This is where young leaders miss the boat in their first leadership assignment. They haven’t built enough “influence capital” with others through respect, trust, listening, valuing others and collaboration. Positional influence is the weakest level of leadership. Instead of whispering, those without influence have to roar–they have to flex their muscles, they have to make themselves stand out as if screaming, “Do what I tell you to do, I’m the boss!” When you influence from a place of relationship and respect you can go a whole lot further faster. You can whisper, but it will be received as a ROAR that makes things happen.

What are you doing to build your influence capital with your team so that your whisper can be received as a roar?

Technorati Tags: leadership

1. The pastor doesn’t go on a vacation for any significant length of time. And, when he does, it isn’t announced.
2. When the pastor doesn’t preach, the attendance drops.
3. Unspoken fear that if something happened to the pastor, the church would be in trouble.
4. The pastor is unwilling to listen to and consult other team members. The staff and volunteers are there to carry out the directions of the pastor.
5. There’s no succession plan in place; therefore, leadership development isn’t happening.

Here are some that I would add to that list:

• Only the senior pastor’s books and products are for sale in the church bookstore
• The senior pastor’s name must be on the marquee in big, bold letters
• His/Her picture must be plastered on everything; website, bulletins, all promotion
• All ministry revolves around the preference of the lead guy
• Church takes out massive key-man insurance policy in case the senior pastor drops dead or has an affair to ensure that the church’s massive mortgage on the building is paid off for fear that there will be a mass exodus of tithing people
• Lead pastor is treated like a rock star and every whim he has is catered to.
• Small army of bodyguards and entourage surround the senior pastor

I think some would add that multi-site has taken this cult of personality to another level, however, I would disagree with that assessment. Many of the prominent names in the multi-site movement do not appear to have over-inflated personalities. Certainly not like the personalities in the distinctive I have been a part of.

Having said all that, as a lead pastor now, I do understand that your personality is wrapped up in the work and the church by nature of the fact that you are the most visible persona. You set the vision, chart the course and give direction. You and the church you lead are inseparable in the minds of people. I don’t know any way around that. That in and of itself is not a terrible thing, however, like anything else, can play to the selfish motives that are hidden and lurk deep within our hearts. Our hearts are capable of unspeakable evil when they are not surrendered fully to Jesus.

Where are the men and women who follow the example of Christ as mentioned in Philippians 2:3-11? When we are the celebrity and not Jesus we are in a very dangerous place. Everything the lead pastor does must point to Jesus as being the Head of the Church. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, Senior Pastor and Apostle of the Church. The sheep belong to Him, not to us. Last I checked, I haven’t read of any pastor that shed his own blood, and gave his own life as a ransom for many. Any time we seek to elevate our name and personality above that of Jesus, well, I think that is referred to as idolatry.

“The human heart is a factory of idols…Everyone of us is, from his mother’s womb, expert in inventing idols.” –John Calvin

Your thoughts?

]]> http://www.danmastrapa.com/2009/09/29/the-cult-of-personality-in-the-church/feed/ 0 http://www.danmastrapa.com/2009/09/25/lord-save-us-from-your-followers/ http://www.danmastrapa.com/2009/09/25/lord-save-us-from-your-followers/#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:26:20 +0000 admin http://www.danmastrapa.com/?p=459 Lord Save Us From Your Followers, Dan Merchant’s much anticipated documentary about Christianity’s PR problem, opens today in select theaters. It will no doubt spark tremendous controversy and hopefully, much conversation. Go to the website and watch some of the clips and follow the story.
Here’s the movie trailer:





]]> http://www.danmastrapa.com/2009/09/25/lord-save-us-from-your-followers/feed/ 0 http://www.danmastrapa.com/2009/09/19/amazing-absolutely-incredible/ http://www.danmastrapa.com/2009/09/19/amazing-absolutely-incredible/#comments Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:05:59 +0000 admin http://www.danmastrapa.com/?p=452 Did that get your attention? ChurchCrunch had a post yesterday on how we oversell things in ministry by the big words we use and how that has spilled over into the technological front. He showed a mashup of Apple’s keynote and their excessive use of these words.

I have grown tired by the over promotion, hyped up marketing, that many pastors and churches use to promote their next series, program, worship or whatever it is. “Don’t miss my next series it will change your life.” “Hear never before heard revelation that not even God knows!” “Our worship is the best on the planet and even the angels stop their worship to hear ours!” “This word I’m going to deliver is going to blow your mind!”

It seems that in order to keep people coming back they have to one-up their previous message as if the Gospel isn’t enough to keep people coming back. When everything is amazing, incredible, the best, wonderful, stellar, will blow your mind, knock your socks off and awesome — well then, nothing is!

I’m for marketing but we had better make sure we are delivering on our hype. This over use of powerful adjectives has desensitized a whole host of people to what is truly amazing, incredible, life changing, majestic, glorious, awesome — Jesus, transformed lives, maturing Christ followers, a community growing in love and good deeds and people coming to Christ. Now that’s amazing!

Psalm 12:3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts”

What do you think?

]]> http://www.danmastrapa.com/2009/09/19/amazing-absolutely-incredible/feed/ 4 http://www.danmastrapa.com/2009/08/17/choose-your-words-carefully/ http://www.danmastrapa.com/2009/08/17/choose-your-words-carefully/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:22:56 +0000 Dan http://www.danmastrapa.com/?p=428 I just started to read Bill Hybel’s book Axiom — Powerful Leadership Proverbs. It’s a compendium of leadership nuggets from one of the most well known pastors in America and lead pastor of Willow Creek. It will take me a while to go through this book as I am finding each proverb extremely applicable to my current experience. I’ll be going through it like a devotional and share my thoughts periodically.

In the proverb, Language Matters, Hybels shares how the best leaders wrestle with words in order to communicate their big ideas in a way that captures the imagination, catalyzes action and lifts spirits. This is something I have been wrestling with myself in articulating the vision of SentChurch. I know deep in my heart what I desire to see but I am finding it challenging to draw out the words that convey what can call people to action. Much prayer is being focused in this direction.

It’s not just about creating catchy slogans or meaningless jargon to be hip, trendy and cool. Too many churches do that in an endless stream of cheap copycats and cheesy campaigns that don’t rally anyone around the cause. A quick viewing of Christian television, if you can stomach it, reflects how little effort is put in to choosing the right words. They all sound as if they hired the same dated, campy marketing agency. Consequently, they sound the same and fewer people are listening to them.

Choosing the right words is about crafting a story that excites the heart, appeals to the mind and causes the spirit to soar to new heights of possibility. Carefully and prayerfully chosen words that are inspired by the Spirit, elevate a group of common people to do uncommon things, make the ordinary extraordinary and move people from the mundane to the realm of the miraculous. That’s how powerful words are.

What words excite you and catalyze you to take action? I would love to hear some of those. Have you given careful thought to how you communicate your dream and vision?

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