I have been often told that the gift of passion and the job title, Church Business Administrator are often not found in the same sentence. This might explain why I have notes from WFX classes in every non-technical track of the Conference – Social Media, Funding Ministry, E-Outreach, Leadership 4 Discipleship, Pastor’s Programs, etc. I have found that no matter where I look I consistently return to 2 of the Keynote Speakers, Pastor Rick Bezet from New Life Church in Arkansas and Pastor Chris Hodges from Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, AL. These men stick out in my mind above eveything else I experienced. Their message was clear, their conviction was genueine and their desire to change lives is lived out with all the passion any one person can have. They both presented key foundational principles church leadership must embrace to move a church from a social gathering community to a community that changes lives.
The 5 key principles of a Life Giving Church I took away from Ricks message were, #1 Live on the edge with Authenticity #2 Be convinced that authoritative leadership is obsolete #3 Annihilate Condemnation #4 Be the 1st to forgive #5 Don’t give away your dream. When I set these next to the 4 Values Chris laid out before us I see some very real similarities to the foundation of an effective church. Values / Faces that Chris spoke on include - #1 Servanthood (the face of an Ox), #2 Relationships (the face of a man) #3 Excellence (the face of an Eagle) #4 God’s Power (the face of a lion). How else does one say that people matter most to God and that it is only when they matter most to us that God can really start to accomplish life change?
I ended the evening by reading a book I had brought along on our trip to WFX, it is titled “Not Your Parents Offering Plate”, I am less than 1/2 way through the book and my conculsion is no different. People give when they feel that they matter and when they see life change taking place.
In writing this blog those concepts seem almost elementary, obvious, but living it out proves to be a much more challlenging task. Our old nature knows every weakness and opportunity to step in and sidetrack our focus. By the end of the day all the stuff & programs have outweighted the people and we are no better off than before we started. I know that drastic change is difficult for anyone, but I know that if we can succeed at shifting our focus God will smile down on us and at the end of the day, that is my definition of success, a smile on my father’s face. That is my only purpose for any conversation tomorrow.
