"Not everyone is intended to take the entire journey with you."

Several years ago, I  heard John Maxwell make this statement and I've never forgotten it. The reason is because, in leadership, the pressure of building the team is always before you. However, the reality of your team is so huge:

1.  Your team will make or break your vision. It is impossible to accomplish the dream God has placed inside your heart without a great team making it happen with you. Every leader is keenly aware of this truth. Which adds an element of pressure to the leadership role.

• Do I have the right people on the team?
  


• Who's not keeping up?
  


• Who has the potential to go to the top of this level, but not necessarily the top of the next level?
  


• What type of team members will we need at the next level?

2.  You want everyone to make it to the top with you. I don't know of a leader who doesn't have a genuine desire to see everyone on the team win! We all want everyone to be on the podium when we hoist the trophy and declare victory! However, the simple truth of leadership is that that is just not realistic. As much as we would like it to be true, its not. Not everyone is intended to take the entire journey with you.

One of the hardest tests of leadership is developing everyone on the team with your full passion and enthusiasm, even when you are aware that most of them won't be with you forever.

What I have learned is that, its precisely in the developing of those leaders that the culture we're trying to create for our organization and the vision we're aiming for, are solidified. Developing others solidifies the vision God has placed in our heart like nothing else can.

3.  You'll be tempted to hold on to people longer than you should. One great temptation we face as leaders is the temptation to hold on to people too long for many reasons. Perhaps because we feel bad, we're holding out hope for them, or we just don't want to have a hard conversation, but when we hold on to someone too long, we do damage to the organization, the vision and the other members of our team.

4.  You'll be tempted to elevate people faster than you should. Especially in the early days of start up, the temptation is great to promote people faster than they should. When the demand and work load is great, we will often rush to appoint someone to a position or title, when in reality, they're not ready for the responsibility that comes with that position.

5.  There's a good chance your Ultimate Team is a few drafts away. As much as we would like for it to be otherwise, the truth is, our dream team probably won't come together on the first try. For most leaders, it will take several hires and fires, appointments and moves to get a team around them that is a long-term team capable of going the distance and seeing the vision fulfilled.

Don't get discouraged by it. If we will keep pouring ourselves into the leaders God brings around us, keep having the hard conversations, and keep focused on what He's called us to do, the team will emerge, the cream will rise and our Ultimate Team will arise.

The pressure of building a team is something a leader has to deal with on a daily basis, but I'm convinced that if we'll stay faithful to it, it can be one of the most fulfilling parts of our leadership role.

NLC's Prayer and Fasting Day - 7 Specifics for Prayer

Hey Next Level Church,

I'm excited about all that God is doing in & through our church, & I believe today is going to be a great day as we pray & fast across Southwest Florida for God to move, personally, corporately, & throughout our community.

Per the talk from yesterday's P90X - Part 2 message about Jesus' Model for prayer, here are the 7 Specific Elements for praying today:

7 Specifics for Prayer:



1.  Have Confidence in your Relationship with God.

- Spend time approaching God as Father. Go boldly into His Presence today.

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

2.  Love God and Worship His Name.

- Spend time worshipping God & praising Him for who He is and all He has done for you.

- This is where we change our reality! Let Psalm 103 be an example.

Psalm 103:1 “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

v. 2-3 “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,

v. 4 “who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things

v. 5 “so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

3.  Pray God’s Agenda First.

- God's #1 prayer request is Lost People!!!

- Pray for God's people to be courageous to live for Him in their worlds!

4.  Present your Needs to Him.

- Whatever is on your mind & weighing you down, lift that up to God.

- Pray for the bigger ventures & callings of your life as well.

5.  Get your heart right with God & with People.

- This is the zone to cleanse your heart before God. If you have anything within you that is not pleasing to God, confess it and get it right now.

- Also, let God search your heart for any human relationships that might be out of sync. Commit to making those right in the next 48 hours.

6.  Confront the Enemy.

- Intercede for people who are far from God.

- Do battle in the spirit realm for the lost, the hurting, the helpless, who are far from God.

7.  Trust God with Absolute Assurance in His Ability.

- Begin thanking God for the peace that comes with knowing that He is in control of everything we face in our lives.

Some Next Level Church Prayer Requests to Lift Up to God today:

• The Closing on the Loan to purchase our 1st Permanent Location happening in October.  Pray that all the details would go smoothly and that there would be no hiccups on a timing level.


• The Miracle Offering for the Closing on Sunday, September 26th. Pray that those who have made a 6 month commitment can fulfill it on that day. Pray for everyone who calls NLC their home to have courage to seek God on how they should participate.


• Continued Favor with the Residents in our Communities downtown at Palmetto Courts & Sabal Palms. Pray that trust would continue to be built up and that God would raise up leaders to continue making an impact to raise those communities.


• Our Church Planters in New Jersey, Delaware, New Hampshire and Ohio.

1) Dan & Stephanie Stauffer at Family Life Church in New Jersey.

2) Mark & Susan Johnston at The Journey Church in Newark, Delarware.

3) Josh & Jennifer Gagnon at Next Level Church in New Hampshire.

4) Taitem & Jessica Kretz at Lifeway Community Church in Youngstown, Ohio.

• Our Missionaries in Kenya, Sri Lanka, India and Dominican Republic.


• Our Missions team we are sending to Columbia in November.

For those of you who have made a commitment to pray this week in alignment with our P90X series, here's the quick guide from I Timothy 2 for your prayer times this week:

1. Requests. Bring your needs to God. Where do you need wisdom or a miracle or provision? Bring your requests (or supplications) to God. Where do you need "supply"?

2. Prayers. This is the relational part. God wants to spend time with you. Come to Him as Father & with confidence. (More on that this weekend...)

3. Intercessions. This is where we get to stand in the gap for some other people. Who is far from God in your world? Pick 3 or 4 people & begin interceding for them this week.

4. Thanksgiving. Never miss an opportunity to thank God for all of the blessings in your life. What you focus on is what you'll get more of...especially in prayer! Focus on thanking God for all that He's done for you & given to you.

There you go. It's that simple. Spend some time with God this week and watch how your reality begins to change.

(You can listen or watch the message from last Sunday by going to: www.NextLevelChurch.com/video)

Everybody wants a harvest.

In every area of our life, we want the harvest don't we?

We want a leaner body.

We want more margin in our finances.

We want the great marriage.

We want the promotion.

We want to be closer to God.

We want the harvest.

Today I ran across a little truth that has everything to do with getting the "harvest" each of us want. But here's the trick...

Getting the harvest we want has nothing to do with the harvest. Instead, it has everything to do with the season before the harvest, also know as the harvest season.

Proverbs 20:4 says,

"A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing."

In other words, if we want to have a harvest later, we must recognize when it's the season to plow. Doing the hard, invisible and often tedious work in the plowing season will produce big results in the harvest season that follows.

But Here's the Problem:

We don't like to plow! We don't like getting up early to work out. We don't like saving money instead of spending.  We don't like staying up late to work out issues in our marriage. We don't like doing the grunt work so the boss will trust us with more responsibility. We don't want to turn off the TV and spend time praying or reading our Bible. We don't like to plow.

In order to get the harvest we want later, we have to be willing to plow now.

Challenge:

What one step could you take this week to begin plowing in some area of your life where you're wanting a better harvest?  Plowing and Harvesting are two different seasons, but they are never mutually exclusive.

A Thought on Creative Thought.

This quote from Seth Godin's blog is unreal!!!

"Simple example: start a blog and post once a day on how your favorite company can improve its products or its service. Do it every day for a month, one new, actionable idea each and every day. Within a few weeks, you'll notice the change in the way you find, process and ship ideas."

If you don't subscribe to SethGodin.com or follow him on Twitter @ThisIsSethsBlog, you're missing out on some amazing learning.

I'm a huge Seth Godin fan & I'm not afraid to say it!!!

Now back to the quote... What would it look like to create a place to land one creative thought per day? A journal... A blog... A word doc... A post-it note... Whatever. What if Creative Thought has more to do with disciplined action, then anything else?

Just a thought...

Excuse me sir, Would you like to be my Mentor?

I am a huge advocate of having mentors. I have been blessed to have some incredible mentors through the years. I know I wouldn't be who I am and where I am today without the mentors who have poured into me over the years.

Here are a few thoughts on the whole Mentor Concept:

1. Mentor somebody.

I am a firm believer that we all have something to offer somebody else. Get over any feelings of inadequacy you might have, because somebody needs what you have learned.

2. Find a Mentor for every area of your life.

For me, if there's an area of my life that I want to grow in, I enlist a mentor. Here's how:
1) Pray for God to bring that person across your path.
2) Start looking for them.
3) Start collecting questions.
4) When you find them, go boldly & humbly in their direction.

3. Don't neglect "Virtual" Mentors.

Over the years, I have been mentored by some amazing leaders that I've never met simply by reading their books or listening to their talks. Today, with the free content of the internet, it's easier than ever. I literally downloaded over 12 hours of talks by Seth Godin in 1 night that I've been listening to & learning from for the last few months.

4. Become an expert Question-Asker.

The way to mine out the wisdom of a mentor is by learning the art of asking good questions. Good questions can unlock the depths of experience like nothing else can. Here's a little tip when preparing questions in advance for a meeting with a mentor... Make a list of a ridiculous number of questions. For example, come up with 87 questions for a 60 minute meeting. If you do, you'll discover the best 8 or 10 questions that will allow you to learn the most during your time.

The right mentor at the right time in your life can literally be life-changing. Finding one and being one is essential to your success.

Slaying the Monster of Sunday (a help for communicators)

Taming the Monster of Sunday

(Help for Pastors under Pressure)

One of the most taxing things about being a lead pastor is the drain of having to come up with completely new, creative, thought-provoking, challenging, engaging, funny, life-changing content every 7 days. I like to call it the Monster of Sunday. It's always licking at your heels and if we, as the primary communicators of our church, can't figure out a way to tame that monster, it will eventually become our undoing & hold us back from reaching the full potential of our calling.

Over the past eight years, I’ve learned a ton about my rhythm as a communicator. Hopefully these tips will help you as well…

1. Learn your Personal Rhythm. My personal rhythm is 6 weeks. After that, I need a change. If I speak more than 6 weeks in a row at Next Level Church, my creativity, drive and passion begin to sag. I know I’m not giving our people my best. Consequently, as a rule, I will not speak more than 6 Sundays in a row.

2.  Get out of your own reality. In order for me to remain creative, I need a change of perspective. Therefore, I build into my yearly schedule the opportunity to travel and speak in other churches a few times a year. Being away from home, helps me keep the greater vision of THE Local church in my mind. I can get tunnel vision otherwise.

I highly recommend for pastors to “sow into another man’s field.” For me this looks like developing relationships with pastors who are "a couple of steps behind us” and offering to pay my own way to come and invest in their church for a weekend.

When I travel and work with other churches, I learn from them as well. I get fresh ideas and perspective when I get out of my own pulpit.

3. Get 4 to 6 weeks ahead in message preparation. One of the ways I avoid the Monster of Sunday is by staying 4 to 6 weeks ahead in my message preparation. We short-change our content and our people when we write messages the week of. There are just some creative ideas that need time to marinate. And writing a message on Saturday afternoon, isn't sufficient time enough for that to happen adequately.

4.  Learn to write to 80%. When I say that I'm 4 to 6 weeks ahead in message prep, this is what I mean. I have a goal to have the main points, verses and illustrations laid out (or 80% of the message) weeks in advance. This gives me peace of mind knowing that on any given week, I'm simply microwaving the message up to 95% on Monday morning, rather than trying to start from scratch every week.

5.  I write on Mondays. The common theme for most pastors is to want to jump in front of a bus on Mondays, but I have found that if I can get in the zone and think of it as a continuation of the day before, I'm actually capable of some pretty amazing creativity. The benefit of locking in my message on Monday is:

• I feel extremely productive. Doing what I do best on Mondays, rather than all the to-do list stuff, makes me feeling like a million bucks and sets me up for a more productive week.


• I don't feel as swamped later under all the details of church. Church work can drain you. And carrying the pressure of Sunday's message on your shoulders while I'm dealing with detail stuff during the week can be overwhelming. Details put me on edge, which is not good for my team.


• I have a clear mind to lead and make decisions. When the pressure of Sunday is off, the more confident I feel in my decision making. The bigger our church gets, the more pressure I feel on a decision making level. Having a handle on Sunday early in the week, helps me feel more empowered to make decisions that need to be made during the week.

6.  Learn to see "Sparks" everywhere. For any communicator, the distance from zero to a creative spark is infinity, but once you have the spark, the rest of the content for a message can flow pretty quickly. If you have to communicate on a weekly basis, you'll have to develop the art of seeing sparks for messages everywhere. I see sparks everywhere, so much so, that there are lots of messages that I never have opportunity to develop or preach anywhere. But just developing the discipline of seeing the sparks helps me as a communicator.

The second key to seeing the sparks is having a place to put them once you see them. That's where the Wall of Sundays comes in for me. Whether I use them or not, at least I know I have somewhere to put them.

7. Use a Wall of Sundays to organize your thoughts. The way to see the long-range rhythm of your year is to have a place to put your creative thoughts when they come to you. We started doing this about 3 years ago and our wall of Sundays has become life to me and our team. I have to see things big and as a team, we need to plan ahead.

Here’s a picture of our most current Wall-of-Sundays.

8.  Practice your messages. Some pastors will say they want to "make sure the emotion of the moment comes through on Sunday," or that "you can't rehearse the anointing." But I think that's just an excuse. You wouldn't say that to your worship team. If we want our worship team to rehearse and come prepared, then so should we. It took me awhile to get used to practicing my messages out loud, but for me, there's no better way to actually get the content into your mind and spirit.

I can't tell you how many times I will be practicing my message in my home office on Saturday night and hear myself say something a certain way. In those moments, I'll actually stop and say out loud, "That didn't sound right. Don't say it that way again." ThenI’ll go back to the beginning of that section or story and practice saying it a different way.

By the way, for those of you who do multiple services, remember, first service is not your practice. We can either sweat in preparation or bleed in battle. I don't know about you, but I would rather sweat in preparation.

The Result:

As a communicator who now speaks 150 - 200 times/year as well as writes consistently, it is vital that I have a sustainable rhythm for message preparation and content. There's no way I could live out my calling otherwise.

If you're a communicator, begin to strategically work on developing your own rhythm. It will serve you well for years to come.

Mistake in Pricing creates a Great Opportunity for Church Leadership Teams!

Hey everyone,

I just had to tell you that, due to a clerical error, my book, The Up the Middle Church, is now available in digital form (E-Book & Kindle) for only $2.95! This is a SCREAMING GOOD DEAL FOR YOU and your leadership teams.

Take advantage of it today, because honestly, I don't know how long it will be at that price!

Here are the links:

E-Book: http://bit.ly/UTMebook

Kindle: http://amzn.to/9e6U4P

Of course, you can get the paperback / hardback editions too: http://bit.ly/UTMhardback

Raising Up Communicators - My Most Current Thoughts

A common strain that many pastors feel is the pressure of not being able to miss a Sunday. In their own way, each one says the same thing:

"I don't feel like I have anyone on my team who can do what I do..."

At Next Level Church, we have several capable communicators on our team, but it didn’t happen by accident. It has been a combination of the blessing of God and an intentional approach on our part.

It starts with desire. When we started 8 years ago, I knew I wanted to have others who could do what I do. I didn't want to be, "the only one who could feed the sheep." I knew this would take a  lot of security on my part and the patience to believe God to raise up others on our team as well.

It also requires a strategy.  3 years ago, I began strategically executing the plan to multiply our speaking structure. I started with my associate, Mike, who had moved with us 8 years earlier, and our newly hired executive pastor, Scott Drummond. Once we had 2 guys who had the natural ability and passion to speak, I got extremely strategic about it. Today, we're developing several other young communicators with the same strategy.

A Strategy to Raise Up Communicators in your church:

1.  Include them in on message creation. Rather than just writing messages alone, I started bringing in them in to help me process ideas through. This allowed them to see how I think about message preparation. It also gave me some great ideas and illustrations that I never would have had otherwise.

2. Use their personalities in other ways from the stage. We always have 2 people give announcements in our services. This keeps things fresh and provides for movement and energy in the service, simply by having two personalities on stage instead of one.

The biggest benefit though is allowing our people to become familiar and comfortable with the other pastors on staff. They see them having fun, joking with each other and being in the know with your church. Over time, this creates a comfort in people with having someone other than me on the stage.

3.  Let them speak with you present. I want our church to know that, “just because I'm here doesn't mean I have to be up there..." I intentionally schedule Sundays where they speak with me there. I need our church to be comfortable with me being in the room, but not always being up front. (By the way, I will often jump into one of the announcement guy roles when they speak. We believe in "Interchangeable Parts" in every way.)

4.  Work with them before, during & after. When they're scheduled to speak, we worked up the big idea and spark for the message together. Then they flesh out the raw outline. They bring it back to me and we talk through. This allows me to run it through the filter of our people, because as the guy who talks to them the most, I know their aptitude best. After we meet, they bring the talk up to a mature form and we meet one more time where they “pseudo-preach” it to me in my office.

I stay involved in the process the day they speak as well. We will meet in the green room backstage between services to tweak the content even more. I want them to know what I’m thinking in real time.

Finally, the week after they speak, we debrief and listen to the audio CD or watch the video back together. I thoroughly dissect it with them. Good, bad and ugly.

Here's what I've learned: If I want them to do what I do, I have to be willing to slow down enough to allow them to see how I do it. From my experience, most pastors aren't willing to do this. They just want their other guys to watch them and then just "get it." I wish that were true, because we’d all be much better golfers after watching Tiger Woods every Sunday.

6. Teach your church that they are a teaching hospital. We are committed to seeing young leaders reach their full potential. If you're looking for perfection, you're gonna need to find another church. From the beginning, we have taught our people that they are apart of a Divine Experiment and things won't always go perfectly. We would rather fail trying then never take a risk.

7. Put them inside of a series you're already doing. Including them inside of a series allows them to leverage a greater credibility and allows them to "continue" a thought instead of trying to build a stand alone message. Second, It communicates that you are a teaching team, not individual communicators.

8. Use the word "we" as much as you can. For example, "at Next Level Church we believe" instead of, "at NLC, I believe..." Its a subtle difference but over time, it helps shape the culture in your church's mind.

9. Use somebody other than you, to be the "Campus Pastor" in your service. Even if you only have one campus, we have found it helpful to use another pastor on staff, to close the service. This gives them a pastoral and credible voice, and over time, establishes their voice to the people.

10. Use other pastors to lead things like communion, child dedication, and baptisms. I want our people to know that I'm not the only one, (or the best one for that matter!) to lead these important pastoral elements. I want our church to be comfortable with the other pastors ministering to them in spiritual moments, like communion, baptism, etc.

The result:

3 years later, the results have been amazing! Our church people have become accustomed to me not having to be up there 52 weeks a year. This new reality has enabled me to get the rest I need, speak in other churches, and help other pastors in great ways! The benefit of having confidence in other communicators on your team will far outweigh the time and energy it takes for you to get them there.

Begin NOW to develop your strategy to raise up other communicators who can do what you do in your church. It's worth it.

NLC - 1st Monday - Prayer & Fasting - August

Hey everybody,

Thanks for praying today. There are some huge things on the radar for NLC in the coming weeks and I know that prayer recalibrates us to God's Will. Here are several prayer points for you to pray through today:

1.  Our 1st Permanent Location.

There are two areas where we need to pray specifically in terms of NLC’s 1st Permanent Facility:

First, pray for Financing. We have officially approached several banks with our proposal and there are 3 that are reviewing it, literally as we speak!!!

Second, we need to continue to pray for the 25% down-payment. ($1.2 Million).

• Pray for everyone who has made a 6 month commitment. It’s hard to believe we only have 2 months left. Pray that God will provide for them to give above and beyond their regular tithes and offerings.

• Pray for the miraculous to keep happening remaining $283,000 (as of last week) that is still needed for us to reach the 25% mark! We’re making it, you guys! It’s happening! Let’s keep believing!

For all the latest information, & to pray even more specifically go to: www.ThisIsOurTime.org.

2.  Pray for our NLC Staff. We are back in full swing and gearing up for an amazing fall season of outreach. Pray for strength & wisdom as we walk through this season of growth, opportunity and influence as a church.

Also, be sure to pray for our Children's Pastor, Josh Homan and his wife, Irina, as they are expecting their first child, due in December! (follow them @joshuahoman & @irinahoman)

3.  Pray for Our Backpack Outreach happening Saturday, August 14th in "Our Communities” downtown. Palmetto Courts & Sabal Palms. We are giving away 1,000 backpacks to families in need. Our special offering for Project Backpack is happening this Sunday, August 8th. Pray that all 1,000 backpacks will be sponsored. (Click here for more info) Go here for more informaiton: www.BeOrange.me

4.  Pray for our Missionaries.

• Christ for India; Jameson, Johnson and Mary Titus. Pray for  pastors in their seminary, pray for the Children in their school, pray for the pastors they’re sending out to plant churches.


• Kelly and Kathy Johnson in Kenya, Africa as they train pastors and plant churches.


• Mark & Stephanie Pyles in the Dominican Republic as they plant “Next Generation” Churches in Santiago.


• Luke & Sandy Walters in Sri Lanka. They are working to gain influence among the next generation of business leaders in that nation.


• Paul & Mary Triller. They are working to plant churches across Europe, one of the darkest mission fields on earth today.

5.  The People of NLC. For provision and jobs. For promotions and miracles.  Pray for marriages to be strong & kids to be wise as we begin a new school year.

6.  Pray for the Following Church Planters we are Coaching right now:

• Maurice Stargell in McDonough, GA. I was just with Maurice last month. They are doing great and are about 4 months old now! Pray for momentum and strength as they impact their city for Christ.


• Tory & Elizabeth Farina in St. Paul, MN. HighPoint Church is a 4 year old church meeting in a Movie Theater. Pray for wisdom as they launch into the next level God has for them.


• Shane & Rachel Frasier in Lebanon, IN. Freedom Church is about a year old & God is doing an amazing thing there. Pray for continued strength as they grow. They  launched 2 services in the movie theater where they have church in July. Pray for wisdom for their leadership team as well.

Thanks again for Fasting and Praying today.  For more info on fasting go to:  www.NextLevelChurch.com/fasting

Pastor Matt