Category Archives: Church

May 5, 2011

What You Need In Your Leaders

By alexpenduck

We have just been through a season at GenerationChurchwhere we were full steam in action. Moving locations in the midst of the Easter season while rewarding was no less than hectic.

My blog took a back seat as others things had to take priority, but blogging is something I love and helps me as a leader and follow of Jesus Christ as much as anyone who reads this blog. So here we go, back in the swing of things.

Lately I’ve been thinking about the people I need around me so that as a church we can be everything God has designed us to be. I think the biggest headaches and anxieties a leader has, concerns the leaders around him or her. In a perfect world the team you have around you will all get on. They will have your back and you will have theirs. You will be able to be totally open and honest with them and they won’t think anything less than you. Everyone will work for the cause and there will be complete harmony!

Anyone who has lead leadership teams is probably saying, ‘in your dreams!’ Well, yes that is my dream. However, for that dream to happen, you have to have the right people around you, and you as a leader have to be prepared to invest time in those people.

I remember when we first planted our church; I believed the Lord gave me a word. He said, ‘surround yourself with people who believe in you and believe in what I have called you to do, one out of two isn’t good enough’. This word has come back to my mind over and over again. I have seen the people who are most effective have been the ones who believe in both me as a leader and the vision of where we are going. The people I have found myself hitting my head against the wall have been people who either didn’t completely believe in me but believed in what we were doing or believed in where we were going but still had questions about me.

When you have people who believe in both you & your vision, you have people who you will be able to dream with, laugh with, enjoy time with and most important lead your church or organization with.

Remember, one out of two isn’t good enough!

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Church, Church Planting, Leadership, Uncategorized

January 28, 2011

Where Have All The Shepherds Gone?

By alexpenduck

A question that has been tugging at my heart for the last few months has been, ‘where have all the shepherds gone?’ or to translate, ‘where have all the pastors gone?’

Every week I seem to meet someone who has either stopped going to church or become disillusioned with their church or denomination. The biggest reason most of the time is because of the way a leader or pastor has treated someone.

Normally I’d be skeptical, but having seen this kind of treatment up close and even experienced some of it myself it makes me wonder have we lost the art of pastoring?

Every month I get a ton of mailers & emails telling me about the next leadership conference that is a must to grow your church, finance your church, lead your staff and start your next campus. However, I can’t even remember a conference that would talk about being a pastor.

When I read my bible, I hear the words of Jesus to His disciples, I hear the words of Paul to the churches, I hear Peter, James & John through their letters and what I hear is the heart of a shepherd. People who realize that leadership is important, but pastoring (or shepherding) is essential. Just think about the parable of the lost sheep for one moment. I mean, how many leaders and pastors today would leave the 99 to go after the 1?

I have a feeling that in trying to grow the church, we have focused so much on becoming a good leader that we have stopped training pastors. Those ones that have drifted are left in the wilderness and we have focused our resources, time, energy and finances on the 99.

I believe it is time for a return of pastoring, once we learn how to pastor, then we can learn how to lead!

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Church, Leadership

January 6, 2011

Highs & Lows of 2010 – Part 4

By alexpenduck

As we continue in this weeks blog looking at the life lessons I discover through the highs and low of 2010, here is part 4:

4. Loving & Giving is so much better than Taking and Receiving

For me 2010 was the year where I found the gift of giving to others. From stretching my own personal finances, to giving to families in need, to giving my time and energy, to loving my spouse at a whole new level to also finding a depth of love for my creator, 2010 was a great year.

I remember the day I said to one of our team members Jill that I wanted her to put together some food baskets for families in need, but I wanted them to be extravagant. Her resposne was great, and the feeling of hearing her plan to extravagantly give brought me goose dimples.

The weekend I planned for my wife in New York to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary made me feel like I was a kid going to Disney world was my impatience to surprise her. That will go down as one of the top five weekends of my life!

The feeling of giving up TV time to go through a book study with one of my friends gave me so much joy.

Putting my tithe check into the Generation Church basket each week flooded my heart with such contentment knowing that I was not a financial burden on the church (trust me I have felt like that on staff at churches before) but I could contribute to it’s stability.

Looking at the people of Generation Church knowing that I have a love for them that goes far beyond and sense of empathy or compassion I have experienced before.

The incredible thing I have experienced in 2010 is that while I have really discovered the joy of loving and giving, I have now realized that there is so much more in me, and the more I extend my loving and giving the more I receive back!

2010 taught me that it really is better to give than receive!

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Church, Generation Church, Leadership

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