Lost Sheep Ministries News

Lost Sheep Ministries News June 2015 - Good to Great Extra The Great Commission: Matthew 28: 18 - 20 is a commission for all Christians to GO, make Disciples, and teach them to OBEY all that Jesus has commanded us. LSM is dedicated to evangelizing the lost and making Disciples of Christ that make Disciples of Christ according to II Timothy 2:2. Notes from Pastor Bob: June is going to be a re- grouping month for Lost Sheep Ministries. We will be returning to the Pacific side of Nicaragua in June. We just returned from a spiritually demanding trip to Nigeria and Uganda, we are preparing for an equally demanding trip to Moscow, Russia and Vietnam in July. I will be accompanying a troop of Vietnamese soldiers for Christ from Kirkwood Baptist church in Houston, TX and we will be ministering to churches, pastors, and teachers in those countries. Almost immediately following these mission trips, I will be traveling to France and South Africa with Pastor Steven Yoes of Citymark church in League City, TX to work with missionaries from Citymark church. Without a break, Jimmy Stanfield and I will return to Nigeria in August to teach our TST course to equip some students to take the Gospel of Christ into their schools and participate in the Nigerian National Pastor's conference. With only a brief break, I will be returning to Vietnam and Cambodia to evangelize, disciple, and encourage Christians in those countries in early September. Our final International trip planned for 2015 will be a return to Brazil to follow-up with students we have taught during previous trips. Huge thanks must be given to Mr. Dean Lange for his generous help with our International travel else, these missions could not be accomplished. Following is one of our many Discipleship courses we use in our obedience to the Great Commission. PASTOR BOB ______INTRODUCTION: The principles being recommended in this presentation for transforming churches are taken from Jim Collins book, Good to Great. Collins used a team of students to study good businesses that moved from Good businesses to Great businesses and sustained their state of greatness for at least 15 years. Collins noted that these principles also apply to government agencies, military units, social clubs, schools, and churches.

of 8 Their research discovered that great organization's executive team adamantly focused on what they coined as their Hedgehog concept. "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." Whereas the fox chases around trying many ways to catch the hedgehog, the hedgehog knows one way to always win their contest. Good to Great is a presentation about the necessity of focusing rather than letting many good things distract from the best. There are several stages of church health in the USA; Dying, Very Sick, Sick, Good, and Great. Approximately 90% of these churches are sick, very sick, and dying! Most would agree that attainment of a state of Good would be very gratifying even though a better state is attainable. DEFINITIONS: A Good church exerts positive influence in the community in which she lives and is growing at the rate of the surrounding population. She has qualified members in roles of leadership and they cooperate as teams. She disciples most of her new members and has a vision that is supported by her members. A Good church is financially sound and stays within her annual budgets. A Great church, on the other hand, is a leader in her community and is growing faster than the local population increase. A Great church disciples all of her new members; determines their spiritual gifts and identifies opportunities to use their gifts in ministry. A Great church has a focused leader with quality Christians in the correct position of leadership. Collins compares a Great church to a bus: The Executive Team determines who gets on the bus, who are removed from the bus, where the members sit, and the direction to drive the bus. LEADERSHIP: Collins and his research team coined the CEOs that effectively lead Good businesses to become Great businesses as Level 5 Leaders. A surprising finding was that the Level 5 leaders were always humble men. They never egotistically wanted credit for the success of the company. They were tenacious in focusing their Executive Team on the primary goals of the business. They disciple fellow executives to a level that they can carry on the work without them. Thus, the Level 5 Leader paves the way for sustaining great businesses. Level 5 leadership is the primary path to Great ministry. Personal charisma will work against a Level 5 leader's attainment of greatness since such a personality will inhibit candid and sometimes challenging inputs from Executive Team and church members. Organizations led by charismatic personalities falter if the leader leaves.

of 8 FIRST WHO THEN WHAT: Instead of matching Executive leaders with predetermined Core objectives of the church, Quality leaders are selected first (Who gets on the bus). They are assigned to key positions on the Executive Team (Where to sit on the bus), and then they debate and propose the Core values which will become the mission of the church (Where to drive the bus.) CONFRONT THE BRUTAL FACTS: A primary task in taking a ministry from Good to Great is to create a culture wherein members have unhindered opportunities to be heard and, ultimately, for the truth to be heard no matter what the current situation may be. A climate where truth is heard involves four basic practices: 1. Lead with questions, not answers: Leading with questions instead of answers creates a climate for receiving responses about the true state of the church and wholesome suggestions about where she should be going. Responses to questions should be with sentences rather than a single word. Wait until members fully express themselves. 2. Engage in dialog and debate, not coercion: Encourage open discussions and questions, even debate, but avoid putting pressure on members to share their thoughts and recommendations. 3. Conduct autopsies, without blame: Assess each event sponsored by the church with the intent of learning from mistakes and failures. Never perform post-event analysis in a way that blames members for failure. 4. Retain absolute faith that you Can and Will prevail in the end, and at the same time confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be: Always exude a positive and assuring demeanor about the church. Christ is the Head of the church and He will always be with you. A positive attitude is contagious.

of 8 THE HEDGEHOG CONCEPT: The leadership team must be made up of Hedgehogs rather than Foxes. In his famous essay "The Hedgehog and the Fox," Isaiah Berlin divided the world into hedgehogs and foxes, based upon an ancient Greek parable. The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. The fox is a cunning creature, able to devise a myriad of complex strategies for sneak attacks upon the hedgehog. Day in and day out, the fox circles around the hedgehog's den, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Fast, sleek, beautiful, fleet of foot, and crafty-- the fox looks like the sure winner. The hedgehog, on the other hand, is a dowdier creature, looking like a genetic mix-up between a porcupine and a small armadillo. He waddles along, going about his simple day, searching for lunch and taking care of his home.

The fox waits in cunning silence at the juncture in the trail. The hedgehog, minding his own business, wanders right into the path of the fox. "Aha, I've got you now!" thinks the fox. He leaps out, bounding across the ground, lightning fast. The little hedgehog, sensing danger, looks up and thinks, "Here we go again. Will he ever learn?" Rolling up into a perfect little ball, the hedgehog becomes a sphere of sharp spikes, pointing outward in all directions the fox, bounding toward his prey, sees the hedgehog defense and calls off the attack. Retreating to the forest, the fox begins to calculate a new line of attack. Each day, some version of this battle between the fox and the hedgehog takes place, and despite the greater cunning of the fox, the hedgehog always wins. Berlin extrapolated from this little parable to divide people into two basic groups: foxes and hedgehogs. Foxes pursue many ends at the same time and see the world in all its complexity. They are "scatter or diffused, moving on many levels," says Berlin, never integrating their thinking into one overall concept or unifying vision. Hedgehogs, on the other hand, simplify a complex world into a single organizing idea, a basic principle or concept that unifies and guides everything.

of 8 It does not matter how complex the world, a hedgehog reduces all challenges and dilemmas to simple-- indeed almost simplistic -- hedgehog ideas. For a hedgehog, anything that does not somehow relate to the hedgehog idea holds no relevance. THE THREE CIRCLES: Following the selection of the Executive Team, identification of three fundamentals should be resolved. 1) What are we deeply Passionate about? Are we driven to see our current church enlarged? Do we envision improving the social condition of our surrounding culture as our most important effort? Do the large number of struggling churches in our community compell us to come to their aid? Does the Bible inspire us to start a sustained Christian movement in the world as commissioned by Matthew 28:18-20? 2) What drives our economic engine and are we willing to make radical changes? After identification of our deep -passion, what financial and manpower resources will be required to launch us on a path to attain it? Be willing to consider new sources of resources within the bounds of true Christianity (grants, non-profit business, selling existing property, etc.) 3) In what area can we be the best in the world? Realizing that we cannot be the best in the world at everything we might like to do, eliminate tasks, ministries, projects, missions, etc. that you cannot be the best in the world at. Discuss, argue, debate, etc., a church vision that fits within the intersection of these three circles. Arrive at a single, simple, crystalline concept that you can be best at within these three circles. This is your hedgehog vision. Become resolved to reject any suggested tasks or projects that fall outside the intersection of these three circles.

of 8 The Hedgehog Council: The church executive council must be made up of hedgehogs rather than foxes. The Hedgehog Council is made up of from five to eight members and meets to gain understanding about important issues facing the church. Each council member must freely argue and debate issues, problems, and accomplishments of the church. Each council member should represent a key element of church organization, function, and ministry. With the assistance of the council, the Executive Leader will be the final decision maker for the church. A Great church is not operated as a democracy, rather they are operated under Christ with a group of Elders. The Executive Leader will not necessarily be the Senior Pastor of the church but the Senior Pastor should be on the Hedgehog Council. A PATH TO A GREAT CHURCH: The path from a Good church to a Great church will take time, and much patience and prayer. A start could be the merge of several mediocre and dying churches into a single church with a hedgehog resolve. By pooling manpower and financial resources, a new start can be made and the foundation for moving to a great church set. By following the Who Before What principle and the Hedgehog Concept, this path can be started and sustained. It is suggested that churches interested in becoming a part of moving into Good churches and continuing on to becoming a Great church, list all of the ministries and activities she is currently performing. A willingness to stop some of the traditional ministries will be necessary even if they have been practiced for decades.

of 8 CULTURE OF DISCIPLINE: Growing into a Great church is wonderful but the goal should be to grow into a Sustaining Great church. This will require the diligent practice of sustained discipline. A church culture of discipline is one of the major responsibilities of the Hedgehog Council. There will always be good opportunities for a church to involve herself but she MUST remember that The Good is the enemy of the Best! Good ministries will drain resources needed to grow to Greatness and sustain Greatness. Rather than maintaining a "To Do" list, a "Stop Doing" list should be used. A culture of discipline involves a duality. On the one hand, it requires people who adhere to a consistent system; yet on the other hand, it gives people freedom and responsibility within the framework of that system. The hedgehog core intersection of the three circles must be displayed and practiced by all members of a Great church. TECHNOLOGY ACCELERATORS: Technology is advancing at a rapid pace and the culture is being changed by new technology. Members of the Hedgehog council will be under considerable pressure to purchase and apply newer and better technology. All upgrades in technology must be carefully studied and debated thoroughly before commiting to its application. Great care must be practiced to assure that any use of technology is linked to effectively increase the promotion of what the church is deeply passionate about, can be supported by the church economic engine, and sustains what the church is Best in the World at.

of 8 Conclusion: A serious commitment to the Hedgehog Concept will result in moving churches upward through several stages of improvement and effectiveness. The most serious temptation along the way will be to settle for less than Greatness though the church may have advanced considerably beyond her earlier state. Transforming a church from Mediocre or dying to Good to Great is radical. Remember that the Head of the Church is radical. He challenged the religious establishment of his day and won. Following Him calls for being radical and willing to pay the cost; but the goal is well worth it and pays eternal dividends. AmazonSmile.com purchases helps LSM: Purchases from AmazonSmile.com will result in financial contributions to the Lost Sheep Ministries. Please use "http://smile.amazon.com/ch/76-0364036" for your book and electronics purchases and 0.05% of your purchase will be donated to LSM. Tax Deductable Donations to LSM: Lost Sheep Ministries is a 501(c) non-profit organization. Donations may be made to LSM, 2951 Marina Bay Drive, Suite 130-144, League City, TX 77573. We are seeking funds to travel, equip, and commission others to take the Gospel of Christ to all nations. This monthly newsletter will be distributed by email only. Email addresses may be removed or added to distribution by notifying John Overton at [email protected]. Our website is at - www.lostsheepministries.com. All of our Newsletters are posted on our website. Note: All of our Power point presentations and student manuals are available free from our web: www.lostsheepministries.com