John Cox is the executive pastor at
Watermark Church in Dallas, Texas. He
has been in this position for the previous 7 years, after graduating from
Stanford, Fuller, and most recently completing his MBA at Harvard. John has been in and around ministry for 30
years and is an excellent resource for those seeking to grow.
What is the greatest
lesson you’ve ever learned in your current position as the XP at Watermark
Church?
·
It’s important to add value to staff.
·
You need to invest in them.
·
Titles only matter externally
·
Must complement the Senior Leader, build trust
and learn what he cares about, recognize what he should care about, and take
care of it anyway
·
I’m not as smart as I think…something’s we tried
at Watermark I thought would work, and other things I thought would work didn’t
·
GOAL of an XP:
Do not surprise the Lead Pastor
What is a KEY
ministry lesson you have picked up over the years?
Isolated, every idea is a good idea. You cannot allow things to be framed up like
that. The question to ask is, “how does
this idea prioritize amongst the other good ideas?”
There are many good ministries, but none should start
without a ministry leader that lay awake at night thinking about it. We start a lot of different things, but
rarely do we invest heavily in something upfront.
Be sure to ask the lead pastor how you can add value to
them. Be sure expectation are defined
both directions and with staff.
How do we evaluate
ministry in a growing church?
It is important to construct a grid through which to view
and process ministry and especially the number 2 position in a church. There are two things that always are surprising:
1)
How much God changes people
2)
How little other people change
This is the grid through which we look at people. Some people move toward Christ, others are
forever stuck. What sets these people
apart?
What are the common denominators for determining which camp
a person will end up?
1)
Trust that God is good
2)
I can grow alone (this is a fast track to not
changing)
3)
People are to busy to change
4)
Serving (those who aren’t growing view this has
an event or helping out)
5)
Relationship with Money (Dallas is an incredibly vain place…)
One of the BIG goals of an XP is to be a catalyst toward
change…there is the problem of the 16-minute miler. The person who believes they are one step
away from setting a world record mile, yet they are running it at 16 minutes a
mile. They haven’t surrounded themselves
with any sense of accountability or even just been around those who running
spiritually much faster. Someone has to
show them their blind spot.
How do we adjust this
lens through which we view ministry?
1)
How do I grow?
2)
How do I run?
Ministry leaders are tended toward ‘running’, which is the urgent things that pop up. Teaching on Sunday, going to meetings, etc. Whereas the more important idea to focus on is growth, how are we preparing for the future? What leaders are being developed? What are your 2 or 3 things?
In investing and developing people to align with this grid,
specific focused coaching is required.
Here is one grid to process through:
1)
What are they doing that they should keep doing?
2)
What should they stop doing?
3)
What should they be doing that would make a BIG
difference in ministry?
What should I read
that you have read?
MUST READS:
Who should I know
that you know?
·
Leadership Network
·
Greg Hawkins
·
Any XPs with experience
o
Jack Warren
o
Brent Wright
o
Guy from Irving Bible
o
Tommy Shelton
o
Josh Patterson
How can I add Value
to you?
SEND HIM GREAT IDEAS!
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