Balance.

Today our guest poster is Shaston Hunter. He is the worship pastor of Building Church in Huntsville, AL. Find him on Facebook and follow him on twitter: @shastonhunter.

Balance

Balance is something that has truly been on my heart when it comes to
Christ, this probably has a lot to do with our church just getting out
of our "Balance" series also.

Sadly enough, when I think back to balance in my relationship with
Christ throughout my life time, I found myself not understanding the
principle and importance of it. I am currently 27, A worship leader at
a Church called "Building Church" here in Huntsville AL. I was raised
in church all of my life, involved in every possible way and have been
a believer since I was a kid. It wasn't until about three years ago to
where my life started taking a different chapter and I started
understanding balance in my everyday walk with Christ.

See in the midst of a busy life full of ministry,  school, marriage,
work, etc. We find ourselves so off course from our destiny and
purpose and we find ourselves doing things just because its routine or
we're just used to doing it that way which starts making us so out of
balance. Instead of fully understanding our purpose and pursuing our
destiny, we are pursuing everyday life and the things involved in it
when we don't even realize it. This is when we must bring the balance
back into our life and follow the way Christ has laid before us with
His word. Matthew 4:4 says that man shall not live by bread alone but
by EVERY word that that proceeds from the mouth of God. This just
brings it back to the basics for me. We should be vessels living to
please Him and live by His every word and desire.

Here is some questions to ask yourself regarding balance in your life,
ask yourself these questions and be honest with yourself...

1) What is motivating my decision making?
2) What is most valuable to me?
3) Do my actions support my core values?
4) Where can I start to reflect my core values?

Romans 1:1-2
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy,
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to
God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the
pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his
good, pleasing and perfect will.

I encourage you today to find balance in your life, pursue your
purpose and pursue you destiny all while making sure you have the
correct foundation laid in your life on a daily basis. Bring your
relationship with Jesus back to the BASICS, get into His word everyday
and continue asking Him to grow you and allow His balance for your
life to be magnified!

You Can't See Without Vision.

This is something I wish I would have known going into leadership. I had heard the word vision a lot growing up in church but for some reason I always associated the word with me having to go into a trance and see myself as a wheat stalk and everyone I knew was bowing down to me...sorry I just never imagined myself as wheat so I thought I never had a vision. Maybe I stand alone in this idea of thinking, maybe I wasn't theologically as strong as all of you reading this...but it's what I associated vision with.

Man I was way off.

Now understanding that vision is what God places in your heart for you to be a part of, what makes your life worth living everyday, vision being the driving force behind why you are in leadership roles, I realize that without vision I will never lead because I would have no idea where I was going. God has a plan for your life, and if you're reading this blog you may know exactly what it is. If not I challenge you to really stop and think about what you are doing with your life and how what you are doing/planning on doing will bring glory to God and will change the world.

Did you know you can bring glory to God and change the world and not be a pastor? If you didn't then you should read this.

Without a set vision, you will never accomplish what God has planned for you. When you have vision you have purpose to wake up every day and see the vision unfold before your eyes. Sometimes you will get caught up in life other times you will just miss it because you don't know what IT is. Do not set a limit on your vision, your vision to yourself should seem impossible, when it seems impossible to you it allows you to believe in God to do the impossible.

What's your vision? How impossible is it?

peace be the journey.
///tres

You're Not Good at Everything.

Some of you may have read that title and instantly disagreed with me. If you think you are good at everything then I ask you to respond to this post and I will then give you all the info about this blog and pass this project along to you.

I believe that a leader is great when they admit they are not good at everything. You become more successful with your leading and ministry when you realize this. I can't sing and I can't play the guitar so why would I lead the music in my ministry? If you still aren't following me, I'm terrible at planning youth trips...so I don't, I have someone else do that. My point is that we aren't good at everything, but what you are not good at someone else is, so let them do it. The person that plans our trips does not want to speak at our services...but I am decent at it (I didn't want to say good because I feel like that is bragging). Knowing your limitations is good for your leadership because it requires someone else to step up and lead with you. The whole point in being a leader is to raise more leaders right?

What are you not good at?

peace be the journey.
///tres

Under the Sun.

This past weekend I went to a ministry training conference cleverly entitled MTC. It was great to see friends and make new ones. What stuck out to me and what I wanted to share was a simple phrase that completely changed a thought process.

"There is nothing new under the sun, an idea that you've had...someone else has had it too."

The first part is a phrase I have heard a lot but never in the comparison to leadership and ideas. I began to think how true this is. The disciples took messages from what Jesus had already said and made them their messages, so really the only original speaker was Christ, from him on it's just been repeats in different ways.

This concept doesn't just apply to messages, it can also go with plans and ideas. Of course you can't say you are going to make a carbonated beverage and call it coca-cola, but ideas for leadership, strategic plans, stage ideas, whatever...they can come from anywhere. If you think of it on your own then cool, but I guarantee someone else somewhere has done it. When we realize that we are all in this together then that is when we see the kingdom advance and change everything. You and the local baptist church are not like the bloods and the crips...we are a body together. Be willing to share ideas with everyone even if they don't go to your church. An idea that you have that worked great for you could possibly be something another church in your community needs to reach someone you will never have the opportunity to reach.

There is nothing new under the sun, so I challenge you to use someone else's ideas sometimes because they may be better and more successful than yours, and to share your ideas with someone outside of your church. This might do something unimaginable in your community...you might change it. How crazy would that be? Churches working together for the same common purpose??? Different churches united in the community. When you can get that nothing new is under the sun...it changes everything.

Who can you help? Who can help you?

peace be the journey.
///tres

Resource Friday.

This past October I attended a conference...a refreshing, vision transforming conference. I attended Catalyst. They have a great news letter they send out via email with some articles that will help you with your leadership. Check it out here.

Have a great weekend. May you impact someone with leadership.

peace be the journey.
///tres

One Talent Scenario.

Today we have a guest post from a great friend of mine Jonathan Fox. He is the student pastor of The Church Revived. Check him out on Facebook and follow him on Twitter: f0xishere

Here is what he has to share with young leaders:

ONE-TALENT SCENARIO –  INVESTMENT 

I think one of the most well known parables that Jesus spoke of was the one concerning the talents.  It has been preached in churches all over and is usually a scripture used to point out we are supposed to use our “talents” for God.  Great implication except that the parable deals with more than just using your God given gifts for the work of the ministry.  We have all been given a one-talent scenario that requires us to invest rather than maintain.

As a young leader I know how important it was and is now that I have people who can invest in my life.  I haven’t reached the point in life that I have just because I was clever.  I am the product of other people’s investments.  The parable of the talents is about the use of what God gives you but it is also about investment.  If you look at the parable Jesus speaks of three individuals that received a portion of talents (money, not gifts) according to their ability.  They were given the task to MANAGE what they had until their master returned.  One was given five, the other, two and the third, one.  The first doubled his and was rewarded, the second likewise.  But the third hid his until his master returned and gave it to him preserved and in the fashion it was received.  

I think we miss the big picture of this parable.  Jesus explained that the first two men invested their talents and received back 100% of what they invested.  Either way you slice it both of them acquired the same.  They were given an amount and they doubled it.  They invested and got a return.  The third man however buried his one talent thinking, “If I can just maintain this one thing my master gave me he will be pleased.”  He didn’t step out in faith like the others and invest.  His master even said, “Why didn’t you put my money in the bank, AT LEAST it could have drawn interest.”  It wasn’t about numbers or getting a certain amount.  It was about investing into something in efforts to further what was entrusted to him.  When we invest we will always see a return.  Jesus said in the parable of the sower, “…some thirty, some sixty and some one hundred fold.” The problem is that we try so hard to maintain what we have we lose a desire to invest what we have. 

The idea is not to preserve self or maintain what has been given to you but to step out in faith and invest in the lives around you.  Some investments will turn out to be a bust.  But we can learn and grow as we learn where to invest.  Where and who is God asking us to put our resources, time and energies into.  Investment takes time and faithfulness.  This could be your one-talent scenario.  What are you going to do with it?

Idea is Not Even Half

At one point in time we have all had an idea. When I was young I had an idea to build a roller coaster that went off of my fort in my grandparent's back yard...but it ended with being an idea. Recently I heard someone say that 10% goes to thinking of an idea and the other 90% goes to working out and sticking with the idea. This goes perfect with my idea to build a roller coaster at 7 years old. I had a great idea (to me) but in reality it would never happen because I would never work towards seeing a roller coaster built. (Im giving myself credit saying I could have built it if I wasn't so lazy at 7, not the fact that I was only 7)

But what about you? So many times in leadership we think of a great idea, but how often does it end with just being a great idea? We must think of great things and then start putting them to work. But not just put something to work, stick with it. See your idea start happening and if it starts to slip, stick with it and try and figure out a way to fix it.

Ideas are nothing more than a daydream until you see work on it and make it become what you thought of in your mind.

Are your ideas only ideas right now? Why? Let's see them happen.

peace be the journey.
///tres