LEADERSHIP CAN BE STRESSFUL!

As I shared earlier this week, at Mars Hill, we have been trying to get our
minds and hearts around some of the data that points to unmet
expectations.  What do you do when not as many people are inviting
their friends…not as many are growing in Christ…not as many are
tithing…not as many are reading their Bible…not as many are
attending…and not as many are being baptized?

WHEN WE EXPERIENCE UNMET EXPECTATIONS, WE TEND TO QUESTION THE DATA. Perhaps the stats are wrong.  Maybe we didn't ask the question in the right way.  I bet a certain category of people refused to take the survey and so the results are skewed.

I once heard someone say, "figures don't lie; but liars know how to figure."

MY RESPONSE: When we don't like what the data says, it is so easy to question its' validity.  We look deep for one anomaly – one thing that sticks out.  We find the one piece where we can cast doubt on the data…thus causing a large shadow over all the findings.  Here's the problem:  It makes it easier to say everything is okay.  We tend to say, "The problem isn't the church – we're good, it's the data."

WRONG!!!

It's like the person who continues to squeeze into clothes/shoes that are too small – the data says either loose weight or go to the next size.  

Two down…three to go…