Episode 8 of the Infuse Leadership Podcast is now available on iTunes, on our website HERE and also right here on the blog. The title of this episode is “Great Leaders Will Break Your Heart…Get Used To It!” On this episode we talk about how God is not only going to bring great leaders to your church, but He’s also going to send them out. How we react to those great leaders leaving I believe has a lot to do with who God will bring us next.
Because Element Church is in an Air Force town, we regularly have God bring us great servant leaders only to see them go a few months or a few years in to their time with us. While this is definitely a frustrating part of leadership, it’s also a fantastic opportunity to invest in people while they’re with us and send them off even better equipped to serve than when they arrived.
In the podcast we interview Chris and Kori Lance. As you’ll hear, Chris and Kori both serve in our worship department and offer some great insight on what people are looking for when they move into town and are looking for in a church. They talk about how they’ve been invested at different churches and how they leverage the military life to their advantage in ministry. Chris and Kori are two amazing leaders that God is moving on from our church but their ministry is only just beginning.
The links to listen are below, as well as some key thoughts from the Podcast. If you use iTunes, please rate and review the podcast to help spread the word about what God is doing!
Apple iTunes link HERE.
Online link HERE.
1. We don’t lose people we send them — That statement has become a mantra for our team. It still sucks to see people go, but we just decide, “Let’s embrace those people even though they’re going to be moving on.” Because of our unique situation as a military town, we have literally sent people all over the world with the message of Jesus. We want the people that God brings us to leave better than they were when they came because of our investment in them.
[Tweet “We don’t lose people we send them”]
2. When someone leaves our church we are actually helping another church in the future — Jared made that statement and it’s the best perspective to have. If I’m only thinking about what I’m going to lose then I’m not going to be able to set this person up well for the next church God takes them to down the road. This is truly a Kingdom mindset. Jared said, “I’m gonna try and help raise up THE Church not just MY church.”
[Tweet “I’m gonna try and help raise up THE Church not just MY church.”]
3. Be aware of the intimidation of being a new person or a new volunteer — Chris and Kori both share some stories about the frustrations they have faced from moving into a new community and looking for a new church home all over again. In Chris’ military career it’s been a new town every 2 years. Sometimes it’s hard for us “churched folk” to remember what it was like looking for a church home. I’ve actually NEVER had that experience. Chris shared about signing up to volunteer at a church and “No one would contact us.” There is some great lessons here not only on being prepared for a guest to arrive but also having a process to get them connected when they are ready.
4. Don’t look for a position just look for a place to serve — Jared shared about the heart behind Chris and Kori’s serving. They weren’t just looking for a position or a spot on the platform, they were just looking to serve. They had said, “If it doesn’t work out on the worship team just put us where we can help.” From a leaders perspective, that is exactly the heart we love to see in people looking to connect in the church.
[Tweet “Don’t look for a position just look for a place to serve”]
5. “Getting plugged in is the best way to become a quick part of that family.” — Chris really challenged people to simply “get plugged in.”
6. Quality of worship or preaching weren’t the first things they look for in a church — Both Chris and Kori talked about the things they look for in a church when they first attend. Typically as leaders we focus on the preaching and worship…the platform stuff. But when they talked about what they looked for that didn’t even come up. This is a great reminder that on the platform things will only matter if the off the platform things stand out. In talking about preaching and worship Chris said, “Talent is easy to come by, it’s the heart behind it that counts.” SO good!
[Tweet “Talent is easy to come by, it’s the heart behind it that counts.”]
7. “I’ve never had a pastor or worship leader pour into us the way Jared has.” — First off, let me say that Jared didn’t know they were going to say this and actually tried to edit it out of the podcast, but I wouldn’t let him. What Chris and Kori talked about here was pure gold. Kori said, “I’ve done things here that I never thought possible and I know that I’m going to go to another church now where I can be a lot more confident.” Chris said, “Not only has he taught me a lot about music, but he taught me a lot about being a leader.” What I love about the investing Jared has made in his team is, he did that knowing they weren’t going to be here long term.
8. “You invest in people not because there is a return but because it’s right.” — That’s something Jared said that is incredibly hard to do but also so incredibly rewarding. When we find out that someone is leaving we have a couple choices: 1. We can use them while they’re around and then let them go or 2. We can be good stewards of what God brought us and invest in them while we can.
[Tweet “You invest in people not because there is a return but because it’s right.”]