Be careful what you ask for.

We all know the punch line, right? “Because you might get it.”

But what if that’s not the real punch line?

What if the real answer is, “Because you might not know what you are asking for?”

We know God wants success for us. The tension resides in the fact that we don’t always define success the same way God does.

We might think success is a big church in the burbs. God might think success is a small church in the country. Or what if God doesn’t connect success to numbers at all? What if God’s definition is more about character, trust, obedience, loving people, lifting His name and teaching the gospel?

God did promise new territory to Joshua. (Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.) That does sound like “numbers.”

But God also focused on the relationship Joshua had with Him.

7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:7-8

How you define success matters.

Do you have a definition?

Does your definition of success remain consistent, or does it change according to your circumstances?

What does your heart long for?

Let’s be honest, anyone who leads wants success. I’ll bet you’ve never awakened in the morning to a thought like: “I sure hope I fail today.”

And probably similar to me, you’ve experienced both the successes and failures that life has a way of delivering.

The following are a few things I’ve learned over the years about success. I hope they are helpful to you.

1) Allow success to be something God gives you, not something you take.

You can’t force success no matter how hard you try. You can work hard, and that makes a big difference (God wants you to do your part), but God’s timing doesn’t always match our desires. However, His timing is right.

It’s not uncommon for leaders to try to “take” success from God. Meaning, it’s something we expect, or feel entitled to, in our way, in our timing. Of course, that never works well.

You may be in charge, but you are not in control.

When you take success into your own hands, it’s incredibly heavy, often short-lived and usually exhausting.

When God gives success, you still work hard and get tired, but the fruit tastes so sweet. The load is lighter, and there is more than enough joy and meaning to replenish your weariness and refresh your soul.

2) If you are blessed with success, never forget where it came from.

One of my mistakes as a leader is when I pray less in a season of success. I continue to learn that it’s during times of success that I need to pray most.

It’s easy to subtly slide from the truth that ultimately God makes it all happen, to “I made it happen.” I really don’t ever believe that, but I can begin to live and behave as if I think that way. That’s a subtle and dangerous difference.

God is gracious and kind to provide His favor.

Whatever small or large success I may be blessed with, I acknowledge and thank God for it daily.

3) Don’t sell your soul for continued success.

Success to the soul is like sugar to the palate; you just want more.

When I have a chocolate chip cookie, my first thought is never, “Well I’m good now.” I think, “Just one more,” and that thought never ends. There’s nothing wrong with a chocolate chip cookie, but I can sell out my health if I keep eating them.

Most leaders are highly driven and dedicated to the mission. And when you get a “taste” of success, you may be tempted to pay any price for continued success.

Where do you draw the line? Do you protect and put your family first? How about your physical health? And your spiritual life, ironically, can be at high risk even when your time is dedicated to God’s work. How would you describe your prayer life; is it all that you want it to be? These are good questions for a personal check up.

4) Failure is a springboard to future success.

Some leaders are more successful than others, but no one experiences continued success throughout their life.

Failure is inevitable, but it’s not final.

Failure can knock you down, and sometimes it can feel like it knocked you out. But you can get back up.

What you and I learn from our failures makes us better leaders. How we apply what we learn makes all the difference.

Sometimes we need a more experienced and wiser friend to help us navigate the difficult seasons. Sometimes we need a fresh start. Sometimes it’s nothing more than a good night’s sleep and start again in the morning.

Whatever the case might be for you as a leader, embrace failures as part of life, learn all you can and keep pressing on.

This article originally appeared here.

Red Bull is an Austrian energy drink company with a higher market share than any energy drink in the world, with over 5.4 billion cans sold every year! You probably know them because of their slogan, “It gives you wings,” and their strong association with all things young and energetic!

Red Bull is a category-defining brand making a massive impact even in its third decade of existence. It’s a company that our churches should draw lessons from, like how much commitment is required for innovation and excellence, just like Disney, Netflix or Amazon have done. It continues to innovate the way in which it reaches its consumers, although it is a fairly bland product—hyped-up over-caffeinated sugary drink!

Red Bull is in the Content Business…and so is your church.

If you look closely you’ll discover that Red Bull has transformed itself into a content production and distribution business that sells drinks on the side, and hence the reason why our church should aspire to be like Red Bull.

Instead of purchasing sponsorships and advertisements in other content properties, Red Bull has transformed itself into one that produces content platforms.

Red Bull is about content and so should your church be.

They have four major content production divisions:

• Feature Films — Red Bull produces full-length feature films for cinema and downstream channels (DVD, VOD, TV). They make nonfiction action sports and youth-oriented films, aiming to relay outstanding stories while setting new standards in production quality. Some of the movies they’ve produced are:
  • The Fourth Phase
  • CHASING NIAGARA
  • Bouncing Cats
• Print — Red Bull publishes high-quality print publications covering a wide range of interests. Every magazine has a unique approach to the topic it features. It has targeted distribution and reaches a dedicated readership with the greatest impact possible. Check out a few of its titles:
  • The Red Bulletin
  • Servus in Stadt & Land
  • Terra Mater
• Television — Three dedicated television services by Red Bull are its main focus. Red Bull TV offers action, sports, culture and lifestyle programming. Servus TV is dedicated to presenting culture, technology and nature programs. Terra Mater Factual Studios is working to produce the best nature and geographic documentaries and feature films.
• Digital Media — Red Bull Media House manages all online activities for the Red Bull brand through platforms, content and social media. Online properties include:
  • Speedweek
  • RedBull.TV
  • RedBulletin

What if you thought of your church as a publisher?

Every Sunday churches produce content through their weekend services. Usually, that content goes on the shelf and we move on to the next weekend. Sure, that “shelf” might be on the church’s website, where the content is hoarded and never leveraged again. But what if we produced a bunch of derivative “product offerings” off the back end of the main content we produce?

When you worked hard to produce the message, then why are you just letting it gather dust just sitting on your website?

We need to think of ways to expand and inculcate that content produced into new channels to help reach more people.

4 Ways to Leverage Your Existing Content to Reach More People

• Syndication — At its simplest form, you need to automate the spread of your content through launching a podcast on iTunes and YouTube channel. A recent study by Daniel Im of LifeWay Research showed that churches with podcasts have a higher number of decisions for Jesus than churches without a podcast!
• Package Into a Book — There are messages that pastors convey all the time that seem to have a deeper impact. These “core messages” should be compiled into a book for distribution. You could either self-publish this book and release it yourself or talk with Caleb Breakey at Sermon to Book who will help guide you through the process.
• Leverage It on Social Media — How is your content popularized throughout the week? People who follow your church on various social media channels look to connect with you and your content. Post the sticky statements into graphics on Facebook and discuss the topics on a live video. Social media is a fire and the content is gasoline…when the combination is right it can make a huge impact!
• Launch a TV Network — Maybe most of our churches can’t do this. But I wanted to highlight Hillsong Channel—a 24/7 channel repackaging of all of their content. In fact this seems like a logical extension, as these large churches produce such huge video content that broadcasting through a single channel seems justified. It’s worth watching their production to receive ideas for ways to leverage your content.

Why Does Red Bull Content Marketing Work…Lessons to apply to your church:

Push vs. Pull 

There used to be times when organizations could push their advertising in front of people who were compelled to watch it. People could access only three channels on TV, there were limited number of print publications and thus were trapped watching annoying TV ads and being bombarded by boring advertising copy.

Red Bull begins with what its audience prefers to watch and partners its messaging with that. It’s transforming the model inside out. It’s pulling in young adult males (a demographic that the church typically struggles with) through action sports, far-flung adventure and adrenaline.

What questions is your church answering? Where are people asking the questions that you are wrestling with? Begin there. Begin with what people are talking about and then draw lines back to the Gospel and your church.

Sounds a lot like what Paul did on Mars Hill in Acts 17.

We’re Wired for Story 

Red Bull is honing its storytelling skills. Observe carefully the evolution of what they’re presenting. You’ll see that it has shifted from high energy clips of action sports to sophisticated and emotional stories of trial and triumph.

People are drawn by stories.

In fact, there is increasing evidence that the human mind is hardwired to see the world as one giant relaying of the story. Check out this story in Scientific America “It Is in Our Nature to Need Stories.” Narratives attract people to return thirsty and explore more.

How are we making use of stories to encourage people to return to church, thirsty for more? Are we following Jesus’ footsteps of using simple stories to tell eternal truths?

Audience Building vs. Event Promotion 

We understand from evaluating Red Bull closely that they focus on building a community of people rather than just a group of consumers. They attempt to build a tribe of people around their values offered.

Rather than trying to promote a single event or product, Red Bull is transforming itself into a lifestyle brand that rivals Nascar, Apple, Abercrombie & Fitch, and American Eagle. The energy-infused vision of life they portray is a compelling picture of the future. Their motive behind whatever they do is to draw people into their lifestyle and approach instead of the cheap win of a quick sale.

As the church will promote its content through a wide range of channels, it will inch toward becoming a lifestyle brand. This sounds a lot like the disciple making that we’ve called ourselves upon, but people will see the message of Jesus integrated into every aspect of their lives.

What can you learn from looking closely at Red Bull?

What do you notice when you consider Red Bull’s approach to content marketing that you could apply to your church?

This article originally appeared here.

Ever wonder if you’re burning out? I know a lot of leaders and people who wonder that.

There’s a fine line between being tired and actually burning out.

The challenge is, once you cross the line, it’s so difficult to get back.

Eleven years ago, I entered into the darkest period of my life. People had always warned me I would burn out. I thought I could prove them wrong. And usually I did. I would get tired—out of balance—but when I saw the edge, I could always pull myself back.

That approach worked just fine until the summer of 2006, when it didn’t.

In that fateful summer 11 years ago, I found the edge, and as I was falling, I knew this time I realized I couldn’t pull myself back.

Although I’m not a person who suffers from depression, I’m sure I would have gone to the doctor and received a diagnosis of clinical depression that summer when I fell off the edge.

Perhaps it wasn’t a stereotypical depression.

I could get out of bed every day, and I did.

As a Christian, I kept praying and reading my Bible. I never lost my faith (I just couldn’t feel it).

People who weren’t that close to me didn’t realize it was happening.

But I knew something inside me had broken, and I didn’t know how to fix it.

My speed decreased to a snail’s pace.

Hope felt like it had died.

My motivation and passion dropped to zero. (Make that zero Kelvin).

Like most people who experience burnout, it felt like a strange land. I had been tired before, but I had never truly been burned out. It was so disorienting I didn’t know what to do.

What terrified me is that I knew many in ministry and life had gone down this road before me and some of them never made it back.

For them, ministry was done. And sometimes, tragically, they were done—hope never fully returned and they didn’t ever become the person they were before.

That was the last thing I wanted to happen to me.

Looking back, the diagnosis is still a little elusive and mysterious.

Who really knows what corrodes the soul to the point where it deflates?

But I’d say the most likely candidate for what derailed me is what I’d call emotional burnout. 

In caring for others I had not adequately cared for my heart or soul, or let others who wanted to care for it do so.

I spiraled down for about three months before I hit bottom.

Then with the love and assistance of a great wife, board, leadership team, close friends, a counselor and a very gracious God, I slowly began to recover.

It took, honestly, a few years to really feel full stride again, but I recovered to 80-90 percent of full strength in the first year. The last 10 percent took two or three more years.

The good new is, there is life after burnout (my next post will be on ways to recover from burnout).

I’m writing this because burnout seems to be an epidemic among leaders and, increasingly, among people in general.

Maybe you’re right on the edge of the cliff right now. Or maybe you’re in free fall.

So how do you know if you’re more than just tired? How do you know if you’re burning out?

Here are 11 things I personally experienced as I burned out.

I hope they can help you see the edge before you careen past it.

1. Your Passion Fades

Everybody struggles with passion from time to time, but burnout moves you into a place of sustained motivation loss.

Think about it, for those of you in leadership or ministry, you used to have a passion for what you did. Passion got you into leadership, and it’s one of the factors that makes both life and leadership wonderful over a long period of time.

But when I burned out, my passion set like the sun.

I knew what I was doing was important (leading a local church), but I couldn’t feel it anymore.

I realized that a passionless leader will never lead a passionate ministry. But I just couldn’t find my passion anymore.

2. Your Main Emotion Is ‘Numbness’—You No Longer Feel the Highs or the Lows

If you’re healthy, you feel things. You experience highs and lows.

When I burned out, I couldn’t feel either properly anymore.

If someone was celebrating the birth of a new child, I couldn’t feel happy. I just felt numb.

If someone was sick or fell into trouble, I couldn’t feel for them either. I just felt numb.

Burnout numbs your heart, and this was actually one of the earliest signs for me that the edge was near.

3. Little Things Make You Disproportionately Angry

It’s not that burned out people feel zero emotion, but I know when I burned out, the emotions I felt were often just wrong.

One early sign I was heading for burnout was that little things started to set me off. Something (like a missed deadline) might be a 3 out of 10 on the problem scale, but I would react like it was an 11. That’s never good.

Treating small things like they are big things is a sign something deeper is wrong.

4. Everybody Drains You 

People are a mixed bag for sure. Some energize you. Some don’t. I get that. On this side of heaven, that’s life.

But when I burned out, I realize nobody energized me anymore. Not even my family, my friends or my leadership team.

In my head I knew they were good people, but my heart couldn’t feel it.

When nobody energizes you, they’re not the problem. You are.

5. You’re Becoming Cynical

Oh, cynicism. It’s hard not to become cynical as you age (here’s why).

But cynicism never finds a home in a healthy heart.

If you find your cynicism is advancing at a rapid rate, it may be a sign you’re burning out.

6. Nothing Satisfies You

One of the hardest aspects of burnout for me was that nothing seemed to satisfy me.

Sleep didn’t. Prayer didn’t. Good people didn’t. Recreation didn’t. Vacation didn’t. Work didn’t. Food didn’t.

That’s a sign of depression, and it’s also a sign you’re burnt out.

7. You Can’t Think Straight

When you’re burning out, your heart messes with your head; you lose the ability to think straight.

I remember having read enough and listened to enough about mid-life crises and burnout to know that people make stupid decisions when they’re burnt out.

My emotions made me think I would always be this bad. That I was a failure. That there was no hope. That I should just quit.

So I had this daily conversation with myself that boiled down to five words: Just don’t do anything stupid. 

For me, that meant not doing three things. I told myself, Carey, don’t:

Quit your job

Have an affair

Buy a sports car

By the grace of God, I did none of the three. The first two are still part of my long term plan, but one day I think it would be fun to have a sports car.

Some days, simply avoiding stupid is a win.

8. Your Productivity Is Dropping

One sign I knew I was in burnout was incredibly low productivity.

I’m usually a fairly productive leader and person (some would say highly productive). But when I fell into burnout, even writing a simple email might take an hour.

I couldn’t think straight. My pace slowed right down, and I felt like there was a cloud between me and everything I was trying to do.

If you’re working long hours but producing little of value, you might be burning out.

9.  You’re Self-Medicating

In the early stages of burnout, many people turn to self-medicating to numb the pain.

Whether that’s overeating, overworking, sexual addictions, drinking, impulsive spending or even drugs, you’ve chosen a path of self-medication over self-care.

I avoided drinking, drugs or sex. My poison was, ironically, more work, which just spirals things downward.

People who are burning out almost always choose self-medication over self-care.

10. You Don’t Laugh Anymore

This is such a small thing that’s actually such a big thing.

If you’re burning out, you don’t laugh a lot. I remember in my recovery laughing out loud one day after listening to something on the radio. It was then that it hit me: It had been months since I had laughed out loud.

When you’re burning out, nothing seems fun or funny, and, at its worst, you begin to resent people who enjoy life.

11. Sleep and Time Off No Longer Refuel You

If you’re just tired, a good night’s sleep or a week or two off will help most healthy people bounce back with fresh energy.

If you’re burning out, sleep and time off no longer refuel you. You could have a month off when you’re burnt out and not feel any difference.

I took three weeks off during my summer of burn out, and I felt worse at the end than when I started. Not being refueled when you take time off is a major warning sign that you’re burning out.

Long-Term Health Is About Sustainable Patterns

Eleven years on the other side of burnout, I’ve never felt better. All 11 signs are gone and have been gone for years.

Do I have bad days? Of course, but they’re days, not life. I’m so thankful!

On the other side of burnout, I developed new rhythms, patterns and approaches to life and leadership that have helped me thrive. They actually helped my productivity soar while working fewer hours. And they’ve given me a new passion for life and leadership.

I’ve taken all my lessons from the decade since burnout and put them into the High Impact Leader Course. The High Impact Leader is all about getting time, energy and priorities working in your favor. It’s about getting your life and leadership back.

The course is open again for a limited time in a few days. Please note…the course will not help you get out of burnout (that’s a separate matter), but it can help you avoid it if you’re showing a few of the signs or help you not fall back into it once you recover.

The High Impact Leader Course is available now. Check out the team edition that includes multiple licenses for your staff, or consider the new premium edition kit which includes a physical workbook and Moleskine® journal.

So Are You More Than Just Tired?

So how do you know if you’re burning out?

Identifying with just a few of these signs might just be a sign that you’re tired.

If you identify with half, you might be close to the edge.

If you identify with most or all, well, you might be in the same place I found myself—burnout.

If you are burnt out, I would encourage you to seek immediate professional help—a medical doctor and a trained Christian counselor. I would also encourage you to talk to a close circle of friends (again, my next post will be on recovery from burnout).

In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you and what you’re seeing when it comes to fatigue and burnout.

This article originally appeared here.

I admit it—I have a temper. I’m generally able in God’s grace to control it, and to my knowledge, few people have ever seen it displayed. I know, though, that I’m not the only pastor who deals with this issue. Here are my thoughts about why so many pastors carry this trait:

1. Many of us were saved out of homes where anger was a reality. Whether we like it or not, we who lived in an angry atmosphere often picked up that same characteristic. Our redemption frees us from its bondage but doesn’t always eradicate the tendency.
2. We’re often perfectionists. We don’t want to fail God, our congregation or ourselves. We’re better at offering grace to others than to ourselves—and our response to failure is often defeat and anger.
3. Some of us have no outlet for frustration. That’s neither good nor right, but it’s reality. We sometimes have no true friends with whom we can be transparently honest before anger gets out of control.
4. Some days, it feels like weighty pastoral pressures never end. Some ministry needs are life-and-death. Others affect homes, marriages and generations. When pastoral stress seems non-stop, it’s easy to let little things give rise to anger.
5. Many of us don’t take care of ourselves spiritually. Our time with God is reduced to sermon preparation alone, and prayer is on an “emergency” basis. Consequently, we hardly exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.
6. Many of us don’t take care of ourselves physically. We don’t eat well, exercise well, rest well or vacation well. Tired, out-of-shape, undisciplined leaders are increasingly vulnerable to displays of anger.
7. Some church structures give us permission to be angry. That is, pastors who have little accountability, or who are given reign over their own church kingdom, have few stop signs to expressing anger.
8. Sometimes our role demands righteous anger. It is not ungodly to be angry at the effects of injustice. Church members are sometimes so sinfully rude that anger is a valid response. The difficulty is walking that line without allowing our anger to become sin.
9. Too often, we have private sin that haunts us. Internal sin often displays itself with a short fuse. Actually, increasing anger is one of the signs I watch for when I’m worried about a brother’s private life.
10. We ignore the reality of spiritual warfare. Maybe we talk about it when a friend falls into some obvious sin like adultery or drunkenness or pornography—but not anger. Meanwhile, the devil works in deceived, angry hearts to slaughter pastors, homes and ministries.

What would you add to this list? How might we pray for you if anger is an issue?

This article originally appeared here.