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Humbling Leadership Lessons On Change & Transition

Humbling Leadership Lessons On Change & Transition

by | Feb 6, 2012 | regular

I’ll admit, as a leader it’s quite easy to get caught up with a vision. It’s natural because as leader’s we’re encouraged to look out for opportunities and then take the lead in making things happen. But sometimes we find ourselves alone out front, and wonder what happened to the people we’re leading? Why aren’t they with us?

GOING FISHING – WHO’S IN?

Take a scenario of a group of people going fishing on a lake. Typical leaders get the vision, jump in the boat, and are off to fish.  However, the rest of the group may take a different approach. As the leaders look back, they find that half the people are still on the river bank. 

Some are still prepping their fishing gear. Some are just starting to launch their boats. Others are on the water but are heading in the opposite direction. Some are going in circles and still others haven’t yet even decided if they feel like fishing after all. That’s when you realize that only leading from the front doesn’t always help facilitate the transition.

John Maxwell in his book “Winning With People” admits that patience is not one his strengths. He says: “When I was younger I constantly cast vision for the people in my organization and then left them behind – not a good thing for a leader.”

In 2011 we experienced many exciting changes at Mars Hill Baptist Church.  Regardless of how exciting the vision of the building was, we know now that in the process, we left some people behind. There were parts of the process where as leaders we simply dropped the ball.


Mars Hill Baptist Church – Before

Here’s FIRST humbling lesson learned:

BUILDINGS HOUSE MEMORIES – DON’T ERASE THEIR SIGNIFICANCE

Mars Hill has been part of the community for more than 35 years. Families have celebrated many memorable weddings. Parents have introduced their children to the church and sat Sunday after Sunday in the pews together. Others have said goodbye to loved ones and those last few words in that place were significant.  

Mars Hill Baptist Church – After

Today, this happens in a place that looks totally different. Walking through the front door no longer triggers those memories. Memories hold significance and give people a sense of belonging.  When everything looks so different it’s easy to understand how the memories won’t seem quite as real and people feel left out.  As leaders we dropped the ball because we didn’t take the time to understand the significance of these memories, and that for some, made the transition more difficult.

Humbling Leadership Lessons On Change & Transition

Where Do You Get Your Vision?

by | Jan 30, 2012 | regular

One of the questions that is often asked of me by pastors, church leaders, and business leaders is, “Where do you get your vision?”

My answer usually seems to frustrate them because…well…it’s simple. Leadership (and vision) is as easy as listening to God.

  • Vision does not come through a committee.  Good ideas may come that way.  Much needed discussion may come out of a meeting like that…but not vision.
  • Vision does not come through a conference.  You may get INSPIRATION…but not REVELATION.  I think of of the sad things in conference world today is pastors will attend a conference, go home & then try to be EVERYTHING except for what God called them to be.
  • Vision does not come out of books.  Once again–excellent ideas do.  Wisdom comes from reading. You can seriously be challenged and stretched by reading…but vision isn’t in the pages of the next best seller.
  • Vision does not come from trying to repeat what has been successful in the past…that’s not vision, that’s the leader being a victim of previous success.

I still say that passionate, white hot, hell charging, world changing & people inspiring vision comes from intentional and uninterrupted time with Jesus…in HIS Word, seeking HIS face through prayers–staying connected with HIS Holy Spirit throughout the day.  

So when people ask me, “Where do you get your vision?” My answer is always the time…I meet with God & I don’t move until He tells me to move…but WHEN He tells me to move I go until He tells me to stop.

Leadership is as easy as listening to God. I always advise pastors and church leaders to get on their face and stay there until God says otherwise. I have NEVER made a bad or wrong decision when I clearly heard from God and followed–EVER!

Humbling Leadership Lessons On Change & Transition

Friday’s Top 5: Why Mars Hill is a Man’s Place

by | Jan 27, 2012 | regular

Mars Hill is the kind of church men would love to attend.

Every Sunday, church pews fill up with despondent women who are forced to worship without the men in their lives. A recent survey by Ellison Research found that 31% of men never attend church even on holidays believing that church is for women, weirdos and wimps.

This sad statistic prompts parishioners and ministers alike to ask: “Where are the men?” While it’s true that several men spend their Sundays satisfying their vices for sports, beer, and sleep, men who don’t attend church usually have more substantial reasons for not attending.


However, I’d like to share five reasons why I believe Mars Hill is a church men would love to attend.

  1. You won’t hear: “Be Innocent as Doves” – You’ll be encouraged to be wise as serpents: “This type of language handcuffs & robs men of power and strength.  The same word for ‘wise” that Jesus used can also be translated as shrewd and cunning. Jesus commends shrewd behavior as found in the Parable of the Shrewd Manager (Luke 16).  We largely condemn shrewdness and think it’s synonymous with criminal behavior. Other churches want nice men.  Jesus, according to his own words, wants shrewd ones.
  2. You won’t be encouraged to be “Avoid Anger” – You’ll be encouraged to “Manage” It:  Scriptures reveals how Jesus was angry.  If you read the Gospels carefully, we would say that Jesus was a bad Christian man because he got angry so much.  Most men have not been shown a better way…how to properly handle this primary emotion for guys since unresolved anger can lead to depression, alcohol and drug abuse, and even impotency.
  3. We don’t beg – We Take One Offering – PERIOD: God doesn’t want your money – He wants YOU! If He did, He’d take it all & not ask for your permission.  With rising unemployment and a higher cost of living the last thing any man wants to see when he goes to church is a pastor with his hand out asking for more than his fair share of his income.
  4. Our Services are not long – We worship God, hear His Word, Give & Go Home: Going to some churches interferes with your leisure time.  Once the announcements, singing and long sermon is over for some it is half-time at the Bulls or Bears game that they planned to watch at home…Not so at Mars Hill!
  5. We won’t beat you down – You’ll be empowered: Some churches are unsympathetic to what men experience.  Since many men attend church to mend their battered egos, they get upset when the minister adds insult to injury by attacking them in his sermon….NOT AT MARS HILL. We’ll encourage you through inspiring – life-giving preaching that’ll challenge & empower you to make a difference in life.

Man up & join us!

Humbling Leadership Lessons On Change & Transition

by | Jan 26, 2012 | video

If you’ve learned a lot about leadership and making a movement, then let’s watch a movement happen, start to finish, in under 3 minutes, and dissect some lessons:

A leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous. But what he’s doing is so simple, it’s almost instructional. This is key. You must be easy to follow!

Now comes the first follower with a crucial role: he publicly shows everyone how to follow. Notice the leader embraces him as an equal, so it’s not about the leader anymore – it’s about them, plural. Notice he’s calling to his friends to join in. It takes guts to be a first follower! You stand out and brave ridicule, yourself. Being a first follower is an under-appreciated form of leadership. The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader. If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire.

The 2nd follower is a turning point: it’s proof the first has done well. Now it’s not a lone nut, and it’s not two nuts. Three is a crowd and a crowd is news.

A movement must be public. Make sure outsiders see more than just the leader. Everyone needs to see the followers, because new followers emulate followers – not the leader.

Now here come 2 more, then 3 more. Now we’ve got momentum. This is the tipping point! Now we’ve got a movement!

As more people jump in, it’s no longer risky. If they were on the fence before, there’s no reason not to join now. They won’t be ridiculed, they won’t stand out, and they will be part of the in-crowd, if they hurry. Over the next minute you’ll see the rest who prefer to be part of the crowd, because eventually they’d be ridiculed for not joining.

And ladies and gentlemen that is how a movement is made! Let’s recap what we learned:

If you are a version of the shirtless dancing guy, all alone, remember the importance of nurturing your first few followers as equals, making everything clearly about the movement, not you.

Be public. Be easy to follow!

But the biggest lesson here – did you catch it?

Leadership is over-glorified.

Yes it started with the shirtless guy, and he’ll get all the credit, but you saw what really happened:

It was the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader.

There is no movement without the first follower.

We’re told we all need to be leaders, but that would be really ineffective.  The best way to make a movement, if you really care, is to courageously follow and show others how to follow.

When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in.

© 2010 Derek Sivers

Humbling Leadership Lessons On Change & Transition

Mistakes Were Made: Greatest Mistake of Them All

by | Jan 23, 2012 | regular

1. KEEPING PEOPLE PAST THEIR EXPIRATION DATE.   

I’m what you call an eternal optimist.  My first instinct is to see the best in people and work to bring it out in the open.  I’ve sent people to conferences, personally mentored them, invested time and resources into their development only to be disappointed. 

Dismissing a person is never easy, sometimes it’s inevitable.  From experience, I’ve learned that the first person you fire is ALWAYS the most difficult.  Before I replace someone, I ask myself: “Does the person really need to be replaced?” 

A sharper focus can be gained by asking:

  1. Is the person’s ineffectiveness, poor leadership, or example blocking the progress of the ministry?
  2. How much harm is being done?
  3. What if the position goes vacant for a while (one of my favorite questions)?
  4. What standard am I using to measure job effectiveness?  Sometimes we measure people against impossible standards.  We must distinguish between someone who cannot do a job from someone who can but lacks the necessary skills.

The right people don’t need to be managed—they just need to be pointed in the right direction.  Jim Collins said, “If the person came to tell you that he or she is leaving to pursue an exciting new opportunity, would you feel terribly disappointed or secretly relieved?”  If you’d be relieved, it’s time for them to go.

Have you ever had to fire someone?

How was the experience?