Stop the Insanity Top Ten List (part 3)

29 Tuesday May 2012

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#3 Make a Plan, Work the Plan

I teach a class at Moody Bible Institute called Ministry Planning. It’s all about, you guessed it…ministry planning. One of the very first things I must do each semester is to convince students that planning is indeed Biblical and yes, even prescribed by God (Prov. 12:5, 15:22, 16:3, 20:18; 1 Chron. 12:32, 28:12; Ps. 20:4; Mt. 28:18-20; Ephesians 1:3-10).

I start by asking the students a couple of simple questions: Do you believe that God had a plan for redeeming humanity? Did he work that plan through His Son Jesus Christ (read Ephesians 1:3-10)? Of course God had a plan! And He expects us to make plans in alignment with Him, for the sake of His Kingdom. Yet, many in ministry never strategically plan to accomplish that which God has clearly communicated they are to be working towards. The question that I hear time and again is… “how do I go about planning strategically for ministry?”

If Youth Ministries are to ‘Stop the Insanity’ one of the key factors will be to hear from God and plan accordingly. While the steps are quite simple, the process can be a bit daunting working through the first time. However, once the planning process is completed and Youth Ministries are intentional about working the plan, they will never go back to “flying by the seat of their pants.” It’s that impacting. Let’s just hit the key points:

  1. Pray – Gather key people (parents, staff, volunteers, students) to pray and seek God about the direction and plan for the ministry. Be patient and be persistent.
  2. Mission – What is it that God has called this ministry to be about? If it is part of a church (i.e. Youth Ministry within a Church), then whatever the church’s mission is should be reflected in the mission of the ministry. Otherwise, misalignment is created and the “silo effect” begins to take place.
  3. Objectives – What are the top 3 or 4 things that must be addressed in order for the ministry to stay on target with it’s mission, remain biblical, culturally relevant, sustainable, and redemptive in purpose? Whatever those three or four things are, write them down and never lose sight of those objectives being the priority for your ministry this year.
  4. Goals – Make SMART goals that assist in accomplishing your objectives. (S – specific, M- measurable, A- attainable, R- realistic, T- timely).
  5. Action Steps – what are the specific tasks that must be accomplished for each goal to be attainable?
  6. Calendar  - Write down every task that must be accomplished and the deadline of each in order to attain the goals, achieve the objectives, and stay on mission.
  7. Budget – What are the financial resources that will be required to put into motion those things that God has led your ministry to do this year?

Having God’s plan and working the plan provides have one of the most powerful tools in ministry: the ability to know when to say “yes” and when to say “no”.

I just touched on the main points in this article, but if you are interested in reading more on the topic, you should click here: http://bit.ly/K8AmEz and if you are interested in reading a book on the topic, I would suggest Advanced Strategic Planning by Aubrey Malphurs: http://amzn.to/LO9gQN

Stop the Insanity Top Ten List (pt. 2)

26 Saturday May 2012

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#2 Facilitate a Trusting Culture (Jn. 17:21)

While the content of your youth ministry is important, it can’t be delivered properly if your ministry’s culture is dysfunctional. All too often we find ministry culture ridden with lack of trust, self-preservation, and personal agendas.

If we ever hope to see the insanity within youth ministry stopped and bring about focus, integrity, and godly leadership, youth pastors must lead well. Youth Pastors should set the standard for functional, biblical leadership. That means living and ministering in unity.

Stephen Covey mentions thirteen behaviors of high trust leaders. He writes, “when you adopt these ways of behaving, it’s like making deposits into a ‘trust account’ of another party.”

1. Talk Straight

2. Demonstrate Respect

3. Create Transparency

4. Right Wrongs

5. Show Loyalty

6. Deliver Results

7. Get Better

8. Confront Reality

9. Clarify Expectation

10. Practice Accountability

11. Listen First

12. Keep Commitments

13. Extend Trust

Youth Pastors, it’s time to lead. Stop waiting on someone else to do it. Stop giving excuses…just lead. Work on these behaviors daily. Make it your personal goal to use the list as a personal checklist for your leadership development. In doing so, you will expand your leadership capacity, create trust, and most importantly…facilitate godly, safe environments where students can encounter Christ and be discipled by godly men and women.


Stop the Insanity Top Ten List (pt. 1)

25 Friday May 2012

Posted by in Church, interviewing, job, ministry, youth ministry

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We have heard the oft quoted definition of insanity as being: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That being the case, Youth Ministry in North America is rife with insanity. Over the next two weeks we will consider ten things that, if implemented well, could stop the insanity and provide rich environments for long term healthy youth ministry.

#1 Hiring is much easier than firing, so hire well. (Prov. 21:5; Prov. 16:3)

Hiring a person for the Youth Pastor can be an enormously difficult task, but when done correctly it can be incredibly beneficial for long term, effective youth ministry.

  1. Hire a youth pastor who is committed to follow through. In order to be effective in youth ministry environments, the youth pastor must be capable of follow through of the tasks necessary for effective ministry.
  2. Clearly communicate the non-negotiables for the Youth Ministry. If the church has the non-negotiable direction established prior to the interview it will enable the interviewing group’s job much easier. “Are you willing to buy-in to our ministry direction and help us accomplish what we have determined is our church’s vision for youth ministry?”
  3. Don’t starve them out. If you pay sufficiently, the youth pastor is likely to stick around longer. If you can’t pay them so that money is not a constant source of concern, do not hire. Instead, work through volunteers and wait until such time that God provides the resources. It doesn’t matter what other churches are paying in your demographic, if the youth pastor is living at poverty levels the church is not meeting the needs of that youth pastor and has no business adding a full time position. A good rule of thumb is: what is the median income in the area for a person with equivalent experience and education?
  4. Clearly define the expectations. The church must do the hard job of thinking through every aspect of what will be expected of the youth pastor: work hours, time in the office, growth, “success”, spouse involvement, and other unspoken expectations of the culture of the church.

When practiced intentionally, these four categories can help in hiring wisely, so that firing isn’t as likely. It will take some time, realignment of priorities, and intentionality, but will be well worth the effort.

Note: some of the ideas in this post are adapted from Mark DeVries’ book Sustainable Youth Ministry: Why Most Youth Ministry Doesn’t Last and What Your Church Can Do About It.

5 Verbs Essential to Leadership part 5

06 Sunday May 2012

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The fifth essential verb in leadership cuts to the heart of independence more than just about anything else. It is without question the definitive model of Jesus’ leadership. Faith is fundamental to this action.

Empower others. Probably one of the most challenging acts for a leader is to give away leadership. Yet, if the organization is to continue multi-dimensional growth, the leader must empower others with not simply responsibility, but more importantly authority. As long as the ministry is tightly controlled it will remain one-dimensional, creating a seemingly impenetrable glass ceiling. Which results in the very thing the leader is trying to avoid: stagnation.

Strange isn’t it? In order for our ministries to become more, we must become less. Christ gave us the perfect example of empowerment when he sent out the seventy-two: “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” Luke 10:1-2.

But that was just the beginning. Then later Jesus tells Peter: “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” Matthew 16:18. Finally, he commissions all who will follow after him in Matthew 18:19 when he says, “go and make disciples of all nations.”

Jesus was determined that in spite of the fact his disciples didn’t fully comprehend his plan, he would still empower them with the greatest mission the world had ever known: The Church. And he expects us to follow that very same model. It really comes down to one simple word: faith – in God and others.

5 Verbs Essential to Leadership part 4

25 Wednesday Apr 2012

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The fourth essential verb in leadership is often highly regarded, but seldom revisited. There is a tendency within ministry settings to have a mission/vision statement, but seldom remind others of what it is and how it affects what is done.

Share the vision frequently. Leaders must know where the ministry is to be going if they expect others to willingly join them on the journey. And, they must consistently share that vision if they expect people to galvanize around that vision. Leaders must remember that while the team may have worked for months on praying through and hearing God’s plan for the ministry, that doesn’t automatically filter into the hearts and minds of their constituents.

Moses encountered God, chose the path of most resistance, and never lost sight of the vision.

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” Hebrews 11:24-26

Yet, he consistently had to remind the Israelites of the promise of God to deliver them, provide for them, and give them a land “flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:17). Just as the Israelites had to be reminded of God’s plan, people in our ministries must be reminded as well.

As leaders frequently share the vision of God, the congregation will be encouraged to keep their “hand to the plow” (Luke 9:62) and not “lose heart” (Galatians 6:9).

5 Verbs Essential to Leadership part 3

20 Friday Apr 2012

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The third essential verb to leadership few would disagree with theoretically. However, theory is not the problem, practice is.

Grow as a team - Ensuring that your team grows together is essential to alignment, unity, and balance. Admittedly, bringing everyone along in the growth process can sometimes be like “herding cats”, but the long-term health of the team is at stake. If team members are not embracing the vision, buying into the ministry, or taking steps forward in their development as a team member, it will inevitably create a drag on the team’s momentum.

As the leader it’s your responsibility to do the hard work of keeping everyone on the same page, at the same time, moving resolutely in the same direction. That requires growing together. That doesn’t mean that everyone will be growing in the same area. It does mean that everyone is consistently growing as necessary.

Jesus gives us the perfect word picture of being committed to growth. In John 15:1-3, Jesus is speaking to His disciples and he says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” Here is the growing part. Just as a gardener prunes each branch so that it produces more fruit, so leaders should the same for their teams. Creating developmental growth opportunities must be selective and precise to the needs of the team member. Only an insightful leader who is living in close community with their team will know where growth needs to be produced.

Jesus continues in John 15:12-15 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends…I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.“

Intentional development and intimate friendship…that is the picture of a godly leader. Following the model of Jesus will set us apart from a ministry leadership style that is all too often depicted by inaccessibility and detachment.


5 Verbs Essential to Leadership part 2

19 Thursday Apr 2012

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As we consider the second essential verb in leadership, many will likely reject it. It’s not intuitive, in fact, it’s actually counterintuitive.

 Wait when you’re right - Conventional wisdom says that if you are right, you should not waste time moving forward. Go for it! You checked the facts, researched, listened to others, so why should you wait? Just because everything lines up, doesn’t mean it’s time to move forward. Consider for a moment David, who at the time wasn’t king, but had been promised he would be.

While David could have seized the day and become King in a dark cave one day in En Gedi, he chose to wait. He checked the facts…’yep, God has promised kingship to me.’ He researched the situation…’this is a perfect time; Saul walked into this cave all alone. It’s got to be a God thing!’ David heard the counsel of his closest allies; they were encouraging him not to wait, but act. Nonetheless, David refused to dishonor God by not waiting on God to accomplish His plan, in His timing, in His way. David could have killed Saul in a dark cave where the only witnesses were his closest allies who were rooting for him. His willingness to wait on God, proved wise (1 Samuel 24 – 2 Samuel 1).

Waiting is seldom easy, especially when everything seems to say ‘go’. The problem is one of perception. Just because everything and everyone seems to be saying ‘go’, doesn’t mean its so. We are after all partial to our own opinions, which has a way of altering our judgment.

The obvious question is: ‘If everything lines up, why should I wait?’ Truthfully, sometimes there is no good reason to wait, but more often than not, it has huge benefits. Patience is after all one of the highest character traits of a godly man or woman (Gal. 5:22, 1 Tim. 6:11, Rom. 15:5).

5 Essential Verbs in Leadership part 1

17 Tuesday Apr 2012

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Consider the maxim: “private victory precedes public victory.”  If Christ is not working in the leader, it is doubtful that Christ will work through the leader. The verbs that follow are unquestionably challenging to implement. Honestly, these actions are just about impossible apart from the work of Christ in the leader.

While there are many who might be naysayers to the verbs that follow, I would think they do so at their own risk, and more importantly, at the risk of the ministry in which they serve Christ. How can I be so bold to say such? Simple. The following are biblical constructs that lead to God honoring leadership.

Over the next several days, we will discuss one verb at a time. For now, let’s think about the 1st Verb that is essential in leadership.

Admit when you’re wrong – Leaders in the corporate world, including some corporately run ministries, would say that’s not always a good idea. They might claim that sometimes it’s best just to not say anything if you are wrong. “It may weaken your position,” they might say. Really? The truth is, it actually strengthens your position. Think about the impact it has on you when someone, especially a leader, steps up and says, “I was wrong”, “I made a mistake”, “My bad”. If we’re honest, it causes us to trust that person, while at the same time challenges us to consider how honest we are with others.

Refusing to admit you are wrong is a sign of pride. Proverbs 11:2 states, “when pride comes, then comes dishonor.” Refusing to admit when we are wrong is at it’s core, an issue of pride. Dishonor would be a weakening of your position, wouldn’t you say? After all, “pride comes before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18

Transformed or Informed?

06 Friday Apr 2012

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“Christ is risen, and our sins are forgiven! Christ is risen, and death is destroyed! Christ is risen, and life is transformed!” We rejoice in these great truths, but have we been transformed as a result of them?

Has Christ transformed your life? Has His death and resurrection “made all things new” in you (2 Cor. 5:17)? Making all things new is the act of being transformed. One might ask, “Why is transformation necessary? Must my life be transformed as a result of believing in the Risen Christ? The answer is an resounding “YES!” Why? Because it is biblically impossible for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to enter our lives without ALL things becoming new.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines ‘transform’ as: to change the outward form or appearance of; to change in character or condition. While ‘informed’ is defined as: having or showing knowledge of a particular subject or situation; based on an understanding of the facts of the situation. Have you been transformed by the the Risen King or simply informed?

The power, the evidence, the proof of the resurrection in our lives — it all begins as we embrace the Risen Christ and allow Him to transform our lives.

Ownership & Perseverance

30 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Church, Gospel, leadership, ownership, perseverance, youth ministry

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Today I was having a conversation with a fellow youth pastor. In fact, this guy is what we call in Youth Ministry a “Lifer.” He’s a veteran in Youth Ministry with no intention of “moving up the ladder.” He realizes, as I do, that Youth Ministry is the top rung.

As we were talking the inevitable topic came into the conversation with anyone who is a veteran in YM: What is the target? As my friend aptly stated, “we don’t want to be the ministry that shoots the arrow and then draws the target around it.”

Much has been discussed on the topic of retention of students in the Church as they transition from high school through college. All sorts of stats and percentages are thrown around. And while the stats are good to know and should drive us to ask hard questions, I believe there is really only one question that needs to be answered in this discussion.

It’s a very simple question, yet it has profound implications for Youth Ministry, Youth Pastors, parents, and students alike. The question is: What are the forces to be leveraged that will produce ownership and perseverance in the spiritual lives of students? And until that question is answered and the conclusions are acted upon nothing is going to change. Here’s the hard part…the answer is going to be somewhat different in every environment.

Ownership and perseverance in the Christian life doesn’t happen arbitrarily, neither does the creation of relationships and environments that sustain them. What are you doing that is stimulating ownership and perseverance in the spiritual lives of students?

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