Verse 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them."

Verse 3 "I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you"

Verse 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

How do you avoid getting burned by a serving opportunity?

1. Look at what you're signing up for - don't just go off someones recommendation of x,y,or z opportunity.  YOU go look at what you're signing up for!
2. Get specific - ask all the questions you really want to know like "do you really expect me to be here early or is showing up when we start fine?" or "so what I hear you saying is you want me to do all of that as part of this serving opportunity?"  There is NOTHING wrong with asking a bunch of specific questions about what you're getting yourself in to, that's not rude or inconsiderate...it's smart and healthy.
3. Trust your gut - there are times when your nervous uncomfortable gut reaction to an opportunity is to be trusted.  Then there are times when you're just being a little scary-cat afraid to come out of your comfort zone.  Figure out which one you're feeling and then execute the appropriate response.
4. Choose wisely - there are all sorts of things you could give your time, talent, energy, & resources to.  Choose the wisest places to invest those.

What responsibility does the organization have?

1. Tell people what they're looking into - Be honest
2. Tell people what they're signing up for - Be honest
3. Then tell them again! - Make sure it's clear and their questions are answered.
4. ...and again! (Sometimes we can be so eager to fill a serving roll that we don't want to "scare" people off by telling them WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO FIND OUT ANYWAY...be honest with people!)

NOTE:

• This doesn't protect people from figuring out a given serving opportunity is not for them or that it's just not a good fit....but it DOES protect people from feeling like they were "tricked" into believing what they were signing up for was NOT AT ALL what they actually signed up for.
• If people know all the details and still sign-up let them be grown-ups and live with that decision.  (Sometimes the tendency can be to try to protect people SO MUCH that we don't "let them get their lumps" (that's what we called it in my hood growing up) and that's not healthy in the long-run.

This attitude does a handful of things:

1. Pushes everyone to keep the over-arching vision in front of them.
2. Helps force silos out of the organization and prevents them from starting.
3. Helps cover gaps if people can't be around. (This is sustaining my staff at this current time as I've been out of the office for a bit with my fathers health issues.)
4. Building overall organizational camaraderie.

If we/you fail to have this attitude these things could creep in:

1. Guarding of territory - I don't have to help you with yours as long as "mine" is right.
2. Not playing well in the sandbox - Somebody or some department is going to get the leftovers (staff, facility, budget)
3. Negative attitudes towards collaborators
4. Some people get consistently overworked - It's usually the hardest workers

Here are this young leaders rules:

1. If you have a problem with me, come to me (privately).
2. If I have a problem with you, I’ll come to you (privately).
3. If someone has a problem with me and comes to you, send them to me. (I’ll do the same for you.)
4. If someone consistently will not come to me, say, “Let’s go see him together.” (I’ll do the same for you.)
5. Be careful how you interpret me. On matters that are unclear, do not feel pressured to interpret my feelings or thoughts. It is easy to misinterpret intentions.
6. I will be careful how I interpret you.
7. If it’s confidential, don’t tell. If anyone comes to me in confidence, I won’t tell unless (a) the person is going to harm him/herself; (b) the person is going to physically harm someone else; (c) a child has been physically or sexually abused. I expect the same from you.
8. I do not read unsigned letters or notes.
9. I do not manipulate; I will not be manipulated. Do not let others manipulate you; do not let others try to manipulate me through you.
10. When in doubt, just say it. If I can answer without misrepresenting something or breaking a confidence, I will.

Here are some ways you can keep an edge in this profession known as Student Ministry:

Here are some ways I do these around GSM (Granger Student Ministry):

1. I read a BOAT LOAD of youth culture blogs, articles, ebooks, psychology.
2. Making sure that I'm the hardest worker on the team. I'm constantly keeping the vision of what I'm processing out in front of my team so they know where I'm at.  Speed of the leader speed of the team!
3. I built a team of finishers along the way. Hiring some and retraining/re-calibrating others.
4. I "go for broke". I was hired to do anything short of sin to reach this generation for Christ...and that's exactly what I do! There's no need to hold anything back.  I have an "all-in" attitude.
5. Start GETTING STUFF DONE! We made lots of foundation, structural, and organizational changes that started instantly produces the kind of fruit we were looking for.
6. I have help with this one. I have some people specially gifted in this area to help me push along any of the things that have to come from me that I can't get done on my own.  Katie, my assistant, is the primary player in this role...she can flat out get stuff done!

Lastly, I do all of that while maintaining that people matter more than job descriptions, functions, and roles.  If you're so focussed on "keeping your edge" that you lose your team or lose the trust of your supervisors or volunteers...YOU'VE FAILED!

1. great leaders continue to grow - whether you're making your strong skills even stronger or developing new underdeveloped skills, as a leader you should be growing.
2. we learn through practical experience - we learn when our jobs/roles/functions requires it. (this is just good to know, especially if you're saying "I haven't learned anything new in a while...it's most likely because your routine doesn't demand it.)  We're creatures of habit so doing the same thing 50 different ways never doesn't seem normal, efficient, or 'worth it' especially if we found 1 way to do it that works.  (Note that some of the best inventions have been made by people who did the same thing as someone else...they just did it differently AND BETTER!  (EXAMPLE: the Snuggie is just a backwards robe or a thicker hospital gown...yet it sold over 40 million 2 years go - couldn't find a current figure.)
3. varied experiences, in general, make for a broader range of leaderships skills - Not always, but usually.  If you're a 'laser-focused leadership model', then "focussed" skills are great, but if you're a 'utility player', a more diverse palette is usually better.  I don't personally believe that "broader is better" but I do know that varied experiences produces broader skill sets.  (In this economic market, broader may be better for the job hunt, but excellence becomes more of a challenge the broader you get)
4. Leadership implies followership - if no one is following you're not leading.  (I think John Maxwell might have said that first...or at least more recently)

Sometimes it's great to just dive into new endeavors without having to have everything figured out!  We grew as a couple and had a ton of fun along the way!

One of things I've really learned from this all is that although new endeavors put a pressure cooker on learning and growing there are equally powerful learning experience in our current environments if we chose to see them.

Here's a few things you could do to jumpstart growth/learning in your current situation:

1. Reshape your current role - add new responsiblities, trade tasks with someone in your shoes, redo your "I'm the only person that can do this" list and see what can be added or removed.  If you love the vision but you're just stuck a little bit, ask your supervisor if you could "reshape your role a little bit" to help you maintain your growth pattern.   (He/she may find it hard because they hired you to do what you're doing, but a good supervisor who has the latitude will find a way to help you be the best you can be.)
2. Is there any short-term assignments you could take- what's a temporary task you could own/manage/lead that would allow you to stay connected to the vision that got your there in the first place, WHILE allowing you space to explore new stuff and recharge.  This allows you to sill fuel the vision but through another short-term function outside your department/area.
3. Seek challenges outside of normal environment - Maybe the role/position you're currently in can't change (for whatever reason) but think outside of that role to things like what volunteer role could you take, who could you partner with that working on a project you could assist with.  Again, this allows you to stay tied to the organization/family that you're apart of but will give you some new freedom to find what you're missing or lacking in your current situation.

Coyle looks at three basic elements of the development of talent: "ignition," which basically means motivation, "deep practice" and "master coaching."

Here's what I feel is the strongest key in this thought:  "Each is valuable on its own, but their convergence is the key to developing skill."

Deep practice is a conscious activity, involving a cycle of distinct actions. Ignition is a hot, mysterious burst of passion, an awakening, and it is indispensible for firing up a person's motivation. Master coaching means guidance and feedback from a disciplined, committed coach. The development of great skill relies on the help of teachers who have the ability to nurture talent.

"Anyone can prove they're strong once, but can they prove it over and over again? ...CONSISTENCY COUNTS"