Launching A Leadership Revolution #4

Thursday, March 27, 2008

This Past Monday the topic in our leadership book study was "The Trilateral Leadership Ledger". After reading and discussing the chapter with several leaders, I still feel the same as I did before. I applaud the authors attempt to not only identify, but also try to measure 3 key leadership characteristics. However, any self-assessment tool is always suspect in my book. I know, at the very least, if you combine it with other's assessment, you may be able identify some areas of strengths and weaknesses.

In the bigger picture of tings, the three areas identify are of major importance to any leader; ignore them and you are sure to pay a big price in your leadership experience. Let's take a look at them closer.


Character: "What you become is always more important than what you accomplish". While I believe this to be true, it is extremely difficult to accomplish in any arena, including the church. I do believe that biblical character puts first your relationship with God and is not always considering the net results most often expected from the organizations we represent. The fact is this, you can have a great character and get nothing accomplish.

Task: It is easy for a leader to loose sight of your character when accomplishing an important task. But, like we have experienced in recent years with several corporate less-than-honest CEO, character is often compromised by a desire to succeed at any cost. ultimately, the price has to be paid when the truth comes out... and it always comes out! Just be careful, you can get things done and still have a questionable character... at least for a short while. The book offers a list of 9 character traits to consider. You can add your own.

1. honesty
2. Integrity
3. Courage
4. Proper Values based on absolute truth
5. Faith
6. A humble spirit
7. Patience with others
8. Discipline
9. Self-Mastery
10.___________________ (add you own)

Relationships: Relationships are key for any leader. After all, how can you accomplish a task without people? How can you lead people without relationships? I believe relationships are only second to your character when it comes to leading. Show me a leader who does not work on developing relationships and I will show you a leader who is slowly loosing influence.

By the way, relationships are not just the people you know, but the people you can count on.

The whole idea in this chapter is to help us identify the areas of strength and weaknesses and them get busy working in that area. So let me ask you; which one is your strength? Which one is your weakness? Any thoughts?

Easter Weekend recap @ FRC Doral

What an awesome Easter weekend!

First of all, you all really stepped up on Good Friday in such a big way. I asked you to:

a. Come out and show your love and appreciation for Pastor Troy & Steph.
b. Invite as many of your family and friends as possible.

You all did both these things, and the result was 308 of you came out that evening. This is historic because this is now the largest one service attendance since we started a little over two years ago.

Secondly, I asked you to also come out on Sunday as well. Many of you came out on Sunday as well, bringing our Sunday attendance to 326. Many first time visitors in all 3 services.

In case you need help with the math, that is a total of 634 this weekend alone. In addition, over 180 folks came forward responding to Pastor Troy's invitation.

In speaking to a young lady on Tuesday who visited for the first time, she told me it was the first time anyone invited her to attend our church. She went on to say, she probably would have come sooner had someone ask.

So keep asking. Keep praying. Let God do His thing. Let's be ready when the drive up to our campus.

Thanks for allowing God to use you all in this way. Do you have a story of someone you invited? I would love to know.

This Weekend... Are you inviting?

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

This weekend is one of those weekends you do not want to miss. First of all, Pastor Troy will be with us on Good Friday. We are excited to have him visit and I know he is looking forward to being there with all of you. As a result, I believe it is a perfect time to bring as many people as you can.

On Sunday, just like last year, we will be baptizing at Dania Beach. As of Monday we had over 450 folks commit to baptism on Easter Sunday... that is totally incredible! If you have not taking that step, there is still time. Just drop me an email and we can still make that happen.

On Easter Sunday at the Doral campus we will be having two services; 9:30 and 11:00am in English and our Spanish service immediately following the 11:0am worship time. Additionally, We will be baptizing as well after each service. You do not want to miss this great weekend! I look forward to seeing all of you there!

Check out all the other services we are having throughout the all the campuses:

Easter Service Times

Cooper City

* Good Friday March 21st: 7:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

* Saturday March 22nd: 5:00 p.m., 6:30 p.m.

* Sunday March 23rd: 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m.

Servicio en Español Sabado a las 8 p.m. Portuguese and Hungarian services Sunday at 7:00 p.m.

Doral

* Good Friday March 21st: 6:00 p.m.

* Sunday March 23rd: 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m.

Servicio en Español a las 11 a.m.

Hallandale Beach

* Sunday March 23rd: 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m.

Servicio en Epañol a las 12:30 p.m.

Sawgrass

* Sunday March 23rd: 9 a.m., 10:15 a.m.

Lima, Peru

* Saturday, March 22, at 10:30 AM at Cineplanet Alcazar.
* Sunday March 23rd: Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

Servicio en Español a las 9:00 a.m.

Internet Campus

* Good Friday March 21st: 7:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

* Saturday March 22nd: 5:00 p.m., 6:30 p.m.

* Sunday March 23rd: 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m.

* Servicio en Español Sabado a las 8 PM

Chapter 3... plan the work and work the plan.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

This chapter allowed our group to some great and insightful discussions. In this chapter, "The Cycle of Achievement", we discuss the importance of:

1. Having a Vision. A vision is tomorrow's reality expressed as an idea today. If you don't have this one down, there is no sense going on to the next one. Spend as much time as you need before going to the next one.

2. Setting Goals. Goals are an essential part of a leader's growth process. You can grow without a plan, but more than likely, it will not be consistent with the vision. By the way, goals are set in stone.

3. Developing a Game Plan. A game plan is like directions to a destination; it will get you there, but it is not the only way. The BIG idea here is to stay flexible. You may need to reroute your course when something unexpected happens. By the way, it may have caught us of guard, but God is not surprise...relax. "While goals are in set in stone, a game plan is set in sand".

4. Working! This is where many would be leaders stop. they have done everything up to this point, but now it is just too hard. The big one here for me is that you have to model what you expect others to do. Anyone could see through a leader that wants to manipulate, specially in the church. You get what you model!

5. Seeking Counsel. Only a selected few should serve in this capacity. We all need someone who can look at us and not feel intimidated to tell us the truth. Do you have someone like that in your life? Three practical suggestions:

a. That person should be a Christian. How can you receive counsel from someone who's values are not consistent with yours.

b. It MUST be someone from the same gender. If you don't follow this one, you may pay a high price. The risk is too high.

c. Don't go with the someone who is going to tell you what you want to hear. To do that would be a waste and counter productive to what you want to achieve.

As a leader our goal is to improve in our followship. To do this, we have to continue to challenge ourselves to grow. This is a great stradegy to put some handels on our process. Take time to really look at this closely and evaluate where you are at.

A couple of questions for you: Which one of these are you best at? Which one needs the most attention?

Launching A Leadership Revolution Chapter 2

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Last night was our second book study meeting. Everyone agrees, this is a great book! We had some great discussions. The three main points in this chapter were the characteristics of a leader. Here they are:

1. Hungry. Are you remaining hungry about what you are doing?
2. Hone-able. Are you focusing in on what is most important?
3. Honorable. What are you willing to compromise to accomplish your goals?

This chapter, like the first one, is full of great stuff. Here's my favorite quote found on the bottom of page 49:

"So leadership is spawned by hunger and held in check by honor."

Here's a question to ponder as I leave you... which one of the three Hs do you need to work on?

Launching A Leadership Revolution

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Last night I kicked off the new book study on the book: "Launching a Leadership Revolution." It was a great opportunity to take time with several of the Doral campus leaders and discuss questions like:

What is Leadership?

Why Leadership?

Is leadership an art or a Science?

Are leaders born or made?

The authors are not the first to come up with these answers, but they do present a healthy balance in coming up with answers.

what do you think?

Give my some feedback on what you think about these questions.