EdYoungBlog

Setting Things Straight and Moving On

This was an awesome weekend at Fellowship Church! I am humbled by the outpouring of love, encouragement and support from so many people. Before I spoke, I took the opportunity to thank the church and address some recent news coverage. And now, we will continue to move forward and follow God in the work He is doing here.

No Secrets

We sometimes need to be reminded of why we do ministry.  The calling on my life was given to me when I was 21 years of age.  There were no words that any individual could have given me to persuade me to enter the ministry, or to stay out of the ministry.  When God tugged at my heart to follow Him into full time service for His kingdom, it was only because of His call.

To this day, I look back over the 28 years of ministry, and without a doubt, if my ministry work was for anyone one or anything other than God, I would not do it.  I serve an audience of One.  With that being said, I want to share with you some recent media attention that Lisa and I have received.

A local reporter has spent what seems to be a great deal of time investigating me concerning my integrity as the leader of Fellowship Church.  We have not seen the piece that was aired, nor will we give credence to it by watching.  We do know that the report is scathing and creates the idea that I, along with my wife Lisa, have been dishonest in our business dealings and with our use of Fellowship Church as a means of obtaining personal wealth.

The reporter sent an email request for information, but refused to give us any details or information that he obtained from an anonymous source.  He only said that he has spoken with former staff members about us. But we have no verification of who he has spoken with.  We do not know his source(s) and it is irrelevant to us.  What we do know is that this report was made based on fragments of information gathered out of context and anonymously, and that it disregarded documented information that the Board of Directors for Fellowship Church is privy to and that is known by legal counsel and accounting audits.

The piece insinuates that I keep secrets from the congregation of Fellowship Church and that I use Fellowship Church to create personal wealth. Let me say very clearly, Lisa and I have no secrets. 

My life is lived in an aquarium, and I am not ashamed of that fact.  Do I share every detail of my life with the congregation of Fellowship Church?  No.  But it isn’t because my life is secretive.  It is because there are details that the proper people know, hold me accountable to and make the decisions based on what is best for Fellowship Church and its ministries.

I have never claimed to have lived a perfect life. I do, however, claim to live a life of integrity. I don’t make that claim lightly. 

Before God, the Board of Directors and the legal and financial accountants have governed the workings of Fellowship Church and its staff.  We operate in a manner that is “worthy of the calling of Christ Jesus” and have no apologies, nor would we change anything that we have done on behalf of the unbelievable ministry of Fellowship Church. 

Ironically, the reporter told a Public Relations spokesperson for Fellowship Church that this story was set to air during sweeps week, as it will be of high interest. 

Well, every week is sweeps week for Fellowship Church. And we will continue to do ministry with those who are far away from God in mind, and we will work tirelessly to make sure that the message of Jesus is at the forefront of everything we do.

The past 20 years have exceeded anything we could have ever imagined. Yet, at the same time, we truly believe the best is yet to come! We hope to see you this weekend as I begin a brand new message series called "Influence”.

It's for everyone...and their iguana!

We'll see you here!

It's All About the Details

Do You Ever Have the Itch to Baptize?

This past Sunday we had an amazing number of people make the decision to follow Christ. I watched as hundreds of people flooded the altar areas of our different campuses. And as they were standing down front, I suddenly got an itch to baptize. I hadn’t planned it. We didn’t know it was going to happen. But it did. And it was amazing.

Quickly, our team got everything together for that spontaneous baptism (our staff motto is: I’m always ready to do anything, everything or nothing!) And after preaching, I ran up to my office, threw on a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, and bolted to the baptismal area.

While running out of the building (out of excitement), I cut through one of our flower beds (ignoring signs), bounded down the hill and began to baptize. What an incredible experience! Tears of joy, laughter and applause cut through the crisp fall air as so many young people at the zenith of their lives went public with their decision to follow Christ and do a 180 in their lives.

However, several days later, I began to have a horrendous itch on the back of my legs that looked strangely like poison ivy. I thought, “Where did I come in contact with this demonic plant?”

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was in the flower bed (that I shouldn’t have cut through)! I walked away from this ordeal with itchy legs and two powerful reminders.

First: always follow the itch to baptize!

So many of the church numbers lists are focused on attendance. But really, we should follow the number of baptisms. This is what it is all about. It’s great to know who’s showing up. But the bigger question is: who are you reaching?

The second moral: stay out of the flower beds!

In other words, God has a path set for you and he's posted signs along the way. Walk where you are supposed to walk. If we walk on HIS grass and stay out of HIS beds, we won’t have to deal with the poison ivy that may be there, the poison ivy we were never intended to deal with in the first place!

Questions Answered

Questions are the key to learning. And when someone stops asking, they stop growing. This is especially true for young leaders and pastors. But the natural question then is, where do you go to get the answers? While the sources can be as limitless as the questions, there are those few places where you know you’ll discover the answers that will help make a difference.

My close friend Bil Cornelius has a phenomenal resource to help you get those leadership answers you’re asking for. It's called the Expo Coaching program - a unique pastors/church planter mentoring program that kicks off December 8 at Bay Area Fellowship Church.

Bil isn’t someone who stands on a platform and talks about something he’s unfamiliar with. He’s been on the frontlines of ministry for years and has the knowledge to help get your ministry moving forward as you take turf for God in your community.

If you’re in church leadership and want to take your ministry to another level, this is something you don’t want to miss!

Back to the Basics, Again

I posted this video for the first time about a year and a half ago. But I think it's always important to remind ourselves of why we do what we do. It's all about getting back to the basics, again.

LisaYoungBlog.com

Lisa is starting her own blog! That’s right. Now you’ll have a chance to connect with her and hear straight from her online – right here.

And, as she says, "as long as there is purpose," she’ll be giving you some phenomenal personal insights and perspectives on life from the viewpoint of a wife, mother, and woman on the frontlines of ministry.

Let the blogging begin!

Spur Leadership Conference '09

Leadership conferences are everywhere you turn. But how many have you heard of that bring together in one venue a state governor, a general in the U.S. Army, the vice president of one of technology's leading companies and some of the most passionate young church leaders today? Not many!

But this year, my good friend Mac Richard is doing just that at the Spur Leadership Conference on October 1-2.

Last year I had the opportunity to speak at the 1st Spur Conference, and it was amazing to see the potential in the leaders who were there. This wasn't your typical church leadership gathering! And this year, Spur is taking it to a 'hole 'nutha level! Mac is hosting speakers that include: 

    Governor Rick Perry
    General Tommy Franks 
    Steve Price, a vice president at Dell
    Kem Meyer from Granger Community Church
    Steven Furtick of Elevation Church
    ...and so many more.

I'm excited to see and hear about what emerges from these two days of leadership and creativity. If you are in leadership in any realm, from the home to the church to the corporate world, this is an experience you do not want to miss!

The Toughest 10%

It’s one of the most difficult things for any leader to do. It’s not very popular, but it’s very necessary. It’s moving people out. And as leaders in the church, we cannot be shy about it.

Over the last ten years, Fellowship Church has tried to do just that. It’s a principle that Jack Welch calls differentiation. Basically, Mr. Welch says a healthy organization regularly moves out 10% of its staff. He says, “Winning leaders invest where the payback is the highest. They cut their losses everywhere else."

In other words, great leaders regularly take a look at the organization and evaluate those who should stay and those who need to be moved out.

This isn’t to say that you don’t appreciate the work and blessing that those people brought to the table. God brings people into your organization for a reason. But oftentimes, it’s only for a season. There are situations where it is necessary to move certain people out so that you, and they, can continue to grow.

At Fellowship, we have grown more over the last 20 years through subtraction than through addition. Think of a body. For a physical body to grow and maintain vibrancy, it must regularly eliminate certain things. In the body of Christ, and especially when it comes to staff, the same principle applies.

When you regularly move people out, the results are phenomenal! Those people then have the opportunity to become a blessing, to be used by God somewhere else. You see those left who step up to fill the voids; those who help your church reach the next level. You experience a vibrancy, freshness and newness that may not have been present before. You are forced to think strategically about your resources. And you ultimately experience growth through the change. I call this the spin cycle of success. Change – Conflict – Growth.

For any organization to maintain life, it must remain fluid. Otherwise, it becomes stagnate. And as the living body of Chirst, we must recognize this and not be afraid to follow the steps to maintain vitality and life.

As a leader, don't be afraid to evaluate who is around you. Don't be shy about moving people out. God will continue to work through you. He will continue to use you and your organization for his purposes. And you will experience blessings that may have been blockaded before!