Influence Issue 09

ISSUE _ 09 / DEC 2016 _ JAN 2017

KONAN STEPHENS / TROY AND LACEY HARTMAN / ELIZABETH RIOS

ISSUE _ 09 / DEC 2016 _ JAN 2017

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Building a Volunteer Ministry Team

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Unpacking the Baggage That Hurts Your Marriage

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Goal Setting for Thriving Teams

TRANSFORM YOUR MIND AND

MINISTRY WITH

KNOWLEDGE

ON FIRE “My experience at AGTS has been transformative!

Not a week goes by when I don’t find myself talking to someone about what I’m learning and how I’m growing.”

— Phil Rasmussen, DMin Student, VP of Church Relations and Campus Pastor at Northwest University

WHY AGTS? • Benefit from Spirit-empowered training that will maximize your impact on the kingdom of God • Become part of a community of students and professors bound together by the common cause of Christ • Address challenging issues with creativity and innovation • Learn from national Assemblies of God leaders without leaving your ministry position • Experience knowledge on fire that will change your life and those to whom you minister

Explore an AGTS MASTER’S or DOCTORAL program today! APPLY at agts.edu/apply.

Evangel University

AGTS.EDU • 800.467.AGTS EVANGEL.EDU • 800.EVANGEL 1111 N. Glenstone Ave., Springfield, MO 65802

JOIN US FOR THE 57th GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD

IN ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA AUGUST 7–11, 2017

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT GeneralCouncil.ag.org

“A single God-ordained moment can change a generation. As we gather in the locality of Azusa, let’s believe God for that moment—in our day, in our time!”

-George O. Wood

CONTENTS

7 If You Ask Me

Characteristics of Dynamic Leadership

8 Get Set Ministry Entrepreneur: A Q&A with Ryan Skoog

10 Like a Leader • Live: Sleep Like a Leader • Think: 10 Questions to Ask If You’re Writing, Reviewing or Revising Your Church Bylaws

• Read: Books Worth Highlighting, for You and Your Team • Listen: Enhancing Your Listening Experience with Podcasts and More

• Tech: Apps and Tech That Add to Your Life

20 Playbook • Build: Building a Volunteer Ministry Team • Know: Why Belong? A Fresh Look at Denominational Affiliation • Invest: Growing Your Church — One Step at a Time

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30 Perspectives

Should Outreach Events Include the Proclamation of the Gospel?

32 Which Lives Matter?

In a nation torn by political polarization and personal rancor, General Superintendent George O. Wood biblically explains how a loving Church offers the only way forward.

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44 Traveling Light: Unpacking the Baggage That Hurts Your Marriage

By unpacking these four things, Herbert and Tiffany Cooper have discovered the secret to a happy, healthy marriage.

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52 Goal Setting for Thriving Teams

Does your team possess the kind of goals that drive exceptional performance? Ryan T. Hartwig says outstanding goal setting exhibits these key characteristics.

60 Multipliers— Multiplying God’s Love for the Nations

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• Bringing Christ to the Burmese • Reaching More Together • Taking the Message to the Ends of the Earth • A Mosaic in Miramar

70 Make It Count

Volunteerism: 8 Keys to Developing and Leading High-Capacity Volunteers

80 The Final Note

Mothers Know Best in Religious Upbringing

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MAGAZINE

THE SHAPE OF LEADERSHIP

INFLUENCE MAGAZINE 1445 N. Boonville Avenue Springfield, MO 65802-1894 Influence magazine is published by Influence Resources.

Publisher: George O. Wood Executive Director, Influence Resources: Chris Railey Executive Editor: George Paul Wood Managing Editor: Rick Knoth Senior Editor: John Davidson Online Editor: Ana Pierce Designer: Steve Lopez Advertising Coordinator: Ron Kopczick

SUBSCRIPTIONS: To subscribe, go to influencemagazine.com or call 1.855.642.2011. Individual one-year subscriptions are $15.

Bulk one-year subscriptions are $10 per subscription, for a minimum of six or more. For additional subscription rates, contact subscribe@influencemagazine.com. Please send all other feedback, requests and questions to feedback@ influencemagazine.com.

All rights reserved. Copyrighted material reprinted with permission. All Scripture references used are from the New International Version (NIV), unless otherwise noted.

CONTRIBUTORS: Aaron C. Blake, Sr., James T. Bradford, Herbert and Tiffany Cooper, David Crosby Jr., Tammy Dimos, Alex Hanna, Troy and Lacey Hartman, Ryan T. Hartwig, Chin Khai, Ana Pierce, Chris Railey, Liz Rios, Ryan Skoog, Konan Stephens, Scott Wilson, George O. Wood, George Paul Wood

Influence magazine (ISSN: 2470-6795) is published six times a year, in December, February, April, June, August and October by Influence Resources (1445 N. Boonville Avenue, Springfield, MO 65802-1894). Periodicals postage paid at Springfield, Missouri, and at other mailing offices. Printed in the USA.

SPECIAL THANKS: Alton Garrison, James Bradford, Douglas Clay, Gregory Mundis, Zollie Smith, Gary Rhoades, Tim Strathdee

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Influence magazine: 1445 N. Boonville Avenue Springfield, MO 65802-1894

EDITORIAL: For info or queries, contact editor@influencemagazine.com.

ADVERTISING: Display rates available upon request. Contact advertising@influencemagazine.com. By accepting an advertisement, Influence does not endorse any advertiser or product. We reserve the right to reject advertisements not consistent with the magazine’s objectives.

Website: influencemagazine.com Twitter: @theinfluencemag Facebook: facebook.com/theinfluencemag

IF YOU ASK ME

CHARACTERISTICS OF DYNAMIC LEADERSHIP hat makes a leader more effective than another? What factors determine the scale of a leader’s impact and the sustainability of his or her influence? What makes a leader, well…dynamic? No doubt many other factors contribute to dynamic leadership, but I believe dynamic leaders possess three distinguishing characteristics.

Conviction. I recently sat down with a leader I respect — someone who is a proven culture-builder and change-maker, a dynamic leader by all accounts.

In discussing this issue, he stated dynamic leadership starts with a deep conviction in the heart of the leader.

Conviction is the unwavering belief that something is true or right — that something isn’t yet but will be in the future. Conviction comes out of one’s calling, and it’s the source of passion and guiding principles that moves a leader forward to create positive change.

Dynamic leaders possess deep conviction.

Courage. Without conviction there is no courage, and without courage there is no change. We desperately need courageous leadership in our families, churches and organizations. Courageous leadership refuses the status quo, demands progress and rallies others to overcome impossible odds. Courageous leaders look beyond the present circumstance to the preferred future, and they aren’t shaken by criticism or setbacks.

Consistency. Conviction and courage are undermined by inconsistency. Leaders that get things done possess an amazing level of consistency in every area of their lives. They bring transformation to the people and places they serve or have served. I remember hear-

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ing John Maxwell’s “Law of Five” as a young leader, and it impacted my thinking in a big way. Maxwell says every single day he does five things consistently.

Every day he reads, files, thinks, and asks questions and writes — every single day, no exceptions. John Maxwell is the definition of a dynamic leader, and his consistency in these areas is a big reason why. I believe consistency must extend to all areas of a leader’s life.

Truly dynamic leaders lead well at home, they lead healthy teams at work and they impact their culture and community in powerful ways. Dynamic leaders are consistent leaders.

In this issue of Influence, you will hear from dynamic leaders who are leading with conviction, courage and consistency. Our cover story is a timely and profound discussion on race, culture and life entitled, “Which Lives Matter,” written by Dr. George O. Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God. Dynamic leaders cannot afford to ignore important cultural issues. Instead, they need to engage the issues of our day in an effort to redeem and transform society. What we really believe about the value of life is one of those issues.

Herbert and Tiffany Cooper, in our first feature article, discuss how to have a vibrant, healthy marriage and how to lead your family well. Finally, in our second feature article, Ryan T. Hartwig, author of Teams That Thrive, outlines effective goal-setting strategies for your team. We trust these articles and others in this issue of Influence will help you continue becoming the dynamic leader God created you to be.

Chris Railey, D.Min., is the executive director of Influence Resources and the senior director of leadership and church development ministries for The General Council of the Assemblies of God, U.S.A.

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GET SET

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4 Questions with Ryan Skoog

MINISTRY ENTREPRENEUR Ordained Assemblies of God minister Ryan Skoog has an MBA in entrepreneurship. He uses business models to further world missions as co-founder of Venture.org, Fly for Good, Volunteer Card, Workshop Chicago and InsureYonder.com.

Influence: What is Venture, and how did it get started?

Ryan Skoog: Venture started with a group of college students who responded to a missionary message by biking across the country to raise money for a mission project.

God has since propelled Venture into a movement of tens of thousands of people in churches around the world who run, bike and hike to raise millions of dollars every year for vulnerable children who are trafficked, starving, refugees and who have never heard the gospel.

Why does the church need more ministry entrepreneurs?

Business people have more to offer missions than just money. At Venture, we’re partnering with economists and CEOs to launch a farm and church-planting program among the Badi people in Nepal. The Badi are one of the most trafficked, unreached people groups on earth. The farms will provide food and jobs to keep people from selling their children into brothels for food. At the same time, we are planting a church with each farm to bring Jesus to those who have never heard. It’s exciting! The Church is just scratching the surface of how business and missions can work together.

Also, we’ve partnered with businesses to develop a state-of-the-art phone app that will help other missions organizations, like Speed the Light and Convoy of Hope, use this concept of logging miles through biking and running to raise funds for missions. It’s called Venture Miles. We are passionate about using innovative technology to maximize our ability to share the gospel.

I believe we will see a new wave of missionaries with market skills and missionary hearts going into restricted-access countries and pioneering the gospel.

The overwhelming majority of unreached people live in countries that won’t grant a missionary visa; you need a market skill.

Designers, entrepreneurs, web developers, operations and finance specialists can not only get visas, oftentimes they can make enough money with their skill set that they don’t need to rely on traditional fundraising. We send missionaries this way through Venture. It is effective to train and send today’s marketplace leaders to be tomorrow’s world-changing missionaries.

What advice would you give students and others wanting to start businesses with a social mission?

First, innovate the boring. Find stale business industries, and make them social, creative and mobile. Second, connect your social mission to the product itself, so your customers feel like they are the ones giving when they purchase — not your company. Third, go work for a start-up or small business. It’s like getting paid to learn entrepreneurship. Finally, and most important, fast and pray just like a pastor.

You have started four other companies besides Venture. How are these companies serving a Kingdom purpose?

We use our for-profit companies as funding engines.

They fund Venture’s admin expenses, so when people give to Venture, it goes straight to programs and projects. We look at these companies simply as tools to forward missions.

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LIVE

SLEEP LIKE A LEADER What this pastor discovered about sleep changed his life.

KONAN STEPHENS

couple of years ago, burnout was knocking at my door. I was working hard as a church planter and doing a lot of the right things. I was in good shape physically, my family was solid, my marriage was good and my work schedule was reasonable. Yet my lack of sleep was slowly draining me.

About that time, I began researching sleep for a sermon series on healthy habits. I called the series, “The Lifechange Challenge.”

I wanted to encourage my congregation to create healthy habits spiritually, financially and physically. What I discovered changed my life for the better.

The biggest breakthrough came from better understanding my sleep cycles. We’ve all had mornings when we can barely get out of bed. Other days, we may wake up before the alarm, feeling rested and ready to go. I have found that when I go to bed before 11 p.m., I hit

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my sleep cycles correctly and can consistently pop out of bed at 6 a.m. feeling good.

If I go to bed closer to midnight, I have a hard time getting through the next day.

The average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Without sleep, we are more susceptible to sickness.

Through sleep, the body performs repairs and removes waste chemicals from the brain, so we can focus and function later.

Skipping sleep can also cause weight gain. Sleep deprivation increases the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin and reduces leptin, the satiety hormone.

To begin a new sleep habit, choose a new bedtime. Figure out a schedule for getting your seven to nine hours. Then create a new bedtime routine. For me, this meant a relaxing shower, quiet reading time, not eating a lot of food within three hours of bedtime and staying away from late-night caffeine. It also meant eliminating time wasters like TV and Internet.

Another sleep killer is having a buzzing phone on the nightstand. Put the phone on sleep mode, or keep it in another room.

Perhaps your reality is consistently getting into bed late and struggling to get out of bed in the morning. You hit the snooze button so many times you count it as part of your morning exercise. You then jump out of bed and frantically panic to get ready. There is no time for breakfast, and there is certainly no time to read the Bible or work out. Instead, it’s a mad dash into a day full of fighting exhaustion.

If I just described your current routine or even part of it, it’s time for a change.

Good leaders must run at a sustainable and healthy pace. Start taking a rest — so you can give your best.

Konan Stephens is lead pastor of C3 Church (AG) in Pickerington, Ohio.

10 QUESTIONS TO ASK IF YOU’RE WRITING, REVIEWING OR REVISING YOUR CHURCH BYLAWS Ask these questions to discover what works best for your situation.

JAMES T. BRADFORD

s general secretary of the Assemblies of God, I receive numerous inquiries about church governance documents, especially bylaws. Local churches sometimes need help with revising their bylaws, and church planters need help writing them. Rather than responding with a one-size-fits-all bylaws template, I like to ask questions to help churches discover what works best for their situations.

Here, then, are 10 questions to ask if you’re reviewing, revising or writing your church bylaws: 1. Do the bylaws include provisions for accountability and transparency on the part of leadership?

2. Do the bylaws specify who is appointed to lead the church spiritually and directionally, and then give them the appropriate level of authority to manage the church’s affairs from week to week?

3. Do the bylaws stay focused on identity and governance issues so that they don’t have to be amended every time a new ministry is added or a staff person hired?

4. Can the bylaws outlive the present pastor?

5. Are the bylaws concisely worded, as opposed to being too long and cumbersome?

6. Do the bylaws describe efficient governance systems rather than being a collection of reactions to past problems in the church?

7. Do the bylaws contain a dissolution clause, and do they adequately describe approval processes for financial borrowing and the buying or selling of real property?

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8. Do the leadership selection processes and congregational responsibilities described in the bylaws match the decision-making culture and values of the church?

9. Have the bylaws been updated in recent years, and do they efficiently serve the present size of the congregation?

10. Do the bylaws comply with General Council of the Assemblies of God and district council requirements?

If your church is in the process of writing, reviewing or revising your church’s bylaws, you might find it helpful to ask these questions. If the answer is “no” to any one of them, a rewrite might be in order.

How often should your church review its bylaws, and who should review them?

I’d recommend an annual review by the senior or lead pastor, the board and the pastoral staff. Doing this every year keeps the bylaws fresh in the mind of your leaders. Even if you don’t feel your bylaws need to be revised, it’s good to review them annually to make sure your church is complying with its governance documents.

If you have questions about your church’s governance documents, make sure to check out resources provided by the General Council and your district council: • generalsecretary.ag.org, which has a recommended church bylaws, • churchmultiplication.net /forms, which has a number of useful documents, especially “Church Governance Minimums,” • and the website of your district council.

Writing, reviewing or revising church governance documents isn’t always fun, but it’s necessary. Good governance facilitates excellent ministry.

James T. Bradford, Ph.D., is the general secretary of the General Council of the Assemblies of God in Springfield, Missouri.

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1

THE ART OF INSPIRATION

Justina Chen (Sparkline Creative)

Leaders are the chief inspiration officers of their organizations. According to award-winning novelist and executive communications consultant Justina Chen, the primary way they inspire others is by telling three kinds of stories: “Heritage & Quest,” “Defining Moment,” and “One Big Idea.” They also utilize the “toolkit” of storytelling to tell these stories well: intention, voice, metaphor, wordplay and object lesson. The Art of Inspiration was written for secular business leaders, but with appropriate adjustments, pastors and church leaders can benefit from its advice, too.

BOOKS WORTH HIGHLIGHTING, FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM

By Influence Magazine

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MAKING SENSE OF GOD Timothy Keller (Viking)

These days we often hear that since atheism is based on reason while religion is based on faith, we should prefer the former to the latter. Making Sense of God by Timothy Keller offers an intelligent, Christian rebuttal to that argument. He shows that all people — atheists and believers alike — use experience, faith, reasoning and intuition to make sense of the world. He then shows why “Christianity makes the greatest sense in every way — emotionally, culturally, and rationally.” This is a thoughtful work of apologetics, sure to challenge unbelievers and encourage believers.

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GROWING YOUNG

Kara Powell, Jake Mulder, and Brad Griffin (Baker)

“Multiple studies highlight that 40 to 50 percent of youth group seniors…drift from God and the faith community after they graduate from high school.” Kara Powell, Jake Mulder and Brad Griffin cite this statistic at the outset of Growing Young. Whether you are a pastor or a parent, this statistic should alarm you and move you to act. If you want to make a difference in the spiritual lives of young adults, including your own, start with this book, which outlines six “essential strategies to help young people discover and love your church.”

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FEED YOUR FAITH HD46229

©2016 Global University. All Rights Reserved.

Have an appetite for ministry?

Fill that hunger by contacting Global University today.

G L O B A L U N I V E R S I T Y . E D U 1.80 0.4 4 3.108 3

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FACEBOOK .COM/GLOBALUNIVERSIT Y • 1211 S. GL ENS T ONE AV E • SPRINGF IE L D, MO • 6 5 8 0 4

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By Influence Magazine 1

LET MY PEOPLE THINK http://rzim.org/let-my-people-think-broadcasts/

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Let My People Think is a weekly, 26-minute podcast that “powerfully mixes biblical teaching and Christian apologetics.” Episodes feature noted Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias talking about “life’s meaning, the credibility of the Christian message and the Bible, the weakness of modern intellectual movements, and the uniqueness of Jesus Christ.” Recent episodes include “God’s Blueprint for Your Life,” “Is Faith Delusional?” and “A Nation in Decay.” Let My People Think is a trusted Christian guide through the modern marketplace of ideas.

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MONEYWISE http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/moneywise/

MoneyWise is a daily podcast by Compass-Finances God’s Way, a Christian ministry whose purpose is “to serve churches, businesses, ministries, schools and other organizations by providing biblicallybased solutions on handling money and possessions.” Featuring Howard Dayton and Steve Moore, these 25-minute episodes offer “a practical, biblical and good-natured approach to managing your time, talents and resources.” Recent episodes include “Why You Should Pray About Your Money,” “Finding Your Financial Soul Mate” and “The Bible on ‘Debt.’”

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THE PRODUCTIVITYIST PODCAST https://productivityist.com/category/podcast/

The Productivityist Podcast is a weekly podcast that gives listeners “tips, tools, tactics, and tricks that are designed to help you take your productivity, time management, goals, to do lists, habits, and workflow to new heights — both at work and at home.” Hosted by Mike Vardy, the podcast features approximately 30-minute conversations with productivity specialists. Recent episodes include “The Power of When,” “ProTECHtivity” and “Crafting Clear Systems.” This is a secular podcast with lots of good insight into productivity.

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By Influence Magazine 1

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Apps and tech that add to your life 1

TEENSAFE

TeenSafe brings parents and smartphone technology together to safeguard what we value most, our children.

TeenSafe is a fee-for-service technology chosen by over 1 million parents that allows them to monitor their child’s or teen’s iPhone or Android activity. It’s smartphone monitoring at its best. TeenSafe allows parents or guardians to: • monitor sent, received and deleted SMS and iMessages.

• view call logs of incoming and outgoing calls, including contact name, number, date and duration.

• monitor social media activity, as well as view activity on Instagram, WhatsApp and Kik Messenger.

• view smartphone location on a map as well as a history of the phone’s location.

• view Web browser history and more.

TeenSafe will give you and the parents in your church or ministry the knowledge they need to support and protect their children from cyberbulling, sexting, online predators and other at-risk online activities. TeenSafe offers complete security and only parents can access their child’s data.

For more information about TeenSafe, visit TeenSafe.com.

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SCANNER FOR ME

Scanner for Me is a free, two-in-one app that turns your smart phone or iOS device into a multifunctional office tool. Scanner for Me is an indispensable companion for personal or ministry use. Scanner for Me uses your iPhone or iPad to instantly scan, edit, wirelessly print, store or share written or graphic materials, including: receipts to track your expenses, business cards, emails, webpages, text from Clipboard, sermon notes to save for future reference, book pages and articles for further reading and analysis.

Scanner for Me allows you to edit scanned documents utilizing tools that add borders and filters, adjust contrast, and correct or change document orientation. Single or multiple scans can be saved in one PDF and sent via Mail, iMessage or simply saved to Photos. Files can also be uploaded to Dropbox, Evernote, GoogleDrive or stored in iCloud where they can be synchronized with all your iOS devices. Using Touch ID or a passcode will make all your PDF scans secure and accessible for future use.

A full version of Scanner for Me is available for $4.95 and is also available on the App Store.

Creating Lasting

Legacies.

Planned giving can make it happen. A variety of charitable options can allow for significant gifts for your church and ministry while providing income and potential tax benefits for those in your congregation.

We have planned giving solutions that can meet a variety of needs such as: • Generating more retirement income • How to transition out of appreciated assets • Estate planning and distribution • Honoring a family member with a legacy gift Contact us today for more information and learn how we can provide options to those who have a heart for the future support of your church’s ministry.

877.616.5202

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agfinancial.org

Authors Reading List for the New Year Fully His Kerry Clarensau This thirty-day journey is designed to help readers understand just a few of the many promises God offers to those who believe in Him and how we, as His children, can embrace those gifts. Visit MyHealthyChurch.com/LiveFully to see the full line of Live Fully theme resources.

Kerry Clarensau is a credentialed minister, a mentor, and an international speaker. A prolific writer, she creates resources for ministry to women and is the author of Secrets, Love Revealed, Redeemed, and A Beautiful Life.

Available in Spanish

Available in Spanish

BESTSELLER

The Jesus-Hearted Woman and The Jesus-Hearted Woman Devotional

The Live | Dead Journal and Live | Dead Joy

Jodi Detrick

To “live dead” is to die to self and live life wholly for Jesus. These books provide an amazing interactive experience with a missions focus, perfect for personal devotions or small group study.

If you have the heart, you can learn the skills.

The Jesus-Hearted Woman and devotional are Jodi Detrick’s guide to helping women develop ten essential skills for dynamic and delightful leadership.

Available in Spanish

Dick Brogden

Available in Spanish

Dying Out Loud Shawn Smucker

Courageous Compassion

This is the story of one missionary family and their dedication to follow God no matter what the cost. Even through a journey into stage four cancer, they discover peace, grace, and a new hope for the lost around them.

Beth Grant shares the stories of people who enthusiastically feed the hungry, weep over alcoholics, start a hospital, care for hurting children, and powerfully share the Word of God.

Beth Grant

Available in Spanish

Change Before You Have To

Praying with Confidence

Rob Ketterling

Jeff Leake

Through Change Before You Have To, Rob Ketterling empowers readers to embrace the opportunity today to live a life full of abundance and passion. The perfect time to make a change is now!

Over the course of 31 days, author Jeff Leake provides tips and patterns to help you develop a new discipline of prayer. Get ready to bring a renewed focus to your prayer life!

Visit us at MyHealthyChurch.com/AGauthors.

1.855.642.2011 • MyHealthyChurch.com

PLAYBOOK : BUILD

BUILDING A VOLUNTEER MINISTRY TEAM How to improve your volunteer recruitment and management efforts.

TA M M Y D I M O S

olunteers. They are the lifeblood in every church.

They fulfill key roles each week, making sure our worship services run smoothly, welcoming visitors, discipling students, keeping children safe and helping seekers find Christ. They are the first faces most people see when they visit your church, and they are some of the last individuals to leave the building.

Nearly 63 million Americans volunteered in a civic, religious or school organization in 2014, according to The Federal Agency for Service and Volunteering, providing almost 8 billion volunteer hours. Faith-based organizations are the most popular places for volunteers to serve, and 91 percent of congregations report that volunteers are essential for providing social service and community outreach projects.

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While volunteers are crucial to successful ministry, sometimes a volunteer doesn’t mesh well with a particular team, doesn’t have the right skill set for an assigned position or seems unwilling to support the ministry leader’s vision.

As a result, it is occasionally necessary to make changes and remove a volunteer.

While the terms “hire” and “fire” don’t technically apply to individuals who serve the church for free, there are parallels to managing employees and volunteers.

Hiring Volunteers Similar to hiring employees, successfully placing and retaining volunteers hinges on three things: recruitment, expectations and training.

1. Recruitment. As you begin your search, pray that God will provide the right volunteers for each position. Advertise your need using print and digital announcements, the ministry website and social media.

A personal request is often the most effective.

Sometimes people are just waiting for someone to ask. Don’t be ashamed or afraid to make your needs known, and solicit help from everyone you know.

As you recruit, use the process to screen your volunteers to ensure a proper fit. Many churches use an application process to learn about the interests and experience of potential volunteers. Ask for, and contact, personal references. Include a criminal background check for anyone who will work with children or other vulnerable individuals.

Encourage current volunteers to help recruit, and offer incentives. You may find that some volunteers will be willing to increase their involvement, if asked.

2. Expectations. Create a “ministry description,” with a mission and vision statement, for each volunteer position. Outline the expected duties, behaviors and time commitment.

3. Training. A new volunteer’s success and enjoyment hinge on effective training and feedback. An intentional training program — even if it is on-the-job training — can make the difference between an engaged, enthusiastic volunteer and a confused, unmotivated one. Equip your volunteers for success by providing routine training and continual feedback on their performance. Communicate your appreciation, and follow up regularly to be sure they are finding fulfillment.

Managing Volunteers As much as it seems you need every volunteer, it may become necessary to release or reposition someone from a volunteer position.

You may decide to suspend or move a volunteer for the following reasons: • The volunteer is in a leadership role (a position of leading someone else, no matter how minor the role) and is not living up to the standards required.

• The volunteer is reckless, physically or verbally, in his or her area of responsibility.

• The volunteer has recent criminal activity that prohibits him or her from assuming certain positions.

• The volunteer is not a good fit or well suited for his or her current position.

As the volunteer’s leader, it is up to you to help each volunteer find a place to serve successfully. If it’s simply not a good fit, find a new role for the volunteer.

In some cases, the volunteer may be reinstated after counseling or additional screening. You may also

HOW TO CONFRONT AND DISCIPLINE VOLUNTEERS 1. Invite the volunteer to meet with you. Have a third party join you as a witness.

2. Avoid discussing the issue over the phone.

3. Pray over the meeting.

4. Once together, state the facts. Provide the details of the discipline (temporary suspension or relocation to another ministry area). Include a timeline for the suspension, if applicable. Discuss conditions for volunteering in the future, such as participating in counseling or discipleship classes before being allowed to serve again.

5. Give the volunteer an opportunity to share thoughts. If there is a disagreement, resolve the issue or schedule a follow-up meeting with additional leadership.

6. Close the meeting with prayer.

7. Afterward, document the details of the meeting and provide a written report to appropriate leadership.

8. In some situations, you may allow the volunteer to continue serving, but in a different capacity or ministry area. If you offer this, put everything in writing for accountability and future reference.

decide the volunteer can continue to serve, but with certain restrictions.

There should generally be a place for everyone to serve, unless it would place people at risk. For example, a registered sex offender could not serve in the nursery, but under supervision, such an individual might direct cars in the parking lot or help out in the food pantry.

Although it is sometimes necessary to remove a volunteer from a particular role, it doesn’t have to be the final chapter of his or her volunteer service.

Tammy Dimos is the connections coordinator at James River Church in Ozark, Mo., where she connects volunteers to various ministry positions. She has served James River in various ministry roles for the past 10 years, including leading a team of almost 200 volunteers performing 120 different roles each week. You can reach her at tammydimos@msn.com.

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Is your team aligned with your vision?

In Framework Leadership, Kent Ingle shows you how to build a framework within your team that supports your vision. With this kind of leadership, you’ll be able to transform dreams into realities and obstacles into opportunities.

KENT INGLE is the president of Southeastern University.

Prior to entering professional ministry, Kent spent ten years as a television sports anchor for NBC and CBS.

Visit FrameworkLeadership.com to order your copy today.

1.855.642.2011 • MyHealthyChurch.com

PLAYBOOK : KNOW

WHY BELONG? A FRESH LOOK AT DENOMINATIONAL AFFILIATION Consider these four benefits of belonging to a denomination.

CHRIS RAILEY

re you a glass-half-full or a glasshalf-empty person? It’s easy to be cynical when it comes to certain parts of ministry. When the subject of denominational affiliation comes up, talk often turns to criticisms. We exaggerate the negatives, while ignoring the benefits.

Our God is a God of hope. If we want to experience a fresh move of God in churches across our country, we need to stay optimistic about our future. And if we are serious about accomplishing the Great Commission together, we have to connect with something outside of our local sphere.

There is distinct value in being part of a strong denominational network. Rather than focus on what we may not like, let’s decide to see the positive. There are four benefits that anyone who belongs to a denomination can take advantage of to be a more influential leader.

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A denomination is a team — a group of people all working toward a common goal of fulfilling the Great Commission.

1. Relational affinity. Denominations are families, for better or worse. And just like a family, we have our differences, and we may even disagree. But a family with a strong history has deep connections. The benefits of the relationships we build and maintain far outweigh any moments of friction.

In years past, geographical boundaries defined relationships. You only really knew and interacted with churches and pastors close to you. This is a new era of connectivity. With social media and instant messaging, it’s possible to stay connected with other ministers around the globe. Denominations provide a built-in network in which to grow.

2. Legal protection. We live in a world of uncertainty.

Each Supreme Court decision seems to raise fresh concerns about legal aspects of ministry. No one knows for sure what the future may hold. Will pastors face prosecution for refusing to perform same-sex marriages? Will the church’s tax-exempt status be challenged?

A denomination provides assuring legal support.

When questions arise about church liability, your Fellowship provides detailed responses to legal rulings. This includes practical information about taxes, by-laws and even procedures for screening volunteers. A cooperative fellowship can act as a banner of protection under which a minister is free to work without overwhelming fear of legal repercussions.

3. Ministry resources. Belonging to a denomination means that you have access to a wide and growing range of resources. You have at your disposal quality online resources, printed curriculum, conferences and roundtable events for training and equipping. In fact, the very magazine you hold in your hand is a resource designed to help you prepare to tackle your day-to-day challenges.

And because these resources are so diverse, you can use them like a menu, picking and choosing what you need 24

and crafting them to your specific and unique circumstances.

Any time you face a problem, you can be sure that someone, somewhere is working on a solution. The size of denominations, and the commitment of their leaders, means that answers are on the way. If you ever feel in over your head or out of your depth, help is right at your fingertips.

4. Team mentality. When God called you into ministry, He didn’t call you to go it alone. When Jesus sent out His disciples, He always sent them in groups. Throughout the Book of Acts, missionaries went out as teams. They already knew what we’ve all come to learn: We are better together.

With whom are you doing ministry? A denomination is a team — a group of people all working toward a common goal of fulfilling the Great Commission. What we can do together as a team is immeasurable compared to our individual efforts.

A positive attitude always leads to a winning team mentality.

Denominations represent the efforts of men and women who sacrificed for something bigger than themselves. They were on a divine mission to build something strong and lasting. And they never did it alone. They got together, often putting aside differences and egos, and got to work on what God called them to do.

So why should you belong? As I look at the landscape of today’s churches and denominations, I see them getting stronger with each generation. There is much more ahead of us to be hopeful for than behind us to be thankful for.

A multitude of other benefits are available when you belong to a denomination. But any way you look at it, you have reason to be optimistic. Our history is great, our outlook is bright and our churches are growing. Let’s maximize the positive and pull together to see God move in a mighty way throughout our world.

Chris Railey, D.Min., is executive director of Influence Resources and senior director of leadership and church development ministries for the Assemblies of God.

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GROWING YOUR CHURCH — ONE STEP AT A TIME Everyone is called to become a follower of Christ, but not everyone’s discipleship journey looks the same.

TROY AND LACEY HARTMAN

ighteen months ago we moved to Manhattan, Kansas, to plant a new church. We only knew one young college student living there, but we held on to the dream God had placed in our hearts to connect the unconnected by providing a safe place to find and follow Jesus. We knew our parents and kids would come to our first service, but that was about it, as we were complete strangers in our community.

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Today, we remain focused on making a difference in the lives of those who claim no religious affiliation. We can now name dozens of people who are taking next steps and following Jesus.

Tracy and Hillary felt something had been missing in their lives. Then they got a mailer inviting them to a new church starting in town. With their teenage sons, they came to our launch service. They were unconnected to faith and had never been to church. Through personal relationship, spiritual formation and personal response, they accepted Jesus, got baptized, joined a small group and are now serving.

After a yearlong deployment, Angela’s husband received a brief leave for the birth of their second child. At the hospital, he told her their marriage was finished. It was after this devastating news that Angela began attending our church and filled out the connection card. For months, Angela prayed.

We prayed with her the day before they planned to break the divorce news to their oldest child. The next week, Angela’s husband had an encounter with Christ. They are now both attending church as Jesus restores their marriage.

Sixty-five percent of Manhattan has no religious affiliation.

Our community, home to Fort Riley Army Base and K-State University, is significantly transient. One pastor told us, “Manhattan is the place church plants come to die.”

His statement highlighted what we already knew. Ministry is challenging where everyone is coming or going.

In spite of these realities, our church is growing. The key to our growth is a next steps system. Every attendee receives a program, along with a pen and giving envelope. The program includes a perforated connection card for every person to fill out. Encouraging everyone to fill out the connection card each week makes it easier for guests; we all have steps to take. As an incentive, we announce that for everyone who fills out and turns in a card, the church will make a donation to a particular organization in his or her honor.

Next steps could be: I am making a new decision to follow Christ; I will serve; I will join a small group; I will get baptized; I will (fill in the blank for a personal response and/or upcoming social or event); or a prayer request.

Our next step system filters through three important components: personal relationship, spiritual formation and personal response. Easy onboarding in every aspect is essential for effective follow-up.

Personal relationship steps include connect groups, serving, socials, welcome dinners, partnership, prayer and special events. Each of these avenues focuses on building genuine relationships.

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We remain focused on making a difference in the lives of those who claim no religious affiliation.

Spiritual formation extends from the street to the seat and back every Sunday. We strive to set up an environment conducive for life change. We give our people an understandable worship service and clear opportunities to develop spiritually. Those who make a decision to follow Christ receive information about the YouVersion Bible app (including different plan suggestions), journaling with the acronym SOAP (Scripture, observation, application, prayer), baptism, serving opportunities and connect groups, as well as a personal invitation for coffee or lunch. Personal relationships, spiritual formation and personal response overlap, as each plays a key role in following Jesus.

Personal response is crucial at the close of every service. We have a brief time of reflection and encourage everyone to use their pens on purpose to take a step. Whether people are responding to the message, committing to Jesus, indicating an interest in baptism, signing up to serve, attend an event or volunteering for a local organization, each step is significant. After reflection, we invite the ushers to come forward to receive the tithe and offering along with the connection card.

Everyone is called to become a follower of Christ, but not everyone’s discipleship journey looks the same. Different needs, backgrounds and schedules can make ministry challenging. We are far from having it figured out, and we are not yet where we want to be, but we passionately believe the future health of the church is directly linked to the health of our next step process, so it’s worth the constant and never-ending improvement.

Troy and Lacey Hartman are lead pastors of Rock Hills Church in Manhattan, Kansas, a church they planted in 2015.

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PERSPECTIVES

Should Outreach Events Include the Proclamation of the Gospel?

Evangelism is a central component of the mission of the Church. Jesus Christ commissioned His followers to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) and to “preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). The Church’s evangelistic mission takes Jesus’ own evangelistic mission as its model: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21).

Christ’s death and resurrection occurred precisely so that “repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations” (Luke 24:47). Indeed, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit has evangelism as its stated purpose: “you will receive power…and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

YES Why wouldn’t we verbally communicate the gospel in our outreach efforts? After all, can we call it an outreach if we don’t reach people with the gospel?

The answer to this question may lie in a desire to not offend the unbeliever. The church is being held hostage to emerging cultural values that are not consistent with biblical truth. Today’s culture insists that faith is a private matter and that tolerance, particularly religious tolerance, is the ultimate virtue. A common objection to evangelism is, “You shouldn’t impose your views on others. If everybody would just leave everyone else alone, there would be peace.”

In the biblical text, peace comes through faith, and faith is not just a private matter. For believers, there should be no inconsistency between public and private life. All should be under the rule of Christ. To keep the truth from someone because it is socially awkward is selfish and lacks integrity.

Comedian, magician and atheist Penn Jillette wrote an interesting blog post after receiving a New Testament and Psalms from a believer. He said that if he saw a truck about to hit someone, he would push that person out of the way — even if it did seem intrusive.

“How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize?” Jillette wrote. “How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”

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In Acts 4:29, believers prayed for boldness. Either we have a life-transforming, life-generating message, or we don’t. If we do, we need to maximize every means and opportunity to communicate the gospel in the power of the Spirit.

A hug, a smile or an act of kindness, generosity or compassion can express the love of Jesus and open the door to relationship, but only the proclamation of the good news about Jesus points the way to eternal life. Acts of compassion should never be contingent on a declaration of faith by the recipient. At the same time, is it really an act of compassion if it doesn’t create the possibility of an encounter with the transforming power of the gospel?

All proclamations of the gospel require spiritual discernment because each hearer is unique. Timing and form are critical to effective communication.

Explicitly proclaiming the gospel doesn’t mean delivering an angry fire and brimstone message with a bullhorn five inches from the hearer’s face. It does mean communicating in word and deed the life-giving message of Jesus Christ in a spirit of love, honesty and humility.

The gospel is good news, a declaration of life and joy. How could we not want to share that message with the world? Peace and eternal life only come through repentance and surrender to Jesus. “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?” (Roman 10:14.)

ONE ONE ISSUE. ISSUE. TWO TWO PERSPECTIVES. PERSPECTIVES.

It may seem strange, then, to ask whether evangelism should be a component of outreach events sponsored by the local church. And yet, Spirit-filled, Bible-believing churches today are asking precisely that question. So we asked two ordained Assemblies of God ministers with pastoral experience and formal training in missiology to answer the question.

The first minister answers with an unqualified “yes.”

“Either we have a life-transforming, life-generating message, or we don’t,” this minister writes. “If we do, we need to maximize every means and opportunity to

communicate the gospel in the power of the Spirit.” The second minister argues that the answer is not so clearcut. According to that minister, “The answer depends on what kind of outreach event your church is hosting.”

The purpose of the Perspectives column is to air debates taking place among Christians so that Influence readers can understand both sides of a controversy and make an informed decision for their own congregations and ministries. As editors, we trust that this debate will help you clarify your own understanding and practice of the Church’s mission.

NOT NECESSARILY Evangelism is an essential component of the mission of the Church, but it is not necessarily an essential component of every outreach event sponsored by the local church. Based on my ministry experience, I would say there are three types of outreach events.

The first is proclamation-centered. In this type, the local church invites members of the community to hear a Christian speaker talk about life from an explicitly biblical point of view. The speaker might be an evangelist, an apologetics expert, a well-known Christian personality or an activist. I would also include gospel musicians and contemporary Christian music artists in this type of outreach event, since their songs are explicitly Christian. The goal of proclamation-centered events is to help people move from unbelief to belief, or from shallow levels of belief to deeper levels. The proclamation of the gospel at such events is both natural and necessary.

The second type of outreach event is compassioncentered. In this type, the local church invites members of the community to receive tangible help of one kind or another. Examples of compassion-centered outreach events include adopt-a-block campaigns, partnerships with local schools to provide poor students with backpacks and school supplies, job fairs, food pantries, oil change ministries, homeless feeding programs and the like. These events give people “a cup of water in [Jesus’] name” (Mark 9:41).

Obviously, church members can engage in informal

gospel conversations with members of the community as opportunity arises, but a more formal proclamation of the gospel is typically not possible. This is especially true when local churches partner with public schools.

Perhaps we should consider compassion-centered outreach events as pre-evangelistic. They give your church a good reputation in the community. When spiritual crises arise in their lives, members of the community know that your church is a place they can turn to.

The third type of outreach event is mixed. In this type, the local church invites members of the community both to hear a speaker or musician and to receive tangible help. Evangelism is natural at mixed events because it includes a proclamation-element. A subtle danger arises because mixed events include a compassion-element, however. The danger is that members of the community might mistakenly think their receiving help is dependent on their response to the gospel proclamation. The danger, in other words, is of manipulated — and therefore false — conversion. The term for manipulated conversions is proselytism. It is not evangelism, rightly understood. To make sure this doesn’t happen, your church should state clearly, explicitly, and up front that tangible help is given freely to all who need it, regardless of whether they hear or respond to the proclamation of the gospel at the event.

So, should outreach events include the proclamation of the gospel? The answer depends on what kind of outreach event your church is hosting.

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ISSUE _ 09 / DEC 2016 _ JAN 2017

ISSUE _ 09 / DEC 2016 _ JAN 2017

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In a nation torn by political polarization and personal rancor, a loving Church offers the only way forward.

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he 2016 presidential election is over, but the political polarization and personal rancor still hang in the air. At the level of policy, our nation faces many substantive challenges: abortion on demand, the continuing breakdown of the traditional family, immigration reform, income inequality, law enforcement controversies, racial and ethnic disparities, religious freedom and the list goes on. How can the Church speak prophetically to such issues without stumbling over political tripwires?

Two years ago I sent a statement that started an unforeseen and unintended controversy in our Fellowship. That event, considered in hindsight, presents us with a teachable moment. Certainly, I learned from it. Perhaps you can, too.

An Unintentional Controversy

In December 2014, I was in the middle of enjoying the first sabbatical of my entire ministry. I usually stay plugged in to cable news to know what’s happening in the world. For my sabbatical, however, I decided to unplug and detox from the news.

My office alerted me that Charles E. Blake Jr., presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ and a friend, had declared Sunday, December 14, Black Lives Matter Sunday. He was calling COGIC churches to prayer “to remind the nation how important the lives of African Americans are.” My staff wanted to know whether I wished to join his call to prayer by issuing the same invitation to Assemblies of God churches.

A call to prayer sounded like a great idea to me, so I issued a statement to AG churches through social media. I wanted our Fellowship to express solidarity with black Spirit-filled churches, especially COGIC and our own National Black Fellowship, to pray for the black community, which was experiencing distress, and to seek to be agents of reconciliation in our still-racially divided country.

Many pastors hosted Black Lives Matter Sundays in their congregations to great effect. I received encouraging reports of tremendous intercessory prayer, with the hearts of white and black believers being broken for one another. I also received personal messages thanking me for highlighting the distresses experienced by the black community.

However, I received a lot of pushback, too. Didn’t I know that Black Lives Matter was the name of a radical movement with some policies neither the AG nor COGIC supported, including a negative view of law enforcement and a permissive stance on LGBT issues? (Actually, being unplugged from the news, I didn’t know.) Couldn’t I see that the statement, “Black lives matter,” offended law enforcement officers in AG congregations?

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Shouldn’t I have emphasized that all lives matter, not just black lives?

I’ll get back to how I handled this controversy in a moment, including what I could’ve done better. For now, though, I want to focus on that last question because it’s the key to understanding the entire issue. Do all lives matter? Do black lives matter?

Which lives matter? As Spirit-filled believers, we are confident that Scripture is our all-sufficient rule for faith and practice, so let’s turn to God’s Word to see His answer to that question.

The Sanctity of Life

The first, and most obvious, answer is that all lives matter because every life is sacred.

The biblical foundation of the sanctity of life is the creation of humanity in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27, 5:1–2). The Sixth Commandment prohibits murder (Exodus 20:13), and the Law explains this prohibition explicitly in terms of the divine image (Genesis 9:5–6). There’s more to the Sixth Commandment than just the prohibition of murder, however.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus

extended the application of the Sixth Commandment to the emotions that drive behaviors: “anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment” (Matthew 5:22).

Similarly, He extended the commandment’s application to our words: “anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca’ [an Aramaic term of contempt] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matthew 5:22).

The Sixth Commandment, then, encompasses murderous actions, angry emotions and contemptuous words.

The Bible routinely reverses negative prohibitions, turning them into positive obligations. For example, immediately after Jesus extended the prohibition of murder to anger and contempt, 35

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He announced their antidote: “go and be reconciled” (Matthew 5:24).

Similarly, Paul understood the Sixth Commandment as the flip side of the Great Commandment. “The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:9–10; cf. Leviticus 19:18).

Even Leviticus 19:18 pairs a negative and a positive: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.”

If we believe in the sanctity of life, there are things we must not do, as well as things we must do. Martin Luther summarized the dual responsibilities in his Little Catechism: “What does this [commandment] mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.”

The sanctity of life demands that we help, not harm. This means we can’t fully obey the Sixth Commandment by doing nothing. It is relatively easy not to murder someone, after all. The sanctity of life demands that we cultivate emotions, words and actions that contribute to the flourishing of our neighbors’ lives. That is how we honor the sanctity of life and reflect pro-life values in the largest sense.

The Priority of the Vulnerable

If all lives matter, then it logically follows that some lives matter, too.

On the third Sunday each January, Assemblies of God churches commemorate Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.

Why? Because on January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its infamous decision, in Roe v. Wade, that legalized abortion on demand throughout the country.

Psalm 139:13 says of God, “you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” No biblical author ever wrote to support abortion. The first Christians understood this. Beginning in the late first century A.D. — that is, the period immediately following the death of the apostles — Christian theologians consistently prohibited the practice. Tertullian (A.D. 160–225) offered a straightforward rationale: “In our case, murder being once for all forbidden, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb” (Apology, 9).

In other words, the sanctity of life extends to all humans, even unborn babies. Because all lives matter, we say and teach that unborn lives matter.

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As I look at the controversies swirling in our nation and impacting our Fellowship, I see with greater clarity our need for continual refilling with the Holy Spirit.

Turning from church history to the pages of Scripture, we see a similar concern for the lives of specific categories of people. Exodus 22:21–27 mentions four categories that recur throughout both the Old and New Testaments: “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner. … Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. … If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest” (emphasis added).

Because all lives matter, foreign lives matter.

Widowed lives matter. Orphaned lives matter.

Poor lives matter.

Christ himself expressed concern for the lives of specific categories of people. In Matthew 25:31–46, He taught His disciples that His standard of judgment for “the nations” was whether they fed the “hungry,” gave drink to the “thirsty,” welcomed the “stranger” — i.e., foreigner or immigrant — clothed the one “needing clothes,” cared for the “sick,” and visited those “in prison.” If they did, He welcomed them into “eternal life.” If they didn’t, they experienced “eternal punishment.”

Because all lives matter, hungry lives matter.

Thirsty lives matter. Immigrant lives matter.

Poorly clothed lives matter. Sick lives matter.

Incarcerated lives matter.

One final category of people the New Testament highlights is unbelievers. In Luke 15:1–32, Jesus told a series of three parables about a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son. Each of these parables taught that God rejoices when sinners repent and return to Him. Jesus concluded the

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parable by saying: “there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (verse 7). Four chapters later, Luke quoted Jesus saying, “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (19:10).

Because all lives matter, lost lives matter.

My point is not to imply that some lives are more valuable than others. Remember, all lives matter. But because some lives are more vulnerable than others at the present time, we must prioritize them as a matter of practical ministry. In the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the shepherd didn’t leave the 99 in the field because he cared more for the lost one. He left them there because they were safe. The lost sheep was the one at risk.

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Our Fellowship must not be on the wrong side of racial issues again. But neither should we align ourselves with radical political movements.

God prioritizes the lives of the vulnerable because of their great need. They don’t have power in society. They lack protection from the violent. They need provision to meet basic needs. They need salvation, both in the ultimate sense of forgiveness for sins and in the immediate sense of rescue from imminent harm. Accordingly, Scripture

describes God as a “father to the fatherless, a defender of widows” (Psalm 68:5).

Because God prioritizes their well-being, we should too. In Psalm 82:3–4, God commands His people to act like Him: “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

If we believe in the sanctity of life, we must prioritize the lives of the vulnerable in our ministries. We must not harm them through violent actions, angry emotions or contemptuous words. Rather, we must help them through life-giving deeds, loving affection and edifying speech.

Black Lives Matter

So, if all lives matter, and some lives matter, do black lives matter?

Before I answer that question, let me say that my intent in calling for Black Lives Matter Sunday was to unify AG churches in prayer. Unfortunately and regrettably, division arose in some parts of the Body over this.

I certainly didn’t intend to put some pastors who contacted me into what they felt was a no-win situation. If they hosted Black Lives Matter Sunday, they feared they would offend law enforcement members of their congregations. If they didn’t, they might offend black members.

I didn’t anticipate people confusing my affirmation of the statement “Black lives matter” with support for a radical political movement rather than for my friend Bishop Blake, the Church of God in Christ, the National Black Fellowship of the Assemblies of God, black members of multiethnic AG churches and other Spirit-filled black churches.

If we distinguish between the statement and the movement, the statement is demonstrably true. Black lives do matter. Conversely, the statement that black lives don’t matter is abominably false.

Walk through the biblical logic with me. If all lives matter because they are sacred, and if some lives need to be prioritized in our ministries because they are vulnerable, then black lives matter both because they are sacred and because the black community in America is in distress.

Moreover, it follows that “All lives matter” does not refute or substitute for “Black lives matter.” Rather, the former statement provides the theological foundation on which the latter statement makes sense. Because all lives matter, black lives matter.

Try to imagine someone telling Jesus that the lost sheep doesn’t matter because “the 99 sheep matter.”

He’d simply respond that He wants the lost sheep to join the rest of the flock. He wants the vulnerable sheep to feel valuable, too.

I am confident that Assemblies of God pastors and congregants see the force of this biblical logic.

The Importance of Perspective

If that’s the case, why does the statement “Black lives matter” still generate so much controversy?

It seems the answer is a matter of perspective.

Different people interpret the phrase differently and accept or reject it based on the meaning they ascribe. Looking back, I see three different perspectives at work in the controversy.

The first perspective is existential. “Black lives matter” resonates with this group because either they or people they know have firsthand experience with racially disparate treatment. This was Bishop Blake’s perspective. Members of his community felt distress, so he used “Black lives matter” to remind our nation “how important the lives of African Americans are.” AG pastors who thanked me for calling our churches to prayer shared this perspective.

The second perspective is institutional. This was my perspective as general superintendent of the Assemblies of God. One of the great joys of leading the Fellowship over the past 10 years has been our increasing cooperation with other black Pentecostal denominations, especially COGIC, as well as the growth of our own National Black Fellowship.

At a low point in AG history, we succumbed to the spirit of Jim Crow and refused to ordain black men and women, directing them to COGIC instead. My predecessor, Thomas Trask, led our Fellowship in publicly repenting of this institutional racism in the 1994 “Memphis Miracle.”

It has been my joy to build on that repentance through deeper conversations and greater cooperation with COGIC. This included the historic meeting of COGIC and AG executive leaders here at my office on November 27, 2013 — the first time the full leadership of both denominations ever met to discuss their relationships with one another.

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Then, and in subsequent meetings, we discussed the needs of America’s black community. By any number of metrics, black Americans are experiencing a disproportionate amount of distress compared to white Americans.

Based on my knowledge of the AG’s tragic institutional racism, as well as our ongoing conversations with black Pentecostal leaders both inside and outside of our Fellowship, I wanted to make it clear that black lives matter to the Assemblies of God. The third perspective is critical. This was the perspective of the pastors who contacted me to express concern that “Black lives matter” sent the wrong message to law enforcement members in their congregations and communities. They felt the statement was too controversial for the AG to use because of its ties to the radical Black Lives Matter movement.

I have family members who are law enforcement officers. My grandniece is married to a rookie police officer. They have three children. She fears for his safety during the long nights when he is on duty. There’s no question that targeting law enforcement officers is wrong; it’s true to say, “Blue lives matter.”

The important thing to acknowledge is that each of these perspectives has a legitimate point. Disparate treatment based on race is real. Our Fellowship must not be on the wrong side of racial issues again. But neither should we align ourselves with radical political movements.

Christian leaders face the difficult task of bringing all these perspectives to the table to forge a common agenda for moving forward. This is true for the ongoing work of racial reconciliation, but also for other controversial issues, such as immigration and income inequality.

The Jerusalem Church Precedent

How do we move forward, putting into practice our commitment to the sanctity of life? How do we operationalize our concern for the most vulnerable among us? It’s not enough to talk about which lives matter at a theoretical level. We must get practical.

Acts 6:1–7 offers a precedent: “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered 40

As we face controversial issues in our churches and our nation, we will hear grumbling.

As a leader, find the kernel of truth and act on it. all the disciples together and said, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.’

“This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

“So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”

The Jerusalem church did six things today’s churches can emulate.

1. They combined evangelism and compassion.

The church ministered to the needs of both soul and body. There were institutional ministries for making disciples and for feeding its most vulnerable members.

(Note the word “widows,” and remember that it is one of the categories of vulnerable people whose well-being the Bible says we should prioritize.)

Evangelism and compassion aren’t mutually exclusive, but mutually reinforcing. The successful resolution of the problem in the church’s compassion ministry led to an explosion in its evangelism ministry. The number of disciples in Jerusalem “increased rapidly” (verse 7). Wouldn’t you like to see that happen in the Assemblies of God? 2. They listened to criticism. The Greek word translated “complained” is goggysmos. Elsewhere in the New Testament, the NIV translates it as

“whispering” (John 7:12) and “grumbling” (Philippians 2:14; 1 Peter 4:9). The picture Luke paints is not of the Hellenistic Jews calmly submitting a complaint form. They murmured, muttered and grumbled. You can almost hear them saying, “Hebraic Jews? They’re a bunch of bigots who overlook our widows.”

As leaders, we all know how poisonous this kind of grumbling discontent can be in our churches. As Americans, we know how it poisons the public discourse. What distinguished the apostles is that they discerned the kernel of truth in the husk of discontent, and they acted on the truth. They acknowledged the problem of disparate treatment and then solved it.

As we face controversial issues in our churches and our nation, we will hear grumbling. As a leader, find the kernel of truth and act on it.

3. They unified the Body. Luke highlights the fact that conflict over “the daily distribution” occurred between “Hellenistic Jews” and “Hebraic Jews.” They were all Jews, obviously, but their languages, customs and perhaps countries of birth made their Jewishness seem different — maybe even dangerous — to the other group.

It would have been easy for the apostles — all Hebraic Jews — to hunker down and reinforce the distinction between “us” (Hebraic Jews) and “them” (Hellenistic Jews). Instead, they unified the church, gathering “all the disciples together” (Acts 6:2).

The Assemblies of God as a whole, and many of its local churches, are increasingly diverse. With this diversity come differences in perspective. As leaders, we need to bring these voices to the table.

4. They delegated responsibility. Perhaps you’re 42

thinking, My plate is already full. I can’t add leadership of one more ministry to my job description.

It’s hard enough to prepare sermons every week, so where am I supposed to find time to lead compassion ministries?

I agree. It’s too much. So do what the apostles did: delegate responsibility to others. Senior pastors, focus on prayer and preaching. God will provide spiritually gifted helpers — whether pastoral staff or lay volunteers — to do the rest (Romans 12-3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7–11). Give them the meaningful ministries God is empowering them to perform!

5. They trusted their critics. Notice the names of the seven men chosen to supervise the daily distribution. They’re all Greek names. In other words, these men were Hellenistic Jews, the very group whose complaining set the story in motion.

This was a risky move. What if they took advantage of their new leadership positions and overlooked the Hebraic Jewish widows or challenged the apostles’ leadership? Nevertheless, the apostles wisely trusted their fellow believers. By doing so, they allowed the people who identified the problem to become part of the solution.

6. They relied on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dominates the Book of Acts. In Greek, the title of the book is The Acts of the Apostles, but a better title would be, “The Acts of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles.” No wonder the apostles chose leaders who were “full of the Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3). Luke further described Stephen as “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (verse 5).

As I look at the controversies swirling in our nation and impacting our Fellowship, I see with greater clarity our need for continual refilling with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit provides power for evangelism (Acts 1:8) and enlarges our hearts with compassion for others. The Spirit helps us discern the kernel of truth in the husk of discontent. The Spirit unifies us in Christ and gifts us for various ministries. The Spirit binds our hearts to those of other believers with cords of love so that we always protect, trust, hope and persevere (1 Corinthians 13:6).

At Azusa Street, that cornerstone of the Pentecostal revival, it was said that, “The color line was washed away in the Blood.” I long for that kind of Spirit-filled Christianity. It is powerful, a Spiritfilled revolution in how we relate to one another (Galatians 3:28).

So again I ask: Which lives matter? Sing the words of this familiar children’s chorus, and rediscover the answer.

“Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world.

Red and yellow, black and white They are precious in His sight.

Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

May we increasingly be a loving Fellowship to all, especially the most vulnerable among us. They are precious in God’s sight. They should be precious in ours as well.

In a nation torn by political polarization and personal rancor, a loving Church offers the only way forward.

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TRAVELING LIGHT:

Unpacking the Baggage That Hurts Your Marriage UNPACKING THESE FOUR THINGS WILL LEAD TO A HAPPY, HEALTHY MARRIAGE

H E R B E R T A N D T I F FA N Y C O O P E R

W

hen it comes to air travel, it’s best to travel light. Why pay extra fees to check larger luggage at the gate if you can pack less and travel with a single carry-on? Not only will you save money, but you’ll also save the hassle of lugging bags through the airport and waiting for them to arrive when you reach your destination.

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Marriage is a lot like traveling. Most people take more than a carry-on into their lives as husband and wife. They check their baggage while they’re dating, only to find it arriving after they’ve reached their final destination: marriage.

Once opened, the couple often discovers unexpected issues. That’s our story.

In the fall of 1996, we met as college students on the campus of Evangel University in Springfield, MO. As we fell in love, we naturally dreamed about becoming husband and wife.

We spent every free moment together, and our countless conversations built a foundation for the future we planned. Despite the depths of our dialogue, we were completely unaware of the baggage that would arrive after we said, “I do.”

We came from two different backgrounds, as a small-town boy who grew up in an abusive home and a pastor’s daughter who struggled with living her life on public display. One grew up eating frog legs and chitterlings, while the other ate casseroles, steak and potatoes. We were both fully committed to Christ. Still, neither of us truly realized how our childhood experiences would interrupt our wedded bliss with communication challenges, trust issues, insecurities and unrealistic expectations.

It didn’t take long to realize that we were unaware of the baggage in our lives. Not only had we checked our bags while we were dating, but, for a time, we had forgotten them altogether. When the heavy load finally emerged, unpacking brought many painful moments.

However, our relationship began to strengthen the moment we acknowledged the baggage we brought into the marriage. As our issues came into the light, we were better able to support each other, provide accountability and heal together. Although we couldn’t go back and exchange our heavy baggage for a carry-on, we unpacked it together. The same is true for your marriage: You can’t go back and get a brand new start, but you can start today and get a brand new end.

We understand the spiritual, emotional and physical demands of serving together in 46

You can’t go back and get a brand new start, but you can start today and get a brand new end. ministry. No matter how much we give, there is always more to do. If we’re not ministering from a healthy foundation, we can become overwhelmed, exhausted, unpleasant versions of ourselves. That’s why it’s vital that we unpack our bags rather than allowing them to cause collateral damage in every area of our lives.

Unpacking Priorities It’s a common story that leaves many couples suffering in silence. In the beginning, the husband and wife are full of passion as they accept the call of God into full-time ministry. Sadly and unintentionally, along the way, they find themselves off course, depleted and wondering where they made a wrong turn. Other people now monopolize the time they once shared.

While it’s easy to point to ministry as the reason for this scenario, the struggle is often rooted in a deeper personal issue. We wrongly blame ministry for a failure to set boundaries, invest in the marriage or shed unhealthy habits that sabotage relationships.

The truth is we make time for our priorities. For some individuals, a people-pleasing addiction, a workaholic tendency or some other issue robs the marriage and family of precious time. While ministry is a high-investment calling, it’s not the sole source of our struggles; it simply exposes our preexisting weaknesses. Every person has 24 hours a day, 168 hours a week, to spend their time as they choose. You can change the quality of your life and marriage if you’re intentional about how you spend these hours. While there are non-negotiable tasks each day, there are also many opportunities for personal choices. Control your schedule; don’t let your schedule control you.

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In addition to our personal schedules, we have a shared family calendar that lists all of our family’s activities. This helps ensure that our priorities don’t get pushed to the back of the list. As couples in ministry know, you don’t have to work hard at making ministry a priority. There’s a non-stop flow of needs to meet, work to complete and emails to send. You do have to work hard to make your marriage the priority, however. Happily, it can be the most rewarding and fun work you will ever do.

If you are serious about making your marriage a priority, you may need to eliminate unnecessary activities — including some of your children’s activities — from your schedule to provide an adequate amount of time with your spouse. God doesn’t call you to meet everyone’s needs, but He does call you to meet the needs of your spouse.

Since our first year of marriage in 1997, we have maintained a weekly date every Thursday night. This is our opportunity to have fun, engage in deep conversations, learn more about each other and enjoy focused time together. Because we’re committed to keeping Thursday night our night, we often say “no” to other people, including our children, so we can “yes” to each other.

Just as we have a Thursday date night, we have a Friday family date almost every week. Our children look forward to this family focused time together. Also, in 48

It’s vital that we unpack our bags rather than allowing them to cause collateral damage in every area of our lives. each season of life, we look at our family calendar and schedule family dinners around the table. We currently have Monday, Wednesday and Friday sit-down dinners together. On the other evenings, we may be eating on the go as we have sports practices and church activities. It’s important to be realistic about the schedule and develop a plan that is attainable.

Unpacking Expectations Failing to deal with baggage leads to me-focused thinking. Eventually, it gives rise to resentment — toward your calling, your ministry and your spouse. A great marriage is not me-focused; it’s we-focused. Recognize what your spouse is not supposed to be so that you can become all that God wants you to be — together.

1. Your spouse is not your enemy. Your spouse may fall short of your expectations, but remember that this person is your life partner and a gift from God. 2. Your spouse is not God. Your spouse will never meet the needs that God alone can satisfy. Your spouse can meet natural needs, but only God can give you purpose, meaning and direction. Stop placing unrealistic expectations on your spouse, and look to God for your ultimate fulfillment.

3. Your spouse is not perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. No human has all the solutions to life’s problems. It’s unfair to hold others to a higher standard than the one you have for yourself. Don’t hypocritically pick at a speck in your spouse’s eye when there is a plank in your own eye (Matthew 7:3–5). To experience a thriving marriage, remove the plank from your eye and focus on self-improvement, not spouse-improvement.

It’s easy to identify our spouse’s shortcomings, but we can only heal our marriages if we first identify and own our imperfections. It’s not always easy. Personal revelations can be painful because they expose weaknesses that make us feel less valuable. But in reality, accepting our weakness actually makes us stronger as we journey to a brand new end.

Unpacking Communication Even in thriving marriages, not all conversations are easy. It’s an act of love to have difficult, but needed, discussions with your spouse. How can anyone successfully meet a spouse’s needs without knowing what makes that husband or wife feel loved? To make progress, you must identify the goal. Ask your spouse what makes him or her feel loved, wanted, supported and honored. “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:10).

While some marriages struggle with honest communication, most couples encounter miscommunication: “I thought you said… I thought you did… I thought you were thinking… I assumed you were…” When we fail to clear up these assumptions, we have a problem that only grows bigger. Miscommunication opens the door for our spiritual enemy to whisper lies in our ears: You married the wrong person. You two just aren’t compatible. Your spouse never listens to you. You don’t matter to your spouse. Somebody else would understand you better.

Satan used this tactic of deception that breeds

discontent against Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, bringing doubt and confusion that led them away from God. The devil is out to destroy relationships. He wants husbands and wives to turn from God, and from each other.

To avoid Satan’s trap, couples should remain spiritually alert, stay united in their God-given mission and walk together with Jesus.

Many married couples go through the motions of life together without communicating, praying or building each other up in Christ. Even as their marriages teeter on the brink of destructive decisions, they continue in unhealthy patterns of miscommunication or no communication. As with Adam and Eve, this creates an opening for Satan to come in and wreak havoc.

Miscommunication creates confusion, confusion creates conflict and conflict results in consequences.

We should use our words to work through issues rather than creating bigger issues with poorly chosen speech. Our words should help, not hurt, our spouse.

Ephesians 4:29 says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

Without exception, open and honest communication is vital to building a healthy marriage. Communication is difficult if we allow walls to form — walls of hurt, protection or resentment. Walls of any kind require healing that begins with the Lord. Effective communication takes time. Just as you can’t force a person to change, you can’t solve layers of marriage struggles with one quick conversation. Embrace the journey of healing with patience and love.

Unpacking Habits Words hold great power, but they can become empty if we fail to follow through with action. Ultimately, it’s not about what we say, but what we sow, through daily, disciplined, Spirit-led habits — when it’s easy and when it’s not so easy. We can say we have a great marriage, but words alone don’t make it true, just like saying we have a garden full of fresh vegetables doesn’t make it so. The only way we will reap a bountiful harvest is by sowing seed. Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”

You can’t sow anger and reap peace. You can’t sow judgment and reap grace. You can’t sow selfishness and 49

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Nineteen years of marriage and four kids later, we can testify of His faithfulness. vow days. A thriving marriage partner extends loving grace, understanding that we all fall short.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

reap generosity. You can’t sow bickering and reap togetherness. You can’t sow neglect and reap love. A spouse reaps what he or she sows into the relationship. Although you can’t change your spouse, you can change yourself. Focus on sowing good seeds into your marriage.

Some couples may need to sow a seed by going to marriage counseling. Many married couples maintain the unrealistic expectation that they can have a great marriage without the help of others. They insist, “I’m not opening up to anyone about my marriage. I’m not telling people about my baggage. I don’t need people.”

In truth, we all need people. According to Proverbs 15:22, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”

We have found great support from our Christian friendships. These couples encourage, support, love and challenge us to be the best spouses possible. Together, we reinforce the value of marriage. “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20).

As we unpack our bags together, we should also remember that in marriage there are wow days, and there are vow days. Wow days are full of great moments that fill one’s heart with love. Stress is low, and the relationship feels easy. On the flip side, not every day is sunshine and roses. There are vow days when it may be more difficult to find “warm fuzzies” for your spouse, but you remember your vow and your love. Perhaps money is tight and bills are due. Maybe your spouse is experiencing an illness. No matter the circumstances, a thriving marriage embraces both the wow days and the 50

A Happy Ending Friends, we all need the Lord’s help. While we’re responsible to do our part, we desperately need the Lord to do what only He can do in our marriages. We need the Lord to heal our hurts, take baggage from our lives and renew our hope for the future. We need miracles when it seems impossible. After all, with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

We can say with full confidence that our marriage would be troubled without the help of the Lord. He has given us the precious gift of our story, the challenges, the triumphs, the laughs, the lessons learned.

Nineteen years of marriage and four kids later, we can testify of His faithfulness to replace our brokenness with beauty. One day we’ll sit on our front porch, holding hands and drinking iced tea while we watch our grandchildren run through the yard.

For us, unpacking our bags is a small price for our happy ending. It’s true that you can’t go back and get a brand new start, but, with God, you can start today and get a brand new end for your marriage. Your best days are in front of you.

Herbert and Tiffany Cooper are lead pastors of Peoples Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

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Goal Setting forThriving Teams

DOES YOUR TEAM POSSESS THE KIND OF GOALS THAT DRIVE EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE? OUTSTANDING GOAL SETTING EXHIBITS THESE KEY CHARACTERISTICS. R Y A N T. H A R T W I G

T

wenty minutes into a weekly leadership team meeting at a large nondenominational church in Tennessee, I knew I was watching something special. Spread out on a couch and comfortable chairs roughly arranged in a circle, the team engaged a voracious discussion — a deliberation, really — on what was most important for the church to focus on during the next year.

The executive pastor, the one leading the meeting, argued their primary goal should be assimilating new people to the church, but the lead pastor disagreed: “We should focus on volunteer recruitment, development and retention because everyone is under water with volunteers. If we focus on assimilation, we just put everyone under water with more folks to serve without volunteers.”

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Invite God into the process of establishing your team’s objectives, and watch Him show up.

For nearly 60 minutes, this team bantered back and forth, seeking to determine the most essential goal to guide their next season of fruitful ministry. As I sat there, I smiled inside. This was a team that “got” it. They knew that setting meaningful goals as a team was crucial. They knew that discussions of goals must go far beyond making sure they are S.M.A.R.T. (see sidebar, S.M.A.R.T. Goals). They knew that focusing on the wrong things — and then achieving those goals — would cause deep trouble for an already overwhelmed staff. They knew their goals would have to drill down their lofty images of vision (such as “let’s start 100 churches in 10 years”) into concrete, actionable steps. They knew that clear, elevating goals would jolt their staff out of their everyday routines and help them focus on the strategic big picture. And they knew that once they set their goals, they’d have to stay the course and routinely measure those goals rather than reinvent success 54

targets every few weeks based on the latest, greatest church leadership fad.

Most importantly, they knew their goals would not only enable and elevate their team’s performance, but they would also build their work group into a true team.

Because that’s what good goals — and the ensuing work that teams engage to pursue them — do.

In their seminal work The Wisdom of Teams, Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith explain, “a common set of demanding performance goals that a group considers important to achieve will lead, most of the time, to both performance and team.”

In other words, when teams set meaningful, strong goals and then diligently pursue them, really good things happen in both what the team produces and what the team becomes.

That’s why it is essential to cultivate your ability to develop, measure and hold your team accountable to outstanding goals. That’s what I’ll try to do here.

Setting Outstanding Team Goals How’s your team doing? Does your team possess the kind of goals that drive exceptional performance and gel the group together?

Outstanding team goals exhibit some key characteristics. As you read the characteristics that follow, take a moment to measure your team’s goals against these principles.

Great goals align with organizational vision and strategy.

Because every team exists within an organizational context, team goals must connect to the broader strategic goals of the organization. For instance, if your church is focusing on developing leadership capacity to support multisite growth, it would make sense for each ministry team to set appropriate goals for leadership development for each area. Furthermore, just as your church’s vision must be God-inspired, so must your team’s goals. Invite God into the process of establishing your team’s objectives, and watch Him show up.

Effective team goals flesh out the team’s overarching purpose, or mission. In our book Teams That Thrive: Five Disciplines of Collaborative Church Leadership, co-author Warren Bird and I propose what we call a 5C purpose that sets the tone and aspiration for any team.

A 5C purpose is clear, painting a clear picture of value; compelling, drawing people in by addressing something that truly matters; challenging, requiring each team member to contribute in a meaningful and interdependent manner; calling-oriented, providing a space for team members to accomplish God’s specific calling on their lives; and consistently held, illustrating how each member of the team understands and remains committed to the team’s purpose.

Once you know the purpose of your team, you are ready to establish key performance goals. These performance goals transform the broad purpose into specific and measurable performance challenges. When you accomplish those goals, you will know your team is fulfilling its mission.

Good goals balance long-term strategy with short-term execution. Effective teams both articulate long-term (multiyear), strategic goals and spark immediate action with short-term (next week or month) goals. Do you want to create some goal magic? Map your short-term objectives to long-term goals, and watch the sparks fly.

Solid team goals are articulated in a S.M.A.R.T. manner.

Much has been written about S.M.A.R.T. goals, but using this phrasing encourages specificity and measurability, enabling you to know whether you are achieving your goals or just spinning your wheels.

Good group goals garner commitment from every member of the team. You know a good team goal when each team member is fiercely committed to it. Not only do team members talk regularly about the team’s goals amongst themselves, but they can easily recite them to people not on the team, and they take personal responsibility for seeing them accomplished.

Great team goals are framed as team goals, not individual goals. Effective team goals require interdependence and limit dividing and conquering. In other words, they must not be goals that a person could accomplish alone, nor can they be goals that are attainable by adding up the contributions of various team members. Yes,

S.M.A.R.T. GOALS • Specific. Define the who, what, where and when with precision.

You must know exactly what you are attempting to do and who is responsible to make it happen.

• Measurable. Articulate precise criteria for assessment at particular time intervals. At first glance, it might be difficult to measure your goal, but if you stick with it, you’ll likely find a way to measure what you are trying to accomplish.

• Attainable. Ensure this is something your team can actually do.

If the goal is too hard, you’ll likely grow discouraged, but if it is too easy, your team will slack.

• Relevant. Make sure the goal is something that really matters — that by doing it you accomplish your team’s unique purpose and serve the mission of the organization.

Just because you can measure it, doesn’t mean you should pursue it.

• Time-bound. Give yourself a deadline. On this date (if you made sure your goal is specific and measurable), you’ll know whether you reached your goal.

For example, rather than saying, “we need to increase the number of leaders serving in children’s ministry,” a related S.M.A.R.T. goal could be, “Our goal is to recruit an additional 15 children’s ministry leaders who will sign up to work at least two Sundays during February.”

(Note: This is a lag measure; the advanced move is to think about the levers — lead measures — you can employ to make this happen and then regularly measure them, too.)

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you read me right. Dividing and conquering is one of the great enemies of teamwork, as it really is just stapling together a bunch of individual efforts.

If a task is achievable by one person — or the independent contributions of several people working in isolation — skip trying to make it a team effort. It’s not worth it.

Measuring Progress Against Goals Too often we approach team goals like a Crock-Pot meal: set it and forget it. But that doesn’t work. Instead, achieving team goals is more like smoking meat: good progress requires constant attention and care.

To increase the likelihood you will accomplish your goals, follow these easy steps.

Write down and post your team’s goals. Once you’ve documented your goals, post them in conspicuous places so your team constantly sees them. If you have a conference room where the team often meets, post them on the wall. Include team goals on meeting agendas. Give team members a card they can post in their workspace. One team I worked with started every meeting by having one person go to the wall and write the team’s goals on a flip chart, and then explain them to the team. That might seem like overkill, but it was obvious that team knew what they were trying to do as they met together over the next hour. The bottom line: Make your team’s goals visible.

Develop a data dashboard. You need a visual way to show the progress your team has made on your goals on a regular basis. Managers of fundraising campaigns tend to do this well, regularly indicating how much cash 56

GOAL SCORECARD Does your team have goals? If so, evaluate them.

(Scale: 1 — Not at all; 2 — Slightly; 3 — Somewhat; 4 — Much; 5 — Absolutely)

Do they align with the organization’s vision and strategy?

1 2 3 4 5 Do they flesh out the team’s purpose?

1 2 3 4 5 Do they balance long-term strategy with short-term execution?

1 2 3 4 5 Are they articulated: Specifically?

1 2 3 4 5 Measurably?

1 2 3 4 5 As attainable?

1 2 3 4 5 As relevant?

1 2 3 4 5 In a time-oriented fashion?

1 2 3 4 5 Is every member of your team committed to those goals?

1 2 3 4 5 Are they framed as team goals rather than individual goals?

1 2 3 4 5 has been raised against the goal, in a graphically appealing manner. Church team leaders need to follow their lead.

Even if you’re measuring leadership capability on 10 competencies, you can capture data and present it in such a way that your team can see the realities and identify areas needing further progress. Use what works for you: pie charts showing percentages, bar graphs indicating numbers, etc.

But do something to show how well your team is doing.

Start simple. Indicate three points: where you were when you started, where you are today and where you need to be to accomplish the goal. That will help you engage some discussion on how you can effectively move the ball forward.

Distinguish between lead and lag measures, and focus on both.

The fantastic book The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey and Jim Huling lays out the difference between lead and lag measures. Lag measures indicate to what extent your key outcomes (goals such as attendance, giving, percentages of people serving, etc.) have been achieved. But lead measures are the levers you apply to influence the lag measures (such as the number of brochures mailed, type and quality of recruitment campaigns, classes offered, response time to inquiries, etc.).

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In other words, lead measures don’t tend to measure things that really matter, except for how they impact the lag measures. It doesn’t matter whether your team returns every email within one hour unless that somehow impacts an important lag measure. At the same time, focusing solely on lag measures puts your team in a “wait-and-see” mode, inhibiting momentum. Incremental adjustments facilitate continual progress on the goals.

So, what does this mean? You need to focus on both lag and lead measures. Make sure you know what your key outcomes are; those are your lag measures. But also spend time thinking about the key processes and actions you can take that you believe will influence that goal; those are your lead measures.

And measure your progress on those lead measures so you can actually see what is making a difference in one way or another.

Celebrate every win, no matter how small. Many teams focus too solely on what they can improve rather than on what worked. Develop the discipline not only to identify areas that need strengthening, but to rejoice upon reaching important milestones.

Regularly identify action steps toward each goal. At a rhythm that works for your team (perhaps weekly or monthly), articulate steps your team will take to get closer to reaching your goal. Be sure to delineate what the team will do and what type of effect you anticipate it making. If you do that, you’ll later be able to assess the effectiveness of those actions.

Ask others to offer feedback on your team’s goals. This input is über helpful, both in terms of what you are attempting to accomplish and whether they see you achieving them. The information helps raise your team’s visibility and encourages accountability so the team can pursue important goals.

Blend individual and team accountability. Team performance is a combination of individual effort and teamwork.

Accountability and performance reviews should reflect that reality. In Teams That Thrive, we suggests tying a portion of individual compensation (such as an annual merit increase or bonus) to the overall performance of the team(s) in which each person participates. This model offers a way to take into account the quality of the team’s work (in relation to its purpose and goals) and each individual’s contributions toward that work.

Your Next Step So, what’s next? How do you put this into practice? I encourage you to keep it simple. First, engage a conversation with your team about what you are trying to accomplish long term and how that relates to what you are doing now. Then, identify one to two outcome-oriented goals (lag measures), develop dashboards to help you measure your progress against them and post

THE FIVE DISCIPLINES OF TEAMS THAT THRIVE • Discipline 1: Focus on purpose, the invisible leader of your team.

• Discipline 2: Leverage differences in team membership.

• Discipline 3: Rely on inspiration more than control to lead.

• Discipline 4: Intentionally structure your decision-making process.

• Discipline 5: Build a culture of continuous collaboration.

those goals wherever you can to remind people of what you are trying to make happen.

Celebrate whatever wins you see as your team engages in these conversations, and then build on them by adding in some process-oriented goals (lead measures) and taking next steps to spur accountability among your team members.

In everything you do, remember that significant performance challenges, even developing compelling team goals, are what energizes teams and causes them to come together. The more you work on developing your team’s goals, the more you move toward becoming an effective, thriving team.

Ryan T. Hartwig, Ph.D., is associate dean of the college of liberal arts and sciences and associate professor of communication at Azusa Pacific University in greater Los Angeles, California. He is the co-author of Teams That Thrive (IVP Books).

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MULTIPLIER

MULTIPLYING GOD’S LOVE FOR THE NATIONS These leaders are building community around reconciling ethnic and racially diverse populations. s you picked up this issue of Influence, titled “Which Lives Matter?” your mind probably went to a few recent mantras: Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter being two of them. The year 2016 was a frenzy of polarized opinions — the debate between Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter, or that one has to choose a side — being one of the most prominent. The cultural implications here are vast, and impossible to ignore. Many of our country’s ethnically diverse population (whether AfricanAmerican, Hispanic or something else) are hurting.

It’s often said that children are “colorblind.” I believe the statement holds truth. Preschool boys and girls with skin tones as varied as a crayon box will play in groups indiscriminately, their only concern being the Lego tower they build together.

But when the Lego tower breaks or falls apart, the children don’t expect it to build itself back up. They work together, again, to replace the missing pieces and rebuild what was once strong.

The Assemblies of God has thousands of faithful servants who are serving with colorblind, childlike faith. In this “Multipliers” section, we’ve chosen to highlight five individuals who are passionate for this cause and known for their work in this arena.

You’ll see how U.S. Missionary Chin Khai is working with the Burmese immigrant population to help them acclimate to life in America — assisting these immigrants in everything from buying cars to helping them obtain Assemblies of God ministry credentials.

A

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Pastor Scott Wilson of The Oaks Fellowship and Bishop Aaron C. Blake Sr. of Faith Covenant Fellowship are joining together to build relationships among their networks.

They have a dream to see racial reconciliation happen and a revival like the days of Azusa, where the Spirit poured out on all races, joined together as one family of God. Alex Hanna is another U.S. missionary making a big impact on the Kingdom. He is using technology to reach Muslims around the world — many of whom will never otherwise hear a gospel presentation. Finally, Liz Rios and her husband, Hiram, have planted a gospel-centered, urban-flavored, multiethnic church in Miramar, Florida.

We hope the stories in this Multipliers section will encourage you, that while racism and nationalism are still problems that exist today, the God of all nations (Psalm 22:28) is present and available to help break down the wall that divides us. As we share Christ’s love to our neighbors, we will begin to see the wall that divides come down. Our culture is crying out for racial and ethnic healing. Change is achievable, and it begins with the Church.

Ana Pierce is the online editor of Influence magazine.

BRINGING CHRIST TO THE BURMESE Chin Khai is devoting his ministry to the development of Burmese Christian immigrants in America.

A Q&A WITH CHIN KHAI

Influence: Tell us about the Burmese population that is immigrating to the United States and the unique struggles they face.

Chin Khai: According to the Burmese American Community Institute, the population of Burmese refugees in the U.S. was 146,037 in July 2015. The majority of those refugees are Christians, while some are Buddhists and Muslims. The Burmese face serious culture shock. The language barrier, lack of skills, communal identity, law and order and different ways of seeing things are just a few of the challenges they face. The government aid for their arrival settlement did not last long. They have a hard time finding jobs. When they are hired, they receive only minimal wages for their labor. Many Burmese cannot afford to buy health insurance, pay funeral expenses and so on. Children and young people are adjusting and adapting to the culture faster than their parents, so there is a rising social gap within the family itself.

How are you helping the Burmese population acclimate to U.S. culture?

Most of the questions I’m asked center around buying cars, banking and saving money, buying insurance, etc. In my preaching, I include how to adjust the Burmese way of life to American culture and systems. In our small group meetings, the discussion often turns to cultural concerns the Burmese have. In our ministers’ conferences, we teach financial and health matters along with lessons from the Bible. When I find good articles, I forward them to individuals and groups so they can read and get information.

You have helped plant over 20 churches specifically for the Burmese population. What has made these church plants successful?

We plant churches where Burmese people are receptive to the Pentecostal message. Ninety percent of the

Burmese immigrants I minister to are Christian refugees, which include Pentecostals. They are hungry for the Pentecostal message. We plant a church only where a Burmese worker is available. Fortunately, the workers we recruit were committed ministers before they came to the U.S. However, to obtain a ministry credential in the U.S., they have to pass the exam. I assist them in preparing for the exam and also by connecting them with local district councils.

I’m indebted to Rev. Malcolm Burleigh and his team at Intercultural Ministries. I’m also indebted to district leaders for their assistance in the credentialing process and for helping to make the Burmese church plants successful.

Please share a challenge you’ve had through this process and how you’ve overcome it.

The requirements for credentialing are written in and for English-speaking people. Furthermore, the credentialing process is very long. We know America is a mission field today, so it is important to recruit Burmese leaders to minister to the Burmese-speaking people groups. As a local pastor, I have limited time and support to do this great task. If I have strong financial support, then I can recruit more workers to reach out and minister to more Burmese immigrants.

Today, the vast majority of Burmese Buddhists in America have not been reached with the gospel. Many brought their Buddha statues animated with spirits when they immigrated to this land. It is our responsibility to reach them with the Pentecostal message, which alone can penetrate and liberate their hearts.

We need to recruit more Holy Spirit-filled workers.

Chin Khai is a U.S. missionary associate through Intercultural Ministries.

He coordinates the Burmese works in America.

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MULTIPLIER

REACHING MORE TOGETHER In Texas, Pastor Scott Wilson of The Oaks Fellowship and Bishop Aaron C. Blake Sr. of Faith Covenant Fellowship are joining hands and hearts for the greater good.

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hey say if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together.

While it wasn’t that thought as much as it was a Holy Spirit prompt that led Bishop Aaron C. Blake Sr. to contact Pastor Scott Wilson of The Oaks Fellowship in Red Oak, Texas, the outcome has been the same: A partnership that will have far-reaching impact.

Aaron C. Blake Sr. is the bishop over a network of 27 African-American churches known as Faith Covenant Fellowship of Interdependent Churches and Ministries International.

One afternoon in late April, he was driving down the I-35 near Dallas and sensed the Holy Spirit tell him to stop by The Oaks. He hoped to sit in their staff meeting and see how leadership is done on their end of the spectrum. Pastor Scott Wilson knew of Bishop Blake through some work Blake had done with the North Texas district. Wilson welcomed Bishop Blake, saying, “Come in.

We’re here for whatever you need,” and that’s how the relationship began.

Just days later, Pastor Wilson was sitting at Bishop Blake’s dinner table, which Blake refers to as the Ambassador’s Table. The two began to talk about how they could do ministry together, and Blake said, “Our hearts knitted together that night.”

Wilson caught the vision: “We just said, I wonder what it would look like if we were working together, praying for each other and planting churches together that were unapologetically Spirit-filled and focused on reconciling the races, like at Azusa Street, where the Holy Spirit was poured out on black, white, Asian and Hispanic people worshipping together and talking about Jesus, who said, ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’”(John 13:35).

Wilson continues, “God has put us together even without us trying to make it happen. Everything we’re doing right now is about joining for a common purpose. Are there going to be churches planted out of this? Absolutely! More than if we were trying to do it alone. Are we going to share resources? Absolutely! Right now all we know is that God has put us together. We continue to meet together to plan and ask God to speak to us about what’s next.”

T

While Bishop Blake and Pastor Wilson are waiting on the Lord to show them what’s next, they have already used this connection to join networks and pray together.

In June, Bishop Blake held a conference for his network leaders at The Oaks. Encouraged by meeting others from Blake’s network and seeing their hearts for ministry, Pastor Wilson called on leaders from The Oaks Network to join and meet others in Faith Covenant. Wilson says, “We had over a hundred pastors praying together saying, ‘God, how can we multiply churches that are Spirit-filled, that want the Spirit of God to move, that want to do ministry together to reconcile the races like at Azusa Street, and who are concerned about orphans and widows?’ ” While Wilson and Blake both lead large networks, they want to be clear that large, God-sized partnerships and collaborations can happen regardless of church size. Wilson and Blake both share that they had independently been praying for this type of connection — it doesn’t just happen by accident. For Blake and Wilson, their newfound brotherhood will likely take form in multicultural church planting and orphan care, two things that tie their hearts together.

For others, it may mean sharing ideas, resources and life with nearby church leaders. It’s about nurturing community, not competition.

Wilson encourages other pastors looking for likehearted community: “Paraphrasing the words of Jesus, ‘If you ask, you’ll receive. If you seek, you’ll find, and if you knock, the door will be opened to you.’ I think that people who have a heart to see reconciliation happen, to see church planting happen and to see the church of the Lord Jesus Christ flourish and growing have to pray. I think the biggest thing is to pray and say, ‘God, I want to be a part of that; help me to be a part of that’ and then to work with an open hand.”

Bishop Blake echoes Wilson’s sentiments: “You can’t seek unity unless you deal with the issues that divide you. For me, I first have to understand that what God wants me to be is what I want everyone else to become. In other words, I have to be a reconciler before I can expect reconciliation. I have to reach out to other pastors before other pastors can reach out to me.”

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MULTIPLIER

TAKING THE MESSAGE TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH Alex Hanna’s television ministry to Muslims is bringing the gospel to hard-to-reach areas throughout the world.

A Q&A WITH ALEX HANNA

Influence: Tell us about your ministry to Muslims.

Alex Hana: We have an Arabic satellite TV show; our live and recorded programs cover 98 percent of the earth. Arabic is the mother language of all Arabs and the Quran, the holy book of Muslims. Muslims believe in prayer. We receive between 900-1200 prayer requests, questions, comments and testimonies through each of our two-hour live TV programs. We also answer many phone calls on the air. Each program has about 20-30 million viewers. One million Muslims follow our program from Saudi Arabia, 10-12 million follow from Egypt, and millions from other Muslim countries in the Middle East and Africa, as well as viewers from Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia.

How has technology advanced your ministry?

Alkarma TV airs our programs and broadcasts to over 12 satellites worldwide. Many Muslims can’t go to church or confess Jesus in public, so they watch and follow us privately to avoid persecution. There is no freedom of religion in Muslim countries or families, so the only opportunity to hear about Jesus is through TV or radio. We have discipleship programs and church on the air for Muslims who can’t go to church or be baptized. They call us when they are alone, and we pray and answer their questions. All of our programs are available for free and accessible through state-of-theart technology.

Why is it so important to use creative methods when evangelizing people groups that are difficult to reach?

The devil is the prince of darkness, and Jesus is the Prince of Peace. We use all the gifts of the Holy Spirit to reach Arabs and Muslims because they need Jesus. When invited, Jesus enters the hearts of unbelievers with His salvation and healing power, and He cleanses and delivers people from sin and spiritual darkness.

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With the use of social media, we are experiencing a high volume of miracles every day.

Salvations, healing and deliverance through the Word of God are happening on the air, over text messages and through tools like YouTube and Viber that are easy to use for free from any part of the world.

How has your personal background put you in a position to lead Muslims to faith?

I was born into a Christian family from Egypt.

My parents were believers and ministers of the Lord, and they trained me to love, pray for sinners and to evangelize. I was a medical doctor for 15 years, and my wife was a dentist when the Lord called us into full-time missions. We followed God’s call and became full-time missionaries with AG U.S. Missions in 2000. We are born again, baptized in the Holy Spirit and practice the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our ministry. It is not by our might or power, but by the Holy Spirit. We travel for Arabic outreaches in the United States, the Middle East and the world. Our ministry has opened the door for us to change the world for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Alex Hanna is an Assemblies of God Intercultural U.S. missionary living in California. You can find out more about his ministry at AlexHannaMinistries.com and see the broadcast on Alkarmatv.com.

A MOSAIC IN MIRAMAR Liz Rios and her husband, Hiram, are planting a gospel-centered, urban-flavored, multiethnic, community-focused, Spirit-driven church in Miramar, Florida.

A Q&A WITH LIZ RIOS

Influence: Please share your experience working in a nondenominational church plant and your recent launch of an Assemblies of God church.

Liz Rios: In 2015, we attempted to start a church in Hollywood, Florida. While we had our home church and another church helping us financially, we needed on the ground support, mentoring, coaching and access to more funding. After one year, we decided to close and ask God what could we do better and where.

That was when we met the CityReach Network folks, and they told us to consider planting with the Assemblies of God’s Church Multiplication Network. Now, we are so excited to be pastoring in our own city, which happened to be the #1 city on the CMN’s top ten list of places that needed a Spirit-empowered church before we claimed it.

So far the difference between planting alone and through the AG has been night and day. We received excellent training from CMN, and we have had access to other funders to help us in our first year. We are looking forward to meeting other AG ministers in our area who want to link arms with new church plants. We hope to do good in the community as one force, learn from pastors who have been in this area longer and continue to build alliances.

You and your husband describe yourselves as “New York Ricans.” How does your intercultural background influence your ministry?

We believe churches take on the flavor of their pastors. Thus, our NuYoRican background definitely adds to our faith community. By ethnicity, Puerto Ricans are

a historical mix of Taíno and African tribes with a splash of European. When we started recruiting for our worship team, we explained our style as “blatino” so they would understand our cultural influences in music selection.

We are a gospel-centered, urban-flavored, Spiritdriven, community-focused church. Jesus destroyed cultural walls at Calvary, and we as the church are intentionally trying to form a community where everyone is welcome.

What is one way a church can become more multicultural?

If we really want our churches to look like heaven, we need to intentionally add people to our teams, including high-level leaders, that look like the rest of our community. When people visit, they should see themselves as part of the fabric of the church. Nothing screams you are the real deal on multiculturalism than adding voices to the table that don’t look at or see the world like you.

Is there a Scripture verse that directs your approach to ministry?

Romans 15:20 says, “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.”

My husband and I are bivocational. We have made an intentional decision to be as active in the community as we can be. We let our life speak by sharing our love for God in places some pastors wouldn’t bother to go. At our launch, half of the people there were from our community connections. We are doing the reverse of the attractional model. Instead of saying, “come to our cool church,” we are going to their cool events while praying that one day our relationships will be at a point where they will trust us with their spiritual lives. We believe we can create a beautiful mosaic in Miramar!

Liz Rios is co-pastor of CityReach Church Miramar Pines in Miramar, Florida, alongside her husband, Hiram.

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See what’s happening in the Assemblies of God

WEEK OF PRAYER APRIL 19–21, 2017 First Assembly of God

2017

Fort Wayne, IN

*Sesiones Selectas en Español

Kick off the new year in prayer at your church.

FOR MORE INFO & TO REGISTER

KIDMIN.AG.ORG/CONFERENCE

REGISTER NOW! GENERAL COUNCIL 2017

August 7–11, 2017

Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, CA Visit GeneralCouncil.ag.org for more information and to register today!

Watch for free downloadable resources in English and Spanish at weekofprayer.ag.org.

As you head into the new year, the My Healthy Church store has everything you need to get 2017 started off right, like resources for new individual and small group studies, Bible reading guides, church supplies, and more. Check out what’s inside and see the My Healthy Church difference.

MAKE THE LIFE GOD OFFERS YOUR OWN KERRY CL A RENS AU

Fully His

Week of Prayer

This thirty-day journey is designed to help you understand just a few of the many promises God offers to those who believe in Him and how we, as His children, can embrace those gifts. Each devotion includes suggested Scripture readings that coordinate with the text.

The devotion also provides space for the reader to journal each day — either contemplating God’s provisions or expressing a desire to embrace what He offers.

Join the Assemblies of God in kicking off the New Year in united prayer January 1-7! (Or feel free to choose any week that works best for your church.) Start the year off right with renewed focus on learning to pray with confidence, featuring this year’s theme verse Hebrews 4:16. Find free downloadable resources for Week of Prayer at WeekOfPrayer.ag.org. Resources include slides, posters, bulletin insert and more.

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Praying with Confidence Over the course of 31 days, author Jeff Leake provides tips and patterns to help you develop a new discipline of prayer. Each day features a unique prayer pattern based on well-known prayers throughout the Bible, as well as the six main elements of prayer.

Bring a renewed focus to your personal prayer life or small group.

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In the same way that self can’t satisfy self, self can’t starve self. Decrease — like increase — is only holy when its destination is love. 40 Days of Decrease offers daily meaningful consideration of Jesus journey and then invites readers into a daily fast of the things in your heart that don’t serve God. Via readings, refection questions, daily fasts, ancient quotes and more, you can begin a forty-day journey toward thinning your life and thickening your communion with God.

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MAKE IT COUNT Volunteerism: 8 Keys to Developing and Leading High-Capacity Volunteers

Every Influence magazine will contain an eightweek study designed for leadership teams.

Our hope is that by wrestling with the material together, you will grow closer as a unit as you strive to lead more like Christ.

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DA V I D C R O S B Y J R .

MAKE IT COUNT

DAVID CROSBY JR.

Introduction Week after week, you invest time and energy into making every Sunday count.

But you also have to think about staff meetings and board meetings, as well as meetings with key volunteers and other church leaders.

Juggling so many meetings can seem overwhelming, especially as you think about how to develop the leaders around you. That’s where the Make It Count section of Influence can help you. We asked leaders from around the country to share their meeting insights and provide great leadership development content you can use with your ministry leaders and key volunteers. This way, you can make every meeting count.

This issue contains eight easy-to-use lessons by David Crosby Jr., founder and lead pastor of Community Church (AG), a thriving multicultural, multisite and multigenerational church in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, in the heart of the Pocono Mountains.

These lessons are easily adaptable for individuals or group discussion, allowing for personal application and reflection among ministry leaders. Studying and growing together is key to building strong and healthy relationships with your team members. Regardless of your church’s size, Make It Count can help you more effectively lead your team and your congregation.

Volunteerism: 8 Keys to Developing and Leading High-Capacity Volunteers Napoleon famously once said, “China is a sleeping giant. Let her sleep, for when she wakes, she will move the world.”

In many ways, the church of Jesus Christ is a sleeping giant. Far too many church pews are filled with zombie-like Jesus followers who act as though they just stepped off the set of the American horror drama television series The Walking Dead. Many pastors and church leaders grow tired of trying to wake up people from their spiritual slumber and mobilize them for ministry.

If we could ever awaken this sleeping giant and unleash the creative, Spirit-inspired gifts inside each member, the Church would become an unstoppable force in the community. There is nothing like a local church full of volunteers who have been led to discover, develop and deploy their God-given gifts in a lost and hurting world. A high-capacity volunteer is someone who has fully surrendered his or her time, talents, treasures and plans to Jesus.

Just imagine for a moment leading in a church that refuses to hit the snooze bar and go back to sleep. Instead, it’s a church that is fully awake and fully alive, ready to go anywhere, serve anyone and share anything.

Much like a hotel attendant working the front desk, the apostle Paul sent a wake-up call to the local church in Ephesians 5:14 when he said, “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

More than anything, the Church today needs to wake up and build a healthy culture of volunteerism. It may not be easy, but it is certainly possible. The following eight lessons on developing and leading high-capacity volunteers are a case study of the relationship between Jesus and Peter. Jesus woke up the sleeping giant inside Peter and transformed him into a great leader. It is my hope that together we will discover how we can take a cue from Jesus and awaken the sleeping giant within those around us, too.

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MAKE IT COUNT

LESSON 1 It’s Personal Read: John 15:12–16 Discussing the Text 1. According to John 15:12–16, how does Jesus define a healthy ministry context in relationship to His disciples?

2. What are some of the benefits of doing ministry that flow out of friendship and relationship?

3. Can you think of any potential pitfalls of becoming too close to the people you serve? What can you do to mitigate some of those risks?

4. Based on John 15:16, what results from this healthy ministry paradigm?

Identifying the Principle Charlie Brown once said, “Humanity I love. It’s people that I can’t stand.”

Is that how you feel about people? I certainly hope not, especially if you are in the ministry.

After all, ministry is all about people. It’s really hard to love ministry if you don’t love people. All healthy ministry ultimately flows out of deep friendships that are built over time.

Jesus modeled the type of ministry that best occurs within the context of relationship. For Jesus, ministry was personal. He built Peter and the other disciples into high-capacity volunteers first and foremost by inviting them into a personal relationship and sharing His life with them.

For example, in addition to doing lots of ministry, they shared many meals together, traveled together and even vacationed together. In similar fashion, the apostle Paul demonstrated this relational approach to ministry when he said to his friends, “Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well” (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

Great leaders genuinely love the people they lead. They don’t use people to build their ministries; they use their ministries to build people.

High-capacity volunteers are built one conversation at a time — preferably over a cup of coffee. Before designing onboarding plans or strategic ministry initiatives or leadership pipelines, you need to come to grips with the fact that ministry is all about people. We cannot and will not successfully build great volunteer teams and leaders if we don’t get involved in people’s lives.

How intentional are you about building relationships and deep friendships with those you serve?

When was the last time you invited a volunteer to your home to share a meal at your dining room table? How often do you send notes or texts to your volunteers at unexpected times just to let them know you are thinking about them and praying for them? Would your volunteers describe your communication as only “task-focused,” meaning you only get in touch when you need them to do something? Never forget we are in the people business.

Applying the Principle 1. What do you think about the statement, “All healthy ministry ultimately flows out of deep friendships that are built over time”?

2. Talk about the upside, and potential downside, of building this type of ministry context into the culture of your organization.

3. Evaluate your current ministry culture. Are you doing ministry that flows out of friendship?

How involved are you in the lives of the people you serve?

4. Think of one volunteer you are trying to develop and disciple, and write down his or her name.

What are some practical things you can do to get more involved in that person’s life this week?

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Notes

LESSON 2 Nicknames

Notes

Read: Matthew 16:13–18 Discussing the Text 1. What two questions did Jesus ask His disciples in the text? Why do you think Jesus asked them about His identity?

2. What was Peter’s confession concerning the identity of Jesus? What are the theological implications of Peter’s answer?

3. According to the text, where did Peter come up with his answer? What was Jesus’ response to Peter?

4. Why do you think Jesus gave Simon the nickname Peter? How do you think that changed Peter’s view of himself ?

Identifying the Principle If you’ve been in ministry for any amount of time, you have likely felt the pain of not having enough volunteers. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat at my desk on a Wednesday and realized I needed a couple dozen or more volunteers to commit to showing up Sunday just so we could pull off the weekend. If you’ve ever been there, you know the stress of that situation. If you are anything like me, you start calling everyone and anyone you can think of and more or less begging them to show up and serve. The pain of a shortage of volunteers is what most often drives leaders to recruit and develop volunteers.

Jesus was candid about this reality when He said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Luke 10:2).

However, Jesus’ approach to recruiting volunteers and raising up leaders is a stark contrast to my approach early on in my ministry career. Instead of frantically filling empty slots, Jesus appeared to focus on something dramatically different. In Matthew 16, He asked His disciples and Peter, specifically about His identity: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” ; “Who do you say I am?” (See verses 13 and 15.)

Here’s the point: You can’t have a right view of yourself until you have a right view of God. Peter needed an accurate view of Jesus before he could have an accurate view of himself.

To help people see themselves for who they are from heaven’s perspective, Jesus sometimes gave people nicknames. In this passage, Jesus changed Simon’s name, which means “shifty, like a reed in the wind,” to Peter, which means “rock or stone.” Jesus saw potential in Peter, and He called it out of him as they stood at the base of those rock cliff formations in Caesarea Philippi.

Successful leaders see potential in their followers, and they call greatness out of them.

Applying the Principle 1. Talk about a time when you experienced the pain of a shortage of volunteers. How did that make you feel? What did you do about it?

2. Think about your own leadership story for a minute. Did anyone see greatness in you and encourage you in your leadership journey? Share that with the group.

3. Jesus called Peter to greatness by giving him a nickname. Is there anyone in your current ministry context in whom you see great potential? How can you call them to level up and become a high-capacity volunteer?

4. Think of a good nickname to give one of your high-capacity volunteers. Why did you choose that nickname? How does it call that volunteer to greatness? Share it with the group. Share it with the volunteer.

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MAKE IT COUNT

LESSON 3 Go Big or Go Home Read: Matthew 28:16–19 Discussing the Text 1. What vision did Jesus cast to the disciples prior to His ascension?

2. How do you think that made them feel when they considered the reality of their situation at the time?

3. What two things did Jesus promise to give them to accomplish this vision?

Identifying the Principle In Matthew 28, Jesus lays out the vision of the New Testament church, which is ultimately to make disciples of all nations. When it comes to having a big vision, Jesus certainly didn’t pull any punches.

He cast a huge vision to these humble leaders who basically had no money, no political influence, little formal education and no spiritual pedigree. However, these early disciples rose to the challenge and committed to give the rest of their lives to change the world. Of course, the rest is history. No other organization on the planet has unleashed more compassion or changed the course of human history like the church of Jesus Christ.

High-capacity volunteers respond best to big vision. Big leaders need a big challenge. You cannot expect to attract and motivate sharp leaders without significant challenge. There’s an art form to setting goals that seems just out of reach but not out of touch. Jesus finds that delicate balance when He issues the Great Commission in Matthew 28 and promises both His power and His presence to ensure the success of the mission.

I’ve noticed that leaders often delegate menial ministry tasks to volunteers. Unknowingly, we set the bar low for our volunteers, and then we wonder why people are dropping like flies from our ministry teams. High-capacity volunteers quickly become bored with menial tasks and often burn out and drop off your team. To avoid the boredom burnout, you need to give high-capacity volunteers meaningful assignments that will bring them meaningful ministry fulfillment. You have to challenge them with significant responsibilities and then empower them to get it done. When it comes to delegating assignments, you better go big, or your high-capacity leaders will eventually go home. One caveat to this challenge is that you must be careful not to pile on too many significant responsibilities all at once. Be smart about it. Don’t burn out your people, especially the high-capacity leaders. Highcapacity volunteers want to get involved without getting overwhelmed.

Applying the Principle 1. Think about the vision of your church for a moment. Is it clear and compelling? Does it present a significant challenge to your leaders?

2. What tasks or assignments do you typically assign to the volunteers on the teams you lead?

Are they big enough to challenge high-capacity volunteers?

3. What needs to happen in your current leadership team to create a culture where you challenge and empower volunteers with significant ministry assignments?

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Notes

LESSON 4 Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Notes

Read: Luke 5:1–11 Discussing the Text 1. According to the text, what were Jesus’ disciples struggling to do on their own?

2. After responding to Jesus in obedience, what were the disciples forced to do to pull in their catch? How did Peter and the other disciples respond to this great catch?

3. What do you think Jesus was ultimately trying to teach the disciples?

Identifying the Principle An old African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.”

It’s true that teams have the ability to accomplish more than any one person could do on their own.

Jesus certainly understood this concept and intentionally teamed up high-capacity leaders with one another. He almost never sent people out to do ministry on their own. Jesus carefully selected leaders and strategically sent them out on missions where they were forced to work together to be successful.

The results were extraordinary.

There are many benefits of working together in teams. Teams get more done, generate higher levels of creativity and demonstrate greater problem solving ability, while providing encouragement and support for members. Besides all that, teams have more fun. Scripture says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10).

Teamwork makes the dream work. It’s trite, but certainly true. If you are going to build highly functioning teams, it’s imperative that you surround high-capacity volunteers with other high-capacity volunteers in a God-focused culture. The old adage rings true, “Birds of a feather flock together.” Like attracts like. Most importantly, high-capacity volunteers want to be around other similarly minded people. Your future success as a leader rests heavily upon your ability to build teams. Team builders are worth their weight in gold to any organizational leader.

It takes great leadership to build great teams. Some practical ways to build teams include getting to know the people you recruit; providing intentional onboarding processes to train volunteers and build team culture; finding creative ways to have fun together; clearly defining each team member’s role and responsibility; constantly inviting feedback from team members; helping people grow spiritually; and acknowledging and celebrating success. Your success as a leader is integrally interconnected with those with whom you surround yourself. A leader can only be as good as his or her team.

Applying the Principle 1. Evaluate the current ministry culture in relationship to teamwork. Is it healthy? Is there room for improvement?

2. What are some current stories of how great teams are being built in your ministry? What can you learn from those examples?

3. Do you agree with the idea that it takes great leadership to build great teams? Why or why not?

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MAKE IT COUNT

LESSON 5 Transformation: The Leader’s Journey Read: 1 Peter 5:1–2 Discussing the Text 1. In 1 Peter, what are church leaders exhorted to do? Why? 2. What approach should church leaders take to raising up the next generation of leaders?

3. What metaphor does Peter use in verse 2 to describe mentoring those under your spiritual care and authority? How is that relevant to ministry today?

4. In 2 Timothy 2:2, what does Paul mean by “entrust to reliable people”?

Identifying the Principle Peter was a fisherman when he met Jesus. After spending three years with Jesus, Peter became a shepherd. This process of transformation is evident in Jesus’ parting words to Peter as they shared breakfast on the beach: “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17).

Peter finally got it. He understood his role as a servant-leader in the kingdom of God. The formerly impulsive and undisciplined fisherman became a steadfast, reliable and humble spiritual shepherd.

To successfully develop and lead high-capacity volunteers, you need to teach leaders to take personal responsibility for creating an environment where the Holy Spirit cultivates sustained life change. We refer to leaders as shepherds in our organization. Our Serve Team leaders and Community Group leaders are the primary shepherds. We teach our high-capacity leaders to shepherd those on their serve teams. Shepherds are responsible for three things: 1. Moving sheep. Sheep will instinctively eat all the grass in the pasture and eventually starve to death. Shepherds move sheep to green pastures to ensure growth and a future.

2. Defending sheep. Sheep have no natural defenses. They don’t have fangs, claws or stingers.

They need shepherds to protect them from predators.

3. Pick up sheep. Sheep are top-heavy, and when they fall, they roll over on their backs and get stuck. Fallen sheep need a shepherd to help them get up again.

High-capacity volunteers need leaders to build their competence and confidence. Prayerfully consider the answers to these questions: How do you move high-capacity volunteers to new levels of growth, personally and spiritually? How do you protect them from ministry burnout and fatigue? Lastly, how do you encourage them and provide constructive feedback when they fail?

Transformation doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen over time. High-capacity leaders are not discovered; they are developed. Start small, and build leaders over time. Remember that spiritual transformation is ultimately a work of the Holy Spirit. Our role as shepherd-leaders is to create and steward a culture where we work together in concert with the Holy Spirit to cultivate life change.

Applying the Principle 1. What is our process for building high-capacity volunteers in our organization?

2. How do we identify high-capacity volunteers? What are the characteristics or core competencies we look for?

3. Think about one person you have mentored. Talk about the transformation God has performed in that individual’s life. What were some of the keys to that person’s transformation?

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Notes

LESSON 6 Invest in a Few

Notes

Read: Matthew 17:1–4; 26:36–38 Discussing the Text 1. Which disciples accompanied Jesus up to the Mount of Transfiguration?

2. What did Peter say in response to the transfiguration of Jesus? What do you think he meant by that?

3. How do you think the other disciples felt when Jesus didn’t invite them to go up on the mountain with Him? 4. At Gethsemane, which disciples did Jesus invite to come close and pray with Him? 5. What is the pattern we see in these two passages when it comes to Jesus and how He spent time with His disciples?

Identifying the Principle Jesus seemed to play favorites when it came to His disciples. He spent more time with His inner circle — Peter, James and John — than with the other nine disciples. These three chosen of the chosen also got a spectacular glimpse of Christ’s glory on the Mount of Transfiguration and saw His suffering and agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter, James and John were given the distinct honor and privilege of knowing more of Jesus’ life and ministry than any of the other disciples.

So why did Jesus choose these three among the Twelve? The testimony of two or three witnesses establishes that a matter is true, according to Scripture. (See 2 Corinthians 13:1.) However, I would argue that it was about more than just having a competent number of witnesses to testify to what they saw. I think there is something more that Jesus is trying to teach leaders, and it’s this: Effective leaders spend the lion’s share of their time investing in people who will give them the greatest results. What may seem harsh and unfair is simply smart.

It’s taken me a long time to admit that I am a people pleaser. Early in ministry, I felt obligated to spend as much time with as many people as possible. I managed my time according to people’s expectations of me instead of acknowledging my own limitations and insecurities. I’ve had to accept the fact that I cannot be everyone’s best friend and that my time as a leader is not best spent equally divided among the people I serve.

To stay healthy and maintain longevity in ministry, good leaders must learn how to be equally available but not equally accessible to everyone. For example, I spend time in the lobby after each of our weekend worship experiences greeting everyone and making myself available to anyone who wants to come up and talk. Another way I make myself available to everyone is through social media. However, I don’t give everyone equal access to my schedule during the week. Even among my staff, I practice this principle. Each week, I am in an all-staff meeting where we share and celebrate weekend wins, spend time growing together as leaders and end in a time of prayer. However, I spend the rest of the week with a handful of staff members who actually lead the weekly ministry of the church and yield the greatest results for the mission. Ask the Holy Spirit to point you toward the people you need to invest in the most during this season of your ministry.

Applying the Principle 1. With whom do you currently spend the majority of your time during the week? Are they the same leaders who advance the mission at the highest levels?

2. What are some practical ways you can make yourself available, but not accessible, to everyone who is vying for your time?

3. Talk about a time when someone was hurt by you not spending enough time with them in a leadership context. How did you handle that situation? What were the outcomes?

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LESSON 7 Say Thank You Read: Luke 22:31–32 Discussing the Text 1. What important spiritual reality did Jesus remind Peter of in the text?

2. What did Jesus tell Peter He had done for him in light of the spiritual attack that was happening in Peter’s life?

3. How do you think Jesus’ words impacted Peter’s life and leadership journey?

Identifying the Principle Jesus demonstrated the ability to keep His eye simultaneously on the job and the people who were helping get the job done. Jesus kept His eye more on Peter than perhaps all the others. In Luke 22:32, Jesus utters some of the most powerful words ever spoken, “I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.”

Wow! Think about that for a moment. Can you imagine Jesus saying that to you? The One who would give His life for the sins of the world let Peter know that He was praying for him and believing the best for him. Those few words of encouragement must have given Peter the courage and confidence he needed to keep following Jesus.

American businessman and writer Max De Pree said, “The first job of the leader is to acknowledge the reality of the organization. The last job of the leader is to say ‘thank you.’ ” Isn’t it true that just a little bit of gratitude goes a long, long way? Leaders need to be the most encouraging people on the planet, always looking for opportunities to thank people for their service and celebrating their contributions along the way. I have found that compliments are best received in the presence of others. There’s nothing like your pastor or boss singing your praises in front of your peers. I have watched more than one staff member or volunteer stand a little taller after being publically thanked and celebrated.

Each week, our staff is incredibly intentional about saying thank you to high-capacity volunteers. On Sunday, prior to executing our weekend worship experiences, we begin our morning with a preservice team rally. We pray and sing for a couple of minutes and cast a vision for the day.

But we always spend a few minutes celebrating and honoring one of our key volunteers. What you celebrate, you accelerate. High-capacity volunteers need to be encouraged and motivated frequently. That’s why our entire staff sends handwritten thank you notes to volunteers who add great value to the team. People tend to gravitate toward those individuals who make them feel most valued. Our staff also posts a picture and short story on our church Facebook page of a volunteer of the week. It creates a culture of appreciation church-wide. If you use people and take them for granted, they will eventually burn out and drop out of the ministry. High-capacity volunteers don’t typically quit ministry positions; they quit people. They quit on leaders who don’t make them feel valued or appreciated. Don’t let that be said of you and your team. Create a culture of honor and gratitude toward the volunteers who help make everything you do possible.

Applying the Principle 1. How often do you thank your high-capacity volunteers? Can you think of a way to systematize your process of saying thank you?

2. What are some ways you “pay” your volunteers, in financial or nonfinancial currencies?

3. What are some things your team can do to motivate and appreciate your volunteers and create a culture of gratitude?

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Notes

LESSON 8 People of the Second Chance

Notes

Read: John 21:15–17 Discussing the Text 1. What was the context of the John 21:15–17 passage? In other words, what had just taken place, and how had Peter just let Jesus down?

2. What do you think Jesus meant when He asked Peter, “do you love me?”

3. Why do you think Jesus asked Peter three times whether he loved Him? 4. What was Jesus really trying to do in Peter’s life and leadership journey?

Identifying the Principle Following Jesus’ crucifixion, we find Peter back on his fishing boat, drowning in a sea of regret.

Just as predicted, Peter blew it big time when he denied even knowing Jesus. Peter was embarrassed and heartbroken that he let his best friend down when He needed him most. He would have done anything to make things right. Thankfully, Peter received that chance, and he didn’t miss it. After recognizing Jesus on the shore, Peter dove in and swam to Him. He stood there dripping wet and owned his mistake, and Jesus forgave him and gave Peter a second chance.

Can you relate to Peter? Have you ever floated listlessly in a boat called failure? Of course you have because you are human! We’ve all done dumb stuff, lost our cool, arrived late or totally blanked out on a commitment. With leading high-capacity volunteers, you need to remember that they are going to blow it and make mistakes from time to time. (No one is perfect. Sadly, that includes you and me.) In those moments, you need to create a culture of forgiveness and restoration.

When someone I was counting on totally lets me down and I can tell they feel awful, I like to share my own failures with them.

Jesus asks Peter three times, “do you love me?” Jesus uses the Greek word for love, which is agapeo, the first two times and a different Greek word for love, phileo, the third time. Agapeo carries with it the connotation of God-like, sacrificial, “I’ll-give-my-life-for-you” kind of love.

But Peter responds with, phileo, which means, “I love you with a brotherly kind of love.” In other words, a one-time impetuous and overly confident “I’ll-never-let-you-down” kind of leader, Peter is now all too familiar with his own shortcomings. Too many times he over promised and underperformed. Now he humbly responds to Jesus with, “The best I can give you right now is a phileo kind of love.” Jesus replies, “Feed my sheep.”

In other words, in essence, Jesus is saying all is forgiven: “I’ve given you three opportunities Peter to reaffirm what you previously denied. But more than that, if that’s the best you have for Me, it’s good enough for Me to work with. Let’s move on and not look back.”

When high-capacity volunteers make mistakes and let you down, forgive them. Sit down with them and help them understand where they messed up and how they could have handled the situation better. Don’t hold grudges. Don’t rehearse what they did wrong in your mind every time you see them in the future. Just keep believing in them, and hope for the best. Then simply let it go and move on.

Applying the Principle 1. How do you currently deal with volunteers who make mistakes? What could you do better?

2. How do you prefer to be treated when you make mistakes or fail to achieve your goals or successfully execute a project?

3. Does your church or organization have a healthy culture of forgiveness and restoration?

Explain.

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THE FINAL NOTE

MOTHERS KNOW BEST in Religious Upbringing

Percentage of children from religiously mixed backgrounds who currently identify with their ...

... mother’s religion

... father’s religion

... neither

What role do biological or adoptive parents play in their children’s religious upbringing? According to a new Pew Research Center study, 66 percent of Americans raised in homes where both parents had the same religion say mom and dad had equal roles in their spiritual upbringing. However, the picture looks much different in homes where children were raised by parents who affiliated with two different faith traditions. In interfaith families, moms are significantly more influential in the religious upbringing of children. Nearly 80

half (46%) raised by interfaith parents say their mother was primarily responsible for their religious upbringing, while just 7 percent say their father took primary responsibility.

Perhaps the leading role mothers play in the religious upbringing of their children explains why in religiously mixed homes adult children are more likely to adopt their mother’s faith (48%) than to follow in their father’s religious footsteps (28%), with 24 percent identify with neither.

Source: Pew Research Center

48% 28% 24%

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