By the fire

Its over now. Im getting to sit by the fire alone for a few minutes and reflect. I think it went well. I made it through, and so did they. We shared communion together as a family around the campfire. The sky was clear and the stars are shining. What a great memory. Standing outside, around a fire, taking communion and singing "how He loves". There are some great leaders in this group. Now its their turn to step up and make a difference. Now its my turn to step out on faith and follow Christ into new territory. I think we are both ready.

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The Bonfire

Im actually posting from my phone. In a few minutes I will share with a great group of students a passion God has placed in my heart. A passion that will require me to not only leave the church, but transition into a whole new area of ministry. As we share communion tonight together, and talk about Jesus launching the start of the church from that room, I will share about the burden God has given me to step from the role of a student ministries pastor to church planter. My life will never be the same after tonight. There is this odd blend of anxiety and fear mixed with vision and passion. I pray I never let anxiety and fear direct my life.

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Community and Candy

This last week has been extremely busy. In fact, for my family, there were 6 church related events and three soccer games. There are just not enough hours in a day, honestly. However, last night, during a community outreach, something neat happened. We were handing out candy and people came by and would recognize staff members from different community involvement areas. "Hey, you are the guy who sells those tickets at the football games. Aren't you that lady who eats lunch at the elementary schools? Hey, thanks for feeding the team. Etc." Each staff member had connections to other outreaches and areas of community involvement, and people noticed. It would be nice to see instant growth in the ministries involved, but that is not the true heart of ministry. Our calling is to reach and love those in which God has entrusted to us. Our community. Great job guys!

DOWNTIME

Over the last several months, I have intentionally taken a break from posting. I didn't want it to become a therapy session every time I logged on. In the days to come I will be posting many shorter thoughts, ideas, and bits of information.

Life isn't as scripted as my blog posts have been. I intend to keep posting longer articles, but I also want to take.others along on my ministry journey. My facebook and twitter posts are often about daily life, but this blog is more about ministry. The struggles, frustration, wins, and losses. Follow along. Post your thoughts and experiences.

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Ice Cream With A Plan

My wife and I were driving back from a camp recently and spotted on of our favorite places.  If you live in the heart of Texas or anywhere in Yankee territory, you have probably never visited a Braums.  All I can say is, as a self appointed expert in the area of frozen yummieness called ice cream, they are incredible.  Cappuccino Chunky Chocolate is by far my favorite.


Rachael and I quickly put the kids to bed at Nanna's house and went over for a late night getaway.  It was late, but they were still open.  The lady behind the counter was very friendly, especially for someone in the fast food industry!  We were looking over the flavors and talking about how we missed Braums, and the lady asked where we lived.  When we told her, she began to explain the company model and how no store is more than eight hours away from the dairy.  That is how they keep such a great product on the shelf.  They have a whole line of dairy products, and the eggnog at Christmas always finds its way to our house.  It is simply a good product, and now I know why!


It is not because the dairy is less than eight hours away.  I am sure that helps with freshness and labor issues.  But there is no doubt that the reason the product is good is because they care enough to teach their employees, even the minimum wage earners on the late shift, the purpose for their existence.  Those people know why they are there and what the company vision is.


As leaders, we often do not take the time to share the vision and purpose below the first tier of leaders.  Everyone else just has to guess.  Sometimes they can figure it out.  Sometimes they make up their own purpose.  Either way, it is a reckless and lazy way to lead.


Do the people you lead know your heart?  Do they know where you want to go...and why?  As leadership guru John Maxwell puts it, "If you are out front leading, and no one is following, you are simply taking a walk."

High Def

Recent days have been filled with highs and lows, and honestly, you could say that in just about any week in ministry.  It is so awesome when an outreach goes to plan, a series really connects, or an altar service changes lives.  What is difficult is balancing those experiences with the lows;  disappointment, uncertainty, and stress.  I have noticed, especially over the last few weeks that I tend to define myself in the moment.  When things are going great, I don't question my calling or situation, but when the negative tide rolls in, so do the questions.  Can I hack it anymore?  Am I really called to this?  Do people even care that I am pouring myself into this?


I wear my emotions on my sleeve.  It is a fault, and I am working on it, but it is me nonetheless.  I'm an emotional guy.  I yell at football games, and sometimes at church.  I get emotional when it comes to my boys, and I cry at the end of the movie "Rudy."  It's just me.  The sad part is, when I look through the filter of my circumstances, I see God and ministry skewed.  And soon to follow it the question, "Why?", and that is the wrong question.


Isaiah 55 states:
^8-11"I don't think the way you think.
   The way you work isn't the way I work."
         God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
   so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
   and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
   and don't go back until they've watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
   producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
   not come back empty-handed.
They'll do the work I sent them to do,
   they'll complete the assignment I gave them.


Do we really want God to plan and think as we do?  Think About it.  The creator of the universe planing out of frustration or failure?  If He worked like us, we probably wouldn't hear from Him on Mondays or Thursdays because of His frustration at followers.  I'm Glad God has it in HIS hands.  I am truly thankful that God doesn't think like me, or try and reason it all out in advance.  We wouldn't need faith then.  Our relationship with Him would be stale and non-communicative.  


The real question is "Where?"  


By asking God "Where?" we are following His leading to a new destination.  We are not defined by our circumstances in the moment, but by what God is doing through us and where He is taking us.  A higher place.  A Higher Definition.

Perspective: Steering Through Chaos

At the end of this post, learn how you can win a free copy of "Steering through Chaos" just by posting on the blog and tweeting/Facebooking a link to it.

I have read a lot of books over the years, but few connect the reality of the stress and decision making processes of staff ministry. For the last seventeen years, I have been a part of a ministry staff. Some teams were creative and effective, others dysfunctional dictatorships. One constant in all situations was stress and the need for critical thinking and decision making. In some places I learned the value of submitting to authority, in others, the importance of thinking big and creating "wins" for other team members. I do not think that in any ministry situation, there has not been a life lesson I was able to take away.

In Scott Wilson's new book, "Steering through Chaos", he not only addresses the focus and discipline of the key leader, but also that of the rest of the team. Let's face it, the team works hands on with his/her own team regularly to instill the vision God has given the key leader. We, as team members/staff need to know that leadership understands "our chaos". Stress and dysfunction is just as rampant in those who have a calling to a specific group as in pastoral leadership. If the calling came from the same place (God), and carries the same goal (reaching the lost, equipping the believer) why would we expect less resistance and stress from our efforts.

Scott Wilson seems to have a firm grasp on the importance of decisive leadership and communication of vision. In most of the stops in ministry in my life, I could not convey the vision of the leader I was to serve. Ministries have operated in survival mode and fear of failure for far to long. We no longer dream big enough (which would be evidence of one way communication during prayer), risk enough, or challenge our people. Chaos will find you either way. Play it safe, you will just have a different set of problems...but they are still problems.

In my time in his book, Scott has given me perspective. It's not about the problems, but how I navigate them. These stories of navigation will be the leadership lessons we pass on to the next generation and will be the core of our mentoring process. (Scott has a great section on storytelling) This was made vividly clear to me in a recent ministry event, when a student re-told one of my stories. During a service one night, I told a story about my 6 year old son and his soft heart for a hurting family. I listened, as any proud mentor would, as she told the story that happened in my family. I must admit, I re-tell stories that hear from my ministry mentors! (there is also a great chapter on finding a life coach in Scott's book)

Having known some of Scott's staff, I know the quality and excellence that has been produced in that team. I hope that my team will be as creative, insightful, and dedicated as I grow in leading them. I certainly know, I must stretch myself to improve to support my pastor and the team that I serve. The effectiveness of our church and ministries depend on it.

I would encourage you to get a copy of Scott Wilson's new book if you are involved ministry. It will give you some great perspective on the chaos that is life in ministry. You can find it here!

Also, I will be selecting a post from the comments on this blog and twitter/facebook to win a free copy of Scott's book. Help promote Scott's new book and share the word about JamieVarnell.com and pjpro.org to win.  The winner will be selected March 27.