Below is the link to an interesting article worth reading for anyone in any kind of ministry capacity. He speaks of leaders of new churches and churches that are being revitalized, but I think this principle applies to all ministry settings. Its both profound and ridiculously simple all that the same time. While the world gets more complex and ministry has and must change, the core idea of relationships remains the same.
I am in the habit of being reflective and as of late I have been reflecting on why it is I am in ministry. There was no particular event that caused this reflection, however recent events have made this reflection very helpful. I love people. I am a people person as they say and have a high value on relationships. I find people interesting, enjoyable and a reflection of God. I enjoy working with people, talking with people, interacting with people, being in relationship with people and much more. Thats the way God created me. My wife often reminds me that I was created to do ministry. Even in its difficult moments as well as its frustrating moments, this is clear even if I do not see it at the time. I wholeheartedly love investing in the lives of people. I love seeing people grow, learn and be transformed. Its my personal mission to see that everyone I love, know and encounter experiences transformation in Jesus. That transformation may be small, significant or somewhere in between. I may have no part in that transformation, a small part or maybe a significant part to play. I recognize though that no transformation happens by my own effort or the effort of anyone other than God. That said, I am always thankful to be used by God, to be a part of that and to partner with God in that transformation. I am often asked in some of the more difficult situations that I face, how I do it. I do it because God has created and called me to this. I do it only by and through the power and grace of God. Its only possible because of what the Holy Spirit is doing. I simply show up, trust God and put forth my best effort to align myself with what the Holy Spirit is saying and doing. Its not always easy, its not always fun, but in the end it is always a joy. In the end, there is no greater honor than walking with people in their moments of great joy and celebration as well as their moments of great suffering and pain.
Why am I in ministry?
Because its exactly what I was made by God to do and be.
12 Jul
Posted in Uncategorized on 12.07.16 by Merlyn
Leadership is tricky. Good leadership can be illusive and there are no set factors that will help someone be a great leader in all circumstances and contexts. As I think about the great leaders I have seen, worked with, read, listened to and learned from as well a handful of moments of good leadership on my part, I have noticed 5 key things all leaders have (and need). After sharing them in this post, I will write about each specifically in future posts.
The five things that I believe all leaders need are:
-Trust
-Teachability
-Self-knowledge
-Authenticity
-A Focus on Christ & Kingdom
Great leaders have a focus on Christ and Kingdom. The reality is that any leader can do the first four things. It takes leaders of great faith to take the fish characteristic seriously. There is a tremendous difference between leaders and missional leaders and that difference is found in their focus. Great leaders may be focused on success, but missional leaders are focused on a mission. That mission is laid out by God in their context, but is always consistent with the mission of Christ; brining about the Kingdom of God in the world.
Missional leaders recognize that the focus of their leadership is not their personality, gifts, desires, goals or even the organization they lead. Missional leaders see the bigger picture and recognize that they are a part of something beyond themselves. Rather than setting the mission, they discern there their context fits into God’s mission. Missional leaders follow Christ first. Missional leaders recognize that their ultimate goal is to play their part in building the Kingdom of God on earth. This is not possible by human effort alone, but requires the intervention of the Holy Spirit. Missional leaders par
Leadership is tricky. Good leadership can be illusive and there are no set factors that will help someone be a great leader in all circumstances and contexts. As I think about the great leaders I have seen, worked with, read, listened to and learned from as well a handful of moments of good leadership on my part, I have noticed 5 key things all leaders have (and need). After sharing them in this post, I will write about each specifically in future posts.
The five things that I believe all leaders need are:
-Trust
-Teachability
-Self-knowledge
-Authenticity
-A Focus on Christ & Kingdom
Great leaders are authentic. Being authentic is a challenge in our culture, particularly in many faith based settings. Being authentic is different than being genuine, though that is a part of it. It also requires transparency, it is to be fully yourself, fully real. This does not mean that leaders must share all of their thoughts, feelings and every aspect of their lives. It does mean that leaders must be personal and willing to be transparent about many parts of their lives. Authenticity is required to build deep trust. It is also essential in building relationships. In order to fully lead people, they must be able to trust you and have some quality of relationship with you. Authenticity is required if you want people to follow your lead.
Leaders recognize that they cannot ask people to do, share and act in a way that they do not. Leaders also recognize that they are not a leader if they do not have followers and no one will follow someone they do not know and trust. It can be both scary and risky demonstrating the kind of transparency that is required to be truly authentic. It also takes a lot of integrity. Integrity is when your words, actions, beliefs and lifestyle are all consistent. Authenticity both builds and requires deep humility. It is often counter cultural, especially as we look at other leaders in our country and world today, but it is essential to be a healthy and effective leader.
Leadership is tricky. Good leadership can be illusive and there are no set factors that will help someone be a great leader in all circumstances and contexts. As I think about the great leaders I have seen, worked with, read, listened to and learned from as well a handful of moments of good leadership on my part, I have noticed 5 key things all leaders have (and need). After sharing them in this post, I will write about each specifically in future posts.
The five things that I believe all leaders need are:
-Trust
-Teachability
-Self-knowledge
-Authenticity
-A Focus on Christ & Kingdom
Great leaders have high levels of self-knowledge. Self-knowledge is hard and takes constant effort. Perfect self-knowledge is impossible not only because we are ever chaining and growing, but because no one can fully understand another human being or themselves. That said, the pursuit of self-knowledge is essential to be a good leader. The pursuit and the process may be as important and as meaningful as gaining in self-knowledege. A leader who has strong self-knowledge is wiser, more savvy, more empathetic, authentic and trustworthy amongst other things.
Leaders recognize that they must first be able to lead themselves. We also all tend to lead out of our own instinct, personality and experiences which can be good or it can be very unhealthy. Self-knowledge helps us to see when we are doing this, filter these responses and gives us the ability to think through whether or not our instinctual response is actually the healthy response. Additionally it allows us to learn more about others and ourselves and causes us to be strong, more effective leaders. Every leader has blind spots, weaknesses, personality flaws, temptations and challenges. The more we know about ourselves, the more we can recognize these things. The more we recognize these issues, the more effective we become at leveraging them for good, removing them when they are unhealthy or managing them when they appear to be insignificant.
Leadership is tricky. Good leadership can be illusive and there are no set factors that will help someone be a great leader in all circumstances and contexts. As I think about the great leaders I have seen, worked with, read, listened to and learned from as well a handful of moments of good leadership on my part, I have noticed 5 key things all leaders have (and need). After sharing them in this post, I will write about each specifically in future posts.
The five things that I believe all leaders need are:
-Trust
-Teachability
-Self-knowledge
-Authenticity
-A Focus on Christ & Kingdom
Great leaders are teachable. They never stop learning, are always willing to grow and learn and they are open to feedback. To be teachable simple means that you are willing to listen, learn and grow. As leaders, we must continually learn. Teachability is required in order to lead well. It must be modeled as leaders create future leaders. I have always said, give me someone who is teachable and anything is possible.
Leaders recognize that learning happens in live time. Experiences, successes and failures can be great teachers. Fans and foes are great teachers. Supervisors and those you supervise can be great teachers. No leader is above learning or being teachable from any individual, experience or source. In order to be an effective, missional leader you must be able to move forward as a leader as you lead your organization forward. This is impossible without teachability.
With a teachable spirit, anything is possible.
Leadership is tricky. Good leadership can be illusive and there are no set factors that will help someone be a great leader in all circumstances and contexts. As I think about the great leaders I have seen, worked with, read, listened to and learned from as well a handful of moments of good leadership on my part, I have noticed 5 key things all leaders have (and need). After sharing them in this post, I will write about each specifically in future posts.
The five things that I believe all leaders need are:
-Trust
-Teachability
-Self-knowledge
-Authenticity
-A Focus on Christ & Kingdom
Great leaders need to trust God. They need to trust others and they need to earn, build and honor the trust of those they lead. Trust is the cornerstone of all relationships. Work relationships, friendships, marriages, family, church and all other relationships function on trust. Trust is not optional, it is essential, especially for leaders. Developing trust takes intentional, hard, authentic work. It takes time, patience and genuine care, communication and transparency. Trust is deeply personal, yet distrust should not always be taken personally. Trust can only be formed in relationship and is impossible without integrity.
Leaders must also to learn how to trust those they lead with and serve. Trust is much deeper than words or lip service, it requires intentional effort and action. We cannot lead well and equip others to lead without trusting them. Trust is most certainly a two way street.
Perhaps most importantly, leaders must trust God. Trusting God is our one great act as Christ followers. God does the rest; God saves, redeems, justifies, sanctifies, transforms, leads etc. In fact, we cannot trust God on our own effort, it requires the initiation and work of the Holy Spirit.
Trust is essential to all leaders, without it one cannot lead well, if at all.
Leadership is tricky. Good leadership can be illusive and there are no set factors that will help someone be a great leader in all circumstances and contexts. As I think about the great leaders I have seen, worked with, read, listened to and learned from as well a handful of moments of good leadership on my part, I have noticed 5 key things all leaders have (and need). After sharing them in this post, I will write about each specifically in future posts.
The five things that I believe all leaders need are:
-Trust
-Teachability
-Self-knowledge
-Authenticity
-A Focus on Christ & Kingdom
Great leaders need to trust God. They need to trust others and they need to earn, build and honor the trust of those they lead. Great leaders also need to be teachable; willing to learn, but even more so having a deep desire to learn. If a leader is teachable, anything is possible. If they are not, there will be limits to their ability to lead effectively.
Great leaders must also posses high levels of self-knowledge. This seems to be the most rare and difficult of these 5 things for leaders to consistently maintain and grow in. While no leader can see all of their blind spots, self-knowledge can be a leaders greatest asset and tool. Authenticity is something that many Christian leaders fail to embrace as an important quality for leaders, yet I have yet to meet a single very effective leader or pastor who was not authentic.
Finally, great Christian leaders must be focused on Christ and the Kingdom. This is not just for Pastors and leaders of churches and Christian organizations. Leaders in a secular setting can be focused on Christ and the Kingdom while honoring their organizations and being even better leaders because of it.
More to come…
Nothing can bring joy or fear to church staff than a church board meeting. I have yet to meet many pastors, staff or church leaders who always look forward to these meetings, yet they are important and can be meaningful. I have been in some that have last 45 minutes and one that was over 6 hours! Leading a healthy meeting is not easy, and while meetings may be necessary, we must be good stewards of our time in meetings. I have served churches where meetings were fun, others where there was a lot of crying after (not the good kind) and yet others that required a stiff drink afterwards just to get to sleep!
One of the greatest challenge in any church leadership meeting is making good use of your time. Don’t vote on anything you do not have to vote on. Spend very little time on reports (ask the members to read them ahead of time so its only a matter of questions and maybe 1-3 highlights of items from the report or something not on the report). Limit the business of the meeting to those things you must do, simply giving out information.
The more time you spend in these meetings on the bigger picture items, the more healthy the meetings, your church leadership, staff and church will be. If half or more of the meeting is spent in prayer, the scripture, devotionals, and big picture discussion and decision making, the better. While every church board has tasks they must complete, move through those quickly and focus on the big picture. Expect your staff, ministry teams and volunteers to handle the day-to-day work and decisions of the church. The more your board meetings are focused on moving forward, the more energy they, your staff, you board and your church will have to do just that-move forward! Board meetings do not have to be bad, long, a drag, suck the life out of you or make you drink. They can be meaningful and life giving with some thoughtful, intentional effort.
Why Boomers are Killing the Church
I believe the Boomers are killing the Church in North America today. Don’t get me wrong – granted I am from Generation X, or the Me Generation and we are no fans of Boomers. The same is true of the Millennial Generation who are leaving (or never even came to) the church in droves. The Boomer Generation are those born roughly 1946-1964. This was the biggest generation (until the Millennials) both in number and proportion. They are the generation that may break the Social Security system when they (eventually) retire. Additionally, most leaders in our churches today, including lay leaders, Pastors and the highest-level staff members, are Boomers. The Boomers have waited for some time to ascend to power. I have worked for many Boomers, and one commitment I have made to myself is that I would never work for another Boomer again.
I am not saying Boomers are bad people: in fact, many of them are good people. Many of them are good pastors and leaders and many of them love Jesus. Their commitment to the church is admirable and certainly something to be honored and learned from. That said, as leaders Boomers have been very destructive as they have taken the mindsets and philosophy of their generation and applied it to the church with negative results. While there are always exceptions (though I have not observed many), Boomers have had a negative impact on the church as leaders. They are not the sole source of the challenges the church faces today, but are one of the primary sources. Below are seven ways in which Boomers in leadership have had a negative impact on the church.
The Boomer generation was the first generation to truly be consumers. The customer mentality is very important to this generation. I have heard Boomers refer to church members and visitors as customers. I have heard Boomers refer to students and parents as customers in the public school setting. If you do not see the problem with this mentality and approach, you might be a Boomer (if not, you may think like a Boomer)! People, children, and all those created in the image of God are not customers or commodities. They are the precious, adopted and beloved children of God. McDonalds and the Church should be fundamentality different. In churches, we strive to build community, not please customers.
2. Church as a Business
As a follow up to number one, Boomers believe the Church is a business and treat it as such. If I had a dime for every time a Boomer told me the church was a business, I would have retired three years ago! The church is not a business; it is a community of faith. It is the family of God. It is the bride of Christ! While the church should (and must) apply some business principles, and in some ways (particularly around finances) it does operate much like a business, the church is not a business. Nowhere in the Scriptures or any original documents or understanding of the Church is it considered a business.
3. Lack sense of Mission
Many Boomers (but not all) lack a true sense of mission. Sure, they make sure the church has a mission statement, but it is no more than an organizational requirement or a marketing tool. Sadly, many Boomers lack a sense of mission when it comes to the church. The Church (universal church) has a mission; every local church should have a mission. The mission of the universal Church includes (but is not limited to) being the community of faith, serving the world, making disciples, and living out its identity as the bride of Christ. Boomer-lead churches are focused primarily on programs and not on mission. While missions are considered through monetary donations, trips and special events, these are merely programs with mission in their title.
4. About marketing and attraction
The Boomer generation and those from this generation that lead in the church (staff and volunteer positions) are focused on marketing and attraction. The word evangelism has become a religious replacement for the word marketing (the word actually means to share the good news of Jesus). The primary question that Boomer leaders are asking as they lead their churches is ‘how can we attract more people,’ rather than thinking about how to better love, serve or help people come to know Jesus.
5. Corporate approach
The Boomer generation is very corporate. They came to the workforce during the rise of corporations and big business. They carry with them a very corporate mentality. This mentality, like all mentalities has its benefits and drawbacks. It does not, however belong in the church at all (see #2). The Corporate approach is focused on numbers, policies, procedures, success and many other values of business. Most of these values do not belong in the Church. The Church is a community of faith focused on relationship: relationship with God, one another and the world. The corporate approach is anything but relational and often hurts, ignores, slights and devalues people.
6. Selective application of process
Boomers are notorious for the selective application of process. Being corporate in mindset, Boomers believe in, apply and create systems, policies and processes for their churches. While some of these can be good, they are rarely consistent. I could not begin to count the number of instances where I have heard or observed church leaders ignore process out of convenience, control, fear or a simple need to get rid of a volunteer or staff member.
7. Focus on authority, hierarchy and power: an unhealthy focus on the institution
Having been the largest generation and having had to wait to earn positions of power and influence along with other influences, the Boomers have a focus on authority, hierarchy and power. Boomers often value the institution of the Church more than the community of the church. For reasons already highlighted above, Boomers are more focused on the institution than the mission of the church. This may produce a more efficient organization, but it almost always leads to a less effective ministry, especially in terms of creating fully committed disciples of Jesus. This approach attracts many fans of Jesus and the Church, but retains few followers of Jesus.
I will end with an apology to all my Boomer readers and friends. I am sorry if I have offended you. God loves you. You are valuable. I (and my generation) have contributed to the challenges the church faces today as well. It is not all your fault: you were born into this generation and mindset. The good news is that you can choose differently. Every generation has its shortcomings and one of the greatest needs in the Church and the culture today is a need for every generation to come together, learn from one another and think and live differently, especially when it comes to how we approach and lead the Church today. To all those Boomers I have worked for, I apologize to you as well. I may not have liked or repeated how you lead, but I did learn from you. I thank you for putting up with me as I learned (and continue to learn). As leaders in the church, regardless of which generation we were born into, we can lead in a healthy, Christ-like way. We can be different. The Church, through and perhaps even in spite of us, can be the light of the world once again.