Every Tuesday @ 7:30am I have a Leadership Team meeting with around 8-10 church staff members/crucial volunteers. This meeting is supremely important to me. It’s a time when all of us can come together and focus on the important issues going on in the church and challenge ourselves to be organized and working on the same page as a team. We play a lot of roles with this meeting, but one of the biggest roles it plays for me is a huge challenge to my personal growth as a leader, and my personal growth as a man.

This morning’s meeting was especially helpful to me as we took our team through an exercise where we agreed to write down one positive thing (something that we love), and one negative thing (something we’d like to see them working on) about each member of our team. We decided to do this as we have identified some of the areas we have some dysfunction going on within our group. After writing these for each person, we shared them with everyone.

It. Was. Phenomenal.

Being able to speak those things out to people in a constructive way was difficult, but necessary. On the opposite end, it was so helpful to hear the things that I bring to the team and the areas of improvement. Some of them were obvious and some of them caught us completely off guard.

Personally, it was confirmed that I:

* Take on too much
* Don’t know how to say no as well as I thought I did
* Don’t delegate enough
* Hold back on speaking my mind in certain situations
* Don’t trust myself fully enough, when I should

And lots of good things about myself.

How helpful this was! Things that I knew deep down, but came to a head as multiple people spoke them to me…face to face. Think of what this could do at your work! Imagine what this could do in your family!

Try it!

There is a lot going on right now.

The mantle of leadership in a church environment can be extremely difficult at times. As a community that has invited a “come as you are” atmosphere, people often show up who are broken or prideful or hopeless or annoying or addicted or “perfect” or dying or exploding with life.

At times, the weightiness of these people and this ministry can be heavier than I’d like to admit. However, this fight is more worth it than any efforts I’ve ever laid my hands to.

Here are a few things I’ve been observing / learning / reflecting on over the last couple of weeks:

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Time spent, doing seemingly random or meaningless things with friends and family is crucial.

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The cutting of one’s hair is often the desire for more control playing itself out in a tangible way.

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Being a good man has little to do with being a safe man.

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Everyone you lock eyes with has something serious going on somewhere in their lives.

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Giving people the benefit of the doubt is difficult, but necessary.

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Food is unlike any other conversation starter.

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You need to tend the garden, or else weeds will choke out the produce you’re assuming will just grow.

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God’s chest is big enough and strong enough to pound on.

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Drinking a 5-hour energy shot and then smoking a good cigar can make you feel euphoric.

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Far too many people have their entire identity wrapped up in what they do, rather than who they are.

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A fresh coat of paint covers a multitude of sins.

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If someone seems to be pushing you away, it’s possible that they want you around more often.

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The choice to “go it alone” is arrogant and unsafe.

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Stop and pray for that person right now, don’t wait until later when you might do it.

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Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.

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Coca-Cola from Mexico, made with cane sugar is worth the calories.