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It’s been a while since I gave you a Blount Campus update. As most of you know, we are opening our second location in Blount County, an area about 25 minutes from the Faith Promise Pellissippi location. Over 300 people have said they will make that location their home when it launches this fall.

So, what’s been happening:

• The Lease Agreement for ~25,000 sq. ft. has been finalized and executed
• The construction documents are nearing completion to create a worship center that seats around 300 people
• The tenant separation wall that divides our space from the Fowler’s Furniture space is nearing completion
• The store front is being transformed to create a new entry into the Faith Promise side of the building

Wayne Burress, Campus Pastor for Blount has been busy and we expect the location will open some time this Fall, immediately requiring 2 worship services. Would you pray for:

• God to use Faith Promise Blount to transform the community
• People to experience a “Come As You Are” church that will change their lives
• A smooth construction process that will begin in the next 2 weeks
• Wisdom in creating a budget and staffing plan the first location

• Make sure you want someone else making decisions. If you are going to hire an XP and continue to make all of the decisions or override all of the decisions they make, then you do not need an XP. You need an administrative assistant to support you so that you can preach and oversee all of the admin functions of your ministry.

• Hire someone you TRUST. DON’T hire someone you just KNOW. I worked at Faith Promise for 2 years before I became the XP and had opportunities to earn my pastor’s trust. We had a developing, thriving relationship before we ever started. If you have any doubts that you can trust the person you are looking at, pass on them.

• Don’t expect them to do everything the way you would do it. The gift mixes between senior pastor’s and executive pastor’s are different. Let the XP lead the way that they are gifted, not they way that you are gifted. Let your differences give you balance and the “best of both worlds.”

• Look for someone who has high capacity. If you want someone to lead your church to new places, you need someone who has a high capacity for leadership and the leadership of just getting things done. XP’s must be able to do a wide variety of jobs…well (or at least pretty good).

• Know that changes will not happen overnight. If you have spent 5 years driving the church into the ground with no structure, an XP will not fix it in 6 months. Expect changes to really begin to happen in years 2-5. After my first year as an XP, Faith Promise’s average attendance declined. However, in year 2, we began to see amazing synergy around the structure and strategy.

If you’re thinking about hiring an XP, first talk to a Senior Pastor and Executive Pastor team that you respect. You will save yourself and that person a lot of headaches and heartaches.

So, here are some thoughts on how you can know if you have a great team.

• No one calls or emails you while you are away. Everyone is clear of their role on the team, and they do not need your input on every decision they are making. Are your team roles clear or is the team dependent on you?

• Greater things happen when are gone. Last weekend (Mother’s Day), we baptized 110 adults, more than any other weekend in Faith Promise’s history. Do greater things happen when you are away, or does everything hinge on you being there?

• Your office keeps running. My assistant, Marti, never misses a beat when I am out. She follows up with anything that comes in and makes the needed decisions or passes things on to others for decisions to be made. Does your assistant work while you are away, or wait for you to return for instruction?

• Big decisions are made or furthered. While I was away, major progress was made on our Blount County Campus. Our Campus Pastor, Wayne Burress was moving it forward each day. He gave me an update today. Can your staff make decisions or further them while you are out of the office?

• You’re not worried & rest while you are away. Honestly, I never worry while I am away. We have the best people in the right places able to make great decisions.

Seriously consider this: Are you building a great team, or are you building a team dependent upon you? That will make you feel very important and needed, but it will hinder all that God can do through you for His Kingdom in the future.

Do you have a great team?

Our road, Faith Promise Lane, joins Horseshoe Bend Lane, which only had one lane to turn in and one lane to turn out (on to a major highway with speeds of 70mph + in a posted 55mph). It created a mess each week.

We hired a firm to study our traffic problems (~$2,000) and make recommendations. They found a couple of major problems:

• We had to be able to “queue” more cars at one time
• We had to have multiple lanes from the entrance all the way to our property
• We had to change our level of service from poor to good

Two weeks ago, the proposed construction was completed. The result: unload time was 10 minutes at the largest service time. That’s a major improvement!

Don’t let anything hold you back from accomplishing all that God wants to do in your church! Study every problem and follow His leading to the solution.

What’s holding your church back?

Our staff spent the last 3 days retreating at The Cove, the Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville, NC. Outside of the fact that it is an amazing facility with some of the best food you will ever eat, I’ve been thinking a lot about staff retreats. Why should your staff take a retreat?

• Because ministry has high emotional & spiritual demands. The nature of ministry requires a deep emotional & spiritual commitment. We juggle our own life issues as well as a lot of issues that others carry. Even though we all quote “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7),” we struggle to actually do that at times. Retreats allow time for staff members to rest, rejuvenate and grow.
• Because staff members neglect their own spiritual growth. Although I hate this, many times church staff members neglect their own growth for the growth of others. They need a time to get away and be challenged in their own spiritual growth in a more concentrated format. On Tuesday of our retreat, God’s spirit moved through our Pastor and people were truly revived. It was awesome!
• Because we need to focus on development. Even though we have staff meetings regularly, it helps to get away from email, phone calls and the pressures of a growing church to focus on our development. We spent a whole day talking about the leadership differences between men and women – it was very cool!

If your team does not retreat together, consider doing it soon. Retreats are a significant investment into your team!

Where we see people as distractions, Jesus saw them as opportunities.

That’s right. Jesus saw them as the opportunity to serve, heal and give witness to His Father. However, we get so focused on the tasks that we forget about the balance of relationships.

So, I shared 3 prayers that I am praying for our teams out of Matthew 9:36-38.

1. I’m praying they’ll have Jesus’ eyes.

• Jesus focused on the people, not the processes. Processes are important, but ministry is about the people.

2. I’m praying they’ll have Jesus’ heart.

• Jesus had compassion – he got so sick at their state that he was moved to do something about their need.

3. I’m praying they’ll trust Jesus answer.

• Jesus said he would provide the workers to reach His people.
• We get overwhelmed in the harvest because we put our faith in fixes instead of the Father.

People become a distraction because we need them to do what we need instead of listening to their needs and doing ministry together.

I’m praying you will keep from getting distracted.

You are one of the chosen, the called, to lead the church. But if you’re like most ministry leaders, you feel isolated and inadequate for such an overwhelming task. The LIT Conference was created to equip and encourage the called. We want to provide you with resources and relationships that will help you make a greater impact for the Kingdom of God.

If you haven’t signed up, you can do so HERE.

And, if you register on Friday, April 16, I will personally send you a copy of Pete Wilson‘s book, Plan B. All you have to do is forward a copy of your registration, dated April 16, to josh@faithpromise.org with your name and address.

Seriously, this sermon series can change your life by helping you deal with your family history or your current family drama. Don’t miss it beginning this weekend at Faith Promise, or catch it online.

We have 6 Easter Experiences beginning tonight – all of them are exactly the same. Here’s the schedule:

• Friday, April 2 @ 7pm
• Saturday, April 3 @ 5:30 & 7pm
• Sunday, April 4 @ 8:30, 10 & 11:45am or Online at 10, 11:45am & 9pm EST

Can’t wait to see you at one of them!