VERY Excited about a New Thing at PCC

Untitled from Brian Hughes on Vimeo.

Working a Split Shift

In the summer, I work a lot of 'split shifts'. You probably know what that is - I think a good bit of medical professionals (and some others) are familiar with the concept. But I'd love to reduce the mystery that surrounds what pastors do all day. And many pastors, because of the necessity of normal ministry and care, work unusual and unpredictable hours.

This is amplified in the summer, when kids are out of school and vacations are planned.

For me, I tend to be most productive in the morning. I love getting up early and reading, studying, writing and being creative before the rest of the world awakens. I get a lot done before 10am. But then my productivity wanes. Because my kids are home all day during the summer (well, the 2 younger ones, anyway), I can take the middle part of the day, when I'm not productive anyway, and play. Then I can return to work in the late afternoon/early evening when I get my creative second wind.

Today was one of those days. I got a lot done early, spent the afternoon at the river with my family and some of our good friends, and was home at 4:30 energized and back at being productive again.

It was a good day, balanced, where I can look back and know that I did it right. I wish I did it this well every day!

Finished Book 1: QBQ

I had gotten this book at the conference I attended in Tennessee a couple of weeks ago (see my post at http://tinyurl.com/3ftkw8m). It looked intriguing, had an unusual title and it came from an organization I highly respected - they GAVE it to me, so I figured it would be helpful to read it. Plus it was very small - a quick read.

QBQ (which stand for the Question behind the Question) is a book all about personal accountability. It forces you to take a hard look at yourself - your behaviors, attitudes and thoughts - so that you ask questions that will prompt solutions, not endless complaining and fingerpointing. It's basic premise rests on a 3 legged stool:

1) Your questions should start with What or How, not who or when. Instead of asking 'who's fault is it that this wasn't completed' or 'when am I going to get the budget I need', the QBQ would ask 'What can I do to help resolve this' or 'How can I be a part of the solution'.

2) Your question should always contain an 'I'. How can I help. What can I do.

3) Finally, your questions should always contain an action. Words like do, solve, help, tackle, overcome, contribute, make the team better, make it happen, achieve the goal, accomplish, etc. are all a part of the QBQ.

There is no single QBQ. There are lots of examples of them, though, that John Miller poses in a helpful chapter near the end.

I found the book a helpful reminder of my personal responsibility for my own life, my leadership, and my circle of influence. It was a little choppy, not particularly well written and lacked some continuity. It WAS helpful, but if it had been much longer, would probably not have been worth the the read.

As it was, with only 2-3 hours of reading time, it was a worthwhile investment, especially since it was free.

Guess that wasn't a rousing endorsement, huh?

The MOST EXCELLENT Mobile Church I've EVER seen!

I am really digging into some studying now...after a few days of playing. I've almost finished reading the first of four books on my reading list (will finish that book later today), and have written a good bit about the formation of a teaching team that may be helpful for leaders outside of PCC and folks inside who just want to know more about it.

But I wanted to tell you about the church I visited today. One of the things I like to do on my study break is something I never get to do in the normal course of things - visit other churches! This has become an annual ritual for me and - though I love our church and think it's awesome - visiting other churches helps me see some things we could do differently (and better) and helps keep me fresh because of inspiring messages and creative elements that make me think differently (and better).

My wife, Susan, had found a church in Fredericksburg that intrigued me, so I decided to go up there and take a look. I was completely blown away. You can imagine that in a decade of studying innovative churches, I've visited a LOT of them. They vary in quality from A to Z. But this one takes the cake, by far, hands down. It was awesome. The church? Lifepoint Church in Spotsylvania. You can check out their website by clicking here or going to visitlifepoint.org.

Now, perhaps it was an atypical experience. They had a guest band in that apparently makes regular appearances at Lifepoint - The Andy Cherry Band - and they were outstanding. The technology and the artistic talent was top notch. Plus, the Senior Pastor was out on break (go figure). They had a message from Steven Furtick from Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. the audio/video quality was excellent and after a few seconds, I felt like he was in the room with us.

Other notable parts of my experience include:

• Lifepoint had a 'family worship' area, with chairs and black curtains and a monitor where families who didn't want to take their kids to the children's area could participate without disturbing others in the big room.
• The music was LOUD - but not painful at all. (WAY louder than PCC). About 500 people were in the service I attended and were really into the music and seemed to enjoy it. It was edgy and very cool. Nobody had their fingers in their ears. I thought it was excellent.
• They meet in a High School auditorium, but they use 8' or 9' black curtains (which they set up and take down every Sunday) to make the room feel 'full'. It really worked, too. The mood was electrifying and the energy was palpable. They really understood the concept of critical mass.
• People were friendly, signage and literature were excellent, parking folks helped guide you in and waved goodbye as you left.

There were only a couple of things I think they could have done a little better. They were mostly minor, and you can find those in any church anywhere (PCC has several, too). For the most part, this church understood excellence without extravagance. They honored the folks who came to church.

So, I had an extremely formative experience at Lifepoint church today. I suspect you'll hear lots of things about them as they grow (and I suspect they will grow rapidly). If you are ever up that way and can check it out, let me know how your experience was!

Introducing the Teaching Team

For at least two years, I've felt strongly that it was time for the formation of a 'teaching team' at PCC. Others have 'stood in' for me in my absence, but what we needed was something more systemic. I have been studying this concept for a long time, slowly building the mechanisms and trying to gauge the winds of the Spirit in terms of people and timing.

Rationale for a Teaching Team

Almost every Senior Pastor holds the responsibility of the 'platform', whatever they call it (pulpit, stage, etc.). Every pastor I know treats this honor like it is the greatest of privileges - because it is!

Some people think that teaching pastors keep a tight reign on the platform because of his ego, and I supposed there are a few who think they are God's only gifted communicator. Mostly, though, teaching pastors feel that a great trust has been given to them. Think about it: every week, scores, hundreds, even thousands of people come to a given local church. They come to encounter God through worship, to ask their spiritual questions, and, yes, many of them come to hear the teaching pastor communicate spiritual truth. Most innovative churches wouldn't have strong attendance or healthy growth without a good communicator (a lot could be said to define what it means to be a 'good communicator', but that's for another conversation).

All of that is to say that the person who holds the teaching platform does so 'in trust'. We don't just let anyone speak. We want to be sure of a few things:

1) The person speaking will do their work. Most of us do not speak extemporaneously. We don't just wing it. We prepare. We study. We write. We ball up the bad stuff, toss it in the can and start over, we work and re-work and re-work again. We come prepared. And we want to know that the person standing in for us will also come prepared.

2) The person speaking will look to God. After all, we are trying to be a conduit of sorts. We want to know that the person speaking in our stead will seek out God's voice, hear his words, and relay them accurately.

3) The person speaking will not make a mess. This is what I call the 'lowest common denominator'. Above all else, no matter what, the primary communicator does not want to come back from a break or vacation to find that the guest speaker ran people off, sparked a needless controversy or made a mess that has to be cleaned up. In fact, this is one of the main reasons that teaching pastors are so protective of the platform - the horror stories abound. The main issue here is TRUST. Once a group of people have come to know me and trust me, I can say things that others cannot say. I used to think it was the other way around - that you brought in guest speakers to say what you cannot say. I've come to realize that this is backward thinking that is dysfunctional and somewhat cowardly. Our core value of authenticity would dictate that the better you know me, the more I have the trust foundation and, indeed, the responsibility to speak the haredest truths, not run from them.

Selecting a Teaching Team

There are many people who are or could be good public speakers. Others are well versed in the Bible. Others still have a history that would help them connect with a certain segment of the folks who come. But what I was looking for were people who contained within them a certain set of characteristics:

1) Are they coachable? It didn't matter to me if they were Rob Bell or Billy Graham. If they weren't coachable, then it's not workable. Their spirit has to have a willingness and excitement about learning from me.

2) Do they have an indication of giftedness? Most people can learn the mechanics, but for a teaching team, you need folks who have gifts in communicating with people. They don't have to be fully developed gifts, but they have to be there.

3) Do they 'get' PCC? There are many people who fit 1 & 2 above who don't really understand what we are trying to do at PCC.

4) Are they willing and available? I brought this team in for weeks before they started speaking. They prepared a mock message for me, based on a scripture I gave them (and it was a VERY hard scripture). They had to come and 'deliver' that message in front of the other 5 members on the team and get critiqued by all of us. We had training times when we watched other great communicators, heard teachings about preaching. I had them read material. And, for the past few weeks, they've been gathering every week (some with me and some without me) and delivering the following week's message to each other, and then assessing, making suggestions, and coaching each other. All of this takes a LOT of time an energy. I needed people who would make the commitment and could keep it.

The Teaching Team at PCC

I will continue to be the primary teaching pastor. That is my calling and I believe that's where I'm supposed to be. But there are five others on the team:

Beth Stoddard

Sammy Frame

John Tiller

John Ivins

Dennis Green

(pictures are in that order)

You will notice that the last Sunday in this series (July 31), Angie Frame will give us a GREAT message, too. Very occasionally, someone not on this team will teach instead of me. But mostly, when I'm absent or not on the stage, it will be on one of these five.

Pastors, I hope you will begin to develop a teaching team. Getting away would not be possible for me if I didn't have these great folks working with me.

A VERY Exciting New Thing at PCC...

For those of you who can make it, who love PCC and want to help make a real difference, I just can't tell you how excited I am about something very innovative and very exciting that's coming this fall. It's so significant that we actually have to begin preparing right now.

If you are able to make it, we will spend 90 minutes together next Tuesday, June 28, at the PCC Powhatan Campus. 6:30-8pm is the time. Anyone is welcome to come, so spread the word.

Why I take a Study Break

I need your help. Every summer, I take a study break in addition to a vacation. I've done this in different ways. Sometimes I break it up. Some years I've gone away. Some years it's only two weeks. But early every year (like in January), I try to get a sense of my own pace, fatigue, spiritual and emotional health, and the condition of my family. Based on these things, I plan my summer and, specifically, my study break.

Most people don't really understand why I take a study break. It's ok. I don't really understand what most people do in their jobs. Likewise, most don't understand what I do in mine. But I am quite sure of this: being the senior leader in a church like ours, coupled with being the primary teaching pastor leads to a very high burnout rate among my peers. Let me explain a little more...

I LOVE being the Senior Pastor of PCC!! But in addition to being the most fun job I've ever done, it is also the most challenging and taxing. I have found that the combination of trying to be an intuitive, strategic leader AND a creative, excellent and effective communicator every weekend is somewhat unique. At moments like the one I'm in right now, I feel pretty good, but also like I'm slowly draining. I'm older now, and I can see the pattern of my life better and in a more mature way. I know I have to have some extended time working from a different altitude, thinking about our church from a birdseye view, and seeing PCC from a very big-picture perspective. I also desperately need to dig deep into some Bible study that doesn't require me to write a message out of it. And then there are some projects that I can't seem to get done, such as:

- I'd very much like to do a video curriculum for new believers that can be shared online or through DVD's. This would be 8-12 sessions that would cover the basic practices of a good spiritual life. What does it mean to pray or have a prayer life? Bible Study? Giving/Tithing? Small Group life (Community)? The symbolism and significance of Communion (the Lord's Supper) and Baptism. What is worship and how do we do it? I could easily spend 80 hours or more developing this, and I'm not even sure I'll get it all done on this break, but I'm going to try.

- Series planning. Beth and I (and some others) did a good job earlier this year of planning our services out into the summer, but we're not planned out beyond July. I have got to spend some time finding a fall series that's as good as Wild Goose Chase was (no small task), and plan us through the end of the year.

- Restructuring. A church like ours should restructure our staff every 18-36 months. We're not the same church we were 2 years ago. We'll need to have a staff that's ready for 2,000 people in 5 services in 3 physical campuses plus an online campus.

- Coaching Network. I'm committed to organizing a coaching network for Senior Pastors who want to take their leadership to the next level. I have a website and am just about ready to launch this for the fall. This is Kingdom-minded work, and I'm really excited about it.

- Read 4 books: QBQ by John Miller, The Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzero, The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, and Innovative Planning - your church in 4D by Bud Wrenn

- Other things include incorporation for PCC, some work for our teaching team, learn how to use Evernote, prep for a staff retreat and for my leadership summit presentation, prep for a VERY exciting church-wide study that begins in mid-October, catch up on some leadership blogs (Michael Hyatt and Tony Morgan particularly), and finish moving all my files to the cloud, just to name a few.

In addition to all of this, I'm going to dive deeply into a study on the book of Hebrews and will blog a lot about my journey through it.

AND, finally, I'm hoping to rest some. Recenter. Take some long walks and hear God speak. Pray for long periods about our church, our people, our staff, our leaders, and our future.

As I think about all of this and look back on the agenda I just created for you, it occurs to me that I've already bitten off more than I can chew. I'm going to have to whittle this thing down, and I haven't even started my study break yet!

What I'm hoping that you see is that study break is still working. It's not vacation. But it's working in a different way. This year, I'm mostly going to be gone. God blessed me with access to a few places that folks have generously lent me or rented to me at a very low cost. I've got some fun planned and some family time, in addition to the work.

When I go away, I always get a little pushback about the teaching platform at PCC. I'll have more to say about that in a blog post this week, but for now, let me simply say that you will not be disappointed this year. In fact, I think you are about to be blessed!

Thank you for supporting me while I take a breath. You can help me by being positive with folks who don't understand. This is important, and being away for a short while will make me better in the long run. This is a marathon, not a sprint. And I can make it for the long haul if I get a little break like this once a year.

Thanks again,

Brian