Jim and Julienne were both being considered for consulting with Delmar Community Church (DCC). DCC was a church struggling to reach the community immediately around the church property. It’s not that there was a lack of people to reach. After all there were 450 homes in the three subdivisions surrounding the church. Jim and Julienne were both interviewed and given the information church members thought was pertinent. They each were to come back and present to church leaders their proposal for working with the church in one week. The basic question each was asked was, “How can you help us to reach our community?”

The following Monday evening, Jim was first to present his proposal. Jim arrived fifteen minutes early, set up his computer and projector and began at 5:30 sharp. Very confident in his proposal, Jim’s PowerPoint presentation included charts and graphs of the churches declining attendance for the past ten years, demographics of the community around the church, and various other photos and statements. It was obvious Jim had done his homework and put time and research into his proposal. Jim’s final statement was, “It is apparent that the community does not know who you are or that you want to get to know them. We will come along side you and help you to develop mailers, postcards, doorhangers and other items to help you get the word out about the church. We will assist you in promoting the events you are already doing to draw more people in. This is how we can help you reach your community.”

The group thanked Jim and carried on minor conversations while he packed to leave. Fifteen minutes later, Julienne arrived. She came in carrying a leather-bound notebook. No computer, no projector, no posters or other visual aids. The one other item she seemed to be carrying was nerves. She seemed a little timid or apprehensive. Like the first one, the pastor opened this meeting with prayer and asked Julienne the basic question she had been asked to research. “Julienne, we’re eager to hear “How can you help us to reach our community?”

Julienne, sat up straight in her chair, leaned into the table and stated, “I thought about that question for probably a day and a half before I came to a conclusion.” She had everyone’s undivided attention. They were awaiting a big announcement. And she gave them one, but of a totally different aspect than they were expecting. “My conclusion is that that is the wrong question to be asking. And if I were to answer it, I would not be helping you with what you desire.”

With perplexed looks of surprise and puzzlement on the faces of her audience, Julienne continued. “If I came in here and gave you a list of things to do, or that I could do for you, then that plan would be mine, not yours. Let me ask you, would a better question be, ‘What has God given you? What has He placed right here in your congregation to use to reach your community?’ What ever that is, it is not mine. You are not borrowing from me. You already own it. It is in your possession. What I am willing to offer you is assistance in discovering and developing those skills and resources to reach your community.”

Now, a few nods appear around the table and looks of satisfaction and agreement replace the surprise and puzzled looks from moments ago. Julienne spent the next 20 minutes leading the group in discussing what this partnership could look like. (Julie was asking most of the questions, leading the members to discover the path needed.)

Julienne got the consulting job with the Delmar Community Church. Why? Jim was thorough and made a very good presentation. However, Jim used lineal thinking. Julienne, on the other hand, used lateral thinking. Lineal thinking stays on the path we know, the familiar, well-worn path. While Jim had a good plan, it did not carry a wow factor. It did not create any discovery learning for the church leaders.  Lateral thinking is willing to get off the known path into the weeds and thicket to find the jewels that can only be found off the beaten path.

Most people are lineal thinkers. It takes practice to become a lateral thinker. A good lateral thinking coach can help you and your organization become better, more effective than you’ve ever dreamed. For more information on becoming a lateral thinker or moving your church or organization to better effectiveness contact George Yates and pick up your copy of Turnaround Journey.

The following is from a recent meeting with a Reaching the Summit pastor.

“Some of the changes I’ve noticed since we started Reaching the Summit: People are coming to me and asking to help. This never happened before. I have people coming and asking to do things for me or someone else. Just this week we’ve had two deaths. One young deacon called me and said, ‘I know Jack (name changed) is the deacon for this family (just lost a loved one).’” Jack’s family had also lost a family member the day before. This deacon went on to ask, “Is it all right if I go and minister to this family? Jack does not need to deal with this right now. He has his own family to take care of.”

The pastor went on to say, “This has always been a loving church, but in my ten years here, nothing like this has ever happened before. And this is just one incident. I have people calling me asking about me and what they can do for me. That did not happen before. Not the way it is now. Only since we started this process (Reaching the Summit).”

Reaching the Summit has helped many churches in various ways. Reaching the Summit is a process that looks at each church individually. It is not a program or a cookie cutter approach. Every church that I have worked with through the Reaching the Summit process has gained valuable, usable insight and been able to constructively use that insight to be more effective in ministry.

The church mentioned above has seen several shifts and modifications in ministry and they’ve not completed the sessions yet. By changing the way they do small groups Bible studies, they saw an immediate increase of 25%. Whether you’re running 60 or 6,000, 25% is a great increase of people in Bible study. This church is seeing a true disciple-making transformation.

Other churches have seen significant increases in baptisms, community engagement, discipleship, leadership development, and prayer ministry. All of these lead to more effective disciple-making ministry. And it is all principle based.

Reaching the Summit is not a consultant’s view of “if you do these 3 things you’ll be good to go.” Reaching the Summit starts with confronting the brutal facts of your ministry and builds upon what God has placed in your midst, using biblical principles and practices to support those principles.

I am a firm believer in biblically based principles. Whether in your personal life, business, or church if you get the principles right and put practices in place to follow those principles, you will succeed. Let me encourage you to purchase a copy of Reaching the Summit and contact me, George Yates about the possibility of working with your church to be the most effective ministry for which God has set you apart.

In his book, Lead with a Story, Paul Smith shares of a new CEO for a grocery/department store chain. Upon taking the helm of the company, the new CEO began implementing practices that demonstrated the company’s core values. One value was “The Customer Always Comes First.” The CEO sent out an edict that all store management personnel were to park at the farthest point in the lot from the front doors of the store. The customers should never park beyond where the management parked. The idea was employees would follow suit. Apparently, this had not been the practice at most of the company stores.

The employees of one store were watching for the new CEO’s arrival for a scheduled visit. It was raining hard on this particular day. They watched as they saw the CEO’s car pull into the parking lot driving around in the torrential downpour. The CEO had a decision to make. Surely, he had a valid excuse. After all, one parking space certainly would not matter in this rain, for a half hour visit.

The employees watched as his car pulled in, drove around, then headed straight to the back of the lot, farthest away from the door. A couple minutes later the employees watched a man in a very expensive suit running across the parking lot, enter the store completely drenched. He purchased an ill-fitting suit off the rack to replace his expensive tailor made one and continued his visit.

For this CEO there was no decision to be made – or at least it was an easy, “no brainer” decision. He set the standard and lived by example. And, in doing so, he taught a valuable lesson that circulated throughout that company for years and is still being circulated today as it is retold in organizations and stories like this one you are reading today.  And all for the price of one suit.

Values are not something to compromise. In fact, every action you take and every word you speak are outward manifestations of your core values. That’s right. The way you treat people. Whether or not you smile at those you meet. The places you visit, your shopping practices, your eating habits. Everything you do is rooted in those beliefs you hold so dear – your core values.

To reach your full potential as a person, determine what your core values are. Core Values are not that difficult to determine. Ask yourself these questions:

1)      What causes me to act and respond the way I do?

2)      Why do I treat certain people differently?

3)      What am I passionate about?

4)      How do I desire others to see & think of me?

5)      What is the motive behind the motive for each of the answers to the above questions?

The fifth question is critical after answering the others. I might say I give to a particular organization because I want to help people. That would be my stated motive for doing so. However, there is a motive behind that motive. And it many times has to do with “feeling good about myself.”

Why not take time to discover your core values? Be certain to include an honest, thorough examination of the motive behind your motives.  

For more information or assistance with determining core values for yourself or your organization contact George Yates and visit SonC.A.R.E. Ministries. It would be my pleasure to assist you. – It’s one of my core values!

As a child it was a privilege and rare occasion when my siblings and I received a soft drink. I can remember a time when we stopped for lunch on one particular trip. There were four of us lined up across the back seat of the car. Stopping like this for lunch usually meant stopping for a loaf of bread, a package of fresh sliced bologna, and a half gallon of milk. It may not sound like much today, but a slice of fresh cut bologna between two slices of fresh bread and a cup of cold milk, is a treasured memory for me.

On this particular occasion, instead of milk, Dad purchased a bottle of 7up for us to share in the backseat. Wow! Now this was a real treat. It started on the right side of the car. We each took a drink and passed it to the next person. Each one taking a drink (yes, out of the same bottle. This was before germafobia set into our culture) and passing it to the next sibling. When the bottle got to the left side of the car, the process started over from left to right.

It did not take long for my Dad to realize something we children had not comprehended. The two seated in the middle were getting two drinks to every one drink taken by the two siblings on the outsides. The two in the middle would drink as it went to the left and as it returned to the right. The two on the outside however, would take one drink and pass it back. Dad then instructed us in how to make it fair with everyone receiving equal amounts.

Sharing is a good thing. However, sharing can be done in an unfair and unfruitful way as well. These types of sharing will lead to mediocrity and away from greatness.

I want to consider one other approach we see in churches and other organizations that leads to mediocrity and keeps an organization from greatness. This often occurs in many small churches when two or three people pass a position back and forth. One, let us say Mr. Smith, will serve in a position for a term as per the church by-laws. When his/her term is over, the position is passed to a second individual, Mrs. Davis. When Mrs. Davis’ term is over, the position will go back to Mr. Smith. And the cycle continues with these two individuals swapping out key leadership positions.

Good is always the enemy of Great

What happens in this church scenario is the church had gone through phase one of decline without noticing it. And now having drifted into Phase two, the personnel, the leadership, of the church was being affected. While these people were likely doing a good job at their respective responsibilities and keeping the church alive, good is always the enemy of great. Our enemy, Satan, is not afraid of us attempting to be good.

I have witnessed this scenario in more than one church. What may have started with the best of intentions, can eventually lead a church to mediocrity and decline. In one such scenario, three people held the “controlling” positions in the church. What no doubt began as a good assignment for each of these three individuals, over a period of five to six years, as they decided to rotate the positions, they had largely assisted in leading the church from an attendance of 250 to about fifty. Sharing is not always fruitful. Settling for Good is settling for mediocrity.

To learn how to avoid and break these cycles in your church or organization contact George Yates and pick up your copy of Reaching the Summit: Avoiding and Reversing Decline in the Church.

Life seemed to be spinning out of control for Libby. Married to her high school sweetheart, Tom, the mother of three elementary school age children, Libby is also the hospitality coordinator for the PTSA. Aside from being a homemaker, wife, and mother, Libby also works full time as a receptionist for an insurance company, sings in the church choir, serves on two committees, studies for a weekly Bible study group, and works with children’s church.

For some reason, since the start of this school year, Libby cannot seem to keep up. Accustomed to being on top of everything, Libby is feeling unusual pressure as things begin to fall through the cracks. Her Superwoman complex has left her.

What Libby and many others do not take into consideration is no one can be great at six different obligations. We see this often in the church and other organizations. One person taking on five or six positions in the organization. It is impossible to be great at five obligations.

If our focus is on good, we cannot make the leap to greatness. The best efforts of success come out of greatness. Good is always the enemy of great. Superman is a myth. And not even Superman was great at all things. As Clark Kent he was not the greatest of communicators and he wore glasses. Even Superman had his faults. No person can be great at all things.

Trying to carry too many obligations at once will never lead to greatness – for the person or the organization (ministry). Too often we settle for good when God created us to be great in service to Him.

No one can take on five, seven, or ten areas of responsibility and perform to the best of his/her ability in any of the areas. It is physically impossible. Given the choice, I would rather have a person be great at one thing she is passionate about than have her attempt to be good at six things pulling at her time and talents from different directions.

Why not conduct a little self-introspection and decide at what you really desire to be great? You will find it will be something that you also have a passion for. Then focus on being the very best that you can at that obligation. We all play multiple roles in our life. Some of these you cannot drop. Taking on more commitments for your organization does not make you a better person. In fact, it detracts from your ability to achieve God’s greatness. However, when we focus on one major and one minor commitment, we will succeed and then alone can we achieve the greatness for which God created us. Remember, Good is always the enemy of Great!

For more on achieving the greatness of God’s design in your life, organization, or ministry, contact George Yates and purchase your copy of Reaching the Summit:

A young man in his early twenties seeing out from the train’s window shouted, “Dad, look the trees are going by!”

Dad smiled and a young couple sitting nearby, looked at the twenty something year old’s childish behavior with pity.

Suddenly he again exclaimed, “Dad, look the clouds are running with us!”

The couple couldn’t resist and said to the young man’s father, “Why don’t you take your son to a good doctor?”

The boy’s father unassumingly, smiled and said, “I did, and we are just coming from the hospital, my son was blind from birth, he is seeing for the first time today.”

There are at least two lessons we can learn from this simple, short story.

First, it is easy to make assumptions based on what we may first see or hear. Too often we jump to conclusions without knowledge of the facts. Assumptions and jumping to conclusions like this can cause detrimental effects in our own lives and those around us.

The second lesson I see here is that every person has a story. Take time to learn and to listen to the stories of others. Other people’s stories can encourage and build us up in a way that will enrich our own lives and our story.

Rather than listen to another person’s story, it is easier to judge people before you truly know them.  When you are tempted to judge someone, first, stop and ask yourself if you know their story. If not, why not ask them to share their story. Carefully listen, the truth might surprise you. Then, see for the first time a brand new view from the train of life.

Recently, while returning home from a speaking engagement the airplane I was on was experiencing turbulence as we began descending toward our destination. I fly quite regularly so I am use to turbulence and I have experienced harsher turbulence than on this particular flight. However, there was something new to me with this experience.

It was late at night so it was dark in the cabin as well as outside. As we descended through the blackness of night and thunderstorm clouds, bouncing with the turbulence, suddenly the plane dropped. The drop was so sudden and significant that it lifted everyone out of our seats. The incident only lasted for a couple of seconds. I’m not certain how far we dropped, likely only a few feet. Honestly, I do not want to know how far it actually was. The pilot was masterful and got us to our destination on time and safe.

Most organizations do not fall in one clear-cut, quick drop. There is normally a series of digression. An examination of the organization will, in most cases, show a departure from the original purpose and core values of the organization. The initial signs of decline may be subtle and ignored or explained away. This first phase can go on for several years without notice.

While working with a particular church a few years ago, I realized a series of decisions they had made which had contributed to their decline. Highlighting those decisions, the group in front of me began to realize for the first time how those decisions had led to their steep decline. I stopped at a decision the church had made five years prior. On woman who had been in the church for years responded, “No, that’s not right. We were making bad decisions long before that.”

As a series of the right decisions propels you toward success, so a series of poor decisions will propel one toward decline. It is important to understand the difference between what seems to be a good decision and the right decision. What could seem good, can actually be detrimental to you personally and to your organization.

For more information on making the right decision contact George Yates and pick up your copy of Reaching the Summit: Avoiding and Reversing Decline in the church. (It’s not for churches only)

Many hundreds of years ago in a small Italian town, a merchant had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the moneylender. The moneylender, who was old, ugly, and dishonest fancied the merchant’s beautiful daughter so he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the merchant’s debt if he could marry the daughter. Both the merchant and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.

 The moneylender told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag. The girl would then have to pick one pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would become the moneylender’s wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

 They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the merchant’s garden. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick her pebble from the bag.

What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her? Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

 The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

 “Oh, how clumsy of me,” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.”

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an advantageous one.

To choose one of the three options listed above for the young lady, would be to use knowledge and emotion. This would certainly be a logical decision and it is lineal thinking. What the girl did required more than knowledge. It required wisdom. This required lateral thinking. Lateral thinking requires moving outside the logical processes. What options might be running alongside the obvious? In the choices you make daily, do you use knowledge and emotion only, or do you seek wisdom for the moment?

For more information on lateral thought processes and other leadership assistance, contact George Yates and pick up your copy of Turnaround Journey for 34 other leadership tips and practices.

A frog was hopping around a farmyard, when it decided to investigate the barn. Being somewhat careless, and maybe a little too curious, he ended up falling into a pail half-filled with fresh milk.

Swimming about attempting to reach the top of the pail, he found that the sides of the pail were too high and steep to reach. He tried to stretch his back legs to push off the bottom of the pail but found it too deep. But this frog was determined not to give up, and he continued to struggle.

He kicked and squirmed and kicked even more, until at last, all his churning about in the milk had turned the milk into a large pad of butter. The butter was now solid enough for him to climb onto and get out of the pail!

The Moral of the Story? “Never Give Up!”

Whether you’re happily hopping around the farmyard or exploring what is beyond the next door, life can land you in a deep bucket. Not one of us is exempt from experiencing pain and discomfort in our lives. We can struggle and try in our own strength to escape and move beyond the ill-circumstances. That normally ends in futile kicking and flailing (physical or emotional) and in the end the only outcome is wearing us down.

The frog was kicking and flailing in frustration and futile determination to get out of the bucket. He had no idea there was another force at work that would bring his liberation.

It is an intriguing comfort to know there is a power greater than our own with a desire to help us through no matter what life throws at us. The, one, Almighty God of the universe has a heart-driven passion and desire to bring you through your hard-life situation. When going through those tough times, call on and place your trust in Him. Watch as the milk turns to butter allowing you to once again stand tall and proud of God ‘s Work. Then you can butter your own bread.

John Wooden, Adolf Rupp, Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry, Pat Summit, Bear Bryant, Bela & Marta Karolyi. All these names are synonymous in American Sports as great coaches. Several others come to mind as I write this. What made these men and women not good, but great, enduring coaches? None of these coaches were one-hit wonders. They had a career of successful athletes and teams. But why? What did they have that others did not?

As I’ve studied and researched this the one, greatest common denominator is not that they attracted the best players and athletes. Some did of course. But team sports require a group of individuals working together to the best of their ability. As these men and women would all tell you, you cannot build a great team off one talented individual. No, the one greatest common denominator that I find is the great coaches know how to help athletes reach inside himself/herself to find the gift and attitude to be a champion. Then, the coach knows how to help that athlete reach inside and develop that God-given potential.

Rick Pitino, now the coach of University of Louisville, tells of Billy Donovan college career at Providence when Pitino arrived there as coach. Most coaches would have helped the overweight Donovan to find a AA school to play for. But Pitino recognized the potential inside Donavon and gave him a chance. Donovan credits coach Pitino for having Billy reach inside himself to be more than a “b” player. Billy Donovan, of course had a stellar final 2 years at providence, went on to the NBA, and has a successful career as a NCAA basketball coach as well. And Donovan credits it to that first year with coach Pitino.

Without the outside help of someone willing to help the young man look inside and see the potential, and then encourage him to dig deep – sometimes painfully deep – to develop that potential into greatness and success, Billy Donovan would have gone to a small school and only his family would today know his name. The same might be said of many athletes who learned under great coaches. But he was encouraged, guided, and equipped by coaches to develop and implement the tools of success.

In ministry, one of the difficulties we face is implementation. Sure most churches implement, but not for effectiveness and not for biblical success. I realize some churches have difficulty in effective planning much less implementation. This is why in “Reaching the Summit: Avoiding and Reversing Decline in the Church,” I strongly recommend that a church use an experienced, trained outside observer – a coach to help lead you through planning and the transitions of implementation. A coach is not someone who will come in and give you the 4 steps to success. Rather a coach guides you as an individual or a ministry organization to discover and develop the gifts, talents, and skills God has already blessed and placed within you/your ministry. Effective implementation of a strategic plan is critical for any level of success.

You can try to accomplish this on your own (many do attempt), but great successful, implementation is almost always accomplished through the guidance of an intuitive coach.

For more information about being coached and finding the right coach contact George Yates, and visit SonC.A.R.E. Ministries. To learn of a coaching process for greater successful implementation year in and year out, pick up a copy of Turnaround Journey.