Category Archives: Church

The Real “No Spin Zone”

16 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in Church, leadership, ministry, trust

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There is a TV program with the tag-line “The No Spin Zone”. This tagline communicates an ideology of, “the truth and nothing but the truth”.  Whether or not the anchor of that program does not “spin” the truth, you’ll need to decide that one. However, spinning the truth to benefit our purposes is not only narcissistic, it is sin (Proverbs 6:16-19, John 8:44, Proverbs 12:22).

One of the keys to healthy teams is creating and sustaining environments of truth, as prickly as it can be. While we must be conscious of others, withholding our honest beliefs about an issue our team is wrestling with is seldom in the best interests of the team, either collectively or individually.

The same is true for honestly communicating the facts about our areas of responsibility. Distorting the facts to cover is only temporary. Eventually, the truth will come out (Proverbs 19:5). Typically, people are much more apt to allow for failures if we are willing to admit them earlier, than later. If something is not working out as we had planned, saying, “it’s coming together…just a bit slower than anticipated,” is nothing more than a smoke screen. It leaves a false impression, rather than simply admitting the truth, cutting our losses and moving on. Failure is part of success. Initial failures are expected outcomes of seeking success. Ultimate failure is an unwillingness to be honest.

Stop the Insanity Top Ten List (#10)

11 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by in balance, Church, job, self-awareness, youth ministry

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# 10 Beware of the Slide

Remember how you waited, prayed and believed God to place you in just the right ministry position? Then, the ministry contacted you, you interviewed, and eventually joined the team. Remember how excited you were when you first joined the staff? You almost couldn’t believe it was true…God had answered your prayers!

However, if we’re not careful, what was once enthusiasm can later become expectation. It’s strange how appreciation can turn to contempt over time; and privilege suddenly turns to entitlement. The longer we are around people, places or in this case, ministries, the more we must guard against taking an entitlement mentality. Familiarity does indeed breed contempt.

Consider the following as sign posts along the way. If we notice these tendencies, we are walking on a slippery slope that leads where none of us wish to go:

Disrespect for leaders. The longer we serve under one leader, the less likely we are to remain respectful and submissive. When you joined the ministry that leader was incredible, but after years of close proximity, it’s easy to see his flaws. Which makes it easier to lose respect.

Fiscal Irresponsibility. If we are not careful, in time we can begin to believe that the ministry owes us. We can begin to think that the salary we agreed to in the beginning, is somehow not equitable now. As a result, incremental slides towards balancing the scales can take place.

Abuse of power. Do we take out our frustration on those who do not have power over us? Do we treat those in ministry settings the same way we treat our supervisor? If not, we’re abusing our power.

Bending of Rules. Do we bend rules that we think are inconvenient, make no sense, or do not apply to us?

Whenever we notice one or more of these tendencies within ourselves, we have begun the slide that could easily lead us to the point of no return.

Stop the Insanity Top Ten List (#9)

07 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by in Church, health, youth ministry

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#9 Avoid Self-Destruction (Prov. 4:23; Ps. 139:1-24; 1 Cor. 11:28)

Self-imposed destruction of our lives and the ministries we serve is one of top reasons people leave ministry. It is unquestionably one of the most challenging issues we face. Here are just a few things to keep in mind to remain afloat spiritually and ministerially:

  1. Work to stay emotionally healthy and help others who work with you in ministry to do the same. Keep a check on how you are acting or reacting to people and circumstances. One of the best barometers for health is reflected through how you are treating and/or thinking about those closest to you. Do you find yourself having conversations in your head with people in which you are expressing frustration or anger? If so, you might need to take a break, go on vacation, let some things drop, or at the very least…take a nap. Some great questions to ask ourselves:
      • “Do I have a life outside ministry?”
      • “Do I have an emotionally healthy schedule?”
      • “How much do I know about what I don’t know?”
      • “Do I rule my tongue, or does it rule me?”
      • “Whom do I take more seriously – God or myself”
      • “What am I fighting about?”
      • “What do I do after I fail?”
      • “Can I say ‘no’ to people?”
      • “Am I burning out?”
  2. Base your decisions upon biblical principles and godly counsel. Don’t make your decisions on the basis of your feelings, which depend on changing circumstances and are unreliable. Making decisions that reflect personal preference over godly counsel will always lead to disaster.
  3. Take responsibility rather than blaming others. If you blow it, admit it. One of the quickest ways to crash and burn is to live in denial. We all have issues, we all sin, and we all make stupid mistakes. Rather than blaming other people or circumstances, take a hard look at the situation and determine how you could have handled it differently and take responsibility. If you are finding areas of dysfunction in your life, don’t go it alone, get the help that you need from a friend, pastor or counselor.
  4. Finally, be honest with yourself and those around you about your life and ministry. Hiding only drives you farther from God and others.
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.

Stop the Insanity Top Ten List (# 6)

14 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in Church, empowering others, leadership, ministry, recruiting, volunteers

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#6 Enlist, Equip, & Empower Volunteers (2 Tim. 2:2; Luke 10:1)

Instead of relying on just one person to do everything in ministry (the youth pastor), develop team of willing and capable adults to invest their time and energy into students’ lives.

  1. Start recruiting adults at least six months before a new year of youth group ministry.
  2. Develop a pool of potential recruits – including a name of a potential volunteer beside each open position – and diligently make phone calls, have coffee, or lunches until you find the people you need.
  3. Once you have the volunteers, regularly communicate with them. Give them job descriptions, behavioral covenants, and an accountability structure.
  4. Affirm and encourage them regularly by showing your appreciation in creative ways (giving them gift cards, inviting them to the pastor’s home for dinner, etc.).
  5. Make sure that the adults are connected to each other as well as to the students, with everyone working together. Help volunteers build friendships with each other, and encourage them to remain committed to volunteering with the youth ministry for at least several years so they can see growth occur in students’ lives.
  6. Delegate responsibility to key volunteers by building a culture of apprenticeship.
  7. Equip volunteers with the tools they need to succeed. Provide regular systematic training to sharpen their skills.
  8. Empower them with authority. No one enjoys being responsible for something without at least some measure of authority to make decisions.

Youth ministry is not the place for lone rangers. For decades now the Church in North America has been enamored with what Mark DeVries calls the “light bulb” youth pastor who shines bright for a while and then burns out. That way of thinking must stop. Equipping a team (no matter if the team is 2, 20 or 200) is foundational to effective, long term, transformative ministry.

Stop the Insanity Top Ten List (# 3)

29 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by in Church, ministry, planning, youth ministry

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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 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 (# 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 (# 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 4

25 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Church, leadership

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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).

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?

Awkward Silence

26 Monday Dec 2011

Posted by in Church, foolishness, leadership, listening, silence, talking, wisdom

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If not appreciated for its unique ability to bring clarity, awkward silence can be a very uncomfortable thing. I know this all too well because I had a tendency in the past to spout my opinion before listening to the insights, thoughts, and opinions of others. Consequently, I found myself in the place of the fool “who answers before listening.” (Proverbs 18:13)

 

Listening has huge implications for leaders…”Listening is giving attention; talking is taking attention. Asking questions is inviting others to participate; making statements is taking away their opportunity to contribute. If leaders can keep the give vs. take framework in their mind as they go through their everyday activities, they’ll have a values-based compass for taking the right actions and making the best long-term decisions.” Verne Harnish http://goo.gl/w12c6

 

As the old saying goes, “God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason.” While using my mouth less has significantly helped, I still have much to learn in the area of intentional listening. Join me this year in embracing awkward silence and find that, “wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.” (Proverbs 2:10-11)


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