Who is to model servant leadership within the life of the church? When I think of servant leaders, I think of leaders who take the time of stepping down from the top and being amongst the pews of our churches. Leaders who truly care about what’s actually happening in the lives of the people. I know for me this is something I desire to be as a pastor. I want to be seen as someone who enjoys serving just as much as leading. What would the church look like if the pastor of the church came down from the top office of the church and ran youth group one night? Maybe two? How about doing a series on a hot subject from God’s Word? What if the pastor took the time to go on a mission trip? How about counseling camp? When was the last time you saw the pastor teaching a kids Sunday school class? Are there churches with pastors who take the time to come alongside their staff? Are there pastors and head’s of staff who jump into the trenches of ministry with their own leaders? Something our pastor does every Fall is teach in one of our mid-week children’s ministry programs. This way the pastor is seen and parents and children both have a chance to see him in another role other then being the pulpit guy. I also know from reading a few blogs over the recent weeks that there are others who practice that same kind model of being involved and present. The importance of being seen and actually being present in the middle of something truly amazing is in my opinion important to any church and should be expected by any church of its leaders. 

This is a rough guess. I googled Ms. Henrietta Mears vision statement for Gospel light. Something like 6,770,000 sites with the words, "to know Christ and to make him known." What would she say about the state of the church as it is today? (I’m talking about evangelical christian churches across the world) Who would she go to first? I’ve often wondered what Ms. Henrietta Mears would say to the church if she were granted 24 hours here on earth. When she began her Gospel Light ministry, her vision for ministry was "to know Christ and to make him known. How many of our churches across the world have made that their vision for the way they do ministry? I worked for a church that had her vision as their vision statement. I know her heart would break over the way things are going within the church. The small amount of information I know about her life is nothing compared to those who served with her and who came to Christ through her ministry. Here is what I think she would say; "Get back to work. There are lives to be saved. Stop belly aching over the sins of the church and get back to the business of loving and making Christ’s love known throughout the world." If it were not for the many who loved me and nurtured me in my own faith, people who were also heirs of Ms. Mears ministry, I know I would not be where I am at today in my own life. I can’t help but think of Psalm 71:18;  "Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come." Ms. Mears had to have had the posted on her office wall sometime in her ministry.

What kinds of leaders are we to produce within the church? After several years in ministry I’ve seen and heard of how pastors have modeled true leadership amognst their staff. I’ve seen and experienced many kinds of leadership styles. Passive. Agressive. I know for me I want to be someone who models the kind of leadership that only helps those looking for their niche within the church become true servant leaders. Leaders who model a Christ like example of loving the unlovable and ministering to those who need God to completley transform and change their lives. I have to admit though there aspects of leadership that can be difficult to face. This is defintely an area I’ve learned a great deal in my first year of ordained ministry. More to come.

Tyepad wins. Why? I like the look. It’s easy and user friendly. No html. Nothing. You can do so much more than blogger. I can’t wait to play with the picture photo album. I’m envisioning a typepad blog for our student ministry at church. I’ve been looking for ways of posting pictures from camps, retreats, and mission trips. I’ve also gotten tired of doing those silly youth calendars, playing with clipart, and making my youth calendars on publisher. Does anyone really read them? This would be so much easier for me to update. I can send it out to parents and students alike through an email list. Assuming that families have high speed Internet access. My only issue is as my friend Tim has mentioned is what if you only average maybe 8-10 folks per day? Is it worth paying for a blogging service? I will also have to figure out a way on how to increase traffic. Time to start praying for ideas.

My friend Steve also wondered the same thing I’ve been wondering. Is it possible to move old posts from blogger? It is. Took ten minutes. Very nice feature. More to come.

Simple. Clear. Attainable? By all means. What’s needed? People. Lots of people. How come the same song and dance occurs right around the middle of summer? Sunday school teacher recruitment. No matter how hard the church works, no matter what the pastor says from the pulpit, no one seems to jump at the thought of being a Sunday school teacher. How can I as a pastor help the people of God buy into the vision of knowing Christ and making him known? Is there another way of finding people with time and with a passion for communicating the gospel message? The reason I’m ranting about this issue this morning is that there is a wonderful person in our church who recently called me. He says, "Pastor K.C. I’m calling to ask if you would train me to be a Sunday school teacher. It makes me so mad that no one signs up. I don’t know what I’m doing, but if you can help me, I’m willing." I only need about a dozen more of those phone calls by the middle of September.

I’m not sure yet. I like the bells and whistles. It’s very easy to navigate. I’m still wondering if it’s worth the annual fees. I have thirty days to play. The cool thing about blogger???? It’s free baby!

I’m trying out the new digs here at typepad. I will take a look around and see what the new digs have to offer that blogger.com doesn’t seem to offer.

  I get a few weeks to recover and relax for some much needed vacation. I’m jazzed that we will get to go here this weekend. I don’t remember going away a lot when I was a kid. What I do remember is going here to camp every single year of my life as a kid, which was my vacation. Vacation was anywhere we could get away that was more than 10 miles away from the city. Pastors must get away. They must take time to be with family, friends, and most of all to spend time reflecting on the Lord’s goodness. If anything vacation is a time to regroup and reaffirm our calling by God to be pastors who are about being instruments of hope and grace. I know for me this means that I need to be refreshed in order to be a blessing to others.