Archive for Leadership
Spiritual Battle Is For Keeps
Posted by: | Comments
If you’re a women’s ministry leader (or really any kind of ministry leader), you can be assured that when you are planning a program, an event or a worship service, you are going to face spiritual attack.
Our office is one week away from our largest annual event. We are expecting more than 2,200 women for a weekend of meeting with the Lord. We have a keen understanding that many women arrive with lots of burdens and spiritual needs.
So why would we not expect to encounter struggles?
In the matter of two hours yesterday, our office felt the impact. There were three phone calls that involved conflict resolution. One of our key retreat team members was called for jury duty. One team member might need surgery. One team member has cancer. All I could say was, “God must be up to something great if the enemy is working this hard.”
If we’re to expect spiritual warfare as a leader, then how do we respond? Here’s some practical things to remember when you are under attack:
1) Prayer is an essential weapon. Yesterday, Kristin (my assistant) and I just stopped and spent time praying. One of my team members sent out an email to our leadership team and called on them to pray. Ephesians 6:18 in The Message says, ”In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.” Even in the midst of what was happening around us, prayer kept us focused and gave us peace. I loved a tweet I saw from Louie Giglio this week that said, “If we knew what was really happening when we pray, we would pray more.” Agreed.
2) Recognize your weakness and depend on God’s strength. God has a good way of humbling me and reminding me that I can’t complete tasks without depending on Him. When was the last time God asked you to do something bigger than you could do in your own power and strength? In the same passage in Ephesians, Paul says, “You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own.”
3) Be prepared before you head into battle. There are many things Godly leaders must do on a consistent basis to prepare themselves for spiritual battle. Spending time in God’s word and putting on the full armor of God happens before you go into the arena–not when the arrows are aimed straight at you. Paul begins Eph. 6:13 by saying two simple words, “Be prepared.”
4) What you do has eternal significance. I sometimes think ministry leaders don’t fully realize this. We battle for keeps. When you hear about conflict, struggles and unforeseen circumstances from others who aren’t in ministry, be mindful of the differences. While I don’t want to negate the struggles others go through, I think ministry leaders should recognize that the work of their hands has eternal value. I can’t say it any better than Paul did in this passage when he wrote, “This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.”
How are you handling spiritual warfare today dear ministry leader? Let’s get out the sword of God’s word and do battle for the Lord. I’m glad I’m on the Victor’s side.
The “Jimmy Leg”
Posted by: | Comments
Today’s guest post is by Laci Tompkins. Laci is the head women’s basketball coach at the University of Science and Arts in Chickasha. She serves on the BGCO state women’s leadership team and on the state human trafficking task force. You can contact Laci at ltompkins@usao.edu.
Do you or your spouse have the “jimmy leg?” You know, the restless leg that kicks randomly in the night with sporadic jerks? It’s somewhat interesting at first, but then as time goes by, it becomes a problem. There is no sleep, no rest, anxiety and so on. There are times in our lives when we too become restless. We become discontent and unsettled with anything from our house, our job, our marriage, our place in life, our church responsibilities and an assortment of other things. In all these areas, we need to learn how to model contentment, not restlessness.
Being content is easier said than done. That’s like asking a child who just had a candy bar and a soft drink to sit still on a bench in a toy store for thirty minutes! It’s not happening. It’s our nature to keep a demanding pace, set higher goals and strive for more. But in the midst of our restlessness, are we demonstrating our lack of dependence on God? Simply put, is God enough for you?
Sometimes I believe God allows difficult times and situations to humble us. It is during these times He reminds us He is everything. He is enough and more. In Luke 10:7-8 Jesus sends out seventy-two new disciples and He gives them instructions on how to conduct themselves. He tells them don’t move around from house to house, and eat and drink what their hosts gives them. In other words, model contentment and not restlessness. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” It also states, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” If you are going through a difficult time, be still, acknowledge God is all you need and unclench your fingers from your fists. Give up your dream for God’s dream, and your wants for His will. Pray His desires become your desires.
If you find you have the “spiritual jimmy leg”, then recognize it for what it is. The Bible says we are drawn away by our own lusts. Reel it back in and simmer down. Count your blessings and model contentment. And when you catch yourself behaving like the child hyped up on sugar, remind yourself, “I will not be that child.”
There’s No Retirement Here
Posted by: | Comments
It will be several years before I can officially retire from working. But, a few days ago I was reminded that retirement from working does not mean retiring from ministry.
Last week I blogged about the precious little girls I met at the annual Lottie Moon Tea. On Friday, I met with a group of women from Baptist Village Communities to share the message of missions. Instead of me teaching them, I was the one who “got schooled!”
First, these women all live independently and are quite active. Their activities director told me, “They wear me out! I can’t find enough things for them to do!” One of the women was the Children’s Specialist for our convention until her retirement in 1998. Another was an education minister in our state for many years. Talk about organizers! I’ve known Joyce Shelby since I was in college, and she was a woman in ministry long before it was acceptable in many of our churches. She paved the way for women in full time ministry.
These women had the room completely decorated. They had placemats made with the Lottie Moon artwork. They had refreshments. They had an agenda. They had it going on – even down to their Christmas sweaters. One woman even came straight from her church where she had been a volunteer for their food pantry. (In the back of my mind, I kept telling myself that I was looking into the future. I can just see me running the women’s meetings at the retirement center and looking for the right centerpieces!)
As I stood before them to speak and share my heart for the world, I was overwhelmed with emotion. For those of you who know me, that’s not too difficult to believe. As I looked into their faces, I was reminded that this generation raised me. They taught me about Jesus. They sacrificed for me. They gave of their finances and time. Most importantly, they prayed for me. They encouraged me when I came to the convention. How could I not feel like I was standing in a room full of spiritual mothers?
Today I received a thank you note from their leader. Yes, people still actually write thank you notes that aren’t a Facebook message. Once again, I was reminded we should honor those who have gone before us.
As a leader, how have you honored those before you? How can you be an encouragement to them? I shudder at the thought of losing this generation of women. They are the backbone of many churches. The biggest honor we could bestow is to take up the mantle for missions by giving, praying, sending and going. We can honor them by deciding our retirement from work is only a step into a new phase of servanthood. Until we face eternity, let’s press on toward the mark of Christ Jesus. He’s not through with you.
Nametags, Signs and Other Details
Posted by: | Comments
Our office is packing up for one of our most anticipated events of the year–SWEET Experience. We started our SWEET events six years ago and they have become one of our favorite ways to meet women and equip them for ministry. This year we’ve taken it to a completely different level–complete with lots of missional experiences women can learn and take back to their community and church. We can’t wait.
As we finish details on our end, it reminded me that some of the most important things in women’s ministry never make it to the headlines. They are the things you “expect” but may not consider as part of leadership development. What are they?
Nametags, signs and little details. We have a joke in our office that when we’ve spent too much time on a nametag design, we often remind ourselves, “It’s a nametag.” But, we also know that those minor considerations can add the final touch to your planning and eye for making everything say, “We thought about you when we put this event together.”
We also spend a lot of time making tons of signage. It’s another favorite joke around our office. We have a love affair with the laminator. But seriously, signs are something you may not consider important. But they are. Next time you go to church, pretend it’s your first time and you have no idea where things are. Is there adequate signage? Is your facility friendly to strangers?
And other details. Yep. We’ve thought of it all. We have water bottles with SWEET labels. We have cotton candy with stickers about our event. We even have Cracker Jacks that will be given out when women leave our event that say, “We hope you had a SWEET Experience.” We’ve made red-striped vests for our leadership team and I don’t want to give away my special secret, but suffice it to say, I will be pulling some fun things out of my Ringmaster ”hat” at the end of the event.
So today’s tip for leaders is think through the details. Women know when you’ve taken the time to care.
P.S. If you still want to attend the event, we have room for a few more. You can register on-site Saturday morning at FBC Moore. Details at www.bgco.org/women.
Are Meetings Killing Your Leadership?
Posted by: | Comments
Even though today is the first day of school for a lot of moms and I would much rather blog about sending my daughter off for her last year of high school, I’m determined to follow my idea of writing on specific topics on specific days. With that in mind, let’s venture into today’s “Thursday Tasks” which will focus on developing your leadership skills as a woman.
If you’re like me, I spend a lot of time in meetings. Some meetings I’m asked to attend and some I’m asked to lead. More often than not, I come away with a sense of dissatisfaction and a feeling of wasted time. (just to clarify–I feel that way when I attend meetings, not lead meetings. You can insert a smile of saracasm.)
So, how can you plan meetings that don’t kill your leadership influence? Here are some practical tips I’ve learned through the years and I hope it will help you become a better meeting planner.
1. Take a hard look at past meetings and assess their effectiveness. Do people dread your meetings? Do people feel they can express their opinions and ideas? Are you talking “to” the attendees or “with” the attendees? Are people disengaged during your meetings i.e. playing on their phone or laptop? If the answer is “yes”, then you’re ready to make some changes.
2. Be prepared and purposeful. When I show up at a meeting and there’s no written agenda, I’m instantly disengaged. Why? Because the leader didn’t take the time to strategically think about the outcome of the meeting. I’ve attended several meetings this summer led by men who lead churches. I’ve been blown away by the lack of thought in their preparation. There was no agenda, no resources provided and no strategy. I can honestly say I’ve wasted hours hearing people chase rabbits and by the end of the meetings (which have been several hours), I’ve concluded that nothing was accomplished. If you’re planning a meeting, please have an agenda, refreshments and let your attendees know that their time is valuable and appreciated.
3. Start on time and end on time. Really, people do have other things to do. If you set a pattern for starting late, you can be sure that people will catch on quickly and will never show up on time. But if you begin on time and they are late, they learn a quick lesson on the importance of timeliness. Same with ending the meeting. If people have more things to discuss, dismiss those who need to go and spend one-on-one time with those who have additional questions or things they need to say.
4. Allow for interaction, but keep the meeting focused. If you sense that people are “chasing rabbits”, gently re-direct the conversation to the agenda and keep them on task. Don’t ignore conflict. Address it and discuss it. If the conflict is personal, ask the individual to meet with you personally following the meeting.
5. Mix up the meetings. Are your meetings typically the same with just different agenda items? Is the environment always the same? Try something new next time. Instead of starting your meeting with prayer, find a creative way to pray during a different time. Insert a video to mix things up. Have the meeting in a different location or at least set the chairs in a different way. In a day where people are easily distracted, it’s not a bad idea to mix things up every 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Allow teamwork and collaboration to occur. Depending on the size of your meeting, divide the group into small teams and give them specific questions to address. Ask them to share their thoughts and findings with the entire group and allow for interaction. If you’re the only one talking in meetings, it’s not a meeting. It’s a lecture.
7. Allow time for fun and food. Sometimes we are just way too serious in our meetings. I’ve had women play games with balloons and play dough. I always have chocolate on the tables (a must for any women’s meeting) and I always provide some sort of meal if the meeting lasts more than two hours.
8. Be honest and authentic with your attendees. My event teams and my leadership team will tell you that I’m brutally honest with them about the way I feel things are going. I often wonder if I share too much. But I’ve learned they often sympathize with my struggles and are willing to offer practical solutions to the problems we might be facing.
9. Prayer time. This is going to sound so unspiritual, but I must address this issue. No doubt, I believe prayer is foundational and can set the tone for your meeting. But unless prayer is the entire focus of your meeting, do not spend an enormous chunk of time in prayer. I have been in meetings where the first hour was spent praying. This would have been fine if I had known this was going to take half of the meeting time from the beginning or if it was directed with a specific plan or purpose. But if you’re spending 30 minutes sharing prayer requests and 30 minutes praying, you probably won’t spend enough time tackling the agenda. On the other hand, if you are going to allow for an extended time of prayer, create the time as an experience. Direct the prayer focus. Provide scriptures to pray. Add a prayer walk or visuals. Again, prayer is vital, but it can kill a meeting if done without purpose.
10. Finally, be the leader when you lead a meeting. Don’t let someone else lead for you. Monitor the pace of your meeting, the flow of the agenda and be mindful of how your attendees are engaged. Be mindful of how the Holy Spirit is moving and be sensitive in the way you respond.
A Carnival With No Clowns
Posted by: | Comments
As our office approaches the early deadline for our SWEET Experience event, I thought I would share some of the exciting speakers who will challenge and encourage you. While we are using a carnival theme, I can assure you there will be no clowns on stage–just women who are passionate about helping women change the world. (although I’d love to find someone who wants to come and make animal balloons for free.)
We’re calling the morning session, “Under the Big Top”. It will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Worship Center at First Baptist, Moore. You’ll be greeted by our amazing worship leader, Amy Hill. Amy has been speaking and leading worship at women’s events for several years and you will find that she will get you ready for a day of experiencing the Lord.
Andrea Mullins will be one of the featured speakers under the Big Top. From the first time I met Andrea, I knew she was one sharp lady. She has been with WMU for several years, and although she leads a team of people who accomplish incredible work, one of her interesting passions is her love for Olympic ministry. She’s attended several Olympics over the years with the mission of sharing the Gospel. She heads up the WorldCraft ministry at WMU, a ministry offering small business owners in developing countries the opportunity to sell their products. WorldCrafts is a fair trade ministry that offers hope to women and men who struggle with poverty, disease and human trafficking. She also serves as the publisher for New Hope, the publishing arm of WMU. Some of the best missional authors are represented by New Hope. I love this publisher’s ability to not just publish books that sell, but books that are impacting missional living.
Our final speaker under the Big Top is Jaye Martin. Jaye is no stranger in the world of women’s work. Many of you may be familiar with her resource, Heart Call, which was produced by the North American Mission Board. She is currently the Director of Women’s Leadership at The Southern Seminary in Kentucky. She is respected and admired for her passion to help women connect their calling to their spiritual gifts.
This is just the Big Top! In addition, there are more than 20 Side Shows offered in the morning. All of them will be led by women who are experts in their field. (not the bearded lady) I can’t wait for you to be a part of this exciting day of women’s leadership development. Are you coming? Are you bringing other women? Don’t forget the early registration deadline is August 8. We’re looking forward to serving you.
Where Conference Meets Carnival
Posted by: | Comments
Are you a woman who wants to make a difference in her world? Most of the women I meet will tell you “yes.” They want to make a difference in their family, their church and in their community. In fact, most women I know hope that deep down inside of them they have the influence to make the world a better place–even if it’s something as simple as choosing to buy things that are environmentally friendly or as complex as fighting poverty.
If this describes you, then you’re the kind of woman our office wants at our upcoming SWEET Experience event on Saturday, August 27, at First Baptist, Moore. SWEET stands for Statewide Women’s Enrichment and Education Training. While we have been conducting SWEET events for six years, this year we’re bringing a new twist to the one-day conference. The morning will be filled with a general session and breakout sessions (we’re calling them Side Shows), but the afternoon will be turned into a huge Midway carnival where women can connect to several ministries, experience missions and take back ideas they can implement in their women’s ministry.
Registration is open and the cost is only $35 if you register by August 8. For more information, visit our website at www.bgco.org/women.
The Principle of Leader Plus One
Posted by: | CommentsAnd the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. 2 Timothy 2:2
Does your women’s ministry have a strategic plan or system to raise up new leaders? What about your entire church?
I often hear women complain that younger women aren’t involved in their ministry and they have no idea how to reach them. Translation: I try to get younger women to things I like and plan and can’t figure out why they don’t want to come.
Instead of banging your head against the wall trying to get younger women to attend things designed for and by older women, the question should become, “How am I mentoring a younger woman and how am I investing in the life of younger women in my church?”
A few months ago I heard Thom Rainer, President of LifeWay Christian Resources, discuss some basic principles of leadership that are not only good for general church leadership, but are extremely helpful for women. Here’s a few principles he shared that I would like to pass along in today’s post.
1. The Principle of L + 1
In recent studies, only 53 percent of churches admitted they had a system in place to raise up future leaders. There must be a shift from the “me” mentality to “we” mentality. Twenty six percent of church leaders admitted they were afraid to step aside and hand ministry off. A better role model would be L + 1, or one leader plus one leader in training. What does this look like practically? Every leader or committee chair should have someone in training. This also means downward mentorship (the older teaches the younger) and upward mentorship (the younger teaches the older).
2. The Principle of Reward
Do you remember getting awards or recognition as a child? I was always jealous because my sister got trophies for running. I just got certificates for piano awards. Her rewards always seemed a lot more appealing! Humans want and desire to be recognized for their efforts. And if you’re not rewarding them, you’re punishing them (whether you realize it or not). Rainer said, “Praise from a leader produces repetition in a follower.” What you celebrate, you become.
3. Principle of Eating the Elephant
If you’re a women’s leader, no doubt there are probably some elephants in the room. There are things that need to change or vision that needs to be cast. But, be patient in making changes. It takes a long time to eat an elephant and making changes in your ministry requires patience. If you change too quickly, your ministry could implode. Rainer made the comment, “Show urgency towards people and patience for organizations.” Well said Dr. Rainer. People want to know you have their immediate attention, but organizational change may take awhile. Some people estimate it can take a leader five years for significant change to occur. The average tenure of a pastor? Four years. Do the math.
4. The Principle of Strategic Relationships
When I speak about leadership and ministry, I almost always say, “Ministry boils down to one thing–relationships. If you don’t like people, you won’t like ministry.” Dr. Rainer pointed out that leaders need to ask the question, “Who are the influencers?” “Who can I coach?” and “How can I create a missional culture within my people?”
Remind yourself to slow down and listen to the people who are in your ministry. Listen to their ideas, their warnings and how they want to be involved. Never be afraid to ask someone to join your team.
5. Principle of a Leadership Team
Our office has done quite a few seminars on building an effective leadership team. The reason is because we know the importance of surrounding yourself with people who bring to the table a variety of talents, gifts and passions. Fill your ministry with leaders who have a compelling purpose and they will attract more leaders. This is vital to the work of what our office does each year–especially when we are in the midst of planning events. We just completed our biggest event of the year with close to 2,000 women. The leadership team is approximately 14 women who lead various teams which consist of approximately 100 volunteers. There is no way I can effectively manage each team, but the leadership team is committed to seeing women grow in their walk with the Lord and desire deeply for women to be touched by the word of God.
So, how are you doing as a leader? Who is the one younger person you are bringing up in ministry? How are you investing in her life? What is she teaching you? God has entrusted people to your care. Be a leader plus one.
Cracking Creativity: Part Three
Posted by: | CommentsToday is the final installment of our series on how to instill creativity into your women’s ministry. In this post, I’d like to give you some tips on being creative with a ministry idea–especially when planning an event or retreat with your women. So, without further hesitation, let’s look at six simple ways to be creative with a ministry idea.
1. Always keep your theme in mind when planning. First of all, do you have a theme? Is it based on a Bible Study or a verse? Last year, our state women’s retreat used the theme “Interrupted.” It was based on our keynote speaker’s Bible study by the same name. But, our team played off the theme in several ways. Our stage took the word and separated it in half–creating a visual interruption. Subtle, but, yes, it was well-thought out. We used a roving camera at the end of general sessions with one of our team as she “interrupted” the session. The program included thoughts from the planning team and how God had used interruptions to draw us closer to Him.
2. Think about the “look” and be consistent. Use the same artwork in several places. Incorporate the same colors in all areas, from the promotion pieces to the decorations. It should all “flow.”
3. Instill the theme verse in every area. At the retreat last year, we used Isaiah 52:7 which says, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation.” In addition to playing off our speaker’s personal story of God instructing her to be the “bare-foot” church, we used feet in our prayer room. We brought in shoes from missionaries in East Asia to symbolize the beautiful feet of those carrying the Gospel in hard places. Wherever we could use “feet”, it worked.
4. Don’t forget to add the “fun” and the “beautiful.” This may not sound very spiritual, but sometimes we forget to have some fun with our themes. We had a blast re-creating Julia Childs in our promo video and in our rules video. Women love to laugh! And while sometimes women’s minsitry gets the reputation for being “fluff” (please don’t get me started on this), women do like beautiful things. They like details and they like to be pampered. And, honestly, it’s o.k. We’re girls and sometimes we just want to enjoy being feminine.
5. Shop with all of these things in mind. If you are using a certain theme or color, keep your eye out for items in stores that might match or “go” with your theme. Visit the local arts and crafts store. And if you’re planning several months in advance and want to know what colors might be available, search on the internet to find out what will be in style for the next season. You can bet you’ll find stores with those colors. (by the way, the colors used in this post are from 2008 so they may be a little out-of-date!)
6. Be mindful of your budget. We can get carried away with our creativity, but we all have financial limits. Look for bargains, end-of-season sales (I recently had a seminar leader who used plastic eggs for her class and bought them six months in advance for 80 percent off the original cost). Look for ways to re-use items you already have purchased. (glass vases and globes can be re-used in a multitude of ways) Look in your own house for items and borrow when you can. None of us have lots of extra storage space in our church facilities and we need to be good stewards with our resources.
So, how are you going to be more creative in your ministry? We’re anxious to hear how the creative process works for you.
Cracking Creativity: Part Two
Posted by: | Comments
Yesterday we looked at some simple steps in developing creativity with your women’s ministry team. Today, I want to give you some tips on staying creative in your ministry. Why? Because we tend to get in a rut! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to a women’s “annual” something and they brag about how many years they’ve done the same event over and over again. Plus, the format never changes! The same women are in charge and the decorations are done the same way. Can I give you a hint if you’re trying to attract young women–this has the makings of “boring” written all over it.
So, here’s some practical tips for staying creative in ministry:
1. Surround yourself with creative people. You know who they are. Buy them lunch or hang out with them. Creativity is viral so get around someone who has it and catch it!
2. Start somewhere. Force yourself to begin the creative process. It doesn’t happen by accident. There needs to be purpose behind making time to be creative. This step is not for the procrastinators on your team.
3. Expose yourself to new concepts. Look at different forms of art, read books you wouldn’t normally read, listen to music you’ve never heard. Listen to a preacher you’ve never heard. You never know what new idea will be planted in your mind and in your heart.
4. Never stop learning. I love the phrase, “Leaders are learners.” Take a class. Keep reading. Try a new recipe. I bought a new cookbook last year (something I NEVER do). It was actually fun trying out some new recipes that my family really enjoyed. I also love to watch television shows that spur creativity. Whether it’s a show about baking cakes or redecorating a house, there’s a lot to learn from watching creative people in action.
5. Meet new people. I hope I don’t offend anyone, but sometimes we get really stuck in our “Christian bubble.” That’s one reason we aren’t reaching lost people. We’re not developing relationships with them. I met a restaurant manager who wanted to start her own catering business a few months ago. It was refreshing to hear someone’s passion and begin a relationship with someone who is open to hearing about the Gospel.
6. Carry a camera with you. And then use it. A lot of you have cameras built into your phone. When you see something that catches your eye or a combination of colors that you like, take a picture.
7. Creativity is a muscle. Use it or lose it. You will need to stretch yourself to think outside the box.
8. When you’re stuck, go exercise. This doesn’t mean you have to run a marathon. It just means, “get moving.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been sitting at my desk for a period of time and I’ve been stuck in the creative process. A good walk up and down the stairs or a short break to get some fresh air outside does wonders. (so does Starbucks!)
9. Spend time with children–either your own or someone else’s. Children are the most creative people around. They can take the simplest of objects and create something out of nothing. Plus, being around children will just make you smile.
10. Stop telling yourself you’re not creative. Over and over again, women have been caught in this deception. You are creative and God wants you to use this gift in ministry.
Tomorrow: Steps in Being Creative With Your Ministry Ideas
I am the Women's Missions and Ministries Specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Our purpose is to encourage women to embrace and echo God's heart for the world.
