{"id":352,"date":"2025-11-04T20:20:33","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T21:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/?p=352"},"modified":"2025-11-10T13:02:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T13:02:28","slug":"why-i-fired-the-same-guy-twice-and-maybe-you-should-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/04\/why-i-fired-the-same-guy-twice-and-maybe-you-should-too\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Fired the Same Guy Twice (And Maybe You Should Too)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"Firing\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n

Jeff MacKay showed up at our Hermosa Beach church looking like the last guy you’d tap for leadership. Blond surfer hair falling in his face, wire-rimmed glasses sliding down his nose, mild dyslexia. We hired him to run our print shop.<\/p>\n

We fired him for sloppy work.<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, he asked if he could help us start the new church in Hawaii. No bitterness. No grudge. Just, “Can I come?” So he joined us\u2014and promptly fired him again.<\/p>\n

This time, he’d taken a bunch of junior high kids hiking over a broken suspension bridge 75 feet above a dangerous gulch. Parents were furious. We had to remove him from junior high ministry.<\/p>\n

Jeff’s response? He started a high school group instead. Within months, more than 70 high schoolers packed the MiniChurches he’d started.<\/p>\n

Jeff MacKay went on to plant a large church in Mililani, HI and later seven churches in Japan. His disciples have planted too. He’s one of the most fruitful leaders to emerge in our movement.<\/p>\n

Most pastors I know would have written Jeff off after the first firing. Definitely after the second. We hold back potential leaders because we fear they might slip. We confuse perfection with results.<\/p>\n

Here’s what I learned from Jeff: Success requires willingness to learn from mistakes AND getting lots of chances to swing the bat.<\/p>\n

Reggie Jackson struck out more times than any batter in Major League Baseball history. He also broke almost every batting record. You have to swing at many pitches to hit lots of home runs. In ministry, you must take chances with people or never produce great leaders.<\/p>\n

Think about Jesus. He chose Peter\u2014impulsive, foot-in-mouth Peter who would deny him three times. He picked Matthew, a tax collector despised by nearly everyone. He called fishermen who couldn’t stay awake during prayer. Most search committees would reject his entire leadership team.<\/p>\n

Yet these were the men who turned the world upside down.<\/p>\n

The most potent leaders sometimes come wrapped in rough packaging. They’re not polished. They make mistakes. They frustrate you. But they possess something no classroom can teach; they fight for what is right. When knocked down, they get back up. When fired, they find another way to serve.<\/p>\n

Your job isn’t to protect your reputation by playing it safe. Your job is to champion people God has called\u2014even when they’re disorganized, immature, or likely to embarrass you.<\/p>\n

A Framework for Disciplemaking Leaders:<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Choose character over competence. Competence can be taught. Character can’t. Jeff had character\u2014he responded to correction without bitterness and kept serving without pay or recognition.<\/li>\n
  2. Protect while they learn. Stand between young leaders and critics. Absorb the heat. Give them room to fail forward.<\/li>\n
  3. Measure results, not mistakes. Jeff led 70 high schoolers to Christ despite organizational chaos. That matters more than missed curfews.<\/li>\n
  4. Look for fighters. The person who keeps showing up after being fired twice has something money can’t buy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Two Questions:<\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. Who in your church have you written off because they’re messy, unpolished, or made mistakes?<\/li>\n
    2. What would happen if you gave that person another chance?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The Challenge:<\/h2>\n

      This month, identify someone with rough edges but obvious gifting. Give them a role. Champion them. Protect them while they learn. Then watch what God does through ordinary people who refuse to quit.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Remember, when Lincoln was criticized for sticking with General U.S. Grant over Grant\u2019s drinking problem he responded, \u201cI need people who will fight. That man fights.\u201d Grant turned the tide of the Civil War. Your critics will always point out flaws. But warriors win battles.<\/p>\n

      Note: I dive deeper into these ideas in my book <\/em>“Let Go of the Ring”<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n
      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
      \n

      Ralph Moore<\/strong>\u00a0is the Founding Pastor of three churches which grew into the Hope Chapel ‘movement’ now numbering more than 2,300 churches, worldwide. These are the offspring of the 70+ congregations launched from Ralph’s hands-on disciplemaking efforts.<\/p>\n

      He travels the globe, teaching church multiplication to pastors in startup movements. He’s authored several books, including\u00a0Let Go Of the Ring: The Hope Chapel Story<\/em>,\u00a0Making Disciples<\/em>,\u00a0How to Multiply Your Church<\/em>,\u00a0Starting a New Church<\/em>, and\u00a0Defeating Anxiety<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      <\/div>\n

      The post Why I Fired the Same Guy Twice (And Maybe You Should Too)<\/a> appeared first on Newbreed Training<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Jeff MacKay showed up at our Hermosa Beach church looking like the last guy you’d tap for leadership. Blond surfer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":355,"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352\/revisions\/355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamcameroon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}