Planting Partners

Darrin Patrick of The Journey

Bill Hybels said, there are big L leaders. Recently he read Alendar on leadership and as he thought about the Hybels talk and the Alendar book he was struck thinking Paul was a great leader but a broken leader.

Paul was a great leader

• Reluctant
• Weak Leader
• Sin Confessing Leader

Paul was already a leader busy putting the fun back into Pharisee

Acts 9 he is knocked off his horse and told his life will more or less suck.

Leaders are more driven by discontent

Here is why you should resign:

You will be loved one min. and heated the next

You will (given enough time) disappoint everyone

People will put you on a pedestal and then pull you down

You will never be a regular guy

You are constantly working with

• · People
• · Systems
• · Plans

Everything you work with will implode. All the systems will be obsolete in just a few months, the plans will all fail eventually and the people will all feel let down.

You will have to make 1000’s of decision and decision making leaders are all going to be lonely.

The voice in your head will say: No one really understands

Most of the people want you to leave them alone

If you are excited about leading you probably not ready….you should be a little reluctlent because of:

• Your position
• Your task

Great leaders follow reluctant leaders. Because great leaders see that the reluctant leader is about the mission not becoming a rock star.

Reluctance is a leader magnet

2 Cor 12:7 (esv)

7So^(A) to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,^[a](B) a thorn was given me in the flesh,^(C) a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8^(D) Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9But he said to me, ^(E) “My grace is sufficient for you, for^(F) my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that^(G) the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10^(H) For the sake of Christ, then,^(I) I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For^(J) when I am weak, then I am strong.

People follow week leaders

Paul didn’t like the thorn. He prayed 3x for God to take it away. What is the thing in your life that God has given you that you what God to take away. What is the thing that causes you to need to trust God? What is the thing that keeps you humble/dependent?

Dependence is the soil that makes things grows. It grows character.

If you operate in dependence, leading out of weakness it is a pathway to character and it is a leadership magnet

When you only lead out of your strength you become controlling. When you are controlling you chase good leaders away.

Leaders who try to control things the more the leader hides. The more they hide the more they need to control. They will give themselves over to substance, unhealthy relationship,

Why are you even here…you don’t need to learn more stuff that you won’t do. A lot of you are hear because you are hiding. You travel to get away from your job and your family.

You don’t repent of issues, personality types, character flaws. You repent of sin. Christians repent of sin. If you don’t repent daily privately and publicly you need to.

1 Tm 1:8

8Now we know that^(A) the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9understanding this, that the^(B) law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,^[a] liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to^(C) sound^[b] doctrine, 11in accordance with^(D) the gospel of the glory of^(E) the blessed God^(F) with which I have been entrusted.

Don’t use the pulpit and a confessional booth and your sermon as therapy.

James 3:16 KEY VERSE

16For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

Ambition (we want to make a name for our self).

It is in our hearts…we may as well start confessing it. If you are a control freak, everyone knows, you may as well start confessing it.

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Shawn Lovejoy of Mountain Lake and churchplanting.com

SEE SHAWN’S NOTES HERE>>>

From Day ONE he said, “I have a new level of doubt!”

Planters Doubt:

• Vision
• Call
• Their Ability
• Their Faith
• Their Talent
• We doubt ourselves
• The list is almost endless.

We begin to compare ourselves to other leaders

When and what worked for them we believe will work for us, so we start to rip off their stuff, their style, their image, their voice for their context.

When we compare, we are caused to either condemn those we try to measure our self against or ourselves.

Study all the spiritual leader was tempted to self doubt. Even Jesus was tempted to doubt the call on his life. When Jesus was tempted or heard others come against him and try to get him to do or be someone or something he wasn’t he said, “Get behind me…”.

1 Samuel 17:38-40

David had a choice to fight like Saul would have fought the battle or go and find his own method.

A lot of leaders are fighting and leading while wearing other people’s methods.

What will set churches apart in the future will be that some are led by leaders trying to imitate and some will be led by leaders who are yielded to the Spirit of God and are themselves being led by God.

David was tempted to: We are tempted to:

Act like a military man rather than Use someone else’s personality

A shepherd

Trust in Saul’s experience Use someone else’s testimony rather than trust how God has used and moved in us in the past.

Fight the giant in his power Miss how God wants us to trust him in our culture

and context

Wear Saul’s armor and uses his Use someone else’s tools and use someone

Sword. else’s ingenuity

What would have happened if David walked out into battle in Saul’s armor?

Maybe God wants us to be secure in our own skin, take off all the artificial stuff pick up

some stones

Seven Questions:

1. Who am I – Really?
2. What’s my testimony? What has God been up to in my life up till now?
3. What are my strengths? Gifts?
4. What is unique about me, my context, my passions, my calling?
5. How does all this make me and my church unique?
6. Am I more of a Soldier or a Shepard?
7. How does all this affirm or go against the way I am doing ministry?

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Hebrews 1:1  In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways

God spoke through people both at specific times and in a lot of different ways.   We need to ask God to help us know both when to speak and how to speak.

John 12:49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.

7 steps to sermon branding

1.  Develop a sermon series title

Every ology is a branch of Theology – God created it all

                        John 9 Blind man healed (neurology) Synapses genesis

Example 1^st & 2^nd Tim = POTENTIAL

LAST WORDS

LOVE YOU HOW

            How to set goals

            How to set boundaries

THE ELEPHANT IN THE CHURCH

THE GAME OF LIEE

2.      Create a series graphic

a.       A picture is worth 10 million words

b.      Jesus used word pictures

              i.      Jesus was in carpentry for years before ministry

1.      he was an artist who did his art with

·        Shapes

·        Color

·        Content

            12 Chapters in the Bible on the esthetic of the Temple

Content is still king…you have to still be able to preach.  But don’t ignore the environment. 

He has read books on Color Theory – it is that important

            Some come at you

            Some move away

            All of it communicates

Go to your environments with new eyes

3.      Design a series invite and evite card

4.      Brainstorm Big Ideas

a.       Book the Big Idea by

b.      What does God want to say in “this” weekend

c.       Preach one point sermons

                                                                           i.      More is less and less is more

Bed of nails – 1000 points defuse penetration and to many points in our messages defuse penetration as well

                                                                         ii.      The most important truth needs to be told in the most unforgettable way

1.      People walk out remembering “the” story you told

Example: theelephantinthechurch.com

Example: chasethelion.com

5.  Create Videos, trailers, photos…I want to become all things to all men so that in doing so I may win some.

6.  Add sermon props

            Nails – Remember the Crucifixion

            Towel – servant hood

People begin to ask, “What is going on this week”

7.      Add sermon staging

 Resource: Made to Stick 

Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of worthy ideas? In Made to Stick, accomplished educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath tackle head-on these vexing questions. Inside, the brothers Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that “stick” and explain sure-fire methods for making ideas stickier, such as violating schemas, using the Velcro Theory of Memory, and creating “curiosity gaps.”

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