My Cool Boss
I have to say, if you want to score brownie points with your boss, posting a blog about him is a great start. Having said that, I would love to bring out a couple of life lessons I see in my boss’ life.
Many people in the church world know Billy Hornsby. He’s got a list of friends several miles long – legitimate friends that he would answer the phone if he saw their name pop up. He genuinely cares about people. He loves to help out any way he can and share whatever he’s got. And he loves a party! I’ve learned that any high level meeting has to start at a restaurant, the Bass Pro Shop, or with something hunting related.
When I first started with ARC (our first meeting was at the Bass Pro Shop, right after we ate), Billy asked me what I felt my talents and abilities were, what things did I like to do, and what areas would I like to develop. And then he said something pretty big. He told me that he would help me to accomplish those things whether with ARC or somewhere else. Like everyone, I have the daily tasks, emails, and calls. But beyond that, I can just about write my own job description. I have the opportunity to find the things that I love to do or see an area of the organization that has gone undeveloped and work to make it happen.
I’m finding that to be a hallmark of many of the churches that are a part of ARC. Some call it gift-oriented ministry. Find what a person dreams about and help him fulfill it. I’ve heard my pastor Chris Hodges say something like, “Don’t stop doing what you’re doing to come help us, but let us help you fulfill your purpose and reach people in the process.”
People have gifts, personality, purpose. It’s interesting how it all fits together. It’s so unique to each individual and sometimes stays hidden till someone helps unearth it. I want to be someone that sees the hidden specialties of a person’s life and helps them fulfill their destiny. I want to be like my cool boss.
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Switched Around
I’ve been thinking about Zebedee’s wife, a lady in the Bible who had two sons James and John that were two of Jesus’ disciples. The family had what was probably a pretty prosperous fishing business. I have her pegged as the mover and shaker of the household. She may have kept the books as well as handled sales and distribution. She knew how to take care of business. In Matthew 20.21, she’s once again doing her thing by asking Jesus if her boys could sit on each side of him in his kingdom.
If you get beyond the guts of the question itself, you’ve really got to hand it to her. She’s seen the crowds, the success, the power and I think the royalty of Jesus. A pretty good perspective of this side of him. And Jesus had been spending extra time with her two sons really grooming them for something big.
A little later, she’s part of a group of ladies watching Jesus die a slow death on the cross. What a change. Jesus the royalty is now Jesus the sacrifice. I think she is as sober as one could get – almost listless as she watched it unfold. Was it the fact that her sons might have to go down the same road? Maybe. But I think it was the sheer awesomeness of Jesus – the one she had watched, and talked to, and shared her opinions with, and cooked for, and loved – suffering terribly and giving his life for her, for us. And in the end, a much more important issue than where her sons get to sit in the Kingdom.
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My Heroes
I have to have one of the greatest jobs in the world. I work with an organization called ARC that helps church planters start churches. Over the last 8 years, we have helped over 100 couples start churches all across America.
These church planters are my heroes. Almost on a weekly basis in this first quarter, I’ve gotten calls, emails and texts of how the church planter’s first Sunday went. Most puke and get really nervous wondering if anyone will show up. They have worked for more than a year to do the legal and business work, build their team, raise a ton of cash to buy equipment and advertising, and have prayed their socks off. The first service comes and every planter has a bunch of people show up – anywhere from 100 to 600.
I love these guys. They, their families and their teams have given it all to build a church that reaches people that typically don’t go to church. And their journey has just begun.
There are two big church planting seasons, the first quarter of the year and the fall – around September. Today was the last one of our church plants for this “season” and it was church number 30. That means that by the time we go through the fall season, we may very well top 60 or more new plants in this year alone! Troy Shaw of Oasis Church launched a new satellite campus with over 450 people today in Snellville, GA, a suburb of Atlanta. He sent me a text around 6 pm tonight. And he was pretty pumped.
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