Blognabit

Ready, Aim, Fire: Leadership In Your Setting

2009-06-16T12:24:00.004-05:00

Leadership has its ups and downs regardless of the level of leadership you are in. Conflict is never foreign ground. A very close friend once told me "if you want to be a leader then there is a price to pay." He went on to say that if you are a leader then you automatically have a target on your back. After he said this to me I had to step back and dissect what that actually meant. After all I thought leadership meant everyone would love and look up to you. Not so! Unfortunately, there is a price to pay and that price is worth every penny. Whether you are a C.E.O, Pastor, Lay Leader, Worship Leader, Manager in Human Resources, fill in the blank, you are open to scrutiny and judgment.

A little story...

As a worship leader I am constantly running into creative walls, that is, inspiration from all angles. I have to continually filter all of the creative emotion that comes my way. Sometimes I do not handle it with wisdom and sometimes I do. Recently, I had to deal with conflict on my worship team that sent waves of conflict through the infrastructure of my team. My first response was to lash out, take control and cut people off. Once I filtered all of my selfish desires through the word of God and prayer I understood where it was coming from. The Holy Spirit graciously allowed me to see things I did not like and gave me tools of wisdom to extinguish the fire. Now when I say extinguish I don't mean the fire went away. As a matter of fact it is to this day still kindling in some areas. Nonetheless, I received the wisdom on how to internalize the conflict through prayer and meditation on God's word.

The one thing God showed me, which should have been obvious, is that I cannot please everyone. So will stay, some will go, some will agree to disagree and that is all OK! In the bible we are given a great example of church conflict and how it was properly dealt with.

Read on...
The Council at Jerusalem
(Acts 15:1-19)

Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses." The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: "After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things that have been known for ages. “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God."

This passage is a perfect example of how conflict over doctrine or perhaps "the right way to do things" was running wild in the church. All of the great minds were together arguing and debating about how things should be done. Everyone was wailing about how God would have it this way, God would have it that way and so on. At the very end of the debate the Pastor (LEADER) James made the final call in saying, "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God."

Even though every leader, lay leader, Pastor, Disciple, Apostle present had good points and valid arguments James settled the matter in saying this is the way it is. You can stay or you can go. Well the story goes on, as you can see Paul and Barnabas went one way and Judas and Silas the other. Can you say church split? Not exactly but close. These men agreed to disagree and parted their ways carrying the gospel to the places they were to go.

The point of this blog and biblical example is this: It is OK to argue, it is ok to debate, just remember that as a leader you have a responsibility to do what God has called you to do. You have the responsibility to step back, happily readjust the target on your back, make the right, sometimes difficult decisions, and move on to what God is calling you to do. Do not forsake the calling of God on your life when times get tough and people just plain ole don't like you. Embrace it, love it, soak in it and be glad that God has called you to such a time as this.

I hope you were blessed and encouraged by this article.

In Christ
Jeremy Verhines
www.jeremyverhines.com

free mini films for worship

2009-06-05T14:12:00.001-05:00

looking for free mini films and loops for worship visit:
www.virb.com/jeremyverhines

Lead Like Jesus - Day 138

2009-05-19T21:30:00.006-05:00

I will be called to give an account for my stewardship when all the things of this world are returned to their owner.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10

Prayer: Righteous One, when I approach the judgment seat, I know that the questions will surround, "What did I do with Jesus?" and "What did I do with what You gave me?" May we both be pleased with answers and may I live today in light of that reminder. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

risk taking

2009-05-17T15:23:00.004-05:00

today we had a guest speaker visit and give the message at our church. it was quite inspiring. the message was titled risk taking. the definition of risk is:

"the threat or probability that an action or event, will adversely or beneficially affect an organization's ability to achieve its objectives"

in our church we have reached a point of having to ask ourselves "are we willing to take a risk" that is, are we willing to truly define who we are by reaching others for the sake of the cross? after all that is the mission of ever church right? i mean, it's not about us right?

i know in my own walk i become complacent from time to time. i get to this point to where i think things are going ok, manageable, desirable for ME. what i usually find out is that i have plugged up the flow, that ever flowing water of the Spirit of God who constantly keeps me in check, stretched, on the edge, expectant, and on the edge of taking a risk. it becomes about me and not about the lost and God.

a long time ago while in bible college i learned one key point to success in ministry, that key point was that God would only take me where i would be willing to go. He would only reveal the next step to me as i was faithful in the current step i was in. basically if you are searching for new heights in God He will only move on as you are faithful to move when He reveals. does that make sense?

if God has revealed a truth to you that He wants you to grow in He expects you to step out in faith and operate in that new truth. if we lag behind then God will wait for us. He will not advance us, advance our calling, advance our purpose unless we advance with Him.

i liken this to that scripture "to whom much is given much is expected". does that sound familiar? so what will you do today? will you step out in faith and trust in God for His hand to lead you, guide you, promote you, demote you, humble you, exalt you, renew you, on and on and on..fill in the blank...you know what season you are in. let the God of all creation love on you, teach you, guide you, and take you to new heights. let go of fear and embrace faith...that is my choice for today.

God bless
jeremy verhines
www.jeremyverhines.com

fleecing the flock of God

2009-05-14T10:24:00.003-05:00

today i had a conversation with someone about a particular incident that took place where a musician and his skills were taken advantage of. for some reason when musicians in the church volunteer they suddenly "become" the church's property.

hello! what ever happened to the word "volunteer". i mean come on. i have been in both places, i was fleeced at one point and then moved on and got trained under someone that valued the gifts God had given me..

thanks Marlena and Habib! i love you both for the impact you have made on my life.

as a worship leader i recognize that musicians are an intricate part of my success in ministry. i guess i could lead with a guitar and vocals, add some looped drums, keys, bass, shakers and strings to accompany myself. that would be ok but empty in my opinion. now i understand some worship leaders have to do that...i have been there. thanks to God and the team i have now i am accompanied by a great team of musicians and singers. we all worship together.....

now on to the fleecing the flock thing...

to all the pastors and worship leaders out there, remember your volunteers are important, they belong to God and not you. we are servants not elite leaders. Jesus understood the importance of His disciples. after all His sole purpose was to train them up to do His work. He trusted them. shure, unity was required, but they had skills. they had skills He needed. sure He could have just transformed people without the help of His disciples much like a worship leader could produce his own backing tracks and loops. the point is our volunteers belong to God not us...we need them because they are valuable people. they carry specific gifts that God wants to use for the BIG PICTURE.

God help us to lay down our fears. give us the ability to lead and not fleece. we are all one body created uniquely for Your purpose.

good resource for medical scrubs

2009-05-04T19:43:00.001-05:00

hey friends,
check out this site for good deals on medical scrubs.

Scrubs - Easy to shop for nursing scrubs, medical uniforms and nurse’s shoes. ScrubsGallery.com

the five love languages

2009-04-26T17:57:00.002-05:00

if there ever was a bible study for couples, those in love, or the individual seeking a better understanding of what love means i recommend this one bigtime. my wife and i are going through this journey in a bible study right now and it really is enlightening. we are on chapter 2 right now and have learned a lot already. love is either a generic word or a deep expression. it all depends upon how you use it. it also encompasses a completely new language that couples need to learn. i liken it to a foreign language. men and women often speak different love languages. discovering your love language is important to a successful relationship and marriage.

i encourage you to dive into this read. it is exceptional.

God bless
jeremy v

to my atention

2009-04-23T07:48:00.000-05:00

i was reading the news this morning about the right's attack on pastor rick warren. i am amazed at how the church continues to stab it's own in the back. the radical right wing of the church is attacking rick warren simply because he is doing opposite of what they are doing. i liken it to the times when Jesus walked the earth. he broke so many golden calves of the religious right, attacked every tradition they held on to as gospel, and loved those they did not love. does this sound like the church today? do we as the body of Christ really imitate Christ? do we imitate the religious right of Jesus' day? that is a question i constantly challenge myself with. i believe wholeheartedly in standing firm on our faith. our faith is not watered down nor does the bible say we need to let our guard down. the bible is straightforward about how we are to live. it is also straight forward about how we are to love. the church has gottne so many things right. we are good at knowing our bibles, defending our doctrines, and arguing with our local church comrades over being methodist, baptist, or nondenominational. however, we are way off when it comes to love. i am way off when it comes to love. doesn't the bible say that if we have not love then everything else is useless. ok then what? what next?

stop majoring in the minors and major in love. give your love the brother or sister who does not deserve it. afterall we did not deserve it. give your love away. check out a song by robbie seay called "give yourself away".

rise people of love rise!

not so gracefully yours
jeremy

ps. go rick warren! keep on doing what you are doing!

The Lord's Prayer

2009-04-21T16:32:00.001-05:00

ok got it done. you can have a freebie here
www.jeremyverhines.com/songs/thelordsprayeronline.mp3

relocate my heart

2009-04-20T15:18:00.000-05:00

this is my first entry.
went and saw matt maher and shane and shane with my lovely wife saturday night. david nassar was the key speaker. what a great message and music too! wow. turn down the music tour. great stuff.

i was struck by tozer's quote
"Christians dont tell lies they just go to church and sing them"
AW Tozer.

this struck me because it is true. is our worship really worship. is our singing really singing to God? it is a question that i constantly keep myself in check with. as a worship leader there is a lot that distracts me. when managing a team i sometimes lose site of what we are doing. perhaps it is my creative edge getting ahead of me, wanting more sound, more volume, more color, more programs etc.

as a worship leader i am required to honor God first and give Him the glory. to God be the glory honor and praise. i tell myself that all of the time. i am continually finding that secret place in my worship times. that helps me relocate my heart towards the throne.

that is my new quote "relocate my heart"

God help us to relocate our hearts every second of the day!