Encouraging Words from Cary Schmidt » leadership

Introducing—Higher Call Student Summits

caryschmidt — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:00:20 +0000

If you are a student ministry leader or worker, we invite you to participate in the Higher Call Student Summits in 2012!

Beginning in February, Bryan Samms and I have the privilege of partnering with four churches in four regions of the country for the Higher Call Student Summits. These meetings are two-day events hosted by a church in conjunction with West Coast Baptist College. They will feature Bible preaching and teaching for students, as well as practical training and encouragement for leaders.

These events are free for your youth groups, and take place on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. You can find out more specific details about dates, locations, schedule, etc. if you visit www.wcbc.edu/highercall.

Every hour of the Student Summits has been planned with prayer—for the purpose of challenging young people to rise above culture and commit to the call of Jesus Christ, and to encourage and equip youth leaders in student ministry.

I’m thankful for the privilege to have part in these meetings, and am looking forward to the fellowship we will have with youth groups and leaders! It would be a great honor to meet you and host your group, if you live within driving distance.

The summits will be held near four major regions in 2012—West Florida (February 24-25), Memphis, TN (March 30-31), Atlanta, GA (September 7-8), and Dallas, TX (November 2-3).

Registration is free and simple. Just visit the web site and submit your basic information and the approximate number of students you would bring. Also, we will be happy to send you brochures to distribute to your youth group if you request them when you register.

We hope to see you at one of the summits! Let me know if you have questions!

Thoughts On Blogging…

caryschmidt — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:35:42 +0000

I’ll never forget the first time I heard the word “blog.” It sounded like my friend burped. And the concept sounded about as stupid. That was years ago, and—well, it is self-evident that the concept caught on, not only for me but for millions of others. We live in a day when everybody and their brother has a blog. And like every other form of media or communication—blogging has its positives and negatives in contributing to daily life on earth.

Some people blog for business reasons. Some blog for family. Some blog for gossip and criticism. Some blog for platform or personal “branding.” For better or worse, blogging is here. And here’s why and how I jumped in:

Reasons I Blog:

1. To Glorify the Lord Jesus—I desire for every single opportunity for ministry and every single word of ministry to honor the Lord Jesus. To me, social networking and blogging are purely and simply ministry opportunities.

2. To Encourage Others—I remember sitting down to think of a name for this blog and immediately thought of “Encouraging Words.” I wanted something “cooler” but came up with nothing but blanks! I am encouraged by reading the blogs of friends, so perhaps I can return the favor. It’s that simple.

3. To Pass Along Helpful Information—A lot of my friends in ministry exchange ideas and questions back and forth. It occurred to me that a blog would be a reasonable place to post such questions/thoughts that might help others in similar situations.

4. To Inform Ministry Friends of Resources—I desired a way to inform friends when our ministry is introducing a new book, curriculum, or resource.

5. To Have a Place to Share Ministry Experiences—My ministry learning curve is still HUGE, I realize that. But I still enjoy posting some learning experiences here that might help someone in ministry who is younger than me.

6. To Protect My Name Online—This is perhaps the last of all reasons, but occasionally I am slandered online. Why should I give Google results to someone who is lying about me?

7. To Grow in Writing—Sitting down to write here, on my personal time, helps me grow, think, and stretch myself. Some people golf. Others boat. Some play the stock market. Everybody has some sort of hobby or interest that helps them disconnect and restore. One of mine is writing.

8. To Communicate with Friends/Family—This was especially helpful when I was battling cancer. Being able to update people easily was a blessing.

9. To Promote Biblical Living—I figure it this way. There are lots of negative, back-biting, mean-spirited Christians online. Why should we let them dominate? For a few minutes a week, I’d like to be an encouraging online voice for those who would like to read.

10. To Promote Biblical Ministry—God still blesses the principles of His Word in ministry, and I enjoy sharing how he’s doing that at our church.

11. To Leave a Life Message Behind–This might sound simplistic, but I don’t expect to live forever. In fact, after this year, I’m just glad to still be here right now. Perhaps the things posted here can outlast me in some way for a good purpose.

NOT Reasons I Blog:

1. I don’t blog to gain a following or readership—I really have no clear strategy for building readership. That’s in God’s hands, and if you show up here on some regular basis, I am grateful!

2. I don’t blog to earn money—lots of bloggers do so for side income. That’s fine. I don’t.

3. I don’t blog to appear to be someone or something I am not—Sometimes this is a matter of the reader’s perception. But just for clarity, I am nothing and Jesus is everything.

4. I don’t blog to pass myself off as an expert—Again, this is a perception thing. There is no area of my life in which I have “arrived” or in which it’s all under control. It’s only by God’s grace that I am ever allowed a voice of any kind. Personal experiences are shared here, not in arrogance or pride, but in a spirit of transparency. I’m just a growing Christian struggling as much as the next guy trying to serve the Lord—nothing more.

5. I don’t blog to strategize my online presence or brand—I hear these terms every now and then, and for some, I guess that’s fine. But I couldn’t care less about my personal “brand”—whatever that is.

6. I don’t blog to promote self or build my own platform—this is another term I hear or see sometimes. Platform might be a great goal for someone in secular work—someone trying to build a public speaking career. For ministry, I think the best platform is “He must increase and I must decrease.”

7. I don’t blog to impress anyone—Again—a perception thing. You could read a post and think, “Who does this guy think he is?” Or you could read it and think, “Well, I’m really glad he shared those thoughts.” It’s sort of up to you, but again for clarity—I am nothing and Jesus is everything. Be impressed with HIM.

How I Blog:

1. On personal time—This is not something I do during “work hours”—my daily efforts to serve the Lord in ministry at my church. It’s a personal hobby that refreshes me and brings some purpose to (and something productive from) my “disconnected” times.

2. As an overflow of my own spiritual growth—A long time ago, God just put on my heart to share stuff He teaches me. I guess that’s a call to preach or teach. I’m not sure. I just know God compels me to transfer His truth to others in a way that makes the light-bulb go on in my own head. Teaching or preaching is a part of that. Writing is too.

3. About subjects that I face in the trenches of ministry—Someone asked me years ago, “Do you ever see yourself writing full time?” I laughed and said, “What would I write about?” It goes this way—I want to wake up, love my family, serve God, and encourage people every day. From those experience in the trenches of life and ministry, if I learn something or come across something helpful, I want to pass it on to others.

4. In a spirit of friendship, encouragement, and humility—Learning from others goes both directions. I learn from people older and younger than me. I learn from people with more experience and from those with less. Everything shared in this blog is simply offered from a heart that desires to be helpful.

5. In collaboration with daily ministry, not competition with it—I think this one speaks for itself.

6. Typically only publishing a post after I’ve re-edited it multiple times over several days or weeks.

7 . With limited time investment—frankly, I just don’t have a lot of time to do this. My target is a few minutes a week and about one post per week. Sometimes I hit that, sometimes less or more (thanks to reposts!) This is really just an overflow of baseline ministry.

So there you have it—why and how I blog—for what it’s worth.

One day at the judgement seat of Christ, lots of Christians are going to be ashamed of how they gossiped and hurt others through online communication—blogs, tweets, posts, status updates, etc. Lots of people will be embarrassed by the silliness, carnality, and human emotions that they hastily and carelessly threw online. Others will be surprised to discover how carnal and unChristlike their spirit was.

Influence is a stewardship that we should take seriously for Christ. Online and off—determine to steward your influence wisely for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ and for the edification, equipping, and encouragement of anyone gracious enough to stop and read.

Whose Campaign is This?

caryschmidt — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:42:16 +0000

In an interview recently, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich made a statement that absolutely grabbed me. The statement requires a bit of background, so bear with me. (And the point of this post is not political—this is all leading to a more important point.)

Early in his bid for the Republical nomination, the Gingrich campaign seemed to hit bottom. News media reported that key players of his campaign staff were jumping ship quickly. Most people wrote him off. And yet, over the months, Gingrich stayed in the race and (as of this writing) continues to climb in the polls and to be considered a legitimate contender.

In reference to this moment when his campaign seemed to stall, Gingrich was talking about a fundamental difference he had with his campaign staff and key consultants. They had one type of campaign in mind and he had another. They wanted an aggressive, attack campaign made up of 30-second attack ads. He wanted a positive, solution-orientated campaign made up of 30-minute, inspiring speeches. Just one problem—he was the boss! And it finally came down to a decision to part ways. During the philosophical disagreement, he made this statement to his consultants:

“I would love to have you run MY campaign, but I’m not interested being the candidate for YOUR campaign.”

Whoa! The implications of that statement, when applied to Christian life and ministry, really struck me.

Many Christian leaders are not interested in running Christ’s “campaign”—they are more interested in using Him as the Candidate for their own campaign. The carnal church movement is doing just that. Having abandoned true Biblical discipleship—the “take up your cross” brand of Christianity, they use Christ as the poster-child for a much more man-centered, flesh-satisfying, moderate brand of Christianity. The incessant and insatiable pursuit of relevance, trendiness, and hip ministry; the never-ending thirst to “reinvent church”; the perpetual longing to “appeal” to seekers; and the unrelenting need to somehow mask the “less attractive” aspects of Christ and His ways—it all reveals a deep flaw in the foundation of this movement.

In Revelation chapters 1-3, Jesus makes it clear that He’s not interested in being the candidate for “our campaigns.” He isn’t interested in luke-warm Christianity or church-life where He is required to stand outside the door and knock. But He still calls us to run HIS campaign—to be laborers together with God and to work the work that He left us here to do, indeed, the work that He commissioned us to do. It’s His work, not ours. It’s His agenda, not ours. (Thy will, not my will.) And it should be done His way, not the way we feel is “most effective”, “most attractive”, or “most relevant” to the world. His way is already effective, attractive, and relevant—in transcendent ways—and it doesn’t need to be disguised or reinvented. It needs to be revived and obeyed!

On a more local level, the same could be said of staff members who work to support the vision of a Sr. Pastor. Are you running his “campaign”, or are you merely using him (or his flock) to facilitate your own agenda? We need a revival of team ministry—a renewal of godly leaders who are willing to unite themselves in service together towards a common vision, regardless of who gets the credit, or holds the “Sr.” position.

Time and time again I have been reminded that I’m not to be using Jesus or others as candidates for my own campaign or agenda. I would much rather be a part of something much bigger. I want to expend my life to do Christ’s work, His way—and on a human level, to support the biblical vision of a man I call “Pastor.” What a privilege to be a part of something so much more valuable and eternal than a political campaign. And what a joy to partner with other servant leaders for a cause larger than any one individual or personal agenda.

Don’t get caught up in running your own campaign and attaching Jesus to it.

Lose your life in His, and partner with others for His glory alone!

When We’re Too Busy

caryschmidt — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 04:30:15 +0000

Life is busy. Honestly, in a given week or day, there is more stuff flowing at us (in the form of information and opportunities) than we can possibly comprehend, much less accept. Doing the right things in life means saying “no” to a lot more than you could ever say “yes” to. The challenge of the 21st century is saying “yes” to the right things, and accepting the built in limitations of the human condition. We just can’t do it all—though we often wish we could.

I’ve noticed something. Busyness is like a snowball. It’s size and magnitude grows simply by the motion of life, and it sort of sneaks up on you. We don’t realize we’re TOO busy until something starts to breakdown—and even then, we don’t always connect the symptoms with the real cause. For instance, fractured and stressed relationships sometimes have nothing to do with the heart or intent of the individuals, and everything to do with their schedules or level of fatigue.

Most everybody I know has a tendency to become too busy over time. And busyness is cyclical and seasonal—once you get everything back in balance, it seems it’s only a matter of time before your calendar is filled once again. Bad stuff happens when we get too busy and over-extended. Here’s a short list:

Our Walk with God Diminishes—it’s easy to negotiate this way— “I’m so busy doing things for God, that He will just have to understand why I don’t have much time to be with Him.” Somehow, I don’t think He’s holding a gun to our head either way. Yes, He desires that we serve Him with our lives. But He also desires that we walk with Him personally. Being too busy too walk with God is like poking a hole in your gas tank—you’re journey will be MUCH shorter for certain!

Our Physical Fatigue Increases—I know—DUH! Yet, I love the quote from Vince Lombardi: ““I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious” In fact, for a long time I had that quote hanging on my office wall. But I also love another quote from Lombardi: “Fatigue makes cowards of us all!” Funny that these both came from the same man, and they usually happen in that order! Sure—exhaust yourself in a good cause, but then catch up, rest, and restore. Don’t live in an extended state of fatigue unless you want to make some really bad decisions and have some very damaged relationships.

Our Relationships are Stretched—I really believe that the vast majority of marital/family stress and distress that Dana and I have ever experienced was more related to our schedules and fatigue than anything else. Now, before you get too “Utopian” on me—some stretching is simply unavoidable and even necessary—growth oriented. A young family, a growing ministry, and the regular pressures of a normal life bring with it a tension that stretches a marriage and forces needful growth on many levels. These are good things. Hard things, yes, but still very good and needful for long term strength and blessing.

But there is a line that can be crossed, and being TOO busy for TOO long only increases family frustration and emotional edginess exponentially. And it’s not only family relationships that are impacted. Co-laborers, friends, and ministry relationships can be hurt too. It’s simple. Being too busy means I’m mentally and emotionally “on thin ice”—edgy, tense, and stretched to my limits. It’s hard to have compassion, patience, and sensitivity towards people when my own emotional and spiritual “condition” is so fragile. Everybody pays when I’m too busy—especially those closest to me.

Our Health Suffers—When nearing the end of chemo, I asked my doctor what he would recommend I change about my life regarding the possible recurrence of cancer. While he couldn’t give me a “cause” or a “prevention,” he did say, “This cancer is an immune system illness. So do whatever it takes not to stress out your immune system. Eat well, rest properly, and recover when you’re sick.” Cancer taught me a lot, but one HUGE lesson was that I’m expendable in pretty much every area of my life, except to my wife and kids. The ministry doesn’t need me—I need the ministry. God’s work went along just perfectly without me. (Bummer.) Honestly, that wasn’t news, but it was a very real reminder that serving God is a privilege.

The other day my wife was asking me to “hurry” for some reason. I looked at her and jokingly said, “You’re stressing out my lymph nodes.” We both laughed. Simply put, nothing is more restorative to your health and productivity than rest, and nothing will enable you to have a long and fruitful family life and ministry more than being healthy—well rested and able to function optimally. It is possible to push yourself to a point where, for short-term gain, you ultimately cheat your family and ministry of long-term contribution.

Our Long-Term Viability is Threatened—We’ve all heard too many stories of people, who in short-term, low moments—moments of temptation, depletion, fatigue, or spiritual fog—made decisions that wrecked their family and ministry for the long term. Call it burn out, call it mid-life crisis, call is depression—there are a thousand causes and a thousand terms to describe or define conditions that bring us to poor decision-making. Over extending my life to get ahead for the short-term only threatens my effectiveness for the long-term. Some refer to this as “sustainable pace.” In other words, knowing that I must possibly faithfully run this race for forty more years, I’d better set a pace that will keep me running that long. You’ve heard it before—the Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. If you’re sprinting, you are not setting a sustainable pace, and it will eventually catch up with you—unless you are Superman. You are trading your long-term viability for short-term gain. Bad trade.

In my experience in life and ministry, the things worth doing take time—a lot of time—in other words, patience. Pushing myself to “get it all done now” is a dead end—there’s always more to do, and what was done “faster” wasn’t usually done well. Doing less and doing it well requires patience and persistence. Someone working more and faster than you may get more done this week, but working with sustainable pace will accomplish much more over time. It’s like the difference between a sparkler and a slow, deep-burning bed of coals. One is more impressive, but the other burns hotter for a lot longer.

Being too busy tends to feeds pride and ego—it feels valuable. Being rushed and in a constant state of urgency can be validating in our search for significance.

Being balanced feeds your heart for God, helps you nurture healthy relationships, and makes you stronger and more effective on every level of life.

Being too busy, you may get more done this week and people may applaud you for it. But being balanced, you will get more done in your life time, and God will applaud you for it.

Funny thing is—what I’ve said in 1,200 words, God said seventeen— “Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.” (Ecc. 4:6)

Now it’s your turn to choose. How will you live this year—busy or balanced?

Repost: Why Leaders Need Communication

caryschmidt — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 05:41:50 +0000

WARNING: Failure to communicate frequently and effectively will bring distrust, tension, and grief in any valuable relationship.

A large percentage of our problems in work, family, and ministry could be attributed to communication failures—either miscommunication or a lack of communication. Everybody has people in their lives with whom they should work at communicating more effectively and more frequently. If only the people in our lives could automatically “just know” all the things they need to hear from us! How much easier would life be—right?

If you’re somewhere in the middle of the organizational flow chart, then you have the responsibility to regularly communicate “up the chain”—to someone responsible for your workflow or your projects. A failure to communicate will bring grief into your world and will cause trust, dependability, and connectedness to suffer. This responsibility to communicate falls to you (and me).

Simply put—does your leader have to PULL information out of you? Or does your leader get information PUSHED from you?

Do you have to be tracked down and asked? Or do you voluntarily generate information to someone in leadership?

Busy leaders need reliable co-laborers to generate communication—needed information—with which they can make well-informed decisions. When we fail to generate this communication (as I have many times), we inadvertently decide to withhold information that might prove valuable in the decision-making process of the leader. This isn’t good. This isn’t team. Frankly, it’s just stupid. (Yes, I’m pointing at myself.)

The question is—how much communication does your leader desire? I’ve made the grave mistake of trying to “not bother” the leader, only to find out that more communication was needed or wanted. Good leaders usually desire a lot of information from those they lead. It’s not about trust. It’s not even about accountability. It’s about leading effectively. The more informed they are, the better they can lead.

Part of the reason you are on your leader’s team is to help keep the leader well-informed in the areas where you serve. Just remember, it’s not about being “lorded over” or merely “giving account” for your work hours. It’s about building trust, reliability, and dependability. It’s about helping the leader lead well.

So—practically speaking—find out how much communication your leader desires, and then make sure that leader gets it. Make brief, informative, and thorough communication a regular part of your daily workflow.

Unfortunately, this is one lesson I’ve learned the hard way. How often over the years I have wished I had communicated more thoroughly. How often my simple lack of communication has caused grief to myself and others!

Communication is a really good thing. Hopefully this post will challenge you to push more needed information in the right direction—and for the record, this principle also works really well in marriage too!

What are some ways you have found effective in communicating?

Spiritual Weapons for Wayward Kids

caryschmidt — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 06:58:03 +0000

What can you do when your grown children begin to stray spiritually? I’ve seen a lot of parents hurt, mystified, and shaken by sudden and radical spiritual changes in the lives of their adult children. I realize, one day I may be one of them—and so could you.

In these moments, some parents grasp for control—trying to maintain a mythical strangle-hold of childhood authority. This always escalates a situation to become worse and creates greater distance relationally and spiritually. In a wild swing to the other extreme—some parents abandon their post of parental influence. They mentally, emotionally, and spiritually disconnect with an “oh well” resignation, as if there is nothing they can really do. Others respond in anger—returning hurt for hurt.

Recently, Dana and I prayerfully and fearfully sat down with some parents who were facing circumstances in which we all felt powerless. Together, we rediscovered the weapons God had given us to fight battles that are far beyond our human control. And together, we saw God work a miracle. These are the weapons that God gives us all to use against impossible circumstances:

Unconditional Love and Acceptance—regardless what my child does, how my child hurts me, or how far out of bounds my child behaves—I will choose to respond with Christ-like compassion and unconditional love. This is a powerful weapon that speaks to the heart and the conscience. By the way, acceptance of a person does not equal approval of sin.

Godly Grace—regardless of what my child has done, I extend grace—unmerited favor. Just as grace is God’s response to my sin, grace will be my response to my child’s sin. Grace is always undeserved, and is the most powerful resource for creating an environment where repentence and change are possible.

Intercessory Prayer—this weapon brings all the powers of Heaven to work in the situation. It is the single most powerful and yet most neglected response to any strained relationship.

God’s Word—opinions and personal preferences matter little, but the principles of God’s Word are powerful. When battles of the will only escalate a situation, the principles of God’s Word speak to the heart with the potential of lasting life change.

Patient Endurance—change takes time. Repentence is rarely instantaneous. Parents who win these battles never give up (emphasis on NEVER.) They faithfully and persistently use these weapons until the battle is won.

These are weapons of the Spirit. Think about it:

Weapons of flesh will react, weapons of the Spirit will respond.
Weapons of flesh will lash out. Weapons of the Spirit will reach out.
Weapons of flesh desire retribution. Weapons of the Spirit desire reconciliation.
Weapons of flesh will seek control. Weapons of the Spirit will seek influence.
Weapons of flesh will make demands. Weapons of the Spirit will make pleas.
Weapons of flesh will acuse. Weapons of the Spirit will accept.
Weapons of flesh will return hurt. Weapons of the Spirit will return grace.
Weapons of flesh will argue. Weapons of the Spirit will reason.

Here they are again: unconditional love, godly grace, intercessory prayer, God’s Word, and patient endurance.

Take hope, parent! If you are facing impossible circumstances and you feel hopeless and powerless—there is much you can do to fight a spiritual battle for your wayward child! God’s work is not finished in your child’s heart, and God’s Word is still powerful to change lives!

In reality, these weapons are effective in any broken or strained relationship. About the time you think there’s nothing you can do, about the time you want to over-react or fight in the flesh—these are the only weapons that can truly make a difference. May God give us wisdom to fight our relational battles in the wisdom of His Word and the power, and filling of His Holy Spirit.

SL Podcast – Staying the Course

caryschmidt — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 15:00:54 +0000

The most recent Spiritual Leadership Podcast is one you SHOULD NOT miss! It’s entitled “Staying the Course Through Troubled Waters” from Pastor Paul Chappell.

This lesson challenges spiritual leaders to stay faithful through difficult times! I promise you it will encourage your life and strengthen you in the ministry. You can listen above, or better yet, subscribe through iTunes.

The Spiritual Leadership Podcast is a monthly resource that is offered free from Pastor Chappell. To subscribe to the complimentary outline, click HERE. Submit your email address and you will receive the outline along with a notification that the newest podcast is posted.

Enjoy!

Are You a Builder or a Destroyer?

caryschmidt — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 04:51:14 +0000

Two profiles of Christian leaders are spotlighted, center-stage in this tale. Both would call themselves servants of God.

The Builder

One is a giant—in every imaginable way, a joyful, godly, spiritual giant of encouragement and mentorship—a builder. He has spent his life building. He builds everybody he comes into contact with. He loves, he gives, he encourages, he admonishes, he reproves, he exhorts, he emmulates and embodies the very spirit of Christ in a very joyful and practical way. He inspires others to live faithfully. He encourages them to serve Christ. He challenges them to remain faithful to God’s Word. He does it all with a smile, a warm heart, and a genuine love for Jesus and for people. His life is a vibrant testimony of the presence of the Holy Spirit and the likeness of Christ.

The older this builder grows, the more he is respected, honored, and the greater his influence becomes. He is a magnet drawing people into ministry for Christ. Everywhere he goes he attracts people to the Saviour. All over the world, people are serving the Saviour because of this builder. All over the world, people have been mentored, encouraged, helped, nurtured, and influenced by this treasure! He truly is a builder. He has built people. He has built the cause of Christ. He has built a life time of faithful and honorable service to Christ. And he is truly great.

The Destroyer

The other leader stands in stark contrast to the builder. He is a destroyer. He is contentious, and thrives on dividing, discouraging, and disparaging other Christian brothers. He has chosen to give his days in ministry to the sole function of inspecting others, finding fault, and magnifying it—the sole act of attacking other Christians.

Forgetting the power and providence of God, he has unethically slandered and hurt faithful Christians. Blind to his own pride, he has divided churches, attacked pastors, and acted with disregard toward many clear biblical principles. To discerning Christians, the carnal behavior of the destroyer is repulsive. He is a sower of discord—a man who claims to believe God’s Word, but directly dishonors it.

Unlike the builder, this man repels young servants of Christ. He discourages them. He dissuades them. He causes them to desire complete disassociation with his spirit and kind. Thus, with every misguided attack, his influence diminishes and the cause of Christ is damaged.

The builder and the destroyer stand in stark contrast to one another.

The builder will pass along a heritage, a legacy. He will end his life having invested into “gold, silver, and precious stones.” The destroyer will leave a trail of pain, hurt, and destruction. He will end his life regretting the “wood, hay, and stubble.”

So, you and I have a choice—today. Will you be a builder or a destroyer?

Will you be an encourager, a Christ-like lover of people, a believer in the next generation of spiritual leaders? Will you inspire and equip those coming behind you in life and ministry?

Or will you be a destroyer? Will you choose to take God’s commands about “reproof” and “contending for the faith” out of scriptural context and use them again fellow soldiers for carnal reasons?

Will you lift up yourself by hurting others or will you lift up Christ by building others?

A man recently said to me on the phone—”I’m trying to get out of the business of hurting people.” This was an interesting statement coming from a pastor who is called to be a shepherd.

Personally, I renounce dishonesty, craftiness, and the mishandling of God’s Word by destroyers. And I choose to embrace a life like the builder. I want to do everything I can to build others and pass on the heritage of my faith to the next generation of leaders who love Jesus.

Think about it for a moment:

Builders love people. Destroyers hurt people.
Builders draw people to Christ. Destroyers repel people from Him.
Builders are joyful and humble. Destroyers are arrogant and contentious.
Builders believe in others. Destroyers are skeptical of others.
Builders inspire people. Destroyers attack people.
Builders strengthen the next generation. Destroyers weaken them.
Builders love truth. Destroyers love the distortion of it.
Builders are spiritual. Destroyers are carnal.
Builders leave a legacy. Destroyers leave a stench.
Builders—gold, silver, precious stones. Destroyers—wood, hay, stubble.
Builders—like Jesus. Destroyers—most unlike Jesus.
Builders leave a heritage of faith. Destroyers leave a trail of hurt.

And one day, BOTH the builder and the destroyer will stand before Jesus and answer for how they stewarded their lives and influence.

So, choose wisely—today, and for the rest of your life. Be a builder. Be an encourager. Be a lover of people and a disciple-making mentor. May the ranks of the builders grow exponentially for God’s glory.

And most certainly, the ranks of the destroyers will diminish—for they are very good at devouring their own.

“But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.” 1 Corinthians 11:16

“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:14-16

Spiritual Leadership Downloads 2011!

caryschmidt — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:28:29 +0000

Spiritual Leadership Conference 2011 was held last month. I’m late in posting this information, but wanted to share it none-the-less.

It is our desire to share Spiritual Leadership Conference with people who couldn’t attend. I’m posting several links below that will help you access videos, audio, photos, and resources that were available at the conference. The entire conference—sessions, services, messages, and videos—is FREE online. Here is where you will find it all:

Free audio downloads of the entire conference—as a gift to you, the entire conference, including the outline notebook, can be downloaded free of charge at www.strivingtogether.com. Pastor Chappell’s sessions will be produced into Spiritual Leadership Podcasts in the coming months. You can find out more about the podcasts at www.ministry127.com.

Videos from the conference and of main services—several videos are already available. These take longer to upload, but you can view each service and video at this link in the coming few days. Feel free to download the videos and use them in your own ministry.

New Striving Together Publications resources introduced—this is a complete list of the new resources available at the conference.

Registration for the 2012 conference—this link will let you get the best seats and early registration benefits for next year’s conference which is in June.

An Effective Staff Member Commits

caryschmidt — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 23:36:17 +0000

I’ve never written a ten part blog series, but here goes! Whether you hang with me for all ten parts, or just read one or two, I hope you will be encouraged.

Do you serve on a ministry staff? Are you a member of a team? If so, you are no second-class citizen in the work of Christ. Some men are called to be a “Senior Pastor,” but probably many more are led to serve on a staff under a pastor. While some may believe that only Senior Pastors “have a clue” and everybody else is a second-rate servant, I believe that God’s Word is filled with great examples of winning teams. There is no doubt that God brings people together to strive together for the faith. He calls some to serve by leading, and others to serve by following, and frankly, almost everybody who serves God, does a good bit of both!

The big question of this series is simply this: What qualities make an effective staff member? What character traits and principles create winning teams? If you serve on a team, what would make you an excellent team player?

First and foremost, an effective staff member commits—100%!

This commitment is first to the Lord, and second to the Pastor and team. What does this mean?

It means your life is absolutely, irrevocably committed to living for God and serving Him.
It means that ministry isn’t a “try it and see” proposition.
It means you don’t have “plan B” constantly taking shape in your mind.
It means you aren’t using the ministry for your own agenda.
It means you aren’t competing with anyone else on the team.
It means you aren’t carving out your own career path or personal dreams of success.
It means you believe in the cause of the team.
It means you trust the leader and believe in his integrity. (Not his perfection.)
It means you don’t care who gets credit for victories.
It means you are committed to guarding the spirit of the team.
It means you are fixed in your heart and not making other plans.
It means you plan to stay and work through hardships.
It means you will do whatever required to protect relationships.
It means that those you serve can count on you sticking around.
It means that you believe you are in the will of God.
It means God’s leading would have to be clear and undeniable before you would leave the team.

May I challenge you to commit! Anyone who ever did anything for God was first deeply anchored in God’s call. Those who are used by God are first committed to Him and to the team to which He leads them.

Great marriages begin with commitment. Great families are built on commitment. Great churches are established with commitment. Great church families consist of people who are committed. And great staffs begin with a group of committed people.

Without commitment you are merely flirting with the eternal. Without commitment, your attempt at serving God will be merely an experiment—and short-lived at that! Without commitment, you will greatly handicap your ability to have a profound impact on others.

You know what we need more of in local church ministry? Commitment. We need pastors, assistant pastors, teachers, youth pastors, music ministers, and team players to dig deep, anchor in, and stick it out. We need fewer “try and see if ministry works out for me” staff members. We need more “count on me—I’m not going any where any time soon” staff members.

We need to declare war on superficial, shallow, surface, temporary, flighty ministry endeavors.

If you want to get something done for God, it takes decades. So, buckle up for the long haul, God will honor it!

Do you want to be an effective staff member? Start with commitment!

SL Podcast – Christlikeness in the Church

caryschmidt — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:52:26 +0000

Don’t miss this month’s Spiritual Leadership Podcast from Pastor Paul Chappell. The topic is “How to Develop Christ-likeness in the Church.”

This lesson will challenge you to evaluate the spiritual health and development of your church family. More than that, it will provide some thoughts for measuring progress and evaluating what a “Christ-like church” looks like. It will encourage you to focus on the roots, to make sure that your church family is being nourished and established in the faith.

Don’t forget, you can always subscribe to receive the free companion outline if you visit paulchappell.com and click on the Spiritual Leadership Podcast link. This podcast, and it’s previous editions are available on iTunes.

Enjoy this month’s lesson!

Avoiding “Death by Meeting!”

Cary Schmidt — Mon, 09 May 2011 19:44:31 +0000

Have you ever attended a meeting that drove you to the brink of insanity? Bad meetings are long, repetitive, and in-actionable. In other words, you sit forever through a lot of discussion, much of which may have nothing to do with you, that leads no where. You leave the meeting with no benefit—no information that impacts your work life, no items upon which to act, and no mentoring that you can employ. These are really bad meetings. If you conduct meetings—don’t do this to people.

Here’s a short list for a meeting that is worth having, and worth sitting through:

Keep It Short—make every meeting as brief as possible. Start by setting a time limit, and do your best to keep it. If you are paying people, this is wise stewardship. If they are volunteers, this is respect for their time and commitments.

Keep It Essential—ask yourself “what really requires a meeting?” Can I communicate this just as well in writing? Can we just send everyone an email? Are there easier ways to accomplish this other than holding a meeting. If there’s a better, more efficient way to communicate, then use it. Limit meetings to that which is essential for meeting.

Keep It Spiritual—one of the best purposes of a ministry meeting is to pray and be reminded that this team is completely dependent upon the Lord. Another is to sense, in person, how everyone is doing—at a heart level. You can visually see who is discouraged, who is tired, who is healthy, etc. Spiritual evaluation and encouragement are great reasons for meetings.

Keep It Focused—if you find yourself getting bogged down on one or more items, agree to pray and think on it for later discussion, then move on. Quickly kill stale discussions. Keep the meeting moving, or you will lose attention and communicate that you do not value the time of others.

Keep It Positive—meetings are really bad environments for reprimands—and rarely do public reprimands inspire genuine growth. Unless everyone needs the reprimand, handle the negative stuff privately. The shame and humiliation inflicted in public does worse damage than the original action. Secure leaders handle reprimands privately. Insecure leaders use public reprimands to humiliate and to reinforce their authority. Bad practice. Keep the meeting encouraging and inspiring.

Keep It Beneficial—if you bring something beneficial to the team, they will appreciate the meeting. As a leader, it’s your job to inspire, to encourage, to motivate, and to mentor the team. Meetings can be either incredibly discouraging or incredibly encouraging. Bring something that will encourage and equip your team. Thank them, and remind them of how much fun it is to serve God together.

Keep It Agenda Driven—start the meeting with an agenda of what to talk about. You might start with the calendar, a project list, questions from the team, and then discussion about special needs. Plan your agenda before you start your meeting, and then stick to it.

One final note—DON’T HOST a meeting, if you are EXHAUSTED, FRUSTRATED, or otherwise DEPLETED. You would be much better to rest, restore, and bring a good spirit and kind countenance to your team. I’ve made this mistake more than I can admit, and those meetings never go well, and people never leave encouraged.

What would you add to this list? What are good meetings made of? Add your thoughts below…

A Leader Worth Following…

caryschmidt — Fri, 06 May 2011 00:34:48 +0000

What kind of leader would you gladly follow? We’ve all seen our share of bad leaders—but there are a lot of good leaders in the world. By God’s grace, I’m thankful to work for a very good leader. I know a lot of good leaders. Here is a list of qualities that are found in good leaders. In my opinion, this the absolute required list of traits for being worthy of follower-ship. This is what makes a leader “worth following.” Do you agree?

1. Integrity—this must be a man of unquestionable integrity, which means he must be accountable enough for people to see that integrity clearly demonstrated and validated.

2. Humility/Approachability—this must be a man who understands that his position is from God and who doesn’t use it to be “lord’s over God’s heritage.” (1 Peter 5:3) This is a man you can approach with a question and receive a sincere answer. He is also a man who would rather work through a misunderstanding than lose a relationship.

3. Authenticity/Transparency—this is a man who admits he doesn’t have it all together and that he is growing like everybody else. He’s willing to share aspects of his own personal growth, and his life is obviously real with God and people.

4. Biblical Vision—this is a man with a godly, biblical vision that requires the help of followers to bring to reality. Godly vision from the heart of a man of integrity is a compelling vision. It draws others to the team and to the accomplishment of the vision.

5. Teachability—this is a man who is learning constantly, knows it, and admits it. This is a man who isn’t afraid to learn from those who follow him and actively seeks their input.

6. Friendship/Other’s Focused—this is a man who can have friendships with those who follow, and finds no conflict in that dual-natured relationship. And this is a man who uses his position as leader to benefit others within his influence.

7. Team Spirit—this is a man who loves to work with a team, and enjoys building that team and seeing them succeed.

8. Mentoring Influence—this is a man who uses his knowledge, influence, wisdom, and position to teach and mentor others. His life is heavily invested into developing people and discipling Christians.

9. Moral and Biblical Life—this is a man whose life is obviously pure, marriage strong, and family solid. This is a man who, while not perfect, is clearly attempting to live in line with biblical principles both in private and public.

10. Walk with God—this is a man whose life demonstrates a faithful walk with God.

This is a man I can follow as he follows Christ. He’s never perfect, but he’s authentic and growing. This is the type of leader I want to be in leading others to follow Christ. How about you?

What would you add to this list? What qualities do you appreciate in the leaders you follow?

12 Qualities of Unjust Criticism

caryschmidt — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:03:11 +0000

Anyone who serves the Lord is going to face criticism. Some of it just. Some of it unjust. Just criticism is helpful, coming from a loving friend, handled personally, and can produce great strides of growth and maturity in your life. It flows between healthy relationships where hearts are like iron sharpening iron. No criticism is pleasant, but a friendly critic is a gift—a person who genuinely cares about you and your development for the Lord. This criticism should be humbly received and applied to your life.

Unjust criticism is a different experience altogether. This comes from a person with an agenda of their own—one who is determined to pick a fight and win it in ways that exhibit a lack of integrity, spiritual wisdom, love, and Christ-like concern. Here are some qualities to look out for with unjust criticism:

Unjust critics are, by nature, fault-finders—It’s what they do, like the pharisees. By their own admission they are not encouragers. I can’t imagine a cause so far from the heart of Christ as that of “fault-finding.” What a busy life that must be!

Unjust critics stir up controversy but don’t want truth—truth is fairly easy to come by. You go to the person in question and talk. You pick up the phone and make a call. You bring people together in love. You ask direct questions. You pray and work things out, even if you agree to disagree. But unjust critics will not do this because this would lead to resolution and rob the opportunity for strife. Unjust critics love the strife and convince themselves that they truly are “fighting the good fight of faith”—even when they have to fabricate the fight. Jesus never did this.

Unjust critics exaggerate and slant small bits of truth in the favor of their agenda—what bits of truth they do find, they prefer not to know the context or understand in more detail. The less they know, they more they can embellish. And in print or online, embellishment and imagination read a lot like truth. It’s very captivating and entertaining—good for readership.

Unjust critics leave out larger truth that would hurt their agenda—the whole truth usually hurts the critics story and mission. With an unjust critic you will only hear the portions of the story that support his agenda. The larger truth is left in the dark, unless you do your own research. Godly people can sniff out the “agenda” and usually go get truth themselves.

Unjust critics strain at gnats and yet swallow camels—the pharisees did this to Jesus relentlessly. “Your disciples didn’t wash their hands” “You can’t heal on the sabbath.” “You eat with publicans and sinners.” So do unjust critics. Jesus never entered their debate over the gnats and He never entered the “fault-finding” ministry. He was in the fault-forgiving ministry!

Unjust critics ignore God’s structures of authority—when there’s a problem, your first step should be in the direction of God’s biblical authority structure—to the spouse, to the pastor, to the parents, to the administrator, to the leader. An unjust critic makes himself the authority and inserts himself between all of these God-ordained structures at will. That’s a very dangerous practice and it doesn’t solve problems.

Unjust critics do not obey God’s command to “go to thy brother”—step one when you have a problem with another person is go to them personally. Get the truth from the source. At some point a public rebuke is biblical and necessary, but an unjust critic just wants to rush his agenda to market quickly—public rebuke is his only playing card. Biblical process is not important because honest understanding or biblical resolution is not the goal. The goal is the fulfillment of pride, jealousy, and envy. The goal is aggression and vehemence in the name of “standing.”

Unjust critics try to draw you into a fight—they like the drama, like 5th grade girls. They like to be the ones who exposed the fault. They live in a mode of self-righteous examination of other brothers. They seem to have never read Matthew 7:3-4. Or they reason it away completely—”There’s nothing in my eye!”

Unjust critics try to bait you to speak so they can turn your words against you—one of the worst things you can do with an unjust critic is enter the debate with them. Because truth is not the goal and resolution is not desired outcome. They make the rules. It’s their game. And your words or attempts to answer will merely be twisted and turned against you. An unjust critic will always have you saying what you didn’t say, or didn’t intend.

Unjust critics desire to provoke, not resolve—I’ve touched on this, but it’s huge. Problems and disagreements should be resolved between Christian brothers. Jesus instructed us to handle criticism and problems privately at first. After twenty years of ministry with this philosophy, I can tell you that 99.9% of the time, the problem is resolved at that point. It’s a wonderful thing. But resolution removes the unjust critics shot at larger conflict and broader strife. It kills the game before it begins. Point is, you can’t please an unjust critic, no matter what you do. So don’t try.

Unjust critics hide themselves in a shroud of false humility—They insert scriptural descriptives and self-efacing terminology to let you know how sincere they are. Those words read well, and readers tend to forget that actions completely betray them. An unjust critic’s behavior far outweighs disingenuous humility and feigned concern.

Unjust critics say what they don’t do, then do it—It’s an odd kind of double speak, but it works for the unjust critic’s crowd. For instance, “I’m not attacking…”—then BOOM, an attack. But it’s not really, because the critic said it wasn’t. “I’m just a humble sinner saved by grace”—then BOOM, a self-proclaimed authority over whatever is in question. “I would never want to usurp your pastor’s authority.”—then BOOM, “I need to tell you how wrong your pastor and church is.” Watch out for this tactic with unjust critics.

My advice? Don’t enter the argument of an unjust critic. Walk away. The critic wants the fight, not the solution. Find Christ-like Christians—Christians who live and minister with the heart of a shepherd and the love of the Saviour. Find Christians who encourage, build, edify, and strengthen their brethren. Find Christians with evident fruit—not just frustration. And don’t get caught up in the discouragement ministry of unjust critics. And most of all, don’t get discouraged by them when you are the subject of their malice.

Unjust critics have always been around. God uses them to remind us all “what not to become.” If you are being unjustly criticized, be encouraged! Be challenged! Let God work. Let your life and work speak for itself.

It’s hard to legitimately argue with the truth and the evident fruits of righteousness.

New Podcast—Part 2 of Striving Together

caryschmidt — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:27:25 +0000

Part 2 of last months Spiritual Leadership Podcast from Dr. Paul Chappell has posted. This is a great lesson dealing with the “how” and “why” of doing ministry. It will challenge you to labor together with your team with a right spirit.

The Spiritual Leadership Podcast is a free resource from Pastor Paul Chappell that features a spiritual leadership lesson every month a long with an outline. Don’t forget you can subscribe to receive the free outline here. God bless and enjoy the podcast!