Beware you are not swallowed up in books! An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge.
— John Wesley

Notwithstanding the above quote from John Wesley, things have been quiet around here because for the past month I’ve been back into the books. I am almost half way through studying a Masters degree and whilst it is challenging, I find it really fulfilling.

So, some reasons why I think there is great value in studying:

1. Studying builds or rounds out your belief system. Knowing what you believe and why you believe it is critical to where you are headed in life. To actively and deliberately build that out enables you to maximise your fruitfulness in life and ministry.

2. Studying exposes you to new areas of thought that otherwise you would never explore. There is great benefit and stretching your mental muscles and expanding your understanding into new areas, and seeing how it relates to the areas of life you currently work in or have knowledge of. Mark Batterson is master of this, as he takes facts from neurology, social science & the like and weaves it into his writing and messages.

3. Studying challenges and expands the personal capacity of the leader. Studying takes mental discipline, puts pressure on your time, and requires grit and determination to successfully complete.

4. Studying within a structure requires commitment and commitment produces consistency. I’d rather reap a harvest from consistent sowing, than from sowing out of those rare moments when genius and inspiration strike. So too with the regiment of structured study.

5. Studying introduces you to great people! I’ve met and continue to be blessed by the friendship and interaction with some amazing people. Go on get out there and study!

Hope is not blind wishful thinking, rather hope is a powerful internal motivating force and its absence in life can be paralyzing.

Daniel Goleman, popular author in the field of Emotional Intelligence, says successful leaders operate from the hope of the success rather than the fear of failure.

In other words, a person with a hopeful attitude or an optimistic outlook knows how to handle setbacks. A pessimist allows a setback to consume them with defeat, stress, anxiety and anger. By contrast, the optimist quickly identifies the reason for the setback and sees they have the power to do something about it. They have hope – they see the steps they need to take and they have the energy to then take them.

The realm of church leadership is full of setbacks, but a heart full of God-given hope – for the best outcomes in people’s lives, in our communities and in our churches – can make an incredible difference.

MindManager is a mind mapper; it enables you to easily and quickly arrange and re-arrange your thoughts, which for me has made all the difference in the time I take to put together a message.

I previously typed my messages long-hand, almost word-for-word as I would speak it. This was not great for a couple of reasons 1) I never stuck to the ‘script’ anyhow and 2) it took forever to write and then edit / re-edit.

The new regime has revolutionised all that. I can easily add and amend the key thoughts in the message, colour-code the verses, quotes and examples I am using, and have the entire message in front on me on a single page! If you love to see the big picture like me it’s brilliant!

To get an idea of what it all looks like here’s an image of what I take with me to preach. At risk of sounding like an infomercial, I’d really recommend you check out this sort of software and approach to your message prep and save yourself a heap of hours each week in the process.

Update: Here is a larger image of a sermon using the mind map (jpg)

But leading people into a place of growth and daily encounter with our Father God takes skill.

More than that, it takes a heart that is prepared to do it first for themselves, and then is able take others along with them.

Pushing your way through virgin bush and marking out a new path takes courage, conviction and a strength that is not natural. It might be hard, but the joys it rewards you with are always well worth it.

“What am I to do with these people?”

Any leader in Christian ministry can relate to these words. Leading can be hard particularly when you feel your vision and direction is being met with less than full enthusiasm. Am I the only one hearing from God? Have I got it wrong? Am I expecting too much? Is the church totally apostate?!

In some ways it’s comforting to know Moses – yes, Moses – had the same leadership woes as you and I. What’s more comforting, is to hear how God answered his prayer (Exodus 17:5-6):

The LORD answered Moses, “Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.

“Go Ahead of the People” – Look on from where your people are. Stand in their shoes and survey where you need to go. Mark a path on ahead for them to follow. It is true that you can’t lead others where you haven’t gone.
“Take with you some of the elders” – Never go alone. Gather a team and take capable leaders on the journey with you.
“Take in your hand the staff” – What is in your hand? Don’t focus on what you don’t have, but what you do have. God’s given it and God will bless and will use it.
“I will stand there before you” – God is with you! Remember this is not for you, or about you – it is for God and is about God. And so it’s only going to happen because of God.
“Strike the Rock” – Go to Jesus the rock. Go to Jesus, hungry, humble and in prayer. Go to Jesus and from Jesus you will find the living water you need.

Lead well.

Following that sense of “hang on, there is something not 100% right here” is a massive part of leading God’s people.

To me, that is what makes ministry leadership primarily spiritual in nature. It is not just training or skills or abilities or personality that we do this thing. It’s got to be something more. We’re talking supernatural, revelatory stuff. Seeing ahead of the seasons and making the necessary adjustments to keep pace with the Spirit of God.

If I’m honest, I want spend much more of my life there. In the spirit-led zone. Because, when everything is said and done, I’m sick of my own carnality and God’s name deserves much more than just our limitations.