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Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.  -Isaiah 43:19

God is doing a “new thing” in our city.  Amongst the great churches in San Antonio we are planning to launch a new one.  We are blessed to have been given the support of Community Bible Church as we launch out to gather this new community.  The journey begins today for The Park Community Church.

Does San Antonio need another church?
Without question!  As we can see the churches in the city are doing an awesome job and serve as a light to the city but we are all to aware of darkness that still exist. Our prayer is that God will bless our community to stand among so many others to speak the truth of God into a lost world.

The Park DNA is comprised of three building blocks: Passion, Compassion, & Wisdom

1. The Passionate Pursuit of God. Each of us is hard wired by God to long for spirituality, to ask the question is there more?  We believe the pursuit of God is a life long quest, one we are individually called to.  In Christ we find God, but the journey continues as we daily try to know more of the heart of God.
2. Overflowing Compassion for People. There is something deep inside of us that knows we need to be connected to other people.  Even more, we know we are called to make a difference in the world.  Our prayer is, as a church, we would extend daily compassion to one another and as a community we would be known for overflowing compassion to the social injustices of our world.
3. Godly wisdom in every day decisions.
   Our attention is often divided between what seems to be wise and what the scriptures outline as actual wisdom.  We trust in God as the author of creation and; therefore, believe He offers us the very best way to live.  As we apply the scriptures to our daily lives our faith becomes alive.

We are asking 5 things of everyone we know, and anyone we can meet…

1. Pray for us.  Our dream is to gather a community whose calling is the passionate pursuit of God, overflowing compassion for people, and Godly wisdom.
2. Network For us. We are willing and ready to grab a cup of coffee, or a meal, and tell anyone about our vision.  Connect us.
3. Support us. We have committed our time and money to this new church.  We are asking you to do the same.
4. Join us. We will begin meeting soon, if you want to join us then e-mail me austintx1@mac.com and we will keep you up to date.
5. Lead with us. Our passion is to build a leadership culture sending people into the city for ministry.  If you think God may be calling you to leadership in this new church then let me know your heart.  e-mail me… austintx1@mac.com

As we build steam we are looking forward to a citywide launch service on Easter Sunday, April 4 at Orsinger Park.  It’s going to be an amazing journey, you are invited to join us.

I talked to a friend this past week who pastors a church on the  West Coast.  As he and i were talking about the good and bad decisions he has made since planting his church he made a comment that knocked me back in my seat.  His words were, “i know at least a dozen guys who planted a church and woke up two years into it and realized they hated the church they had planted.  Whether through adding too many programs or losing focus on the original calling there is always the potential of the creators curse.  I don’t have answers, but would love to hear ideas on how we avoid decisions that lead away from the original calling.

What are the four most essential elements for a person to follow a leader?

I recently completed reading the book, strength based leadership. It’s an excellent read if you have the time. Along with the book you are give a code to take a strength based leadership test. I have asked the guys who report to me to take the test and we are compiling their strengths as I type this. The book is yet another stab at the working in your strengths message the Gallup organization has been preaching for a decade. If you have not tapped into this philosophy on leadership and personal growth you REALLY need to. The writings of Tom Rath and Marcus Buckingham, both members of the Gallup staff, have revolutionized the way I work. Enough selling, let me get to the point.

As I read through this latest book I came to a section titled, “why people follow.” Without question this simple list was the most valuable page in the entire book. After polling 10,000 people over three years here’s what they found to be the most important elements needed to follow someone…

Trust
The chance of an employee being engaged @ work if they do not trust the leadership of the organization is just 1 in 12, according to gallup. If people don’t believe you are a person of integrity then they will not follow you.

Compassion
Gallup has asked 10 million people to respond to this question, “My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.” People who agree with this statement are…
- More likely to stay with the organization
- Have more engaged customers
- Are substantially more productive

Stability
This is a rough one for the church. While we have ultimate stability in Christ we are always changing our programs. In order to follow people need stability. The one thing we can offer is stability in our commitment to those who volunteer or work for us. The program may change but how we feel about the person can be stable. Interestingly, employees who have confidence in their company’s financial future are nine times more likely to be engaged in their jobs.

Hope
Other words used to respond to this category were direction, faith, and guidance. As we lead people we have to remember the strong need they have to hope for the future.

I am the first to admit I read too many books. However, when I combine this information with Seth Godin’s excellent book, tribes, I am seeing a theme emerge. As leaders of paid staff and thousands of volunteers ask yourself how you are working to instill these things in the lives of the people who follow you. Have an awesome week!

Colossians chapter 4 contains some awesome insight for anyone who serves in a support capacity for ministry.  On our team we are blessed to have a number of gifted administrative staffers.  Recently I was asked to speak at their monthly luncheon.  Here are some thoughts if you are in a support role @ a church.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. – Colossians 4:2-6

Verse 2 Develop a habit of praying for ministry
It’s easy to get in a rut as an administrator of ministry.  So often your job requires you to fill behind the scene roles and can easily disconnect you from the people your church is reaching.  As you work, consider the goal of each program you administer.  As the programs and people come across your desk pray for effectiveness.  As you see meetings happening pray for your leader’s to have vision and discernment.  Be vigilant about hearing praise reports.  Ask those you support to share the stories of life change and thank God for the people who were blessed.

Verse 5 Add stability in dynamic environments
Pastor’s, by nature, can be like herding cats.  We are all over the place, driven by vision, and usually thrive on change.  This can be like a wrecking ball to a church craving stability or a staff burnt out form all the changing.  As someone gifted with administration you are more than likely an excellent source of input to your supervisor.  While he or she may be all over the map try to bring some consistency to the team.

Verse 6 Bring water not gasoline to a fire
You are most often the first person to respond to a crisis.  Whether it’s a member of your church calling in with a family crisis or a staff member with a situation requiring the pastor’s immediate attention you can be the calming and affirming voice in crisis management.

I was recently blessed to hear a number of our support staff speak up about how blessed the were to be a part of our church.  Each recounted their roles, “behind the scene” in seeing life change happen.  In order for churches to grow in health it takes a myriad of gifts.  If you are gifted in administration then spend some time in Colossians and continue to grow as God has made you.

Disclaimer: For all my charismatic friends you will be deeply disappointed at the lack of theological sophistication

I have an iphone.  One of my geek pleasures was lining up the day it was released and being one of the first in my city to have one.  As much as i love my iphone i have had some issues with it’s ipod functions.  Up until the other day i just considered it to be a glitch and then it spoke to me!  

I was on the treadmill listening to some old talks from Catalyst.  I selected Groeschel’s talk from 07, one of the greatest, and zoned out on the treadmill.  After about 8 minutes of his talk on being a practical atheist the glitch kicked in.  The phone skipped over to a talk by John Maxwell, after about a minute it skipped to a talk by Andy Stanley then a couple minutes later back to Groeschel, then Francis Chan, then Rob Bell, and on and on.  As my resentment to the glitch began to grow i decided instead of stopping my run and throwing the phone against the washboard abs of one of the trainers, who seem to think if i pay them thousands of dollars i will end up looking like them despite my passionate love affair with kettle chips, i listened on.  I listened for about 30 minutes and heard the craziest collection of thoughts, something like this (i am paraphrasing these leaders, so i won’t use quotes)…

Leadership is a stewardship, it’s temporary and you are accountable -Stanley
I decided in my life to add value to people – Maxwell
I realized i didn’t care for the people in my own church – Chan
Doing the work of God was destroying the work of God in me – Hybels
If i blame myself for the decline in my church then i am likely to blame myself for the growth-Groeschel
When Jesus realized he was the most powerful person in the room he washed the disciples feet – Stanley
I had become a full time pastor and a part time Christian – Groeschel

Before long the talks started to run together and a theme emerged.  In leadership our primary motivation has to be for the people we are leading.  The only source of that selfless motivation is the Spirit of God alive in our own hearts.  Okay maybe this wasn’t God lining up the talks, but it at least proves Solomon correct, “there is nothing new under the sun.”