Mentors - Part 3

In the last week I have had mentoring conversations with Greg Surratt, Mark Batterson, Larry Osborne, Andy Stanley, & Rick Warren.  Actually there were several more, but I don't want to brag!  Here's how it went down... they were speaking, I was listening and being mentored.  Some happened through my iPod, others were actually in person at a conference I attended last week.  Others came through a CD Player.  One actually happened over a table at TGI Fridays.  But all were conversations.  They spoke, I listened and responded in my heart.  I was being mentored by them.

Listening to messages that leaders teach is a form of mentorship.  When we listen with a mentorship lens, we grow as a leader and person.

1.  We hear their passion.  One of the great things about listening to a message from someone we want to be mentored by is we get to hear what they're passionate about.  Nothing takes the place of hearing the passion in another's voice.

2.  We hear their heart.  When we listen with a mentoring lens we are challenged to see their heart on a subject.  And hearing someone else's heart, forces us to examine ours.

3.  We hear their wisdom.  The Bible says that if we want to grow wise, we must walk with the wise.  Being intentional about listening to messages spoken by great men and women allows us to grow in wisdom.  And that's mentoring at it's best!

Just a bloggish thought,

Matt

Mentors - Part 2

Over the last 15 years, I have had the wonderful privilege of being mentored by some of the greatest minds alive in the areas of faith, leadership, business, and finance. Men like John Maxwell, Oswald Chambers, Robert Kiyosaki, Dave Ramsey, Andy Stanley, Jim Collins, just to name a few. And here's the great thing... I didn't have to spend thousands to travel where they were, or attend big weekends with them.

They actually came right to me... in the form of books. One of the greatest forms of mentoring exists in book form! Learning to read through the eyes of mentoring can yield huge results in our lives! Here's why:

1. We can spend hours with someone when we read a book! I have literally spent hundreds of hours sitting at the feet of John Maxwell over the past 13 years. In 1995, I got to hear John speak at a small gathering of a few hundred people in Indiana. I immediately bought his book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and the mentoring began! There aren't too many books that John Maxwell has written since, that I have not bought & devoured. Why? Because I get to be mentored by him for hours a time, simply by reading his books.

2. We have access to the author's head & heart. When we read with a mentoring lens on, we get to see inside their head and heart. We learn how they think about issues and face realities similar to ours.

3. We get to take them wherever we go. I love having coffee with John Maxwell, or sitting on a plane for 2 hours with Andy Stanley. Some of the greatest mentoring we'll ever receive exists in book form. It's up to us to read with a mentoring lens in mind. When we do. Our world will come alive!

Just a bloggish thought,

matt

Mentoring Pastors - A Half a World Away

So I just had the greatest experience! Through the miracle of the Internet, I was able to speak at a pastor's conference in the Philippines! I just spent an hour with 14 pastors in the Philippines teaching them what it means to be a Life-Giving Church!

They are exactly a half a world away, the time difference is 12 hours!!! It was 10 am, Tuesday morning there, and 10 pm Monday night here. But the truth of God's Word made it through and they were uplifted and encouraged! Amazing!

We intend to begin doing a monthly teaching with them to train and impart other ministry lessons we're learning at Next Level Church! Now that's Next Level Missions at it's best!

What a privilege and honor to be entrusted with technology that makes the world small!

Wow!

Pastor Matt

Mentors - Part 1

I want to spend this week talking about Mentors. In the last few weeks, I'm learning alot about the power, presence & necessity of mentors in our lives. However, often when we think of mentors, we have a narrow definition that keeps us from learning the lessons necessary to become the person we have the potential to become.

1. What is a Mentor? Quite simply, Mentors are Voices. Voices we give permission to speak into our lives. Voices we allow to touch our heart. Voices we invite into challenge the way we think, act, talk, & live.

2. Who qualifies as a Mentor? Anyone we give permission to speak into our lives. In short, a mentor is anyone we think we can learn from. And... if they turn out to be someone we don't want to learn from, then they've actually taught us something about who we don't want to learn from.

3. Where do I find Mentors? They're everywhere. Waiting for us to invite them into our lives. I heard Andy Stanley say once, "Ask someone to be your mentor & they'll give you a funny look. Ask them if you can ask them some questions, and they'll say 'Sure anytime.'"

We'll spend the remainder of the week, looking at many of the Mentors that have impacted my life and where they came from.

Just a bloggish thought,

Matt Keller

NLC Baptisms & Another Oswald Chambers Quote

I mentioned late last week that I've been reading "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, which is a classic daily devotional. So in the April 7th writing he says, "The evidence that we do (know anything about the indwelling of the life of Jesus) is that His Word is becoming understandable to us." On Sunday afternoon, we had a chance to baptize almost a dozen people at the warehouse space. It was just incredible! From kids to adults, it was amazing to hear the stories of how God is making Himself real to people. I couldn't help but get choked up a bit when one 20-something young lady who now works in our kids department shared that she was raised in a religious environment, but it wasn't until she came to Next Level that it really began to make sense for her!

That's what we're all about! Life-Change! She now works in our kid's ministry because as she said yesterday, "Hopefully I can help them "get it" sooner than I did!" That's it! That's a home run for NLC!

Another life changed that is now apart of changing lives!

Just a bloggish thought,

Matt

Oswald Chambers "My Utmost for His Highest"

When it comes to my devotional life, I struggle to find consistency. In fact, I have this on-going theory that just about the time I get into a routine or rhythm with my prayer life/Bible reading life/devotional life, God makes me change it up.

Anyway, about a week ago, I bought a copy of Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest." It's a true classic daily devotional in the Christian world. I'm not sure when he originally wrote it but his language sounds like 1940's England. None the less, if you don't rush through it, the duffer's got amazing insights into life. I can't believe how each day it's like he's talking to me.

I want to share a few quotes with you, and throw in some personal insights from me.

Here's one: April 1st: "Beware of getting ahead of God by your desire to do His Will." He goes on to say that it's possible to run ahead of God Wow. What n eye opening statement! Running ahead of God. Yeah... I probably do that way more than I'd like to admit. Ready, fire, aim. That's me.

One more: April 1st: "If a burden or pressure came upon while not in an attitude of worship, it will produce a hardness in our heart." Come on Oswald, that's just sick! When we don't amintain an attitude of worship, the pressures of life cause our heart to get hard. Stop it already man!

Chew on that for a while. Feel free to comment back if you want,

Just a bloggish thought,

Keller

Encouragement to Church Planters

So I found a new spot to connect with God. Honestly, I hesitate to share it with all of you b/c some of you who are Next Levelites are likely to go and find it and then be there and bother me and that will just make it not a hiding place anymore. (Just kiddin') Suffice it to say, I can see the entire Midpoint Bridge from where I'm sitting right now. AND... (and this is a big AND) Apparently, there is free wireless internet so... (I'm not sure how that works, but I'll take it!)

Here's an illustration for all the church planters who read this blog...

From where I sit I can see the cars heading onto the bridge. A few minutes ago, a guy comes riding by above me on a bike. From his vantage point, all he can see is the huge hill ahead and how far he has to go. After all, he's riding his bike to Cape Coral, so obviously, he's focused on the enormity of the task ahead.

From my vantage point, all I can see is how fast he's moving. As he rides by I'm thinking, "Wow, that guy is going fast for an ole guy." (Or something like that) He's making great time. The wind is at his back, he's going with the flow of traffic. That guy is doing a great job on his journey.

As one who has the privilege of coaching several church planters and pastors across the country, I see the same thing happen all the time. They are so focused on their road and have their eyes so fixed on the challenges ahead and can't stop thinking about the Big Vision that awaits on the other side, that they don't realize they're winning!

So, from one church planter to another, let me just tell you, I see you moving on your road! You're doing a great job! You're making the right time. God is with you, the wind is at your back. You're being successful at seeing lives changed in your community. Keep pedaling. Don't worry about the hills ahead. Oh yeah, and put your head up long enough to realize that there is an amazing view all around you! After all, you're on the bridge of God's Journey for your life! And the view from there is breath-taking.

I'm praying for you church planters today! I love you guys!

Matt Keller

A Lesson in Margin from my 2 Boys!

This morning on the way to school, I had the opportunity to teach my 7 year old and 4 year old about Margin. I was attempting to help them understand why we want our mornings to be Peaceful and not Stressful. Here's a synopsis.

• We live crazy lives. Which is okay, in fact we prefer it this way, most of the time. Once we get to school, or work, our life is full of details, homework, friends, teachers, lessons, responsibilities, etc.


• We want our mornings to be peaceful. The more relaxed our mornings can be, the better we'll be for the rest of the day.


• The way to have peace is through Margin. Put another way, Peace lives in the Margins of our lives. Show me someone with no peace, & I'll show you someone with no margin. No peace in your finances? I bet you don't have margin. No peace in your calendar? I bet you don't have margin. No peace in your personal life? I bet you don't have margin.


• Margin is the distance between where you live and your limits. Foolish is the person who resides on the side of a cliff. We wouldn't think to build a home within 6 inches of a cliff, but we do it all the time in other areas of our lives.


• Margin is everywhere. I pointed out to the boys that roads are built with margin. Books have margin. Papers have margin. 7-Eleven signs have margin. It's everywhere.  And it was God's idea. My 4 year old asked me if trees have margin.  I said, "yep, it's called bark.  Without, the wood is exposed to the elements and the tree won't survive."


• Blessing live in the margins. We got to school 10 minutes early and rather than drop them off in the car line, I walked them in. I told them, "because we have margin in our time today, daddy got to walk you in." Then my 7 year old asked me, "Can we stop at the drinking fountain before class?" I answered yes. Then he said to me, "Because we have Margin, right?"

I just smiled.

Want to live a blessed life?

Want to have peace?

Examine your margins. That's where they live.

Just a bloggish thought,

Matt Keller