Dr. Chris Stephens

Hey Friends,

Hey leaders, if you’re over 45 years old it is your job to raise up younger leaders for the Kingdom! If you read the ministry of the Apostle Paul you will see him pouring into many younger leaders. If we do not do it, the Church will be in serious trouble. Many denominations and churches have failed at this point and realized it only after it was too late. If we do not make room for them they will find another place to serve the Lord! More churches than we can count have made this fatal mistake.

Both the aging and the younger leaders come at this with a bias. Older leaders look down on the younger and the younger do not respect the experience and wisdom of older leaders. Younger leaders feel left out and disrespected and older leaders feel they have to hold all the keys. Both are wrong.

I was reading the story of Solomon’s death and the rise of his son, Rehoboam, to the throne of Israel. You know the story and it is very revealing in this situation. As Rehoboam was crowned King, the people asked for mercy from him. He asked the older counselors for their advice and they told him to show kindness. He asked the younger men what they thought he should do. They told him to be harsh! He chose the advice of the younger men. As a result, 10 of the 12 tribes revolted and divided the Kingdom.

He was the rightful King and yet his inexperience and lack of wisdom divided Israel. This is a great illustration of how both generations are required if we are to move into the future with great leadership.

So, older leaders must make room for the younger and the younger must listen. The older leaders need to listen to the ideas of the younger. The younger leaders are usually more in tune with the culture. If we are to remain relevant we must listen. That does not mean we do everything they want. If they know they are loved and respected they will respond with the same love and respect.

Paul told his young protégé not to let people look down on his youth. The Church should reflect multigenerational leadership and membership if it is to be strong and viable for the future.

Just a word from the Word.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

P.S. At Faith Promise we are strategically making room for the next generation at every level and in every ministry.

Hey Friends,

This weekend I was walking through the Word when I reread a story we have all studied: Absalom’s rebellion against his father, King David. I am not going to retell the whole story but you can read it in 2 Sam. 13-19. There are many facets and angles to the story, but this time I read it from a leadership perspective.

King David was a man after God’s own heart. He was a superb leader and built a great dynasty. In the middle of his reign after he was well established as the King and Leader of Israel, his son “stole” the hearts of the people away from David. The people loved David and yet he was usurped by his son. How could this happen? I know this - if it can happen to him it can happen to any of us!!!

After David allowed his banished son to return to Jerusalem, he began a slow steady revolt right under everyone’s noses. For four years Absalom would stay at the gates of the city and tell people if he were King they would get justice. He would be an ear for the downtrodden and misused. Sounds like a presidential race and political promises. The only problem is that David was not up for reelection. He was King for life unless someone stole the crown.

By the time David was warned, Absalom was already marching with David’s army at his command. He was coming to kill David and become the King. He had already crowned himself King. David knew he was beaten and he fled from his son. As I meditated on the story some questions came to mind:

• How did King David get so disconnected from his people?
• Did David see it and ignore it because it was his son?
• Did no one warn the King of the uprising?
• Where were David’s trusted men?
• Was David so confident that nothing could happen to his leadership?
• Can this happen today?
• How can I stay connected with the church I lead so this will not ever happen to me?
• If the devil were to try to divide you and your people, how would he do it?
• What would the signs be if you were becoming disconnected?

I think that this is a very important issue for each of us and we should all have our ear to the ground and our fingers on the pulse of the organizations we lead.

What are your thoughts?

Let’s keep asking the right questions to the right people and we will get all the information we need to keep growing, learning and leading well.

Just a thought.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

I had a thought while praying for you this morning. Since the new book went on sale last week my first book has started selling again. I am going to offer everyone both books for $20.00. Everybody loves a deal, especially at Christmas. So here it is, just for you.

My chief aim and goal is to help people achieve their full potential placed in them by the Lord. Both of these books are designed to do just that. Since most people just got the book last weekend few have finished it, but those that have already have sent great endorsements and testimonies.

I have worked and prayed over the new book for many years. It was and is a labor of love. It is my prayer as you read the book that you will have a clear plan for your personal and family growth for 2012.

Thanks for helping me get the word out. “Everything you hand finds to do, do it heartily for the Lord.”

Praying for you.

Love ya

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

We all want God’s favor to rush over us like a raging river! There is only one problem with God answering our prayers – we will have to have our faith increased to match the new challenges! Having our faith increased requires gut-wrenching prayer and some stressful situations. When we are in a position that requires faith and there is nothing we can do about it, it is uncomfortable. We do not like uncomfortable!

Being in a position of faith puts us in a place of utter dependence and total desperation. We realize and recognize that we are not in control. As I look back over almost 30 years of ministry, the things I asked God for years ago look small today. I can promise you they were not small then! As God continues to pour His favor on me I have to have more faith.

In the last few weeks I have been in crisis mode. Josh Whitehead, our Executive Pastor, showed me the budget for Faith Promise for 2012. Let me bottom line it for you – a 21% increase! $3,000.00 dollars a day more. The increase is due to the launching of the North Knox Campus in March and the expanded Pellissippi campus. Gut Punch!  What do I do? This is huge… a time of stress, freaking out, etc., then time to remember all God has done.

Expanded Favor Requires Extreme Faith!

We all want His blessings, favor, Hand, and increase of so many things, but what of the feeling and the faith required? This is why so many shrink back at the blessing of the Lord.

As I write this blog I have just finished my prayer time. I am asking the Lord for a million dollar month this December. December is a great giving month, but 1,000,000.00? Extreme! This is what we need to finish the year and be in shape for 2012. So, I need extreme faith for all that we are asking the Lord to do.

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Would you pray with me and agree for God to move? In what area do you need favor and then faith? To have one, the other is required!

How do you see it?

Love Ya,

Pastor Chris

P.S. I would love some help getting the word out about the new book.

Hey Friends,

It has been almost three weeks since I wrote a blog. I left the info about my upcoming book up so we could get the word out. I believe the new book, The Plan of Your Life: Managing What Matters Most, will add value to whoever reads it. The copies will be available the first weekend of December.

Let me give you an odd kind of thought today: Tunnel vision can kill you. Two weeks ago Josh Whitehead and I went to Austin, TX on a fact-finding mission. We met with leaders from Celebration Church and Austin Stone Church. It was very informative and helpful.

While at the airport I tried to play a game on my iPad. I am not a “gamer” so I did not do very well. The game was Flight Control. I challenged Josh to try to best my high score – not a very difficult feat. He did, so I have been trying to replace his score. The game is about attempting to land planes. While playing I noticed something the game does. As you focus on several planes landing on one portion of the screen, it will send another from a part of the screen you are not watching. If you have tunnel vision you will crash and the game is over.

In the real world this means focusing on several things to the exclusion of other things. As a leader, you might be focused on fixing a problem in one area while another pops up and you do not notice. With the game you just hit reset and then try again. In real life, leadership is not that easy. There is not a reset button for a crashed family or business.

Without much effort you can crash your family, ministry, small group, church, or business. We all see this from time to time. A leader is not paying attention and problems arise without being dealt with, and very soon…CRASH!

Are your eyes wide open and is your antenna up? Beware of tunnel focus. It is so easy to do. In the church world the enemy is waiting for an open door to attack! Be ready and live on full alert.

Just a thought.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

Well, after years of work and prayer, my second book is about to be here. We had almost 10,000 copies of the first book, The Climb of Your Life:Reaching the Peak of Your Potential, out and it is still selling. Now, we have the second book: The Plan of Your Life: Managing What Matters Most!  This book will help hundreds of thousands of people grow closer to Jesus. The bottom line of the book is helping people create a personal growth plan in the five most important areas of their lives.

I am so fired up about its potential for the Kingdom of God. The book was written as a story, in a creative way to hold the reader’s attention while helping him or her to grow. The first 5,000 copies will be at Faith Promise the first weekend in December. I am now pre-selling them. You can purchase them on this website or at Faith Promise.

This book will not only help you, but anyone you give it to. I encourage you to give it as Christmas gifts or stocking suffers. This is a gift that will keep giving for the rest of eternity.

So, here is how can you HELP:

1. Pray for the book to “Grow Legs” and get into the hands of hundreds of thousands that will benefit from it.

2. Get a copy for yourself, read it and write a testimony to be added to this website.

3. Get a copy for friends and family. Christmas is the perfect time!

4. Help me get the word out by Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media you have access to. You can link to this site and get the word out.

5. Give me other ideas of how to spread the word.

Thanks in advance for your help and prayers. Together we can continue to add value to so many others.

Love and appreciate you,

Pastor Chris

P.S. Nobody makes a huge difference unless a lot of people want him or her to do so. We are better together!

Hey Friends,

As you already realize, I love growth! I love it personally, spiritually and ministerially. I love to see the Church grow. There is one problem with growth – IT CHANGES EVERYTHING!

I love what Larry Osborne said in his book, Sticky Teams: “Never forget, growth changes everything. A storefront church, a midsized church, a large church, and a megachurch aren’t simply bigger versions of the same thing. They are completely different animals. They have little in common, especially relationally, organizationally, and structurally.”

I used to think you just added more chairs or services and now I realize that growth causes major restructuring in the organization. Most pastors are so focused on the spiritual that we miss the required recalibration to sustain the growth and additional people. Without realizing it, many of us have hamstrung our ministries due to organizational mismanagement. Not on purpose, nor is it sin; its just not the proper structure or governance.

It is amazing that what used to work at 500, now is a barrier at 1,200. This is what I call the danger zone. Things have to change and yet no one really wants them to. We like it how it is. We like the relationships we have fostered and the reporting structure. We like it and we enjoyed watching the growth.

This leads me to a question: Which do you like more – how it is now or the vision God has given you to accomplish? You did not think it was going to be that easy, did you? If we are vision-driven then the goals and the outcome will drive our organization, not necessarily what we like.

Right now, what is holding you back from going to the next level? There is no question that change is a basic requirement. Are you ready?

Just a thought.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

Even as a casual reader of this blog, you know I am totally committed to leadership and developing others to reach their leadership potential. Yet, it can easily fall out of a primary position in any organization. Even though I firmly believe everything rises and falls on leadership, radical growth can kill leader development. For the last several years Faith Promise has grown at a rate of 15-20 percent annually. With growth like this it is easy to find yourself living with your hair on fire!

With this kind of growth, hundreds of volunteers, small groups and connection points are required to assimilate God’s harvest of souls. Last year we baptised over 500 people. That is a lot of baby believers to disciple and care for. Let this go on for several years and you tend to drop leader development and just try to keep up with the growth. I know better and it still happened to me!

I am grateful God grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and pointed out my omission. Now it is time to get our hands dirty with raising up ministers and leaders.  Can we really drown in God’s blessings? We have slowed down in growth at our first campus due to space limitations. But I think there are more limitations than just space.

I am convinced that the Lord will only send us the people we can care for. Without knowing it, leadership, volunteers and groups can be the limiters, not just the facilities. Here we are with four campuses and all that is required to keep them running. Time to get back to the fundamentals!

This is not an easy shift for a staff and church that are used to radical growth. I am so excited about the future and the challenges before us. There is “gold in them there pews!” It is time to mine the potential of people who are just sitting in the pews! I believe this is God ordered and He will empower us to accomplish His vision. Your vision can never outdistance your leadership.

How do you see it?

Just thinking out loud.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

P.S. My new book, The Plan of Your Life-Managing What Matters Most, goes on pre-sale this weekend at Faith Promise!

Hey Friends,

Maybe you have noticed I have not been posting near as many blogs lately. Three months of not feeling good has a way of slowing you down. Most of you know I love to read and grow. Part of my personal growth plan for 2011 is to read 25 books. Thought I would give you some of the latest books that I enjoyed. These are in no particular order of priority.

1. IR-REV-REND. By Greg Surratt. This was a great read. It is funny and devotional in nature. The author is a great man of God and leader in the Kingdom.

2. Onward. By Howard Schultz. This was a great book of passion and leadership in difficult circumstances. I highly recommend it.

3. Leading On Empty. By Wayne Cordellio. This is a must read for leaders in ministry and any leader would gain great value by reading the book. It could save your life or ministry.

4. Presidential Courage. I forgot the author but it was an awesome book. The book deals with difficult decisions in the worse times. These decisions changed our Nation.

5. Whisper. By Bill Hybles. This book covered the topic of hearing God’s voice. It was a pleasure to read and very motivational. Hybles has been where few have dared to trod.

Any of these books could add value to you. If you do not read these, which ones will you read? If you do not read then how will you grow into your full potential? I pray you have a passion for personal growth. At the heart of personal growth is a greater goal of pleasing the  Lord who died for us.

Hope this helps.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

P.S. Keep watching I will give an opportunity to prepurchase my next book “The Plan of Your Life, managing what matters most.” Pray with me that this book grows legs and helps untold numbers of people grow more like Jesus.