Video Transcript: Looking Ahead

Welcome to this 11th session of learning to lead. Notice I tell you to title this one looking  ahead, we have been looking for several weeks now 10 of them have the process of being a  leader. And I've been using this model, that the leader interacts with culture to create a vision for a preferable future. And then as the impetus for using the prayer and the planning that are necessary to make that future become a reality, or here it is, in words, a leader, with all of us  pluses and minuses, strengths and weaknesses interacts with a group of people to define the  culture, which is the way we do things here, in order to develop a vision for a preferable  future, and then provides the impetus for doing the actions necessary to bring about that  future with plans and prayer. We've been talking about that leader. That's why I highlighted  him in this one. What does it mean to be a leader? How do you define what goes into being a  leader, we've been looking at all that stuff. Now, I have to say that there have been some  changes since I started this class. When I started, I developed a model, saying we're going to  look at the leader, and then we're going to look at culture. And then we're going to look at  vision. And then we're going to look at plans and prayer, we're going to look at those types of  things. But the decision was made by us here at Christian leaders institute that we've been  talking about being a leader is so important that that is now going into the introductory  course the 101 course here Christian leadership. And the rest of what we've been talking  about we'll be talking about is moved into another class. And so I just want to give you an  encouragement to sign up for that other class, it's going to be a class on leadership. And I'm  going to be teaching that along with some invited people who are going to interview about  key stuff. So in that next class, here are some of the things that we're going to be looking at  culture, the way we do things here, culture is crucial to your understanding of leadership,  because you've got to understand how things are done in the place where you are, in order to develop a meaningful future vision of a preferable future. If you don't know the culture, you're going to make all sorts of mistakes, put down their vision of example of Latin America. When I was in college, I had the privilege of taking a singing tour, I was with a singing group of three  of us. And we were invited to a singing tour a mission output outposts in Latin America. And  we were rather naive, I don't think I'd ever been out of the country except to go to Canada at  that point. And we were going to these places we were singing in Spanish, we learned the  Spanish language by rote as for the songs that we were singing, and so he we were going  from place to place. And the surprise for us was that, instead of clapping at the end of a song  or at the end of a presentation. What they do is kind of this in, in the places we were, and this is a long time ago, and that may have changed by then. But we were rather curious about  that. And, and then after the end of one, particularly moving song, you know, when they were doing that, and we began to clap, because we wanted to give glory to God. And we found out  that clapping in that culture where we were, was a not a good thing. It was considered very  negative. And so they had trouble understanding us. And all of a sudden, the cultural divide  was so great that they couldn't understand who we were what we were. And so if you look at  our culture in the United States, compared to Latin American culture, there are things like the  group versus the individual, we are very individualistic in the United States. And if you're  working here, you have to keep that in mind as you're thinking about vision for the future.  Latin American people tend in general, to have a culture that focuses on the group, their  focus is on family. In the United States, we have a passion about starting times that they are  set in concrete, and boy, you better be there on time, or you can be fashionably late. But in  some cultures in Latin America, the idea of coming on the time that stated for the beginning  of an event is considered rude. And so that's one difference between a groups of people. Now, there are national cultures that you have to be aware of. And in that class that I'm developing  leadership that you can find elsewhere in the CLI process. We're going to talk about that what  the United States culture looks like and how to define that culture and how to apply it to  planning. You're gonna have ethnic culture. There's a vast difference between African  Americans and white culture in the United States, generally speaking again, we're going to  have a wonderful interview with a new friend of mine named Maya Clark, who is an educator  in Muskegon, Michigan, where it's predominantly African American, and some of her plans as  a leader for her vision for the future to change some of the culture that exists. So you can  have ethnic culture, and you got to be aware of what, what are the unique characteristics of 

the ethnic groups who are working with generational culture, there's a vast difference here in  the United States, between somebody from the builder generation, that is somebody born  before World War Two. And the millennials, which is the generation that is now you're coming  into their teens and early 20s. You're going to plan a ministry for this group of people that  looks like that group of people's preferences, you're going to fail, because you will be looking  at an entirely different culture, and they will not be able to relate. And they'll just be angry if  you try to create and so you've got to be aware of generational culture. And we're going to  talk with a friend of mine named John Burden, about how he views working with a variety of  cultures, or a variety of ethnic and group and Age cultures within his congregation. Now,  every group develops a culture, the way we do things here. If you're working in a church, that  church will have a culture and that culture can be vastly different than other churches. Now,  I've got a friend who works in St. Pat's Catholic Church, in our area here. And if you go to that  church, you will find a very, very, very, very different than the Pentecostal church that I  attended a week and a half ago, the the approaches to worship are vastly different, the  approaches to how they do missions is vastly different. And so every church, every group, has its own culture, and you have to learn how to define those cultures, if you're going to decide  on a preferable future of vision. And so, in that class, we're going to look at how you do that?  How do you determine the values that exist within a group of people? How do you? How do  you define what that culture is, in a way that helps you understand what needs to change if  that a ministry, that church or that company that you're a part of, is going to succeed in the  future. So invite you to that study. Then we're going to move from the culture that is the  mission statement, stories, physical layout rules, and policies and rituals. And all of those  things, we'll define all of those into the idea of vision. Now, the vision is the idea of a  preferred future. And you'll notice in that box that I put the star there that the preferred future vision becomes the star that you steer by not, not a simple maps to be followed. In other  words, it's something that we're looking at that says, here's what's going to guide us as we  make our plans for the future. And so it's not a map that you say, well, we're going to do this,  and then we're going to do this, we're going to do this. It's more like, this is where we are  going. And so we're going to talk about a variety of things. The vision of what you're doing is  a big picture. That's what leaders get. I put in there. The example of building a cathedral is an old story about a man approaching group or people who are engaged in building a large  cathedral and approach the man who was mixing mortar down to the bottom. He says, Well,  what are you doing? And he said, Well, I'm mixing mortar, so the bricklayer Can, can lay his  bricks, and goes to the bricklayer and says, Well, what are you doing? And the bricklayer says, Well, I'm building this wall, I'm putting one brick on top of another until I build this wall. He  sees a man working with a hammer on a piece of stone, he says, What are you doing? He  says, I'm fashioning a stone, because up on that wall, there's a particular spot that needs this  particular size stone, and that's what I'm doing. And then it goes to another man who seems  to just be overseeing it all and says, What are you doing? And he says, I'm building a great  cathedral for the glory of God. The visionary leader, the one who helps the group create a  vision helps them all see that we're creating a great cathedral. And so in that section of that  class, we're going to be looking at the difference between a mission statement or your  mission, which is what we're doing now and what we are, who we are at our core, and a vision statement. What is a vision statement like? So we're going to look at steps to create a vision  for the ministry you are in, and then we're going to look at crafting a mission statement, a  pithy one or two sentence summary of where you're going, and what the future is going to  look like in your organization. And then we're going to look at some keys to how you  communicate that vision in an effective way. And then we're also going to look at things that  kill vision there are a variety of things that are really good at taking your vision and knocking  it down. And we're going to look at those and how to address those in the class that we're  calling the vision killers. And so that's part of it, then we're going to look at planning, you'll  notice that yellow box there, prayer and the planning that are necessary for the vision to  become reality. In that section, we're going to look at a variety of things we're going to talk  about how do you create a strategic plan. If you've looked at the culture, one of the things  you'll examine is the values that exist in that culture, well, some of those values are going to 

have to change for the preferable future. And so you're going to be able to identify those,  then talk about change in practices, and how you how you integrate that into your strategic  plan, that there are changes. Maybe if you're in a church in worship style, there are changes  in what you're going to focus on for where money goes, as far as whether it goes to children  or youth ministries or Adult Ministries or outreach ministries, I'll be changing practices and  practices. And they'll be changing beliefs. If a vision is true, now, I'm not talking here about  your basic theology in any shape, or form. But there'll be changes in what you think is  important, and what the group thinks is important. And we'll talk about different kinds of  plans. There are conceptual plans, strategic plans, and tactical plans. And we'll define all of  those and how they work. And I'll give you tools to use in that process of making those kinds  of different definitions. And so look at a planning process that I learned through a group  training with some consultants here in the United States. And then we're going to have to look at change in itself. Change is a powerful thing for people and generally speaking, it is not well  received. And we're going to look at the fact that there is a spectrum that about two and a  half percent of the people, you you share a great idea within a vision for are going to go after  it and say yes, that's what we want, because they're called innovators, and they go after  anything that's new, and exciting. And then there's going to be a group called the Early  Majority about 34%, who, when you're presented, if you're presenting it, well, are going to  grab on to a new vision and saying, yes, we want to be part of that. But you're still not up to a majority of the people. There's some late majority people about 34% of the people who are  never going to come on board with a vision unless they see that work. And they see the logic  of it, and they see some of the winning that happens. And then they'll start adopting. And so  we're going to talk about change in those kinds of areas. And we're going to acknowledge that there's a price to pay for leadership, a price to pay, that's a challenge. And then that process  example is a friend of mine named Frank Weaver's, and we're going to do an interview with  him. And you'll hear him share. he led a church that grew magnificently went through a  relocation, and you'll share some of the pain of being criticized for your leadership. And in  fact, he'll share that one guy carried a box around and when somebody asked him what is  that he said, it's a casket for my pastor, I think it was just hoping and praying that his pastor  would die. So there's a price to pay as you create this change, but we're going to look at a  process to follow that will hopefully mitigate that, to some respect that it will allow a  gathering of support and will allow a joyful acknowledgement of the truth of the vision that  it's something from God, and that people will get on board and be excited about. And then  we're going to do a section just on things to keep in mind, as you start changing, for instance, the need to appeal to people's emotions. The need to acknowledge that change is difficult,  but not make that the focus. As you know, you sympathize when people are having a hard  time with the changes. You keep on holding the vision up and how you keep on doing that in a way that will cement the change into the new culture that is developed. And then we're also  going to talk about the fact that this is a war. Our battle is not against flesh and blood. That's  a statement from Ephesians chapter six, where Paul describes the spiritual battle. And many  times we can get that all wrong. You know, we look at somebody who's being a problem. And  we can assume right away that they are the problem. And we can just fix them. We wouldn't  be having these problems in division, but to acknowledge that anytime you're going through a change that is going to significantly impact the capacity of your organization or your church  or your ministry, to change the world for the greater glory of God. There's going to be enemy  activity that goes along with it. And we're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about  how you tap into the fact of what's going on beyond what's going on. You remember, when  Elijah and his servant are tracked encircled in Dothan, and Elisha prays that his servants eyes  might be opened, and he sees the army of God surrounding that group that are here to  capture Elijah and take him and probably kill him. So how do you tap into that? How do you  engage in spiritual warfare? How do you identify when the enemy is involved? Or if it's just a  stubborn person? And and what weapons do we use in that spiritual warfare as we are living  out this call to be leadership, people and change agents. So all that's coming. Now, I want to  summarize these first 10 sessions that we've done in this 11th. One, I just calling you to being responsible in leadership. This is from Romans 12 verse 8b, Paul is talking there about leaders

and leadership, but he's talking not just about that, he's talking about spiritual gifts, the fact  that each one of us has been given a special ability to do something well, it's not because  we're such good people, it's because the spirit has something that's needed within the body  of Jesus Christ. And in the body of Jesus Christ, what's needed are a variety of things, we need people who are able to teach, we need people who are able to comfort and to care, we need  people who are going to be prayers, we're going to be intercessors, for the church at large.  And for individuals as well. We need a variety of aspects of spiritual gifts, but one of those  spiritual gifts, one of those abilities to do something well, is leadership, and this is his  statement, if your gift is leadership, let that person govern diligently. If your position in the  kingdom is leadership, govern diligently take it seriously. Now, leadership, in some respects, is looked at, as the thing to be nowadays, at least here in the United States. There's a  wonderful, true story about a young woman who applied to college, she wanted to further  education. And so she's writing out all of the application questions and answers and gets to  one of the last questions that says, Are you a leader? And she looked at herself, she knew  what they wanted. They wanted her to say, Yes, I'm a leader, because she assumed rightly,  that College wants to prepare leaders for the future, people are going to change the future,  we're going to be effective and leading the future of organizations and further the kingdom  and Christian university or college. And so she thought about putting down yes, I'm a leader,  but she worked simply wrote, No, I am not. Well, she got a letter back from the college and  said, Dear applicant, a study of the application forms revealed that this year, our college will  have 1452 new leaders, we are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have  at least one follower. So leadership is the thing to say and the thing to do. But the reality is  there's a very real position of leadership, that if you're taking this next course, you're going to recognize that God has called you to be part of that. I put down here earlier here, this Jeff  Strike message. I was reading a message from him this morning, in which he talked about  leadership, focused on that verse from Romans 12. And the title of it was, If I Lead Will  Anybody Follow and he looks at leadership from a variety of ways, but basically ends up  saying that this is what we're called to be in the church. There are some who have a position  of leadership. But there are a variety of others who are just leaders. This is who they are. This  is what God has called them to be. And sometimes they hold official positions. They are the  elders in a church or the other pastor in a church or they're the Deacons in a church. But  many times it's not the official position. In fact, he shares a story of a group that he was a  church that he was in, where they were looking at a problem and they couldn't come up with  a solution. So they determined that they were going to go to a former elder and simply  consult his advice because he was known as somebody wise and known as a leader and so  they consulted this former leader and gain insight from him in order to go into the future. If  you're called to be a leader, you're one of those people who focused on the future and was  able to move forward Now, if you are called to be a leader, you are called to be somebody  who stands before to stand in front the word lead, there are leader, if your gift is leadership is  the word pro-istemi, they me in the original language of the New Testament, which was Greek.  And it means to stand before or more importantly in, in the view of leadership, to stand in  front to be somebody who's moving people forward, who's moving organizations forward. This is an incredible privilege that you are called to. Now I as I shared in the opening session of  this brief class, I felt called to be a leader, some 40. Some years ago, as I had a goal to be  somebody who was involved in music, that's what I wanted to be. And then I felt the call of  God to become a leader in his church. And recently, I retired from the church pastor  leadership part instead of doing things like this, and I'm doing consulting with various groups  and that sort of thing. But in reflecting on my retirement one day, God gave me a vision of the privilege I've had on leadership. See, when I was called into ministry, I wanted to do music.  That's what I was planning on. That's what I was preparing to do. I was a Christian from the  time I was a child, as far as I remember early on, my mother teaching me that Jesus loves me  this I know for the Bible tells me so and I believed it. And I invited Jesus Christ into my heart.  And I can't remember a time that I didn't believe that Jesus Christ loved me, and wanted me  to be part of his family and to be part of His kingdom. And then when I got in high school, and was thinking about, Okay, what am I going to do with my life, I wanted it to be in Christian 

music, but I wanted it to be in music. And then I was part of a movement of people where God created a small mini revival in the high school I was part of, we had a time of when a group  came from another school, and they simply shared as high school students, how their lives  were changing, as they began to ask not, what do I want to do with my life? They weren't  asking that they were asking, What does God want me to do with my life? And somehow the  Spirit of God moved that day. And there were about 250 of us, who came forward to  rededicating ourselves to asking that question, What does God want me to do in my life? I  came forward, as one of those, we began to meet on Thursday nights, we called it the  happening. We did some singing, they open the school to us, there were no adult supervision,  there was all our high school kids gathering together. And we would do some large group  worship. And we break off a small group Bible study sitting around the hallways. And it was  there that people began to sense in me something that suggested that maybe ministry was a  place for me. I'll tell you more about the story of my call to ministry in the next session, but as we did that, I began to think well, maybe that could be possible. And so I went to God I  bargain with God is probably the only was really offensive to him as far as the bargaining  because I said, I don't really like school all that much, and the thought of going to college and  then to seminary and, and who knows what to become a pastor, I was a little reluctant. And  financially, my family was not well off to finance, that many years of continuing education. So  I said, Okay, God, I'll tell you I go, this is the deal. You make it possible for me to go as far as  my own ability to be a student, and the financial resources necessary to get there. And okay,  I'll do it. After 39 years of pastoral ministry, in three different churches, three different  settings, three different cultures, and learning how to be a leader. I was reflecting one day  how I would say goodbye to a group of people that I've pastored for 11 years. And all of a  sudden, his vision came to me, and the fact that I, when I thought of going into ministry,  particularly, particularly a preaching ministry, I thought of being on stage. And I thought,  okay, that's okay. I was thinking of being a musician, and I thought that would feed the  narcissistic side of me that likes attention. And I thought, well, if I go into preaching ministry,  at least I'll be on stage. I'll get the attention of people gathered to me. And then God gave me this vision, the fact that I hadn't been on stage for 39 years, but God had been on stage. And I have this privileged position as a leader within the kingdom of God to see him at work in  individual lives. To see people coming to faith, committing their lives to Him, committing their  their futures to him, their plans to him. I've seen a church grow and change, create visions  and new visions for the future when when one vision was completed and met to, to look at  another vision and impact 1000s of people, I had the privilege of being in the front seat, that's been my privilege as a leader, to be in the front row. Watching God at work, I've seen people  spiritually grow, coming in as rather complacent, complacent individuals, and becoming on  fire for the sake of Jesus Christ, and leaving staff in my one church, and heading out to World  Missions to make a difference. And see, it's a great privilege, you have to be a leader in the  kingdom, one where you get to see things other people just don't get to see. And so I want to  encourage you in your leadership, to encourage you in stepping up boldly in the name of  Jesus Christ, to acknowledge who you are as a leader, and all these things we've talked about, but then to look forward and to be able to say, yeah, by the grace of God, I am going to lead  diligently in a way that will bring glory to Jesus Christ and will build His kingdom. And God will  allow you one day to see what that's like when you appear before him and you're given a  vision of the past. And you hear his voice say, Well done, good and faithful servant, and so be  diligent servants, in the name of Jesus and for His glory.