Thursday, September 16, 2010

Roger Patterson - Influence 2010


Roger Patterson - Senior Pastor at West University Baptist & Crosspoint Church in Houston, Texas. Author, “Leading from the Second Chair.”
  • If you can ever start anything, do it in the summer...because nobody is paying attention
  • 1 Samuel 19
  • I have been on one end of the spear, as a new senior pastor, hurling it at my staff; I have also been at the other end as the spear is being hurled at me
  • If you want to cultivate influence, learn to navigate relationships with other leaders well
  • If you’ve been given the gift of leadership, govern or lead with all diligence
  • There are 4 types of authority: Governing, relational, vocational, spiritual
  • We as God’s people are fundamentally sent with the authority of Jesus
  • The church is adopting the business mindset where we live to please and serve the CEO (pastor)
  • We think we have to keep the King happy, and if we don’t, he will pin them to the wall
  • What could happen in the local church if we as lead pastors realize that the organization is not here to serve us, but we are here to serve those whom God has placed around us?
  • 1 Samuel 19:10
  • What do you do when you’re serving on a church staff and the authority you’re trying to serve picks up a spear and hurls it at you?
  • 5 “be” words, 5 courses of action
  • Be Safe
  • David made good his escape
  • You have the freedom to get to a place of safety
  • Find a buffer between you & the king trying to hurl a spear at you
  • Contentment is a choice to stay and grow for a season, no matter the circumstance. Too many people leave the second chair far too early
  • 1 Samuel 24:1-7
  • When there is conflict on the church staff, when a king is chasing a commander...the enemy is rejoicing
  • Be Wise
  • Be wise in who you share it with, how you share it, and what you listen to...
  • When you’re finding it hard to follow your senior pastor, are you tempted to cut off a corner of his robe? To tear the kingdom?
  • As goes the senior pastor & staff relationship, so goes the church
  • Be Humble
  • Great book called “Tale of 3 Kings” dealing with spiritual abuse and the progression from King Saul to David to Absalom
  • David would have grown up to be King Saul the 2nd
  • God is using the leader in your life to shape you into the leader God wants you to be
  • God is not the author of your abuse, he does not endorse the misuse of pastoral authority
  • Don’t pick up the spear and throw it back
  • Romans 12:19-21
  • It is not my job to protect my name. It’s God’s.
  • Be Free
  • 1 Samuel 24:9-15
  • It’s a liberating thing to have a chance to speak the truth to the one who has inflicted pain in your life
  • To be submissive is to be like Jesus. Submission is not a curse word.
  • We’ve inverted the system, we fear man, we’re not taking the fight to the enemy
  • Be Amazed
  • Leave room for God to repay, don’t try to take vengeance
  • “Nothing” is “something.” You can take just these 5 principals, and nothing else, and be amazed at the changes in the situation.