Top 5 Leadership Lessons I Learned While On-Staff at NewSpring Church

I love Perry Noble.  God has used him in my life as a friend, a coach, a cheerleader, and once as a boss.

You see, a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I was on the Senior Management Team at NewSpring Church. 

I loved that team, I continue to have a strong loyalty toward Perry, and I learned a TON while serving on staff under him.

Recently I was reflecting on my time in Anderson, South Carolina and came up with the Top 5 lessons that stretched and shaped me as a leader:

5.  Work Hard Together, Play Hard Together - Church-work is passionate business - - we're a rescue organization with eternity on the line!  That's why it's important for team members to enjoy each other.  It's not about a job; it's about doing life together.  My fondest memories at NewSpring were the random silly moments in hallways and hanging out together at someone's house watching LOST.  

4.  Loyalty is Everything - Relationships are built on trust which is expressed through loyalty.  One thing I loved about that season at NewSpring was their strong sense of loyalty to one another.  Loyalty means I have your back no matter what - - if I see a truck coming your way, I give you a big heads up.  Loyalty produces staff confidence which in turn fuels bigger steps of faith together.  If loyalty is broken on a staff, I guarantee you that the team will whither and disband.

Case in point: the 1998 Chicago Bulls team.  They were championship-caliber with back-to-back threepeats in the NBA.  Sadly, upper-management (the two Jerry's) said some dumb things in the press and made some amateur moves.  This quickly broke the Bulls' (and public's) trust.  Within a year, their all-star team of players like Jordan, Pippen, Rodman had all disbanded.  Disloyalty hijacked the vision and broke the team apart.  It took Chicago over twelve years to recover from that fiasco.

3.  Boring Inspires No One - Life-change is stunted in a church if everyone's drowsy.  It's OK to be creative in presenting biblical truths (just like Jesus!).  God is creative, we are made in His image, so when we are creative, it's an act of worship!  It's hard to create momentum with boring.  As I've said before, Boring Preachers Can Actually KILL You!

2. Open-Handed with Other Leaders - Perry always encouraged us to be completely open-handed with other church leaders.  I love that!  There is NO competition/jealousy/insecurity between churches (and if there is in your church, its a reflection of your leadership's hearts, not God's heart!).  If we all love Jesus and serve the same King, can't we learn to like each other and share what the Spirit gives?  Whether it's sharing techniques or leadership tips or ideas, I still strive to do ministry transparently and in a posture of humility.

1.  Family First - Most important of all, Perry has always ingrained in me that I can always get another church, but I can never get another wife and kids!  When it comes to my schedule, my family will always win.  If they call my cell, wherever I am, even if it's a big meeting, I answer the phone.  My wife and kids need to know that they always, always come first. 

I love inspiring and pouring into church leaders!

LEADING THROUGH CHANGE - WHEN STAFF MEMBERS AND CHURCH MEMBERS LEAVE

WHEN STAFF MEMBERS AND CHURCH MEMBERS LEAVE

1. STAFFING IS A KEY DECISION

• 1 Timothy 5: “Do not lay hands on a man suddenly.” Any staff hire is a very important, sobering decision. Be slow to hire.

• You want to hire someone who is focused on the TOWEL, not the TITLE. You are here to SERVE.

2. HAVE A PROCESS IN PLACE FOR EVALUATING STAFF AND KEY VOLUNTEERS

You are giving people significant responsibilities; have a system for evaluating:

• Character — Not just about morality. Look at their work ethic, faithfulness, integrity.

• Competency — Are they all hat, no cattle?

• Culture — Do they fit well within your existing culture?

• Chemistry — Likeability Factor. Do you enjoy being around this guy?

• Calling — Look for the fingerprint of God on the hire of that person.

• Capacity for Leadership — Can they grow with the role and the growth of the church? Can they reproduce themself and become a multiplier, not a maintainer?

3. UNDERSTAND + ACCEPT THAT SOME STAFF + CHURCH MEMBERS WILL HAVE TO TRANSITION

• Understanding this will save you a lot of heartache.

• Think of your church like a bus with stops along the way. What happens at a bus stop? Some people get on and some people get off.

• There will be significant transition points as your church grows.

• When this happens, remind yourself that this is just all part of the process of church planting.

• Don’t lose perspective. Your “loss” may actually be a huge win!

• Some folks need to get off the bus.

• Why do people leave your church?

• Sometimes staff will leave you because the responsibilities have grown beyond their capacity to grow with the role.

• They may outgrow the responsibilities. Your job is to always make sure your staff are being challenged.

• They may lack the character / competence / chemistry required to stick with it.

• They may not want to do the spiritual and emotional work in order to grow.

• Unexpected circumstances arise in life. Think seasons. Life happens in seasons.

4. REMEMBER THAT ALL STAFF AND MEMBERS NEED TO BE HELD LOOSELY.
Anything you hold tightly you suffocate.

5. PROMOTIONS TO KEY LEADERSHIP ROLES SHOULD BE CAREFULLY CONSIDERED THROUGH PRAYER.

• Faithful in the little before being faithful with much.

• Make sure they have been tested.

• This doesn’t always work: people fool you. Potential staff will lie to you to get a job.

• Be very careful in giving out titles… You can’t take it back.

• It doesn’t feed your ego, it fits your function.

6. CELEBRATE THE STAYS AND POSITIVELY RELEASE THE GO'S.

• For some churches the only time the Staff has a party is when someone leaves. When is the last time you had a party with the people who STAY?

• Sometimes God calls you to go but often God calls you to STAY!

• Sometimes someone goes and it’s a good thing. Sometimes someone goes and it’s painful. Sometimes people go when they shouldn’t and you can see the truck that’s about to hit them, but they won’t listen to you.

7. BE PREPARED FOR + POSITIVELY PROCESS THE EMOTIONS THAT WILL ACCOMPANY THE EXIT OF PEOPLE.

• Loss leads to Grief, which can confuse people. Be prepared for the grief. You love the person, you’ve invested in them for years.

• When you feel grief, don’t beat yourself up about it. Allow yourself to experience and feel.

8. GIVE CLEAR GUIDELINES TO DEPARTING STAFF ON YOUR EXPECTATIONS REGARDING COMMUNICATION.

• Information Void can crank up a church gossip grapevine: “What’s happening behind the scenes?”

• This happens when there is too much of time that passes between their decision and the communication.

• It is foolish to allow departing staff to announce their departure.

• Provide information to fill any potential void. SOMEBODY is going to tell ‘the story.’ You need to protect the health of your church as it continues moving forward.

9. EXPECT EMOTIONAL RESPONSES TO ANY STAFF MEMBER’S DEPARTURE.

• Help them process, give them assurance.

10. LEARN LESSONS FROM DEPARTURES THAT CAN MAKE YOU AND YOUR ORGANIZATION BETTER.

• How can we improve for next time?

• What can I learn from this?

• How can this make me better?

11. AVOID PROLONGED DEPARTURES.

• When someone says they want to leave, let them.

• Don’t drag it out or they will drag people down with them.

• When they say they want to leave, their heart has already left.

• Be generous in their transition.

12. BE APPROPRIATELY GENEROUS TOWARD DEPARTING PEOPLE WHO LEAVE WELL.

• Err on the side of grace, not pettiness.

• Oftentimes people who leave will talk badly about you behind your back. Be gracious.

13. EXPECT A HONEYMOON PERIOD ON SOCIAL MEDIA AT THE DEPARTING PERSON’S NEW PLACE.

• “This new place is amazing!” Which means your place wasn’t.

• At some point real life will kick in and they’ll stop.

• Weather their honeymoon. You don’t need it in your spirit.

• If it’s getting to you, delete the app.

• Social media can feed a failure mentality.

14. DON’T GET DISCOURAGED.

• Don’t Think You’re the Only Person This Happens To.

• This is the secret: don’t get discouraged. Fight it.

• People WILL leave your church.

• Staff members WILL betray you.

• Don’t give air to fear.

• Pruning leads to better fruit and a better future.

• Get up and keep going by faith.

• Sometimes you have to wait 11 years to see someone who left in a bad way come back in repentance.

WISDOM FOR DEPARTING STAFF

• If you’re leaving a church, get planted somewhere. Don’t wander.

• When you get planted somewhere, be a son or daughter of that House.

• Be an honorable, loyal, ethical, trusting Christian. Integrity matters. Honor your former pastor. Don’t go bush-league.

• If you’re leaving a church, do not play the “God told me” game.

• Don’t run from your issues! Your next church won’t change things. Geography doesn’t fix your problems.

• Remember whose spiritual platform you have been using and you have been benefiting from. You were LOANED a platform. Never take the power and trust.

• Never steal sheep.

• Never steal staff. That is unethical behavior.

• Fulfill your commitments. Don’t cut and run. That only hurts God’s people.

• Leave your assigned area of responsibility stronger, not weaker.

• Encourage commitment and faithfulness to the House that you’re leaving.

• Watch your words, non-verbals and your actions on the way out… …because God is.

The Fun is Found on the Other Side of 'Yes!'

You've Gotta FAIL If You Want To SUCCEED

Did you know that the average small business owner fails 2.7 times before finally reaching success? That means they have to publicly fall flat on their faces and lose everything over two times before they learn all the secrets necessary for full-time success! The term “Overnight Success” is an oxymoron.

I believe the same is true in ministry: you’ve gotta FAIL if you want to SUCCEED!

In failure:

• You learn how not to treat the people you lead

• Discoveries are made in scheduling and planning for major events

• Emotional IQ is enhanced and increased

• Persistence is stirred up for later reliance

• WHO you can trust and count on during tough times is revealed

• Humility is accepted as the pathway to greatness.

Every crisis is an opportunity.

Dream Again.  Dream Bigger.  Dream Better.

The Dream is the Distance: Everything looks different from a distance.

Even though you see empty seats, there is an opportunity for growth.

Genesis 41 tells us the following:

• The dark room is where he develops the negatives.

• The more God uses you, the more He humbles you.

• Purpose Over Position -- Believe this and you will never get offended!

• No Mess, No Ministry

• No Drama, No Dream

God did not say this would be easy; He said He would be with you.

If you are currently experiencing or feeling failure, GREAT! It’s a necessary prerequisite to achieving greater ground for Kingdom expansion! Keep your chin up, your head low, and your posture as a servant-leader. In Christ, the best is yet to come!

Just Do It

In 1971, Phil Knight was teaching accounting at Portland State University.

One day, he overheard a graphic design student say that she couldn’t afford to take a painting class.

Knight paid her $35 to design a logo for his start-up shoe company.

When he saw the design, he said,

“I don't know if I like it, but maybe it will grow on me.”

Knight didn’t have time to fuss over the logo. "We had a deadline," he explains. He had signed a contract with a factory to produce 3,000 pairs of Nike's first shoe. "Production was starting on the shoe that Friday."

Before then, they needed a logo.

“You don’t like it?” Knight’s chief operating officer asked of the student’s design.

“I don’t love it,” Knight said, “but we’re out of time. It’ll have to do.”

Takeaway 1:

It's said that if not for constraints and deadlines, nothing would get made.

George Lucas, for instance, worked on drafts of the first Star Wars for years. "I never arrived at a degree of satisfaction where I thought the screenplay was perfect," he said.

But then he struck a deal with a movie executive from United Artists—"At that point, it became an obligation," Lucas said.

"If I hadn't been forced to shoot the film, I would doubtless still be rewriting it now."

Takeaway 2:

At Nike's IPO in 1980, Phil Knight gave the student who designed the Swoosh 500 shares.

She never sold.

Since the IPO, there have been 7 stock splits. So those 500 shares have become 64,000 shares. At the time of this writing, Nike is at $110/share.

$110/share x 64,000 shares = $7,040,000.

It makes me think of something Robert Greene once said:

“Above all else, focus on acquiring knowledge and skills. Knowledge and skills are like gold—a currency you will transform into something more valuable than you can imagine."

Jeff Deyo on LeaderShift

 Jeff Deyo is a worship leader, author, pianist, songwriter, speaker, and professor. He is known internationally as the former lead singer of the Grammy-nominated, Dove Award-winning group, Sonicflood, and lives to help people grow closer to God.

It was a real thrill having Jeff Deyo on the podcast this week. His music is the soundtrack to my Calling from back in 2000 and meeting him was a true joy.

The guy is the real deal — authentic, oozing with joy and ready to pray at a moment’s notice. Listen to my conversation with Jeff Deyo on LeaderShift, wherever you get your pod’s OR watch at YouTube.com/JonathanHerron.

• Listen on Apple Podcasts

• Listen on Spotify

Do You Have the 8 Values That Make a Leader?

1 YOU NEED COMMUNITY YOU CAN BE VULNERABLE AND AUTHENTIC WITH
​If you can start to get a place where you’re honest with yourself and others, you can grow and develop. 

2 GREAT LEADERS SEE MORE THAN OTHERS SEE & THEY SEE BEFORE OTHERS SEE
This doesn’t mean they’re smarter than other people, it just means they can see the bigger picture, quicker. 

3 A GOOD THOUGHT WORKS AT THE END JUST AS WELL AS THE BEGINNING
It’s not about being heard first, its about serving people. 

4 IF YOU’LL HELP PEOPLE GET WHAT THEY WANT, THEY’LL HELP YOU GET WHAT YOU WANT
It’s not about recruiting people to yourself, but leading them into their passion. Put people first! 

5 A GREAT LEADER HAS A FORCEFUL WILL AND A HUMBLE HEART
Leaders don’t get distracted with what’s around them but carry an appreciation for who’s around them. 

6 THERE’S A FINE LINE BETWEEN MOTIVATION AND MANIPULATION
Manipulation is leading for your advantage, motivation is leading for OTHER’S advantage. When you lack values with people, this gets backwards.

7 IT’S ABOUT THE COMPOUND OF CONSISTENCY & VALUING PEOPLE
Focus on getting better daily. The anticipation of helping people will keep you in the game!

8 YOU'RE NOT DOWN, YOU'RE EITHER UP OR GETTING UP
Don’t let failure define you. Failure is momentary, and a sign that you’re moving!

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LAUGH YOUR MASS OFF

- Available now on Amazon -

Colin Mochrie Reflects on Over 30 Years of Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Vulture has a great interview with Colin Mochrie, the improv phenom who has been making us all laugh for 30 years.

As you know, improvisational comedy has many “rules” that apply to business, leadership and life, as revealed in my book, Holy Shift.

Here are some highlights from the article:

On improv entering the mainstream:

“There are still times I think, How did they pitch the show to a network and have it get picked up? There’s four guys you have never seen before, and we don’t have a show until the end of the taping, and it’s 22 episodes of that. I’m proud that it got improv into the public mind-set.”

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Anybody can improvise:

“Like any muscle, it has to be worked and exercised. Because, I mean, basically, we’re all improvisers. That’s what our lives are. We have sort of a rough framework; we know how it’s going to end. Everything in between now and then is just totally improvised.”

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Why improvisers hate Hoedowns:

“Well, they’re horrible! First of all, is it even a song style? It’s like, “Oh, let’s hear the hoedown stylings of …” Who? No one. And there’s no good place to be in line. The first person: You get this suggestion right away, you have no time to think. And then the rest of the time, you’re just hoping no one will take your verse. There’s some topics we think, All I’ve got is one thing. If somebody does that verse … And when they do it right before you? I can’t even describe the feeling. It’s just loss and despair. And the fact that the Hoedown was invented? It’s horrible.”

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Read the full article on Vulture.