After The Win

Recently, we had a major event at our church. We hosted a men's conference that was planned for several months. The anticipation of the conference was so palpable in the atmosphere. It consumed our minds as to how to make it the best we could. We spent resources to market it and to promote to the best of our ability. Finally, we got to the days prior to the conference and the last minute details seemed to be too numerous to count. The conference day arrived and it was great. We had to adjust on the fly but who doesn't. Sunday came and the speaker gave his final address and then we took him to the airport dropped him off and that was it. Conference done. People saved and changed, budgets met, a big win for our church.

On the drive back home from the airport, I was talking to one of our deacons and a very big question came up. What's next? We sat in silence for a little bit and then something amazing happened. My deacon, who is the best one I have ever seen, said "this is what will make us or break us." My mind raced as I processed this statement.

So often, we get hung up in the preliminaries and planning that we forget to plan after the win happens. Thankfully, we did plan out after the conference. For us, we knew that this was a spring board for us to launch our men's ministry. But for many people, they lose the momentum because they failed to plan after the win.

After the win there are some vital things that must happen. Here are a few.

1. CELEBRATE. You and your church just completed a monumental challenge and walked away with energy and vigor that is difficult to manufacture. It is pure raw energy. Let the people see you smile and hear you give praises and accolades to those who were involved. One of the worst things to do is not to celebrate because you take on the worker bee mentality. It is just back to making more honey and then making more honey. Celebrate the win.

2. DON'T CELEBRATE TOO LONG. How long is too long? Celebration varies some situations call for longer and others for shorter. With this conference and previous conferences we have done, we celebrated and heard testimonies for a week or so, but we began to teach and talk on what we were going to do with the results from the conference as it applied to us. We wanted our congregation to see that the events have purpose but the end result was helping people not having an event. So, now we are navigating the nuts and bolts stage of men's ministry and how it will be the most effective. We are allowing the church to walk that journey with us and be a part of the process.

3. ARTICULATE THE RESULTS AND WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WITH THEM. If people can see that what has been done had purpose and is being acted upon, they will rally behind it. They may not even understand all the details. They are just happy to see that their time, talents, and treasure went to benefit people and the church as a whole.

It sounds simple right? Celebrate the win, don't hang out on it for so long you can't see the need to do anything else, and let people see why it was done in the first place. It may sound simple but many leaders will try to make things happen and they many times will succeed but they fail to bring their congregations along with them or place themselves in the position as dictator and the do what I say do individual. This never allows the purpose to gel in the hearts of the people. If the purpose fails to gel the actions of the people will be sluggish and they many times will come away with a feeling of being used instead of being valued. Be intentional in your words. Your praise means more than you know and your vague or sarcastic criticisms penetrate deeper than you may think as well.

Above all build relationships. Build the community. You are not about events you are about people. Be genuine.

Hard To Believe

Have you ever had one of those mementos where your faith in what God could do and then seeing him do it collided with each other? Today was one of those days for me. Many of you know that my youngest son Joel was born 3 months premature. For those of you who don't here is a brief description of his struggle. My wife's water broke completely at 16 weeks. Yes 16 weeks. We immediately went to the OB and he sent us immediately to a specialist who told us to abort this little baby because there was less than 0% chance of his survival. We called anyone and everyone who knew how to pray and decided that only God can decide life and death and so we went home praying that God would do something miraculous. My wife placed herself on bed rest and started drinking enormous amounts of water. In December, we went back to the specialist who were surprised that we were still pregnant. My wife was placed in the hospital and I became a single father and full time pastor for the next 3 months. Joel was born at 2 pounds 8 ounces on January 10th. He surprised the doctors at his progression and actually was released on oxygen a week before his actual due date.

That was a miracle. The doctors told us that his life would be less than extraordinary. He would have very little cognitive functions and very limited motor functions. They said he would more than likely develop CP or some other disorder. We received nothing but bad reports about him. But, we knew God had performed a miracle. Joel progressed and while he has had some difficulties and some struggles, he is functioning and doing well. That brings me to today.

My wife and I dropped my son off at school today for the first time. No tears were shed by my son. He was unbuckling his seatbelt to get up and get started with school. I took a snap shot of him holding his bear on the way to school. Beary will be sitting in the van today waiting for my son to come out of school. Joel hugged me said by dad and pulled away from me and was met by a teacher who was so excited to see him. He walked with her and as we pulled away did not even look back he just kept walking and went in to begin the next great chapter of his life.

That's when my mind flashed back through all the pictures of my son on monitors in the NICU. All the hours of therapy and stretching to make sure his muscles were loose. All the giggles and funny games we played together as he was growing up and surpassing expectations of physicians. It was in that moment also that God placed on my heart this one thought. "THAT'S WHAT FAITH DOES."

Faith enables us to walk without looking back. It helps us to overcome fear of the unknown. It strengthens us and brings us to a new level of confidence. Had we believed the doctors, my son would not be here. Had we believed the therapists, my son would be lower functioning and meeting their expectations instead of surpassing the expectations of man.

I shed some tears today as I watched my kids go to school. But, my faith was charged because I was watching the results of it in real time. Thank you God for your faithfulness and steadfastness. Happy first day of school.

Fighting Insecurity

Many of you who know me would say that I am a pretty secure person. I don't let doubt show in my face or my actions. I have been told I come across as confident and not at all shy. Let me admit something to you. I battle insecurity daily. It is only by the grace and strength of God that I am who I am. Lots of people just gave me an amen right there because you do the same thing. 

Insecurity is one of the hardest battles for anyone to fight. It attacks your very make up and structure. I battle this almost every day. I have tasks that I know must be completed but sometimes the thoughts of "why would someone listen to you? who do you think you are? Do you remember what you used to be like?" come in with such force, I have to stop and get my bearings back. Some of you have no idea what I am talking about and still others are again giving me an amen. You know precisely what I am talking about. So, for what it is worth to you, I want to give you some steps to overcome insecurity. 

1. Remember who made you. 

Seems simple remember that God created you. God is not bound by the circumstances of your birth or your life or your family. He created you in his image and the image of the creator is perfect and bold. When you feel insecurity rising in you, stop and say a prayer and remind yourself that you were created by God for his purpose and he has never and will never create junk. 

2. Everything you need has been given to you. 

I remember reading the first chapter of Ephesians where the scripture says all things have been given to you. Notice the word have. It is saying that what we need to succeed has been given to us already. We have access to them. We simply must take them and use them. We can battle with feeling ill equipped or ill prepared but we can be confident in knowing that God has given us what we need to succeed and not just to participate but to see it through to completion. 

3. The power is not yours it is God's power. 

At first, you may view this a a slight contradiction but in actuality it is a statement of truth that expounds on the previous point. The power to do has been given to each one of us who believe. But, it is not a fleshly power that has been given. It is spiritual power which comes from God and if we understand that supernatural power from the very hand of God is what we now have access to and full right to use then we can be confident and not be insecure. God is never weak and never runs, so we can be strong and courageous. 

When I need to get my head together, I stop and think on these three things and I feel the spiritual recharge. I do what scripture directs and take captive every thought that comes into my head and make it submit to the will of God. It is not my will but it is the Lords will. We can succeed at anything we put our minds to. Remember he has given you all the power you need to succeed and win not just merely get by.