Author Archives: dennyowens

Guaranteed Impact through Leadership (continued) #3 …

Courage is not the absence of fear but doing what is needed in spite of the fear or consequences. Courage is needed in leadership, without it there will be little impact. If those around you do not see your courage as you attempt to lead they will fall back instead of follow closely. We all want to know that our leaders are leading with courage, if not we assume they will disappear when things become difficult.

How does courage show up in leaders? It shows when …

-Courage is shown when … the leader is willing to take responsibility for the movement or lack thereof in the organization.

-Courage is shown when … the leader passes out praise generously and enthusiastically to people at all levels of the organization. This needs to be both privately and publically. Done publically it lifts those people in eyes of the whole organization. Done privately it shows the leader is aware of and cares about others and who they are as persons, not just as a part of the organization.

-Courage is shown when … the leader is willing to say “my bad” or “I am sorry” when they have made a poor decision or acted poorly. Apologies that are sincere go a long way in building strong connections with those to whom you have apologized. You have shown that you are know you are not perfect and are not pretending to be. You have given everyone permission to make honest mistakes. This will give great energy to the people around you in the organization.

-Courage is shown when … the leader is quick to say thank you. Thank you for your input, for your efforts, for your ideas, for your support, for your sacrifice and many more things. A thank you is one of the most cost effective things a leader can do in the organization. Everyone loves to be appreciated and to be acknowledged as having contributed. The cost is virtually nothing, but the benefit is tremendous.

-Courage is shown when … the leader makes decisions based on what is best for the organization and the people of the organization not just what makes him/her look best. In my first ministry position I was an Assistant Pastor to great mentor, Pastor Dave Engrecht, who consistently modeled this courage and urged me to make my decisions based on “What’s best for the body?” In other words, he was saying that we needed to always move forward with was best for the whole church/organization and with what matched our mission. People will work hard for a leader who consistently makes decisions in this manner.

Courage is needed to make an impact. This is not an exhaustive list, and many things on this list might seem trivial to some people, but they take courage and they reveal courage in those who will do them.

What would happen in your organization, your church, your family, or your friendships if you began to exercise these courageous actions? You can do them. Start with one. Then add another one a couple a of weeks later and so on. Then watch what happens. I know that you will begin to see great things taking place.

Here’s hoping you will take a next step in being courageous. Watch for more posts on making an impact through leadership coming soon.

Dennis

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Monday Morning Musings …

We are definitely into summer now. You can tell by the temperatures and a little by how many people are gone. As for the musings …

-Temperature and humidity remained high this week as did the water level. The rain that wouldn’t stop last Sunday returned several times this week which left us with standing water in some places all week.

-We had a great spirit all through the worship service. People seemed very engaged during all parts of the music and they were singing out.

-After a difficult week for many in our congregation we had an outstanding time of prayer during worship. There are a lot of needs in our community but we have many people who are getting very serious about prayer. Good things follow when people get serious about praying.

-We had some great times of discussion with people again this week. Some of the conversations were throughout the week and a few following the message yesterday. Many people are really seeking to follow Christ in all areas of their lives. That is very exciting and encouraging.

-Our attendance was pretty good, especially as you looked at how many were out of town.

-The core group of people who were here when I arrived are very encouraged and excited about the growth and are even excited about what is coming next. I love ministering with people who desire to see more and more people come to know Christ and get connected in the church.

-The message yesterday was on bitterness. It was part of a series on healing relational pain. We examine a pain point in relationships and then look at the healing directed from the Word each week. Bitterness is a tough one, because people don’t usually like to admit it. Several people confessed and committed to letting go of the bitterness. Praying for continued healing for each of them. Part of the next steps in healing was for them to choose someone to be their encourager, and accountability partner, in their healing from bitterness. I am praying for those partnerships.

-We had a good time with a few sharing testimonies during our worship service. What a great time of encouragement.

-We met with a family last evening just for a time of fellowship and had a great time laughing and sharing. I love doing life with this group of people.

-This coming Sunday is the conclusion of the series on relational healing. I am really looking forward to sharing this message and encouraging fathers as well.

Here’s to hoping you find encouragement coming your way from someone this week.

Dennis

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Guaranteed Impact through your Leadership (continued) …

Compassion is defined in Webster’s dictionary as “sympathetic consciousness of other’s distress together with a desire to alleviate it”. What does compassion have to do with leadership? Leadership without compassion is nothing but a formula that might work in an organizational chart but will fail to create a desire to follow nor the desire to give the effort needed to make an impact.

It seems that we often neglect this part of leadership. If those you are attempting to lead do not sense compassion in you there will be little loyalty. Ask yourself if you have ever felt great loyalty to a person who seemed to be lacking compassion? This is especially true in churches and it is also true in any organization no matter their stated mission.

Some questions to ask in the area of Compassion …

-Does the language we use communicate about our organization indicate that we care for those we are trying to reach? Language is a powerful thing and the words or phrases you use in describing what your organization is about matters a great deal. If you are not communicating that you care about the people, or their perceived needs, you will fade away. Ask some people outside of your organization what they sense when they read, or hear, key words or phrases you use to promote your organization. Listen to what they tell you and take note of some words that may need to be changed. Then seek to change the word, or words to better reflect that you care.

-Ask internally if you are really seeking results that will make a difference in people’s lives? The flip side of that is, are we just seeking to build our organization? If you answer yes to the first and no to the second great! But if an honest evaluation indicates no to the first and yes to the second, you are in a crisis and you need to make some changes quickly.

-Ask if your intended desires, to help others, are truly being communicated? Then ask if your actions, and those of your organization, are reflecting your stated desires? Our actions tell the truth about what we intend.

-How well do you know the people you are seeking to lead? To show compassion you must know the people in your organization. How well do you know the people you are seeking to reach through your organization? You must know the people in order to create ministries, or products, that will truly have an impact on them. I am often in awe (in a bad way) when I hear people in leadership who do not know, or know very little, of those they are seeking to lead or influence. Get to know the people and their needs.

It is true that you can have great compassion and not make a real impact. Especially if your leadership lacks clarity, courage or commitment. However, it is a fact, that without compassion you will have little lasting impact.

Here’s hoping that you are saying and showing compassion for those around you. Those in, and those out, of your organization need to know that you care. Here’s hoping that you are known as a compassionate leader. Here’s hoping that your leadership and your organization makes an impact that is felt.

Next week I will write a couple more follow-ups to this idea of Leadership Impact.

Dennis

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Guaranteed Impact through Your Leadership …

Impact – “to have a strong effect … on someone or something; to hit something with great force”. This is how Webster’s dictionary defines impact. The first part of the definition is what I am focusing on, though anyone in leadership has felt the urge to complete the second part. Last week I posted about “4 Keys to Guarantee that your Leadership has Impact”, this is the first follow-up to that post.

The first key to guaranteed impact in your leadership is Clarity:

-This means having a clear vision for your leadership, what to do and how to do it. It also means having a clear vision for their organization, group or church.

-This requires asking some simple, but not easy, questions. Such as, “Who are we as an organization?” and “What is our mission?” and “Who is really leading?”. The answers to these questions are something you must discover. Realize that you cannot have clarity until you have an answer to these questions.

-When you have an answer to the question of mission, begin to share it. Share in a raw form at first. That simply means begin to share it with your team even before you have it polished. In fact, if the mission is clear and resonates well your team can polish it. A huge mistake we leaders often make when it comes to sharing the mission is we wait to have it all polished up, and looking perfect, before we share it with anyone. That leads to getting bogged down in the polishing instead leading your organization into doing the mission. When we only working on polishing and not also on doing we become irrelevant in whatever we need to accomplish.

-In answering the question of “Who are we as an organization?” be sure to make this an honest evaluation. Measure your organization against the mission and get a hold of what you are and what you are not. Even if there are negatives discovered in this evaluation it can be a very positive experience. You are answering who you are so that you can lay out a clear path to get to where your vision is directing you. To lay out a path you must know where you are beginning as well as where you are headed.

-In leading for impact you must lead. This means being the leader, not the dictator or the pollster. It means to lead. Impactful leadership is never defined by position it is always defined by the influence and impact on the organization and the people around the organization. A person in a position of leadership that bosses people around from above or behind, pushing the people will never make an impact. They may inflict some pain, but they will not impact or influence the people around their organization. To influence and impact you must lead from among and in front.

-Some questions to ask in evaluating whether your leadership is influencing and impacting your organization and the people around it are … “Do the people around me get better?” “Do the people around me gain confidence in themselves and the organization as a result of my leadership?” (I don’t want people to only gain confidence in me as a leader, but I need them to gain confidence in themselves and our organization. If not then we will never get any further than I can carry them.) “Do people feel free to try new and innovative things without fearing loss of position?” “Are the people around me saying ‘we’ or ‘your’ when referring to our organization?”

Clarity is vital to any organization that is going to make an impact. This is especially true of churches.

Here’s hoping that you are seeing clearer than before you read this post. Here’s hoping that you will courageously lead with clarity. Here’s hoping that you will begin to see the impact of your leadership. Here’s hoping that if your evaluation was discouraging that you will find someone to talk with who will encourage you and help.

Watch for more posts on Impact Leadership coming soon.

Dennis

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Monday Morning Musings …

We had some wicked weather yesterday. We received several inches of rain, with a lot of lightning and thunder. We had, and still have, standing water in places I have never seen with standing water in my year and half here. It was both awesome and lousy, does that make sense? We still had a very good day of ministry in spite of the weather. Now to the musings …

-The weather yesterday reminded me that pastors may be the only group of people who desire mediocre weather. If it is too bad, like we had yesterday, people stay home. If it is too nice people go do something else. But if it is not too nice and not too bad then it seems more people attend. But then one way to overcome that is to just have great things happening in the church.

-We have great things happening in our community, not just in our church, but in other churches in the Canton area as well. In spite of the weather we experienced a great time of worship and fellowship.

-I had some awesome conversations with several people following our worship service yesterday. At least 3 of those conversations are leading to follow up times this week. The purpose of the follow ups is very encouraging. Many people are asking great questions and desiring to minister in some wonderful ways.

-We had a few sound glitches again yesterday. We are praying for, and planning on, making some major sound equipment upgrades this summer. The prayers are for the finances to purchase the equipment.

-Our small group got together just for fun last evening. The torrential rain curtailed some of the outdoor fun we were hoping to do, but the conversation around great food was outstanding. I had to grill in the garage because of the monsoon like weather. The garage really smells like smoke still this morning, but it was worth it.

-We had a work day around the church property on Saturday. While disappointed with the turnout, I was thrilled with the amount of things that were accomplished. Those people worked hard. I love working with like-minded people.

-The amount of major physical needs among people in our church and people we are connected to has been overwhelming recently. I added up the number of names on my prayer list yesterday and was stunned and even more determined to be faithful in prayer.

-I am very encouraged by the number of people who are taking the challenge to pray very seriously. Only great things can ultimately come when a group of people gets serious about praying for real needs and not just comfort items.

-I got busted yesterday calling someone by the wrong name. The guy just looked at me and said “Who?”. I repeated the name and he said that is not me. I said yes it is, then he told me his real name. I said did you hear me call you the wrong name twice this morning? He said yes and just smiled. I told him that he now has an alias and if he ever gets blamed for something he can just say it was the other guy and use the name I gave him. If you would like alias just let me know, I will be glad to help out.

-Our attendance was down from the past couple of weeks but was still well above where we were last year at this time. It really showed our growth, because everyone felt like we were way down, then they heard the number and realized that it is significantly above what it was just a few months ago. Good things are happening in so many areas.

Well I need to work on some stuff for our church board meeting that is tonight. Here’s to hoping you find some encouraging words coming your way this week and that you pass them along to others.

Dennis

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4 Keys to Guarantee your Leadership has Impact …

4 Keys to Guarantee your Leadership has Impact …

Making an impact is a goal of those in leadership no matter what, or who, someone is leading. It could be a business, a church, a team, a small group or a family, whatever we are leading we all desire to make an impact. If you follow these keys and keep answering the questions you will have a great impact and so will your church or organization.

1. Clarity – it is impossible to make an intentional impact for anything without having clarity. This requires a clear vision, which leads to clear direction and will create clear leadership. Getting clarity requires you to answer some questions such as: Who are we are? What is our real mission? Where are we headed? How will we know when we get there? Who is leading? (The answer to this last question is not as simple as a job title)

2. Compassion – this is genuine concern and tangible care for others. There needs to be compassion for the city, region, state, area or country where you are leading/serving. There needs to be compassion for those in need around you. (Remember, true compassion is not just a feeling but follows up with actions) If you are leading/serving a church you must have compassion for those who do not have a relationship with Christ. This compassion must include showing compassion for those who oppose you. There must be compassion in all areas of your leadership.

3. Courage – we were all meant to be courageous. We need courage to lead, but we need some very specific courage if you are in leadership. If you are leading a church: You must be courageous in discipling others to follow Christ. Not to just sign a card, raise a hand, say a prayer or give money, but to actually follow Christ in a breath by breath manner. You must be courageous in your mission and your missions outreach. The needs are too great and the call too awesome for us to wimp out and only lead/serve those who already have been reached. We must be courageous enough to lead people beyond their own abilities and into places and things that only God can do. In other words, into places and ministries where if God doesn’t show up and do his thing we will fail miserably. Courage is not the absence of fear it is believing in the one who created us, called us and was crucified for us and following him wherever he leads.

4. Commitment – without commitment to the vision, mission and direction of Christ we will shrink back. We must be committed to Christ first and foremost. There must be a personal commitment to him. We must be committed to the cause of Christ – reaching the lost, discipling the found and changing the world. We must be committed to the church, the overall church, the kingdom of Christ not just our kingdom. We must be committed to leading/serving. Without this commitment we will wimp out when faced with adversity and opposition.

Do you want to make an impact? Or, do you just want to be known? Do you desire to change your world and influence others for Christ? Or, do you simply desire to put in your time and then retire comfortably? It is your choice and your choice has eternal consequences.

In some future posts I will go further into Impact Leadership/Impact Churches and Organizations.

Dennis

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Monday Morning Musings …

Yesterday was one of those days where I am not sure exactly what happened. That is not unprecedented. I have experienced many Sundays that left me wondering what really happened. That is not always a bad thing, but it is frustrating at the time. I can recite the facts of the day, and my musings will have some of that in it, but I am still wrestling with what some of it means going forward.

-We had a great number of children attending yesterday. We had them come in for the music part of our worship. That added a lot of energy, and a little chaos, but it was great to have them in with us. It also gave our adults who do not have children, or grandchildren, attending a chance to see how much our children’s ministry is growing. It was a great time to remind them to pray for the kids and those serving in that ministry and to put a plea out for more people to help in this ministry.

-Since the kids were in with us we had great engagement during the singing. There was even clapping!

-Our 2 new families from last week were back and we had another new couple in attendance. Our people seem to be taking seriously the encouragement to witness and invite.

-I continued my series on relationships but I changed up the action steps part of the message. While praying and walking around the sanctuary early Sunday morning I got a very clear sense from God that I needed to challenge the congregation on confessing. This is not a new thing for us, but it was not how I had planned to conclude the message and this was very specific in the type of challenge. As people began to fill the sanctuary I began to question what I sensed from God and was considering that maybe this wasn’t the day for that particular challenge. The good news is that I listened to the continuing prompting of the Lord and presented the challenge. It was a difficult time for me because there was no visible indication anyone was responding to the challenge. That is where my trusting that I was obedient came into play. I never like seeing no response, but I was led to present the challenge and I did. Now I keep praying that the Holy Spirit will keep speaking throughout the week.

-Our temperature was unseasonably cool for the last Sunday of May. I loved it, but I appeared to be in the minority opinion.

-Our attendance was outstanding. In fact the whole month of May was very good. It is great to see our people inviting and witnessing throughout the week and to see them excited with the growth of the church.

-My prayer list keeps growing and has often seemed overwhelming to me, but God is working and I sense that there is a growing group of people who are joining me in extra times of prayer.

-With the momentum we have experienced this spring I am excited, and curious, to see what takes place this summer.

-The past couple of Sundays we have had some people visit from out of town who used to attend here and it has been fun to see their excitement in the growth and changes in our church.

Here’s hoping you have a week filled with God moments where you realized He is with you and guiding you. Make sure you are looking for them and share them with someone who needs to be encouraged.

Dennis

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Monday Musings …

I did not set my alarm on this holiday Monday, then I took my wife out for breakfast, then we went to a local park that has a few lakes. We sat by a lake and fished and read. The fishing was not so good, the reading was relaxing and the company was outstanding. As a result of the activities of the morning my musings are coming out a little later today. These are some great musings …

-Our time of worship yesterday was outstanding! It was one of the best days of worship we have enjoyed in our 16 months here at this church.

-The spirit in the service was tremendous. You could sense that God was moving even before the service began.

-There was great energy in the whole building and people seemed to arrive with great expectations. Your expectations as you arrive to worship will greatly determine your experience in worship.

-People were very engaged in worship and really sang out during the music portion. The time of greeting one another was great. I loved observing that people were sincerely embracing and fellowshipping with each other.

-A new family that attended last Sunday for the first came back and brought someone else with them. We had another new family in attendance.

-We had a moving time of paying tribute to those who gave their lives in service to our country so that we could gather and worship freely.

-Our time of prayer was moving.

-During one of the songs a couple of people came to the altar, then another one came, and then a couple more people came and then we had another time of spontaneous prayer.

-I had struggled all week in preparation for the sermon for Sunday. I knew a couple of weeks ago the direction for the message but I just felt blocked every time I attempted to put it together. As a result I did not feel confident heading in to my time of preaching. Emotionally I felt overwhelmed all week and even as our worship service was about to begin. As the service kept going and the Spirit was moving I began to feel a release from the overwhelming feeling I had struggled with all week. Then when the people spontaneously came forward during a song to pray I sensed God whispering to me “Dennis, just relax. This isn’t all on you, I am working, see what is happening.” God is so good.

-People did seem engaged during the sermon and some conversations following the service confirmed that people were listening and that good things are happening.

-Our attendance was outstanding, and that was on a holiday weekend.

-A fun thing during the sermon was a story I shared about an event in my life back in high school. No surprise that the story involved basketball. As I shared the story and came to the point of conclusion I just left it hanging and went on to the next point. After the service I had people come straight at me and ask “So what happened next in your story?” There were a few who asked and I even got a text during lunch asking what happened. I told them all that I would finish the story next Sunday.

-Our small group did not meet last evening but one of our groups that is doing a study on prayer met at the church and walked around the church and some of the property praying. No wonder good things are happening in our church.

Here’s hoping that you have something you are looking forward to this week. Here’s hoping that see God working in your life this week.

Dennis

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Monday Musings …

This morning didn’t go exactly as planned, therefore these musings are coming out a little late. But I do have musings, so let’s get to them.

-My wife and I had a good friend from college visiting with us over the weekend. She was my wife’s roommate when we got engaged. It was great to see her and to have her worship with us. Contrary to her accusation I did not plan the sermon with her in mind.

-We had a lot of children in attendance and their energy made for a lively building.

-We honored a couple of graduates during our worship time. It is always great to see the maturing of youth in your church, which makes graduation Sundays meaningful. I have only been here for a little over a year so I haven’t seen as much of the growing as many others in the church. But I still love honoring graduates, high school and college. Seeing the relief of finishing something and the excitement of taking their next steps is awesome.

-Our attendance was good and we had a new couple attend who have already said they plan to be back next week. New people attending is always a positive, especially when they were unchurched before visiting.

-Our small group was very small again. It is time to make some changes. We discussed some options last evening and I loved the heart of those in attendance to do whatever it takes to reach, and impact, more people.

-There seemed to be a wall, or at least a thick curtain, present while I was preaching yesterday. People were listening and there was a good response to the action steps at the end of the message. But there was a palatable feeling of resistance during the message. It is not surprising because we are focusing on relationships and what God’s Word says about healing hurts from relationships. I am encouraged by some who have expressed what is happening in their heart and mind concerning their relationships.

-I am very burdened, and excited, for the next message in this series of sermons. I believe that this next message may be the real key to significant healing in relationships. Prayers are appreciated as I plan, pray and prepare for this message. I will have to really focus as I prepare because this is going to be a week of contrasts. I have a funeral tomorrow and a wedding on Saturday. So I am preparing a funeral message, finishing the prep for a wedding and preparing the sermon for Sunday. Good news, I won’t be bored.

Here’s hoping that you find something to be focus on this week that will remind you that you are loved.

Dennis

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Favorite Quotes of the Week …

I am a reader. I read books, blogs, online articles, graffiti, and … well you get the picture. In the midst of my reading I love pulling out quotes that hit me. Some reinforce my beliefs and practices, some challenge my thinking, some start a conversation and some just make me pause. So here are a few of my favorite quotes from the past week or two.

“Insight without action is worthless.” – Marie Forleo – I love this quote because it is often easy to just state a belief but do nothing about it. Without putting the belief, or insight, into my living then that belief must not be that important.

“The leaders who make the most progress make the fewest excuses. And the leaders who make the most excuses make the least progress.” – Carey Nieuwhof – When things don’t go as we hope it is so easy to just make an excuse to justify our lack of progress. This quote is a stark reminder that as a leader my role is not to make excuses but to make progress.

“Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple.” – Woody Guthrie – I am not sure about the “genius” part of this quote but I wholeheartedly agree with the meaning of this quote. It is often tempting to makes things sound complicated to make me sound like more of an expert. But the truth is that a true expert, and a good leader, will figure out a way to make things sound simple, or to break them down into simple steps. Note to self, make sure anything I am leading can be understood.

“Lost in debt, but your love came to find me.” – Brent Younker from his song “The Way”. I love the truth and power of these words.

“Requiring a lot of time does not make a task important.” – Timothy Ferriss – Setting priorities is vital for anyone who is attempting to make an impact. In this process I must fight the urge to spend too much time on something just because it is time consuming and to spend my time on what matters most. It is easy to get off track by spending too much time on the wrong things.

“Acting on the plan may not always bring success, but there is no success without some action.” – Me – This goes well with the first quote in this post. I must guard against just being busy, but I need to act to succeed.

“The only thing you need to do is the next right thing.” – Glennon Doyle Melton – I love this quote. I used in a sermon a couple of weeks ago. It is so easy to get all tied up in looking at a long list of things we need to do and then becoming paralyzed by the choices. This brings us back to the basics. Just figure out what is the next thing, the next right thing, then do it. Then the results will take care of themselves.

Here’s hoping some of these will resonate with you and that you have your own quotes that made an impact on you this week. I would love to read the quotes that have impacted you recently, leave them for me in the comments.

Dennis

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