May 19, 2012

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Ever Been So Mad You Felt Like Leaving Your Church?

January 17, 2012 By 4 Comments

In the past 24 months I’ve switched my home cable provider three times.

A grocery store opened closer to our house last year, so we’ve switched to that store.

I discovered that a different credit card would help me accumulate travel points quicker, so I switched to that card a few months ago.

All of us are so accustomed to moving our business from one place to another that perhaps it’s inevitable that we sometimes bring the same thinking to our local church.

As a church elder, people will seek me out from time to time to have one of those “I’m thinking of leaving our church” conversations. I had one this week.

My response is always the same. I ask, “Are you angry at the community or the company?”

communityThe baffled look on their face prompts me to explain. “Look, the church is really the community; you know, it’s you and me. It’s all of us. It’s all the ‘one another’ stuff in the New Testament.

“The company is different. That’s my term for the staff, the budget, the facility, the utility bills, the governance structure; all the stuff the community puts in place to help us along the way.”

Then I add, “It sounds to me like you’re really mad at the company, not the community.”

You see, almost always when someone is mad at “the church”, they’re really mad at the company; that organized part that makes decisions, distributes resources, and so on.

Once people see that distinction I ask, “So, if it’s the company you’re mad at, why would you want to respond by punishing the community?”

Then I take them right back to 1 Corinthians 12 and hit them with verse 18: “God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”

Let’s face it. Life in the local church can be a bumpy ride, and along the way you may indeed find yourself pretty upset at decisions, directions and policies.

However you choose to respond, remember that when you’re mad at the company, don’t take it out on the community.

Because “God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”

What do you do when you’re mad at “the church”? What is an appropriate way to respond when we’re angry at church decisions?

Filed Under: Church Tagged With: , , ,

A 15 Minute Solution to Your Complex Problem

August 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do you have a complex problem that needs to be solved quickly? Consider using “Reason Meetings.”

I first learned about Reason Meetings in my years as an executive pastor in a large church, and I quickly became a fan of their effectiveness.

Just as the name suggests, a Reason Meeting is held because there is a particular reason; there’s a certain problem that needs to be addressed and needs to be addressed quickly.

It’s comprised of people from different parts of your organization, from different levels within departments. A Reason Meeting can feature a combination of department heads, middle managers, clerical staff and custodians.

They come together, usually on short notice, to brainstorm about a particular issue or problem. It’s a quick, energetic, results-oriented dialogue with a group of people who might never gather again in the same way.

This week a serious challenge landed on my desk, and I realized that we had about 24 hours to come up with a solution. After 30 minutes racking my brain without success, I tried a different approach. I took out a sheet of paper and wrote down the names of the people in our organization who were the most affected by the issue, or who would likely have the greatest interest in seeing it resolved.

I walked through our building, stopped at each of their offices, and said, “Hey something’s come up that I could really use your help with. Can you give me 15 minutes right now?”

We quickly assembled, I laid out the issue, and then watched them perform. The energy was high, the conversation solution-focused, and the pace was brisk. Within 10 minutes there were half a dozen tremendous options on the table.

To maximize their effectiveness bear in mind that Reason Meetings:

  • Work best in “short bursts”; 15 minutes is optimal.
  • Should be used sparingly.
  • Should be used only for brainstorming; not assigning blame or follow-up tasks.

If you’re facing a complex challenge give a Reason Meeting a try. You may find the solution to your challenge is just 15 minutes away.

Do you have other ways of tackling complex issues on a tight timeline?

Filed Under: Action, Leadership, Ministry, Results, Wisdom Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Why Leaders Walk Towards Barking Dogs

April 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You’ve just found out that petty arguments might be brewing among staff in your youth department.

What do you do?

You’ve noticed that weekly giving is slipping below projections.

What do you do?

You’ve picked up on the news that your board is spending a lot of time discussing matters that really don’t further the direction of the church.

What do you do?

Barking DogIf you’re a leader, you walk towards the barking dog.

I learned this axiom at a seminar I recently attended, and it has painted for me a vivid mental picture as to how leaders must respond at the first signs of trouble.

The expression, I’m told, comes from training postal letter carriers receive concerning what to do when a barking dog appears.

The instinct is to move (or run) away quickly. Instead, so the training apparently goes, sometimes the best move is to walk firmly towards the barking dog. Often this will cause the aggressive dog to ‘pull in his fangs’ and walk away.

Each of the scenarios I’ve painted above (and you can fill in the blanks with dozens of your own) are faced by church leaders every day. Each may, or may not, represent a real problem. In other words, each is like a barking dog. As a leader you can ignore it, inviting the possibility that the barking dog could become a biting dog.

Or you can walk towards it. You can move aggressively towards the issue and deal with it before it becomes a major problem.

As I sat in that seminar here are the three notes I gave myself. Perhaps these can be incorporated into your own leadership skill-set.

1. Develop listening ear for the sound of barking dogs in my world.

2. Develop the discipline to resist the instinct to walk away from these dogs.

3. Develop the courage to move firmly towards the barking dogs.

What are the barking dogs you can hear these days?

How do you avoid the natural tendency to walk away?

Filed Under: Church, Development, Discipline, Leadership Tagged With: , , , ,

The Phantom Org Chart Pt 2: 6 Positions You Need to AVOID

December 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Like many organizations, ours needed to reduce staffing levels; to the tune of a 60% reduction in a year. Yet, in this new reality, the organization turned the corner and is once again dynamic and growing.

How did this happen? I recently posted The Phantom Org Chart: 4 Positions You Need on Your Team, but equally important are positions you need to make sure DON’T appear on your “phantom org chart”. Here’s my current list:

1. Chairman of the That’ll Never Work Committee
­ Also known as the We’ve Tried That Before Task Force. A real momentum killer.

2. That’s Not in my Job Description Supervisor
­ Want an agile organization? Don’t hire these.

3. Lead Self-Promotions Strategist
­ There’s no room for grand-standing on a lean team.

4. The Clock Says It’s Time to Go Home Coordinator
­ Often works closely with the That’s Not in my Job Description Supervisor

5. Regional I’m In a Bad Mood Distributor
­ Negative “vibes” spread like wildfire on a lean team.

6. Local I Have Issues Manager
­ Steer clear of the person who talks about nothing but the drama and crises in their life.

These positions must be avoided on any team, but it’s especially important when you’re working with a reduced team because these people will suck time and energy out of you and your team.

Sometimes the lure of apparent competency can blind us from realities of character. Keep these phantom positions in mind as you build your team.

What other “phantom roles to be avoided” would you add to the list?

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,