Leadership Rises and Falls with Courage

Leaders dream, dare, and do what it takes to usher in a future that others can't yet imagine.  

Because leaders are visionary by nature and because they can see farther faster than those they lead there are moments when the leader must deal with a vast unknown and make 'best guesses' with less than all the data that they'd really like. 

Therefore, there is a level of angst and fear that I leader must stare down and move through and still make the call, take the shot, pull the lever, take the leap.  

John Maxwell says that leadership is influence.  I think that he's mostly right.

So, a little leadership algebra might help you do what you need to do as a leader....

Influence Rises as the Leader risks boldly for Christ.  No courage = no leadership.  A leader who boldy trusts God with all he/she is/has and takes bold leaps of faith under God's rule.  And, when she/he does that she/he takes others with them.  

Courage is the ingredient that High Impact Organizations must have.  And, the more the better!

Jeff Fuson serves as Point Leader for Phos Hilaron Church near Louisville Kentucky. Jeff's # 1 passion is being a husband and daddy. A close second is seeing people grow spiritually. As a Professional Speaker Jeff also serves as a Keynote Speaker & Trainer crafting & delivering high impact keynote addresses & training events for Entrepreneurs, Banks, Credit Unions, and small to medium sized non-profit & for profit enterprises. He's got one incredible wife and 3 awesome children.

What I learned at the KOA

Mist on the mountains, birds singing, sun on the way and the stream singing just a few yards away. AND, I'm online with High Speed Wi-Fi--what a wonderful world. I'm at the KOA (Kampground Of America) RV Camping with my sister and her family and Julie and the boys. We've squeezed a lot of fun into our not-guite 4 days here. We've tubed down the river several times, swam til we're water-logged, rented banana bikes, fished a lot for trout and gotten blanked, burned hotdogs over a campfire and learned to live in tight quarters.

Along my journey here at the Cherokee, North Carolina KOA here are a few things I've experienced and a few things I think God may be saying to me....

1. Fish with the Green Worm like that guy over there! He's caught 5 since we've been standing here and you need to quit fishing with whatever you think is gonna work and just follow what others are doing that are catching fish. (my dad talking to my oldest son who was rigging up some unusual cantraptions for fishing with absolutely no hits)

In my life there are so many times that I'm operating on a pioneering spirit model filled with innovations that may or may not work because no-one else has crossed the great divide before. Dad's comment to Joshua was said loud enough for me to hear and it sure makes me wonder. At PHC we're big on innovation and we're trying some unusual contraptions for 'fishing' -- some of which seem to work great and some of which we need to cut the line on and change to the 'green worm'! Not sure which are 'green worms' for us yet, but I'm listening and watching to see what Jesus is fishing with and we'll change to his plan pronto! By the way, we started the day fishing with corn because we saw a fella haul out a huge Rainbow Trout fishing with corn. Talked with the same guy later in the day who was not fishing with the 'green worm' and was not having great success and he let me in on a secret. They changed bait all the time to see what the fish would bite as the barometer rises and falls and the fish change their minds about what seems tasty throughout the day. Where's the next 'Green Worm'?

2. Cousins are a great gift! My boys have had a blast with my sister's boys. They've done a lot of life together over the years but this is definitely a high point in 'boy-land' as they romp, ride, swim, dance, watch movies, cozy up 5 thick in a tiny space in the 'Fifth Wheel' and burn stuff in the fire. God, we are blessed beyond belief. Thank-you.

Being here reminds me of the good gifts of being involved in a close-knit faith community like Phos Hilaron Church where many of us experience 'cousinliness' even though we may be miles away from our flesh-n-blood families. It's good to have a cousin to scorch a marshmallow with!

3. It's good to be away from the computer and cell phone. We've had very little 'outside world' access over the past week and my spirit has needed a break from the constant barrage of emails and cell phone chatter. I'm glad that there are still a few places in the wolrd where we can disconnect. As an American born-n-bred leader I'm addicted to 'busy' and have been raised on quaint sayings like 'If it is to be it's up to ME!' that fuel my self-centered addiction to actions that I'm confident will win the day and change the world. But, Jesus didn't exhibit my kind of frantic behavior and self-confidence. He exhibited HUGE God-fidence and often rested and waited for God to take action and then He joined His Father in taking the next step. God wired us for 'sabbath' -- a day a week to rest and relax and rejuvenate and a day to hand the world back to it's rightful King and let Him take the reigns and run the globe. Practicing Sabbath (and, for me it is a work in progress to truly hand the world back to God and to relax on the Sabbath) by relaxing more and working less and by conscientiously handing the world back to God are vital for my long term effectiveness, soul health and body care. It's a gift from God that I am learning to allow myself to receive with more readiness to dive in to rest fully and leave the big stuff to God. It's humbling and freeing and power-giving all at the same time to Sabbath....I'm learning.....and practicing. In many ways the future of the endeavors I lead may depend more on my ability to Sabbath well than I've ever imagined because it consistently removes my hands from the enterprise and keeps God's all over it!

4. A lone sparrow just landed near my feet and began to hop even closer as if to remind me of Jesus' words from the Sermon on the Mount to relax and KNOW that God is gonna provide--not because I'm good or because I'm deserving --but, because He's God and providing abundantly for His creation is a God-Thing to do. I battle worry these days as our fledgling church moves through summer and as the day my 18 year old daughter heads off to college comes closer by the hour now and we need some serious cash-flow to move her along. So, I need to hear and see and be reminded at a deep level all the time about how much God loves me, us, and Phos Hilaron Church. From the outset He has provided all that we've needed in spades at just the right time. He's resourced us in miraculous ways over and over again. Summer is a tough time on ministries anyway and especially for a start-up enterprise like ours. No question we believe we're called to do what we're doing in the manner we're called to do it, but we're not sure that everything we're doing is a 'green worm' and I'd like to be around long enough to figure that out! I've heard it said, and say myself that 'What God Originates He Also Orchestrates' and that has been proven to us over and over again. I have a front-row seat to miracles on an almost daily basis! My faith is being grown and I get to see God provide for PHC and my family in miraculous ways over and over again, but it still unnerves me at times! I'm learning to trust Him.

Back to vacation -- the rods & reels are waiting nearby...

Learning a lot out here in the wildnerness!
Jeff Fuson

Jeff Fuson serves as Point Leader for Phos Hilaron Church near Louisville Kentucky. Jeff's # 1 passion is being a husband and daddy. A close second is seeing people grow spiritually. As a Professional Speaker Jeff also serves as a Keynote Speaker & Trainer crafting & delivering high impact keynote addresses & training events for Entrepreneurs, Banks, Credit Unions, and small to medium sized non-profit & for profit enterprises. He's got one incredible wife and 3 awesome children.

Church Planters Zany Ride and a Cool Mantra to boot!

The Ride of a Church Planter is a bit zany....

-most of us come from something fairly stable career-wise and jump head-first into the raw thin-air of 'not-yet-ness' and the dream of a new church that will add to the collective Kingdom firepower in a fresh new way.

-most of us believe we have a new angle that MUST COME TO LIFE or the world will remain unchanged -- totally unacceptable for those of us who are driven to influence others and outcomes in the world

-we attract the best and brightest dreamers in the world -- most of whom are just like us -- we have very little notion of how to put the wheels on the wagon we're imagining so we need technicians and engineers and people who can sequence information inputs and outputs --and that puts us at odds because our internal processors are so vastly different -- so we have to grow people skills out the yang to be able to work with those who see the world way differently and in much more crystalline black and white than we can imagine

-we postion our families on the brink of financial ruin

-we fuel work-a-holic tendencies

-we put our people loving selves on the line of attack from those outside AND inside the church and wonder why this can feel like a lonely enterprise at times

AND, we revel in the notion that God DOES USE US.

HE DOES EMPOWER US.

HE DOES ALLOW US TO SEE THE MIRACULOUS WHEN HE BRINGS BREAD RIGHT WHEN WE NEED IT.

HE GIVES US THICKER SKINS TO DEAL WITH THE BARBS TOSSED OUR WAY BY OTHER 'CHRISTIANS' WHO JUST CAN'T SEE THIS AS A VERY GOOD IDEA.

HE GRANTS US EVEN MORE TENDER HEARTS THAT ACHE FOR OUR BROKEN FRIENDS.

HE HELPS US CARE PASSIONATELY ABOUT NEIGHBORS WHO ARE NOT YET AMPED IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

WE GET TO EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF SEEING 9 PEOPLE BAPTIZED AT OUR FIRST BAPTISM EXPERIENCE......(happened for me at Phos Hilaron Church on Sunday, July 6, 2008!)

So, this is the ride of a lifetime in a lifetime of rides!

We've seen God do more incredible things in the past few months than in my entire life. It's more fun to play at the edge than you can imagine -- yes, scary and it doesn't feel very 'safe' at times, but what in life is truly 'safe'?

Helen Keller basically suggested that 'safety' is overrated when she was quoted as saying,

Security is mostly superstition. It does not exist in nature . . .

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.

Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

That could be a church planters mantra!

Amazed that God can even use ME!!!
Jeff Fuson

Jeff Fuson serves as Point Leader for Phos Hilaron Church near Louisville Kentucky. Jeff's # 1 passion is being a husband and daddy. A close second is seeing people grow spiritually. Jeff also delivers impacting training events for Entrepreneurs, Credit Unions, and small to medium sized enterprises. He's got one incredible wife and 3 awesome children.

Creative Risk & Launching at the EDGE of Disaster

As a church planter who chose to launch with a staff I think a lot about stuff I didn't have to think about as a Youth Minister at a large church - like how to make payroll for the team every couple of weeks. And, God is full of surprises -- like the fact that we've made it every single time and that He's given us everything we've needed right when we've needed it. He has been out in front of us the whole way.

There's no question that a cash infusion would allow us to do some really cool marketing campaigns and add some video production gear to boost our creative team capabilities a notch or three, but the 'needs' are being met.

Lesson # 1 for me = God is IN this with us and HE's resourcing the movement

Lesson # 2 for me = What God Originates He Also Orchestrates (originally spoken by Troy Dobbs)

Lesson #3 for me = Launching with a strong creative / missional edge drives some 'normal' church people away, but it draws those with a missional heart and a will to impact culture. It's a natural filter.

Lesson #4 for me = 'risk fatigue' is lurking among our team and in my heart all the time. Sometimes we ask ourselves if we should keep pushing the missional and creative edges because we know that it 'costs' us in terms of reaching more 'churched' people right now who could help resource the movement. But, we also know that 'playing it safe' invites a slide back into 'church as usual' which is death to the dream of Phos Hilaron Church. The core of our dream is to reach those who are M.I.A. (Missing in Action) from the Kingdom and those who are P.O.W.s (Prisoners of War) and in our hearts we know that this means that as leaders and as a body PHC must 'cowboy up' and risk playing behind enemy lines, going hand to hand and heart to heart in our neighborhoods, and taking it to the streets in all ways possible. So, we ask for courage to dance at the edge of disaster where God can show Himself strong and abundantly able to do what He wants to do to resource this movement.

Lesson #5 for me = Play to Win or Head to the House. Since God is in this we don't have to 'play it safe' and we don't have to protect our gains and play 'not to lose' -- we can stay aggressive in our methods and dreams and actions (don't read that as obnoxious and 'in your face' , rather read it as taking creative risks to advance the Kingdom of God in creative, compelling missional ways). So, a personal mantra related to the enterprises in my life these days is 'Play to Win'!

I had an old coach who pulled us aside before a big game and gave us a great pep -talk that started something like this, 'Boys, it's not how you play the game, it's whether you win or lose. And, if you lose, don't come back...' He was just kidding, kind of...

And, if I said that to Phos Hilaron Church I'd be kind of kidding, but kind of serious, because the church in America has become so preoccupied with 'pretty and nice' that we've forgotten that our leader took the ball across the goal line up a dust covered hill spattered with his own blood--not pretty, but effective! Sometimes winning does matter and sometimes winning God's way is to play hard and do the gritty work of advancing the Gospel in unorthodox ways. If you wonder about whether God is into 'unorthodox' ways consider how He brought salvation to us -- a Virgin, a baby, a cross! Not orthodox, but ultimately EFFECTIVE.

Just thinking today!
Play to WIN or Head to the HOUSE!
Jeff Fuson