MINISTERS MATTER

Tom White - Loving and Serving Ottawa (Mission O)

Tom White conducted a city transformation day in Ottawa on March 8th as a guest of Mission O. These are my notes from the day which included lots of interaction, conversation and testimony of what is happening in Ottawa, Toronto and Kingston, Ontario under his coaching expertise.

Tom White

Frontline Ministries

 

http://flministries.org/

 

Transformation...George Otis quote.

“There is, and will likely continue to be, gross spiritual darkness in the word. Our goal is not to make a new heaven and a new earth, but rather to create salty spots on the earth that stimulate a thirst for God. Like many salty appetizers, theses temporal transformations point the way to a larger, more satisfying meal to come.”

International Fellowship of Transformational Partners Definitions and Values

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Foundational Scriptures: Psalm 133; John 17; Ps. 127

God leads. We follow.

Relationship with Him and with each other.
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North India - Siliguri.

- a place where Tom is coaching.
- a story waiting to be told.
- prayer summits together.
- leaders decided to pray every Saturday morning 1 Timothy 2 prayers.
- last four years of prayer.
- a different city now. Political, economic, response to gospel Bengalis, Bihars.
- increase of government officials that are Christian.
- education of children.
- sex workers being ministered to.

Seven Mountains - whatever we call it.

How do we penetrate all aspects of society? Life is in city movements.
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Two Thoughts...

1) Transition from congregations, organizations, denominations and theological positions. Often we are too small in our view of what God is doing.

2) New Wineskins that are seeking to embrace all God desires to do in cities and nations.

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International movement focused on prayer and preparation of the next generation is called 4/14.

http://4to14window.com/
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Favour Factors - God is waiting to bless...

1) Submission to His Sovereignty Ps. 127:1-2;  Eph 3:14-21.

2) Intentional Unity Ps 133; Eph 4:1-3.

3) Humility Ps 131; Eph 4:1.

4) A Worshipping Community Ps 132; Eph 5:18-20.

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What is our objective?

Tom’s “Elevator Speech”

A City Transformation...

“To mobilize a united, praying Body of Christ to leverage a sustained kingdom influence that touches all spheres of local culture and results in measurable societal impact.”

“A chosen people, a royal priesthood, a people belonging to God (1 Peter 2:9) walking and working together to...

- proclaim the gospel ( good news )
- demonstrate Jesus’ compassion ( good deeds )

Bringing shalom to our city - a call to fullness, completeness.

Jesus wept over His city...do we?

How do we work together for the better of our city?

We carry the story of God’s kingdom to our city. Not a perfect place. Not a dominion. We will not Christianize our communities. But creating salty places.

Synergy is vital.

#1 Priority for followers of Jesus must be names in the Book of Life. More than compassion ministry of misplaced liberalism.

Where have I grown the most in serving my city?

Understanding the necessity of intentional leadership. It takes a city to change a culture. It takes catalytic leaders (apostolic leaders) to spark a movement.

It takes a movement among God’s people to change a city.

NYC - Leadership Institute to develop leaders who will act as apostolic leaders.

A Core Question

How does a city-reaching movement strengthen relationships and partnerships between its diversity of kingdom assets (pastors, non-profits, intercessors, marketplace, compassion ministries, emerging leaders) to labour together towards a sustained release of kingdom leaven that results in societal transformation?

Philippians 2 should be our manifesto to prefer one another and build relationships.

How do we, as kingdom leaders, lay aside our own labels for the greater good of our city?

Christian Direction with Glenn Smith as a resource person in Montreal.

Being able to measure the change in Ottawa - a quickening or acceleration.

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Emerging Paradigm of Kingdom Transformation

Transformational Streams...

Otis - Presence

Silvoso - Prayer

Graham, Palau, Mission America Coalition - Evangelism, Love Our Neighbourhoods, Follow the Jesus lifestyle

Perkins - Marketplace & Social Justice Church Partnerships

NYC - Gospel Movements

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City Transformation Streams

We are clearly in a season where a holistic kingdom paradigm of transformational change is emerging. This development involves...a synergy of transformational streams informed by Scripture, guided by the Holy Spirit and implemented in cities by men and women of faith and perseverance.

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What is required for the gospel to penetrate a community?

Definitions are important.
Articulation must be done properly.
Implementation strategically.

Theological Vision - a compelling, broadly shared vision that articulates the mission fo the Body of Christ to reach the city.

Gospel Ecosystems - a self-propagating cadre of leaders, institutions and networks collaborating on kingdom advance.

Revival - the supernatural, sovereign working of the Holy Spirit to awaken the Church and redeem the lost.

A Threefold Mission

To increase the percentage of Jesus followers in the city.
1 Peter 2:4-12.

To incarnate biblical justice by caring for the needs of the poor, marginalized and exploited. Is 58; Mt. 25:44-46.

To release the leaven of kingdom influence into all spheres of societal activity, resulting in measurable transformation of both individuals and institutions. Jer. 29:7.

A servant-leadership model that includes the following:

- Executive Team Members

- Partnering Ministries

- Collaborative Partnerships
                                                                
Partnering Ministries
Leadership Prayer Groups
Youth Outreach
Women in Ministry
College Campus
Communities
Intercession NHOP
Compassion Ministry

Collaborative Partnerships
Government
Social Services
Education
Business
Arts & Media
Legal System
Sports / Recreation

Who are the influencers in our city?

Kingston Ontario Model

A model of leadership representative of the city.

Every city has it’s own DNA.

They asked the queston..what does God want for our city?

5 leaders
4 Pastors and 1 Marketplace.

Restructured it and now it is 14 leaders of all ages.

On ramps and off ramps. Leaders can come and go. Times and seasons. Function and fluid.

No committee mindset.

Defining. Aligning. Assigning.

Gather weekly to pray as city leaders.

Love & Respect example from Ottawa’s experience.

MISSION O

Neighbourhoods
Youth
Internationals
Marketplace
Poor

Core Values

Prayer
Mission
Relationship

Tom’s Final Thoughts

Eric Whiteacre talk at TED on You Tube - the value of each person's calling and gifting working together.

Ottawa - A Capital City.
Geography matters. Regions. Towns. Cities.
Partnerships between cities is helpful. Ottawa-Kingston.
When God moves, it is uncontainable.
Early majority. Like early adopters.
Willow’s study called The Reveal.
Multi-generational. 4/14 example.

10 Keys To A Smart Staffing Strategy by Tony Morgan

I get to spend a lot of time with churches either consulting related to staffing and structure or helping churches with searches for senior-level leaders. Here are some of the philosophies that shape how I coach leaders about church staffing. Use this as a guide...

10 Keys to a Smart Staffing Strategy

1. Think strategy before staffing structure. What's your discipleship strategy? How do you help people who are new to your church become fully-devoted followers of Christ? How do you reach people outside the faith and outside the church? Build your staffing structure around that strategy.

2. Hire ministry leaders rather than ministry doers. In the church, you'll never have enough money to hire the people you need to do ministry. The temptation is always to hire the person who is getting it done, but you really need to hire the people who are more capable of building the team.

3. Whenever possible, hire from within your church. They're more likely to embrace the vision, values and strategy of your church. You'll probably also have a better sense of how they'll fit with your existing team.

4. But don't assume the inside person is the best person. I've witnessed plenty of inside hires that didn't work out. Outsiders may be helpful when you need a shift in philosophy or strategy. Outsiders may be helpful when you need experienced leadership. Outsiders may be helpful when you need a specialized skill. You have to weigh every situation and role individually to discern the right next hire.

5. Include multiple voices in the selection process. Include supervisors, peers and folks that will serve under the new person. If it's a specialized skill, invite leaders from other churches to participate in the interviews. You might ultimately be the person who makes the hire, but it's always better to have other people interact with the candidate to determine if there are any red flags.

6. Revisit your structure on a regular basis. This applies whether you are growing, declining or plateaued. In times of significant growth, you may need to do this every year or two.

7. You have to get the "right" people in the "right" roles. And this will change over time. God designed the body of Christ to embrace spiritual gifts to fulfill our mission. Any time we have people operating outside of their gift mix, we are minimizing the potential ministry impact.

8. Pay close attention to chemistry and connection with your vision and strategy. This is huge. It's very unlikely that you'll ever have to fire someone because they don't have the capacity to get the job done. If you have to let someone go, it's more likely to happen because they don't fit with the rest of the team or they don't embrace your vision and strategy.

9. Maintain a healthy staffing ratio. Try to target one full-time equivalent staff member for every 100 people who attend your church. That includes pastors, directors, housekeeping, administrative assistants and anyone else you pay. To calculate full-time equivalents, add up the total hours that your part-time staff works each week and divide by 40. Then add that number to the number of full-time staff. Trying to maintain this ratio will force you to think volunteers before staff.

10. Pray and listen. You'd think this one would be a given, but I'm amazed at how many times leaders downplay Holy Spirit promptings, gut feelings, that voice in your head or however you want to describe that sense that someone is or isn't the right fit. Pay attention to those checks that cause you to second-guess. Again, this is why it's so important to have others involved in the process to help discern the intangibles.

That's my list. Based on your experience, what would you add or subtract from this list?

Tony Morgan is the Pastor of Ministries at West Ridge Church near Atlanta. He’s also a strategist, coach, writer, speaker and consultant who equips leaders and churches to impact their communities for Christ.

Read more of his thoughts at www.tonymorganlive.com.

Five Things The Lord Is Teaching Me Through My Fathers Death - Perry Noble

http://www.perrynoble.com/

He is the Senior Pastor of NewSpring Church in South Carolina.

August 3, 2011

#1 – Eternity is reality, everyone is going to die and spend eternity somewhere…and there is amazing peace when you know that someone you loved has been made new and is in the presence of Christ.  (Hebrews 9:27, James 4:13-17)

#2 – Everyone grieves differently…and grief is a very natural and perfectly acceptable thing for us as humans to feel.  However, as there is a season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) I cannot allow the death of someone I love to rob me of the life that I have left.  I will always feel a deep sense of loss in regards to my dad…but grief is not a place for me to stay but rather a season I must go through…and there IS joy on the other side.  (Psalm 30:1-5)

#3 – Romans 8:28 is true…even when I don’t feel it.  As I’ve said before, maturity in a believer is marked by when we choose to trust what God’s Word says rather than the way we feel.  Doing this isn’t always the easiest thing (as I’ve discovered the past several days)…but the FACTS of God’s Word are way more reliable than my FEELINGS!  This has been a struggle for me…but at the end of the day I know God is good, that He gives good gifts to His children (Matthew 7:7-11) and that He is near everyone when they hurt (Matthew 5:4).

(Knowing all of the theological answers does not remove the emotional pain…but it does help me to deal with it one step at a time!)

#4 – Relationships with other people should not be taken for granted.  I had no idea when I walked away from my dad on Saturday, July 23 that it would be the last time I saw him alive.  I told him that I loved him…that was the last words he heard out of my mouth and for that I am extremely grateful. 

(As I recall those were the last words I spoke to my mother before her passing as well.)  We should NEVER assume that people know how we feel about them…and IF there is someone in your life, ESPECIALLY a parent, then you should do all that you can do to make that relationship right!  (You may need to stop reading right now and break off a phone call…life is too short to live with bitterness and regret!)

#5 – I am so thankful for an incredible wife and daughter, unbelievable friends and an amazing church.  This world will crush someone who tries to face it alone…and our core value of “I can’t do life alone” has never been more real to me that it has been this past week.

LISTENING FOR GOD'S VOICE

Just sat through the most wonderful message that my son Jason shared this morning at Lifecentre on 'Listening for God's Voice'. He is doing a new series called 'Whispers'. A whisper. It's spoken softly in quiet tones. It's hard to hear and easy to miss. And it's often how God communicates with us. Find out what happens when we pay attention to the whispers of God in our lives during times of silence, in all seasons, and in the midst of a storm.

CHURCH PLANTING

Tonight I finished teaching a six-week course at Ottawa School of the Bible on Church Planting. It was a blast. Great students with a wonderful future in the life of the Christian community at Lifecentre and beyond.

Having planted daughter churches that have given birth to granddaughter churches has been a rewarding experience. Some of those pastors are graduates of our bible school and have taken the church planting course.

No two churches are the same. They each have their own personality and approach to ministry that fits who they are. Even scripture is vague on the method of doing church but clear on what needs to be taught to make disciples who can make disciples.

The course has varied over the years and we have tried different approaches. Looking back, I see the wisdom in being flexible on methods yet clear on the essentials.

We worked through Andy Stanley's book '7 Practices of Effective Ministry' which helped us to rethink an often taboo subject in church life - results. I'd encourage you to read this inspiring book.

Here are the seven subjects and the content can be found in previous blogs under practices.

1. Clarify the win.
2. Think Steps not programs.
3. Narrow the focus.
4. Teach less for more.
5. Listen to outsiders.
6. Replace yourself.
7. Work on your ministry.

At Mission O, Ministers Matter!

SEVEN PRACTICES OF EFFECTIVE MINISTRY 7/7

PRACTICE No. 7 WORK ON IT - positions us for discovery.

“To maintain your relevance, your sanity, and your effectiveness, you must carve out time in your schedule to step back and evaluate what you are doing and how you are doing it.

All of us work in ministry every day, but is that enough?

Working on your ministry requires time to evaluate your work and to celebrate your wins.”

Jesus to His disciples in Mark 6:31 when He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.”

AT LIFECENTRE

Off-site to work on what we do. Grow days. Summer schedule with a study day. Holiday breaks to rest from ministry.

A Final Challenge

We trust that these seven principles will continue to add value to your experience as a functioning member of the local church.

At Mission O, Ministers Matter!

SEVEN PRACTICES OF EFFECTIVE MINISTRY 6/7

PRACTICE No. 6 REPLACE YOURSELF - assures us of longevity and legacy.

“One day someone else will be doing what you are doing. Whether you have an exit strategy or not, ultimately, you will exit. So embrace the inevitable and prepare now for the future.

We all get replaced eventually.

The wisest leader will extend his or her influence by finding and mentoring their replacement.

Learn to hand off what you do to another.”

Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings 2:1

This is a process of going from one place  of significance to another while training your protege along the way.

Gilgal - the place of circumcision.
Bethel - house of prayer.
Jericho - the place of the supernatural.
Jordan - the place of faith.

Jesus and His disciples. Paul and Timothy.

AT LIFECENTRE

Barry to Jason. Joyce to Nathalie. Every area to mentor and reproduce.

At Mission O, Ministers Matter!

SEVEN PRACTICES OF EFFECTIVE MINISTRY 5/7

PRACTICE No. 5 - LISTEN TO OUTSIDERS - keeps us focused on growth.

“The needs and interests of insiders have a tendency to determine the agenda of the church. This is especially true of the local church.

Why don't the un-churched people in your area go to church? Could it be because you're focusing on who you're trying to keep instead of who you're trying to reach?”

Jesus in Matthew 16:13 asks Peter a question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” It is good to know what outsiders are thinking and the comments they are making. That is being wise.

AT LIFECENTRE

You invite. We invest. Everyone bring one. Beyond the walls focus. When we speak we don’t assume that everyone is a follower of Christ, nor do we assume that everyone knows the bible. We understand that most people are biblically illiterate.

At Mission O, Ministers Matter!

SEVEN PRACTICES OF EFFECTIVE MINISTRY 4/7

PRACTICE No. 4 - TEACH LESS FOR MORE - guarantees that we stay relevant.

“The less you say, the more you will communicate. You will be more effective at every level of the church if you say only what you need to say to the people who need to hear it. People are bombarded by thousands of messages every week. If the local church is going to be effective it must cut through the noise.”

Jesus’ conversation with Peter in John 21:22 when He said, “What is that to you? You follow Me.”

How clear can that be? Think of all the ‘why’ questions Peter could be asked.

AT LIFECENTRE

We identify what needs to be taught and do a specific series. Discussion in LifeGroups. Community Life service.

In addition, we plan our series six months in advance while always remaining flexible in shifting where the Holy Spirit would have us go.

At Mission O, Ministers Matter!

SEVEN PRACTICES OF EFFECTIVE MINISTRY 3/7

PRACTICE 3 NARROW THE FOCUS - points us towards excellence.

“Focus is the key to achieving excellence and making an impact.

Each ministry environment should be designed to do no more than one or two things. The longer a ministry operates the more complex it can become.

In order to maintain a winning church culture we must continually face the challenge of narrowing the focus or doing less.”

Paul in Philippians 3:13 is straining towards the goal and says, “but one thing I do.” He knows the importance of narrowing the focus down to what is important and necessary.

AT LIFECENTRE. We reduced outside speakers and conferences. We focused on community building through small groups and healthy accountability.

We developed a comprehensive policy manual for staff and are currently working through each of our ministries so those who volunteer know exactly how they can best use their gifts.

As well, we ask for one ministry year commitment from volunteers so they don’t feel ‘trapped’ in a ministry forever and they can experience serving in the whole community context.

Tomorrow: Teach less for more.

At Mission O, Ministers Matter!