Encouraging Words from Cary Schmidt » leadership

Spiritual Leadership Conference 2010

caryschmidt — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 23:13:27 +0000

Spiritual Leadership Conference 2010 wrapped up last night. God gave us a fantastic week. Today, in the midst of decompressing, I couldn’t help but sit down and journal some of the highlights of the week for me. Here’s what God used to impact me the most:

1. The Preaching. Every single message was a grand-slam home run! Dr. Chappell, Dr. Norris, Dr. Davison, Dr. Sisk all preached with power. In my life, God most used Dr. Sisk’s message last night—He must increase and I must decrease. He concluded the message with this question: “What’s growing in your life?” He then said, “If you are getting bigger and bigger, then Jesus is getting smaller. But if you are getting smaller and smaller, then Jesus will get bigger.”

2. The Testimonies and Programs. Throughout the week we heard stories of the ministry of the Holy Spirit—from Monday night’s video “Walking with Giants” (from Dr. Bobby Roberson) to Wednesday’s individual salvation stories and then the video highlighting growing ministries around the world. Each story challenged me in a unique way. I’m eternally grateful for every person who was willing to give a testimony or be a part of a video.

3. The Friends and Fellowship. My greatest friends are other servants of God who are fully engaged in the work of Christ. For that reason, we don’t often get to spend a lot of time together. It was truly awesome this week to rub elbows with so many great servants of God from so many places. I believe the fellowship of this week was a taste of Heaven. We weren’t gathered this week around a college, a personality, a fellowship, or a political position. We were gathered around biblical principles and a common passion to serve Christ with purity. There wasn’t the slightest spirit of competition or comparison! I believe that pleased the Lord. This made for an incomparable spirit and unforgettable encouragement. It was just awesome to see and spend time with so many amazing people.

4. The Team of Servants. I could never be worthy to serve with the incredible people on our team. All week I watched our staff, our church family, our teens, and our in-town college students give of themselves and expend themselves in ways that are noble beyond words. Teams of people worked through the night preparing facilities, videos, technical systems, etc. The music team labored for hundreds of hours on songs, narrations, and rehearsals. The publications team prepared resources, lugged boxes of books all over campus, stayed late processing orders, etc. The tech team recorded, edited and posted 125 sessions, worked tirelessly on livestream details, and supported an entire campus with sound, light, and projection. This is the tip of the iceberg. God’s people are amazing! It is a privilege beyond words to serve on this team and with this church family.

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. I pray these things will be a blessing.

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.

Photos of the conference—this is a collection of shots taken during the week.

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

Registration for the 25th anniversary conference 2011—this link will let you get the best seats and early registration benefits for next year’s conference.

25th Anniversary Alaska Cruise—this link will help you contact Templeton Tours to get more information about the 25th anniversary Alaska Cruise, August of 2011. If you are a pastor, consider becoming a co-host. This simply means you desire to bring a group, and in doing so, you can earn free passage on the cruise. If you are a church member, consider sending your pastor on this trip of a life time! If you have question, please feel free to contact my office at 661-946-4663.

Over all, Spiritual Leadership Conference 2010 was a life changing time in my life, and I pray, in many others. We thank God for allowing us to be a part of such a wonderful event! To all who came—thank you for coming! It was awesome to fellowship with you. To all who helped—thank you for serving the Lord with us! It was certainly a week to remember forever!

Communication on a Winning Team

caryschmidt — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 16:28:28 +0000

Communication is about sharing information with those who need it. But often communication is what is lacking the most on ministry teams. When we don’t communicate, we aren’t working together, and that causes things to break down. Here are seven quick principles that the Lord has challenged me to work at. I pray they will encourage you to be a better communicator on your team:

Don’t Make Your Leader Pull Information—Push it His Direction—Leaders must make informed decisions, and leaders always need more information—they thrive on it. Followers don’t always understand a leader’s need for information. Good communication always gathers information and pushes it to the people who need it. For more on this, see this article: “Why Leaders Needs More Communication.”

Be More Focused on Talking to Someone than about Someone—On struggling teams, people sit around and bite on each other. They are frustrated with others, and they need to air their grievances with sympathetic listeners. But this is destructive! On winning teams, people talk to each other and resolve their grievances. It’s simple, but HUGE!

Be More Focused on Providing Solutions than Pointing Out Problems—Some people are professional “problem-pointer-outers.” They see all the problems, but they never offer a solution, they never take action to be a part of the process of improvement. It’s not that winning teams are blind to the problems, they just view them differently. Rather than see only problems and gripe about them, they see the problems and immediately start working on solutions. This is an easy rut to fall into. Try to make it your goal to never bring up a problem unless you can offer several helpful solutions.

Be More Focused on Taking Responsibility than Fixing Blame—What is our human fixation with having to assign blame? Have you noticed how much attention on the recent oil spill has been spent on fixing blame, and blame-shifting? Winning teams don’t really care who’s to blame because whoever it is, they’ve already owned it! Winning team members take responsibility—they step up, raise their hands, and say, “This one is all my fault… I’m sorry!” This instantly allows the whole team to focus on a solution and recovery. Assigning blame is a diversion. As long as we are trying to find out who’s fault this is, we’re probably not getting a solution into place. Taking responsibility is a rare character quality in today’s culture.

Be More Focused On Giving Credit than Getting Credit—Winning teams don’t really care who gets the credit. Credit is pretty lame any way. We all know that ultimately God gets the credit for any good thing. And if He allowed you to be part of a good outcome, there were probably others who helped make it happen. Winning teams share credit and constantly thank others for their contribution to the good.

Be More Focused on Glorifying God than Getting Your Way—Losing teams are very territorial and fractured by personal agenda. When we are territorial we get tunnel visioned—about budgets, about schedules, about facilities—we want to fight for our piece of the pie. This isn’t how winning teams function. Winning teams see the larger perspective and work together for the good of the whole. This means territories and personal agendas have to give way to the larger perspective of giving God glory.

Be More Focused on Helping Others Succeed, and Rejoice When They Do—On losing teams, members step on each other to elevate themselves. Winning teams are focused on helping each other succeed. Winning teams have lots of really great players that are willing to be located in the middle of the flow-chart somewhere. For a winning team, the leader’s success is a win for the whole team.

Are you on a winning team? Ask God today to help you become a more effective team member by communicating in a way that helps the whole team move forward!

Influence vs. Control

caryschmidt — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:05:41 +0000

Sometimes we get mixed up in ministry. We forget that our responsibility is not control it is influence. God never gave us control of people, their lifestyles, or their choices. He created free will, and gives each individual responsibility for their choices. I fear, out of good intentions, some spiritual leaders cross the line and actually try to control behavior rather than influence the heart. There are a lot of reasons this well-intentioned approach to ministry is really bad:

God Gave Us Influence not Control—He allows us to influence others, but He reserves the right of control strictly to Himself. In ministry, it is influence that we seek, and only that we might use influence to compel others to live by biblical principles in complete submission to the One who truly does have ultimate control. We don’t have control of others—ever. God does. And He loans us influence—through spiritual means. He commands us to be living examples to others, persuading them, not mandating them, to live godly. (”In meekness instructing them that opposed themselves.” 2 Timothy 2:25) We cannot mandate others to live righteously, but we can persuade them to. We cannot push others to God, but we can lead them to Him.

Control Is a Delusion, Influence Is Real—Even if we fools ourselves into believing we could have control, it’s a myth. We don’t. We never have. We couldn’t. We shouldn’t want to. It is a complete waste of time to grasp for the reigns of someone else’s decisions. And if someone actually gave us control, it would be temporary, fleeting, ultimately failing, and vain. We have enough trouble controlling ourselves, much less others. (1Timothy 4:16, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”)

Control Is Lordship, Influence Is Leadership—We blow it when we cross the line of spiritual leadership by seeking control. This is simply lording over God’s heritage, which we are commanded not to do. 1 Peter 5:3, “Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.” This phrase being lords over speaks of subjugation, domination, and attempting to control, and God expressly forbid it in spiritual leaders. The word ensamples speaks to influence.

Control Builds Man-Dependence, Influence Builds God-Dependence—If someone actually gave you control of their choices, they become dependent upon you. Wrong answer. They are supposed to be dependent upon God. Spiritual leaders are not called to make decisions for people. We are called to build them in biblical principles that create God-dependence. It’s pretty hard to trust in the Lord with all my heart, if my heart is dependent upon another man. (Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart…”)

People Resent Control, but Appreciate Influence—Attempting to manipulate the behavior of others, even toward ultimately biblical and good ends, only leads to disenchantment and desertion. A life built upon the control of another human being will ultimately run away from that control in search of a better reason for living. To the contrary, a life surrendered to the control of Almighty God has discovered the ultimate purpose of living!

Control Is for Environments, Influence Is for People—Of course you must control your classroom, your youth activity, your church service. God does commands us to let all things be done decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40). Controlled environments allow for healthy ministry and effective influence.

Authentic Ministry Is about Influence—Ministry is about developing a biblical relationship with someone that allows you to bring eternal truth—God’s principles—to bear in their decision making, thinking, behavior, and daily lifestyle. This is influence. It isn’t control. (2 Corinthians 5:11, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”)

Influence Is Earned not Grasped—If you don’t have influence with someone (if they are unresponsive to your persuasion), you will never gain influence by grasping for control. Seek to love, not control. Seek to persuade—to gain a sphere of influence through a loving relationship—then work within that sphere to enlarge biblical influence and compel that person to live under the Holy Spirit’s control.

Persuade is the biblical word (2 Corinthians 5:11)—in the end, as ministers of Christ, that’s what we are—persuaders. We seek to persuade, through our lives—our words and our actions. We seek to influence others to live by biblical principle under the authority of Almighty God—to give HIM control, not us.

But always use influence biblically. God gives us influence to use for His glory, not for personal agenda. Our influence should direct others to God’s agenda for their lives, not ours. Our influence should direct others to hear and heed the inner work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Our persuasion must be thoroughly selfless and abundantly biblical.

In speaking with Dr. John Goetsch about this subject he made this statement, “God identifies people as sheep in the Bible. Sheep cannot be driven, but they can be led.” As we lead people, and influence them, we are genuinely building them in Christ. Hence the spiritual decisions they make are not contrived, forced, mandated, or manufactured. They are genuinely produced by the Spirit of God.

The hardest part of ministry is watching people do things and make decisions that you know are harmful to them. God doesn’t give us control of those decisions. But He does allow us influence—the power of persuasion. Seek to influence others with a servant’s heart today.

Actually it’s kind of funny to think that one dumb sheep would attempt to control another dumb sheep. Let’s leave the control part up to God, and do our best to take heed unto ourselves and biblically influence others to do the same.

End Note: Parenting small children would be an obvious exception to these principles, but even then the dependency/control exercised by a parent is with the goal of building influence that will lead them to Christ-dependency and control.

Costs of Pastoring a Growing Church

caryschmidt — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:58:49 +0000

The June Spiritual Leadership Podcast from Pastor Paul Chappell

The June edition of the Spiritual Leadership Podcast has posted from Dr. Paul Chappell. This lesson is entitled “The Costs of Pastoring a Growing Church” and it challenges spiritual leaders to embrace the cost that comes along with ministry fruit. So often we want “success” but we don’t want the “burdens” that come along with it. This lesson will encourage you to “take up your cross” and let God use you.

The Spiritual Leadership podcast is a free resource from Striving Together Publications (a ministry of Lancaster Baptist Church and West Coast Baptist College).

You can subscribe to this podcast through iTunes and listen on your computer or iPod. You can also receive the complimentary outline with each lesson. Click here for more information about subscribing to the outline.

To hear our newest podcast, Ministry127, be sure to visit Ministry127.com!

Enjoy the lesson!

Skeptics, Spectators, and Servants

caryschmidt — Thu, 20 May 2010 04:36:59 +0000

In John 11, the amazing story of the raising of Lazarus unfolds. Not long ago, I was studying this passage and it occurred to me that there were three distinct groups of people at this resurrection, and those groups are still pretty much “alive and kicking” in today’s local churches.

Picture the scene—Jesus has waited for Mary outside of town, and “the Jews” have followed her, weeping (John 11:32-33), as she goes to meet Him. Then together they go to Lazarus’ grave, and the Jews follow. In the next few moments an unbelievable miracle occurs—Jesus raises a man from the dead! And in the midst of this amazing event, we see three groups:

First, meet the skeptics (11:46)—amazingly, these were people who, though a man was just raised from the dead, all they could do was run to the pharisees to stir up trouble! When I read that verse, I want to scream at them, “Are you kidding me?! What are you insane?! A man was just resurrected! Are we living on the same planet here?” Plainly, these people were nuts—absolutely disconnected and dysfunctional in every way.

Skeptics. They are everywhere, and no matter what happens, they just can’t accept truth. In modern ministry, these are the people standing in the shadows, arms folded, sporting an obviously cynical attitude—no matter whose life is changing! They are self-appointed, self-righteous cynics who set out in any endeavor to doubt and question the actions and motives of others. They are professional murmurers whose built-in paradigm paints everything in a negative light, regardless of how pure or true it may be. Skeptics never participate in God’s work. They just tag along with those who do, so they can criticize them later.

Second, meet the spectators (11:33, 11:45)—at the same scene were Jews, friends of Mary and Martha, who were not yet followers of Jesus. But they were curious about Him. They followed Mary to meet Him. They watched as He spoke with Mary. They even commented and speculated as to what Jesus was saying and how He was feeling. And a few moments later, they saw the miracle and finally believed!

In modern ministry, these are the people standing on the sidelines without an attitude or negative paradigm. They are intrigued—curious. They are interested in what’s happening. They are still evaluating. They like the excitement of a growing church, a dynamic environment, or an energetic group of joyful people. But they are not participating—yet! (Emphasis on yet.) For now they are just watching. Spectators don’t have any ill-will. They aren’t an enemy. Sometimes they are just a bit fearful or hesitant to take a risk, make the sacrifice, commit to a decision, or really “get involved.”

Spectators are inviting you to convince them—to win them. They are looking for a compelling reason to believe. They are waiting to see if you are for real. And notice that Jesus didn’t chase them off. Quite the opposite. The whole miracle was for these people, that they might believe (11:42). Don’t be a spectator hater. Just patiently help them see and believe. And be patient. Sometimes it takes time.

Finally, meet the servants (11:41)—somebody moved the stone. The Bible says, “they.” I don’t know who “they” were, but I sure like them! They weren’t skeptical, and they weren’t spectating. They were obedient. They stepped up, heard Jesus’ seemingly nonsensical command to “take away the stone,” and they just did what He said! Amazing! What faith. What hearts. What simple, servant-hearted people.

In modern ministry, these are the people fully engaged in the work of God. They are immersed in the ministry, the effort, or the energy in motion—simply because they love the Lord and want to obey Him. They are gladly giving of themselves and willingly expending themselves in faith. They are engaged in serving so that others around them might believe. They are up earlier, awake longer, working harder, and loving every minute of it! They relish not just seeing God work, but actually participating in God’s work! They don’t want to criticize a great work. They refuse to just watch a great work—they have to be in the work! They are addicted to the ministry. (1 Corinthians 16:15)

Simple question—who are you? Are you a skeptic? A spectator? Or a servant? When you are found in the midst of a ministry miracle, which group do you join? Are you standing in the shadows, arms folded, sporting a scowl and eager to run to your lair to pick it apart? Are you watching on the sidelines with curiosity and intrigue, not quite sure you believe? Or are you rolling up your sleeves to join the guys who are moving the stone?

As for me—I don’t want to live my life in the critic’s lair or on the spectator’s sideline. I want God to thrust me into the action of authentic ministry! Let me be one of the guys that moves the stone so that others might see God’s miracles and believe!

Why Ministry127.com?

caryschmidt — Fri, 14 May 2010 23:17:34 +0000

Two months ago, we launched a new website—Ministry127.com. It has had a wonderful start. Friends and co-laborers from all over the world have written and expressed appreciation for the site and the resources it contains. Contributors have continually sent in submissions that are practical and helpful. The site has been overwhelmingly received and used in just these first two months. And this is just the beginning!

To me, it’s one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever had a part in, and I wanted to share with you the “why.” Why would Pastor Paul Chappell invest the time, the staff, and the resources to create such a website—and then make it FREE? What’s the motive in building a site that isn’t “about our ministry” and isn’t generating income? What’s the point behind Ministry127.com?

The simple answer is that it’s a true reflection of Pastor Chappell’s heart and philosophy of ministry. As long as I’ve known him, he’s a man who avoid politics and stays focused on local church ministry, and equipping others for ministry—soulwinning, discipleship, and service. He’s a man who desires to bring people together around solid biblical values. He’s a man who loves to encourage pastors and church leaders. But beyond that, there are some core values that drove the decision to create Ministry127.com. Here are just a few:

We believe in local church—this site is designed to help facilitate and encourage ministry in local, New Testament churches. Each article and resource is chosen to breathe life and ideas into local churches. And the heart is especially to help and encourage smaller local churches who may have limited staff and resources. We believe in God’s work in your local church.

We believe in the value of encouragement and edification—there’s plenty of carnality and bad attitudes among Christian leaders today, and for those genuinely desiring to serve God, that carnality can be discouraging. And for some reason, the internet became the default parking place for much of that carnality. We felt it appropriate and biblical to launch an entire site committed to the purpose of encouragement and edification.

We believe in the principle of synergy—independent Baptist churches have a lot of success stories happening all over the country. Many of our leaders are being greatly used of God, but often out of the “limelight”—their stories are not heard the way they should be! Our prayer is that Ministry127 will bring great content from many dynamic voices that others may benefit from what God is doing in many places.

We believe in the value of ministry resources—we’ve experienced first hand how difficult it is to find trustworthy resources and fresh ideas for ministry. What better way to share ideas and glean from ministry successes than a website like Ministry127? Whether it’s a sermon idea, a graphic, a video, or a challenging article—we believe there is great value in the things we’re adding to this site.

Bottom line—Pastor Chappell really has a heart to help equip and encourage spiritual leaders in the ministry. Pure and simple, Ministry127.com is an online outpouring of that heart. As God has blessed our local churches, we desire to bring those blessings to a table where others can use them as well. To that end, we sincerely pray that Ministry127 will be a destination for your team for years to come—a place where you can find encouraging friendships, trustworthy ideas, and powerful resources for your local church.

New Podcast—Partnerships of Ministry

caryschmidt — Mon, 10 May 2010 23:37:12 +0000

The May edition of the Spiritual Leadership podcast has posted from Dr. Paul Chappell. This lesson is entitled “The Partnerships of Ministry,” and it focuses on developing and maintaining the right kind of strong relationships while serving in the ministry. Key statement from the lesson—the Devil tries to ruin all spiritual relationships! Great lesson!

The Spiritual Leadership podcast is a free resource from Striving Together Publications (a ministry of Lancaster Baptist Church and West Coast Baptist College).

To hear our newest podcast, Ministry127, be sure to visit Ministry127.com!

Enjoy the lesson!

The Hidden Values of Preparation

caryschmidt — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:06:45 +0000

Have you ever conducted an event that was ill-prepared? Have you ever been disorganized or caught off guard in some ministry environment? There’s nothing worse than being thrown off balance by a lack of preparation.

I could fill the pages of a book with tough lessons learned through a lack of preparation. Even after years of learning the hard way, I still get bit by this at times.

There’s a side of preparation we don’t usually think of—benefits that are not readily apparent. Whether you are leading a church service, a youth activity, or a Sunday School class—your preparation produces something in the group you lead. These are what I would call the “hidden values” of preparation:

Everybody values the event or environment more—when somebody arrives at your environment and finds things ready, their respect and value for what is happening skyrockets. If you want people to value the Bible lesson, then have the room perfectly prepared. If you want someone to respect teen camp, then have the buses filled with gas and ready to go. If you want someone to value the church service, have the outline well-prepared and the music well-rehearsed. Flying by “a wing and a prayer” is always obvious—and it causes people to naturally lower their value of that specific environment.

Everybody has higher expectations—because good preparation raises everybody’s value, it also raises expectations. When people arrive at a well-prepared ministry environment, they naturally expect more, anticipate more, and raise their level of awareness. And when it comes to teaching or preaching, that’s a GREAT thing!

Everybody responds at a higher level—people behave differently in a well-prepared environment than in a poorly prepared one. Put a group in a well-prepared environment and they will more naturally come to order, respond to leadership, listen with the heart, and interact well. Take the same group and place them in a poorly prepared environment and you will have a tough time getting the group to focus and respond. You may even have a tough time bringing the group to order at all.

Everybody benefits from added value—the bottom line, a well-prepared event or environment delivers more. Because of preparation, you put more time into the study, more thought into the decor, more effort into the creative dynamics. Because of early preparation, you had more time to make the whole event or service a better experience. As a result, people walk away with much more!

This works with children at home—children tend to feel more agitated in a home that is disorderly, but they behave better in a well-kept home.

This works with teens—young people intuitively sense if something is well-prepared, so they listen better, expect more, and have higher respect for what’s happening.

This works at work—team members are more productive and better co-laborers when they have decent work environments and the right equipment.

This works at church—an entire congregation is more receptive to teaching and preaching when the rest of the service, including the bulletins and pre-service set up, is well-prepared and in order before they arrive.

This past week I had one of those “well duh!” moments. For years our youth conference has had open seating with the doors opening an hour before service, at which time there’s a mad rush for seats. Some months ago we began wrestling with what to do and decided to reserve seating for every group. It took a lot of logistical work to make it happen, but every conference delegate was assigned a seat at registration. I was shocked by the results.

People arrived at a reasonable time, rather than an hour early. They arrived in a relaxed state of mind, went to their seats, and were able to enjoy the prelims without frenzy or frustration. As a result, the entire congregation was calm, responsive, and orderly throughout the entire week! It was like someone had literally zapped the stress and tension from the room. The excitement was still there, minus the negative experience of scrounging for seats. This one decision of preparation impacted the entire conference!

When you go to the extra effort of preparation, everybody wins!

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: (Titus 1:5)

New Podcast-4 Attributes of a Spiritual Christian

caryschmidt — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 20:40:32 +0000

The April edition of the Spiritual Leadership Podcast has posted from Dr. Paul Chappell. This lesson is entitled “Four Attributes of a Spiritual Christian” It’s a great challenge to Christian leaders, encouraging them to take inventory of their own spiritual lives. This lesson was taught to our staff and served as a great reminder that it’s easy to be “in the ministry” but still not be actually living a spiritual life!

The Spiritual Leadership podcast is a free resource from Striving Together Publications (a ministry of Lancaster Baptist Church and West Coast Baptist College).

To hear our newest podcast, Ministry127, be sure to visit Ministry127.com!

Enjoy the lesson!

Introducing Ministry127.com

caryschmidt — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:02:07 +0000

For many years, God has placed a passion on Dr. Paul Chappell’s heart for independent Baptist leaders to strive together for the faith of the Gospel (Philippians 1:27.) In that spirit, our team has been working for months on a new resource website called Ministry127.com (based upon Philippians 1:27.)

Just as the annual Spiritual Leadership Conference brings leaders together for mutual edification, even so, our prayer is that Ministry127.com will be a Spiritual Leadership Conference every day—online!

This site brings together a dynamic and diverse group of like-minded independent Baptist contributors—men and women who are leading the way in fruitful, local church ministry. And we’ve labored to build a strong initial library of resources—from ministry articles, to sermon helps, sermon outlines, videos, illustrations, powerpoint slides, podcasts, and more. It provides resources for:

Pastors and Church Staff Members
Deacons and Lay Leaders
Parents and Families
Sunday School Teachers
Youth Workers
Christian Educators
And Many Others…

Click the photo above to visit this exciting new site. Read the welcome post, watch the tutorial video—and then be sure to use the resources!

Everything on the site is FREE, so be sure to tell others who could benefit as well!

Finally—much thanks to a team of about 20 people who have labored in addition to their normal work responsibilities to bring this site and it’s wealth of content into being over the past 8 months. They’ve done a marvelous job and we sincerely pray it will bless your work.

New SL Podcast—Scheduling Your Priorities

caryschmidt — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 01:20:29 +0000

The March Spiritual Leadership Podcast has posted! You can listen to it above or click here for more information and to receive the complimentary outline!

This lesson is entitled Scheduling Your God-Given Priorities. In it, Pastor Chappell gives a practical look at sorting through the chaos of life to actually accomplish that which God would call a priority! If you are constantly looking for fresh reminders about staying in balance and focused in life, this lesson will be a great help!

Be sure to pass it along to a friend who could also benefit. Thanks for listening! Our prayer is that you will be encouraged!

The Forgotten Side of Submission

caryschmidt — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:14:56 +0000

Not long ago, my wife and I were faced with a really difficult decision. We were faced with two very important schedule conflicts and there was no way we could fulfill both. For several days we worked the situation over in our minds and in talking together. No matter what we chose, something very important in our lives would lose. It was literally a choice between a rock and a hard place.

So we did what most sane people do in situations like this—we decided not to decide. We procrastinated. We put the decision off for as long as we possibly could. No matter how we viewed our options, we always ended with, “well, we have a few more days before we have to decide, so let’s pray about it.”

Though we tried to ignore it, the dreadful moment came. A decision was required. Time had run out. We had talked and prayed. I had repeatedly asked the Lord for wisdom in making the right call, and now it had to be made.

This was one of those situations where I knew I needed to make the tough call. So, in a “trying-to-exude-confidence” moment, I turned to Dana and said, “I want you to trust me on this one.” (Like I knew what I was doing.) I continued, “There isn’t an easy answer on this, so just let me make the call, and let’s trust the Lord that it’s right.”

This was a gut-wrenching choice, and Dana had especially been wrestling with doing the right thing. But in that moment, she was relieved. Even before she knew the decision, she was relieved to put the pressure on my shoulders—or blame, if I was wrong. She was happy to rest in letting me be responsible for the decision. After explaining my decision and why I believed it was right, she gave me a doubting glance, but then said, “OK.” The peace that came over her was noticeable!

I took note of the relief and rest that she experienced. I couldn’t help but think, that’s why the Lord tells a wife to submit to her husband. Submission brings relief from the struggle, freedom from the strain, and escape from the pressure of difficult choices. Submission places the burden of responsibility on the shoulders of an appropriate authority, and let’s the heart rest.

So often we hear teaching on submission that makes it sound so difficult and self-denying—and some times it is. But perhaps even more often, submission brings peace and rest. It allows a restless, struggling soul to find safety and solace in the protective hedge of biblical authority.

The next time you mention or teach on submission, don’t forget the blessing of the forgotten side of submission—the rest and peace that comes with it.

Update: Since the original post, some folks have asked for “the rest of the story”—was it the right decision? The answer—yes. God gave both of us peace that we were doing the right thing, and indeed, it turned out that way. Had we done anything else, we would have regretted it. We are thankful that our Heavenly Father guides us in such difficult moments!

Before You Criticize Your Pastor…

caryschmidt — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:02:31 +0000

Ever noticed that some people relish the criticism of pastors? Like kids and candy—they addict themselves even though it’s rotting something in them. While choosing voluntarily to stay under his leadership, they commit themselves to finding and exploiting every possible imperfection. I’ve never understood this thinking. Selecting a pastor, only to proceed to condemn the selection doesn’t make sense. It’s a strange, sad little game that brings some bizarre satisfaction.

The next time you are tempted to join this crowd and participate in “roasted pastor” after Sunday services, take a moment to remember this list…

Remember the sacrifice he makes to be in the ministry—good pastors would be good at a lot of other things, and most of them could make a lot more money in secular employment. He stays in the ministry because he loves you!

Remember the biblical nurture he provides for your life and family—his study and prayer time have proven effective in feeding and nurturing your spiritual life. He labors in the Word so that your Christian life can be stronger.

Remember the qualities that caused you to appreciate his leadership—at some point you voluntarily placed yourself under his leadership and influence. Take a moment and remember the good qualities that originally led you to this decision!

Remember the victories he has led you towards in life—because of his leadership you’ve probably had a part in some personal and ministry victories—some joyful, abundant moments. Delight in those memories!

Remember the spiritual decisions you have made because of his influence—because of his preaching, you’ve probably avoided some traps, been spared some bad decisions, and seen some real spiritual growth. Take a moment to reflect on those decisions.

Remember that plenty of others are criticizing him—anybody can be a critic, because everybody is imperfect! Look long enough and you’ll find fault with everybody. Too many people join “the dark side.” There’s nothing virtuous or valiant about finding fault and pointing it out—any unspiritual nitwit can do it. It takes a lot more spiritual maturity and depth to be steadfastly committed to a perfect cause with an imperfect church family!

Remember he’s probably bearing burdens he cannot tell you about—outside of my petty little world, my pastor is probably dealing with big things—a man whose life is falling a part, a family on the brink of destruction, a dying loved one, a personal spiritual attack, a church member facing a trial, a child who’s been sexually abused, a wife whose husband just left. He can’t tell you about it all, but it’s still there and it’s all very, very real.

Remember he probably has information you don’t have—critics never have the full story, and usually they grossly distort the few details they do have. It’s their modus operandi! They don’t want the full story—because it removes their ability to imagine and distort it in their favor with their troll-ish followers. I used to believe everybody wanted the truth. Boy was that naive! The few times I’ve tried to approach a dedicated critic with the truth, they either ignore it, don’t believe it, or refuse to hear it. When you don’t understand a decision, just remember, the pastor probably sees a part of this picture that you can’t see.

Remember he would be by your bedside praying if you were sick—yes, even the critics are loved by the pastor. He would drop what he’s doing, leave the dinner table from his family, or change a day off just to be there to visit and pray with you.

Remember he would be standing by you if you faced a hard trial—he would pray, support, and strengthen you during a difficult time, even if he couldn’t know the details.

Remember he would be waiting with you if a family member was hanging between life and death—he would be sitting there, probably weeping with you, and praying for God to intervene with a miracle.

Remember he would be sitting beside you in a lonely courtroom—innocent or guilty, your pastor would be there to pray for the best and encourage you through the worst.

Remember he would give you counsel during a difficult decision—he would help you see through the fog of your own surroundings, sort through the options, and apply biblical principles for a wise decision.

Remember he would still love and support you if you completely failed—if you came to him with the worst news, right now, he would still love you and help you do the right thing in response. He would graciously sit down with you, your family, and those involved and help rebuild what is broken, restore what is damaged, and recover what is lost.

Remember the Lord said to acknowledge and remember him—This is really all God’s idea. Hebrews 13:7 says, “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.”

Remember he is God’s shepherding gift to your life—God says it this way in Ephesians 4:11, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;”

Remember your critical spirit makes you and your family vulnerable—resisting God’s structure of authority is wrong for you just as it’s wrong for your children. Criticism of your spiritual authority opens the door for spiritual attack and it messes up your kids.

Remember no pastor on Earth is perfect—this is a no brainer. Your next church will have just as imperfect a pastor as your present church. Imperfect pastors are as epidemic as imperfect church members!

Remember he doesn’t have to be a pastor—he could walk away tomorrow. Many do. Many finally reach an end—tired, weary, and wounded. Many finally have enough. They realize they don’t have to put up with the public criticism. They can return to private life and live according to their own concerns. Don’t push your pastor that direction—plenty of others already are. Pull him the other direction with your encouragement!

Remember your criticism is more a reflection of your spirit than his faults—wrong-spirited criticism is a product of a impure heart, not an imperfect pastor. If your heart was pure, your criticism would not be criticism. It would be concern and it would be shared one on one with the person of concern. Critics don’t seek to resolve concerns and restore relationships—they seek to fester, stir up, and exaggerate issues. They relish turmoil—even if they have to fabricate it.

Remember your criticism ultimately hurts you—the spirit that drives criticism is like a festering cancerous sore of the soul. It robs joy, clouds vision, skews perspective, and destroys your ability to live joyfully and abundantly. Beyond the internal damage, criticism always damages your testimony. Wise people start avoiding you.

For the record—I don’t believe in hero worship. I don’t believe in dictatorial leadership. I would have no part of spiritual abuse or the manipulation of God’s people. These things are a blight on God’s original intent of spiritual leadership. They are unbiblical, man-centered, and just wrong. Having a biblical love and respect for a godly, servant-hearted, growing pastor is just right—from God’s Word. It is not man-worship. It isn’t blind. It isn’t mindless. It doesn’t violate the priesthood of every believer, the authority of every father, or the individual soul liberty of every person. It’s just wise.

The next time you want to criticize the sincere, godly man you call “Pastor,” remember this list. Stop and think about it. Someone wisely said, “Nobody ever erected a monument to a critic.” Take the high road of spiritual maturity and keep a right spirit. Over the long term, you’ll be glad you didn’t throw away your joy to such mindless, base behavior.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain—and most do.”

Teddy Roosevelt said, “It’s not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doers of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who was actually in the arena, whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood, who knows at best the triumph of high achievement and who if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat”

Hey, I have an idea—why not pick on someone who picks on you—like your dentist!

New SL Podcast—Striving Together

caryschmidt — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:44:10 +0000

The February edition of the Spiritual Leadership Podcast has just posted! And Pastor Paul Chappell shares an insightful “in-studio” interview regarding the lesson.

Originally taught at the Spiritual Leadership Conference 2009, it is entitled “Striving Together.” This lesson focuses on how we should encourage one another in ministry.

The Spiritual Leadership podcast is a free resource from Striving Together Publications (a ministry of Lancaster Baptist Church and West Coast Baptist College).

Enjoy the lesson!

8 Reasons to Follow a Great Leader

Cary Schmidt — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:23:26 +0000

Everybody, in some respect is a leader, and everybody is a follower. Few are called to be the key leader. Many more are called to follow and support a key leader. For instance, a family may have many members but should have one father. A team can have many players (and leaders) but only one head-coach. A church can have multiple leaders, but one senior pastor that clarifies the vision and sets the direction.

How about you? Do you have to be the “lead-leader?” Or has God called you, like most, to follow (and lead) from somewhere in the middle of the pack? If He has, then here are some great reasons to love what God has called you to do:

1. To Be Like Jesus—repeatedly Jesus reminded us that He was sent here by the Father and was on mission from Him, under His authority. (John 4:34, “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.)

2. To Function How God Designed You—God designs some to be visionary and others to implement vision. I’m the latter. That’s not to say that I (or you) are not capable of vision, but simply that I would much rather administrate, strategize, and execute the vision than originate it. For example: Make me think of what should be done—and I’ll flounder in an ocean of endless possibilities, never getting anything done. Tell me what God has put on your heart to accomplish and immediately my mind and heart engage in processing a plan to make it happen.

3. To be a Part of a Great Team—One of Pastor Paul Chappell’s favorite statements is, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” Though we have a large team of leaders at LBC and WCBC, we are all very different and all fulfill very different roles. It’s true—together our strengths complement each other. We accomplish much more as a team than we would individually.

4. To be Stretched to Your Potential—Everybody wants to reach their potential, but few want to actually go there. We fail to consider that “reaching potential” is one hair’s breadth away from “total insanity!” For instance—if you stretch a rubber band to it’s full potential, you are one hair away from “SNAP!”—a broken rubberband. Are you sure you want to reach your potential? If so, be prepared to be stretched way out of your comfort zone.

5. To Develop a Vision Bigger than Self—this ties into point #2. Dynamic, visionary leaders attract people who want to partner together for something great. Everybody likes to be on a winning team!

6. To Hear and Pursue the Truth—you can’t hide from a winning team. You can’t really float or coast with a winning team. If you’re not working hard, pulling your weight, and adding value to the team—everybody knows it. The team creates a natural accountability and motivation that keeps you fully engaged, or convicted when you’re not!

7. To See Your Own Weaknesses–A good leader will help you see your weaknesses, help you play to your strengths, and place you on a team that compensates for your weaknesses. Many people are not willing to face their weaknesses, but a great leader will always help you accept and grow through them.

8. To Enjoy a Great Adventure—no doubt, working for a great leader puts you in places, positions, and circumstances that you would have never placed yourself! (Looking at that statement in light of my last 20 years of ministry, it’s seems like to understatement of the century!)

I’m privileged to work for Pastor Paul Chappell—a great leader. Whether you are a church member, a staff member, or a student, if God gives you the joy to partner with a winning team, you are most blessed! Embrace that second position and prepare for a great adventure!

What blessings have you enjoyed by following a great leader? Add your thoughts below.