In This Issue5 Reasons Why

Staff Leave Churches

4

3 Ways to

Win the

Congregation

6

5 Major

Distractions in

Ministry

8

Spotlight on

Members

10

The Saints and Social Media

14

5 Ways to Inspire Teens

to Share the Gospel

17

Rookie’s You’re Out

21

How to Become a 360-

Degree Leader

26

Ten Tips for Preaching

from an iPad

27

The Secret Pain of Pastors

29

Churches, Businesses & Ministries

36

© Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved. Kingdom Builders Association of America, Inc.

Publishers Rev. Antwon D. James, President/CEO

Pastor Tremaine M. Combs, Vice President-At-Large/Chief of Staff Elder Matthew D. Ray, First Vice President

Pastor Cordell E. Fields, Second Vice President Bishop Umiko D. Jones, General Secretary

Rev. Jerome L. Williams, Executive Administrator

Vacant, Director of Communications & Public Relations The Kingdom Herald – Editor-In-Chief

5 Reasons Why Staff Leave Churches

by Will Mancini

We have all heard this when a staff member

leaves our team … ”God is calling me away.” I

have no doubt that is true because God has

moved my family several times over the course

of 14 years of ministry. God calls people away,

but there are factors that push staff members to

change churches. God uses “holy discontent” to

help people make moves in new directions.

Making a ministry move is not a bad thing. I

know church members and leaders take it

personally. The question many people wonder is

… WHY DID THEY LEAVE “US” … WHAT

IS WRONG WITH “US”? If you want the truth

… there are many more unhealthy churches than

healthy churches out there. Here are five reasons

I see staff members make ministry moves …

Disconnection from the “church” — Many

times, staff members leave because they just

do not connect with the vision and direction

of their current church. A staff member can

only serve in a church they don’t fully

believe in for so long.

Lack of support — When leaders lack

support from the lead pastor or overall

church leadership … when they have an

insufficient budget … when they have no

hope of ever getting needed space in a

facility. Yep, those three will do it. When

staff members don’t feel supported, many

times they leave.

Chasing THE LADDER — Many times it

is just this simple … sometimes staff

members are not given the freedom to move

into other ministry areas in their current

church. Staff members have to make moves

in order to go in a new direction … focus on

their passion … have more influence. I hate

the ministry “ladder,” but we know it exists.

Burnout — When leaders place ministry

ahead of everything else, burnout is on the

horizon. So many times, staff people leave

because they are have been beaten down by

the system, wrong priorities and lack of

balance.

Maturity — This happens when a staff

leader discovers who they are and who they

are not. That powerful combination leads

many staff members to new adventures.

What do you think? Why do staff leave a

church? Why have you left?

3 Ways to Win the Congregation by Jamie Harvill

hen I set out on my professional music

career in 1980, the first thing I learned

from my mentors was to connect with

the audience. I was taught that the stage is not like a

fish bowl, where the audience peers statically at the

action happening on stage. The potent energy that

flows back and forth from performer to the audience

is a very important aspect of the presentation. That

is why live performances haven’t been completely

obliterated by movies and television; people still

desire that back-and-forth, “being there”

camaraderie of a live program.

The concept of “entertainment,” in the context of

church, is forbidden in certain circles. But as I’ve

said before, using musical and dramatic techniques

to enhance the art of storytelling can help create a

flowing and enjoyable experience — one that

allows the audience to lose self-awareness, to the

point where they are fully engaged in the action on

the stage. To make sure that I’m not misunderstood,

I want to emphasize that delivering the message of

Christ and His redemptive power is, by far, the most

noble and virtuous use of the stage, cutting-edge

technology and excellence in all genres of

performance.

Performance Myths

The perspective of the audience differs from that of

the performer. Tom Jackson, a professional live

performance producer, helps bands develop their

live shows to effectively deliver a powerful

performance. In a teaching from one of his DVDs

entitled Stage Performance: Making Our Services

Rock, Tom spoke of several myths from a

performer’s point of view:

If we feel the music then the audience must

feel it too.

It’s all about the song (that the song is

strong enough to carry the performance).

If we play well, sing well and the audience

hears the words, we win.

There are no performance rules — we just

“wing it” because we are spontaneous.

“I’ve been doing it for ‘X’ amount of years;

I know what I’m doing.”

W

I feel comfortable onstage, so it must be

great.

If I’m uncomfortable, it must not be “me.”

If it worked for a bigger church then it will

work for me.

The difference between a great performance and an

average or poor performance is essentially the

connection with the audience. Jackson made a

humorous but accurate observation of a great

performer, using Bono, lead singer of U2, as an

example. He said Bono is “married” to the

audience, when most of us are just “dating” the

audience. It takes a great amount of work and skill

to create a great performance, and in doing so, we

earn the audience’s respect. I’ve personally seen

U2 perform live, and Bono had that huge indoor

sports arena in the palm of his hand!

Three Performance Basics:

1. Connect with Your Audience (Love Them and

They’ll Love You Back)

2. Lead Your Audience (They’re Gonna Follow

You!)

3. Your Audience Is Less Aware Than You

Think (Keep Your Flubs to Yourself)

The #1 thing to remember in a performance is:

Connect with your audience. Therefore, be prepared

and confident. Practice to the point where

everything you do flows from the subconscious —

as if the effort was second-hand. That way, your

body language will emit an air of confidence and

fluidity rather than being stiff and awkward. A

performer’s ability to be authentic, warm and

engaging, yet humble toward the audience, helps

them build confidence in you. When you exude a

lack of confidence, your audience feels unsure,

expecting you to make a mistake or misspeak.

Preparedness begets confidence!

The #2 thing to remember is: The audience wants to

be led. We help the audience along on our journey

through:

Directing their attention toward important

aspects of the performance through visual

and verbal cues (please stand; please sit;

“let’s welcome to the stage X, Y or Z”;

“Please direct your attention to the video

screens”; musical cut-offs; receiving

applause; etc.)

Giving them permission to respond

appropriately.

Helping them move through transitions in

the performance without losing focus.

Don’t take for granted that the audience knows what

to do … they don’t! Your job as a leader is to lead

them!

The #3 thing to remember is: The audience is

unaware. I could say ignorant, but that seems a little

harsh. What I mean to say is that the audience is not

as aware of the intricacies of our performance as we

are. Things aren’t always as obvious to our

audience until we direct their attention toward

something. Many times, our mistakes will go

unnoticed if we simply don’t bring attenuation to

them. Therefore, we must remain confident and in

control.

I once heard it said, “My play was a complete

success, but the audience was a failure!” Sometimes

as performers we may think that way, but in reality

we cannot blame our poor performance on the

audience. Our lack of preparation and planning will

hurt our performances.

Very few great artists “wing it.” A wise performer’s

every move and spoken word is scrutinized for

effectiveness, whether in worship or on a secular

stage. The key for every performer, worship leader

and preacher is to make what they do seem

effortless!

James Taylor, the great singer/songwriter, has said

that a live performance is a common emotional

experience for the performer and the audience. As

performers, we must plan, prepare and practice for a

performance. But there comes a time when we must

surrender to the moment — to be fully “present” in

our live performances and let things unfold. That’s

why each performance, even though they contain

the same elements, can be received and enjoyed in

various ways by different audiences.

Five Major

Distractions in

Ministry by Will Mancini

The term “scope creep” is a term

consultants use when their

clients expect more than what

the project originally outlined.

The idea is that the scope of the

project is slowly getting bigger,

usually in imperceptible

increments.

Of course, no consultant wants

scope creep to happen, but in an

effort to please the client, it's

hard to prevent sometimes.

The same dynamic is ever

present in ministry. It’s called

“opportunity creep.”

What is “opportunity creep?”

It's roughly the same idea, just

applied to all of the positive

ministry opportunities a pastor

may face in the days and weeks

of church life.

By calling it “creep” we are

acknowledging that it’s all too

easy to say yes too much. By

positioning this as a problem,

we are highlighting that a lack

of “opportunity management”

can distract and dilute our

ministry efforts.

Think about how many kinds of

opportunities cross a pastor’s

path:

We serve a congregation that’s a

bottomless well of members’

needs.

We are captured by the buzz of

new ideas, new people and new

initiatives happening in church

space.

We live in communities riddled

with issues that we would love

to “missionally” engage. We are

digitally connected to an ocean

of information and “friends.”

The bottom line: Church

leadership is rich soil for

opportunity creep.

It’s easy for opportunity after

opportunity to press in and vie

for the precious little time God

has given you.

The first step to dealing with

opportunity creep is to identify

the sources of opportunities in a

way that repositions them as

distractions.

If we don’t understand that most

opportunities are distractions in

disguise, it will be hard to say

“no” to the next seemingly

“good” thing.

See if these sources clarify the

point:

Opportunity Becomes

Distraction #1: The New is

Askew.

Who doesn’t love something

new? Especially for us creative

types, it's easy to feel the rush of

the next.

But the lure of the new can drive

us to do too much at the same

time, or too much too fast.

The opportunistic personalities

among us will look for the next

ministry “find” before going

deeper with what we already

have. This week, I was with a

church that lamented, “Our

people aren’t clear about who

we are because we repackage

ourselves every six months.”

In short, make sure the next new

thing is a deeply “you thing.”

Opportunity Becomes

Distraction #2: Off-Mission

Permission.

In the desire for more ministry,

it's easy to say “yes” to the ideas

of well-meaning members. The

problem is that most of their

ministry aspirations are

misdirected because they want

to create more church structure

and programming rather than

living out their gifts and calling

in life.

The church very quickly

becomes over programmed and

underdiscipled. The “more is

more” default mode of program

permission clutters a simple

discipleship experience in and

through the church.

Helping people dream big for

Jesus is beautiful,

overcomplicating church is not.

Opportunity Becomes

Distraction #3: Funny Money.

There is nothing more freeing

than an abundance of resources,

unless it comes with the

proverbial attached string.

Beware of that check-cutting,

money-slinging individual —

whether it's a new member or an

influential elder — that’s ready

to fund the next thing (that they

brought to the table).

If a new idea is connected to

designated giving, always ask,

“Would our vision really have

taken us in this direction?”

If people are not willing to

subordinate their giving to the

existing vision of the church,

then it’s probably a distraction

in disguise. (Sorry to break the

bad news.)

Opportunity Becomes

Distraction #4: Knowledge

Trafficking.

I enjoy learning, as do most

called into vocational ministry.

But when our pursuit of

knowledge outpaces our put-in-

use of knowledge, we’ll get used

to living with distraction.

To make matters worse, now

you can get a direct feed of

whatever-you-want-to-learn,

whenever-you-want-to-learn

through the 50 devices in your

life.

Don’t let your smart phone turn

you into a not-so-smart leader.

One of the greatest benefits of

organizational and personal

clarity, by the way, is the ability

to ruthlessly filter out

nonrelevant new data.

Opportunity Becomes

Distraction #5: Platform

Jacking.

The last source of distraction

meddles a bit more than the

others. Platform jacking is when

we divert too much time and

energy to gaining influence

through opportunities outside of

direct, day-to-day ministry

responsibilities.

There is certainly nothing wrong

with wanting to “bless the

capital ‘C’ church”— a noble

aspiration for sure! Yet, I am

amazed at how quickly the favor

of God on a pastor can back-fire

on the mission of the ministry.

The success of the local church

can become a “success

distraction” for the pastor who

spends increasing amounts of

time growing his or her

platform. Most of us have seen

this in someone else, so just be

discerning for yourself.

Elder Dwalunda Ray was born and raised in

Houston, Texas where she graduated from

Booker T. Washington High School for

Engineering Professions. She went on

to Texas Southern University

where she received her

Bachelors of Arts in

Psychology in 2005. From

the age of four, Elder Ray

attended The Church

Without Walls (TCWW)

where Dr. Ralph D. West

is Pastor.

Elder Ray

actively participated in

the young adult choir at

TCWW, as well as the

gospel choir on the campus

of Texas Southern, but in

2002, she felt a higher calling

from God in the pursuit of

ministry. At the age of nineteen,

Elder Ray accepted her calling to preach

the Word of God. Along with that call was the

charge to attend seminary in order to sharpen the

tools that God had given her. She moved to Fort

Worth in 2005 and attended Brite Divinity

School on the campus of Texas Christian

University where she received her Masters of

Divinity with a concentration in Black

Church Studies in December 2008.

She was ordained through the

Rhema Fellowship of

Churches by Bishop David

E. Martin in May, 2009.

Elder Ray is a

member of The

Fellowship Church in

Fort Worth, TX where

Patrick D. Joubert is her

Pastor. She is the founder

of Antioch Kingdom

Ministries (AKM on

Facebook) and her own

marketing business, D. Ray

Consulting. Her organizational

memberships include: Delta

Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Kingdom

Builders Association of America, Inc.,

and The Young Clergy Women Project.

TKH: How did you feel when you were informed

that you would be in the “spotlight”?

EDR: I was extremely honored and excited! I love

KBA and it is an awesome feeling to receive the

love in return.

TKH: How did you become aware of the

association? And what prompted you to join?

EDR: I had the esteemed honor of attending the

same church as our illustrious founder and

president, so I saw firsthand what the purpose and

vision was for KBA. I had a desire to become a

part of something that I believed was and is great

and a God-ordained organization that can bring

unification amongst denominations and believers

across the world.

TKH: So tell us a little bit about who you are,

family, your origin, current church/ministry; and

what you do there.

EDR: I am originally from Houston, TX, born to

Keith and Debbie Ray and I have a younger

brother, Keith II. I was one of those children who

basically went from the hospital to the church! The

church is literally all I’ve known. I grew up singing

in the choir and eventually began to teach the

children’s classes at my church. I accepted my

calling to the preaching ministry at the age of 19,

and after graduating from college in Houston, I

moved to Fort Worth to attend Brite Divinity

School. I graduated with a Masters of Divinity, was

ordained as an Elder in 2009, and have since been

using my gifts and degree knowledge while serving

as an associate at The Fellowship Church of Fort

Worth, TX. I am a preacher, praise team member,

Co-Director of the Singles Ministry, and the

Director of P.D.J. Ministries, my pastor’s

personal/media ministry.

TKH: Do you operate any other ministries outside

or your church?

EDR: Yes, as the founder of Antioch Kingdom

Ministries, I host workshops and conferences and

travel for preaching engagements in the name of

AKM.

TKH: What do you desire to see happen in a

greater way through your work with KBA as well

as your personal ministries?

EDR: I would love to see more women get actively

involved in KBA. In order for us to truly represent

the Kingdom, all of its citizens have to be

represented. As far as my personal ministry is

concerned, I want to see people focus on their

relationship with God and not the religiosity of

man CONCERNING God.

TKH: Given the current state of the church with

scandals among those in ministry and leadership;

where do we go from here?

EDR: We need to get real relationships with God. I

don’t question anyone’s salvation because I wasn’t

there when they got saved, but it is increasingly

evident that deliverance still needs to take place for

a great number of leaders and those who claim to

represent the church. We need to get back to the

basics: prayer, studying God’s word, and being

better DISCIPLES. If we could all get on one

accord and do that, the church could start looking

more prepared for its Groom.

TKH: So many of us in ministry and leadership

seem to have no life, what is that you do to have

fun?

EDR: I live my life! I listen to live bands, I go to

the movies, bowling, poetry houses, etc. My

sorority also keeps me busy with functions and

community service. I advise everyone to not be

ashamed to like going places other than church.

IT’S OKAY!

TKH: So what’s next on your agenda? (As in

books, albums, singles, ministry related)

EDR: I have quite a bit going on right now.

Antioch Kingdom Ministries is hosting “The Heart

of a Woman” Workshop on September 21, 2013,

and I am VERY excited. We’ll have some dynamic

teachers/preachers and expect for women to leave

in a better condition than when they came. I’m also

in the beginning stages of planning “Women with

Power” 2014, which will be the second major

conference hosted by AKM. Our Singles Ministry

at The Fellowship Church will be hosting its first

conference in 2014, so I’m excited about that as

well. Finally, I am working on a devotional entitled

“Think On It A Minute”, which was birthed from

several thought provoking and scriptural posts that

I used to make on social media sites. Someone

suggested that I consider putting those thoughts

into a devotional, and God began to move on me

concerning it, so I’m expecting to release that by

the end of 2014.

TKH: What could you offer as encouragement to

your fellow KBA members and our readers?

EDR: Keep yourselves aligned with the will of

God, listening to the voice of God, and seeking

after what’s on the mind of God. If you do that,

you can’t lose at ANYTHING that you desire in

life.

The Saints and

Social Media

Seven Reasons for the Saints

to be fully engaged in Social Media!

By: Larry W. Robinson

During one of my recent LIVE webcast, I asked J.

Richard Byrd, founder of The ChurchBrand

Architects, “what exactly is social media?” He

stated that, “social media is a platform used to

connect with other people.” As our conversation

progressed, the thought came, if that is the case

then, the saints must be exactly where the people

are.

Matthew 28: 18-20 (NIV) says, 18

Then Jesus came to them and said,

“All authority in heaven and on

earth has been given to me. 19

Therefore go and make disciples

of all nations, baptizing them in

the name of the Father and of the

Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and

teaching them to obey everything I

have commanded you. And surely I

am with you always, to the very end of

the age.” (Emphasis added…)

The fact of the matter is millions of people are using

social media. Many of those people “may” never

step foot in your church, but I believe you are still

obligated to reach them with the Gospel. I would

like to present to you seven reasons why you should

be fully engaged in Social Media.

1. People are looking for the “Good News”.

Humanity’s soul has a void and only God

can fill that void. People are trying to

substitute that void by engaging in things

that distract their mind. Social media is one

of those things. Engage yourself in social

media by sharing your day to day journey on

how God is bringing you true peace, joy and

happiness.

2. Lost souls are thirsty for inspiration and

encouragement. People are trying to find

satisfaction in a myriad ways: pictures,

video, audio and the written text. You can be

a conduit to provide content to help them

drink from the Living Well of eternal

nourishment; Jesus Christ!

3. People are talking! They are posting status

messages, comments, pictures and videos

about their struggles, issues and everyday

life. You can be there to provide

enlightenment and to direct those to the true

source of their strength when life seems

stormy and uncertain.

4. People really do long for

human connection. Even though

people may initially connect

through a social network,

eventually they may want to

connect in person. If you are

marketing and promoting actual

events people will want to come.

They may not readily want to come to

a church service at first, but they might

attend a concert, workshop, seminar or

conference that provides solutions to

problems they have been talking about in

social media.

5. People have changed their hangout location.

Our message of Jesus Christ has not

changed, but the methods of communicating

the message should. Your neighbors may

dodge your knock at the door, but they will

rarely ignore your message if they are

connected with you through social media.

6. It is not cost effective to spend your entire

outreach budget on traditional forms of

media. More and more people are getting

their news and current events from social

media. Since people are looking at news

feeds and trending topics on social media, be

there to provide content that captures their

eye and engage their heart.

7. Do it today. Each day more and more people

are feeling like they are losing hope. As a

believer, you have the answer; Jesus. There

is no time to waste. The time is NOW.

Become social and use the new forms of

media to share God’s Love for ALL

humanity!

We are positioned in one of the unprecedented

times in human history. We have the ability to reach

more people in less time with fewer resources than

our forefathers. You no longer have to have a

“mega ministry to reach the masses”. With the

stroke of a few keys on your keyboard, an audio

upload to a podcast or a video upload to video

sharing site, you can communicate a message of

hope, love and encouragement that many people so

desperately need. In closing, there is a great

opportunity for you to reach a lost generation. Get

plugged in, share a status, tweet, send a

video; connect with somebody and share the Good

News.

Through the power of media, Larry W. Robinson

has created an unparalleled connection with people

around the world. Larry has informed inspired and

ignited listeners and viewers globally. His

achievements as an international media personality

have established him as one of the most notable and

inspirational public figures today. Visit

www.larrywrobinson.com to connect with Larry

today.

Coming Soon to KBA! Digital Member Center

+

5 Ways to Inspire Teens to

Share the Gospel by Greg Stier

Teenagers can be a tough audience and sharing the

gospel a tough subject. So how do you inspire a

tough audience to engage in the tough stuff of

evangelism?

As the leader of a ministry called Dare 2 Share, an

organization that annually equips tens of

thousands of teens to evangelize, I am in the

motivation business. I have to be. If a clinical

approach to evangelism were enough to motivate

teenagers, we could just do a video-based training

series for youth groups and leave it at that. But it

takes way more to motivate teens to actually go

beyond talking about evangelism to actually doing

it.

Here are the five essentials I have discovered

about motivating teenagers to share the gospel:

1. Reposition evangelism from being just

another Christian duty to being the ultimate

cause.

Jesus rebuked the religious grumblers and

mumblers of his day with a crystal clear

comeback: “For the Son of Man came to seek and

to save what was lost” Luke 19:10. The driving

mission of Jesus was a hands-on search and rescue

mission for the lost, disenfranchised, too-evil-to-

rescue sinners. Specifically in this passage, he was

referring to Zacchaeus, the tax collector who was

despised by the Jews and used by the Romans. But

once this tree climbing traitor put his faith in

Jesus, he gave half of his possessions to the poor

and quadrupled payback for any social injustices

he had committed.

Help your teens see Luke 19:1-10 as the key to

eradicating poverty, stopping human trafficking

and advancing social justice. The more we can

lead people to Jesus, the more they can create

change in their circle of influence. Stop separating

social justice from evangelism (like I did for

years) and view it as the real key to multiplying

change makers across the planet.

2. Share a lot of stories.

The more stories of changed lives your teens hear,

the more motivated they will be to evangelize.

Stories can capture the hearts of teenagers in a

way that mere lecture cannot. Maybe that’s why

Jesus was such a prolific storyteller. He bypassed

intellectual objections and went straight to the

hearts of his hearers. But Jesus wasn’t the only

storyteller in the New Testament.

When Paul and Barnabas were headed back to

Jerusalem, they told stories of changed lives along

the way: “The church sent them on their way, and

as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria,

they told how the Gentiles had been converted.

This news made all the believers very glad. When

they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by

the church and the apostles and elders, to whom

they reported everything God had done through

them” Acts 15:3,4.

Have teenagers share stories of those they are

engaging with the gospel. Tie stories into your

weekly talks. The more stories you share, the more

inspired your teens will be to share their faith.

3. “Create” more stories by taking your teens

out to evangelize.

If you want to have more stories to share, then

create them. In other words, go out and evangelize

with your teenagers. Go to a park with some of

your teens and have a pick up game of basketball

with the teenagers who are there, and, afterward,

share the good news of Jesus (or get one of your

teens to do it and you be their wingman).

There are many ways you can get your teens

involved with evangelism. Here are a few:

-Do a community survey. Use it as a way to take

the spiritual temperature of your neighborhood as

well as a springboard for evangelistic

conversations.

-Sponsor a free car wash and take prayer requests

of those in the cars (which can lead to more gospel

conversations).

-Take your teens to a local shopping mall, break

up in twos, and engage in conversations with other

teenagers.

-Give out free bottles of water at a busy walkway

on a hot day and use it as an opportunity to talk

about the living water with those you are serving.

There are many ways for teens to engage

evangelistically. Ultimately, the best place for

them to start sharing their faith is in their own

circle of friends. Hold them accountable to do just

that and let them do the same with you.

As you lead your teenagers to evangelize, you’ll

create more and more stories that you can share

with the rest of the youth group to inspire them to

do the same.

4. Talk about hell.

There I said it. Teenagers need to be reminded of

what’s at stake for those who die without Christ.

In a very real way, those who don’t know Jesus

are unknowingly headed 100 mph at a cliff that

leads to everlasting destruction. Our job as caring

Christians is to jerk the steering wheel … and to

get our teens to do the same with their friends.

Paul put it this way in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, “He

will punish those who do not know God and do

not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will

be punished with everlasting destruction and shut

out from the presence of the Lord and from the

glory of his might.”

Jude put it this way in Jude 1:23, “Save others by

snatching them from the fire … ”

John put it this way in John 3:36, “Whoever

believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever

rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath

remains on them.”

Jesus put it this way in John 5:24, “Very truly I

tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him

who sent me has eternal life and will not be

judged, but has crossed over from death to life.”

We need to inspire our teens to help their friends

cross from death to life. We must equip them to

rescue their friends from the hell they are headed

to and the one they are going through apart from

Jesus Christ. (By the way, there’s an app to help

you do just that!)

5. Pray

Ultimately, the power to truly inspire teenagers to

share the gospel is rooted in the Holy Spirit. Pray

for your teenagers consistently, specifically and

fervently. Pray that they will be inspired to live

and give their faith in powerful ways. Intercede on

their behalf, that God will fill them with an

unstoppable passion to spread the good news.

As God answers your prayer, your youth group

meetings will be filled with an air of excitement

and more and more new believers! And that will

inspire everyone!

Coming soon . . . visit www.antoinejackson.org for more information.

by David Murray

That’s the question Josh Tandy, a real rookie

pastor, asks here.

I have a simple two letter answer.

EQ.

Or rather, the lack of it.

EQ is the emotional equivalent of IQ. Sometimes

called “emotional intelligence” or “social

intelligence,” and the lack of it is the primary

reason for the majority of pastoral failures.

That’s right, the main reason for rookie pastors

getting fired or, even worse, rookie pastors

destroying a church, is not intellectual, moral or

theological failure, but failure in basic common

sense humanity.

We’ve all seen it, haven’t we: Exceptionally

clever, technically skilled and self-disciplined

people utterly fail in pastoral ministry. They just

couldn’t connect with people at even the most

basic levels:

Saying hello/goodbye/please/thank you (especially

“thank you”).

Asking people, “How are you?” (and waiting for

an answer).

Being friendly.

Remembering names.

Showing interest in people’s children.

Listening without interrupting.

Teachability (especially learning from elders).

Apologizing for failings.

Avoiding unnecessary offense.

ABOVE ALL — Understanding the vital

difference between what you say and what people

hear.

Having spent a lot of time with seminary students

and young pastors over the past 10 years, I find

it’s getting easier to identify those whom the Lord

is most likely to use to bless and build his church

in pastoral ministry.

The Lord is sovereign, of course, and can blow all

our analysis and predictions out of the water, but

usually He uses “ordinary” means. And EQ is one

of the major means. (Have a look at the comments

on the Rookie Pastor article for vivid

confirmation.)

Which raises a huge question: How can we

train for this?

Robert Anderson offers one suggestion in The

Effective Pastor:

In the seminary in which I teach, as a part of a

course in philosophy of ministry I regularly bring

in our assistant librarian to teach a class in

etiquette.

Unfortunately, it probably is one of the classes

that is received the most poorly. I say

unfortunately because it is the class that often is

needed the most.

Not many of our graduates fail in the ministry

because they fall prey to doctrinal errors.

Numbers, however, have made an improper

impact on the ministry simply because they are

“klutzes,” are continually making themselves

offensive to people — and they will not change.

If they learned a few social graces in addition, and

were able to remember to express gratitude to

people for every kind action no matter how small,

they would be making major progress toward

becoming the type of respectable person the Bible

demands for the position of pastor.

The person who basks in his crudeness and

considers it a necessary part of his “macho” image

probably should seek another vocation besides the

pastorate.

Etiquette classes? Hmmm.

One friend I mentioned this to suggested “living in

the Proverbs more, having mentors, and having

friends who are willing to critique and correct you

in love.”

I agree wholeheartedly and would add:

1. Internships.

Multiple, structured internships in local churches.

2. Growing in grace.

Greater focus on spiritual formation in seminary

years (this can be done in the seminary or in the

local church). To the traditional emphasis on

“growing in knowledge” we need to add “growing

in grace.”

Why so many knowledge courses with multiple

specific learning outcomes, and so few (if any)

“grace courses” where specific graces such as

humility, patience, teachability, peacemaking,

gentleness are taught/cultivated/tested?

3. Personality testing.

Working on the assumption that no one can

counsel others without some measure of self-

knowledge and self-understanding, the first few

weeks of my counseling courses are taken up with

“self-counseling.” We’ve used Myers-Briggs,

DISC and other helpful tests, and encouraged a

strengths/weaknesses self-analysis, which also

build understanding of other personality types and

learning styles.

The difficulty is that the ones who need it most are

usually most skeptical of such tools and just go

through the motions.

4. Work experience.

Wherever possible, students should spend a

minimum of five years trying to hold down a job

and even progress in a career before studying for

the ministry. I know there are exceptions to this

rule, but they are very rare.

It would root out a lot of doomed candidates, and

it would tell us a huge amount about whether they

have the EQ for the ministry. As a bonus, the work

experience would also be worth any number of

seminary classes in terms of preparation for the

ministry.

I have to admit, though, every time a young man

has told me that he’s called to the ministry and

I’ve recommended that he go away and work for

five years before seminary, not one has taken my

advice. Thus far, the results speak for themselves.

5. Tougher love.

Churches and seminaries should be much more

ruthless in who they admit for training. Accepting

obvious “klutzes” does no good to the “klutz” or

his future “victims.”

How to Become a 360 Degree Leader by Michael Bayne

he question we all have as we lead is,

how can we make a lasting impact? What

I have learned over the years is, to make

a lasting impact you have to learn how to

be a 360 degree leader. You have to make sure

and lead those above, across and below you in

the organization.

Easier said than done! In a messy leadership

situation, in a church without clear direction, we

often struggled to know how to lead.

Truth is that you simply have to

commit to lead through the

mess or walk away. You

have to lead with a 360

degree mindset …

Lead Up

The need to lead

up never ends

because no matter

your role, you are

going to have

people in authority

over you. For some

of you, it’s a pastor.

For some of you, it’s a

board or a committee. For

some of you, it’s an

executive pastor, a board, an

administrator and a senior pastor.

You have a list of people over you.

If we walked around the room and were honest,

we could all list off five things our senior leaders

are doing wrong and could reveal their weak

spots in leading. You can do this because you are

a LEADER and LEADERS see these kind of

things. We are consumed with forward progress

and problem solving, so it’s natural to see the

problems of those above us. Let go of the guilt,

stop complaining, start leading up.

Embrace Authority — treat those in authority

over you as you want the people whom you lead

to treat you.

Build the Relationship — you have to work on

getting to know who your leaders are … connect

with them. Support them. Hang out with them.

Don’t avoid relationships with people in

authority over you no matter how you feel about

their leadership ability. Influence flows from

relationship.

Deliver Consistently —

when we do great work,

our superiors learn they

can trust us. Build trust

by doing great and

consistent work,

make your area one

that thrives.

Discover Your

Leaders'

Strengths — your

senior leader is good

at something.

Discover that and then

add value to that

strength.

Fill the Gap — add value to

your organization by working

carefully to fill the gaps being left by your

senior leadership.

Publicly Support — public support leads to

private influence and access.

Lead Across

The strength of an organization is revealed in the

strength of the leaders in the middle of the

organization. Leading across is not a one-time

event, not a project, it’s an ongoing process!

T

Care About More Than Just What is on Your

To-do List — leading across well starts with the

heart. When I care about the health of my

church, I can start caring for the leaders of the

church.

Don’t Pretend to Be the Perfect Leader — that

leader does not exist and if you are trapped in

trying to appear that way people will naturally

resist your influence. Be real, not perfect.

Build Bridges, Not Silos — see how each

ministry in your church can support the other and

stop keeping your resources and influence

trapped in a silo safe for only your ministry.

Develop Authentic Friendships — discover

who the people around you are, not just what

they do for the organization.

Strive for Production, Not Politics — resist the

temptation to advance your ministry as you step

on the people around you. Think long term, not

short term.

Lead Down

Lead the people who serve under your leadership

with the same principles you would embrace if

you led the entire organization. Don’t ever allow

the frustrations you have with the direction of

your organization to deter your effort to provide

effective leadership to the people you lead. You

are not born a great leader, you become a great

leader as you lead. As you lead, you are actually

in a continual leadership lab.

Walk Slowly — walk the halls of the ministry

you lead slowly and get to know the people you

are leading. Slow down long enough to actually

connect with people you are leading. Quality

relationships are the foundation of effective

leadership.

Believe in Your Team — look at potential and

ability when you look at your team, not always at

their weaknesses. Everyone needs someone to

believe in them … be that to the people you lead.

Give Away Opportunities to Lead — make

sure and take the spotlight off yourself and shine

it on other leaders.

Model the Behavior You Desire — it’s not

what a leader says that will last, it’s what a

leader does day-to-day that will be repeated in

the organization.

Continually Repeat the Vision — people have

to know the why if they are ever going to be able

to do the what with passion.

Reward Results — when you see the results you

want REWARD IT, don’t take it for granted.

What is rewarded and recognized will be

repeated.

The Kingdom Builders Association of America, Incorporated (KBA) is a multicultural

21st century interdenominational association of Kingdom Leaders. KBA is a Christian

organization whose God given command is to equip, encourage, and edify Kingdom

leaders.

The criteria for membership within KBA is to be licensed or ordained clergy; be an

active appointed or elected lay leader in your national, state, or local denomination,

fellowship, ministry or community. As well as be in agreement with our adopted

Statement of Faith. Our members represent diverse backgrounds, and serve in all five-

fold ministry gifts. We take pride in knowing that with Christ, all things are possible.

Our primary purpose is to Equip, Encourage, and Edify Kingdom Leaders, with a

biblical foundation from Proverbs 27:17, Ephesians 4:4-7 and 1 Corinthians 3:9. We

press to continue to be a source of outreach and help to our co-laborers of the Gospel.

Ten Tips for Preaching from an iPad by Brandon Hilgemann

iPad preaching is a growing trend. I have been

using an iPad to preach since mid-2011. I just use

a single page outline with only scripture

references, the essential big ideas and any

quotes/statistics that I need to reference. If not

anything fits on the one page, it is cut.

I have learned a few things from experience. So

today, I bring you ten lessons learned by

experience.

1. Turn Off Notifications.

The only thing worse than a cell phone ringing in

the middle of a prayer is the preacher’s iPad

ringing in the middle of a prayer. Make sure to

turn on the Do Not Disturb switch in Settings. I

also turn on Airplane Mode just to make sure I

don’t have anything popping up from Wi-Fi.

At one location where I preached, there was a very

weak Wi-Fi signal that I did not have the

password to. A Wi-Fi connection message kept

popping up while I was preaching.

You do not want any distractions from the

message God has given you.

2. Turn Off Auto-Lock.

I have forgotten to do this a few times. Five

minutes into the message, my iPad blacked out. It

totally threw me off.

I had to pause what I was saying, open the iPad

and swipe to unlock before resuming the message.

This is even worse if your iPad is password

protected.

Always make sure to open up Setting, tap General

and set Auto-Lock to Never.

3. Lower The Brightness.

If the stage is dark and the brightness is too high

your iPad will make your note stand glow. In

addition, your face will light up like you are

telling scary stories around a campfire. If you

wear glasses, the iPad can also reflect off your

lenses.

Eliminate this distraction. Adjust brightness

accordingly. The goal is easy readability for you

while glowing low enough so the audience does

not notice.

A cool trick that many people don’t know is that

you can invert the colors on the iPad to make the

screen dark. In Setting, tap General, then

Accessibility, and switch Invert Colors to On.

(Update: A great tip is that you can set up a triple

click of the home button to invert colors to save

time. Setting > General > Accessibility > Triple

Click.)

4. Do Not Draw Attention To Your IPad.

Do not show off your new gadget. Don’t say,

“Look at this amazingly awesome piece of

technology. Don’t you wish you were as cool as

me?”

You are not an Apple commercial. This is a tool to

help you as you proclaim God’s message. Don’t

let the iPad become a distraction from the main

focus.

I recommend getting a case that covers the logo. I

use this amazing case that looks like a vintage

book. Yes, it is as awesome as it looks. I definitely

recommend it.

5. Use A PDF Reader App For Notes.

I love having an editable Pages doc in case I want

to make last second changes but hate preaching off

the Pages App. One wrong tap and you deleted

your notes and brought up the editing tools,

keyboard, etc. It can be highly distracting. A PDF

viewer eliminates distractions and keeps it simple.

You easily convert a Pages doc to a PDF. Tap the

wrench-looking Tools icon in the upper right

corner. Hit Share and Print, then Open in Another

App. Choose PDF as a format, then Choose App.

You will then have the option to select any App

that handles PDFs.

Some people like using free apps

like iBooks or Kindle. However, my favorite

is GoodReader, because it lets me add notes,

highlight text (I color code illustrations, scripture,

videos, etc.) and crop the document to eliminate

margins and make the text larger and more

readable. It is worth the extra couple of bucks, in

my opinion.

6. Still Carry A Bible.

This is just a personal preference, but I still like to

have a physical Bible on stage with me.

Yes, I read and study the Bible almost entirely

online or in my iPad or iPhone, but I find that

there is just something powerful about a preacher

holding a physical Bible. It shows the audience

that your authority comes from God, not Steve

Jobs.

7. Make Sure The IPad Is Fully Charged.

Always make sure your iPad is fully charged. You

do not want the battery dying mid-sermon. Have a

charger with you just in case you need a last-

minute power up before

walking onto stage.

Fortunately, the iPad has

such an incredibly long

battery life that this has

rarely been a problem for

me.

8. Have A Backup.

Always, always, always

have a backup. Either a

physical copy of your

notes or a

Dropbox/Evernote/Google Doc you can pull up

with your phone. You never know when

technology might fail you. The battery could die

unexpectedly, you could accidentally spill coffee

on it or it might freeze up for no reason on you.

Always be prepared just in case. I have had to pull

out my backup a few times (more on that in #9).

9. Don't Leave your iPad Unattended.

I set my iPad down one time … just once! I forgot

about it, walked away, and when I came back it

was gone! Someone had the nerve to steal my iPad

only two minutes before I stood up to preach!

I was upset, but not as upset as I would have been

if I did not have a backup.

I will never make that $400 mistake again! Just

because you are in church does not mean that

someone won’t give into the temptation to steal an

easy target.

10. Don't Have an Open Beverage Next To

Your iPad.

I am all about baptism by full immersion—just not

for my iPad!

If enough liquid spills on an iPad, it is game over.

You do not want an open water bottle on your note

stand. You might get

excited while preaching,

swing your arms around

and accidentally knock it

over.

Not only will you lose

your iPad, you will have

to explain to the elders

why you cussed on stage.

(Just kidding.)

www.Liberty.edu

New Haven Missionary Baptist Church 3418 Schofield Avenue

Indianapolis, Indiana 46218 Overseer Charles H. McClain Jr., Pastor

www.newhavenmbc.org

Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church 1901 Amanda Avenue

Fort Worth, Texas 76105 Dr. Bruce D. Datcher, Pastor www.theebenzerchurchorg

info@theebenezerchurch.org

Greater Hope Christian Center COGIC 3733 North 7th Street

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212 Lynell Ray Sr., Pastor

Empowerment Temple Community Church

3114 North Main St. Taylor, Texas 76574

David Henderson, III., Pastor

Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church 2100 Randolph Street

Saint Charles, Missouri 63301

Tremaine M. Combs, Pastor

Greater Hope Missionary Baptist Church 2521 Bishop Street

Fort Worth, Texas 76105

Rev. Sherman L. Johnson, Pastor

The Fellowship Church 908 Crawford Street

Fort Worth, Texas 76104

Patrick D. Joubert, Senior Pastor

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