Avoid these leadership pitfalls

I just finished reading The Five Pillars of Leadership: How to Bridge the Leadership Gap by Paul Meyer and Randy Slechta.  This is a good book for anyone leading any organization including those who are in bivocational ministry.  Near the end of the book they list several leadership pitfalls to avoid that I thought was especially valuable to those of us in ministry.

• Doing too much.  Many of us in ministry are not good at delegating which results in our feeling overwhelmed at times.  It also makes us much less effective in our work because we are trying to do too many things rather than focusing on what we do best and allowing others who are more gifted in other areas to do those things.
• Doing too little.  There are some things that cannot be delegated.  They are our responsibility, and if we shirk them we run the risk of being out-of-touch with our congregation.  Some bivocational ministers use their second job as a reason to not work as hard as they should in their ministry position, but we must realize that some functions of our ministry must be handled personally by us or we are not fulfilling God's call upon our lives.
• Failing to recognize personal growth needs.  I meet too many ministers who neglect their own personal needs for growth.  A survey I did of bivocational ministers in 2004 found that a high percentage of them had not attended one ministry-related continuing education event in the previous three years.  We all have room to grow and develop and to not develop a plan for personal growth is to short-change our ministries and our churches.
• Acceptance of mediocre performance.  There should be one goal in every aspect of ministry...excellence.  That does not mean perfection.  Too often people in leadership are willing to allow themselves or others to provide mediocre performance, and that should never be acceptable in a church setting.  We may need to provide additional training or better resources, but we should always strive for excellence in everything we do.
• Failure to use team member potential.  Just because someone has been doing something for years doesn't mean that he or she has reached his or her potential.  Perhaps moving someone to a different position better suited to his gifts or her passions would enable them to serve more effectively.  Providing training can often lift a person's performance.  Remember...as each person on a team grows, the entire organization grows.
• Guarding the status quo.  I've learned over the years that many leaders dislike change as much as the members of their congregations do.  It's easier to maintain the status quo.  Everyone knows their roles in the old system, and we can avoid a lot of the conflict that occurs in churches when change is introduced.  When I was a bivocational pastor I knew that every change I proposed would require more out of me than I had been giving, but I also knew the status quo would eventually lead to a dying church.
• Ignoring problems and postponing solutions.  I am the classic conflict-avoider.  I hate conflict and used to avoid it as long as possible.  I had to learn the hard way that the best time to address conflict is before it occurs.  That's called planning.  The second best time to address it is as soon as it occurs.  Conflict seldom goes away.  It may disappear for a season, but it will soon reappear, and it's often much worse when it does.
• Poor communication.  Communication involves both listening and speaking.  Poor communication can occur when we fail to listen well to what others are telling us.  It also occurs when we fail to communicate information clearly and accurately.  More than once I've told conflicted churches that much of their problems were the direct result of poor communication.  A good rule of thumb for leaders is that if you do not feel like you are over-communicating you are probably not communicating enough.

The authors go into more detail on each of these pitfalls on pages 149-152.  Again, this is a good book filled with sound leadership practices for anyone in a leadership role.  One of the things I liked about the book is that it is not a book about leadership theory.  It is a book filled with practical advice for persons in leadership positions.  As a bivocational minister I am always looking for the practical, and this book delivers it.

Needing some feedback

For the past several months I've tried to post on this blog at least four times a week.  The material I place here is intended to provide helpful information to the reader as well as make you think.  Because this blog was originally intended primarily for bivocational and smaller church leaders I've tried to provide material that would be especially helpful for them, but much of what I write here would equally apply to most larger church leaders as well.  My concern is whether or not this blog is helpful.

In recent weeks the blog's counter seldom shows more than 30 readers for any one post even though it tells me I have 65 followers.  Both of these numbers are rather discouraging given the number of months I've written this blog.  It does take time to write and post the material, and I want to make sure I am not wasting my time doing it.  Seldom do any readers respond to a post so the only thing I have telling me that anyone is reading it is the counter, and if that is right then this blog has a very small audience.

Late last year I ended the monthly e-newsletter I was sending to several hundred people who had asked to receive it.  Again, because there was so little response from the recipients I had no way of knowing how many were actually reading it or just deleting it when it appeared on their screen.  When I announced the end of the newsletter I referred people to this blog as a way to continue to get articles from me.  I did receive a few e-mails from people who were sorry to see the e-newsletter go away, but obviously few, if any, made the jump from the newsletter to the blog.

I'm not sure what I will do about the blog, but if you find it helpful I need to know that.  If you are reading it on a regular basis I would appreciate it if you would become a follower of the blog.  If you find it helpful I would appreciate it if you would encourage others to read it as well.  I do enjoy providing you with resources that I hope are helpful to your life and ministry, but I also want to be a good steward of my time.  Thank you for any feedback you can give me.

What I'm reading

Someone recently asked what I'm currently reading so I decided to answer that on today's blog.  One of the books I'm reading right now is The Pastor: A Memoir by Eugene Peterson.  This book traces Peterson's life from a young boy to his pastoral ministry and now to his role as a professor at Regent College.  Peterson's books always makes me think and forces me to look at my own ministry.  He challenges me like few authors, and when I saw he had written his memoir I knew I had to read it.  So far it has been everything I thought it would be.

A second book I'm reading is The Five Pillars of Leadership: How to Bridge the Leadership Gap by Paul Meyer and Randy Slechta.  John Maxwell endorses this book by writing, "This book will bridge the leadership gap for you."  I knew I would finish reading this book when the authors pointed out that although not every challenge we face today is the result of poor leadership, it will require good leadership to correct our problems.  The book is a quick read but one that is full of good insights into leadership.  The amount of highlighting I'm doing will attest to that.

I'm also reading Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith by Douglas Groothuis on my I-Pad Kindle device.  This book is going to take a while!  It is definitely not light reading, but I enjoy Christian apologetics and appreciate a challenging read.

Recently, I completed another book by well-known Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias titled Why Jesus?: Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality.  This book examines what makes Christianity different from other religions and why a relationship with Jesus Christ is the only way to God.  As usual, Zacharias did not disappoint.

Last week I finished reading Amazing Law of Influence, The by King Duncan.  If leadership is influence, and it is, then it is vital to understand how to most effectively influence others.  I had read this book a few years ago and felt it was time to revisit it.  I'm glad I did.

I should mention that as part of my devotional reading this year I am reading through the New Testament.  You can never go wrong reading the Bible!

If you are wanting something to read I would recommend any of these books to you. They will benefit anyone in Christian leadership whether you are a pastor or lay leader. 

The power of passion in a leader

As a fan of college basketball I continue to be amazed at how one player can sometimes carry an entire team to victory.  These players always have talent and experience, but there's usually talent on the other team as well.  The difference maker is the passion these players bring to the game.  That passion causes them to be the first one in the gym for practice and the last one to leave.  While other equally talented players are out on the town the passionate player is studying game film and reviewing scouting notes on the other other team.  When the game is close the player with passion wants the ball on offense and more often than not makes the defensive play on the other end of the court.  He simply will not quit until his team has won the game.  Such players are a joy to watch because of their passion and desire to be the best.

I thought of these players as I read The Five Pillars of Leadership: How to Bridge the Leadership Gap by Paul Meyer and Randy Slechta.  In their chapter on passion they wrote

These elements of effective leadership represent an overwhelming inner demand for change, a personal rejection of circumstances as they are, and the willingness to make any sacrifice or bear any burden in order to bring about that change.

Every advance in history - in thought, in government, in ethics, religion, or science - has resulted from a single individual's desire to change the status quo, to win a race with time, with custom, tradition, or with self.  This is why passion and desire burn like a flame in the heart of every effective leader. (pp. 84-84)

A leader in any endeavor will make a difference in direct proportion to his or her level of passion.  Talent is never enough.  There are many talented people in the world that never achieve anything of significance.  Passion and desire will trump talent every time.  They will take a person much further than mere talent.  If a person with passion has talent as well, so much the better, but given the choice I would prefer the person with passion over the person who only possesses talent.  Passion enables a person to almost will himself or herself over every obstacle that stands between him or her and the goals they seek to achieve.

I look at many of our churches and see a lot of talented people with little to no passion.  Perhaps ministry has beat it out of them.  After years of working with stubborn and stiff-necked people the only thing they are looking for is retirement.  Every molehill becomes a insurmountable mountain in their eyes.  They have a laundry list at their disposal as to why every new idea won't work.  In the tight games they don't want the ball, and, frankly, no one else really wants them to have the ball either.

Without passion leaders merely goes through the motions.  Their team can't win; their church can't win; their business can't grow.  However, with passion and desire there are no mountains that can't be conquered.  Do you have an overwhelming desire to see change occur in your church?  Are you willing to make any sacrifice necessary to see that change become a reality?  Do you have the passion and desire that will enable you to overcome every challenge that would prevent that change from occurring?  Your talent, skills, and training will only take you so far.  It requires passion to take you rest of the way, so how far do you want to go?

Unfinished business

Of all the books I've read in the past five years, Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People of God by Greg Ogden has to rank in my top five.  The thesis of the book is that the first Reformation in the 1500s put the Bible in the hands of the people and the Second Reformation will put the ministry back in the hands of the people.  Ogden is calling for this Second Reformation to occur now and provides in this book the tools by which this can happen.

If the church is going to have any significant impact on today's society we must move from a pastor-centered ministry model to a people-centered ministry model which is the biblical model for ministry anyway.  Ephesians 4 teaches that the pastor and others are to equip the saints to do the work of ministry, not function as the hired guns of the church.  Every believer has been equipped to do ministry through the use of the spiritual gifts given them by the Holy Spirit.  Unfortunately, many of them have never been encouraged or equipped to use those gifts.  They are content to be the recipients of ministry and not doers of ministry.  Not only does this limit the effective ministry of the church, it also does nothing to promote discipleship.  Read what Ogden writes:

In the healthy family, the goal of parents is to grow children into responsible, self-initiating, caring, and serving adults.  The church, on the other hand, has more often than not viewed the role of pastor as parent and the people of God as dependent children who need to be constantly cared for.  As a result, the children remain perpetually children. (p. 115)

The fact is too many pastors and congregations prefer the current dependency model.  As long as the pastor cares for the flock he or she can enjoy a relatively pleasant ministry.  Many in the congregation like not having any responsibilities.  They can come to church when convenient, provide whatever level of financial support they decide to give, and trust that whatever ministry needs occur will be taken care of by the professional.  The problem is that this is not the way it is supposed to be and is one of the primary reasons why so many churches are ineffective in their ministries.

Every church needs to return the ministry to the people, but this is especially important for the bivocational church.  Everyone in a bivocational church must be involved in the ministry of the church if it is to have any influence on its community.  Many people criticize bivocational ministry as being invalid because they claim that a minister cannot fulfill his or her pastoral responsibilities and hold another job.  Anyone making that claim is obviously looking at the pastor having all the ministry responsibilities in the church, which as we've seen above, is an incorrect model for ministry.  A bivocational church that has a pastor who understands the pastoral role as that of an equipper and a congregation who rightly understands their responsibilty to minister can have a very significant impact on its community.

We must acknowledge that to move from a pastor-centered model of ministry to one that is congregation-centered will be painful for many congregations.  Pastors will have to move from a model that many have been trained to provide to a model that will often be contrary to the expectations of the congregation.  Ogden asks, "Are we willing to experience short-term pain for long-term gain in ministry?"  Great question and one that each pastor and congregation will have to answer for themselves.

I highly recommend every church leader read this book.  It will challenge many of your beliefs about ministry and provide you with some valuable tools to help you make some needed changes in your ministry.

The challenge facing churches of 100-200 in attendance

Recently, I met with a pastor search committee of a church that averages 125.  One of the members told the group that a judicatory leader of another denomination told him that their church was at a dangerous point.  He wanted to know what that leader meant by that.  I responded that his friend was probably referring to the size of the congregation.  I explained that they were at one of the attendance ceilings that are hard to break through.

This is a healthy church in many respects, but they are going to face some significant challenges in the next few years.  The 125 people who attend services there each week make up well over 80 percent of the sanctuary's capacity.  Their parking lot is filled with many parking on the streets around the church.  They are landlocked and unable to build new additions to their building.  A previous pastor encouraged them to try two services a few years ago, and that experiment did not work well leaving a bad taste in the mouths of many.  They are at the size that is the practical limit of most solo pastors to manage.  As we see so often, even if a church does grow beyond 125-150 they are often not able to hold to that growth because it overwhelms the abilities of the solo pastor.  While this church provides a good compensation package for their pastor, most people in leadership in this church doubt they can bring on another staff person.  Without doing so it is unlikely they would experience much growth and even more unlikely they would sustain any growth that might happen.  Unable to grow there is only one other option which is to begin to decrease in size.  That, I explained, is why this person's friend said they were at a dangerous point.

I am frequently asked my view about the fate of small churches.  My response to that question is that small churches will be around forever.  They have learned to survive on little, and the relationships that exist in smaller churches can sustain them for a long, long time.  The megachurches and other larger churches are able to provide programming and ministries that will appeal to many people assuring their survival.  My sense is that most of our largest churches will also be around for a long time.  The churches that are going to face challenges in the future will be the medium size churches.  Unable to offer the programming of the larger churches and the sense of community the smaller churches provide, these medium size churches are going to be squeezed on both sides in coming years.  Many of them are already on the declining side of their life cycle, and if they are unable to make some significant changes in their structure and ministries they may find that decline begin to speed up.

The committee I met with was not comfortable when I told them they may find themselves seeking a bivocational pastor in the near future.  The church does offer a good financial package, but it does not include health insurance.  They are hopeful the pastor's spouse's employment will provide insurance for the family.  That is only one step away from having a bivocational pastor.

Like many churches this size, this is a church that needs to begin rethinking ministry.  I explained that just because two services didn't work well before doesn't mean it might not work now.  Perhaps they had gotten ahead of God's timing for two services.  I also told them that they are limiting their thinking to how many people can fit in their sanctuary.  Could they offer services at an additional site or start another church near their community that could minister to more people?  They also need to review how their ministries are structured.  To grow they need to staff for growth, not maintenance, and a solo pastor in this size church is staffing for maintenance.  If they truly cannot afford another staff person, even bivocationally, (which I don't believe) they need to look at how they are using their lay leadership.  Volunteers can accomplish great ministry if they are trained and freed from maintenance tasks so they can actually be involved in ministry.

There are significant challenges facing churches averaging 100-200 people, but there are also solutions to these challenges.  These churches need to begin to discern God's vision for their future ministry and determine the steps that will help them achieve that.

Coaching book for bivocational ministers coming in September

This week I am beginning rewrites for my next book that will be released September 1 of this year.  The title of the book is The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry: A Pastor's Guide.  Once again, Beacon Hill Press will publish this book for me.  The book comes out of the research and project I did for my doctoral degree.  That project examined the benefits coaching offered for bivocational ministers and the churches they served.  I believe coaching is one of the most effective ways to assist bivocational ministers as they address the various challenges they have in their lives and ministries.

Over the past several years I have served as a coach for a number of pastors, both bivocational and fully-funded, and the case studies of many of these relationships are included in the book.  Many of the readers will find some of their own challenges in those case studies and will be able to learn how we addressed them.  This will make it possible for some ministers to coach themselves.

However, self-coaching is not for everyone.  We often need someone else to help us process our thoughts and concerns.  Depending on the issue that person may be a counselor, a mentor, a consultant, or a coach.  A few years ago I was facing a crossroads in my ministry.  I had come to a fork in the road and felt really stuck as I didn't know which way to go.  I was torn between pursuing a doctoral degree or going another direction in ministry.  At the time I had a coach who helped me think through the alternatives.  At no time did she tell me what to do or try to direct my thinking.  She merely kept asking questions that forced me to think through the issues until I was able to come to the decision that I knew was right for me.  That experience was a two-fold blessing for me.  Not only did I earn my doctorate; I also received coach training and began to coach other ministers in order to help them get unstuck in their own lives.

If you're feeling stuck it may be time you find a coach.  My prayer is that my book will help many who need, and can, to self-coach, but some will want another person to coach them.  Due to my judicatory role and other things I do I can only accept a few persons who want to be coached at any one time, but if you are ready to move forward and believe a coach can help you do that, give me a call.  I currently can accept a few persons who are serious about wanting to do more with their lives and ministries and who want a coach to help them do that.