Plant. Water. Grow.

“After preaching the Good news in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned again to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations. Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church…upon arriving in Antioch, they called the church together and reported about their trip, telling all that God had done and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, too.” (Acts 14:21-27)

What a fabulous EFCC conference at Sun Peaks!  I was so encouraged by the spirit of our discussions, the great worship, and the growing desire for God to intervene among us (and the belief that He will do it!).  We were blessed by our speakers who in morning devotionals and evening plenary sessions challenged us to Plant, Water and Grow.  I really am trusting that we will see a regeneration – a rebirth in our movement; that we will dig in for a supernatural 2020 harvest!

On the closing night I shared from the passage above.  God has impressed upon my heart the need for our EFCC family to do three key things – if indeed we desire to see our association participate in and even lead a gospel movement that will change the world by 2020.  These are: Scatter Seed!  Multiply Leaders!  Celebrate Harvest!

After almost dying at the hands of angry mobs in Lystra, Paul and Barnabas head on to Derbe and – do exactly what got them in trouble before – preach the Good News.  These guys were nuts!  They really were sold out completely to the God of mercy who had saved them (check out Paul’s view of his own sin and God’s mercy in I Timothy 1:12-17)!  Like Paul and Barnabas let’s recommit ourselves to the God of mercy and scatter seed!  But it doesn’t end there – Paul and Barnabas intentionally left an army of leaders behind them!  It seems to me that they chose them, gave advice, strengthened them at times, but then got out of their way!  I would love to see us get serious about laying hands on our best people – young and old – challenging and apprenticing them to be this generation of missionaries in Canada and around the world.  Let’s multiply leaders!  And lastly, they returned home to the church family that sent them – and told stories of how God supernaturally opened doors of faith!  They celebrated God’s intervention – they encouraged believers by reminding them that though our call will lead us through hardships and suffering – God is still in control and still transforms lives!  As an EFCC family it is high time that we share with each other how God is intervening in our mission work!  So please send us stories and we will post them on the website – so we can all celebrate harvest! (You can use any of our contact methods to do it!)

May God transform us, our movement, our nation and world – and over the next 10 years let’s scatter seed, multiply leaders and celebrate harvest!

Serving with you,

Bill

The 2nd Chinese Pulse

This is to include the Chinese brothers and sisters in our congregations here and around the world in the news and celebrations of what God is doing in and through the EFCC. Please share it broadly with anyone you think would be interested (and who can read Chinese)!

Leadership Summit (Morn. Day 2)

From Erwin McManus:
In interviews church is negative, Jesus is negative but spirituality is positive. It’s not about Jesus himself, or what he said or did, it’s how he has been presented. The messages of the church are aimed at people who believe already. They’re not aimed at the curious, or those who have doubt. They’re just to reinforce what the believers believe.

We’re drawn to story. This is the way that we perceive meaning in our lives. We crave meaning, and story gives us the narrative to make sense of life. We have a yearning to do something important.

What makes you happy? Every one of us has an intrinsic craving. We have a craving for destiny (direction). We have a craving for relationship — we long to be loved, and to find someone who will accept our love. We need to be in community — solitary confinement is the ultimate punishment in a prison. It’s a craving, and the source of some of our greatest fear. Everyone is on a journey, and God is on their side. Instead of trying to initiate a conversation, maybe we need to join the conversation already going, and reveal it.

“I want you to know that someone connected to Jesus thinks you’re wonderful.” Instead of arguing with people, asserting our viewpoint, how about we walk alongside them, and help them understand what their souls crave.

From Jeff Manion:
The land between is the interim, the home of the phrase ‘for now’. (eg I’m living with my parents, for now.) Exodus story — “there’s nothing to eat but this ‘what is it?’” This desert land between is fertile ground for complaint…and total meltdown.

Moses said (paraphrasing here): “If you love me, kill me now.” The burden of leadership is too heavy for him to carry it.

The desert is fertile ground for God’s provision. Meat was provided after the Isrealites complained. Meat for a month (until it’s coming out of their nostrils!). Moses queried how that was going to be achieved, and God asked him: “Is the arm of the Lord too short?”

It’s also fertile ground for God’s discipline.

It is fertile ground for transformational growth. The essence of this is trust. Complaint and trust cannot co-exist — trust evicts complaint.

From Terry Kelly:
The CEO of Gore, creator of Gore-Tex. It’s not technology that is responsible for the success, it’s the company’s unique culture. Innovation requires an environment of collaboration. Teams thrown together, tasked with solving a problem, and given a sense of urgency can accomplish remarkable results.

Decision-making shifts based on who has the best information. Lattice is a collection of interconnected nodes. Everyone is connecting with everyone in their network. “We don’t tell people what to do, or what projects to get involved in.” Traditional companies put a lot of importance on the authority figure.

Leaders must lead through influence, not authority. There is far more power when the individual is driving their own commitment. Establish a common sense of values. There is a strong belief in the individual. There is power in small teams. We’re all in the same boat — the entire enterprise benefits when we’re all going the same direction. We want to take a long-term view. Our success is not financial alone.

There is a lot of selling. You have to convince others that your ideas have merit. How much passion does the associate have, and are they able to get other people to gravitate to them. Crowd-sourcing is what determines what ideas/project bubble up. People are paid according to their agreed-on value that they add to the company. People are freed to follow their passion, and are released from the unnatural pressures of success.

Coaching is a major factor of how the company is run. Each associate has a sponsor to help them personally, where their ambitions are, even where their career paths are. It’s scalable because it’s based on beliefs that are universally true. There is a lot of investment into behavioural interviewing.

The waterline principle: if you’re going to consider a decision, you don’t want to risk things below the water-line. There is lots of freedom to experiment and innovate in anything that isn’t going to risk the core.

Anyone can lead in the company. If everyone feels like they are a leader, how powerful that is! The team empowers the leader as the leader feeds into the values of the team.

From Daniel Pink:
Biological — drive, food, sex.

Reward and punishment drive (esp. money) — a rudimentary mechanical skill will improve with a larger reward. A larger reward led to worse performance with complicated tasks. This is routinely ignored.

There are two false assumptions about people.
1.) Human beings are machines — if you move the right levers at the right time you can get them to do what you want.
2.) Human beings are blobs — no matter what you do, they won’t do what you want.

Autonomy — management; “it’s always been here”. It’s a technology…from 1850. It’s designed to get compliance. We don’t want compliance. We want engagement. That comes from self-direction: time, team, task and technique. It’s not an on/off switch, it’s a dimmer-switch.
Mastery — you will engage in something you can get better at. Making progress is the single largest motivator at work. ‘Flow’ is when you aren’t aware of time, you are so connected to your talent/gifting. You have to have feedback to get a sense of progress.
Purpose — money is insufficiently motivating. The ‘we’ organisations are generally more successful than organisations that refer to themselves as ‘they’.

Good organisations tap into the purpose motivation — the third, probably most critical drive that organisations need to engage, deploy and harness.

Leadership Summit (Eve. Day 1)

From Zhao Xiao:
A Chinese economist; leadership isn’t just about influence. It’s also about finding the correct direction. China has had the fastest growth in the history of the world. China is facing significant problems, like environmental pollution, and a resource challenge. The most significant challenge in China is in a moral code. There isn’t a “Chinese dream” comparable to the “American dream”.

There have been many foreign missionaries that have committed their lives to share the Gospel in China. Life transformation has far surpassed economic transformation, and China is expected to become the largest sending country for new missionaries.

We need to champion the cause of Christ in China. Its influence could be an incredible blessing to the rest of the world.

From Andy Stanley:
Leveraging problems to become a growth engine. Great organisations have problems that never get solved, and tensions that never get resolved — these things should exist. Pressure and tension are critical for growth.

A third category exists for the problems. There are problems that can only be managed. Some examples.
Marketing and sales
Systems and flexibility
Engineering and sales
Leading vs shepherding
Numerical growth versus individual growth
Theology vs. application

If you solve this tension, you cause another tension. You cannot pick one or the other extreme in whatever issue, or there will be general (eventual) collapse.

Mature advocates on both sides are an indication that this is a tension to be managed. Sometimes these things are seasonal. Are the two sides really interdependent?

The role of leadership is to leverage the tension for the benefit of the organisation.
a) Identifying the tensions
b) Create terminology (“it’s a tension this isn’t going to get ‘fixed’”)
c) Inform your core (get everyone to understand this principle)
d) Continue to give value to both sides (it’s a habit)
e) Don’t let your bias show too greatly (be able to argue the other side)
f)  Don’t let the strong personalities win (passion isn’t necessarily loud)
g) Not balance, rhythm (you gotta see the season)

As a leader you need to see the difference between problems and unsolvable tensions. At the end of the day, tensions are an important element of power that will help an organisation or church go forward.

Leadership Summit (Aft. Day 1)

From Tony Dungy:
A winning, successful NFL coach: “I’m going to initiate a nurturing, respectful relationship with the guys.” In this industry, that’s not expected. And it took a long time to make it work.

“Stubbornness is virtue, if you’re right.” It’s taken a long time to prove that this approach could work, but it has finally paid off. Winning isn’t the most important thing. Life balance is. Hours invested do not equate with productivity. Make your life match your priorities.

How do you find a mentor? We’ve got to be available to mentor, and in that process, look for the people you admire and respect. The mentoring process can happen from a distance. It doesn’t have to be an icon. You can mentor people from any point, and be mentored from any point. One piece of encouragement can have an enduring, repeating impact.

From Adam Hamilton:
A pastor of a large church speaks on when leaders fall — every week the media carry a story of a leader’s moral fall. In the church, there is concern for the leader and the congregation. If trust is broken at a certain level, then ministry will be hindered, sometimes radically.

People are going to find out, and their trust is betrayed. There are 4 options. Say nothing, and let the rumour mill control the situation. Say little, acknowledge that  Scarlet letter approach, using shame and humiliation to distance themselves. Handle it with transparency, and ask for grace.

I’m asking you to not throw stones, but to be the church. “I’m hoping and praying that you are the kind of church that loves broken people.” Members joined the church that day: if that’s how this church handles this, it’s something I want to be a part of.

The church has a staff covenant signed every year; rules about interaction between men and women. There are three primary drives that lead to the moral problem: Drive for sex (reproduction). Drive for companionship. Drive for sin. One of the keys is to think about what you’re being tempted about in the most disgusting way imagineable. In “the moment of the maybe” our powers to reason are diminished.

The 5 Rs of resisting temptation:
Remember who you are. (You are a child, a parent, a leader, etc.)
Recognise the consequences of your actions. (Imagine the worst case)
Rededicate your life to God. (Stop, drop and pray)
Reveal your struggle to a trusted friend. (Break the power of the secret)
Remove yourself from the situation. (It’s better to change than crash)

The ultimate word in all of this is grace — Jesus died for sinners to experience grace. We cannot afford to shoot our wounded. No-one is beyond redemption.

Leadership Summit (Morn. Day 1)

Okay, so here’s how this is going to go. I’m going to attempt to do this in four posts for the duration that I’m available for this. I’m going to be a little behind the curve because this isn’t just simulcast. It’s also time delayed for each time zone. I personally think that’s pretty cool, but that’s probably just me…

Intro:
There are 7,000 leaders across Canada taking part of this. This intro was created especially for Canada component to this year’s Summit, and Bill Hybels has been in discussion with Canadian leaders about ongoing leadership.

From Bill Hybels:
The Summit is unashamedly Christ-centred: “Let’s start there.” Praying and singing might “trip the weird-meter” of some here not familiar with matters of faith, but we ask you to respect those who engage in this, not because they have to, but because they want to.

He was in a leadership slump recently. There are problems he couldn’t solve: “I wonder if I know anything any more”. Leaders are people that move people from here to there. We can see the current reality, and we have a vision for where we can go. Good people say “Here’s good. There schmere.” The key is not to put more gloss on how good there is, but how bad here is. Why where we are isn’t tenable long term.

One of the greatest joys of leadership is knitting together teams of fantastic people. The four Cs: Character, competency, chemistry and culture. Attract, develop and retain fantastic people.

Celebrate the mile-markers. Once here is unacceptable, energy is exerted to leave. Once you get close to the goal, you push through to the finish. It’s the middle part of the journey that’s the most imperilled. You need to keep people tracking with milestones, and reasons to celebrate.

Hearing whispers from God. Every leader ought to be an incurable reader of the Bible. God puts thoughts in my mind that are not my thoughts. We believe that God still speaks — every single day. Will you do everything in your power to hear it? “The smartest moves that I’ve ever made didn’t come from my human wisdom.”

From Jim Collins:
Great is not up to circumstance solely. It is due to conscious choice. It is not enough to be merely prosperous. There are stages to how the mighty fall. (This is the title of Jim’s book.)

Stage 1: Hubris Born of Success (outrageous arrogance from luck)
Stage 2: Undisciplined Pursuit of More (too much risk)
Stage 3: Denial of Risk and Peril (ignore warning signs)
Stage 4: Grasping for Salvation (greatness isn’t a single event)
Stage 5: Capitulation (giving in to the inevitable)

1. Diagnose the problems.
2. Count your blessings. On a spreadsheet. Once you see all the good things that you did not cause, you will be humbled.
3. Invest more in being interested.
4. How many key seats are there are the bus.
5. Are you on your way up or down.
6. Inventory of the brutal facts.
7. Assemble a ‘to not do’ list.
8. Define results and show mile-markers.
9. Double your reach to young people (practice not core value).
10. Set big hairy audacious goal.

If you are to be great, and not fall, you must never, ever capitulate. Never give up on the core values.

From Christine Caine
Leader of A21 — Abolishing Injustice in the 21st Century. Human beings are trafficked in containers, out of 60 in one situation, only a handful survived long enough to bear the horror of being thrown into a foreign brothel. “If what you believe is true, then where are you?” We are living in a time of unprecedented hopelessness. Times are hard. There’s no doubt about it. But this is the time that the church was made for.

It’s about the one. There are 27 million slaves in the world right now. Numbers are desensitising and dehumanising. When we keep breaking the numbers down to individuals. The hope is the confident expectation we have to share with others. Stir up the passion. You do what you do through passion. A passionate hope that Jesus can and does make a difference will supersede your personality, your talent, your gifting.

Regenerate 2010 Video

Our theme going forward is Regenerate: Plant. Water. Grow. We are trusting God for growth in the EFCC as a movement. And we’re casting forward our imagination for a new harvest in 2020.

We encourage you to play this clip for your church or small group. Trust God with us for His will to be done, and more souls to find freedom and power in His truth and love.

You can download your own copies of this clip using the following links:

Regenerate2010.mp4 (~16MB)
Regenerate2010.wmv (~8MB)

PulseTV The Website Edition

While it may seem redundant to have a video about the website on the website, there is a good reason for it. There are a number of features that are built into this site, and we want you to know about them. As per usual, we’re offering the clips for downloading so that you can show them in your own churches, and get other people to follow the stories on their own. And hopefully make their own contributions to what’s developing here as well!

Downloadable video files (simply right-click and select ‘save as…’):

PulseTV_Episode006.mp4 (~21MB, 2m52s)

PulseTV_Episode006.wmv (~18MB, 2M52s)

EFCC Conference: Initial Summary

I expect that there will be a number of reports from a variety of sources over the next few days from EFCC Conference 2010. Our theme was Regerate: Plant. Water. Grow. I would just like to say that what I appreciated this year was the ‘vibe’. It’s hard to explain exactly what I mean, but I felt a whole new level of togetherness, collaboration and excitement. As I heard other people’s opinions expressed there, I know that I’m not the only one that felt that. I hope that we can keep that going.

I will be posting a online gallery of pictures soon.

If there are other places where you’re seeing reports and updates from Conference 2010, please pass along the sources. And if you’d like to add your own voice to the mix, feel free to add a comment below.

Leadership Summit 2010

Our Home Office staff is looking forward to Global Leadership Summit 2010 which is put on by Willow Creek. This is an inspiring time of hearing from a wide variety of leaders in a variety of contexts, with a variety of priorities, but who are united in their faith. We were impressed by last year’s, and some of the concepts shared there are still percolating in our conversations now. This is highly recommended for you, your pastor(s), your board and any other leader in your church or organisation.

On August 5 & 6 we encourage you to participate with us wherever you are.

Click here to see the line-up of contributors, and other details.

Click here to see if there are locations near you hosting the event.

I have discovered that the venue we will be attending has wireless internet; I’m hoping that I will be able to live blog the event! I will let you know where that will be happening (it could be on this site, but might work better on an external one). Hopefully we will be able to continue the discussion well after the Summit has passed.

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