CEO Leadership?

For at least the last decade there's been a movement within The Church to model church leadership / government after the structures often found in Fortune 500 companies in place of the model laid out in the Bible.

Instead of Pastors who are servant leaders like Jesus, you see more of a CEO with an executive board of directors model. Instead of Pastor/Edlers, and Deacons, you see CEO's, VP's and Directors.

Many conferences have sprung up with the latest fad led by keynote speakers who are seen as the sought after or up-and-coming leaders you "just got to be like", focusing on taking your leadership to the "next level". Unfortunately many of those conferences do not focus on the Biblical model. They often connected these sessions sometimes about strategies, not necessarily for evangelism and not on how to be a Biblical Shepherd, but how to increase your congregation size. They connect this with leadership as if the size of congregation truly has anything to do with leadership. You can have a small or a large congregation and can either be or not be an effective Biblical leader - size doesn't matter but the ability to teach God's Word, your character, your giftedness, your integrity and more are what truly matter.

I work for a fortune 500 company and I know first hand that there's a constant push to bring more and more shareholder value (Increased Profits) every year and it's this same push I see in similar form in the new "leadership" model. In the churches that focus on the new leadership strategies, instead of profits, it's increased congregations size plus increased giving to build a "business" um, I mean a church congregation/ministry. Granted there are obvious "business" aspect of a church but none-the-less the church isn't a business as the world would define rather, it is to be about God's business and we should tirelessly work to make it about Him - Keep the main things the main things!

Don't take me wrong, there are some good conferences out there where pastors can glean a lot from in order to be a more effective pastor and we ought to strive to grow continually be a good and effective shepherd as God Has called us to do so. We need to remember that none of this has anything to do with the latest fad or coolest new strategy. Leadership in the church should focus on and should be about the Bible - What God has to say about leadership. Let's pray that we'd be found doing His will and building His kingdom and not our own.

In Closing, here's another Blog entry that speaks to this and gives some examples of some of the conferences that are typically not truly building or raising up the right leadership in the church. Let's pray that those who choose to attend these conferences will not compromise or sell out to man's wisdom but stick solely with God's Wisdom.

http://www.alittleleaven.com/2010/06/leadership-idol.html

In Christ,

rlk

Beautiful seatbelt ad that speaks powerfully about more than seatbelts.

To quote what someone else said... Here’s a beautiful seatbelt ad that speaks powerfully about more than seatbelts. Very profound message. (You'll want to pause the music on the right under the "Tunes" section before playing the video)

Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday

I wanted to pause for a moment and wish you a wonderful Resurrection / Easter Sunday! May today, your Good Friday be filled with gratitude and contemplation for the great sacrifice He paid for you and may this Sunday be filled with joy as you celebrate and worship the risen savior Jesus Christ!

Check out the message in the below e-Card.

He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

With Love in Christ,

rlk

Holiday Humor

On this first day of the Christmas "season" I wanted to share a funny Christmas Holiday Video involving Fruitcake! This is from the DavidJeremiah.com online Advent calendar. Check it out!

DavidJeremiah.org - Advent Calendar

Wanted to share a link to this online Advent Calendar from Pastor David Jeremiah.
If you have kids and celebrate Advent as part of your Christmas celebration, you might enjoy this.

Here's the Link:

DavidJeremiah.org - Advent Calendar

God bless,

rlk

Seeing God's Glory and Attributes Through His Creation

I've been busy with exciting new ministry activities as part of a new church plant an as such, I'm finding less time to write but desire to do so more often in the near future.

Today, I simply wanted to post some pictures that I find "inspirational" as they highlight some beauty from God's creation and one of my favorite places on the Oregon Coast.

I'm reminded of Romans 1:20 (ESV) or Romans 1:20 (NASB) that by or since creation God's invisible attributes are made known - they are clearly seen.

I hope that when you see His creation that you see His handy work, His Glory, and some of His attributes!

Cannon Beach @ Dusk - Oregon Coast

Cannon Beach @ Dusk - Oregon Coast

From the rising of the Sun until it's going down, the Name of the Lord shall be praised! (see Psalm 113:3)

In Him,

rlk

Clergy Appreciation Month

October is clergy appreciation month and let me encourage you to take time to send a note of encouragement via a card, email, or in person to the shepherds and other staff at your church. Or, you can also consider making them a special treat, or bring them something for their lunches, a small gift card or other gift, or whatever you think will encourage them by you showing your appreciation.

They are constantly bombarded with so many things and they serve, they shepherd selflessly and your care for them would be much appreciated.

Here's a link to the Clergy Appreciation Month site on ThrivingPastor.com (Formerly Parsonage.com) :

• http://www.thrivingpastor.com/clergyappreciation/ 

Here's a guide to Clergy Appreciation Month:

•  http://media.focusonthefamily.com/pastoral/pdf/CAM_Guide_2012.pdf 

Pray for your pastor and staff!

Lastly, let me encourage you to take time to encourage your pastor and staff throughout the year...it doesn't need to be limited to one month out of the year.

God Bless,

rlk

For our friends at Harvest Community Church

My family and I attended Harvest for our last regular Sunday and as we depart - I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the opportunity and privilege of serving the Lord and you during the years we were a part of Harvest Community Church.

We're thankful for our time at Harvest and will continue to keep you in our prayers. We're very excited for what God has in store for us at Antioch Bible Church in service to Him and as we continue to seek to follow His will.

We'll look forward to seeing you from time-to-time around town.

If you have any questions regarding the new ministry God has opened up please feel free to ask me.

Thanks again.

Sincerely in Christ,
RLK on behalf of the Koch Family
 

Great News!

Hello,

Wanted you to know that our interview went well last Saturday, (08/22/09) and I’m pleased to share that we were accepted/received into the mission by the Board of Directors by unanimous vote!

It’s been a 15 year journey for us and I’m humbled to have this door opened to further serve the Lord and shepherd His people.

Please continue to pray as we move forward and please also pray that we’ll be able to raise the needed support to not only supply for my family but also to provide for the cost of any travel, tools needed for ministry, and etc.

I’ll keep you posted.

Humbly in Him,

rlk

The Journey Continues

It's been over a month since I was last able to post an entry and today I wanted to create a post in order to let you know about something exciting God is doing!

What's Going On?:

• God has opened up an exciting opportunity to serve at a new church plant in Hillsboro, Oregon which has been planted in partnership with the Northwest Independent Church Extension!
  
• The church is Antioch Bible Church and you can check out the web site @ http://abiblechurch.org.
  
• I've been offered a Pastoral Internship where I'll serving as the Executive Pastor intern and will be doing a variety of things in service to God!
  

Fifteen years ago I sensed God's calling on my life to serve Him and His people as a shepherd and now He is opening the door to serve Him in that capacity!

As a side note, I'll continue to work my full time job and serve / work part-time+ in the internship.

Next Steps:

• We're currently transitioning out of the church my family have called home for the last 8 years and will be serving at the new church every Sunday beginning in September.
  
• This summer we are currently serving at Antioch all but one Sunday a month and that one Sunday we are attending/serving at our old church home.
  
• On August 22, 2009 my wife and I will be going for an interview before the mission board and upon approval by the board we'll be accepted into the mission (I'll be a missionary pastor) and then we'll begin raising support as we will not and do not draw an income from Antioch Bible.
• I'll be one of three on the elder/pastoral team and we'll work closely together as a team to shepherd the flock at Antioch.
  

It's very humbling and such and honor to be serve The Lord and also knowing this is what He has "wired" me to do!

There is more I could share but want to keep this brief and just give you a "heads-up" regarding what God is doing and also ask for your prayers that God will bless this endeavor as I seek to humbly serve Him and that I'll be able to raise enough support to cover what my meager full-time pay is lacking so I can take better care of my family. Please also pray that God helps me be wise in balancing my time especially as I work many hours between both my full-time job and in serving at Antioch while trying to also keep my family a priority and making adequate time to serve and lead them as well. Thank you for your prayers!

Thanks for stopping by and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Humbly,
rlk

Free Audio Book Download for July: Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God.

Free audio book download for July from Christianaudio.com - Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God.

I've heard good things about this book and I've downloaded it and I'm looking forward to listening to it myself.

If you don't have an account, you just need to sign up for a free one and then sign up for their newsletter that informs you of the monthly free download which provides the coupon code for the free downloads. Enjoy!

Click on the following link to go to the site.

Free Downloads - christianaudio.com

Free Gift For You! DIY Note Taking Study Tool!

Check out the following link for a free gift I've posted for you! It's a DIY note taking / study tool that I posted on my downloads page.

http://www.rlkministries.org/Downloads.html

Here are the details:
DIY (Do It Yourself) Note Taking Study Tool (ZIP file with PDF's): This is something I put together as a gift for a few people I've ministered with and wanted to make available to you. This is a DIY (do it yourself) study/note taking tool that can be simply printed out and placed in a binder for taking notes, etc. This is something that, (if you choose to utilize it), can be customized as you see fit.

Here’s what’s included: (See the included "Read Me" file for more info)
1. Four different covers you can choose from. (Or you can create your own to personalize it even more.)
2. One an Two page note taking pages including a third bonus note page.
3. A reference list of the Books of The Bible.
4. A reference overview of the Books of The Bible.
5. Bible Reading plans from Biblegateway.com.
6. Lastly, a reference list of different passages on different topics from the Bible.

Enjoy! Feel free to share it with others!

Sincerely,

rlk