make Copies Of The Picture

It is good for you to have a picture of the forest. But when you have a great picture it is good to share it with others. It is good to share copies of the picture with those that are getting ready to go in with you. You’ve spent time with this beauty already. You found this gorgeous spot before you ever took the picture and so you are familiar with what it looks like. By sending out copies of the picture, you are giving your fellow travelers the ability to take it all in before they get there as well. Also, some people might see the picture and realize they don’t want to take that trip after all. This is a good time for that discovery. The last thing you need is for someone to get lost in the thick of things in a place they didn’t want to be in the first place.

Keep The Picture Accessible

Tomorrow we will start to talk about the trek inside the forest and some of the things to keep in mind. I will mention this again throughout the week, but it stands to be said here as well. You have to keep the vision in a place that is easy to reach at a moment’s notice. You will start walking through this forest and the deeper you get in you and your people might forget what the goal is and why you’re doing what you do. You need to bring out that picture as soon as you can for reassurance and for refocusing the group. It’s essential to make sure that you have a solid grasp on this because it can be the difference between cohesion and confusion.

I hope that this week will help some of you leaders to plan for this upcoming year. I’ve been blessed by being able to have this idea in my head and it has really helped me create a plan for what’s ahead. If you have any other insight I would LOVE for you to share with the group.