Introducing Shawn Young!!!

Hello Emmanuel,

We will be officialy introducing and welcoming the new Associate Pastor, Shawn Young.  We also will be welcoming his wife Leslie and their two children, Nora and Owen, this Sunday, January 6th at both services (9:00 and 10:30).  Who is Shawn?  Here is a bio sketch he sent me.  He invited me to edit it.  It was tempting (to add stuff), but I refrained.

Shawn Young is originally from Sardinia, Ohio- a small town in Brown County. His parents brought him up in a loving home, with very little inclination as to how interesting he would become. While other kids played tag at recess, Shawn enjoyed drawing pictures in the dirt. On rainy afternoons, he would stare at encyclopedias and create tournament brackets for fight scenarios involving the cast of Sesame Street. As he got older, he sought out ways to stay unique and creative. He competed in Odyssey of the Mind, performed in school plays and marching band, and contributed to underground newsletters.

Shawn has been actively involved with non-denominational Christian churches for most of his life. He graduated from Kentucky Christian College (now University), and has been on staff as a Youth Minister with a few congregations. He has also done extensive work with media. He owns Matrimoments Productions- a wedding video business- which has led to a lot of opportunities to work with creative and technical productions within the church. He also has a serious passion for discipleship, and helping to keep followers of Christ from becoming complacent in life.

Shawn and his wife, Leslie have been married for almost ten years. They have two children: Owen and Nora. As a family, they enjoy bowling and watching "The Middle." Some of Shawn's favorites: Penn Station, Back to the Future, M.C. Escher, Foo Fighters, and old board games. He gives blood when he can, he loves collecting aluminum cans (even if it means dumpster diving), he only writes with Sharpie pens, and his favorite scripture is Acts 5:33-39.
Again, Shawn will be over-seeing the ministries of Faith-Forming Relationships and Media.  The largest part of his responsibilities will involve managing Small Group ministry in all its forms, but media is also a strength of his.  It will be a process to get him off and running because the ministries are rather large and somewhat complex.  He looks forward to getting to know you.  Please take the time to introduce yourself to him and, if you are currently fulfilling a role in either FFR or Media, be sure to mention it to him.

I am personally excited about 2013 and the potential Emmanuel as created with bringing in Shawn.  I'm going to have to be patient and not knock him over with my excitment.  I will also have challenges as I learn to let go of some ministry that is near and dear to my heart so that I can tackle other ministry challenges that are near and dear to my heart. Pray for everyone involved.  God continues to work among us.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe

I Got Coal

Hello Emmanuel,

I'll start with honesty.  This has turned out to be one of the most frustrating Christmases I can remember.  First, the flu.  Then Laryngitis.  I had only missed 2 Sundays in 16 years due to sickness before this year.  This year alone I've missed 2.  Not only is it frustrating to be too sick to preach, but I've learned that being well enough to attend worship, but not being able to speak, is even more frustrating.  

To heighten the frustration is the fact that it happened on Christmas Sunday.  It is one of those few Sundays when a preacher KNOWS he is going to get the opportunity to grab someone with the Good News.  And all I could do is sit in the back row and observe.  I couldn't even greet the new people.  I was so grumpy when I left that I didn't say anything the whole drive to my in-laws' Christmas (not that I could've).

Now that I've been honest, it is time to be confessional.  Christmas isn't about the preacher.  Indeed, any given Sunday is not about the preacher.  The children's program went very well..... oh... right... Christimas isn't about the children's program.  Though Beth and the parents did well in getting it ready.... riiiiiight...... Christmas isn't about the helpers either (though do pray for Beth... I think she got what I've had.).  In my 'opportunity' to sit back and observe for once, I was put in my place.  I was grumpy, but God wasn't.  He was busy inspiring people to proclaim Good News.  Whoever said I had to be involve every single time?

Now I've been honest and confessional.  Now it is time to challenge you.  Many of you are leaders at Emmanuel.  I have news.  We are getting new leaders.  We've had as many as 15 new people commit to helping in some way in 2013 and that doesn't count the new Associate Pastor, Shawn Young (his official introduction will be January 6th and I will send some special info your way in next week's MMP).

The challenge is this.  You current leaders are going to have to scootch over just a bit and make room.  I know, I know, some of you are thrilled there is going to be more help.  But some of you are going to say it and not want to let go of some of your authority.  But dare I say it?  The Church isn't about you. The Church is about 'making disciples'. Those of us who already are disciples in the church are in charge of making room for more people to be disciples in the church.  This means to share the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

This doesn't mean any of you have to stop what you are doing and sit with me in the back and observe.  If you claim this, then that is called being a 'martyr' and it isn't the constructive kind of martyr.  It just means to be sensitive to what other people are Called to do as well as find ways to live into your Call.  Trust me, there is plenty of room for all kinds of servant leadership.  We just need to be careful to not get possessive with God's ministry.  He doesn't give us ministry to own.  He entrusts us with His ministry to implement.

So what will I be doing in 2013.  More than ever, I am going to make sure that the servant leadership at Emmanuel expands.  This means I may have to be a bit bold with some of you.  I will be nice about it.  I will be encouraging about it...... with a smile on my face and a hop in my step.

Just don't get grumpy.  It isn't worth it.  Trust me.  I know.

Christ Is Born,
Pastor Joe

Adding New Leadership

Hello Emmanuel,
 

Any time there is leadership added to an organization, people can get nervous.  It doesn't even matter if the change is for the better or for the worse.  The sense of the unknown can create questions:
 

What will the new leader be like?  Will I like him?  Will he like me?

How will this affect my role in the church?  Am I going to be told to change how I do things?

Is he going to be bossy?  Not care?  Too intense?  Too relaxed?  Look weird?

... will he be as funny as Pastor Joe?.......  likely not...
 

I remember my first Sunday at Emmanuel and all the heightened sense of anticipation both for the congregation and for me and my family.  Would it be a good fit?  The church packed it in to see what the new preacher was going to be like.  From that point on, there has been a journey of mostly ups, a few downs, but a ton of blessings.
 

Starting January 1st, Emmanuel is adding a paid staff member.  Shawn Young is going to be the new part-time Associate Pastor of Emmanuel.  While it may not carry the same weight as changing the Senior Pastor, there may still be similar questions as to how his addition will affect what Emmanuel does and how it does it.
 

In the weeks ahead, we will be introducing Shawn and his family to Emmanuel (January 6th will be his first official Sunday and the day on which we will pray over him, his wife Leslie and their two children). However, this addition of the MMP is going to be about what Shawn's role will be and how it might affect ministry going forward.
 

First, why did Emmanuel hire a new position?  Simply put, my time has been maxed.  As a result, for the past 8-12 months, I have been doing what I can to help maintain the healthy ministries that are going on.  This isn't a good thing.  I need to be able to continue reaching into new areas, finding ways to make Disciples of Jesus in new ways.  I can't lead Emmanuel into the future if I'm spending all my time helping them maintain the present.  I need to hand some stuff off..... therefore....
 

Shawn is being hired to work 15-20 hours a week.  His time is going to be split to do the following:
 

1.  He is going to be put in charge of over-seeing all of Faith-Forming Relationships Ministries.

For those of you who are familiar with the Discipleship Pathway (i.e. the Circle Chart), FFR includes 3 ministry teams:  Small Groups, Sunday School and YAK (Youth and Kids).  It includes about 22 groups which is good.  However, I believe the potential is so much more.  The dream is to have more retreats, more short-term studies, and the continued growth of adding new Small Groups as Emmanuel continues to grow.
 

The intent is NOT to disrupt the current lay leadership.  Beth and James Pollitt are doing awesome with YAK and Muriel, Paula and Renee continue to do well with their respective roles (Sunday School, Small Groups and Nursery).  However, Shawn will have the time to not just help them maintain, but be a support and resource person to dream and expand as opportunities allow.  In other words, the new ideas that Beth emails me every week will have more opportunity to gain energy... lol....
 

2.  He will also over-see the media aspect of Emmanuel.  Again, we have avid and committed servants (Russ Boone on slides, Keith on the website, etc.).  However, Shawn's role is going to be the support person who equips more people to get involved and help out, especially on Sunday mornings.  He will be able to troubleshoot problems when they arise, but mainly he will be equipping other people to be servants in a ministry that also has potential to expand.
 

He will NOT be taking over anyone's role, but be that extra help and support in a ministry that often takes various turns and some unexpected ones (ever want to kick that computer?).
 

So you will be hearing more about Shawn in the days ahead.  I know Emmanuel will greet him and his family with open arms just as you did for me and my family.  I'm optimistic that this is another step forward in 'making Disciples of Jesus Christ'.
 

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Tis the season to......

.... remember our purpose....

Hello Emmanuel,

I believe Emmanuel is a healthy church doing healthy ministry to grow healthy disciples.  Outreach is going well (over 300 came to Breakfast with Santa), Missions is as strong as ever (the Youth just donated 86 coats to Saul's Homeless shelter), Visitors are still visiting (we are still averaging over a first-time visiting household a Sunday), people are turning to Jesus (19 baptisms this year) and people are growing with each other (22 new members joined and 2 new Small Groups started this year).

That said, I would be less of a leader if I didn't push us a little bit to increase our understanding of what healthy church looks like, especially during a time of year that a church can lose focus by all the busy-ness of doing church.  Time for me to be bold (that means some of you may disagree with the following.  But, as usual, I'm ok with that.  Just don't throw anything at me).

I'm under no illusions that there are more than a few people who like personal attention from the pastor.  In this case, that would be me.  I go around on Sunday morning and shake as many hands as I can.  To be truthful, I don't do this to appease the person wanting my attention.  I greet people because I believe hospitality is a key component to making disciples.  However, I do realize that some people just LIKE me.  I can't avoid this.  God just made me like-able (and humble).

As a result, if I miss a handshake or I somehow miss someone, that someone just might feel slighted because the really cool pastor didn't shake their hand.  I even get teased about it at times.  Yet behind the teasing, I believe there might be some very minor hurt feelings.  This leads me to a dilemma.  As we continue to grow, I will slowly miss more and more people on Sunday morning.  And when the day comes when we average 500, 1,000 or 5,000 in worship (don't laugh), my handshaking will turn into the need for carpal tunnel surgery.  And while some of you will try to solve how I can shake every hand on every Sunday, I want to take a different route..... one that we decided to take 3 years ago.

Pastor-Driven Churches vs. Purpose-Driven Churches

I won't go into this too deeply because of the extent in which this was discussed over the past 3 years.  But if you want to get inside my head, read The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren.  It is a book that helped me unlock one of the keys to church growth and disciple-making.  If a purpose of 'being church' can be ingrained in a congregation, that purpose can do much more to grow God's Kingdom than can any one person.  In addition, a strong purpose can last longer than any one person (I WILL eventually retire).

To continue the example of the Sunday morning handshaking, the gist is this:  I don't greet you because I want you to know me or like me.  I greet you because I want you to know that you are welcomed in God's sacred space.  It is a purpose-driven handshake, not a personal-driven handshake.  Now most of you already know that you are welcomed in God's sacred space.  This is why my handshaking is sometimes biased toward new people in the church.  Because they may NOT know they are welcomed.  So if you are an established member in the church and you already know Jesus and I walk away from you to greet a new person, please understand my motives.  I'm not trying to make different friends or ignore you.  I'm trying to make new disciples of Jesus.

The other truth is this:  if you are an established member who already knows Jesus, the structure is in place to make sure you have the opportunity to be nurtured.  While I may still do some nurturing directly (preaching, teaching, visiting), most of the nurturing I do is to equip leaders to establish purpose-driven ministries that are created to nurture you (like Small Groups).  

Make no mistake that my leadership is deeply imbedded in every ministry in the church.  I may not be on the front lines of many ministries.  But behind the curtain you would see my face and my determination to lead, lead, lead.  So while opponents of Purpose-Driven Churches may claim it's an excuse for pastors to do less work.  I would claim that pastors of Purpose-Driven churches do just as much work, but get much more accomplished long-term.  It is just that most of the work is behind the scenes.  The focus of the church's work is on the Purpose ('making disciples of Jesus Christ'), not on the Pastor (the mostly-like-able guy who preaches too long).

So if you've ever wondered why my face isn't on the front page of the website (is it even anywhere on the website?) or on a billboard out by the road, now you know.  Or if you wondered why I am not involved in every Small Group or leading most of the ministry programs or why I'm not making every announcement at every event or why I am not personally fixing every problem that occurs among the 12 different ministry teams or the 220+ people, now you know....

Emmanuel is a Purpose-Driven Church..... even though I am so dag-gone like-able (to most people)...

and THAT is why I believe we are a healthy church doing healthy minsitry to make healthy disciples of Jesus...

God is Good,
Pastor Joe

The Mold of Servant Leaders

Hello Emmanuel,

Each local church seems to have it's own general understanding of servant leadership.   I could give you a run-down of the many different approaches, but that would take a long time.  To summarize, here are some different attitudes.

- Pay everyone to do everything that is 'important'
- Let the same 10 people do everything, regardless of how much there is to do
- Get the new people involved as quickly as possible even if they don't understand how to do it 'right'
- Tell the Pastor to do it.  Afterall, it's what we pay him for.
- Don't do it.  Laziness is cool.

There are other approaches or a mixture of the above.  I've been thinking more about the issue of servant leadership as we get ready for 2013.  The inserts in the bulletin that are reaching out to potential servant leaders and Emmanuel's process of hiring a new part-time pastor has got me thinking more about how we approach servant leadership in the church.  

First, I can't overstate the importance of servant leadership at Emmanuel.  Every person who does even the smallest task is an intrigal part of Emmanuel's ministry.  However, my main concern is to stay focused on what motivates us to serve.  The motivation to serve is what tells us the long-term implications of  the health of any ministry.  Do you serve?  Why do you serve?

Here are some biblical reasons to serve:

- God wants me to serve.  Service is simply a desire to be obedient.
- God calls me to serve because He wants me to be a part of sharing the Good News
- God wants me to use my gifts in order to grow the Kingdom of God
- I want to thank God for blessing me
- I want to be a part of a church community that transforms people's lives with grace

The above reasons will motivate a person long-term as long as they stay connected to the roots of their faith--- salvation by the grace of God.  Emmanuel provides opportunity to stay connected by offering groups that feed the 'tank of faith' so that it stays filled.  However, sometimes servants fall away quickly from service.  Sometimes it is a result of non-biblical reasons to serve:

- I want to fit in  (btw...none of us fit in.  We are all sinners who are not worthy to step foot in the church, yet God invites us still)
- I want the pastor to love me.  (I already love you.  I have to.  Jesus says so.)
- I want to make friends.  (Doing stuff doesn't make friends.  Making friends helps doing stuff  a whole lot more fulfilling)
- I want more influence in the church.  (You don't get points by doing stuff.  And if you think you do, that only irritates the pastor)

AND the NUMBER 1 faulty reason for serving:   (drum roll please......).....  I want to go to heaven!  (you are already saved by grace).

Each week we are having an insert in the bulletin.  You are encouraged to consider where you are called to serve in Emmanuel and let us know.  We will be contacting you for 2013.  What are you good at?  Where is your passion?  Dive on in.  Give thanks to God and be a part of a church community that wants people to know Jesus.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe