I wrote an article on the “Culture of Honor” back in March of last year. At that time, there was a lot of conversation happening around the article through Twitter, comments and email.

What has surprised me, though, is the traction that the article has maintained through the last several months. It became one of the top ten posts from all of 2011. A number of other people have referenced the article including this post from Geoff Surratt from his series on “Five Scary Trends” in the Church. And, I still continue to get email messages from people who have been impacted by the churches who have a one-way view of honor. Here’s an excerpt from a recent message:

“I greatly appreciate your blog post on ‘The Culture of Honor.’ I was on staff at a church that embraces this one-way philosophy and I can tell you it has damaged me spiritually and emotionally. Thankfully, only by God’s grace, I am trusting to be healed from this spiritually abusive situation. It seems there is a wave of churches embracing this culture, and I’m concerned about how it’s hurting people. To give you an example of the severity, my coworker not only left the job and the church, she has not returned to any church in two years.  I don’t think injuring people in an effort to win souls was God’s plan.”

As I mentioned in the original article, I believe honor is a good thing. It’s biblical. But it’s supposed to go both directions. It begins with pastors who embrace humility and aspire to be servant leaders — every leader in the church should be a servant leader.

We need to continue to have people in our lives that have the freedom to encourage and challenge us in this area. Look at your leadership. What type of culture are you creating?

Jenni Catron

As part of the current series addressing the shifts leaders should consider making in the new year, I connected with Jenni Catron, the Executive Director of Cross Point Church in Nashville. Here’s what Jenni had to share:

Stop making excuses.

Giving in to excuses – oftentimes really fair and somewhat believable excuses can easily derail great leaders and great organizations. We can’t grow because we don’t have space. We can’t make that change because we would lose people or customers. But when we give into excuses (and the fears that go with them) we stop growing, we quit accomplishing the vision, we stagnate and eventually start to decline. We don’t realize this with the first couple of excuses that trip us up but eventually “we can’t” becomes normal vocabulary. Don’t let excuses hold you back this year.

Start asking “how?”

If you are going to stop making excuses, then you have to start asking “how?” The perspective shift for you and your organization goes from “can we?” to “how do we?” If you are wired to be a leader, you naturally long to be a part of something that is healthy and growing. The tension of growing things is that… well, they’re growing, and growing things are always outgrowing whatever is confining them… money, buildings, staff, etc. When the challenges come that feel insurmountable with your current resources, that’s probably a good thing. You have a choice to either give in to the excuses or to start asking, “how can we do this?  Is there a way? What could we tweak, change, adjust to do this?” Asking “how?” moves the seemingly impossible to possible.

You can follow more of Jenni’s thoughts and writing at JenniCatron.tv.

Jon Acuff

I recently connected with Jon Acuff, a speaker and author who is connected with the Dave Ramsey team. We talked about the shifts leaders need to make going forward. Here’s our brief interview:

TONY: What’s one thing that leaders and/or organizations (businesses, churches, non-profits, etc.) should consider stopping in 2012?

JON: Stop pretending you can use social media without a cost. Social media offers tremendous benefits but if we’re not careful in the ways we use it, the areas of our lives we use it in and how often we use it, there can be tremendous consequences as well.

TONY: What’s one thing that leaders and/or organizations should consider starting in 2012?

JON: Start being honest as a team about the fears you have about the work you’re doing in 2012. One of the things fear always tries to do is isolate you and put you on an island so that you think you’re the only one that feels a certain way. This can kill collaboration and culture within a team. Start voicing those fears out loud so that together you can see them for what they really are and kill them as a team.

You can read more from Jon on his blog Stuff Christians Like. Or check out his most recent book, Quitter, using my Amazon link.

Perry Noble

What should leaders and/or organizations consider stop and start doing in 2012? Here are some thoughts from Perry Noble, Senior Pastor at NewSpring Church:

1. We should stop our self-identification through our “buzz words” (i.e. missional, attractional…) and start desiring to be identified by the work we are doing.
2. We should stop trying to figure out how to compete with each other and start trying to figure out how we, as the church, can actually complete one another.
3. We should stop trying to figure out how to drive people towards a goal and start learning how to actually lead them there.
4. We should stop trying to figure out why people aren’t coming to church and start just asking them…and then NOT getting angry and defensive when they respond honestly.
5. We should stop assuming that everyone in our church knows everything about our church and start stating the vision more often and more clearly.
6. We should stop our scientific approach to leading people and start approaching leadership as an art form, understanding what the Bible says about people being unique is true.
7. We should stop trying to compare ourselves to other churches/ministries and start actually doing what God has called us to do, knowing that He will hold us (as leaders) accountable to what He has called us to…not what He’s called everyone else to do.

You can follow more of Perry’s writing on his blog at PerryNoble.com.

I have some good news for all of you who received Kindles for Christmas. One of my most popular eBooks from 2011, Developing a Theology of Leadership, was just released on Amazon in the Kindle version.

It’s been downloaded and viewed over 24,000 times, and now it’s available as an easy download for anyone with a Kindle or using the Kindle app on their tablets, phones or computers. For those of you who have Amazon Prime memberships, you can borrow it for free. Otherwise, it’s only $2.99 to download the eBook.

Like my other eBooks, this will take you about 20 minutes to read. It includes discussion questions to process with your team. The sections hit these topics:

• Building a Leadership Theology Foundation
• Servant Leadership
• Empowerment
• Character
• Putting It into Action

If you’re looking for a good resource to read and discuss with your staff or volunteer leadership team, this may be a great place to start the new year. I hope you’ll download a copy and share this with a friend.

Tim Sanders

I recently connected with Tim Sanders, author, speaker and former Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo! We talked about the shifts leaders need to make going forward. Here’s our brief interview:

TONY: What’s one thing that leaders and/or organizations (businesses, churches, non-profits, etc.) should consider stopping in 2012?

TIM: Stop talking about how bad the economy is, has been or might be in the future. To quote Napoleon: “the leader’s role is to define reality, then give hope.” You’ve likely done a great job in 2011 defining reality, now let’s get back to dreaming, believing and building.

TONY: What’s one thing that leaders and/or organizations should consider starting in 2012?

TIM: Start measuring your success in terms of your people’s growth. If they are smarter or more effective at the end of the year, that’s a good sign you are a great leader or company. Find metrics that indicate growth on the part of your people, and put that in your success-formula along with money made, saved, etc.

Tim’s most recent book, Today We are Rich, made my top five list of 2011. Here’s my Amazon link if you’d like to pick up a copy to read.

Chris Hodges

What should leaders and/or organizations consider stop and start doing in 2012? Here are some thoughts from Chris Hodges, Senior Pastor of Church of the Highlands.

“Stop participating in the ‘spend more than you earn’ syndrome that our country is in. One report said that the average American spends 136% of their income. I believe that we have been ‘pierced with many griefs’ just like 1 Timothy 6 says because of our appetite for more now. That goes for businesses, churches, families, etc.

“Start preparing for the last days. We’re not supposed to be in just as much trouble as the world (financially, morally, emotionally). God wants us to be the place where people can come to find life. (Micah 4:1 NLT)  In the last days, the mountain of the LORD’s house will be the highest of all— the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship. (Proverbs 21:20) In the house of the wise, there are stores of choice food and oil. (Proverbs 21:20) I think we have to start setting ourselves up to be a place where we are so strong, so hope-filled, so victorious, so blessed, so happy, that we can be a source of hope and help to a hurting world.”

You can follow more of Chris’s thoughts and updates from his ministry on Twitter.

Craig Groeschel

What should leaders and/or organizations consider stop and start doing in 2012? Here are some thoughts from Craig Groeschel, Senior Pastor of LifeChurch.tv.

“If leaders could stop doing one thing in the next year, I’d encourage them to stop making excuses. It’s so common to list all of the reasons why our ministry or organization can’t do something. I’ve found that limitations are often the greatest source of innovation. Simply shifting our mindsets from a ‘we can’t because…’ to ‘we can because…’ can make all the difference in the world. The best leaders don’t let limitations limit or confine them. Instead of feeling defeated by obstacles, these leaders are inspired to create new paths.

“If leaders would start doing one thing in the next year, I’d hope to motivate them to think infinitely bigger. It’s so easy to ask, ‘What do we think we can do?’ If we are trying to do what we think we can do, our efforts don’t require any faith. And without faith, it’s impossible to please God. Never insult God with small plans and safe living. Dream big. Then dream even bigger.” –Craig Groeschel

Craig has written several books you may want to check out. Here’s my Amazon link to his most recent one, WEIRD: Because Normal Isn’t Working.

Before Christmas, I announced that I will be launching a new coaching network this spring for 12 church leaders. We’ll be meeting six days over six months beginning in March.

At this point, the first 12 spots are full, so I’m in the process of accepting applications for a second group. It looks like there may be about six openings left. Very likely we’ll have a group for Senior Pastors and a group for Executive Pastors. Have you committed to taking your next step in your leadership in 2012? If so, this may be your opportunity.

As a reminder, here are some things to keep in mind…

• This is not an opportunity for someone who is looking for inspiration. My coaching networks involve work. You can’t just show up. You will have to commit to six months of reading and engaging exercises with the ministry team at your church. This is designed to help you discover new systems and strategies.
• This experience isn’t for people looking for leadership theory. Yes, you’ll learn some leadership skills, but this experience is designed for you to put those skills into action. Every month you will leave with new tools to implement in your ministry environment. I want to help you shift your thinking and shift your behaviors.
• This is not a conference experience. In a conference, you can sit and soak in the teaching without engaging anyone else. In this coaching experience, you will be encouraged and challenged by other leaders who will be counting on you to participate fully.

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Scott Belsky

What should leaders and/or organizations consider stop and start doing in 2012? Here are some thoughts from Scott Belsky, the CEO of Behance.

TONY: What’s one thing that leaders and/or organizations (businesses, churches, non-profits, etc.) should consider stopping in 2012?

SCOTT: We need to stop surrendering to “reactionary workflow” – the state of simply reacting to everything that comes into us (twitter, Facebook, linked in, etc…)! Instead, we must be proactive with our energy in what matters most to us! In the digital age, it is all too easy to simply react all day every day and never move the needle in our long-term goals. Remember, success is, quite simply, making an impact in what matters most to you. We need to allocate our energy accordingly.

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