20 Things I'm Thankful for - Day 5...

For the 20 days leading up to Thanksgiving weekend, I'm choosing gratitude. Each day I'm sharing something I'm thankful for - sometimes serious, sometimes lighthearted.

Today (Friday, Nov. 13th), I'm choosing to be thankful for football. This weekend marks the beginning of the state high school football playoffs and I'll be the first to admit that I'm not just a fan of football...I'm a fanatic. I love the game. I loved playing the game. I love watching high school football on Friday nights and college football on Saturdays. (But to be honest, I could go without the pro game for the most part. It's more about the money than the game in my opinion.)

Growing up, I learned so many life lessons from the game of football. I learned that you're only as good as you practice. I learned about hard work and determination. I learned that success means sacrifice. I learned that the TEAM is more important than the one. So much about life I learned from a game. And I'm thankful for that game...and for all the life-lessons it's taught me!

20 Things I'm Thankful For - Day 4...

Each day leading up to Thanksgiving I'm choosing to be grateful. I've challenged myself to blog about something I'm thankful for each day leading up to Thanksgiving weekend.

And if you've been keeping track, you realized I skipped the end of the week. Well, I've got a good reason. On Thursday, I was planning to write this blog about something goofy I was thankful for...You know - keep it lighthearted. And I planned to write that blog that evening. The only problem - my sister-in-law had an unexpected c-section to deliver my new niece into the world and we had to spend the evening at the hospital in Austin.

As you can imagine, that also changed what I'm thankful for. So on day four of my 20 Days of Thankfulness, I'm thankful for Luralie Kate Albright and for her parents Clay & Jackie Albright who welcomed this 7 lb. 8 oz. 2o.5 inch lovely baby girl into the world. Luralie, we're so thankful you are here! Jackie & Clay, we are so happy for you both!

20 Things I'm Thankful For - Day 3...

Each day leading up to Thanksgiving weekend I'm choosing to be grateful. I'm sharing one thing each day that I'm thankful for.

Today the choice is simple. Today, I'm thankful for our veterans. The character, strength, integrity, and dedication of our servicemen and women, both past and present, simply amazes me. I grew up with a great respect and awe of those who served in the military. My Papa, who passed away earlier this year, was my hero. He was a career military man, serving in multiple wars and being stationed all over the US and abroad. (You can read about my Papa in this post from last year's Veteran's day by clicking here.) So from an early age I understood the sacrifice and dedication our military personnel show in serving our country.

To all of you who have, and are currently, faithfully and bravely serving our country, preserving our freedom and ensuring me and my family the privileges of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, I say THANK YOU. You truly know that freedom is not free. And I am grateful that you were willing to pay the price for my freedom. Happy Veteran's Day.

20 Things I'm Thankful For - Day 2...

For the twenty days leading up to Thanksgiving weekend, I'm choosing to be grateful. Each day I'm sharing something that I'm thankful for. You can read about the idea behind this blog series by clicking here.

Today is day two of things I'm thankful for and today I am expressing thanks for The Barnes' Kids. Joe & Melanie Barnes are two of the great people on the team here at The Connection Church. They do a ton to serve here at TCC and make a difference and impact on the lives of people in our church and community. And they have two incredibly awesome kids!

I'm thankful for Joe & Melanie's children, Britney & Aaron and here's why: Because of how much love and generosity they show my son Hayden. Outside of our family, there may not be anybody who loves our son more than Britney and Aaron. Everytime we go over to the Barnes' home they want to hold him and play with him, without ever getting tired of it. They've given him the sweetest gifts ever too. Britney is learning to sew and she made Hayden a little blankie. Aaron has given Hayden one of his own teddy bears. Britney just recently won a game at our Trunk or Treat event where she got to pick out any stuffed animal she wanted. She came up to me and told me about how she won the game and then said this: "I wanted to win so bad so that I could pick out something for Hayden. So win I won I tried to think to myself, which one of those things would Hayden like?" Is that not awesome?!?! She then gave Hayden a little Winnie The Pooh bear that also had baby rattles attached to it.

Over the past few months God has been teaching me a lot about generosity. He's been working in my heart to make me more generous. And he's been using people to do it. Two of the people God has used most just happen to still be in elementary school! Britney and Aaron, if you read this I hope you know that Johanna, Hayden, and myself are very thankful for both of you and so grateful for all the love you show to Hayden.

Today...and every day...I'm thankful that God uses little kids, just like Britney & Aaron, to make me more of who He wants me to be.

What about you? Who are you thankful for today? Feel free to comment away.

20 Things I'm Thankful For - Day 1...

I'm starting a new series of blog posts today that will continue through Thanksgiving weekend. Each day I'm choosing thankfulness and will be posting something or someone I'm thankful for. You can check out the thoughts behind the idea here.

Today to kick things off I'm choosing to be thankful for a healthy baby boy. My son, Hayden Russell Burleson, turned 6 months old last week. He has forever changed my life. He makes me want to be a better man, a better pastor, a better husband, and a better friend...all because I know he's watching every single move I make.

Several years ago I was diagnosed with a pituitary tumor and underwent surgery to remove the tumor. The damage done to my pituitary gland has several affects on my body. When my wife and I talked to my doctor about having a child and the affects of what that tumor did to my body, my doctor literally laughed at the idea that we even thought it was a possibility.

Fast forward less than a year and Johanna is pregnant with Hayden. Within 16 months of that doctor's laughter, we welcomed a healthy, strong, incredible baby boy into our lives. And after 6 months, we haven't done anything to screw him up yet! At his 6 month appointment last week we were told we have a strong, healthy, growing son. And I thank God EVERY DAY for the blessing of His gift to us.

What are you thankful for today? Being thankful can change your entire outlook on life!

20 Things Im Thankful For...

Today I'll be starting a series of blog posts that will run for the next twenty days - through Thanksgiving weekend. Each day I'll be giving thanks for someone or something...Some days will be deep and introspective. Some days will be random and light. But each day I will choose to be thankful.

In our "it's-all-about-me and I've-gotta-have-more" society, gratitude is a dying virtue. We live in a world where we feel entitled to everything and owed anything we could ever want or wish for. It's a sickness. And so often that sickness results in diminishing thankfulness.

So for the next 20 days, beginning with the first post later this afternoon, I'm choosing to be thankful - for God's provisions, for His blessings, and for things and relationships I don't deserve.

So what is it that you're thankful for? Comment away.

Habits of Great Group Leaders...

At The Connection Church we believe that our Connection Groups are the best place for people to experience authentic life-change, build healthy, biblical relationships, and find a place where they belong and can be cared for. That means that our Connection Group Leaders play a vital role in the health and growth of our church. So what makes a great Group Leader? I'm glad you asked.


8 Habits of Great Group Leaders:

1. A great group leader prays daily for their group and for the individual group members.


2. A great group leader is always looking for new people to invite to check out the group.


3. A great group leader makes sure that group members are contacted regularly and kept informed of group happenings, schedules, and needs within the group.


4. A great group leader spends time preparing for the group meeting so that it is the best it can possibly be.


5. A great group leader is always in the process of raising up new leadership by mentoring a person as a co-leader.


6. A great group leader plans activties to build community and connections within the group outside of the normal group meeting time.


7. A great group leader is committed to their own personal spiritual growth, understanding that you cannot lead people farther than you've been.


8. A great group leader consistently pushes the vision of seeing every person at the church connected in a group, which leads to adding healthy, growing groups each semester.

Developing Low-Bar Leaders...

Back in my middle school & high school days, I played football...and loved it. But what I didn't love were the off-season workouts that went along with playing football. One drill in particular that I hated were the hurdle drills. With the goal in mind of developing our movement and agility, our coaches would make us jump, flat footed, over track hurdles set at different heights. Now don't get me wrong: There were days when this was easy. When the hurdles were set to the lowest height, this drill was a piece of cake. Everyone on the team could do it and we could jump those things all day long. But when the bar was raised, that was another story. With the hurdles set on high, it was a lot more work, it was sometimes painful, and there was a bigger risk of failure. And it definitely wasn't something everyone could do with ease.

As I think about those days of jumping hurdles, it makes me ponder where we set the leadership bar in our churches today. I think far too many times, as pastors and leaders, we're guilty of lowering the bar. We think that this will give us more leaders, erase the roadblocks to becoming a leader, and somehow eventually result in maturity, growth, and positive change. Unfortunately, that just isn't the case. So how do we know if we've set the bar too low? Check this out below:

How To Develop Low Bar Leaders

1. Steer clear of accountability. If you want low bar leaders, then be sure you never hold people accountable. Make sure you don't have any standards that leaders are held to and, by all means, don't step in when there are problems with a leader's character or actions.
2. Refuse to develop clearly communicated requirements and standards. If it is one thing that low bar leaders hate, it is being held to a standard that is clearly expressed throughout your organization. In order to keep low bar leaders happy, be sure to water down your requirements for leadership and be unclear in your communication of these requirements.
3. Give everyone in your church or organization an equal amount of time. In ministry, more is caught than taught. It's a simple principle. Great leaders spend more time with less people, in order to invest in their leaders. If you want low bar leaders, be sure to spread your time evenly among everyone, never giving any extra attention to those who have the potential to make a major impact within your church.
4. Avoid dealing with people who knowingly and willfully fall short of the bar. Let's face it: When we set the bar low, it makes it a lot easier for everyone to jump over with very little commitment, effort, or dedication. When we set the leadership bar high in our organization or church, it means that we will have to confront those who continually fall short of the bar and that means dealing with conflict. And no one likes that, right? So let's keep the bar low. It's more comfortable that way.
5. Never ask people to step up or to take the next step. Churches and organizations that produce high level leaders are consistently challenging people to grow by taking the next step in their faith, in their leadership, and in their commitment to the cause. If we want to keep low bar leaders, then we need to keep ourselves from making the "big ask" and challenging people to step up to the next level. Let people get comfortable and complacent where they're at and they'll be content at the low bar level for life.

In our churches, when we set the leadership bar low, everyone clears the bar...but no one wins - especially the people we're trying to reach with the love and hope of Jesus Christ. Raising the bar may mean more hard work, the possibility of dealing with some pain, and a bigger risk of failure...but in the end, it produces change that the low bar never will.

Happy Birthday Mom!...

Today is my mom's birthday. From what I've heard, she's been showered with flowers, gifts, balloons, candy, and the whole works...And she deserves it. God has blessed me with an incredible family. My parents have always believed in me, pushed me to be the best I can be, and provided all the support in the world for me to accomplish anything I set out to do. I always say I won the parent lottery and on days like this, I am reminded of that even more. So Happy Birthday Mom! We love you!