Life Church's Core Values

Values are important in any organization as they articulate the kind of organization we dream of becoming.

Putting into words the culture you are seeking to model into existence is hard work.

During my recent doctoral studies, I've been refreshing Life Church's Core Values for the journey ahead.

For what it's worth, here are our Core Values, Version 2.0...

We Are United Under One Vision

To reach the people no one else is reaching, we will do the things no one else is doing.
We will do anything short of sin to reach people far from God.
We will unapologetically and aggressively defend our unity and vision.

Every Person Matters

All people are image-bearers of God and are wonderfully made.
Because every person matters, relationships are not disposable.
We will always choose conversation over condemnation.
We will always seek to maintain the relationship over winning the argument.
We choose honesty over hypocrisy and gospel over gossip.

We Strive for Integrity, Transparency & Accountability

We do not gossip or spread rumors.  No insider politics here.
Full of honor and integrity, we will choose to do the right thing even when it hurts.
Our position is to out-love, out-serve, and out-give those who misunderstand us.

Because we have nothing to hide, we value humble transparency in all areas, including finances.

Everyone is accountable to someone at Life Church.

Found People Find People

We will put more effort into reaching the Lost than keeping the Found.
We will never allow this lifeboat to become a yacht club.
We will spare no expense because the just-one-more is worth it.
We will celebrate every story because every person matters.

Saved People Serve People

“... just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve..."  (Jesus in Matthew 20:28)

Becoming more like Jesus means we focus on serving others.
When we take the spotlight off ourselves and place it on other people, it will result in improving our marriages, making a difference in our workplaces and discovering our spiritual gifts.

We are never more like Christ than when we see Sunday mornings as our mission field.

Growing People Change

Jesus accepts us as we are, but He loves us too much to let us stay that way.
Over time, the Lord changes us from the inside out.

Colossians 3:9-10 reminds us that we have "taken off the old self" and "put on the new self."
Once we know Jesus, we can’t go back to the people we were before.

As we listen to Jesus and do what He says, our desires change.
We begin to think and act and love as He did.

I Cannot Out-Give God

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  (Jesus in John 3:16)

It is a spiritual impossibility for us to outgive God, because He has already given us everything.
Everything belongs to God and we are simply managers of God's stuff.
When we give, we’re giving God back a small portion of what He’s already given us.

Jesus is Our Only Celebrity

We celebrate the contributions of God's servants to our spiritual education and formation,
but we look to Jesus above all others and put our hope in Him alone.

 

Movements Move

We are not Atari, we are Apple.
We believe in humor over hammer.

We will always maintain a posture of humility and learning new methods for reaching people far from God.

We will always narrow the focus in all we do.  We think steps, not programs.

Want to learn more? Check out Life Church’s Next Steps Class online!

3 Steps to Becoming a Better Servant-Leader

The heart behind leadership is serving others. It’s never about the title, it’s about the towel:

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,
and to give His life a ransom for many.”

(Jesus in Mark 10:45)

For what it’s worth, here are 3 steps I’ve discovered toward becoming a better servant-leader.

1. Choose Trust

Believe the best about others, rather than assuming the worst. When in doubt, lead with the most generous explanation for someone’s behavior.

“Love never stops believing the best about others.” (1 Corinthians 13:7, TPT)

2. Stay Curious Longer

Everyone you meet in life has expertise. Some of the best mentors and friends are known as much by the quality of their questions as the answers they give. Don’t be interesting, be interested.

“Do you not understand these things?” (Jesus in John 3:10)

3. Take the Low Place

Push others into the spotlight. Ask how you can serve others, rather than seeking to be served.

“For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.” (Jesus in Luke 19:10, MSG)

LET ME TELL YOU WHO WE'RE NOT

One of the smartest things you can do in leadership is to find people, heroes, and role models that are ahead of where you want to be and emulate them. But as we take notes on who we are or who we want to be, we must do the same with who we’re not. 
 

Here are 10 things to consider not allowing within your leadership:

1. WE’RE NOT BIG TIME

• It is often so easy to get caught up in things like positions, titles, etc. Leadership is not about us and it never will be. 

• The grass isn’t greener on the other side - the “big time” is where you’re at. The biggest platform I get the honor to step onto is ZOE’s. 

• WE ARE leaders that have a pure, humble, and simple devotion to Jesus. 

2. WE’RE NOT INTO OURSELVES, WE ARE INTO OTHERS

• Leaders are people-obsessed. A leader's words about others reveals whether or not they are about people or about themselves. 

• Everyone’s favorite topic to talk about is themselves. People could go on and on about their life and what they are going through. However, a leader can’t lead others if they only talk about themselves. 

• WE ARE leaders who ask questions about others, want to learn about people, and want to hear about how they’re doing. 

3. WE’RE NOT LOOKING FOR THE EASY WAY OUT

• A minimum effort will always produce medium results. 

• I’m not saying you can’t work smart. I love things like Postmates that make my life easier. I have nothing against convenience; there is no sense in making things harder than they need to be. 

• WE ARE leaders who do everything for Jesus and give our best. 

4. WE’RE NOT TAKING OURSELVES TOO SERIOUSLY

• My dad used to always say, “Everybody is laughing at you - join them.”

• I take my calling from God seriously. I take the church seriously. I take my family seriously. But I also live within the tension of seriousness and fun. I take things seriously in an appropriate measure and live with levity and joy. 

• WE ARE living with an appropriate measure of taking our call seriously while not taking ourselves too seriously.

5. WE’RE NOT TRYING TO BE ANYONE ELSE

• We all have people who inspire us. We all have people we want to be like. But we’re working to be OURSELVES. 

• Don’t be a copy! Be the contrast. Be you!

• WE ARE secure and confident in who we are! 

6. WE’RE NOT TRYING TO BE DISCOVERED

• In the church, you don’t need to try to be discovered. So many times we see people trying so hard to make a name for themselves and get the attention of others. This isn’t what leadership is about!

• Narcissistic leaders drain the value out of an organization because they make everything about them and their agenda and not about the team and the organization. 

• WE ARE only concerned with building His kingdom!

7. WE’RE NOT BAD AT GETTING BACK TO PEOPLE

• Not getting back to people (something as simple as not replying to a text) could open up a wound of abandonment. We don’t always know people’s situations. Not replying to a text may cut deeper than we think. 

• If you’re bad at getting back to people, you create a narrative of mistrust about you. 

• If you have offended someone by not replying, don’t make excuses. It’s important to just simply just apologize. 

• WE ARE good at getting back to people.

8. WE’RE NOT MASTERS OF MANIPULATION

• There’s a difference between encouraging people towards something and the act of manipulation: motive. 

• We ought to always be checking our motives and intentions - are we encouraging people towards reaching their full potential or to do something that we want them to do?

• WE ARE leaders that have pure hearts and have people’s best interests in mind!
   

9. WE’RE NOT USERS OF PEOPLE...OR LEADERS THAT LEVERAGE

• We value people, we don’t use them.

• We have to be careful. We can often use people to accomplish a vision or goal and not care about them in the process. Sometimes we can completely neglect to lead them, build them up, invest in them, etc.

• WE ARE leaders that add value to people, we don’t use them!

10. WE’RE NOT LIVING IN DYSFUNCTION

• The classic saying goes: “What you are willing to tolerate, you are willing to live with.” We have to be careful and diligent as to what we are okay to live with.

• We need to have a desire to grow. We want accountability. These types of measures are how we have a strong life and strong leadership.

• WE ARE striving to live a healthy life.

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A GREAT CHURCH CAMPUS LEADER

What it takes to be a GREAT Campus Leader

BIG IDEA: Campus Leaders have Hustle + Intensity about the Total Guest Experience

1. Hustle = Self-Led

• CHASES Jesus on their own with passion
  

• INITIATIVE - Does not need constant motivation
  Jon would rather REIGN IN a STALLION
  than MOTIVATE a MULE!
  

• Secure as a Son of the House (Old Testament Idea)
  
  - Son of the House > Hired Hand
  - As the House spreads out, the Sons have to protect the UNITY of the House
  
  - Heart of an Heir; Understands their role in the House
  - What we can do TOGETHER is GREATER than what we can do APART!
  
  - A Son is not focused on their title or accolades.
  - A Son understands their inheritance is in the future.
  
  - A Son works HARDER because they are a Son, not a Hired Hand
  - Hired Hands wants a paycheck; Sons sacrifice for what’s best for the House.
  - Sons have the right HEART Attitude
  

• Campus Leaders are not trying to build their OWN thing because they are HEIRS to the WHOLE thing!

2. Hustle + Intensity = Able to Gather More People to the Cause

• Sons draw MORE people into the House; Employees draw people to themselves.
  

• Charisma -- You gotta be likeable + Plant yourself where the Guests are!
  

• Become Intensely Hyper about what Guests FEEL when they arrive.
  

• We want every Guest to feel like a million bucks!
  

• You must be the SPARK that inspires your teams to love + serve Guests!
  

• Law of the Lid = YOU are the Lid of your campus. If you are only a 7, expect your volunteers to rise to 5’s or 6’s.
  

• Humor Over Hammer -- Leverage a fun personality to connect with Guests and in High Touch during the weekdays. People are attracted to fun-loving people!
  

• Make The Ask -- Many people are just waiting for YOU to DIRECTLY and CLEARLY ask them to join in!

3.  Hustle to Empower People

• You can have Control or Growth, but you can’t have BOTH.
  

• Give away ministry -- Ephesians 4:12: “Equip the Lifers for ministry!”
  

• It takes security to let go -- Success is having MORE volunteers on the team!
  

• Make sure your new team members FEEL equipped -- double-check/over-communicate training resources and that YOU are cheering for them!
  

• Empowered people have OWNERSHIP and are ALL IN!
  

• Empowered people meet new friends and develop relationships. Every first-time guest wants to feel known, first by YOU and then by OTHERS.
  

• Guests need 7 new friends in 6 months in order to STAY at your campus.

4.  Reproduce Yourself

• You are a Paul, recruit a Timothy (Ready Now) and a Titus (Ready in 6 Months).

Developing Leaders

Listen, nothing is going to work in your church if EVERYTHING has to go through you.

Like sands sifting through an hourglass, you will become the middle squeeze that slows everything down.

In Numbers 11, Moses grew frustrated in leadership. He even started to see his people as a BURDEN instead of a BLESSING!

If that's you, it's time to develop more leaders:

• Carve out strategic time to take out an emerging leader for coffee and pour into them.

• Film a quick 2 minute video on one big idea and post it in a private Facebook Group for your invite-only leaders.

• Remember that when I do a job for others, I take a job from others!

If you're waiting around for "the right people" to appear in your church, well, keep waiting.

Because the nasty little secret is that "the right people" are actually FOUND and DEVELOPED!

You can do it, I can help.

Hit me up at https://ChurchGrowth.Network and see what God can do through you!

3 WAYS TO BECOME AN INSPIRATIONAL LEADER

Are you an inspirational leader?
There are three steps you can take right now to become more inspirational:

#1 = Lead with the why
People need to know the purpose behind the work. Particularly over the past few years, team members have determined that they want to give their lives to something that matters.

#2 = Celebrate progress
Look back. Make sure everyone on the team knows that you see what they’ve done well.
It’s easy to point out flaws (and, for certain, we should coach our team and help make everyone better at what they do), but true leadership entails so much more.

#3 = Encourage the team
That is, breathe life into them. Be the wind in their sails.
Remind them that you are for them— both personally and professionally.

4 THINGS WE OWE OUR TEAM

We often think about what our team owes us -- what we expect from them.

But there are four things we owe them, as well:

1) GRACE: Not expecting them to be perfect.

2) HONESTY: Shooting straight and being transparent.

3) PROPER PLACEMENT: A place where they can thrive.

4) PRAYER: This opens our hearts to them and provides wisdom and insight to love them.

IMPROVISE - ADAPT - OVERCOME

Marines get stuff done.
They face impossible missions yet always prevail.

2 Timothy 2:1-6 tells leaders to think like a Marine.

During a recent Leadership Coaching Session, I shared 8 Leadership Lessons from the Marine Corp: Common Sense Principles for Success.

I hope these 8 Leadership Lessons encourage you and your team to fearlessly lead your church to grow!