From the think tanks of Leadership Network to the PhD labs of Organizational and Ecclesial Leadership one common theme arises: There is a leadership vacuum in our churches and organizations. I am trying to crack this problem in my research and personal life but it is very difficult. Christian leadership should at its core be Christologically mimetic. However, somewhere along the line a transition takes place and people stop "following me as I follow Christ" and the end up "following me." I am not sure where we are missing "it" on the discipleship front but there are definitely gaps in raising up the next generation.

Fight fire with water.

In the heat of the moment, aggression, impulsivity, wasted energy only add to the problem. Instead, keep your cool, remember the fundamentals, and use your energy efficiently. James 1:19

1. I pray and do a quick read through of the message almost first thing in the morning before I leave my house.

2. Once I get to the worship space, I spend about another hour in prayer and review.

3. During that prayer time at the church I usually listen to my iPod, lay hands on every seat, and pray for God's power to be in the place. Sometimes I'm listening to Gospel (Israel and New Breed or Fred Hammond). Other times I listen to modern worship (Ascend the Hill, Matt Redman, etc)

4. Once worship starts I disconnect from everything and do a "brain dump". I check Facebook, listen to The Beatles, and read blogs or the news. I do this to avoid over preparing and to resist the temptation to add unnecessarily to the message.

5. I usually join the congregation during the middle of worship and pray for good soil.

6. After the last song I come up and God speaks through a donkey.

Here's one I'm using in my message this Sunday:

If you'd never been born, you wouldn't be alive.

24 should definitely be on that list. thirtysomething should not ; )

Soldiering looked easy...until I became one.

I think it does. In my 6.5 years of full-time vocational ministry I don't think I've ever had a work week that didn't look something like this.

This was my week:

- Co-hosted local radio program

- wrote 5 blog posts

- Led 5 Bible studies at Vacation Fight School

- wrote over 3000 words on the discussion boards of 4 separate college classes (I'm working on a degree)

- read 6 chapters in American Politics, Human Sexuality, and Human Lifespan Development

- met with a mentor to discuss strategic changes

- read 27 chapters in the Bible

- reviewed sermon notes for weekend message

- built graphics for weekend message and produced video announcements

- participated in 57 phone calls and responded to about 200 emails

- several phone meetings about an upcoming event

- phone meeting with a potential church planter

- great conversation with a man outside of our church building

- talked with 4 new families who have started attending our church

- fixed broken toilet at church

- talked strategy and new direction with team members

- had several impromptu sword fights and wrestling matches with 2 sons

- met with 2 separate AC repairmen regarding 2 separate yet equally broken AC units

- lots of praying!

- facilitated a Financial Peace University class

- read a book

- worked on research paper titled "The Effects of Bipolar Disorder on the Successful Achievement of Erikson’s Life Tasks During Developmental Stages of The Lifespan"

- congratulated family on the birth of their first child

- cooked dinner for the family

- took my wife on a date

I'm with you, there is no such thing as a typical week for a pastor!

I've been thinking about this for a while. The Warrior Ethos were actually instituted after 9/11 as a summation of The Army Values and the Soldiers Creed/Code. I believe the church would do well to adopt the Army Values, not as something new, but as a return to the principles already laid out in scripture. Here are the Army Values

Loyalty - Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit and other Soldiers.

Duty -Duty - Fulfill your obligations.

Respect -Treat people as they should be treated.

Selfless Service -Put the welfare of the nation, the Army and your subordinates before your own.

Honor -Live up to Army values.

Integrity -Do what’s right, legally and morally.

Personal Courage -Face fear, danger or adversity (physical or moral).

There's a neat acronym they taught us to remember the values - LDRSHP (Leadership)
http://www.army.mil/values/index.html

I read your blog because you pack a lot of leadership information into a small space. Your frequent use of lists allows me to still get the main point of a post if I'm in a time crunch. I would miss the lists : ) I enjoy reading your organizational leadership posts the most.