What kind of IDIOT walks away from his dream job for something way harder?... This guy!

For the last four years, I have been doing my dream job. I've been employed at Moon Valley Bible Church as the Director of Sunday Services. Not only have I gotten to lead Moon Valley in worship each week, but I've had the chance to work alongside some of the finest members of the church I've ever known. So why am I leaving?

It's easy. I found a job that's way harder, that I've never done before, and that comes with next to no security! Let me explain.

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The 10 Best Ways to Lead People Who Are Older & More Experienced Than You

Young church leaders don't have it easy. Aside from facing the same wide array of problems and pitfalls as more seasoned leaders, young leaders face one challenge that's unique to them.

Photo courtesy of Famian at flickr.com

Unlike pastors and worship leaders of any other generation, young church leaders are regularly faced with the challenge of leading people who are older and more experienced than them. And it begs the question - How do you lead people who's shoes you couldn't fill?

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Here's My Guide To Setting Healthier Boundaries Within the Church

Judging eyes moved over me, as I walked down the narrow isle of the airplane carrying my twenty month old son. I awkwardly made my way to my seat, near the back of the plane, and sat down.

The flight attendant began the pre-flight instructions. So I did what everyone does and tuned out. My son, Silas, sat on my lap fidgeting with the lock on the tray table. I joined him in the fidgeting for a few minutes before the flight attendant’s words grabbed my attention, “For those of you with lap babies, we’re going to have a few bumps as we take off, so be sure to hold onto your kids. Remember, you are their seat-belt.”

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Dang! The Response I Got After Revealing My Secret

Last Monday, I revealed my dirty little secret. At the beginning of the post, I admitted I was a little nervous to talk about something that's so potentially embarrassing. But I hit the 'Publish' button anyway, and asked God to use my story however He would. Then I closed my laptop and had breakfast with my wife.

Throughout the day I got a few texts from some of my pastor buddies thanking me for being transparent. That was encouraging. Then at the end of they day, I sat down to check on what kind of engagement the post got on my social media channels. I was totally blown away by what I found. 

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The One Thing Every Mentor Should Be Doing

Mentoring is just about the best thing you can do to discover your potential. And I'm talking about both having a mentor and mentoring someone else.

The right mentor will encourage you, call you out on your B.S., push you toward the right opportunities, and ultimately help you to see what you're really capable of. And the right mentee will inspire and challenge you to offer your best ideas. 

The wrong mentor, on the other hand, will needlessly frustrate you, and encourage you to pursue opportunities that could be destructive for you. Similarly, the wrong mentee will drain you, and drive you toward burnout. 

So what's the difference between the right mentor/mentee for you, and the wrong one? 

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The New Leadership Trend That Will Ignite Your Potential

All signs are pointing to a  shift within leadership culture in the 21st century. And it will take your leadership to levels that leaders of previous generations never dreamed of.

There was a time
There was a time when the world had a certain picture of what a great leader looked like. Powerful people like Martin Luther, Ghandi, Rosa Parks, and many more did amazing things that inspired change in millions the world over. Everyone looked to people like these as powerful monuments of leadership. Testaments to what a person could accomplish if he just put his mind to it. But among effective leaders, it's not that way anymore.

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Roselinde Torres' Inspiring Leadership TED Talk

Would it surprise you to find out that nearly half of struggling organizations cite issues with leadership as one of their main hindrances to growth? Well, they do. Even in our culture, saturated with leadership resources, there is an alarming lack people who are effectively moving other people to action. How can that be?

In this brief TED Talk, Roselinde Torres debunks some of the standing leadership ideals that aren't working anymore. She also shares three questions that are essential for determining the quality of a leader today.

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One Big Take Away From The Take Part Conference

Everyone was blown away by the response we got at the Take Part Conference last Saturday. It was one of those things that completely exceeds expectations in every way. It was amazing for two reasons. First, I had so little confidence in myself, that I wasn't sure it would even work, which was sort of an arrogant way of thinking on my part. Secondly, it wasn't successful because of anything I did. It was amazing because God and a bunch of His people showed up and connected in a huge way.

I had the privilege of emceeing the day. And right at the very beginning, I got to tell everyone that our goal was for them to take home at least one great new idea they could use to take worship to the next level at their church. Then I got to spend a good portion of the day wondering around, asking people what their one thing was. Here are some of the things people told me.

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Workshop Schedule for The Take Part Worship Conference

With the Take Part Worship Conference only a week and a half away, I can hardly sleep from the excitement. I've had so many conversations with worship leaders who are bringing their teams. I just can't wait to see what God is going to do through this one day conference.

Some people have been asking about the workshop schedule, so I wanted to send it to you. If you've been thinking about attending, but have been unsure, I want to encourage you to check out the line up of workshops, and give the conference another thought. This could be the event that takes your team to the next level this year.

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Check Out The Update For The Take Part Worship Conference

The Take Part Worship Conference is only a couple weeks away. This is the year's best opportunity for your team to pick up on the best worship leading ideas out there. 

I've been talking with the speakers and they couldn't be more exited. Check out the some of the workshops and speakers below.

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The Crucial Conversation You Need To Have With Your Team Members

Last night I sat at my patio table with one of my team members. We had a very important conversation. He is at an important crossroad in his life, but we didn't talk about that. Our church is at a crucial juncture that will determine it's survival, but we didn't talk about that either.

Instead, we spent about 90 minutes talking about... whatever. We just sat in the cool night air and chatted. It was great, and we both needed it. 

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Here's A Tool To Unite Your Team At The Beginning Of A Meeting

I'm always looking for great new ways to unite my team right at the outset of meetings and rehearsals. My team members all come in carrying the world on their shoulders. So I like to do a good icebreaker. It's not that they need to get to know each other. They're all very close. What they need is something to bring them together. 

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What Are You Doing For Your MVP?

Meet Edward

Edward was a great pastor, who had a huge heart for people.  In his community, he was renown as a godly leader to such a degree that his advice was frequently sought out by people who didn't even attend his church. Everybody knew they could call pastor Edward, and he would make time for them.

One day Ed got a call from one of his church's regular attenders - a woman named Sharon. She had been struggling with depression for some time, and confessed that today she was thinking about taking her own life. Ed was shaken. He felt a deep sense of personal responsibility for the people who looked to him for guidance.  Fortunately, he was able to talk her out of suicide and into an inpatient recovery home. Good job Ed. He continued to care for Sharon with weekly visits to the recovery home.

The next week he got a call from an old friend, who asked him if he would consider taking a spot fielding phone calls on a local radio station's counseling show. It was an exciting opportunity to do something Ed really loved, so he said yes.

The next week, Ed had three walk in congregants who needed his help for various things. With a huge burden for the people in his church he did everything he could to help them. Pretty soon, Ed was working an extra 10 hours a week. As his family began to feel the burn, he started cutting corners in other areas of his job to keep up with his rigorous counseling agenda. His sermons were getting sloppy, and he wasn't communicating well with his team. Ed's leadership was beginning to spiral out of control, and he was feeling it.

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Church Leader Fumble! What You Should Know About Communication & Your Church.

The worship leader prayed just as the church service began, "Lord, thank you for today. Your grace carries us. We're so grateful for your presence. Today we ask that you'd send your spirit to guide us and minister to our... uh, um, uh to our spirits." Not his most eloquent conversation with God. It was a little redundant and careless.

Photo Credit to telemudcat via Compfight cc

Afterwards, he would have been lying to say he wasn't embarrassed. But what was worse was that his fumbling near the end distracted the whole church. Suddenly, everyone was thinking about the uncertainty of his prayer, rather than the content of the service.  

Whether you preach, teach or lead music in a church, the quality of your communication from the stage is crucial. You can't afford to wing it. When people come to your church, they’re trusting you with their time, which is incredibly valuable. It doesn't matter whether you're praying, introducing a new song, asking people to fill out connection cards, or telling them about next month's pot-luck. They deserve your most well thought out words.

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14 Ways To Build A Tighter Praise Team In 2014

The praise team sauntered off stage after worship. They knew that everyone has their bad weeks, but this was beyond bad. Afterwards, they sat together silently. Nobody wanted to be the first one to say it. After a few moments, the band leader spoke up, “What do you think went wrong?” The rest of the team hung their heads even lower.

Through his hands the electric guitar player muttered, “It sounded terrible. That’s what went wrong.” He wasn’t wrong. It did sound terrible. The instruments were off so much that music was nearly unrecognizable. One song got off to such a rocky start that the band leader actually had to stop the band and start the song again. Everyone felt terrible.

So what’s a team like this to do?

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[Encore Post] The 6 Keys to Finding Your Best Mentor

After the release of my new book, Good Fight, last Wednesday, I'm taking some much needed time to recoup. So I'm sharing one of my most read and personal favorite blog posts with you in this encore post. 

"Why don't I believe you?" My mentor, Jeff, said to me as we sat in my office. I had just finished trying to convince him that my relationship with Jesus was hunky dory.  I didn't want to confess that I felt disconnected, defeated and a little ashamed because it didn't seem like I was hearing from God during my quiet time. I sat frozen, trying to figure out what to say next. He saw right through my bluff and called me on it.

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Free eBook

I am a church leader with a pretty passionate personality. And I've been doing it since I was very young. In fact, at one point I led a team where I had volunteers who were two and even three times my age. So I've experienced team conflict before. 

If there's not conflict on your team, it's only because no one's talking about it out loud. Tension arises any time people work together. Any married couple can tell you that. The way you meet that tension has everything to do with how you'll come out on the other side. If you face conflict the way most people do, it'll perpetuate the tension and only serve to burn you out. 

There is, however, an approach to conflict that not only works, but empowers you and your team in the process. That's exactly what Good Fight is about. I wrote it for the same reason I write this blog: It's a resource for leaders and team members want to discover more potential in themselves. For that reason, you'll get your free copy when you sign up for email updates from me, which you can do by clicking here.  

They say not to judge a book by it's cover, but obviously everyone does. So here's the cover, though about a thousand times more effort went into the content. 

I finished the editing process for the book a couple days ago. Today, I'm just beginning to feel like my feet are touching the ground again. It was boat loads of fun to write. Of course, my hope is that you'll have just as much fun reading it. If you haven't signed up for email updates and you'd like to, you can do so by clicking the sign up button below. And you'll immediately receive your free digital edition of Good Fight.

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This Is The Week [Announcement]

I couldn't be more excited for this week. Right now my editor is working with the final draft of my new ebook Good Fight. Today, I'll get together with a good friend and graphic artist to format the content into a book. Then on Wednesday, I have the chance to send a free copy of the book to you.

I wrote Good Fight for people who have experienced tension and conflict on their teams (which is everybody) and who like what they read on my blog. For that reason, there's only one way to get your copy. It's free to anyone who signs up to receive email updates from me. You can sign up by clicking here and your free copy will be automatically reserved for you.

If you've already signed up for updates. You can expect an email with your copy this Wed, Jan. 15th.

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6 Ways To Set Your Team Up For The Best Year Ever

Let me tell you about one of my team members. She is a wife, a mother, a grandmother, full time health care professional, missions trip coordinator, and a singer on the worship team. Her stepson and his two daughters live with her, as do several of her own children. She invests a great deal of herself in her family and work. On top of all that, she is one of the most committed team members I have, and I’m blown away by how dedicated she is to church music.

She is one example of incredible commitment, and I have many more on my team. I bet you have similar stories on your team. It’s endlessly amazing how much effort people are willing to put into serving God in church. They show up week after week, and put in thankless hours above and beyond their jobs and families to glorify God, and share the gospel.

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10 Ways to Jump Start Your New Year

The holidays are wrapping up. The new year is here, and your vacation has come to an end. Soon you'll be returning to work.

Heading back to work after a bunch of down time may have you feeling a little over-rested and unfocused. Or perhaps you don't feel relaxed at all, and you have some anxiety associated with the end of the holidays. Maybe you're coming away from Christmas with some family drama. Or you're facing a little bit of shame after eating more than you told yourself you would. On top of all that, you're staring down the barrel of an fully loaded new year with all new deadlines and challenges.

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