Session 3: Leading People to the Prodigal God Tim Keller

Tim Keller - Teaching based on the Prodigal Son story

• Dirty little secret- pastors are amazed at how spiritually dead so much of their congregation is….
• So few people do most of the work
• Prodigal son story was more about the good son… Both sons were about the Father's "things", not the "Father"
• There's two ways to get the Father's things.... by being really bad and by being really good... both ways can reject God
• Are we "good" to get our Father's "things"?
• At the end of the parable, the "bad" son is saved, the "good" son is lost... He was alienated to God because he thought he was so good and had expectations on God
• Religion says "I obey therefore I'm accepted"... Gospel believers: "Because of what Christ did, I obey"
• Everything is your's, already done, and you're the light of the one Person who's opinion matters
• The source of spiritual deadness: Elder brothers that believe through their works they are standing with God based on their performance.... self-centeredness, pride, you don't see the fruits of the Spirit
• Elder brothers get incredibly angry when things don't go well.... furious at God because they are owed... Instead of believing they're saved by Grace, they ultimately believe they are owed and therefore spiritually dead
• Elder brothers when criticized either get furious or are crushed... They have such a high personal image of themselves
• Elder brothers pray for things when going bad... there's no intimacy...
• If your self image is based on having the right doctrine, you'll look down on those who disagree with you
• Elder brothers can't forgive... You can't stay angry and bitter at someone unless you feel superior to others...
• Our churches are filled with elder brothers.... to varying degrees
• We need to get to new levels of repentence and new levels of rejoicing
• Until you know how to repent for the reasons for your "right" doing- there's no renewal.
• The dysfunction of why you do "right" things can be the lid to your spiritual renewal.
• There was no way to bring the younger brother back without paying the costs out of the elder brother's inheritance.
• The elder brother was not a brother, he was a Pharisee
• Christ was the ultimate, right elder brother that paid a high cost to bring us home
• Church renewal starts with squeezing the bad elder brother squeezed out of us
• "Ask Jesus into your heart" can be miscontrued to working to be like Jesus sometimes creating a dysfunction elder brother
• The leader needs to first work this out of his/her own heart.... Ultimately, am I really trying to be good for me? Ugh.
• Are you overworking in your ministry because of your dysfunctional basis of success based on numbers in your congregation, etc.?
• Let's believe our Gospel a little more today so we can give our money away more freely...
• Teaching should be gospel centered, not morally centered
• Share personal transformation to your leaders
• Let the leader's spread it through groups or congregation
• When you have gracious disagreements, people coming to you saying they've been going to church a long time but don't think they've been saved.... you may be seeing some spiritual transformation within your church
• Book: The Prodigal God

Session 2: Manage Differently Now- Gary Hamel

Gary Hamel

• Are you changing as fast as the culture and world around you?


• The variables between Christians and non-Christians are hardly noticable


• 9 of 10 Americans have a faith in a spiritual being


• 82% of young non-believers have been to church at least once.... most disconnect within 8-12 weeks


• Is the problem God's message or our methods?


• All to often, churches haven't been "attractive" to the outside world


• Churches are losing market share... attendance is going down...


• We're challenged by fast paced culture, skepticism, angst over all large organizations, and more


• Maybe we should be thankful that less people are "going through the motions" and playing church


• Maybe we should be thankful that young people are forcing us to be clearer in our message and knowing what we believe and why


• When internal change lags, external changes- your organization could be in trouble


• Our problem is inertia.


• The pace of change has gone hyper-critical.... population, energy consumption, internet usage, and more....


• "The world is becoming more turbulent faster than most organizations are becoming resilient"


• Around 40 years of age a church tends to plateau


• Visions become strategies, strategies to processes.... business entrophy


• Success is a self-correcting phenomina


• The same change by eliminating the head of an organization is similar to dictators in 3rd world countries....


• "Every organization is successful until it's not."- Are we in denial?


• Cycle: Dismiss, Rationalize, Mitigate, Confront - Can be seen in boardrooms and bedrooms


• How to deal with denial- get the facts. Numbers don't lie. Just present reality candidly.


• Question your beliefs. Question "how" you do things. have humility, listen to the renegades, do we welcome dissent or do we styful?


• Learn from the fringes in ministry, business, and world


• The future has already happened but is not equally distributed


• Organizations can be stuck with what they have and hold on to it rather than looking at


• Leaders need to make change look more exciting than standing still


• Are we listening to people on our teams to foster new, innovative ideas?


• Most of what we do today is going to be irrelevant in the future.


• Collaborate ideas online: Example: "Dell Ideastorm"


• Hard to create new ideas if you can't deconstruct what you're currently doing, our orthodoxes....


• What hasn't changed in 3-5 years? Why?


• Compare to competition, what's identical and not unique?


• Examples of myths: Church happens in church, more programs means more impact, we need to multi-site with the same cookie cutter styled church we currently have


• Are you more committed to redemption, renewal, and reconciliation vs. programs, policies, and practices of your church? Would you be willing to give up some practices for someone's redemption?


• When the mental models of the leadership team diminish faster than their authority, your organization could be in trouble.... Old leadership can hold an organization hostage to change.


• It's easier for renegades to launch start-ups rather than change old, rigid organizations.


• Are we building an organization that can thrive without dynamic leadership at the top?


• Leader's Job: Mobilize, connect, support "Leaderless organizations"


• People want to be a part of a community, not a hierarchy


• Online, natural hierarchy/leadership.... as soon as the value you're creating diminishes, the less your leadership becomes.... Be relevant and add value.


• The Facebook generation isn't interested in working for a Forturne 500 company or attend a church that looks/acts like one....


• Maybe we need to try a little "disorganized" ministry... empower people

Panel: "Hiring, Firing, and Board Meltdowns"

Panel:
Henry Cloud
David Ireland
Patrick Lencioni
Carly Fiorina
Bill Hybels

Hiring:

• Do people have "cultural" connection- will they fit in your organization and/or lead within-DI
• "If you haven't had a date in 10 years, everyone looks good"- HC
• People see what they want to see, and many times first impressions are simply wrong- CF
• What are the 2 or 3 behavior things that are critical, if they don't have them, we don't want them- PL
• Interviews can be set-up and practiced.... spend time with them in situations outside of work if possible
• What would other people say about you? PL
• Ask the same question 3 times throughout the interview... open ended, be patient... PL
• Ask conversational questions, not yes/no- DI
• The less you talk, better. Ask them more questions about their answers... - HC
• Clear, strong cultures needed- the people that fit there tend to be drawn to them, people that don't they are repulsed.... look around here, if you're not like this, you're going to hate it... People can self-select themselves in... PL
• Clear job description, competencies, personality, needs... -DI
• Why are we hiring, what we're expecting, what is the result we're looking to achieve communicated upfront. - CF
• Create a process for HR, put the right people with those skills in those roles, and let the process work- HC Do you have a process for hiring with the right people involved?

Boards:

• Board needs to have it's own set of values, tone, behavior on how they'll work together- HC
• Make sure the board agreed to have outsiders to the meeting- DI
• Trust needs to be built within the core team, get to know them, so people can be vulnerable with each other- PL
• Take 10 minutes at the end of each meeting and ask, "how did we do?"- HC
• What does it take for a team to be functional? How do we handle tough conversations? Who is the final decision-maker? - CF
• You got to have the right people on the board- can they help move the ship forward? If not, why are they on the board? - DI
• Term limits recommended- 2-6 years possibly... DI
• Board member "exhaustion", 4 year terms at Willow, step out for a year- BH
• Size of board, 6-14, need to be able to have an immune system with a strong team- DI/HC

Firing:

• When someone is let go, they should not be surprised- CF
• It is not compassionate to be honest with people, be candid with care so they have real feeedback of what's working and not working -CF
• When you approach people with candor, they're either improve or begin to realize it's not a fit- PL
• 3 steps/questions... Have I trained them properly? Could they be repositioned? Then, "retire" them...- DI
• Create a 30-90 day plan of probation, plan, feedback for HR process- DI
• "This isn't working, what can we do to make it work?"- PL
• Willow ranks A, B, C- 2 times a year, feedback on how to get to the next level... - BH
• "The kindness form of management is the truth"- Jack Welch
• "Are you prepared to de-motivate your strong performers by leaving non-performers around?" - PL
• When firing, if I had to be the one let go, how would I want to be treated? Try to put yourself in their shoes- HC
• The more clarity you can give people as they're let go in the process helps people when they're being thrusted into "unclear" waters...- CF
• Work to "honor" people in the process- BH

Session 1: "Leading in a New Reality" Bill Hybels

Rogue waves can be as high as 80 feet tall, captains look ahead to sea forecasts and will not travel if these conditions exist...

• We've been hit by an "economic" rogue wave... we're all leading in a new reality as it's nearly impossible to predict what the future holds
• The "old normal" may not come back for a long time if ever
• Rough patches force new levels of courage and creativity, it's not optional anymore
• Prioritization and resource allocations get very focused
• Leaders were created for times like this, teams can form their strongest bonds in the hardest times
• What is coming out of you in these tough times that calm seas never bring?
• October, 2008, stock market dropped 1800 points, people starting losing their jobs in droves- When the wave hit, strategies had to change on a dime.
• In the hardest of times, what a great opportunity for the church to step up and step in to the crisis. Do we still believe the local church is the hope of the world?
• "Some of you have never been on the receiving side of giving... you may need to humble yourselves and be willing to be served."
• Is your church "being the church"? Are you stepping into this opportunity?
• As individuals and leaders of business, are we rolling our sleeves up to help more now than even?
• Willow has created margin before and after their services to help people relieve the added tension and stress they are feeling through worship, the arts, prayer... an added 5-20 minutes before and after the service
• Financial planning when revenue is going down while needs are rising is tough, the numbers don't add up...
• Jack Welch, "In a crisis, cash is king." All organizations need cash reserves to help buy "time" to make adjustments. 25% of annual needs in long term cash reserves, individuals 6 months of earnings
• Make 3 buckets, A/B/C... C- If your revenue dropped 50%, these would be the initiatives to go, Bucket B- 75% of revenue lost, what would go? Bucket A- The thing we would never stop doing...
• When cuts are made, try to give people to give months notice, not days... be generous in severance packages
• Willow budget standards: 50% of revenue to staff, 10% given away, 10% "wins of the spirit" flexible planning for budget changes mid-course , 15% ministry budgets, 15% facilities/utilities/debt service.... adjust accordingly
• People will still give money to a white hot vision... How's your vision? How are you communicating it?
• People will still be incredibly generous if you teach them, lead them, and cast the vision
• 2 Chronicles 16:9 God is looking for people that are "fully" for Him... He wants to use us and pour out His plan through us
• Are we creating working environments to fully allow our people to soar?
• "How the Mighty Have Fallen"- Jim Collins book..... How many absolute key leadership seat positions in your organization? What % of those key people are filled by those key people? What is our plan for filling the rest of those seats with those key people? Are we developing back-up positions for those key seats for those key people?
• How are you managing this new reality? Are you taking care of you? Can you sustain yourself at the current pace and pressure? How are you replenishing yourself?
• "The pace at which I'm doing the work of God is destroying God's work in me"- BH 20 years ago in his journal
• Romans 8:6 When you're in sync with the Spirit, you're full of life and peace.... Are you filled up?
• The more your tank empties, the more fallout that's happening to the people around you
• Who fills you up? Who depletes you? Fill your tank, hang out with "fillers"....
• "When I listen to God more slowly, he speaks to me more clearly"- BH devotional time
• The best thing you can bring to your team, company, organization, and family is a "filled up bucket"... What are your followers seeing from you these days?
• God is not done. Hold on to Him... he wants to do great things in our day and through your leadership.