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Ministry 4DX, Part 1

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Ministry 4DX, Part 1

If you’ve served or led for any length of time, then you’ve probably watched a key initiative come up short. Maybe a ministry plan was doomed from the start. Perhaps it was slowly and quietly smothered by competing priorities.

What happened? The whirlwind of day-to-day activities consumed most of your time and energy, leaving little margin for important and strategic things.

Ministry 4DX is the application of Franklin Covey’s 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) to church growth and revitalization. It leads your team to execute on your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind. 4DX includes:

  • Discipline #1 – Focus on the wildly important
  • Discipline #2 – Act on the lead measure.
  • Discipline #3 – Create a compelling scoreboard.
  • Discipline #4 – Create a cadence of accountability.

Focus on the wildly important. Each team needs wildly important goals (WIGs). And because team focus is quickly diluted, it’s important that ministry departments and teams have no more than 1 or 2 WIGs at the same time.

Ask the question: What do you need to focus on above all else? For example:

  • Evangelism WIG – Train 1,000 people to share their 1 story, memorize 1 verse, and get their commitment to share with 1 person by 8/1/16.
  • Worship WIG – Grow the 11:00am service +45 by 8/1/16.
  • Community WIG – Grow LIFE groups +80 by 8/1/16.
  • Service WIG – Mobilize 150 people on short-term mission trips by 8/1/16.

Act on the lead measure. Every goal needs a measuring stick, but not just any measuring stick. Placing your focus on the right measure is one of the most important things you can do to improve execution.

What’s the difference between lead and lag measures? Here’s a quick definition:

  • Lead Measure – Something that leads to the goal
  • Lag Measure – Something that measures the goal

The key idea is to take weekly stock of several lead measures, then show the lag measure they impact. Over time, positive movement in the lead measures should impact the lag measure (attendance, participation, etc.) in the right direction.

Take a look at some lead and lag ministry measure examples:

  • Evangelism Lead Measure—1×3 Outreach Initiative Commitments—impacts the Lag Measure—Baptisms
  • Worship Lead Measure—Invite Cards Distributed—impacts the Lag Measure—Worship Attendance
  • Community Lead Measure—New Groups Started—impacts the Lag Measure—Groups Attendance
  • Service Lead Measure—New People Mobilized—impacts the Lag Measure—Missions Participation

So what’s the Big Idea?

Use 4DX to execute on your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind. Focus on the wildly important and act on the lead measure.

Resources

Evangelism Redux

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Evangelism Redux

Over the last several decades, influential witness training methods like Evangelism Explosion (1962), Continuing Witness Training (1982), Becoming a Contagious Christian (1995) and FAITH Evangelism (1999) became key drivers of church growth.

Across America and around the world, a fresh Acts 1:8 history lesson was learned: Develop an intentional witness training plan, maintain a growing prospect list and build a sustained churchwide evangelism focus.

The influence of these programs continues in churches that have made them a part of their vision and DNA. In other churches, they ran their course and petered out, leaving exhausted pastors and congregations in their wake.

It seems likely that some of us (and I count myself in this group) over thought and over complicated what should have been a simple proposition: Mobilize as many believers as possible to live a lifestyle of sharing.

More than ever, I believe that mobilizing more people with simplified evangelism “handles” is the best way forward. If you’re a believer, then you can share your faith. Let’s return to basics and embrace KISS methodology: “Keep it short and simple.”

At First West, our evangelism plan asks for 3 commitments:

  • 1 Story – Learn to share your 1 story.
  • 1 Verse – Memorize 1 verse to share the gospel.
  • 1 Person – Identify and share with your 1 person.

1 Story. Experience tells us that a person’s testimony is the easiest way to share with someone else. Every believer has a story! Teaching believers to share about their life before they met Jesus, how they came to accept Jesus into their life and about their life since they met Jesus is the best foundation for sustained lifestyle evangelism.

1 Verse. We use Romans 6:23 to equip all ages to share the gospel. It’s easy to use key words from this one verse to present God’s plan to save the world:

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23 (ESV)

Key words like “wages,” “sin” and “death” illustrate that our sin has earned us a death sentence. That’s the bad news. The word “but” offers some good news. “Free gift,” “of God” and “eternal life” tell us that God’s gift is the eternal life alternative to the death we deserve.

1 Person. We lead our church to know who their one person is. We ask believers to pray for their one person. We ask them to start faith conversations with their one person. We ask them to invite their one person to a weekend service or special community event. And we ask them to share the gospel when the relational chips have been earned to do so.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Provide evangelism “handles” like 1 story, 1 verse, 1 person to keep witness training short and simple. Mobilize as many believers as possible to live a lifestyle of sharing.

Resources

Set SMARTer Goals

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Set SMARTer Goals

Many goals fail because they aren’t clear, don’t seem important or aren’t likely to happen when you need them to. The solution is to use SMART criteria to make goal setting, well, smarter.

SMART goals use a mnemonic acronym to guide the setting of objectives:

  • S = Specific
  • M = Measurable
  • A = Achievable
  • R = Relevant
  • T = Time-Bound

The first use of SMART criteria to describe goal-setting occured in the November 1981 issue of Management Review in George Doran’s article, “There’s a SMART Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives.”

Doran wrote that objectives should be:

  • Specific – They should target a specific area for improvement. Exactly what do you want to accomplish? Who, what, when and where?
  • Measurable – They should quantify or suggest an indicator of progress. How will you track your progress? How much and how many?
  • Achievable – They should aim for a realistically achievable result. Do you have what you need to achieve your goal? Is your goal too challenging? Is it too easy?
  • Relevant – They should be goals that matter. Does your goal matter to your supervisor, team and organization? Is your goal aligned with organizational vision and values?
  • Time-Bound – They should specify when the result can be achieved. When will you achieve your goal? What is your time limit?

How do your 2016 goals stack up against the SMART standard?

Make your goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. It’s a fact: SMART goals make goal setting smarter.

And that’s the Big Idea.

Resources


Source

“SMART Criteria,” Accessed August 20, 2015, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria.

LA Times

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LA Times

After almost 5 months in Louisiana, our family is quickly making a home in West Monroe. God has planted us in a wonderful church at First West. In Lead Pastor Michael Wood and throughout the rest of the First West team, we sense God’s hand and favor on this place.

I moved into the Executive Pastor’s office at First West and hit the ground running on Monday, August 2nd. The pace has been brisk, but God is doing a great thing!

What’s the best part of the job? It has to be the people—both paid and volunteer—on this team. They are high-capacity leaders with a sincere desire to see to it that no one misses the grace of God. I am pumped about 2016!

Continue reading to find out more about Suzy, William, Daniel and Katie.

Suzy. Suzy accepted a 4th grade teaching job (and calling) with the Ouachita Parish School Board in July. It’s great to see her excel at something she was clearly meant to do. She started a women’s LIFE group at First West and made new connections with the women and wives on our leadership team. Suzy has made a home for us all in West Monroe, and I am thankful!

William. William started his senior year at West Monroe High School in August. He’s made new friends and he continues to develop his love for singing. And for the first time, I’m known for his singing, rather than him being known for mine. He sang Tenor I in All-State Choir this semester down in Baton Rouge. William stays busy working at Chick-fil-A as he continues his college search.

Daniel. Daniel started his 10th grade year at West Monroe High School on our first day in Louisiana. After our Sunday evening reception in Collierville, we drove the entire distance to West Monroe so he could start band camp the next day. After a great Fall semester and a memorable marching band season, Daniel is taking trumpet lessons at ULM (The University of Louisiana at Monroe). His perseverance in developing his talent is an inspiration to me!

Katie. Katie is a 7th grade student at Good Hope Middle School, a short 5 minutes from our new home. She’s got the perfect GPA and loves music almost as much as our cat (named Leo). She earned top marks with her clarinet at solo-ensemble festival and had her first choir solo at this year’s school Christmas concert. The highlight of my Fall was a dad and daughter trip to New Orleans for the Louisiana All-State Youth Honor Choir concert.

The prayer that Suzy and I have had for our family throughout our move to Louisiana is that we would each uncover and refine the core of who we are. I believe we’ve seen that happen—spiritually, relationally and in other ways—in each member of our family.

When everything is stripped away, what remains?

That’s the question we wanted our kids to answer now, and not next year or later on in their lives. They (and us) have learned that true significance doesn’t reside in a place, in friends or even in a church building.

Who we are is all about WHOSE we are.

And that’s the Big Idea.

Resources

Stop, Start, Continue?

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Stop, Start, Continue?

What do you need to stop, start or continue?

Visualize the idea of making ministry adjustments as a traffic light:

  • Red = Stop
  • Green = Start
  • Yellow = Continue

Stop. At the top sits a red light, signaling the question: What do you need to STOP doing? If a ministry plan isn’t working or measuring up, then it’s something you need to stop doing. Recognize that doing something new can’t happen until you stop doing something else.

Start. At the bottom sits a green light, representing the question: What do you need to START doing? This is the question to ask when needs aren’t being met, when people can’t find a place or can’t get connected or when current ministry falls short with your church or community.

Continue. The middle light is yellow, asking the question: What do you need to CONTINUE doing? As you review your action plans, look for ministry that’s doing what it’s supposed to do and reaching the people it’s supposed to reach.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Evaluate ministry methods, strategies and plans with the stop, start or continue exercise:

  • What do you need to STOP doing?
  • What do you need to START doing?
  • What do you need to CONTINUE doing?

Resources

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