Volunteer recruiting is sometimes considered something magical, like marketing, that everyone knows you need but no one knows how to do it. Volunteer recruiting isn’t really that hard, if you have a compelling vision. It just takes a simple approach:

1. Prepare your vision for rapid presentation - you may only have a few seconds to a minute to determine if someone is interested
2. Pray and present your vision to those you know
3. Be willing to accept “no” as an answer, especially from those you know quite well - they may not be interested or have the time
4. Ask for referrals of those that may be interested
5. Get feedback and refine your vision to make it clear and compelling

Recruiting is intentional. It requires a simple strategy that is appropriate to your cause.

One final thought. If God is giving you this passion, then He promises to deliver others to help you. Pray and ask for them.

I believe this is why churches are failing to see real growth. Growth beyond the transfer of the Christian body from one church to another. The church has forgotten how to cast a vision to those in need. They are more interested in HD TVs on the walls and playing Hollywood movies during service than they are about getting back to the most powerful story of all: The Gospel.

Want to lead your cause? Paint a vivid picture that is so compelling that people can’t ignore it. It may not be for everyone you meet. But for some it will touch something deep within their heart. Those are the ones you want to lead. And it all starts with a vision.

There are a few key steps when starting to lead your cause:

1. Accept that leadership isn’t about being alone
2. You need to recruit others to your cause
3. To recruit others, you need a powerful vision and stories to tell
4. This vision must paint a mental picture of the future for others to grasp quickly and easily
5. You must cast this vision toward others that seem interested in adopting your cause

This week, we’ll dig into more details about this process.

Go check out his Myspace page and Our God Saves, a site for viewing and sharing testimonies of how God saves.

Of course, having more money than 99% of the world doesn’t qualify us as a leader. But it should encourage us to become one. It should drive us to be better leaders than we are. It should drive us to invest in others with our time and talent. To give back to the 99% of the world.

When you look at it this way, leadership isn’t an option. Leadership is an obligation.

For Christians, this means stepping out beyond what we can do in the flesh. It requires faith that God will provide, even when things look impossible.

For the local church, it means being willing to step out and act different than the world. It means sticking to our faith but being willing to accept the culture around us to enable us to reach others without giving ourselves over to it. It means looking like others so that we can identify with them, but acting as God would have us act.

The Apostle Paul demonstrated this time and again. He adapted to the culture he was trying to reach, all the while preaching the single Truth. He took risks, he was punished for them, but he kept going.

Leading requires risk. It isn’t for the weak. Thankfully, we have a God that provides for us. He provides Himself as a Father to guide and discipline us. He provides Himself as a Son to save us and pray for us. He provides Himself as a Spirit to speak to us and comfort us.

Leadership requires risk. Are you ready?

Do you have a cause? A Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) that God has placed on your heart? If so, then it is time to lead.

Don’t have a cause yet? Have you asked God for one? Have you asked Him to place in your heart an unquenchable fire? Today is the day to start praying. Pray every day until He shapes your heart.

Is there something you can do today to start implementing your cause? What is the first step toward starting to see your BHAG become a reality? Why haven’t you started it yet?

Dig deep. Find out what is stopping you from leading. Give it over to God. Ask for His unquenchable fire. Then lead.

Brian Doerksen’s Official Website

you want to know why some people get burned out in ministry? it’s not because they’re working too hard. it’s because they’ve set their level of expectations (both spiritual and pragmatic) so low that when something actually happens that causes them to rely on god’s strength rather than their own strength, it freaks them out. and then there’s no accountability in place, so even more chaos ensues.

But what really stands out for me, especially with my recent focus on needing the church to lead, is something Bill Hybels spoke to Anne about during an interview for her upcoming book, Mad Church Disease:

“I see twin towers of concern. One is burnout; the other is complacency. There are a lot of Christ-followers who haven’t taken the time to figure out what their holy discontent is, and so they’re doing a gradual slide into apathy and complacency”

I’ve recently been struggling with holy discontent, and as I’m praying and seeking God’s direction through it, I’ve started to see this apathy and complacency emerge from others as I try to explain it. When I try to explain it to those I know, most give me a blank stare. It is sad, really.

What is your holy discontent? How are you dealing with it (or how did you deal with it in the past)? Am I the only one struggling with this right now?

Read the full article

There is a lot written on leadership. Most leadership materials focus on how to lead people toward making a change. What many of these books don’t mention is that you don’t have to be the one to lead the whole group. Instead, you can lead by following.

As you identify your BHAG, spend some time to learn what others are doing in the same area. There may be someone already leading that you can join. Just because you are following doesn’t mean you can’t lead. Being a leader means that you are willing to focus on the BHAG before yourself. Sometimes giving up large-scale leadership and focusing on small-scale leadership in the short term yields better results than trying to do it all yourself.

Do some research in your local community and online. Find out what kind of options exist for pairing up with others that have a similar goal. Consider leading by following.

Here are three places you can use to research find others doing the same thing:

1. Google Blog Search - find out what others are talking about, including things they are doing and related events
2. ROOV - ROOV connects like-minded individuals based on communities and personal goals. They recently added Facebook support, so you can easily get connected with others and spread the word to those you know
3. Changing the Present - Changing the Present helps you find non-profit causes and allows you and others to support them in a variety of ways

Know of another way to find other leaders with the same cause? Post about it in the comments!

No matter what your BHAG, it is time to lead. Lead by leading others. Lead by following. No matter what, choose to change things by leading.