A great (or not so) moment at Catalyst

January 27th, 2012 by bradlomenick in Misc. No Comments

Ken Coleman and I discussed this on the most recent Catalyst podcast, and I told everyone in podcast land I would share the moment here on the blog, so here you go. My singing moment with the Gospel quartet at Catalyst back in 2009.

We had planned to have Reggie Joiner sing with this group, but without my knowledge, Lanny Donoho and Reggie and Jeff Shinabarger turned the tables and surprised me by asking (actually forcing) me to sing with the group. But as many of you know, if I have a chance to sing in public, regardless of what song or genre of music, I’m in!

Enjoy my One Shining Moment!

Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel together in Atlanta

January 26th, 2012 by bradlomenick in Catalyst,Catalyst Conference. No Comments

Catalyst One Day is coming to Atlanta! Make plans now to attend this great day of leadership training on Monday, March 26, at North Point Community Church. Register TODAY to get the best rates on tickets.

Join Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel for a one day leadership event focused on the topic of Creating Healthy Organizational Culture. This practical leadership experience includes 4 sessions of content, Q and A, dynamic music, and a full day of practical insight from two of the principal voices on leadership in the Church today.

Whether you are a pastor, non profit leader, business professional, or entrepreneur, the leadership principles of Organizational Culture taught by Andy and Craig in this unique format apply to all of us. So pastors- bring your business leaders with you! And for the first 500 to register, there will be a special Night of Worship following the One Day event with the North Point Music band, so make sure and sign up for that special session when registering.

Visit the Catalyst One Day Website to register to attend & get the best rates available! Use Rate Code FOB when registering to get tickets as low as $89.

Best rates end TODAY, Thursday, January 26, so register today to reserve your spot!

Leadership Lessons from Nehemiah

January 25th, 2012 by bradlomenick in leadership. No Comments

One of my favorite Old Testament leaders is Nehemiah. He was a government worker in the employment of a foreign king. A high ranking worker no doubt. A leader. A cupbearer to the King. Trusted and respected.

Then he became a building contractor, called in to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Through the story of the Old Testament book, we can discover a few of the leadership qualities that he possessed.

1. Compassion- when learning of the condition of the wall and of his people, Nehemiah wept.

2. Conviction- he understood that loyalty to his country and to his people in Jerusalem was paramount.

3. Courage- he stood alongside the builders of the wall to fight off enemies who wanted to bring them down. A shovel in one hand and a spear in the other.

4. Confrontation- Nehemiah called out those who were stealing from their brothers, and doling out debt without reason. He held them accountable, and directed them towards living right. Those whom he loved and admired he pushed towards righteous living.

5. Calling- he understood his role as the one who had been called to lead in rebuilding the wall, and correctly responded to that assignment when God prompted.

Highlights from my interview with Chris Tomlin

January 23rd, 2012 by bradlomenick in Interviews,Music. No Comments

Chris_Tomlin on Brad Lomenick Leadership Blog

Back in the summer I sat down with my friend Chris Tomlin, singer, songwriter, worship leader and pastor at Passion City Church. You can listen to that interview here or better yet, download from iTunes for Free.

Here are some highlights from the interview with Chris, as captured by Brian Dodd originally in this post he did.

“We’re trying to navigate who’s in our church…Who’s at the core.”
“The church is not a physical building. The church is people.”
“It’s (leading worship) serious business because you’re dealing with people.”
“I’m trying to write the songs for the church. I’m not trying to write the next radio hit.”
“From cribs to the end of life we want one central theme in this church, the glory of Jesus Christ.”
“It’s the greatest mystery I’ve ever known.” – Paul McCartney on song writing.
“At the end of the day I am trying to write a response to God.”
“He (Louie Giglio) started building me up and believing in me, mentoring me…Everyone needs someone who believes in you.”
“The poorer you are, the richer in faith.”
“The biggest thing in planting a church is to listen…listen more than you talk…Leading with humility.”
“God gives different people different influence at different times.”
“What is going to change the world is a few. The few people will live and die for it.”
“When you’re becoming a band mate, you’re hiring a friend more than a musician.”
“Anyone who does leadership…. it’s so tough because you make decisions that affect a lot of people…Anyone who has a sense of care and compassion carries that.”
“It’s good that the pastor does not see the worship time as a warm-up for his message.”
“He (Giglio) is completely engaged with us.”
“When you get done (with your worship set), it’s not a time to sit in the green room.”
“Louie makes edits to what I’m thinking all the time.”
“At the end of the day, the pastor is the lead worshiper of the church. As a musician you have to put yourself under that.”
“You’re not going to change the church past where the pastor thinks it ought to go.”
“Will you give me simple songs God that people can sing?”
“Songwriting is not a weird or magical thing. It takes work and we take it very seriously. You don’t just sit down at a piano and start playing. You have to work at it. Same thing with writing songs.”
“I always pray that the Presence of God on these songs is what will connect with people.”
“You don’t just cruise through life by yourself. You have to have people all along the way that God has placed in your life to take you to the next step and help you understand what God has wired you to do.”

You can follow Chris on Twitter.

And I can’t wait for the new Passion 2012 Live Album that will release in March. If you were at Passion 2012 earlier this month, you had the chance to sing the songs that Chris, Christy Nockels, Matt Redman, Kristian Stanfill, and the rest of the Passion crew have written for the global Church and will soon be available to all.

End of Week Leadership thoughts

January 20th, 2012 by bradlomenick in leadership,Leadership Rules. 2 Comments

It’s cold and rainy in Atlanta on this Friday in January… I wish I was playing golf on the coast! But in the meantime, here are some Random Leadership Thoughts as we wrap up the week:

- The Global Church is vibrant, colorful and alive. As a leader, you need to see it up close outside of the US to gain a proper perspective.

- Collaboration is on the rise. Especially in Churches and non-profit ministries. More and more leaders working together, sharing buildings, merging their services, sharing creative ideas, video sharing, pastors teaching in other churches, etc.

- Don’t spend a $1 worth of time on a 10 cent decision. Leaders have to invest their time, energy and resources where it’s most needed and valued in the organization.

- Without vision, people perish. So true in our country and around the world. Leaders need to step up and provide hope and a vision that is inspiring.

- When it comes to leaders I admire, the most common trait among them is courage. And a close runner-up is humility.

- Seasons of calling are just as important as life-long callings. And maybe more. Not everyone will necessarily have a true and specific life calling. You might have seasons of calling. That is okay.

- As a leader, you have to scale your vision appropriately. And especially those of us who are idea creators. We think every idea we have has a global reach. Not true. Your vision may be only for a city, or for a neighborhood. Scale it appropriately.

- Choose one or two ideas and execute on them fearlessly. If you try to execute on all of your ideas, you’ll probably not accomplish much. We each have to be focused on the execution of ideas, not just the creation of ideas.

- Finish meetings on time. Especially when you are meeting with someone one on one. Actually finish early.

- Every great organization has a few areas where they are incredibly picky and their standards are so high it becomes annoying. This is a good thing. Know the areas you are so passionate about that you are willing to be obnoxious and annoying on.

- Being remarkable and doing things with excellence is about being intentional. Being remarkable isn’t about being big. Or about things that are expensive. It’s about a mindset and a standard. It’s not about lots of money and a huge staff. In fact, many times as you grow, you lose the intensity required to be remarkable.

- Growth requires trimming. To go up we may have to give up. The things that were important 2-3 years ago may need to be changed or dropped within your organization. Leaders have to be able to make these kinds of decisions and push forward while cutting the fat.

- Ask twice as many questions as you give answers. Always. Listen way more than you talk. Being “quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger” (from James ch 1) is a good rule to live by.

- With influence and leadership comes power. And power can easily corrupt. Beware of it. Watch out for it. Have people in your life who will tell you what you don’t want to hear, but need to as a leader. Stay humble and hungry.

A Fresh Approach to Worship Music

January 19th, 2012 by bradlomenick in Favorite New Things. 1 Comment

My great friend Aaron Niequist, singer, songwriter, pastor and worship leader at Willow Creek Community Church, has created a fresh new sound in the expression of worship through music and song.

His current project, A NEW LITURGY, is one of the most unique, innovative and forward thinking MUSIC PROJECTS I’ve heard in a while. A totally different approach to how we engage in spiritual singing and worship through song, poetry, Scripture reading, and overall liturgy.

For me, I like to sing, pray, reflect, and recite Scripture in the car, in my office, running, on a plane, etc. A New Liturgy combines the disciplines of prayer, reading, liturgy, singing, reflection and praise, and makes it convenient to engage in all of these different spiritual disciplines through a Storyline that Aaron creates around certain topics and areas of focus. Such as Grace, Blessing, Love, Mercy, etc.

There are currently 3 different Liturgy projects available in the Series.

Liturgy No 1 is “God Is Love.” Here’s the way Aaron describes it:

“The idea that God loves EVERY ONE of his kids equally – no matter their history, nationality, beliefs, sins, strengths, etc – is profoundly moving to me. For nothing can separate us for the love of God…. And not only do I want to see myself as one of those deeply loved kids, I want to see every single other person I ever meet as my brother or sister, engulfed in God’s bottomless, paternal, and maternal LOVE.”

I’m a big fan of this project. Check it out. Go download it. Highly recommended.

You want to meet, but “What do you Really Want?”

January 18th, 2012 by bradlomenick in Misc. 4 Comments

Over the last 15 years, I’ve heard this alot. From key leaders, CEO’s, authors, celebrities, politicians, actors, producers, pastors, and lots of other folks.

I would figure out a way to make a connection with someone, and then arrange a meeting, phone call, breakfast, lunch, or coffee. Inevitably, this question would eventually come out in the conversation. I loved hearing it. It was the honest question.

Now I ask it. Not because I’m someone who deserves to ask it, but more because time is precious. When you are a leader and have a team and an organization to run, besides family and friends and all kinds of other things that require your attention, and there are people who want to spend time with you, you have to make choices. I understand now why all these folks were always asking me that question.

So next time you have a meeting or phone call or a lunch with someone who you respect and want to learn from and consider to be a key influencer, here are a few pointers on how to make sure they’ll want to talk to you the next time you call or want to meet:

1. Honor that person’s time. Find out how much time they have, and then stick to that. And actually wrap up sooner than what is expected.

2. Ask way more questions than you give answers. You’re not the expert, they are. So leverage the time and soak up their wisdom. Don’t use the time to share your story, unless the person truly wants to know.

3. Pay for it. If you are at breakfast or lunch or dinner, pay for the meal. I don’t care if you are meeting with Bill Gates, pay for it. It is a sign of respect. Even if you are a non-profit and trying to raise money, pay for the meal. Seriously.

4. Tell the person what the agenda is. If you are planning to ask them for money, tell them that. If you want a favor, tell them that. If you have a certain need you want to get their advice on, tell them that. If you have specific questions you want to ask and get their answers on, tell them those questions. Be upfront. Be honest. Be real and authentic.

5. Be prepared. Know everything you can about the person you are meeting with. Have 8-10 questions prepared for the conversation (more on this in a later post), plus several items of interest you will want to cover. Do your homework. The more you know about someone and have a good understanding of who they are and what their interests are, proves that you value and respect their time.

6. Write it down and follow up. Bring something to write with, and write down the good stuff. Also, based on questions you ask, figure out ways you can serve that person. If that person likes a certain coffee, send them a gift card. If that person likes a certain college team, make a connection about that team a month later. If you can make a connection for that person that will serve them, do it. If you want to create a long term value add friendship, you’ll need to be intentional around their likes and interests.

Young Influencers List, January edition

January 16th, 2012 by bradlomenick in Young Influencers List. No Comments

A brand new year of the Young Influencers List. 2012 here we go!

The 2012 January edition. You can see all the past month’s lists here.

1. Courtney Dow- director of NightLight International USA, fighting human trafficking and slavery.

2. Jason Ingram- talented songwriter and producer from Nashville.

3. Daniel Carson- worship leader at Passion City Church and part of the Chris Tomlin band.

4. Justin Churchman- CNN Heroes “Young Wonders” Award winner, has built 18 homes by his 18th birthday with Casas por Cristo. Watch story here.

5. Jason Illian- founder and CEO, Rethink Books, and author and speaker.

6. Anthony Bradley- writer, speaker and Professor of theology & ethics at Kings College in New York City.

7. Jonathan Stewart- running back for the Carolina Panthers, and aspiring artist/musician.

Let me know if you have ideas for future Young Influencers Lists, and give these folks some love on Twitter by following them!