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Goodbye, fairwell, and that other word from Sound of Music I can’t spell…
(On Sunday , after 11 years of ministry, I officially announced my departure from FBC Weston. Heres why.)
All,
On behalf of the Bennett Family, I want to thank you for the last 11 years of ministry. I am truly blessed to have served you. I don’t have enough words to express my gratitude. You have helped reach students and families with the gospel. You have helped disciple and evangelize a generation. I would challenge you to continue to pursue Christ, live out the gospel, and rescue a generation of students and help them to become like Christ.
It’s an amazing paradox isn’t it? Christ joins us as believers through the bond of salvation. A justified family of brothers and sisters in Christ. That same ‘family’ bond also breaks us apart as God leads us to pursue the cause of Christ for the world. I am incredibly excited about the next phase of ministry. Pray for us as we transition. Love you guys. You will be in my prayers and in our hearts always.
As I stated to the church on Sunday morning, the Bennett’s will be continuing to live in Weston and our children will finish the semester at WCA at the end of the school year. Many have asked, ‘where are you going?’. So, in order to not have to continue to answer so many emails and texts and twitter messages:), Here are the details: I am pursuing a few different things this next year but the majority of my time will be spent on developing a new ministry called Legend Labs which is a mentoring group to churches with my friend Adam Bond.
Last year Adam asked me to be on his board of directors of his new group. Later in the year when he learned of transition plans he asked me to pray about resigning my board position and coming on as a ministry partner full time. After wrestling with God for quite a few months I finally committed in January 2012 to one year time frame to help him and see from there where it all lands. Very exciting times.
- check out what we do here: www.legendlabs.org
- my new email is erik@legendlabs.org
Christ Alone,
Erik, Jill and the rest of the Bennett’s
Why I Trust 20 year olds w/ My Future.
In Marcus Buckingham’s book, Stand Out, there is a great tool that helps analyze your giftedness.
My highest scores were as, Provider and Pioneer if you’re playing along. A Provider is someone who values the team and wants everyone to come along for the ride of leadership. No one gets left behind. A Provider would see great value in team leadership and want to give access to many voices. The Pioneer is someone who loves the challenge of doing new things or restructuring an old way to a new way of doing things. Combining those two types produces: Trailblazer. A friend in ministry called me, Daniel Boone. Maybe this is why I love shows like Deadliest Catch and Gold Rush. They are shows about team work and adventure. That could be a Gen M hashtag. #TeamworkAdventure. M’s are a great tool that most leaders over the age of 40 have yet to fully value.
Here is part of what a Millennial can do in your organization. They can tell you whether you are being honest in your evaluation of yourself. Millennials have this uncanny knack at seeing truth for truth. They can spot a fake and sniff out the truth. If truth got buried in an avalanche we’d use Milliennial St. Bernard rescue dogs to sniff out a rescue. Are you engaged with Millennials on your leadership team? Here’s how you can lead them to help you lead your organization:
- Give them a true voice at the leadership table. You will feel scared that their lack of practical experience will derail you. Dismiss that feeling. Fear is never a good motivator. Instead, listen to the words they say and how they make you stick to topic and doctrine. They know a line when the hear it. Use them to help you know the same. Use them to help vocally challenge the norms.
- Let them dream about change out loud. Millennials want to change failing systems. Let them browse your systems and then allow them to dream about a new way of doing things. This will cause you to be scared. Dismiss that feeling. Fear is never a good motivator (yes, I said it again.). Instead, listen to what they dream about. I like hearing Gen M’s dream about the future church, since in fact, they are it.
- Ask them good questions that promote more questions. Gen M thrives in places that reek community. They leave places that don’t. Good questions create atmospheres that allow for community. The question, is the petri dish of community. We ask Gen M questions that help make us all think together through issues. Dont be afraid to ask hard and challenging questions (repeat that sentence about fear). Gen M’s see that as you valuing their place at the table. It makes them bonded to you and to the organization.
- Dont leave their decisions aside without telling them why. Biggest.Mistake.Ever. Gen M’s need to know if they are doing well or if they need to raise their game. To walk through the first three steps and leave this one out will destroy any community you thought you created. Why would you throw that away? Fear (repeat the sentence again). If the decisions don’t make sense for your Org let them know. It wont hurt their feelings. Instead it will energize them toward helping you solve another part of the process.
- Take numbers 1 through 4 and apply it toward a personal friendship. It’s not time they are after, its you. They desire mentoring not coaching. Mentors don’t solve problems they help you solve problems. Coaches dictate who you could be if you followed their direction. Coaches win or lose. Mentors help you prepare for life after the game. Spend an early morning drinking coffee or a late night playing Call of Duty (preferably: MW3). Allow them to see your life and speak into it. You will find that they speak into it with questions so that they will have answers to live their life. This is all about the team and the relationships within it.
Who are the Gen M’s on your team? How are you using them to help impact your organization? How are you using them to impact your own life? How are you creating community in your organization?
