Get comfortable with confrontation!

As a leader it’s your job to pull the potential out of everyone you lead. You have to take ownership for making whatever it is you lead better. If you don’t, no one will. To make things better means you have to address the things that aren’t being done well or well enough. To do that you have to have hard conversations with those overseeing the areas that need to be improved. This can be difficult. It can get emotional. It can get personal. It is confrontational!

The alternative is complacency and eventually stagnation. As an organization there is constantly things that will need to be tweaked in order to be more effective. As a leader you will notice these things. You must then take the necessary measures to induce the needed change. You are doing those you lead a disservice if you aren’t willing to sit down and push for improvement. If you love those you lead you will do all you can to make them more effective in what they do. To do that you have to have intense conversations that force everyone to examine the weak points in their areas of responsibility.

We must be careful to confront and not just complain. There’s noting more frustrating than a person who points to problems but offers no solutions. When we confront with the purpose of making improvements we have to be willing to offer some constructive ideas to enable the change we wish to see.

A willingness to have confrontations is essential to being a good leader. Learning how to say what must be said is an effective and loving way is a must. To achieve your goals you will not be able to avoid conversations that will make you uncomfortable.

I love my church. I love being a part of Vintage. I’m excited each week to worship with others and serve alongside great people. I’m convinced God has huge plans for Vintage (and every other church). Plans to use us to change our community. I know that through our ministry God is going to bring thousands of people to faith in Jesus. We will bring hope.

I also know for all this to take place more people need to share my belief in the church. We are so blessed to have a handful of people who really are passionately in love with Jesus and called to serve him through Vintage Church. The problem is, it’s only a handful. We need more! More people to get motivated to inspire people to live and love like Jesus. We need more people investing in the lives of others, inviting them into a relationship with God, and continuing to influence them with the power of His Word.

Not to grow Vintage but to grow the Kingdom of God. If we set out to build His Kingdom, then our growth will just be a by-product. I want to see more people at Vintage because I believe deeply that it is a community of believers who loves people. I believe God’s presence is in everything we do. If I believe all this why would I not want as many people as possible to experience it?

So I’m calling everyone who claims Vintage, everyone who claims to believe in the church, to take a hard look at ourselves. We have to get excited. We have to get jacked up about what our God is doing through His Church. No matter what or where you attend church, your attitude has a huge impact on its ability to accomplish its mission. We have to release the excuses and express our faith in God and His Church.

Are you excited? Prove it!! Here are some signs you are excited about His Church.

#1 – You invite others to experience it.

#2 – You support it financially.

#3 – You pray for its leadership.

#4 – You attend consistently.

#5 – You volunteer.

#6 – You can explain its mission and/or vision.

#7 – You celebrate its success.

These are seven things that are imperative if we are going to move the Church toward being the unstoppable force Jesus envisioned. They aren’t negotiable. Each is too vital to attempt justify away. If you can’t check each of these off as it pertains to your church, then either find a new one or get alone with God and ask him to change you heart!!

¹⁴ In everything he (David) did he had great success, because the LORD was with him. 1 Samuel 18:14

By all accounts David didn’t seem to have the qualities that most would consider necessary to be great and successful. Despite that, he killed a giant, defeated armies, and ruled a nation. Why? The Bible says, BECAUSE THE LORD WAS WITH HIM!

I love how this passage gives God the credit for David’s success. He was successful in all he did, not because he was talented, not because he was intelligent, not because he had a great team, but because of the LORD!

Looking at  success through the lens of this verse I’m reminded once again how completely dependent on God I am. As a pastor/church planter, it’s so easy to get distracted and disillusioned with my own success. I think there are many factors that make one successful any venture of life, but if the LORD is not with me, I’m certain failure will be the end product. Because God has called me to something that is impossible without his presence. Without his anointing and favor there is no chance of true success.

#1 – God’s plan for bringing down a 25 foot high/20 foot thick wall surrounding a city is to march around it for a week then scream at it.

#2 – God instructs Joshua and the Israelites to destroy every living thing in the entire city, expect for one lady named Rahab and the people who are currently staying her home. By the way, Rahab was a prostitute!

So what the heck can we learn from this?

God’s instructions as we follow his call will, often, seem completely crazy. He will give us a plan for accomplishing his goal that will defy our understanding and logic. God really never asks us to fully understand, just to fully obey.

I don’t think escalators were created for the entertainment of two year olds.  They’re there to take shoppers from one floor to the next. This is a task that once was dependent on stairs to complete. I guess somewhere along the way someone thought stairs were just too much work. It  apparently required too much energy to walk up multiple steps in order to move up. Thus the escalator was invented and now exists to take someone from one level to the next with very little effort on their part.

Now I’m grateful that they have these at the mall. For the entertainment of my kids and my own personal laziness. But unfortunaltely I think our culture is looking for an escalator in every area of life. We want to move up, we want to acheive new levels of success, but we want an escalator to take us there. We want to go higher, but with as little effort on our part as possible. Bad news, there are many areas of life with that have no escalators. Which means to get your desired result, you’re going to have to work for it. You are going to have to exert some energy. You are going to have to log some time. You are going to have to spend some money.

You may be seeing the need to take your life or your organization to another level, but your wasting time searching for an escalator. Moving to new levels is rarely an easy task. You will have to be willing to take risks and make sacrifices. Stop searching for an easy route, get your hands dirty, and work for it!

The first time they stood before the Red Sea (Exodus 14). Moses had led them there. They had just broke the chains of hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt and now they stand with what seemed to be only two options. One, drown. Two, get slaughtered by Pharaoh’s angry approaching army. Now here (Joshua 3) under Joshua’s leadership they stand on the shores of the Jordan River (at flood stage).

Along God’s pathway we will always encounter seemingly insurmountable obstacles. That’s just part of the deal. I can’t recall one account in all of scripture that was without hurdles. Knowing this will help. Settling your mind on the reality of future obstacles will keep you from the panic of being caught unprepared. If you are following God’s call, somewhere along the long the line you will have an ocean to cross.

The cool thing? In both stories the Hebrew people made it across. I’d imagine as they stood on the bank of the Jordan they felt much differently then when they were sandwiched between the Red Sea and the soldiers. They had experienced God’s power. They knew God was more than capable of sweeping back the waters. And, just as he had done in the past, he cleared the way again. Because that’s what he does. He makes a way. When we are following his lead there is no obstacle that he will not (or can not) obliterate.

God doesn’t call us to solo missions. A calling from God requires support. When we are in hot pursuit of a God thing we  will always need people to help us. We have to be willing to allow others to get involved. We need people who can do what we can’t. (Oh yes, you do have limitations!) We need people who will push us and stretch us.

Joshua needed these men. They expressed such confidence in Joshua. They say they will do whatever he says. Wow! That seems dangerous and stupid. They pledge to follow his every direction? Why?

They must have been as convinced of his calling as he was. They believed God had anointed him. There’s nothing more attractive than knowing God’s hand is in something. When God’s calling is evident other people will always want to be involved.

What made them so sure of God’s calling was Joshua’s character. They knew Joshua. They knew the man he was. They believed in him. Which not only inspired them to follow, but inspired Joshua to lead. There’s nothing more empowering than having others express their belief in you.

However, these guys did put two conditions on their allegiance. “Only may the LORD your God be with you . . .” Simply,” We follow you as long as you follow God.” “Only be strong and courageous!”. Simply, “Have the guts to do exactly as God says.”

Leading from your own agenda is disastrous. We’ve all seen the carnage from leaders who leveraged their position for selfish purposes. Whether it be from inflated ego, or reckless insecurity, when we stop listening to God we become dangerous leaders. Joshua’s team knew this full well. They believed in his call, but knew he needed to remain in tune to God’s voice and be immediately obedient when he spoke.

We must surround ourselves with other gifted leaders who will share the passion of our call. They will be vital to our mission. Surround yourself with gifted people as you follow God’s call! You will need them. Be a leader worth following! Build habits in your life to keep your focus on God’s agenda.

Reading through the book of Joshua is reminding me of this. Joshua had to fill the biggest shoes in the history of leadership. To this point in history Moses had been God’s greatest leader. Now Joshua is charged with the responsibility to take the baton. How scary is that!?! Joshua has to finish what God started through Moses. Joshua hears and answers the call.

Like with every calling, God makes a commitment to Joshua. He makes Joshua some huge promises (read this). Joshua’s calling is clear and God’s commitment is concrete. Yet God still has to remind Joshua to remain strong and courageous. Why? Because he knew there would be moments where Joshua would be tempted to doubt. The pursuit of his calling would make him weary. In those trying moments when things seemed to not be moving in the right direction, Joshua’s vision could blur. So God needed to remind him to be strong and courageous. Because all God-sized missions require both.

⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

These aren’t words to just give occasional bursts of energy, they are meant to be a mantra. God was instructing Joshua to run after his calling with a holy confidence. There was no need for a single moment of insecurity. Joshua was not chasing a dream, he was following a call. There is a difference. There was no need to ever question success because God had already promised it. You see a calling is God declaring what he wants to do through us. If we remain obedient (which is where the strength and courage come in to play), there is no possibility of failure!

My first six months in Greensboro were spent reading every book on church planting I could find. I constantly read the blogs of church planters who I thought were “cool” and “successful”. I read so much my mind got cluttered. I could have attempted to regurgitate what I read into Vintage. But God called me to start a movement and movements can’t flow out of regurgitation.

Don’t misunderstand. There is much to be learned from those who’ve gone before us. Every planter needs a coach. Every planter should soak up all he/she can from those whom God has blessed. But at some point you have to seek God for what He is calling you to do. Don’t allow all the reading and advice rob you of your uniqueness.

Your ministry will most likely contain many elements you’ve learned from others, but they must be filtered through your personality and individual calling.

So, be strategical and intentional about how you spend (your time, energy, money, thoughts, prayers, training, facilities, everything!!).