CM TeleSummit – Proactive Leadership – Karl Bastian

Posted by Wayne on Jun 22, 2010 in Leadership | Comments Off on CM TeleSummit – Proactive Leadership – Karl Bastian

There are several people who have spoken thus far that I really admire and whom I have learned a lot from.  That said, I feel compelled to mention my great respect for Karl Bastian.  His heart for children is evident in all he does.  More importantly though, I think, his heart for those who minister to children is admirable.  That said, here are my notes from Karl’s presentation at the CMTelesummit.

Introduction

• Glad to see Gus made a cameo appearance at the Telesummit (make sure to check out their podcast)
• Kidology.org – around since 1994
• Have to understand kids if we want to minister to them

Proactive Leadership

• Article from Children’s Ministry Profession Edition: http://www.kidology.org/zones/zone_post.asp?post_id=11425
• Want to lead proactively, not from a reactive position
• Have to “grab the remote” and take control of your personal and profession life
• The Fast Forward button
  • Proactive leaders focus on the future
  • Don’t get bogged down in the present
  • Three types of people
    • Those who make things happen
    • Those who watch things happen
    • Those who say, what just happened?
  • Proactive leaders look to the future – what could get done?  What could we do better?
  • Try to see ministry through fresh eyes
  • Forward momentum towards success
  • VISION
    • V – Visualize the finished product
    • I – Imagine the possibilities
    • S – See it through others’ eyes
    • I – Innovate, Improvise, Invent – don’t settle for what’s always been done
    • O – Open your eyes to the possibilities
    • N – Never say never
  • If it doesn’t happen, it’s because it isn’t part of God’s plan
  • Not there to put fires out, there to organize and take the ministry somewhere
  • May need to recruit some firemen to put out fires
• The Rewind Button
  • Evaluation button
  • Not living in the past
  • Evaluate Events
    • What went well
    • Praise everyone involved
    • What could we have done better?
  • Learning to take criticism
    • Seek out criticism
    • First reaction may be to assume problem is with other person
    • Must learn to accept
    • Irrelevant HOW people criticize you
    • No matter how they do it, you should receive it correctly
      • Accept it
      • Thank you for it
      • Make them part of your advisory team (unofficially)
      • Your friends and fans won’t criticize you – they won’t tell you the bad stuff
    • When you mess up, go straight to your leader with it
• The Record Button
  • Investment
  • In scope of eternity, that button is always playing
  • Everything we do in life is being recorded
  • Everything we do matters
  • This ought to motivate us to do our best
    • Minister with excellence
    • Don’t waste any time
    • Motivate us not to sulk or despair when we fail
• The Pause Button
  • Reflection
  • Need to build in times of reflection into our lives
  • Reflect on your own personal life and spiritual life
  • Have plan for your family and spiritual life
  • Reflect on that plan
  • Schedule a time to reflect on that plan
  • It is important to stop and reflect
• The Stop Button
  • When do you stop from your work?
  • God wired us to stop – the Sabbath
  • God wires our bodies and our souls to need rest
  • Good example – when someone dies, everything else gets cancelled
    • People cover for you
    • World goes on
  • When crises happen, everything stops and life goes on and you pick it up later and everything is fine
  • You can stop without a crisis
    • Isn’t your kid that important?
    • Isn’t your wife or husband that important?
    • Isn’t your devotional time that important?
  • Some things may need to not happen or get delayed
  • What is the worse that can happen?
  • What would really happen if you put every message in your inbox and stuck them all somewhere else and started over
    • Start fresh
    • Not the end of the world
  • You have a stop button and you can use it if you are proactive
  • Everything you would have done on that day can be done a day later
• The Play Button
  • There is no more fun ministry than children’s ministry
  • But, children’s ministry is draining
  • Recreation is RE-“CREATION”
  • Have to plan it into your life
  • Find what works for you
• Battery Compartment
  • What is the power source for your life
    • Going on your own strength?
    • Going on power of holy spirit and prayer?
  • Start your day in prayer
• Brand of Remote
  • Are you building your own brand, your church, your ministry, or Jesus?
  • Be branded by Jesus