WithoutWax.tv by Pete Wilson | Tag Archive | Jeff Henderson
Tag Archive - Jeff Henderson

Running on E

November 12, 2009 in Spiritual Growth with 42 Comments

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I had the incredible opportunity yesterday to speak with Jeff Henderson at an event we put on for the staff at Cross Point and Buckhead church.

Jeff said something that I’ve been thinking about a lot the past 24 hours. He said, “Nobody is responsible for your spiritual replenishment except for you.”

When I’m running on “E” in my spiritual life I love to blame others.

The church is overworking me.

My wife is asking too much of me.

My kids won’t give me any quiet time.

John Ortberg wrote on his blog the other day…

Often in ministry I feel like Jesus (that’s a dangerous comparison!) when he was touched by a woman in a crowd ‘and felt the power go out of him.’ Ministry can be the most draining activity known to human beings, because it draws on the soul. So i have to know what the signs are when my reserves are running low: I got easily discouraged, I get preoccupied in my relationships, my motivation and energy drop, sin looks more tempting.

In other words, you can’t run on “E” for long and still live the life God has for you.

So here’s a couple questions for you to contemplate today:

-Are you living a rhythm of life that restores God’s wonder in you?

-Are you claiming responsibility for your own spiritual replenishment?

-If you’re stuck on “E” what’s one thing you can do today to replenish your spiritual vitality?

The Art of Learning

December 16, 2008 in Church Leadership, Church Planting, Cross Point Church, Friends, Leadership, My Family, Religion, Videos with 41 Comments

Every once in a while I get the opportunity to talk on the phone or possibly even in person with someone I greatly admire. It’s often a pastor I look up to or a leader I want to learn from. When I get my window of time with them I want to make sure I take full advantage of it.

If you want to grow in knowledge, skills, and leadership you’ve got to learn to make the most of these incredible opportunities. Here’s a few guidelines I use.

1) Don’t ask them a question which can be answered on their website. For instance, if you get 30 minutes with Mark Batterson don’t ask him how many campuses they have or where the campuses are located.

2) Don’t spend the majority of your time telling them your story. If  Perry Noble wants to hear your story he’ll call YOU. Spend 20% of your time asking questions and sharing and the other 80% of your time listening.

3) Don’t waste their time by asking questions someone else on their staff is better suited to answer. If you get some time with Greg Surratt don’t ask questions about Sea Coast’s children’s ministry. The only thing he knows about the children’s ministry is what his grand kids tell him. :)

4) Respect their time. Just because Jud Wilhite agrees to take your phone call once doesn’t mean he can talk to you on a monthly basis. Be thankful for the time you got and don’t waste it by using it to try to get more time out of them in the future. If Jud has more time to give you he will more than likely offer it to you.

5) Don’t ask them questions about someone else. If you’re talking with Jeff Henderson don’t ask him questions about Andy Stanley.  If you want to learn from Jeff then ask him questions about his life, his leadership, and his influence. If you want to know about Andy then call Andy.

If you want to be a good leader you’ve got to be a great learner. If you want to be a great learner you’ve got to be an exceptional listener.

I’m Tired Of This Game

September 24, 2008 in Friends, God, Leadership, Preaching, Relationships, Religion with 72 Comments

I spent quite a bit of time this afternoon writing for the 4th week of our Baggage series. This week we’re talking about envy and this afternoon I’ve been focusing on “comparisons” and how they feed envy inside of me.

I play this game all the time.

I wish I could lead like Jeff Henderson.

I wish I was creative like Scott Hodge.

I wish I could preach like Perry Noble.

I wish I could cast vision like Greg Surratt.

But comparison is a deadly game. The danger of comparison is no matter who you do it with, eventually there is always someone whose prettier, smarter, faster, more connected or higher-up then you. They’re more _______________________.

There is always somebody more.

The danger of comparison is that we find ourselves looking to other people for our value and determining our value by how we compare with other people.

You put two similar things side-by-side and compare them. We all do it when we comparison shop. It’s okay for cars, golf clubs, and shoes… but not for people. For people, comparison is deadly.

We have a tendency to keep looking over our shoulder to see who gets the car we wanted, the job we needed, the spouse we desired.  Who has the most gifted children, the bigger blog,  and whose got the latest iBook, iMac, iPhone or anything else that starts with an i.

I’m tired of playing this game. How about you?