GlocalNet

I remember a few years ago reading a book that spoke of the top ten churches of the 70’s, then the 80’s, then the 90’s and what was interesting - it was always a different list.  Rarely would a church go from one decade to the next.  The primary indicator obviously was attendance.  NorthWood has never been one of the “top ten” but it has consistently been an innovator and developer of emerging ideas.  I’m often asked why we didn’t get stuck, labeled, or stop along the way.  Here’s why:

1.  We’ve known our uniqueness and our call.  Our uniqueness was not a method, strategy, or style of ministry - but it was our T-life - our concept of personal/corporate worship, community through relationships, and glocal impact or missions.  We’ve always focused our church on those 3 things as being the core.  Tom Wolf helped me understand that.

2.  We took a long-term view of ministry.  We didn’t jump at every fad, trend, or new idea that came along.  We knew who we were, if in a primitive way, and stayed true to that.  I have had lots of friends jump on the different bandwagons or methodologies of church growth.  When you do that, you’re always looking for the next big thing.  Nothing wrong with learning from every church - but you must know who you are.  This may come as a shock, but sometimes the “down” times were the best times.  They caused you to look deep, codify who you were and make hard choices.  Planting churches out of our church did not grow our local church, it cost us in money, members, etc., but what it did do, it caused us to move to a different metric of who we counted - not just the people in our church, but congregations outside our church.  By being a “missionary” or “church planting church” church we actually impacted the kingdom 10x more than we ever could have in a single church - but we had to see all the people reached outside our 4 walls in our metrics to see that.  Rick Warren helped me understand that. 

3.  Read cross-disciplinary.  Most preachers either read church growth books or doctrine books - a few read both.  Even fewer pastors read about history, science, culture, business, education, and literature - on a regular basis.  Reading about electronic networks has had a profound impact on my understanding of fulfilling the Great Commission.  Reading novels about great men has helped me understand leadership.  I could go on and on.  Read the old dead guys - but also read emerging ideas - just remember most of those emerging ideas aren’t going to make it - but some are.  To know which are, look for convergence and consistent themes in multiple forms of books - fads are come and go - patterns are real.  Leonard Sweet taught me this. 

4.  Travel regularly to different communities and cultures.  There is NO WAY I would have the perspectives I do without being involved in Vietnam - a culture totally opposite of me.  Vietnam has taught me far more than I’ve taught Vietnam.  Afghanistan has had profound impact on how I see the Near East, Middle-East, and even my theology.  To be there, see it, taste it, get to be friends with people of different parts of the world will forever make me see things more in a global way.  Something happens when we connect with the world that changes us radically.  My Dad, Bill Morgan, Jim Gayle, and others taught me this. 

5.  Know yourself well.  If you don’t, you’ll constantly compare yourself to your peers and other leaders.  In some ways that’s ok, because it serves as a gauge, in other ways - we are not all the same.  Your strength is in your uniqueness - to follow that, you have to have a good self-image and courage.  Live according to your strengths, dreams, vision, passion, abilities, etc., Leighton Ford taught me this. 

6.  Rest in multiple ways.  Exercise is part of this as well.  There is the idea that we become effective in ministry and we can do it 9:00 AM-5:00 PM.  No other profession in all the world is more obsessed with being considered professionals than those in the ministry- yet no other “profession” in the world has factory hours of 9:00 AM-5:00 PM.  Make up your mind - do you want to be a part of a movement or do you want to work in an assembly line.  Yes, you need a day off, vacation, etc.,  but 5 days a week, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM- can you name me a single world leader who lives that way?  Learn to capture moments where you are that allow you to rest.  Years ago, I began to hike if I was somewhere and there was a park or something close by.  I learned to, believe it or not, enjoy flying long distances with books and enjoy no cell phone.  You must rest, but your rest patterns have to adjust with a demanding ministry or you’ll burn out.  Two old dudes taught me this - one preacher and one diplomat - can’t remember their names but I see their faces. 

7.  Stay centered in your walk with God and family.  Don’t cheat those two areas or you die.  Your family is your credibility.  God is your source.  Disconnect yourself from either - you lose strength and credibility.  Tie your self deeply - you become stronger, gain credibility, and even more than all that - you will have a fantastic life as you get older.  Watching shipwrecked preachers helped me see this.
8.  Never lose your sense of adventure.  Each new phase you go through, you have to leave something behind.  Most people can’t move forward because there is too much they try to take with them.  You have to let go of things.  You have to see the adventure and potential of every phase.  When our kids left home, it was hard at first - now there are things that I can do that I never could have done before.  I would have been a lousy dad had I done all I do now while they were home.  God has a time and a plan.  It’s ok to grieve over what was, but looking back never moves anyone forward.  See the potential and cross the stream.  Churchill, Gandhi, Mandela - their biographies helped me understand that. 

These aren’t complete - but they are for sure - rock on, my young dudes - but don’t look at your present - glance at your present - focus on your future.