Millenials & Mobilisation

As the generations continue to become more distinctive from the previous gen, mobilisers need to become more in tune to the various differences. Mobilising with the mindset or (heaven forbid) attitude that all Christians wishing to join a mission agency are the same is a recipe for disaster.  Update your resume NOW.

Knowing that each generation is different, as a mission mobiliser, I am always on the look out for various analysis of each demographic, country by country. Today’s post is derived from Peter Farley’s survey work found in the Oct 2010 Evangelical Missions Quarterly for Millenials (born ~1979-2000) in the UK. Have a read and compare this with Millenials from your own country. Are there differences? What are they? Write your comments and observations in the Comments section of this blog.

Firstly, UK Millenials are Passionate. They want to help people and obey God. Mission Agencies need communicate that same passion if you expect them to work with you. UK Millenials ranked “an agency’s communication of its desire to see God glorified as most influencial in their choice.”

Second was Scripture. 95% of respondents said that reading their Bible was important in becoming committed to long term mission. 82% said discoverying the missionary imperitave of the Bible as a whole was “most important” in their long term missional committment.

Thirdly, UK Millenials had times of Reflection. Serious times of considering the needs of the world outside of the UK, what life is all about and what to do about it. So mission mobilisers really need to offer perspectives on life that challenges a Millenials worldview. They need to see purpose in life. I recommend reading a book written by Claude Hickman of The Travelling Team entitled Live Life on Purpose. Great book.

Fourthly, short term missions Experience was a necessary part of their journey to Long Term Mission. Cross -cultural experience was more highly valued than actually meeting real live missionaries. Realtionships with different cultures and religions in the UK was of lesser importance that the overseas experience. Exposure to the needs of people is important. Remember point 2.

Lastly, Support, church leaders who are supportive, helpful and encouraging were “very important”. As a Missions Pastor I need to recognise that part of my job is journeying with Millenials as they think about missions. Mission Mobilisers need to intentionally create support networks early on in that journey.

Interesting to note was the 33% of respondents who said their overseas experience caused them to NOT want to go back or needed time and space to process their negative experience. Look for my blog series on how to avoid these negative experiences, The Best Trip EVER.

Vision…all leaders have this

Some people look on and marvel at how some people clearly see a picture of the future and then motivate others to work towards it with them. You are marveling a true leader. All leaders are visionaries. They see a clear picture of the future. Leaders know what to do next, know why that is important and know how to get resources to the vision become tomorrows reality. Vision is essential for leaders.

For leaders:

A vision must be focused. If it is too broad people will become discouraged. If it is not specific it is useless. Try removing someone’s glasses who is Myopic and all you will hear is, “Everything is blurry.” If teh glasses are left off the person will struggle with seeing where to go. This is what it is like with leadership & vision.

“Vision is the blazing campfire around which people will gather. It provides light, energy, warmth and unity, but many of us stand away in the shadows and refuse to come up to the fire and be part of the vision.”

Vision creates power. Don’t abuse it. There is marvelous enthusiasm in a vision that creates dynamic power. Its an energy that increases productivity.

Great vision comes from being in a quiet place. In the busyness of the rat race you won’t be able to dream. Leaders spend time alone dreaming. From that comes your best ideas. Just yesterday, after a good gym session, I was sitting in the spa at the gym and several ideas for a talk I have to deliver came into my head. I was thinking of the outcomes I wanted from that talk and the ideas started to flow. It was quiet. I was in a zone and it all came together.

Vision must never escape you. You have to keep feeding the fire that helps the vision blaze bright. Actually I learnt just the other day that we need to also feed our leaders’ visions by telling them stories that reflect what they want to see in the future. So as leaders feed your vision. If you are under leadership, feed their vision also.

“Vision is the basis of your success.” “Vision moves you to capture the dream God has put in your heart.”

Leaders, start dreaming today! What’s your dream or vision?

Actions….It’s what we do……

Last blog we briefly looked at the qualifications necessary for leadership. I hope you looked up the particular verses and studied what is meant by each qualification. Those qualifications described are who we are as Christians. Who we are in Christ. Sometimes this is called our “being”. Our being is very important for leaders.

But just as important is our “doing”. What we do in Christ. Leadership is not just who we are but what we do also. James 2:18b says “Prove that you have faith without doing kind deeds, and I will prove that I have faith by doing them.” You can’t say you’re leader if your actions don’t support that. Because of an imbalanced emphasis on our ‘being’ I have seen Christian organisations put people into leadership who only met the qualifications. The foundations. Their leadership ability was very low. Their actions did not support their position. Leith Anderson in his book Leadership that Works says, “Many people have wonderful character but poor leadership skills. It is just as possible to have great character and be a poor leader as it is to be a strong leader and have lousy character. Although it is not right to wrongly lead, it’s often done. The correct and Christian approach is to combine character and leadership and thereby lead Christianly.”

I preach this maxim – A Godly man does not make a Godly leader but a Godly leader must be a Godly man. It allows us to combine the two as Leith Anderson rightly points out.

In the coming blogs we will examine these actions of Leadership from a number of angles. “Leadership is what we do.”

Qualifications…It’s who we are..

The one area many secular writers on Leadership do ignore is the spiritual aspect. Why would they? However, some include material on what we would call Christian character without realising its context or origins. So I want to focus today’s blog on the spiritual aspect of leadership.

For Christians moving into leadership this is extremely important. Sanders said, “Spiritual goals can only be met by spiritual people who use spiritual methods.” This is the foundation of leadership. You can’t be a good Christian leader without a firm foundation rooted in godliness. But please also understand that the qualifications for leadership I am outlining apply to all Christians. Satisfying these qualifications doesn’t make you a leader it just sets the foundation upon which God can work in your life.

So what are these qualifications? Most importantly a leader needs to be Full of the Spirit Acts 6:3. Christ needs to be dwelling in you through the Holy Spirit. Some other qualifications can be found in 1 Timothy 3, 2 Peter 1:6, Acts 6:3, 2 Timothy 1:7, Matt 20:25, Deut 18:13 and Matt 21:13. A leader needs to be socially qualified; Reputable, Temperate, Hospitable, Above Reproach. A leader needs to be morally qualified; Faithful to their Spouse, possess Righteous Anger. They should be mentally qualified;  Prudent with Sound Judgment, Respectable, Able to Teach   . A leader has Personality qualifications; Patience, Discipline, Courage, Humility, Integrity, Sincerity. A leader needs to be Mature and Wise. A leader needs to be domestically qualified; Able to Look After Their Family.

As you can see every believer should possess these qualities but you definitely shouldn’t move into leadership until you are developing each of these qualities in all aspects of your life.

What areas need work in your life?

Pursue Leadership

1 Timothy 3:1 says that pursuing leadership is a noble task. Leadership should never be given to you, it should be earned. That is the point of pursuing. You work hard at developing your godly character and your leadership abilities. It is a significant role. Don’t take it lightly.

Though leadership is not something you wait for, it is good to have it recognised in you. Leaders should be on the lookout for young men and women exhibiting some of the recognisable qualities of leadership. Encourage them. Let the young person know that you see leadership potential in them. If you think you are a leader, ask someone in leadership to mentor you. Read good books on leadership. Do character studies of leaders in the Bible. Pursue it. Above all look for opportunity to practice your leadership.

As a relatively new believer, my youth group leader recognised something in me and he took a chance. He asked me to lead the youth group Bible study for several weeks. I was shocked at first as there were many others walking longer with the Lord my age. I didn’t want to disappoint anyone, even God, so I diligently worked hard at preparing the studies. We did a book study on Philippians and it went great. Some of the verses are still my favourite 20 years later. I also discovered I had a gift for teaching.

So new leaders, take every opportunity you can to practice what you are learning. Seeking advice from good leaders as you progress is wise. Observe leaders at work and copy that which you find helpful and biblical.

Now the warning. Aspiring to office is wonderful, desiring leadership is a noble task. But true leadership is about servanthood. Are you prepared for that? Jesus warned his disciples in Matt 20:22 that the task before them was a difficult one. Could they go through suffering like Jesus was about to?

Leadership is a tough ask. It requires people willing to accept criticism, willing to stand alone, willing to be the example, willing to set direction. Scriptural leadership is not hierarchical but there is a lot of truth in the phrase “It is lonely at the top.”

God’s Model of Leadership

This blog is out there to provoke discussion, to train people, to capture people’s hearts and challenge old wineskins. The blogger is a Christian believer and makes no apologies that his material reflects those beliefs and way of life.

Leadership is a great subject to look at. It is crucial for day to day living. As a husband and father I am to lead my family. Others provide the vision and direction for organisations, big and small, to move forward. It is also a very contentious subject.

Many Christians subscribe to multiple models of leadership. Some good, some bad. The problem, however, is when a good book is discounted in worth because it targets everyone’s readership or was written by someone who doesn’t share our belief system.

In essence the assumption is there are two models of leadership in the world; God’s and the rest. I regularly hear the phrase “secular leadership” But is there really two models? I think not.

I believe there is only one model, given to us by God. We in turn either learn his principles and use them for His glory or we corrupt them and use them for our own gain. John Calvin said “…all truth is God’s truth.” (Paraphrased)

Some leadership material written is just garbage but much of it follows the principles that God outlined in the Bible. The authors just don’t realise it. The #1, numero uno, quality surveyed leaders believe all leaders should have; Honesty. That is a built in desire straight from God.

Over the coming weeks we will look at God’s Model of Leadership. We will investigate Spiritual aspects to leadership. We will look at Practical aspects to Leadership. We will look at some of the models presented in the marketplace, examine its motives and source its origins.

Engage Now!

Repeatedly it has been reinforced to me that we are both learner and teacher. As we do life we learn that we don’t know everything. But because we all journey at different paces and our lives seem seasonal it does mean that sometimes I will be the teacher.

You can be too. You only need to know one more thing than your family, friends or co-workers to be able to teach them something. You don’t need 4 years at University. You just have to be at a stage in life one step in front of someone willing to learn. I will be one step behind someone willing to teach.

So join me as we Engage Life together through some exciting areas that are critical to our development as we study the saints! Hagiography….