Category Archives: Leadership
Clarity, Clarity, Clarity
Frequently I get a chance to meet with ministry or business professionals to swap leadership principles. Recently I sat down with a man who is preparing to plant a new church. He wanted to ‘pick my brain’ about all things church planting. Disclaimer: I have way more to learn than to teach, but when I’m asked to give advice there is one thing I know.
This one thing transfers over to business, youth ministry, teaching, parenting – you name it. The one thing is CLARITY. Specifically clarity in vision. Having a clarity of your call and mission in life is like having a detailed map when you head out for vacation. It simplifies, guides, and corrects.
A clear vision as to what should be and what could be in your ministry, business plan, family – you name it will simplify decision-making. It will eliminate clutter and distraction. A clear vision paves the path you need to go. Without a clarity in our vision we oftentimes find our selves going in circles – never ending up where we want to be. A clear vision will re-calculate our direction when we head in the wrong direction, and put us back on track.
So how do we achieve clarity in our vision?
1) Know who’s in charge. If you are clear that it’s not about you and it’s all about Jesus Christ, that makes the path much more clear.
2) Know who you are. Just as we all have uniqueness in our DNA, God has uniquely designed each of us for His purposes. Spend time finding discovering what passions and gifts God has given you – and you’ll easily find the purpose.
3) Know who you’re not. Don’t try to adapt someone else’s vision for your life, ministry, or family. God didn’t goof up when He made you. Be who YOU are. Be unique. Normal is overrated.
4) Know others will not always get it. To ignore the voice of wise counsel in your life is foolish. More foolish though is to be controlled by all the dissenting voices in your life. Bill Cosby once said, “I don’t know the key to success, but I do know that the key to failure is to try to please everyone.
Clarity.
- Brad
Today is about Freedom
Today is about answering the call to Be Freedom for someone who needs it! We’ve discussed the issue of human trafficking for several days – now is the time for action. The plan is simple:
27 Million people are in caught in the human trafficking industry today. We are going to do something about it. Partnering with the A21 campaign I’m asking 250 people to give $21 to bring freedom to young women trapped in slavery. We’re making it easy for you to BE FREEDOM today. First, You can give $21 dollars online HERE through the Discovery Church website. 100% of everything that is given will go to fight trafficking and rescue women. Second, spread the word through Facebook and Twitter. Make a difference in someone’s life today. Be freedom for someone like Lillia:
Coaching Group
In February I’m beginning a coaching group for young ministry leaders. The primary goal of this group is leadership and ministry skill development. I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve learned from so many other good leaders over the last 10 years that I want to invest my knowledge and experience in others. So if you’re 18-30 and feel a passion for ministry, or want to grow your leadership capacity I have a couple of openings in our group. We will meet 6 times (1st and 3rd Fridays of February, March and April)
Fill out this form for more information:
The kind of friends you need
A leader carries burdens that often go unnoticed. That’s really OK – it’s part of being a leader. One of the burdens I carry is the realization that sometimes I indirectly hurt the relationships of others. Let me explain.
Not everyone will support and embrace what you believe in, or what you do as a leader. That’s reality. Sometimes these people will get angry and upset with you to the point they will not speak to you – and a friendship is lost. That can be hurtful and disappointing. That is part of leadership.
That’s not the burden I’m writing about though. The greatest burden and pain I feel is when people who are friends and supportive of me, lose their friends because of me. There have been instances in my leadership and ministry where people have lost life long friends and relationships because of their association with me, or because they support my leadership. That is a heavy burden to carry. Very heavy in fact.
Solomon wrote in Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
I am so grateful for the friends I have who stay by my side, even though it has cost them personally. To those friends who have, I do not take your sacrifice lightly. Thank you for being Proverbs 17:17 friends.
- Brad
The best $587 I’ve spent.
The expense was for new tires on my old Ford truck. My tires had been low on tread for sometime, but I really didn’t want to buy new tires.
The reasons I didn’t want to buy new tires are simple:
- $587 is a lot of money for most people.
- In September the Raby household income dropped roughly by 60% when we began Discovery Church, so $587 was a ton of money!
- I feared that as soon as I put new tires on my old truck with a crisp 202,000 miles, it would die, and therefore the money would be wasted.
In the end, I swallowed hard, ate some Ramen noodles for lunch and bought the tires. Why? Because in the end safety out weighed the savings. The trouble with making these choices is many times you never see the blessings of wise decisions. However, I did yesterday. One mile from my house, on the way home from work a head on collision happened 75 feet in front of me. A gentlemen driving an SUV in the oncoming lane lost control on the wet roads and swerved across the yellow lines hitting the car directly in front of me. It sent the car spiraling out of the road into a tree, which broke in half and laid on top of the car. I had a split second to react on a wet slippery road. All those years riding four wheelers and motorcycles paid off as I made two defensive driving moves dodging in between the two cars without hitting either of them. I pulled off the road and ran to check on those in the crash – thankfully they were both wearing seat belts and were OK.
If I had not spent the $587 on new tires there would have been 3 cars in the crash – as there is no way I could have made the sharp cuts with the old tires. Thankfully, and with praise to my heavenly Father watching out for me – I was able to finish the one mile drive to my wife and daughter.
Which makes me ask this question: What dangers are you putting yourself in by not being willing to pay some tough prices?
- Are you putting your marriage in danger because you won’t pay the price to protect and nurture your relationship?
- Are you putting the future of your children in jeopardy because you aren’t willing to be the ‘bad’ guy and discipline them? Or, because you won’t pay the financial price to spend time with them?
- Are you putting yourself in financial danger because you’re not willing to pay into a savings/retirement account?
- Are you hurting your organization because you’re not willing to pay the price making tough decisions requires?
Here’s the deal: Paying the $587 still hurts my bank account, but not as much as a head on collision would have hurt my family.
Pay the price that making wise decisions requires. You’ll be glad you did.
- Brad
Like this:
17 years ago…
Well, almost 18 years ago in the early fall of 1993 as a young teenage boy I declared that I was “called to preach”. I was pretty surprised at the support I was given at the time, but I know some people had to think…he’s 13, he’ll grow out of it, things will change etc. The truth is, much has changed about me in 17 years. However, one thing that has remained constant is the burning desire to preach and teach the Word of God to the hearts of people.
I used to think of the day when I would pastor a church, and what it would look like. That day is here, and it’s nothing like I imagined – it’s greater. I feel such an awesome and heavy privilege to lead a small group of people on an massive endeavor to plant a church that will impact a community. On September 19th at 11am Discovery Church will have it’s very first worship service at Farragut High School in West Knoxville. It will be the beginning of an exciting journey.
We can’t do this alone though. I’m asking you to pray for us and consider partnering with us and giving to help us launch.
Helping people Discover Life in Jesus Christ,
Brad Raby
In most cases, the typical is unbiblical
Here is an excerpt from an excellent article written by Eric Geiger for MinistryStrategies.com.
Typically pastors or staff persons are hired to minister to people. The number of children increases, so the solution is another staff person. The number of sick people is on the rise; therefore, someone is hired to visit people in the hospitals. The typical approach is both illogical and unbiblical. The view is illogical because a church will never be able to afford to hire the entire ministry away. The view is unbiblical because it violates the essential doctrines of the priesthood of believers and spiritual gifting.
- Brad
