Blogathon

Up next is Michael Lukaszewski.  Michael is the pastor of Oak Leaf Church in Cartersville, GA.  He is truly one of the best leaders I have ever known.  I have had the opportunity of visiting Oak Leaf Church on several occasions. I have also had numerous conversations with Michael and been able to sit in on staff meetings at Oak Leaf.  In every occasion, I have walked away with better insight on the church and how to lead it.  So go spend a little time on Michael's blog, you will be both challenged and excited about what God is doing in North Georgia.  And then, come back and read his guest blog post here.

Addicted to Blog Porn

One of the reasons that church planters and church leaders often feel discouraged is because they are addicted to blog porn. We all read the blogs and follow the twitter updates and hear amazing things all the time. Pastor Billy just spoke the word and $5 Million was given to their capital campaign. And $1 Million of that came from a big giver. Heck, our big giver gives $100. Pastor Kevin did a series and 800 people were saved, and 850 of those people got baptized. We've only seen three people trust Christ this month.

We look at our core group or our attendance or our giving trends and wonder if we're even in the same league. I learn a TON from reading the blogs of high capacity leaders. But sometimes, I read their stuff and feel discouraged. God is doing some amazing things in THAT church, but what about MY church? What can we do to make our services as exciting as so-and-so, or how can we baptize 100 people in 15 minutes? I forget that God doesn't just rejoice when 800 are saved, He also parties when one crosses the line. I forget that in my town of 20,000 people, God is doing amazing things. When we compare ourselves to the all-stars, and treat their blogs like porn, we think we're failures.

The reality is that God has given you a unique set of gifts, placed you in a unique setting, and surrounded you with a unique group of people. You can learn from those people, but you can never duplicate their results. That's because they have a unique set of gifts, a unique calling and a unique group of people as well. Comparing yourself to them, comparing your people to their people, and your budget to their budget isn't really fair.

As a leader, I've done this. And it's led me to feel bad or not be excited about what God is doing here in Cartersville. Which is just as amazing.

Michael
oakleafchurch.com [church]
youcanknowgod.com [blog]