Eight things you "must do" to make a lasting impact. (Don't read this if you don't have thick skin.)

842122500_633d01ee38_b.jpg

This morning is our weekly Leadership Session as a team. Today I am going to be talking about Eight things you "must do" in order to make lasting impact. 

Here are some of the bullet point notes, from the session. This conversation is for people in the context of local church ministry, however, even if you are not in "ministry", I have no doubt that you can apply these same eight things in your life, leadership and field of expertise. 

1. Make up your min.  

What do you want to do? Do you want to serve? Do you want to preach? Do you want to be a campus pastor? I don't know what you want to do, but I do know what you need to do. You need to make up your mind! For God's sake and for the sake of those around you, stop vacillating between, I do and I don't, God called me, but nows not a good time. There is a community full of people that need help, need love, and need hope. Are you in or out? Make up your mind. 

2. Go get it. 

What do you want? Go get it! We live in America. You can do almost anything you want to do. You can accomplish almost anything you want to accomplish. You can get almost anything you want to get. But no one is going to give it to you. Let me say that again, no one is going to give it to you! If you want something, you are going to have to go get it. 

3. Put your work clothes on, because it won't be easy.

Leading a group of people, starting a ministry, finishing a project, or making a difference will never be easy. More often than not, it will be a tough, depressing, and hard. If anyone tells you differently they are lying to you! To accomplish anything you are going to have to push through pain, have faith in the midst of failure, and get used to disappointment. It won't be easy, but it will always be worth it. 

4. Forget about being the next big thing. 

I am sorry to burst your bubble but you are not the next big thing. Steven Furtick is not going to call you. Relevant magazine is not going to do an article. You won't be hitting the speaking circuit and sharing the stage with the likes of Craig Groeschel, Andy Stanley, and Matt Chandler. When you get into ministry, you are going to be a good leader, in hopefully a great organization that's making an eternal impact in the lives of people.  That's it. That's what's going to happen. You will spend your life helping others become what God has called them to be and chances are not too many people will know about it. Welcome to the ministry. 

5. Stop making excuses.

I'm too busy. I've been hurt by other leaders. I just don't feel like it's a good time. Enough already! Has God called you or not?  Moses was a murderer who could not speak well, Paul was basically a well educated terrorist, and Peter was a fishermen with no formal training in ministry. Yet when God called them, they followed. It's never going to be a good time, people will consistently disappoint you, and there will never be a day in your life where you're not busy. But none of those things change the fact that God saved you from your sin to fulfill His purpose. Stop making excuses and start making a difference. 

6. Never think you can’t do it. 

You are selling yourself short. You think you are not ready, but you are. You think you don't have what it takes, but you do. You think because you have failed before, you are going to fail again. No! The same power that raised Christ from the dead, now dwells in you. It's not your calling, it's His. It's not your talent, it's His. It's not your will power, it's His. You can do this, not because of who you are, but because of who He is! 

7. Pray

Life change is what we are striving for in the lives of people. True life change is an inside out proposition. The only one who can change peoples heart is God. Prayer is something that we know to do but very few people in ministry actually lean in on as a must do of life and leadership. I'm going to be very bold with this next statement, but I truly mean it.  if you can't take the time to pray everyday for Gods purpose, Gods people, and Gods church ... then quit and let someone else take your place that will. Because what needs to be done is something that only God can do.

8. Don't Quit. 

You and I have a tendency to overestimate what we can accomplish in a week and underestimate what we can accomplish in a lifetime. When we don't see much forward progress in the short term we quit. However, when we do this we abort what we could have accomplished had we just stayed the course and kept trying.  

I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to comment below or send me an email at growmoore@gmail.com