Libertyleaders's Xanga

New Blog

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:01:38 GMT

I am using a new blog service for my main blog. This site will remain the same, and will continue to provide a place for leaders to connect at LCC. This site will be more LCC specific than the other site.

Check out the new blog at www.revshortridge.blogspot.com

Post Abortion Seminar

Thu, 29 May 2008 21:53:38 GMT

CareNet is hosting a post abortion seminar for people interested in ministering to those who have had an abortion. I would love to see someone at LCC pick this up as a ministry. Here is the info:

Thursday
June 5, 2008
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
New Covenant Fellowship
Email for info or to confirm your attendance:

Susan Casoni
Administrative Director
Care Net Pregnancy Resource Centers
susan.manassasprc@verizon.net

LibertyLeaders site change

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 20:12:10 GMT

I am making a few changes with this site. In the past, everything here was protected postings. In other words, you needed to be registered by me on the site and signed in to xanga to get to the content. I am making a change in this. All of the LCC specific content is still protected, but the general leadership postings are public. This means:

-- Replies to some posts are visible on the web to anyone that accesses this site.
-- Emerging leaders can explore leadership without signing in.
-- Those who want access to LCC specific postings can still let me know by email, and I will add them to the site.

Self Leadership

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:13:15 GMT

In a Cohort meeting last night, we explored how well LCC is supporting and training leaders. To some degree we fall short here, but I really struggle with what is needed and what is expected here. Good leaders can be developed, but I believe great leaders are self led. Someone that has to be guided in every decision is not leading, they are following. The list below is from Bill Hybels and is a valuable assessment tool to help you become self-led in your leadership. Take the time to get some paper and pencil and answer these questions. They will be a great tool to help you lead yourself to greatness:

Is my calling sure?
Is my vision clear?
Is my passion hot?
Is my character submitted to Christ?
Is my pride subdued?
Are my fears at bay?
Are interior (heart) issues undermining my leadership?
Are my ears open to the Spirit's whisper?
Is my pace sustainable?
Is my heart for God increasing? Is my capacity for loving increasing?

Moral Failure

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 22:25:31 GMT

One of the worst things that can happen to your ministry is to end it in the shame of moral failure. The problem is that it is easy to fall into the trap of moral compromise and failure. The checklist below is a great tool that I found to check yourself to see if you are slipping toward moral failure: (It is written from a man's perspective, but easily translates for women)

Do I feel a sense of entitlement? - "I deserve this because of who I am or what I do."
Am I a gifted entrepreneur, but my life is out of balance?
Do I have the ability to compartmentalize my moral choices? Can I do something wrong and then mentally put it aside while I do something right?
Do I expect my employees and peers to keep quiet when I do questionable things?
Am I a "high risk" man who loves the adrenaline rush of danger or compromise?
Am I a magnet for women? Do they love my power, money, influence, and personality?
Is my integrity in check?
Am I surrounded with "yes men" with very little accountability?
Do I compromise my conscience?
Who is my mentor? Who am I a mentor to?
Do I play by my own rules? Do I have an ethical code?
Do I handle stress in a healthy way?
What do I do with my money? Integrity includes both my physical and my financial self.
Are my moods under control?
Have I found a balance with money, sex, and power?

Let's work together as leaders here at LCC to keep ourselves above reproach.

Bob Roberts on Mission

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:56:03 GMT

Bob Roberts on church and mission
9 Things I'm Learning and Unlearning

I'm learning … that mission begins with Christology not ecclesiology. Following Jesus leads us to mission, which leads to churches gathering.

I'm unlearning … my assumption that starting churches naturally leads to mission. It doesn't. Churches default to self-focus unless a commitment to be like Jesus in the world comes first.

I'm learning … that being glocal means decentralizing power, decision making, information, all of it. The kingdom of God means ministry opportunities are available to almost everyone.

I'm unlearning … the American church's traditional focus on a super-star speaker, worship leader, educator, and shepherd, which serves mainly to attract spectators rather than igniting the power of everyone else.

I'm learning … that we serve not to convert but because we have been converted. We serve because Christ has changed us and made us servants to people who are hurting and lost.

I'm unlearning … the assumption that "Christian" is defined primarily as acknowledging a moment of conversion. Becoming a follower of Jesus depends on what happens after that.

I'm learning … to love people, which means to see them healed, educated, and given the same opportunities that we have.

I'm unlearning … that the Christian faith is all about heaven. I believe the church has denied the future by just waiting for the Second Coming. We need a story that includes the future.

I'm learning … the kingdom will be established not by human power or entertainment, but by realizing God's concern for humanity and the whole of society.

Read the whole article at: http://www.ctlibrary.com/le/2007/winter/3.28.html

Leadership Quote

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:16:39 GMT

"People respond to responsibility. They thrive and grow when you trust them. But if you treat people like incompetent babies, you’ll have to diaper and feed them the rest of your life. When you give authority with responsibility, you’ll be amazed at the creativity of your people." - Rick Warren

Questions from Rick Warren

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:13:04 GMT

I found this article from Rick Warren. It asks some questions each of us should be asking about our ministries.

Seven questions to ask every ministry leader
by Rick Warren

We have a lot of haphazard ministry being done in our churches around the world. Good people, who love the Lord, aren’t thinking through what God has called them to do. Ministry is too important to be done haphazardly. We can’t just say, “I’ll give it my best shot!” We need to think through what the ministries in our church are all about. Our ministries must be good stewards of all they’ve been given. For that to happen, we’ve got to plan ministry strategically.

There are seven important questions that need to be answered when you’re planning an effective ministry. These are questions for any healthy ministry – whether it’s your music ministry, greeters, small group leaders, or any other ministry team.

1. Why are you here?

Every ministry in your church should have a clear idea of what it’s all about. Each one needs a purpose statement. You develop that statement by asking two questions: What is the business of this ministry? And what is none of this ministry’s business?

What’s the business of Saddleback? We attract members, teach them to worship God, develop them to Christlike maturity, and mobilize them for ministry in the church and a life mission in the world. We do that in each stage and segment of their lives. If something doesn’t fit within that mission statement, we don’t do it.

Every ministry within your church needs a purpose statement like that. Ask each ministry: What do you do and what do you not do?

2. What purpose of the church does your ministry fulfill?

Every ministry in your church should be tied to at least one of the five purposes of the church. Is this ministry designed to exalt Christ (worship)? Is it designed to reach out to the community (evangelism)? Is it designed to deepen relationships within the church (fellowship)? Is it designed to build people into Christian maturity (discipleship)? Is it designed to serve the needs of the church family (ministry)?

As a pastor, you need to make sure that each of your ministries does one of these five things. If it doesn’t, your church doesn’t need to be doing it.

3. Who are you trying to reach?

You need to figure out who your ministry is trying to reach – the Community, the Crowd, the Congregation, the Committed, the Core, or the Commissioned. Ministries trying to reach the Community are evangelistic in nature. Ministries that serve those during weekend services are focused on the Crowd. Ministries focused on church members will work with the Congregation. Ministries that help people grow spiritually will center on the Committed. Ministries that meet the needs of people within the church or try to get people involved in the ministry of the church will focus on the Core. And the ministries that help those who’ve committed to be involved in missions (the P.E.A.C.E. Plan for us at Saddleback) will need to focus on the Commissioned. (For a further explanation of these audiences, see my article from the last issue.)

You need to know who your ministry is trying to reach. The Community has different needs than the Committed. The Congregation has different needs than the Core. Knowing who your ministry is trying to serve will influence how the ministry operates.

4. Where do you believe God is calling your ministry to be in six months?

This is the stage where your ministry leaders dream. Where would they like to see the ministry six months from now? If your ministry leaders can’t think about the future, they aren’t ready to lead the ministry. Ask your ministry leaders to get away with God and talk to him about the ministry’s future.

5. How does your ministry do what it has been called to do?

Did you know that your body has nine systems in it? When any one of those systems gets out of order, it’s called an illness or disease. The church (the body of Christ) has systems in it as well. And for us to be healthy our systems have to work properly. How do your ministries do what they’ve been called to do? Ask your ministry leaders to think and pray about how to do ministry more effectively.

6. Who can you partner with to do what God has called you to do?

Your ministry leaders need to constantly be on the watch for people who can join them in ministry. Ask your ministry leaders to begin praying for at least one person who should be joining their ministry team.

Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Pray for laborers.” Ask your ministry leaders to begin praying for more laborers.

7. In what way do you serve people?

Your ministries should serve the people in your community. Are you meeting physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual needs (or a combination thereof)? All of those needs are valid. Part of understanding the identity of your ministries is to know how each of them serves people. Then look for ways you can add value to the services those ministries provide. In other words, look for ways each of your ministries can do a better job providing for the physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual needs of the community.

The Master's Plan

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:33:40 GMT

I am re-reading Robert Coleman's Master Plan of Evangelism and Discipleship. Below are a few quotes from this book to think about:

"One must ask, why are so many professed Christians today stunted in their growth and ineffectual in their witness? Or to put the question in its larger context, why is the contemporary church so frustrated in its witness to the world? Is it not because among the clergy and laity alike there is a general indifference to the commands of God, or at least a kind of contented complacency with mediocrity?"

"This was the essence of his (Jesus) training program--just letting his disciples follow him."

"So far as the bible shows, not one unbelieving person was permitted to see the glorified Lord."

"They (the disciples) were not required to be smart, but they were required to be loyal."

"Jesus did not have the time nor desire to scatter himself on those who wanted to make their own terms of discipleship."

"He (Jesus) did not ask ask anyone to do or be anything which first he had not demonstrated in his own life, therby proving its workability, but also its relevance to his mission in life."

Elders/ Purpose champions at LCC

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:34:32 GMT

Some of you in leadership have asked how you become a purpose champion/ elder at LCC. This is not a bad question. The Bible tells us that desiring such position is a good thing. I wish everyone in the church desired to be an elder. Before I talk about how to become an elder, let's look at what an elder does:
    1. An Elder advises me and assists me in my ministry at LCC.
    2. An elder at LCC also functions as a champion for a specific purpose. Elders promote one of the five purposes and serve as my liaison to the primary ministries that support a particular purpose.
    3. An elder serves in the legal capacity of board member in the church. This means they have broad oversight over the corporate entity of LCC.
    4. An elder leads people to greatness. Elders are inspiring people and lead others to be inspiring people.

Next, let's look at the ethical, moral, and biblical qualifications of an elder. This comes from a document that our elder team agreed to a few years ago:

As an elder/ purpose champion at Liberty Assembly of God, I recognize the unique ministry that God has placed me in. I understand that I am as visible and key leader and that there are biblical standards that I must uphold as an elder leader. I will live my life and ministry constantly trying to live by the following standards derived from Timothy and Titus:

I will teach sound doctrine in agreement with the 16 fundamental truths and will become a master teacher. I will complete a theology class from Global University and take the video seminar “Preaching for life Change”
I will be a person worthy of respect in all aspects of my life. I will uphold the same character standards in all parts of my life.
I will demonstrate self-control by handling stressful situations with maturity, handling all disputes with leaders at Liberty with grace, fulfilling the moral standards taught in Liberty 101, and not using alcohol, tobacco, or drugs.
I will be a person of vision. I will have a written personal vision statement and a written ministry vision statement.
I will live a life of worship. I will tithe faithfully and lead others in worship. I will participate in a HOST group.
I will be dependable and persevere. I will live up to Luke 9:62.
I will live a reverent life. My life choices will match my faith and testimony. I will be careful in my choice of television programs, music, buying habits, and financial decisions.
I will work to multiply ministry. I will at all times have at least one person I am mentoring to take my place.
I will live a life of holiness demonstrated in my usefulness for ministry.
I will be kind. I will maintain a loving attitude toward all people and will seek out friendship with those that are not Christians. I will live my life understanding that Jesus is perfect and that everything else here is less than perfect. I will eliminate dichotomist thinking (social context) from my life.
I will submit to authority. I agree to meet with the pastor once per month and to seek out at least one person who is mentoring me in the faith. I will attend monthly purpose champion meetings.
I will live publicly above reproach and resign this position should my public image be questionable. I agree to resign immediately and without recourse at the lead pastor’s request.
I will make every effort to grow my marriage and family. If divorced, I will teach and live a biblical view of marriage. If involved in a serious marriage issue, I will resign this position.
I will be hospitable. I will share my home and possessions.
I will guard against the love of money. I will be a giver. I will regularly support missions and other causes at Liberty.
I will be mature. This group is only open to people that have been a Liberty member for one year and a Christian for three years. I am Spirit filled and living accordingly.

Elders/ champions are important at LCC, so the final question is how do you become an elder/ champion?

    1. Start doing the work of an elder. No one is named an elder based on potential; we name elders based on their existing ministry as an elder. You don't need the title to start doing the job-- start helping me in my ministry, promoting a purpose, and leading others to greatness.
    2. Come along side of a current elder and begin serving them.
    3. Sharpen your ax. Start taking classes or attending conferences. Start reading. My xanga sites provide a lot of opportunities to discover good books and seminars.
    4. Begin conforming to the lifestyle and character document above. Don't kid yourself and think that you will conform after becoming an elder. Character is what will make you into an elder.
    5. Begin investing your time in LCC. Elders spend a lot of time and sometimes money in meetings and travel to keep themselves functioning at peak level as part of the elder team. This is not a casual job.
    6. Pray about it. It is God that promotes people.
    7. Develop your maturity. Consistently practice the disciplines in Liberty 201. Apply 301 to your life. Take 401.

It is a good thing to want to be a leader. My desire and prayer for everyone in the church is that they grow to the highest level possible.