Failing to Listen =

Dysfunctional Leadership

Case in point: Rehoboam, upon assuming the kingship of Israel after his father Solomon's death.

Ancient history, you say? No application for today?

Wrong on both counts.

At my church, Elevation Church in Charlotte, Pastor Steven Furtick is in the middle of a series called "One Generation Away". It's all about the possible danger - and incredible potential - of today's younger generations. But it's a message for all of us: the 83 year-old GI Generation, the 52 year-old Baby Boomer, the 30 year-old Gen Xer, and the 18 year-old Millennial.

We are all one generation away from changing the world.

For some of us, it's in finishing our lives well, passing along decades of wisdom and experience. For others, it's pouring ourselves into those we lead, work with, and serve alongside. For still others, it's balancing the eagerness and impatience of youth with the need to proceed with deliberate haste.

It's about listening.

John Maxwell had some great thoughts on listening to accompany the story of Rehoboam in 2 Chronicles 10:15:

Leaders must listen for two reasons:

1. To connect with others
2. To learn from others

To fail to listen results in:

• Narrow vision
• Poor decision-making skills
• Self-centered focus
• Demanding and impatient style

The opposite? Listen well to the following:

• Your followers-do you know each member on your team?
• Your customers-keep in contact with those you serve.
• Your competitors-don't imitate, but listen in order to learn.
• Your mentors-no leader can afford to be without a mentor's insight.
• Your inner circle-listen to those closest to you to feel the heartbeat of the organization.

Check out Pastor Steven's sermon here.

Practice listening here...

Sneak Preview at Elevation Blakeney Campus

It's just a building till the people of God show up; then it becomes a church.

That was Pastor Steven Furtick's opening remark tonight at the sneak preview for Elevation leaders as we get ready to open our fourth campus in Blakeney.

The CO was just given this morning; the paint was barely dry; some of the flat screens weren't working quite right, but the night was all about honoring God for His blessings of our church.

Some of the remarkable things God provided:

• A building pad completely finished and ready to build, with site work complete - saving literally millions of dollars
• Very favorable terms for the financing of the building costs not raised in Kingdom Come last year
• A 2.6 acre site reduced $200,000 if we could pay in cash-which we did
• Completing the building in less than 11 months
• 1,200 parking spaces, with 5 means of egress
• Powerful impact in the cultural community in a facility designed for performances of all types

Pastor Steven quoting Rick Warren:

• When you're small, people ignore you
• When you're growing, people criticize you
• When you're large, people resent you

To which he added:

• When you're blessed, people can't stop you

God is truly blessing Elevation, and we are grateful!

Now it's time to roll up our sleeves and dominate this city!

The Depth - and Simplicity - of Scripture

At Elevation Church we are in week 3 of the "Sun Stand Still" series. After the 24 hour preaching marathon Pastor Steven did last Tuesday, I thought he might reel it in a little, or have a guest speaker.

Wrong.

Pastor Steven delivered, big time.

Recounting the story of Jairus' daughter who was raised from the dead (after another miracle), he taught us that the enemy plants seeds of doubt when we are seeking an audacious move of God.

Here are some of the phrases that I have read dozens of times from the Mark 5 passage:
- Why bother?
- Ignoring what they said
- Just believe
- They laughed at him
- After he put them out

Today they have a richer meaning. I'm not even going to try to explain. Just go to elevationexperience.com anytime (literally - 24/7) at the top of the hour and you can hear it for yourselves.

You'll be glad you did - and you will be able to shut out the cruel, cold voices that tell you "Why bother?"Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Thoughts While Parking...

I lead one of the parking teams at Elevation Church's Uptown campus. Today I was working in the garage, greeting everyone as they parked and took the elevator down to the sidewalk for the walk up to the theater.

A few observations:

• The smaller the car, the more difficult the driver has backing into the parking space
• The traffic rate coming into the garage increases at an exponential rate the closer it is to the experience time
• Collge kids were out in force today (driving and riding)
• When I hear tires squealing in the deck, I can be pretty sure it's a male under the age of 21 driving
• Some people get a red "x" and a green "arrow" confused
• Pigeons take care of one another
• When I smile at someone and say "Welcome to Elevation", it's a 99.9 percent likelihood that they will return the smile, even if they were frowning coming in
• I work with a great parking team (even when machines fail us, you came through again!
• Our job as the "first face" of Elevation is to welcome everyone to the garage and smile them on their way to the worship experience

Today was amazing - there was a creative worship element that was just awesome: a great set-up for Pastor Steven's message.

Word just came around that the Uptown campus had 981 attending - shattering our previous high numbers. We sent party buses to 4 college campuses and that was great!

No apologies - we care about the numbers, because behind the number is a person, and behind that person is a story of someone God loves.

Simply. Amazing. Thank you God for allowing me to be a small part of YOUR great movement called Elevation!

Loving the City, Serving the City

Another audacious goal from Elevation Church:

Love Charlotte by giving over 5,000 hours in service to the community Feb 13-21

Elevation Church is celebrating its fourth anniversary by loving the city of Charlotte in very tangible ways: a goal of Elevation volunteers giving at least one hour each for a total of 5,000 hours serving in the community.

Pastor Steven Furtick spoke powerfully in worship Sunday from Jeremiah 29:4-7. Some key thoughts:

• We exist for the good of this city
• Churches should be known for loving their cities more than any other entity there
• Love - because God first loved you
• Wherever you are, God put you there for a purpose

The typical responses of churches?

• Condemnation
• Isolation
• Imitation

Elevation Church is choosing TRANSFORMATION instead.

Elevation Celebration

It was party time at Elevation Church's Matthews Campus as we celebrated our 4th anniversary and Pastor Steven Furtick's 30th birthday. Over 1,000 of our volunteer leaders packed out the house. Wade, Chris, Mack, and London led in worship. Larry served as MC, introducing video clips around the theme of 30.

Israel Houghton surprised Pastor Steven, showing up to give an mini-concert. Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch spoke powerfully, giving honor and advice to Pastor Steven. Here are a few points he spoke to honor Pastor Steven:

• Potentially the greatest voice in your generation
• The things no one sees result in what everyone wants
• Teachable
• Rock solid marriage
• Anointed and highly favored by God
• You show biblical honor to others
• Radically generous as individual
• Deep reverence to the priority of the Word of God
• Integrity to go the distance
• Audacious faith

Here is the advice Craig gave to Pastor Steven:

1. Ministry is a marathon, not a sprint
2. The foundation of Elevation Church is not yet built; we are a micro church with a macro vision
3. You are going to be misunderstood and despised
4. Do not pay attention to critics or fans
5. Live for an audience of One
6. Do not get caught up in the success of this world
7. Continue to let people tell you the truth
8. Do not limit your thinking to this city, state or nation - aim for world impact
9. Do not insult God with small dreams

As a gift to us, Pastor Steven gave out a blank mini-Moleskine with the following stamped inside:

Our Story. Elevation Church.

He challenged us to write the story along with him.

It was an experience too powerful to put into words. Truly, you had to be there. God is at work among the Elevation Nation, and we are ready to respond to His calling.