Will your church pay the price to change?

Most churches and pastors say the right things.  They want to reach more people for Christ, they want the church to grow, they want to have a greater impact on their communities, they want to see healthier families, etc.  However, if the pastor begins to do the things it might take for these things to happen he or she is quickly challenged.  As Gil Rendle writes in Journey in the Wilderness: New Life for Mainline Churches, churches often request leadership but then resist it and reward management.  It's not that these churches do not really want what they claim to desire; it's that they want these things to occur without any disrupting changes.  They are not willing to pay the price that change requires.

Realizing that every church and situation is different, what are some of these potential costs?  I discussed several of them in my book The Healthy Community: Moving Your Church Beyond Tunnel Vision.

• Change in pastoral leadership.  This won't make me popular with many of my readers, but sometimes the church can't change until it changes pastoral leadership.  Some pastors simply do not have leadership gifts and probably shouldn't be in pastoral ministry.  Quite often a pastor reaches a place where he or she cannot take a church any further and needs to step aside for new leadership.  I was willing to leave the church I pastored for 20 years when I realized it needed leadership with different gifts than I had.  My role was to lay the foundation for the next pastor to build upon.  When I accepted that it became easier to resign and let that happen.
• Change in lay leadership.  Some churches will never change because of controlling lay leaders in the church.  These persons are seldom willing to step aside voluntarily as they have convinced themselves they are doing God's work by resisting any change that might be proposed.  They are defenders of the church and even of the faith in their minds, and until the congregation is willing to confront these individuals there is little hope of change or growth occurring in the church.
• Conflict.  Any significant change in a church will produce conflict, and many churches are willing to do anything, including die, to avoid conflict.  Conflict produces the basic reactions of fight or flight, both of which makes people uncomfortable and are costly to the church.  There are ways to approach conflict in a more healthy manner which churches need to learn before the next conflict affects their congregation.
• People leaving the church.  One of the most feared statements in many churches is, "If you decide to make this change my family and I will leave the church, and I've heard from others they will as well."  Such warnings are often enough to stop any effort to introduce change into the church.  Smaller churches especially are fearful of people leaving because of the value such churches place on relationships.  We need to come to grips with the idea that it is OK if people feel they need to leave our church.  If the congregation believes God is leading it one way and someone threatens to leave if we go in that direction, we must be willing to tell them good-by.  My experience has been than they are often replaced by new people who are attracted by the changes we've made.  If someone doesn't share the church's vision it is best that they do leave so they don't become a stumbling block to the church and the church's vision doesn't become a stumbling block to their spiritual growth.
• Fear of the unknown.  All systems prefer what they have known in the past.  We know how to do what we've been doing for years; we don't know how successful we'll do the new things any change will bring.  That is frightening to most leaders, and that fear is a price they must be willing to pay.

The good news is that these costs are not insurmountable to a church.  Any church is capable of paying the price to change, if it is willing.  As I've shared with church groups, "If you want to do something you will find a way.  If you don't want to do it you'll find an excuse."  If your church truly wants to do what it claims it wants to do it will find a way to pay the cost to make that happen.

Motivating volunteers in the church

I've just started reading a new book The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their People, Retain Talent, and Accelerate Performance [Updated & Revised] by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton.  The book is based on a 10-year study of 200,000 managers and employees and is obviously written primarily for business leaders and managers.  However, even though I have just started reading the book, I am finding some principles that can certainly transfer to ministry leaders as well.  We often note that leading volunteers in a church is difficult because there is little we can do to motivate them.  When we say that we are probably referring to the fact that they are not getting paid.  As this book, and other studies, point out, money is not a primary motivator for most people.  A much more important motivator is recognition and appreciation for their work.

The authors write, "79 percent of employees who quit their jobs cite a lack of appreciation as a key reason for leaving.  Sixty-five percent of North Americans report that they weren't recognized in the least bit in the previous year."  Over three-fourths of people who quit their jobs do so because they did not believe anyone appreciated their efforts.  It had nothing to do with money.  They refer to another study that asked employees what they really wanted from their jobs.  Number one was the opportunity to grow on the job, number two was recognition, and number three was pay.  Again, recognition was more important to these employees than their salaries.

If we transfer this thinking to the church it's easy to see that recognition and appreciation is what will motivate our volunteers, and yet I'm not sure that happens very often in many churches.  I think back to my pastoral ministry, and I can remember two individuals who were very involved in the life of our church.  They faithfully served for many years in a number of capacities.  In time, both dropped out of active involvement.  One told me she was burned out from all she was doing and needed to step back.  She never became as involved in our church as she was previously.  Another individual left our church and never told anyone why.  Until recently.  I was talking to him recently and he confided that the reason he left our church was because he felt burned out with all he was doing and didn't know what to do about it.  Chances are there were others who felt the same thing that I am not aware of.

As I began reading the reasons why people left their jobs I realized it was the same reason these two individuals dropped out of their church roles.  Our church never did anything to intentionally recognize our workers.  I might make a comment once in a while from the pulpit about a specific activity and the persons leading it, but that did not happen nearly often enough.  Like too many church leaders I'm afraid I assumed their dedication to God and to our church was enough for our volunteers. As a pastor I should have known better.  What pastor has not had periods when he or she felt unappreciated by the congregation and thought of leaving for another place of service?  Why would we not recognize that those who volunteer in our churches might feel the same way?

If we want people to engage in the life of our churches we need to do a better job of demonstrating our appreciation for their work.  We need to recognize those who are doing an excellent job.  Such recognition needs to happen publicly and privately.  We must become very intentional about showing our appreciation.  We can do that by having appreciation dinners, by making sure they have the resources they need, by providing learning opportunities for them so they can grow in the ministries they are doing, by speaking words of appreciation to them at various times, and by asking them what challenges they are facing in their tasks.  This is certainly not an all-inclusive list; you need to find the methods of expressing appreciation that will work best in your church.  But, the key thing here is that you become much more intentional about demonstrating that appreciation.

I seldom recommend a book until I've read all of it, but this one has really spoken to me in the first few pages.  I think it's a must read for church leaders.  You can order it by clicking on the title above.

Why won't pastors lead?

Currently, I am aware of two churches that are having serious issues due to a lack of pastoral leadership.  It is a problem I've encountered with a number of churches since beginning judicatory work, and it never ends well for the pastor or the church.  There are a number of reasons why pastors struggle to provide the leadership their churches need, many more than we can cover in this post.  You can read more on this subject in my latest book, The Healthy Community: Moving Your Church Beyond Tunnel Vision.

The first reason we'll mention is that many pastors were never trained to lead, and, therefore, do not know how.  Most seminaries teach their students how to manage their congregations, but they don't teach them how to lead.  Managers ensure that things run smoothly, that people are generally satisfied with the service they receive, and that things are done decently and in order.  Leaders focus on the future and attempt to lead their congregations towards that future; managers are primarily concerned with the present.  Leaders have a vision they are following; managers follow a job description.  Leaders report to their boards where the church is going; managers report where they have been.  Leaders attract other leaders; managers attract followers.  Because pastors were trained to manage that is what they do, and the church remains stuck in its ruts because there is no one who can lead them out of them.

A second reason is that some pastors don't want to lead.  Quite frankly, managing is much easier.  Preach decent sermons, make sure the flock is cared for, and that is all that is required in many churches.  Leadership is risky because it can create conflict.  Not everyone will be happy with the direction a leader attempts to take them.  I find that many pastors, myself included, tend to be people-pleasers.  We don't like it when people are upset with us.  It pains us when people leave our churches due to our leadership.  Most church folks tend to be less upset when the pastor simply manages the affairs of the church, and that makes life much easier for the pastor. 

Also, some pastors don't want to lead because they have misunderstood what leadership is about.  It is not being a dictator as some have suggested.  The pastor is always a servant-leader.  We're not drill sargents barking orders to our congregation; we are persons with a vision calling others to buy in to that vision and follow it to where it takes us.  Leadership is about doing ministry with a purpose and not being content to drift from one Sunday to the next.

The third reason we'll address why more pastors don't lead is because their congregations will not allow them to do so.  In my role I work with numerous pastor search committees.  Many of them tell me they are looking for a pastor who will lead them.  These well-meaning committee members usually don't have a clue what they are asking.  In fact, at one meeting with a committee I responded to that statement with, "Are you sure about that?  Do you know what you are saying?"  I then described what a pastor who was a true leader would do if he or she came to that church.  The committee nervously looked at each other until one laughingly said that they may need to re-think that.  This is a good church in many ways, but it's history says that the last thing they want is a leader.  Many times I've seen churches say they want a leader, call a leader, and then spend all their effort standing on the brake trying to keep the church from moving forward until the pastor finally leaves out of frustration.  You can be sure the search committee will insist they still want a pastor who will lead them when they look to replace the one who left.

I am convinced that without good pastoral leadership our churches will never rise to the level of ministry they should enjoy.  It is believed that 80 percent of our churches are plateaued or declining, and I believe that a lack of pastoral leadership is responsible for much of that.  As stated above, that is not always the pastor's fault.  Some churches will destroy a pastor who attempts to lead them out of their comfort level.  However, in other situations it is the direct result of a failure of the pastor to provide the leadership he or she has been called to give.  If the church in North America is ever to make a difference it will require solid pastoral leadership.

Do churches really want a pastor to lead them?

A few months ago I met with a pastor search committee and began our conversation by asking one of the questions I always ask during our first meeting, "What does your church want in its next pastor?"  I received the answer I almost always hear from smaller churches:  "We want a pastor who will grow our church."  I responded by saying something I had never said before to a search committee:  "Really?  Are you sure about that?"  They looked at me like they couldn't believe someone would ask that question.  I then explained that if their church could be growing by doing what it's been doing it would already be growing.  Obviously, if the church was serious about wanting to grow then things would have to change.  If they wanted a pastor who could grow their church then they were saying they wanted a pastor who would come in and begin to make changes in their church and how it did things.  I asked again, "Is that what you really want?"  At that point one of them smiled at me and said they might need to talk about that some more.

I am convinced that one of the most critical things many of our churches need today is a pastor who will lead his or her congregation.  The problem is that a majority of those churches do not want a leader.  They prefer to have managers for pastors, not leaders.  And the fact is that most seminaries train pastors to be managers, not leaders.  So, the pastor can come into a church and use the training he or she has received and be appreciated by the congregation because that managerial skill is exactly what they want in their pastor.  The greater problem is that this seldom results in the church growing or having much impact on its community.

If a church does call a leader, that person is often in trouble early on when he or she learns that the church is not ready or willing to follow a leader.  Jill Hudson, in her excellent book When Better Isn't Enough: Evaluation Tools for the 21St-Century Church, writes

When churches say they desire a transformational leader, they usually have no idea what they're really asking for.  Often they mean someone who will bring just enough change to keep the pews and offering plates full.  Pastors have historically been rewarded for being effective managers, for keeping the church stable and moving.  Pastors who are transformational leaders often find they are not universally valued or praised.

Judicatory leaders like myself who work with pastor search committees and other leadership groups in churches need to begin having some bold conversations with these groups and challenge them on what they want from their pastors.  Those who insist they want a pastor to lead them need to be further challenged on how far are they willing to follow that pastor.  I recently heard a leader from one organization that hired a consultant say that before hiring that individual he made sure from everyone who reported to him that they were willing to actually do what the consultant would recommend.  The cost of hiring the consultant was too great to not put his recommendations into practice.  The same is true for churches.  Although there is little financial difference between a pastor who is a leader and one who is a manager, there is a big cost to calling a leader and then refusing to follow his or her leadership.  The cost to both the church and the pastor can be great and can last for years and even decades.

We must have pastor-leaders for our churches if we have any hope of turning around our existing churches that have plateaued or are in decline.  Managers can offer technical changes by tweaking what we've been doing, but our times require more adaptive changes, and those can only be led by leaders.  Churches that are unable to understand this and accept the kind of pastoral leadership they need will continue to remain stuck and unable to provide very effective ministries to this current and future generations.

My first book on small business

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I am excited to announce that I have just published my first small business related book that you can purchase here.  As some of you may know, for 15 years I managed a small family owned business.  A couple of years ago we closed the business due to poor sales.  As I have reflected on the reasons for that failure I was able to identify a number of poor management and leadership decisions of mine that contributed to that failure.  That is why I titled the book Mistakes: Avoiding the Wrong Decisions that Will Close Your Small Business.  The book not only details the mistakes I made to help small business owners avoid them, but it also gives a number of recommendations for how to do better in each of those areas.  I want my readers to be able to compare my practices as a business owner to those of people who have been successful in small businesses so they can enjoy the success and avoid the pain I have felt after closing our business.

You may be wondering why I released it as an e-book and not have it published as my ministry books have been.  Actually, there are several reasons.  One is that I could control the cost of the book this way and keep the price lower than if a publisher released a print version.  Any time a small business owner can save a few bucks it's a good day!  A second reason is that I could get it into the hands of the readers quicker.  My experience with print publishing is that there is at least a year's lead time by the time the writer sends a proposal letter to the publisher, the publisher agrees to publish the book, and the book actually hits the book shelves.  With our current economic times small business owners need help now.  They don't need to wait to get the information they'll find in this book a year from now.  A third reason is that a growing number of people download e-books today rather than going to bookstores.  I read at least 5-6 books on my NOOK for every physical book I read, and many others would say the same thing.

Probably the most important reason is that I wanted to have control of the material.  Out of all the books I've published, only one has the title I gave it.  Book publishers always maintain the right to title a book, and I haven't always been happy with the titles my publisher has selected.  (That is the only thing I've not been happy with, and I intend to continue to use my publisher for future ministry related books.)  I really didn't think most book publishers would want to release a book entitled Mistakes.  You don't find many books that dwell on the mistakes people make, especially books on leadership and business.  The shelves are full of books that promise amazing success and tell stories of how leaders defied the odds and built huge companies out of small ones.  I've got many of those kinds of books in my library.  What you don't find are books that honestly tell of the mistakes leaders and business owners make and how those mistakes impacted them and their businesses.  Believe me, I'm quite honest about my mistakes (and they are many!).  I take full responsibility for how our business ended.  I don't blame the economy, politics, our employees, our customers, our suppliers, or anyone else.  It's all on me, baby, and I just didn't think that was a message that would resonate with book publishers.  And, it's the message I wanted to send.

As the leader of your organization or business, the buck truly does stop with you.  You will make some great decisions and you will make some poor ones, but you own the end result of every decision you make.  My hope for this book is that as you read some of the poor ones I made you will avoid those and make better ones.  Throughout the book I point out what some of those better decisions would have been if I had only made them at the time.  At the end of the book I list a number of books that I believe every small business owner should read, and I believe you will find that list to be a valuable resource.  This book is over 200 pages of helpful information for anyone who currently owns a small business or is thinking about starting one.

As of today the book is only available for NOOK reading devices.  I plan to have it available on Kindle soon, but due to my schedule it will probably be a couple of weeks.  Again, if you are interested in ordering the book or want to read more about it, just go here.

Please let me ask one favor.  One huge disadvantage of self-publishing an e-book is the author is primarily responsible for marketing.  If you have friends who own small businesses I would appreciate it if you would foward this post to them so they would learn of this resource.  Thank you.

What I'm reading

Right now I have the fewest number of books in my to-read stack that I've had in some time.  Obviously, I will have to get some more to be ready for the summer.  I'm occasionally asked by my readers what I'm reading so here's the current list.

Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World Craig Groeschel
Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith Bill Hybels
We Are Soldiers Still Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway

In the past few weeks I read

Platform Michael Hyatt
Tribal Church: Lead Small. Impact Big. Steve Stroope
The Barefoot Executive Carrie Wilkerson
EntreLeadership Dave Ramsey

I found all these books interesting and helpful.  Although my stack is low right now, there are more on the way so I should be in good shape.  I do hope you are finding some good books and resources that will help you in your personal and professional growth for this summer's reading.