“Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them.” (Robert Jarvik)
Today I want you to think like a comedian and grab the microphone. The most basic rule and premise of creating comedy (which makes for strong leadership skills) is agreement. Radical agreement.
When you're improvising on the fly, this means you are required to agree with whatever your partner has created and thrown out there. Always agree with a Yes.
When two performers agree in the moment, the scene moves forward. To create a Holy Shift, your default must be to start with a Yes.
When you start with a Yes, you will generate ideas faster and more efficiently. Yes-thinking helps you pivot out of tight and uncomfortable spaces at church by creating agreement and a shared path forward.
“No” grinds invention, innovation, and forward-movement to a screeching halt. Pressing into the Yes reminds you to respect what your partner has created and to start from an open-minded place. The fun is found on the other side of Yes.
I am the founding pastor of Life Church Michigan which serves the Great Lakes Bay Region of the High Five State. Launched on St. Patrick’s Day in 2013, we are one church in two locations growing faster than water on mogwai. I get asked all the time why our church is growing so fast when we started with absolutely no people and no money. The answer is simple: I believe deep down in my core that Christ followers are given the mission by God to reach the lost at any cost.
Because of that passion, I am willing to do whatever it takes to reach people who normally will not darken a church door. As goes the leader, so goes the church. If you want your people to be fired up about reaching out and making heaven crowded, look in the mirror, because it starts with you!
