Jonny and I were talking this week about how different mentorship is today from thirty years ago. I had listened to a podcast episode on Entrepreneur On Fire, episode 467. John Lee Dumas talks with Norm Bour about how the generations interact. It’s a fascinating conversation that you could listen to here. As I listened to it, I thought of Jonny and me. I am a baby boomer, and he is a millennial. We have forged a wonderful partnership. We both have strengths and weaknesses. Hopefully we complement each other, at least generationally. He has an understanding of his culture and a desire to change the world. I have experience and wisdom, and a desire to change the oil every 3K miles. Okay, and the world!
But seriously now folks… there are some very obvious differences between mentorship today and mentorship thirty years ago. Here are three: The first of the obvious differences in mentorship between today and thirty years ago is the ability for mentoring to go both ways. When I was twenty, my mentor would tell me what was up. He would tell me how things were, what I should think, do, say, and how I should act. He told me what to believe and, if I was lucky, why. I was the mentee, the newbie, the greenhorn, the Mr. Wet-Behind-The-Ears. I was just supposed to listen, and learn. Today, millennials can mentor up. We allow that. We let them. The boomers know that they don’t know everything, and they allow the millennials to mentor them in areas where they themselves are sharp. This humility on the part of the mentor is a very good thing. It allows both parties to go, as Andy Stanley says, further faster. A second difference is that we don’t expect millennials to be perfect. We want them to make mistakes. Doggone it, we expect them to! We know they will, and when they do, it’s okay. And they don’t expect us as mentors to be perfect either. It’s all good here – we learn from each other’s successes and failures. It’s okay, we don’t even have to take a chill pill! Thirty years ago weakness and failure was a bad thing. You wanted, and needed, to get it right. That kind of pressure is much less today. A third difference is that the Internet has leveled the playing field. We both have enormous access to unlimited information. We don’t have all the special tapes, workbooks, and handouts in our office waiting to let them out piecemeal to our mentees. Nope. They have it all already. It’s all online. So the playing field is quite level in terms of information access and appropriation. So, mentoring goes both ways, neither of us has to be perfect, and we both have unlimited access to information and growth. How about your mentoring relationships? Maybe you don’t even use the “mentor” vocabulary, and that’s okay. How are you doing training and raising up the next generation of leaders? Can I encourage you to engage the millennials? Get to know them, work with them, and learn from them. It’s truly a great partnership – one that will keep your 200church from stagnancy and complacency, and if you're like Jonny and me, it will provide a few fireworks as well!
Here is our conversation with our friend Jim Powell. This episode is a little longer than most, but we couldn't cut out any more content - Jim gives 200church pastors some great stuff to think about. Links to Jim and his resources are below the video.
This video is a trailer for his new book, Dirt Matters. Watch it before you listen to the podcast, then everything we talk about will make more sense. Again, all the links for Jim are below the video.
This is a special Tuesday Preview Post to prepare you for tomorrow’s podcast! Wow! I just finished editing the podcast for this week, which means I also just finished listening through the entire conversation. This is the very interview Jonny and I did with Jim Powell – I mean, I was there, an eye witness. But I just learned so much by listening to the three of us talk, just like you will tomorrow, as a third party listening in on our conversation. Episode 40 of the 200churches Podcast is a great one that will challenge you and encourage you as you lead and pastor YOUR 200church! To really whet your appetite though, take a look at this short video from Jim Powell, founder of the 95Network and lead pastor of Richwoods Christian Church, as he introduces the background of his book, Dirt Matters, to you. This is so cool, because it is also a great introduction to our podcast tomorrow. The podcast will make more sense to you if you watch this 3 minute video. This is good stuff and Jim’s message will help you as you lead your 200church! Here it is… This week on the 200churches Podcast we talk with our friend Jim Powell, the Lead Pastor of Richwoods Christian Church in Peoria, Il. There’s an old saying in politics – “How will it play in Peoria?” Well, Jim Powell has learned how to play and pastor in Peoria! We are talking to him about the importance of our church culture, that we understand it, know how it affects the fruitfulness of our church, and learn how to shape it intentionally. Jonny and Jeff talk to Jim about his book, Dirt Matters – The Foundation for a Healthy, Vibrant, and Effective Congregation. Here is a quote from one of the first chapters…
The issue is that every church has a unique culture that serves as the soil where its ministry occurs. A church’s culture is the somewhat nebulous and complex blend of norms, beliefs, attitudes, traditions, and practices that define the congregation. The culture establishes the environment that often predetermines the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of God’s Word within that body of believers. It influences a congregation’s potential impact more than techniques, programs, or pragmatic changes. This conversation with Jim, and his book, go beyond painting the lobby, changing the church name, or introducing a new music style. His book cuts to the heart of the church, what makes it tick, what is the passion of the people, what are the values that live within the congregation, and how do those values express themselves in the life of the congregation? Think about your 200church. What are the top three values of your church? But before you answer too quickly, remember, each value you list has to have corresponding anecdotal evidence that it is truly owned and lived out in the life of the congregation. If you say, we care about people, can you give concrete illustrations where caring for people has occurred? If you say, God’s Word is our authority, can you give an example of when your people changed something in their lives or church because they learned something in God’s Word? If you say, outreach is our mission, who can you list as people you have reached out to in recent weeks or months? (they don’t even have to go to your church, just who have you actually reached out to, and how?) Jim compares dirt, or real soil, to the culture that a church grows in. He says that if our culture is right, things will grow. He has an interesting way to explain how each church should go about learning and shaping its culture. Between now and Wednesday, work on discovering the top three values your church really holds. It's harder that you first think. We are excited to share this podcast episode with you!
Today is the second and final segment of Jeff’s conversation with Rob Tarnoviski who is the Lead Pastor at Bethel Fellowship - The Church @ Franklin Mills. We think you will find it transparent and refreshing as they openly discuss the following topics:
As pastors, we have to balance two competing agendas: 1) those on the inside, and 2) those on the outside. The challenge is that the agenda for those on the outside of the Body of Christ will never be brought to the table, unless ministry leaders bring it for them. When they do, they are often opposed by those inside the church, seeking the insiders’ agendas. Rob talks about how he has created a culture in his church that thinks about the outsiders. This is a balancing act we have to maneuver all the time as pastors. We must feed the sheep, and we must leave the ninety-nine to find the lost sheep. We have to serve the body of Christ, while at the same time reach out to those who are far from Christ. In the last half of the 20th century, so many churches created climates where Christians were encouraged to separate themselves from unbelievers and segregate themselves into Christian schools, Christian social clubs, and Christian communities. Even mega churches created a one stop shop for all of the needs of a Christian family. They increasingly removed the need for the church to associate with the world. Next week we are going to hear the conversation that Jeff and Jonny have with Jim Powell, pastor of Richwoods Christian Church in Peoria, IL. He is the author of the book, Dirt Matters - The Foundation For a Healthy, Vibrant, And Effective Congregation and the founder of the 95Network. We will talk about how the culture of the church matters! His book compares the culture of a church, to the soil that plants grow in – and he surmises that dirt matters. The composition of soil is foundational to how well things grow. In the same way, the culture of a church is foundational to how a church grows. In today’s and last week’s podcast, Pastor Rob essentially talks about the culture of Bethel Fellowship. It is a solidly outsiders oriented culture. They think intentionally about those who aren't there… YET! Bethel has had staff members who have stayed on for many years, and the stability of the church is to their credit!
How about you and your church?
We wonder what kind of culture your church has? What kind of church culture are you trying to create? If you listed the things that bother you most about your ministry, you would see how the culture of your church is causing those very challenges. As you listen to today’s and next week’s podcasts, consider your church culture, and think about how you might begin to shape it intentionally into a culture and environment that will accomplish the very things which comprise the vision of your church. Finally, if you know of other 200church pastors who could be encouraged by the 200churches Podcast, pass along the website to them: www.200churches.com. If you want to share a topic you would like us to spend a week on in the near future, use the speakpipe pop-out on the homepage and send us a voice message, or email either of us at jeff@200churches.com or jonny@200churches.com. YOU are so important to the people who are your church. These are the ones God has called you to care for, feed, love, and protect. Do it with diligence and love. |
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