The London Olympics Got It Right! (A Leadership Principle)

One of the things I have been most impressed about (and there have been many) watching the London 2012 Summer Olympics is the overt thread of belief and optimism about the next generation.

During the Opening Ceremonies, when it came to the infamous torch lighting pomp and circumstance, often awarded to past greats and legends, they took a more holistic approach. I loved how David Beckham was visible but not even in the building, then the legendary runner carried the torch in to the stadium, through 500 construction workers (Average Joe's and Jane's) who built the facility.

Once the torch entered the stadium it was passed to 7 members of the Next Generation who each took a turn as they circled the stadium. Once they made it around, they stopped and handed the torch to 7 past legends (sponsors) in their particular sport. What a great way to honor those who have gone before them and paved the way for them.

Then... in an unexpected twist, the sponsors handed the light back to the young athletes as if to say, "The future is not ours to carry... its your turn now!" At this, the future athletes then ran past the 10,000 current olympians and made their way to the center where they, together, lit the torch. Which was made up of the 204 individual nation's copper bowls.

As I sat on my couch watching the cauldron illuminate, I couldn't help but say out loud: "They got it right!!! They trusted the next generation with the most important part!!!"

What We Can Learn:

The symbolism built into the Opening Ceremonies that night contains a powerful message for everyone of us who are leaders in anyway today. Here are a few key applications that jump out at me...

1. It is necessary and right to honor those who go before us.

     I am a HUGE proponent of giving honor to whom honor is due. There is a generation who paid a great price for the life and opportunities we have. We must never forget to honor them every chance we get. We stand on their shoulders. We reap where they sowed. We have success where they had struggle. Thank you older generations for the price you paid for us. We are better because of you.

2. It is right to honor those who sacrifice and serve behind the scenes.

     I love that the construction workers were invited in to the celebration. So often, those who sweat and bleed and sacrifice behind the scenes never get invited in when the vision is complete and the celebration happens. What can we do to honor those who serve our vision faithfully behind the scenes?

3. It is right to trust the young generation with the Important Stuff, not just the trivial stuff.

     When it came down to the actual lighting of the torch with 1 Billion (that's 1,000,000,000) people (1 out of every 7 people alive on planet earth today) watching, they didn't relent with their belief in the next generation.
     Too often, we in leadership circles, have been guilty of saying we believe in the young generation, saying we trust them, saying we want to empower them, but then when it comes to the big moments, we hold on to the ball.
     If 7 young people can successfully light the Olympic flame in front of 1 Billion people, it probably is conceivable to think the young leaders in our organizations can carry more than we think they can.

PERSONAL STORY ::
     Once upon a time, I was a young leader, bursting with vision and potential and leadership. What I wanted more than anything was for someone in the older generation to give me a shot. When that shot didn't come, I graciously took my talent, energy, ideas and potential and went somewhere else.
    Today, I am so grateful to lead an organization built on empowering young leaders. There is no greater joy for me today then to create opportunities that develop and stretch young leaders and make them better and stronger. I am committing the rest of my leadership life to empowering young leaders and giving ministry away!
     At Next Level Church, we're not waiting for them to be perfect. We're trusting them now. What we're discovering is, when given true belief and opportunity, they rise to the occasion. And even when they fall short of the mark, they're amazingly thankful and teachable because of the chance we were willing to take.
     In conclusion, I can't think of a downside to empowering the young generation. Thank you London 2012 for getting it right and leading the world into a new day! May we leaders follow behind you.

#AddingValue

@MatthewKeller

The Up the Middle Church, my 1st Book :: Available Here

If you're a pastor, leader, church planter or young leader, I would love to spend some time with you, & one of the ways we can do that is through my 1st book that I released 3 years ago called the Up the Middle Church.

It's a collection of stories, principles & real-time leadership learnings that we learned through our journey of planting Next Level Church in 2002 in Southwest Florida.

I would be honored to tell my story to you and/or the leaders around you...

It's available here:

The Up the Middle Church

#ADDINGvalue...

@MatthewKeller

Dan Cathy interviewing Seth Godin! (Two of my Heroes in One Place!)

Dan Cathy, CEO of Chik-fil-A is definitely a Business Leader I admire & seek to learn from. (I actually have the privilege of sitting in a 60 minute Q and A a few years back... amazing!)

In this 4 minute clip, he is interviewing Seth Godin, who is a personal hero in the realm of marketing for me!

Enjoy...

Adding Value...

@MatthewKeller

Ready or Not, Here it Comes!!! - Part 3 (Repost)

Today we finish an article on How to Slay the Monster of Sunday. I would love to hear your feedback. Feel free to leave a comment,

Thanks,

Matt Keller

Taming the Monster of Sunday

(Help for Pastors under Pressure)

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.

Ready or Not, Here it Comes!!! - Part 2 (Repost)

On Monday, we began talking about the burden of "Every 7 days, ready or not" in the ministry...

Here's part 2...

Taming the Monster of Sunday - Part 2

(Help for Pastors under Pressure)

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.

Part 3 comes on Friday...

Raising Up Communicators - Part 3 (Repost)

This week we're talking about a common problem that many pastors have, which is not having the confidence in other members of your staff to carry the day with the message when you're gone or need a break.

This is the final installment of an article I wrote last year. Hope it helps,

Matt Keller

Raising Up Communicators - Part 3 (Repost)

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.

Raising Up Communicators - Part 2 (Repost)

Continued from Monday...

Raising Up Communicators - Part 2 (Repost)

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.



We'll finish our discussion on Friday...

Raising Up Communicators Article (Repost)

This week I am reposting as 3 posts, an article I wrote last August that was picked up by several ministry & church planting websites. The article is focused on How to Raise Up Communicators in your church on your staff.

The question I get asked often is: "How do I raise up others on my team to speak when I'm gone or need a break?"

I hope this week's posts will help you...

Matt

Raising Up Communicators (Repost)

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.)

We'll continue on with Part 2 on Wednesday.

As many of you know, part of my calling is to Coach other pastors & leaders across the country. Today I want to introduce you to...

Today, I am reposting an article written by one of the pastors I coach in Newark, Delaware, Mark Johnston. Mark is one of the brightest, passionate and articulate communicators I've heard in along time. Our coaching relationship began 2 years ago and in that time, I've seen Mark grow & expand as a leader. The church he leads, "The Journey" has also gained incredible traction in that time as well.

 

Mark & I meet monthly face-to-face on Tokbox.com for about an hour. Mark has also participated in my Next Level Coaching 1.0 Virtual Coaching Group.

 

You can follow Mark's blog at: 

 

http://yourjourney.typepad.com/mark_johnston/

 

Their Church's Website is: http://www.YourJourney.tv

I highly recommend listening to his podcasts... brilliant.

I hope you enjoy this article he wrote on "Coaching."

 

 

Send Me In, Coach

I’m not very athletic.  Okay, I’m not even slightly athletic.  Consequently, I didn’t have much of a chance growing up to interact with a coach.  (I tried out for the basketball team once, in seventh grade.  The coach was kind… but honest.) 

It wasn’t until much later that I began to understand the role of coaching in areas of life other than sports; and it wasn’t until a few years ago that I began to realize the explosive value coaching can bring.

Like you, I’m sure, I have some degree of talent – but I’m not even close to the top of the pile.  And along with my average abilities I also bring lots of naiveté, insecurity, bad habits, wrong attitudes, and ineffective tendencies to the table.  Coaching has helped me tackle (*gratuitous sports reference) all of these: systematically and much more effectively than I could have on my own.

Here’s what I’m learning about coaching:

• A coach doesn’t have to be an all-star player.  On any great sports team, most of the players can out-run, out-tackle, out-hit, or out-pitch their coach.  A coach isn’t just someone who’s great at the game, it’s someone who’s great at pointing out where you are great (and not so great) at the game.  The best coaches are people who blend analysis, encouragement, and discipline into every interaction in a way that leaves you informed, motivated, and determined to change.  When you’re looking for a coach, don’t just pick the person with the biggest successes; pick someone with admirable successes and a proven ability to train others.  You’re not choosing a coach you can brag about to your friends, but someone who can help you grow.
• The best coaches have a niche.  That’s why you’ll usually need several.  I asked one of my pastoral coaches once, “So, what are you doing to grow spiritually?”  His response?  “Probably the same things you’re doing.”  He’s still a great coach for church leadership, but I needed to look somewhere else for the specific spiritual growth stuff I was craving in that moment.  There’s nothing wrong with that!  If you play football and basketball, you probably won’t have the same coach for both (unless your school has some serious budget problems.)  Chances are good that no one person will be able to help you seek excellence in every area at once.  One of my goals this year is to find a parenting coach.  Don’t just seek out a coach, seek out coaches.
• Coaching only reaches maximum effectiveness when it’s paid forward.  I’ve experienced coaching for a few years now, but it’s only over the past several months that I’ve started coaching others.  I’m hugely humbled by the opportunity to spend monthly intentional time with a handful of people who are seeking insight, accountability, and support as they pursue leadership and ministry.  There’s something potent about this, about closing the loop – it perpetuates the growth you’re experiencing.  Look for people you can download from; and then look for people you can upload to.  It will take coaching to a whole new level for you.

I’m not good enough and I don’t have long enough to accomplish everything God has called me to accomplish.  That’s why I need coaching.  How about you?

“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come” (I Timothy 4:8 – NLT).

What Summer Slump?!?

For 8 years now, we have refused to buy into the whole Summer Slump theory at Next Level Church. Instead, we've worked under the theory that if people are home, then why not give them a reason to come to church & bring someone else w/ them? (After all, in this economy, stay-cations are becoming more popular & people are looking for something fun to do.)

This year we declared May & June "A Season of Sabbath" but then, on July 11th, we launched 1 of our big 3 series that we do all year (Easter & October being the other two) called "Who Do You Think You Are?"

We went with a 70's theme complete w/ an NLC Staff 70's photo shoot for the internal mailer that went out to our entire mailing list (1600 homes) of people that have attended at least once in the last 12 months.

In the first 3 weeks of the series, we've seen 50 1st time families!!! In the middle of summer, baby! We know that if we can grow now, we'll have some crazy momentum heading into fall.

To see some of what we did, go to: http://nextlevelchurch.com/video

Additionally, I know of several other churches that we coach who did a big summer series & have literally broken attendance records this summer!

I'm so glad we don't give in to the Summer Slump theory.

...just something to think about...

Matt