Thursday, August 22, 2013

Campus Pastor /// Year One Reflections

One year ago, today, I walked into Central Peninsula Church to start a new leadership role.  I wish I could say I was fully prepared for this role, but I wasn't.  I wish I could say I wasn't nervous the first day I walked into my new office, but I was totally nervous.  The one thing I was confident in the day I started my new role is: God has called me here.  Because God has called me here I want to share some big lessons I've learned in my first year of being a Campus Pastor.

Power of my words
When I was leading in High School Ministry my words had a good deal of weight, so I thought.  This year I've learned the power of my words.  There was a particular occasion when I said a simple yes to one of our leaders.  That yes was put into motion.  It wasn't a bad yes.  It wasn't a yes that anyone would have questioned; I needed to say yes but I learned how important every decision I make is.  Leading at the current level I'm at holds a much larger responsibility than I could have ever imagined.  This year I've learned how powerful my words are.

Team Value 
I've been blessed to work on many different teams in my life: soccer teams, football teams, mission teams and staff teams.  This year I had a huge leap as the one who leads the team.  Weekly I sit around a table with sixteen people who look to me as the team leader.  This year I've learned how important it is for our entire team to feel valued for who they are and what they bring to the table.  I have been super blessed to work on an amazing team and I value them dearly.

Transition
The first year can't be filled with all positive things.  The transition didn't happen immediately but it happened.  About six months into my first year our Elders made a tough call and we asked our High School Pastor to resign from his leadership position; that was tough.  At the end of June I was prepping to leave for our High School Houseboat trip when I had a regular meeting with our Children's Director.  During that meeting she pulled out a piece of paper and suddenly, and unexpectedly, resigned.  Transition on any team is going to happen, what matters is how you lead in transition.

Communication
When I started at CPC I felt like I was a pretty good communicator.  I had a style I had been using for a while and I never thought I'd change my communication style so drastically.  I like to give a manuscript of my message to my pastor to read before I preach.  One day, as he was leaving the office, I asked Mark if he got the copy I emailed to him.  He let me know he had it.  I quickly responded: "Make sure you're sitting down when you read it because its gonna be so amazing I don't want you to fall over."  The next day Mark gave me my manuscript, bleeding red with all the edits I needed to make.  He was right, it needed to change.  This year I think Mark has helped me become a better communicator.

Lots of Firsts
I've been in pastoral ministry for almost ten years now.  I've experienced many firsts but this year was a year of firsts for me.  From leading out on my first baby dedication, to speaking to over 1800+ people at our Outdoor Service and even having a chance to host the Global Leadership Summit.  This was a true year of firsts for me and it was a great learning experience.  Through all my firsts I was able to form new relationships with people on our Foster City Campus and in the community!

As I reflect on my first year of being a Campus Pastor there isn't much I would change.  I'm thankful our Elders gave me space to learn about the culture and DNA of CPC.  I'm thankful for all the new relationships I've made.  I'm thankful (and humbled) for the new level of leadership God has asked me to lead at.  Last week I was interviewing a potential High School Pastor and he asked me: "How come you're not taking the role, you seem like you would be the perfect fit."  It was nice to confidently respond: "Because God has called me to be a Campus Pastor."

Monday, August 12, 2013

Global Leadership Summit /// Day Two

The Global Leadership Summit is a great leadership event we hosted at Central Peninsula Church.  Here are my bullet point notes from day two (please note, I don't have notes from every session).

Vijay Govindarajan

  • Strategy is about leadership in the future
  • Box #1: Manage the present
  • Box #2: Forget the past (selectively)
  • Box #3: Create the future
  • How do you create the future while you manage the present?
  • Innovation is not just ideas, innovation is commercializing creativity 
  • Innovate leaders need to be humble
  • How are we creatively working towards the future (VG gave the example: if you want to eat fruit in 5 years, you need to plan the tree today)
  • Conflicts are not bad, conflicts are healthy as long as you know how to manage conflict on your team
  • Spend a little, earn A LOT
  • Innovations is about value for money
Dr. BrenĂ© Brown 
  • Studies: vulnerability, courage and shame
  • The irreducible needs of people: Love & Belonging (in the absence of Love & Belonging there is always shame)
  • Shame says: "I'm not enough"
  • Love isn't something we give, it something we cultivate (only when self love is involved)
  • We can't give what we don't have (example: courage, sense of belonging or permission for grace)
  • We can't give help when we're scared to ask for help
  • How do we navigate the gap from what we profess to what we practice
  • To find shame you have to shine light in dark places
  • Blame is toxic in organizations
  • Make space for people to fit in; for them to show up and be seen for who they are
  • We are born to be brave
  • You can choose courage or you can choose comfort but you can't choose them both; they are mutually exclusive. 
Dr. Henry Cloud
  • Henry talked through three things that ruin our thinking: personal, pervasive, permanent
  • Don't take it personal
  • The thought process pervades the brain and makes things seem bad
  • When is pervades the brain you think: "it will always be this way" and it becomes permanent.  
  • Think about your greatest accomplishments in life
  • Your life is more than a scene, its an entire movie.  Every good movie has scenes of crisis.
  • Your brain runs on three things: oxygen, glucose and relationships
  • Connect by talking about healing
  • Be in control of what you can be in control of

Friday, August 09, 2013

Global Leadership Summit 2013 /// Day One

Central Peninsula Church is a premier host site for the Global Leadership and here are my bullet point notes from the event

Bill Hybels
  • Don't give back your vision to God
  • Take risks as a leader
Colin Powell
  • Leadership is breaking science to get more out of people than you can
  • In leadership you get no where with out followers who want to follow you
  • Give leaders a sense of purpose
  • Leadership is about followership
  • Give people the resources they need to get the job done
  • Have simple things (sayings) you constantly repeat
  • Take care of your team
Patrick Lencioni
  • Its about getting a job thats not miserable
Things that lead to a miserable job:
1) Anonymity (makes you feel miserable)
* Make sure I show my team I care
* Good people don't leave jobs where they're known

2) Irrelevance (is a job killer)
* If you don't think your job matters its demotivating
* I need to help people find relevance in their ministry
* When someones job is to help us; celebrate that!

3) Immeasurement (no ability to measure your success) 
* People need to know their doing a good job
* Give people another ability to measure their performance

Liz Wiseman
  • Multiplier approach is to let people weigh in
  • Multiplier's challenge people without apology
  • Working for a diminisher is exhausting and boring
  • Working for a multiplier is exhausting and fun!
  • We do our greatest damage when we hold our greatest intentions
  • How do I be more of a multiplier?
Chris Brown
  • Jesus is asking me to give up my title, stage and authority for Him 
  • Call sin, sin
  • Shared leadership is better
  • Make room for other leaders, its not my Kingdom!
  • Our calling has to trump culture
Bob Goff
  • We don't do stuff so Jesus will think we're swell
  • People believe we're our biggest mistake
Mark Burnett
  • NO= Next Opportunity
  • Choose your companions before you choose your road
  • Don't keep energy suckers around
  • Not everybody is the right player on the right team
  • If the person at the top isn't wise enough to hand things off they won't succeed
  • Hire great people & let them do their job (get out of their way)

Monday, August 05, 2013

Love Does /// Book Review


Title: Love Does

Author: Bob Goff

Pages: 224

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Recommend: Yep, read it

Quotable: "I've realized that I used to be afraid of failing at the things that really mattered to me, but now I'm more afraid of succeeding at the things that don't matter." Page 30

My good friend told me about this book he was reading.  Every week when we met he would talk about how amazing the book was; so obviously I bought it.  In the first Chapter Bob caught my attention with his unique ability of story telling.  Honestly, I didn't believe what he wrote to be true.  I thought to myself: "there is no way anyone lives like this."  As I kept reading it became clear that Bob Goff lives like that.

Bob shares some great stories about how people impacted his life for Jesus and how he, in turn, has impacted others life's for Jesus.  The book is so good Charity ended up reading it to me while we had a get-a-way to Tahoe a few months ago.

Bob's stories have encouraged me to live more "open handedly".  Growing up in a home where money was tight I've constantly struggled with money.  After reading Love Does I'm leaving more encouraged to be the person God has called me to be, to be more open handed in life and to be ready to go on the adventures God has put right in front of me.  I'm not going to be perfect but I'm sure going to keep my eyes open to be a part of what God is doing around me!

I can't give you too much but I can encourage you to buy the book, read it and then let's have a coffee and talk about it!