Who are you learning from?

Most of the people that know me, know that I strive to learn something new every day. I never want to become the leader who thinks he already knows everything.

There are many ways to learn. Some of my favorite ways are from books, magazines, the internet, blogs, etc. But my favorite way to learn is from personal interaction with other people.

Sometimes it might be through a one on one meeting with another leader, or it may be in the context of a round table discussion group. Sometimes it may be via a telephone call. It has been my experience that there is almost no one you can't speak to if you are professional and persistent.

For instance, a couple of years ago, we were growing very rapidly as a church and I wanted to get insight from other Pastors whose churches were a few steps ahead of us, so I made a list of some churches that I thought could help us and I called them. Surprisingly I was able to speak to about 90% of those Pastors. Keep in mind, I had never met these men in my life.

Here are a couple of rules to follow if you attempt this. First, understand that you will begin the discussion with an assistant whose job is to protect that Pastor, so you need to be professional. These are busy men, so don't think its going to be a leisurely chat. You need to do your homework. You need to make a list of questions to forward to the assistant. You also need to ask for a specific amount of time. I believe I asked for 15 minutes.

When you make the call, let them know you appreciate their time and then get down to business. Ask your questions and write things down. When your time is up, thank them and let them get back to other things

Another thing you should do is to send a thank you card letting them know you appreciate their time.

The bottom line is this. If you go about it the right way, most people are more than happy to help another person. At Foothills Community Church, I have told my staff that when another church needs anything, make it a high priority to help. Literally ever week we have churches that contact us about something. It is a joy for us to try to help another church. God has blessed us with so much, and we feel it is only natural that we would be available to help others.

Who are you learning from?