Growing health and effectiveness
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Things that intrigue me
Friday, December 26, 2008
Time Out
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Incarnation
In becoming a man, in taking on our humanity, everything changed in how we could relate to God for in becoming like us and living with us for a season we could touch, hear, learn from and relate to the unapproachable God. The Apostle John put it this way, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Never again could men and women say, “I cannot understand God” for now they had met and can continue to meet the Lord of the universe through the person of Jesus Christ.
When at thirty years old, Jesus started his ministry he was clear about one thing. The only way to the father, the only way to salvation, the only way to know God was through him. He declared, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me” (John 14:6). There are no alternate routes, there are no other spiritual guides, he and he alone is the route to the Father!
This is not politically correct and never has been. If you read the gospels and the life of Paul you discover it was not well accepted in that day either. For the religious officials in Judea, Jesus could not be the awaited Messiah because he came in poverty and died on a cross in shame. For the Greeks and Romans with all their various “new age” type religions including statues to “unknown God’s” (just to stay on the safe side), a savior who died and rose again was nothing less than foolishness on a grand scale.
In our day, Christianity is vilified and marginalized and alternate spiritual routes are explored and embraced no matter that they contradict one another and have no basis for truth. I am intrigued by how quickly people grab on to numerous alternate spiritual routes that have no validation in history and no internal consistency, but only vague and foggy spiritual language but it is believed as truth while Christianity with its historical grounding, Scriptures and internal consistency is rejected as foolishness.
One of the lies of the evil one is that life is about us. There is another lie: that we can choose our path to God – which is a grand lie indeed since it elevates our wisdom above God’s and allows us to create our own God, our own path and our own spirituality. That is a greater lie than the first one because now life is not only about us but we have the ability to determine its destiny.
If Jesus was trying to create a popular religion he failed miserably. God does not appear as a baby, make furniture, live itinerantly without a home, befriend prostitutes and the sick and the poor and sinners. He does not allow himself to be nailed to a cross so that he can bear our sin on his own body, naked, bleeding, diminished and alone. He would not choose twelve followers who would not qualify for anything other than blue collar work and tell them to change the world (which they did). He would not choose ordinary people like us down through the centuries to keep on changing the world – which he does.
Jesus did not come as a religious guru, or to found a popular religion. He came as the Lord of the Universe, took on our bones and flesh and with truth and grace pointed us to himself as the one who could save us from our sin, give hope to the hopeless, heal the sick and lead us into a relationship with the father – through him. And Jesus and the message of the gospel have been transforming individual lives, one at a time ever since. Not in religion but in relationship.
Anyone who is serious about a relationship with Jesus Christ must confront the claim he made that he is the only way to the father. There are no alternate routes. If he is wrong on that he was not God. If he is right on that he is the only God.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Missions Nice and Missions Strategic
Consider three issues. First, it takes about $100,000 to keep a mission family on the field on average. One can only justify that cost if there is a well thought out plan for how they do ministry.
Second, the world is growing at a rate of 78,000,000 people per year. At a world population of 6.5 billion people, the most people who have ever lived in human history it requires us to think strategically if we are going to make even a small dent for the gospel.
Third, we never hire people in our churches in the United States to do "nice." Our resources are limited too. We hire staff who can do strategic and results oriented ministry. It baffles me that we have such different standards for international mission work where the requirements to do well are often higher than they are in the United States.
In ReachGlobal we have taken a number of steps to move us toward greater ministry productivity. First we have moved all of our personnel into teams so that there is synergy, greater creativity, greater care between members and the strength of various gifting rather than missionaries out on their own.
Second, we have place a much higher emphasis on good leaders leading at each level of the mission - something downplayed in many mission organizations where historically decisions - large or mundane were made by a committee of the whole group. Thus we have moved from cumbersome to efficient.
Third, each of our staff has a set of Key Result Areas for the Year along with an annual ministry plan. Before the year begins they know exactly what their plan is and then they can focus their efforts on the plan. In addition, there is a monthly coaching/mentoring with their supervisor to ensure that they are on target and to remove barriers they are facing.
Fourth, through the concept of the Sandbox we have moved decision making down to the leaders and teams that are best designed to make decisions in their context. We still have huge alignment because our alignment is around the mission, guiding principles, central ministry focus and culture of health as defined by the sandbox that everyone is required to play in.
Finally we are committed to multiplication through the developing, empowering and releasing of healthy national leaders for the planting of indigenous, interdependent, self supporting, healthy and reproducing churches. This breakthrough in our thinking means that we no long plant and pastor churches ourselves but raise up indigenous leaders from the very beginning, becoming developers, coaches and mentors. We call this moving from multiplication to addition.
In all of this we have been intentionally moving from a culture of nice to a culture of strategic international missions. We are also seeing significant ministry results from our shift. This also has implications for the missionaries your church supports: are they doing nice things or are they engaged in strategic ministry?
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Staffing differently
I found the email fascinating because I have long thought that we have professionalized ministry, hiring professionals to do what in many cases God's people could be doing and at a high cost to the ministry. The cost of staff and benefits continues to rise, leaving us with few resources for ministry initiatives in our community or world.
For all of us who wish we had more resources. For all of us who wish more of our competent congregants were in the game. For all of us who want to release God's people in meaningful ministry, this is an idea to be considered.
It almost sounds like how God designed the church to operate!
God still Heals
But: God raised up an army of people praying from around the world and God did the impossible, even healing the failed mitral valve after a day of intense prayer and fasting. To this day my doctors cannot get their hands around my healing. They know there was outside intervention.
I have learned many lessons from my hospital stay. I have learned to pray boldly knowing that God can do the impossible. I have learned that every day is an undeserved gift of grace to be used for his purposes. I have learned that life can change almost instantly so I don't want to squander the time God has given. I have learned of God's great goodness, mercy and love.
Shortly after leaving the hospital I wrote these words in my journal. More than ever I am aware that every day is an undeserved gift from God. That I owe him my life and that He has graciously granted me additional life to server Him. I don't deserve it but that is the nature of grace.
I am reminded of that grace every single morning. And I thank Him for it. God is good - all the time.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Intentional Living
Personal Development: Ensuring that I stay healthy in my spiritual, emotional, professional and physical life.
-Monthly Retreat time, annual retreat, prioritize schedule according to Big Rocks and delegation of issues that can be delegate.
-Read and think regularly on leadership and missions, develop relationships with other mission leaders and continue to write for the church, leaders and staff
-Invite accountability and input from a key group of friends, from my board and be transparent with staff on schedules and priorities. Keep my prayer team aware of needs and schedule.
-Spend quality time with my “friends for life” on a regular basis.
-Monitor the amount of refreshment that I enjoy so that I don’t run out of margin
-Join Weight Watchers and walk at least one mile per day
My Marriage: Keep my marriage vital and growing
-Encourage Mary Ann in her ministries and affirm her kingdom assignment
My Family: Stay engaged with Jon and Chip as Jon launches out into the workplace and Steven continues his college education
-Be intentional about connecting with the boys in person when in town and on the phone when I am on the road.
Pray for them regularly and be available to them whenever they need me.
Try to find at least one extra fun thing that we can do together as a family this year (the kids do not live at home).
My Work: Provide the highest possible level of leadership and direction to my staff (for sake of brevity here I will share the broad plan that has more detail behind it)
-Build a strong, unified, aligned, strategic, and results-oriented team to lead ReachGlobal
-Develop current and future leaders of ReachGlobal and influence national partners
-Mobilize Resources: Summary: Mobilize key resources necessary for ReachGlobal to flourish and build for the future
My Ministry: Stay engaged in using my strengths for the building of God’s Kingdom in the most strategic ways possible
-Help other ministries grow in their governance, leadership and effectiveness. Blog regularly for ministry leaders
-Teach leadership skills internationally
-Engage in helping the poor and marginalized in my work globally
-Encourage pastors who work in really difficult circumstances internationally
My Writing: Complete a new manuscript
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Toxic team and board members
Some of the common toxins that hurt teams and boards are:
Cannot work in a team
These are individuals who need to have their own way even if the board or team has decided differently. Because they do not have a commitment to abide by decisions of the rest of the group, they will either ignore the group and do their own thing or undermine the decision outside the team or board meeting. Non team members do not belong on a team or a board because they will not honor either of them.
Causes relational chaos
Have you ever met someone who seems to cause chaos in relationships on a regular basis. Well, it is usually an emotional intelligence problem and it kills team or board effectiveness. They always have a reason and it is usually someone else's fault when it happens but where there is a pattern pay attention.
Cannot make decisions
People who cannot make decisions often love the process, conversation and endless discussions but when it comes to saying, "this is what we will do," they cannot pull the trigger. This inability pulls the team or board down to a lower level than it would otherwise operate at, dis empowers other members and causes a great deal of frustration.
Cannot execute
People who cannot get things done do not belong on either a team or a board. The bottom line of both are results on their mission (Return on Mission). Non producers are directly violating the purpose of the group, pull the group's level down and frustrates other good members.
Will not forgive
Scripture tells us to keep short accounts. Those who will not forgive and hold grudges for real or perceived grievances are a cancer that affects the others. Unresolved relationships destroy team or board trust and trust is the foundation of any group work. The result of unforgiveness is mistrust, bitterness, and an unwillingness to work with those who they will not forgive. Often, these individuals have taken on the offence of others with the same impact.
Narcissistic People
These are people who think that life is about them: their way, their ideas, their wisdom and their decisions. These are truly toxic individuals because they are not even able to understand their toxicity, narcissistic people don't understand they are narcissistic.
People who mistrust those in authority
There is a built in mistrust of authority in many people which makes it very difficult for them to serve in a healthy manner on teams or boards. Their mistrust shows itself in an attitude to cynicism on the one hand and superiority on the other. Those who mistrust generally gravitate toward others who mistrust, take up their mistrust and telegraph that mistrust to others, undermining leaders in the organization.
Can people grow? Yes. Should we expect them to grow on our team or our board? Probably not. As long as an individual is causing significant problems to a team or board they should be removed or step off, given the help they need and if there is progress given another chance. We need to be graceful but not stupid or willing to compromise our mission.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Reintroducing (or introducing) people to the word
A best practice I have observed is that of congregations reading through scripture over the course of a year together. If this is encouraged from the front, through the ministries of the church and with regular encouragement it is possible to see a high percentage of folks participate.
All of us deeply desire life change for our people. We also know that spiritual transformation is not what it ought to be in our ministries. Could it be that part of the reason is that our people are not living in the word themselves and therefore not experiencing the Truth first hand?
I often wonder what the simple practice of regularly reading God's word would do for God's people in our day. If what Psalm 119 says about the word is true, they are missing out on a lot by not soaking themselves in His truth.
It is simple but profound. Think about it.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Self-understanding and dealing with personal weaknesses
Sunday, November 9, 2008
The Activity Trap
To avoid the activity trap we should be able to answer these questions:
Do I know what specific results I want from my work? For instance I have five Key Result Areas that spell success for my work. Can you define what spells success for you?
Is my daily, weekly and monthly activity focused on achieving the specific results I have identified?
Do I have a strategy for making sure I stay focused? After all it is very easy to drift and a strategy for staying focused is important.
If you are a supervisor, can your reports answer these questions?
For further exploration, take a look at these blogs:
Connecting the Compass with the Clock
Your Annual Roadmap
What Spells Success for You
Intentional Living
Thursday, November 6, 2008
For frustrated pastors and church leaders
Monday, November 3, 2008
Executive Limitations: Defining the boundaries and creating freedom
Executive limitations when combined with an annual ministry plan (not the subject of this blog) give the senior leader freedom to lead in those areas that are not defined as an executive limitation.
Lets, take an example of a church of 400 and consider what might be examples of executive limitations of the senior pastor:
The Senior Pastor cannot:
-engage in any illegal or unethical behavior or allow staff to do so
-exceed the annual budget
-engage in the sale or purchase of property
-hire or fire staff without board consultation
-make major programming changes without board consultation
-Violate or change the mission, guiding principles, central ministry focus or culture defined for the church
-Violate policies determined by the board
-Allow any conflicts of interest among staff
The size of the church would determine the kinds of executive limitations placed on its senior leader. It is far easier to state what the senior leader cannot do than to list all that they can and are expected to do. Thus, the leader is given freedom within the bounds of the ministry philosophy of the church to lead apart from whatever executive limitations are placed on them by the board. Those issues are reserved as board prerogatives.
The list of executive limitations can be added to or subtracted from depending on the size of the church and issues that come up. The goal with executive limitations is to clarify the authority of the senior leader to lead. In many areas the senior leader has the authority to lead as they see fit. In other areas, the board limits the authority because those issues are "board issues."
There is another category that is critical for a healthy board/senior leader relationship and that is the whole host of things that the board should be appraised of - even if it has not limited the authority of the senior leader. No board likes surprises, see my previous post, and the better the senior leader keeps the board appraised of their thinking, plans and intentions, the better the trust and understanding between board and senior staff.
Executive limitations must always be coupled with a clear job description of the Key Result Areas that define success for the senior leader. KRA's define the proactive job of the leader and executive limitations define the prerogatives of the board and require board approval.
There should be a board job description that lays out the purpose, ground rules and job of the board. That further clarifies what issues are the responsibility of the board and what are the responsibility of the senior leader.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Are You an Open Book?
Authenticity is an all too rare commodity in the Christian world where we often feel a need to present a public face to others which looks like what we think Christians should look like. Simply listen to the level of candid conversation in many local churches and ask yourself - are people really being open with their joys, sorrows, struggles and challenges?
This past year has been an interesting one for our family as thousands have prayed for us in the aftermath of my forty two day hospital stay last December and January. Our extremely candid disclosure of our needs and situation was forced upon us by events beyond our control. But, it has been interesting how many people have thanked us for being transparent.
It seems to me that transparency is a gift we give to others because people can relate to real life struggles much more than they can to the facade that we can so often put up. I think that it is also a gift to unbelievers who can watch Christ-followers struggle with real issues of life balanced by imperfect but genuine faith.
Pastors give a gift to their congregations when they are transparent about their own struggles, fears, and doubts and how they integrate faith and followership with real life.
As a listener I can relate to that. I think that is the great attraction of the Psalms. When you read the Psalms you get the real David with his joy, fear, anger, discouragement and faith. Sometimes is is raw and uncomfortable but it is real life. And it is the Psalms that people go to more than any other place in Scripture when faced with difficulties. In the Psalms you find genuine transparency.
The more transparent we are the more approachable we are. And the more approachable we are the more true influence we will have with those around us. The cost to us is admitting that we are not perfect, that our families are not perfect, that we don't have it all figured out and that we need others. Of course, all of that is true anyway.
Give the gift of being an open book. You will be surprised with the response.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
What spells Success?
Being able to clearly define success can be a huge factor in an organization's effectiveness. In my experience, however, most leaders and their staff cannot clearly answer the question. And, many times, the factors that we believe would spell success actually do not - and we are chasing the wrong things.
For instance. Many mission agencies define success by the number of missionaries they have and the number of countries they operate in. If you doubt that, just look at their materials. The problem is that those two statistics have nothing to do with effectiveness or results.
And, that definition can have negative unintended consequences which include bringing people into the organization that are not really qualified (because we are enamored by numbers) or starting ministries in new places where we do not have the necessary infrastructure or leadership.
In a similar fashion, local churches often simply believe that it is about numbers and one can get numbers by participating in the shuffle of believers from one church to another. Reading the New Testament one does not get the impression that numbers are the final indicator of success, rather life change is.
What is interesting is that there are actually two factors in defining success.
The first is the end product you want. In my organization the end product is spelled out by a mission statement, The EFCA exists to glorify God by multiplying healthy churches among all people. Our end goal is therefore church health, church multiplication and ensuring that the denomination includes all ethnic, and socio economic groups who make up our communities, nation and through missions our world.
Clarity on the mission, however, is only half the equation. The other half is defining the culture, practices and central ministry focus that are necessary to reach the missional goal that has been defined.
First, we need a set of guiding principles which provide true guidance as to how the organization operates. This goes beyond a static set of values to a set of principles which all staff and volunteers (or in the case of a church) members are committed to living out (see here for an example). These principles ensure that your staff are committed to practices that will help you get the results you desire. Without defining those practices you are unlikely to achieve what you desire to achieve.
The second piece is knowing what the central ministry focus must be if you are going to achieve your mission. This is the one thing that your organization must do day in and day out, without which, you will be far less likely to get to where you want to go. (see this post for an example).
The third piece is that of defining the culture you must have if you are going to achieve your mission. The culture of your organization, just like the practices of the organization will either help you achieve your mission or will work against you achieving that mission. For the local church I believe the culture is spiritual vitality. For our mission, it is healthy people, healthy teams, healthy leaders and healthy churches. In other words we know that without a culture of health at all of these four levels we will not achieve our missional goal.
In the book, Leading From the Sandbox, I describe how these four elements of mission, guiding principles, central ministry focus and organizational culture can be communicated in a simple way to all staff, and stakeholders.
The central point is that we must have the correct definition of success for our ministry. But once we have that definition, we must define the practices, central ministry focus and culture that are most likely going to help us achieve that mission - and therefore success.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
A sense of Urgency
It is not that I am driven. I believe I have come to the place where I truly have nothing to prove and nothing to lose. I am comfortable with who I am and how God made me. I am glad I can say that at 52.
It is not because I am competing with other mission agencies. There is plenty of work to go around.
It is because without a sense of urgency no church, no business and no ministry organization will be all that it can be. The opposite of urgency is complacency, comfortable, and maintenance of status quo. That is where people will generally live unless someone - a leader - or a crisis - pushes them out of comfortable into urgent.
Any business today that lives in the comfort zone will find itself in a crisis. The rules of the game are changing so rapidly, competition is so fierce, the markets so unpredictable that complacency is frankly death.
It is easy for churches to live in the comfort zone. Most do which is why 80% of the congregations in America are plateaued or in decline. And why conversion rates are terrible and life transformation rare.
Mission agencies have been living in the comfort zone for decades and are just now waking up from a long snooze and realizing that the world changed tremendously in the past thirty years and they did not. Some will not make the transition and will slowly slide into decline.
So what drives my sense of urgency?
First, we have 6 billion people on the face of the earth today. Half the people who have ever lived in human history are alive today (300 years ago there were only 600 million people on the planet). Never before have the stakes for evangelism been so high. Never before has it been easier to reach more people for Christ more quickly than today - if we will sense the urgency and use methodologies that are appropriate for the day in which we live.
Second, It is a matter of stewardship. Like Paul, I do not want to settle for anything less than the best effort, and certainly do not want to rest on the past but press on to the future. Why give myself to anything but the best that I can give - or lead an organization that does the same?
Time is our most precious commodity. All of us are personally running out of time. We need to run the race to the finish and reach the finish line knowing that we absolutely did our best.
Leaders are the ones who create a sense of urgency if there will be one. If there is no urgency in your business or organization, it is a leadership issue. Leaders are also the ones who model a sense of urgency. If I sometimes seem impatient with progress, I am. Without a certain impatience there is no progress.
As Paul wrote so eloquently, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me...Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-13).
Monday, October 13, 2008
Ways of seeing
You remember the account in the gospels where Jesus and the disciples are overwhelmed with the crowds of people hungry to meet Jesus and desperate to have their circumstances changed. The disciples were tired and it seems a bit cranky and saw the crowds as a distraction and a hassle. But Jesus, "looking at the crowds was moved with compassion for they were like sheep without a shepherd." The disciples saw from human eyes while Jesus saw with kingdom eyes.
Human sight is at its core selfish. It sees those things that either help us or hinder us, are to our advantage or disadvantage, give us power or rob us of the same. Kingdom sight is utterly unselfish. It is about giving rather than receiving, it is about serving rather than being served - as the disciples who asked for the honor of sitting at Jesus' right and left side when in heaven found out. Or as those listening to the parable of the good Samaritan discovered.
There is also a time perspective to human versus kingdom seeing. Human eyes are concerned about how the circumstances of life impact me. Kingdom eyes are concerned about how the circumstances of life build God's kingdom, even if to our temporary detriment.
Those who are martyred for their faith understand kingdom sight. They realize that there is something far more precious and significant than even their own lives and are willing to lay down their lives for the sake of Christ and his kingdom. Hebrews 11 is a testimony to those who lived their lives with kingdom vision rather than human vision.
How we see deeply impacts how we live. Our world is driven by fear and a desire to protect ourselves and our interests at any cost. Following Jesus is driven by faith and a willingness to pay any price to be where Christ wants us to be - realizing that to be where Jesus is - is both the most dangerous and most safe place we could ever be. That is why some Christ followers can see circumstances from a perspective of faith, while others see the same circumstances from a perspective of fear.
How we do something as mundane as assimilate the news on CNN or Fox is influenced by whether we are watching with human or kingdom eyes. Human sight assumes that the news is all bad, that the world is going to hell in a hand basket and is pervaded with a sense of gloom and fear.
Kingdom eyes see the same news and they realize that God is still sovereign and that in fact, God uses all the events of the world, good or bad to build his church. They know that no event occurs in our world, good or bad that does not first pass by the hands of God and that he does not use to build his church.
How we view people around us depends on which eyes we are seeing them through. From a human perspective many people are simply losers who have little value to us or society. They may lack the education, sophistication, status or whatever it is that gives one "value" in our world.
Kingdom vision sees the same people and it instinctively says, "this person is precious to God, Jesus died for her, and I will honor her." A study was done of hierarchies of value in a hospital setting. Surgeons were at the top, janitors were at the bottom. The level of respect, eye contact and interaction were highest at the top and lowest at the bottom.
Recently I was waiting in the TSA line at the airport. The TSA agent looked at my license and said, "Do you know a Dr. Addington who was a surgeon?" I said "Yes, it's my dad." He said, "Dr. Gordon Addington"? I said "Yes, that's him." He said, "years ago I was a janitor at United Hospital and your dad befriended me. He even invited me to spend Christmas with the family."
My father had been using his kingdom vision and in doing so upset the value proposition of human vision.
It is an intriguing exercise to go through one's day asking "How would Jesus view this person or this circumstance? How would kingdom vision differ from human vision?" They are very different and they yield hugely different responses.
Which way of seeing is your default?
Sunday, October 12, 2008
The view from 39,000 feet
That is one of the reasons that I regularly take a day or even half a day by myself to take a 39,000 foot look at my life. In our organization we call it a "Personal Retreat Day," or PRD. It is a time to get out of the crowds, activity, stress and deadlines to literally "get above it all" for a time to evaluate how well we are doing in the midst of our activity.
Our activity and our pace of life often mitigate against thoughtful analysis of how we are spending our time, where we are missing something vital, strategies for being more productive or just time to stop, think, pray, meditate and listen to the still small voice that will not compete with the din of our daily lives.
Here are the kinds of things I evaluate on my PRD:
-My marriage and family
-My spiritual life
-My personal and work priorities
-My calendar and invitations that affect my calendar
-The team I lead and the team I am on
-Relationships
In other words, the PRD is an opportunity to get above the fray and take a holistic view of life from a 39,000 foot perspective in order to ensure that when I land again I am living intentionally rather than accidentally. It gives me a time when I can reprioritize my time and energy when they have gotten off track. It gives me time to talk to the Father about issues I am struggling with.
Without the perspective and peace of 39,000 feet, I cannot be as productive as I need to be at ground level.
What is your 39,000 foot strategy?
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Convictions that matter
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The roads we travel
We are equals
When I and those in the ministry I serve make references to empowering women (we can include empowering minorities and young leaders as well), what it refers to is the following: treating people as equals, speaking to and about people as equals and allowing ALL people’s gifts to be honored, valued and utilized in the Church.
When there are references to “coming to the table,” “having a voice,” “wanting to be heard,” these all reference the same idea: I want to be treated as an equal, spoken to as an equal and want my gifts to be honored, valued and utilized in the church.
This means if a man has the gift of hospitality or administration, he should utilize those strengths. If he feels called to be a stay at home dad, he should follow the Spirit’s call to do this. If a woman has gifts of leadership or teaching, she should utilize those strengths. If she is called to work full time instead of stay home as a homemaker, she should follow the Spirit’s call to do so.
None of these scenarios should result in guilt as long as we are utilizing the strengths and gifts God has given us to glorify Him, edify his church, and reach our communities and families.
With that in mind, here are some suggestions for how to take steps toward gender (and I would argue ethnic) equality.
Spot potential female leaders and take the time to mentor them into leadership roles.
Use language that is inclusive: when referencing all people in the room, refer to them as staff, leaders, friends, etc. (whatever might apply).
Spend time listening to thoughts, experiences and input from women of all generations and ethnicities. Don’t try to offer solutions right away. Just listen.
Include women in the decision-making process in your ministries.
Help women gain the knowledge and understanding of their spiritual gifts. Then give them a platform to use them.
Create committees and teams to collaborate on key organizational issues. Include men and women on those teams.
Provide leadership seminars and training for women that do not just focus on women’s ministries.
Do not assume that women in a meeting will take care of taking notes, meeting prep, follow up details.
These last couple of suggestions are for women:
Women, own your voice. If you have thoughts or input, use it for constructive and strategic change. Take responsibility for your thoughts and input.
At work, and in the ministry setting, expect to be treated as a ministry/business professional first. Many people (not just women) expect their work in ministry to fulfill personal needs of friendship and family. Sometimes there is a desire to integrate personal and ministry life when at work.
I am not saying we should not have friends or family at work, or that we should not discuss personal issues at work. What I am saying is that should not be the expectation. We as women should not be disappointed if our boss or coworker does not ask about our personal lives. When you are at work (even in ministry), you are a professional worker first and should treat others the same way.
Let’s continue to dialogue on this. I’d rather have this topic be a gracious, honest dialogue than a one-way direction of thoughts and suggestions. Any time we discuss issues such as gender and ethnic equality, let’s make it constructive and for the purpose of glorifying God and working toward reconciliation and understanding.