Your church board is unhealthy but you are not on it and don't know what to do about it

It is not unusual that I receive emails or calls from individuals who want to know what to do about an unhealthy church board - in their church. They see that the board does not have its act together, they see the results of that dysfunction (including pastors whom they love leaving) but they feel impotent to affect real change. I have found myself in that situation at times and I am sure many others have as well.

In some cases, it is even worse for the fact that they know that the board has sought help but has rejected the advice they received and they muddle on in their dysfunction and that dysfunction is negatively impacting the church body as it always does. The consequence of sick boards is inevitably a sick church - but what do you do about it if you are in the church watching? 


Before I suggest a course of action, we need to recognize that there is a deeper problem to a sick board and that is that the congregation does not have a good way to vet potential leaders. Good leaders don't allow their board to get sick. Poor choices of church leaders and poor board leadership result in sick boards.


That being said, what does one do? The first thing we need to do is to make this a matter of prayer. This is a deeply spiritual issue for a congregation and for us as well. Unless our own attitude is right, we will add to the already problematic situation with our own anger which adds fuel to the fire. The evil one love sick boards and church fights. Don't give him that joy.


Second, commit to yourself that you will never intentionally "hurt the bride of Christ." Your local congregation is a local representation of Christ's bride, no matter how dysfunctional. Your board, through their lack of healthy leadership may already be hurting the church. You don't want to contribute to that hurt. I would rather quietly leave a church (and I have) rather than to contribute to church conflict.


Third, be honest with what you see with board members you can speak to.Give them your observations about what you see happening and how it is impacting the church. Ask questions, speak for yourself (not others) and clearly state your concerns.


If matters continue, I would consider doing the same thing in a congregational meeting if I believed it might make a difference - carefully. I would state my personal concerns, making it clear again that I speak for myself and not others doing so without a personal attack or hidden agenda. If I thought that saying something would not make a difference I would refrain and keep my own counsel.


Some will disagree with this and that is fine. If I thought that there was little chance that the dysfunction could be solved, I would leave the church and look for a healthy one. Unhealthy churches produce unhealthy disciples, muddle along without direction and are a magnet for people who like conflict. Do you want to be a part of that and do you want to bring your friends to a place with that ethos? It can be painful to leave a church but fortunately most of us have other expressions of the bride that are available to us. Obviously we need God's direction in such issues but we are often naive in believing that things will change.


Congregations, like families often have dysfunctional "family systems" which support that dysfunction. They make it hard to voice differing opinions or even to leave. In other words, the very church culture prevents the dysfunction from being dealt with. It is  a closed circle that does not allow outside views (taken to an extreme one has a cult). Sometimes you don't realize how unhealthy the culture is until you are out of that culture and experience the freedom of a healthy church. Closed systems rarely change and trying to affect change to a closed system will generally end up with you on the outside for trying. Even pastors have limited ability to impact a closed system which is why they often end up resigning when they find themselves in one (unless they are a part of it).


I often say that churches get what they deserve. Elect poor leadership and you get dysfunctional boards and congregations. Often such churches manage to repeat their same dysfunctions over and over again. I have met boards that did not want advice, did not want to own up to their own issues and proudly continued in their awful leadership. I feel for those in their church! I don't want to be a part of such a church. 

Church board best practices

There are certain practices which reflect a healthy church board. If you are on a board, I would encourage you to measure your board against these practices.

1. Define clearly how the board operates through a board covenant or policy governance. You can only hold people accountable to what they have agreed to. Define your rules of engagement and then hold every board member accountable for those healthy practices.

2. Deal only with the big rocks of ministry and delegate to staff or others the small rocks and pebbles. You should be able to do your normal board work in two hours per month, leaving a second two hour meeting for discussion, prayer, learning and dialogue.

3. Never ignore spiritual issues in the church including gossip, critical spirits, division, ongoing egregious sin or heresy. Hoping they will go away will not make them go away.

4. Always keep the main thing the main thing: evangelism and disciplemaking. Churches don't drift into missionality, they drift into diffusion of purpose and unsafe waters. 

5. Have a well defined mission, set of guiding principles and the culture you want to build. Lack of clarity around what is important will keep you from being missional. 

6. Guard the gate of the board. Choose board members with great care. Every board is one board member away from disunity and one board away from church trouble and decline.

7. Do the work of elders together: pray, study God's purposes for the church, pray for your congregation. Don't allow administration and business to crowd out the most important.

8. Do honest evaluation against the clarity you have defined. Don't allow "church nice" to keep you from honest discussion regarding your effectiveness.

9. Focus on the Gospel and not on programs. Every church board should study the implications of the gospel for believers and congregations. It is very easy to focus on numbers and programs rather than the transformation of lives, communities and institutions that the gospel brings.

10. Ensure that you are developing robust followers of Jesus, not simply "nice churchgoing Christians." That starts with board members as congregations are unlikely to rise above the spiritual commitments of its leaders.

11. Love and care for your congregation like Jesus does. You are undershepherds of the Good Shepherd. The gospel is about people and churches are about people.

12. Release people into active ministry to use their gifts in the marketplace, the neighborhood, among the poor and disadvantaged and in the church. Make that an expectation, not optional.

Spirits of criticism and negativity

If there is an attitude akin to cancer in a congregation it is a spirit of criticism and negativity. Few things are more disheartening to pastoral staff and few things are more divisive and dangerous to the life of a ministry than this. One church has just lost its pastor because of the criticism and negativity on the part of some congregants and some board members. Another church is probably going to lose their pastor. In both cases the congregation is far worse off for it. A ministry I know well has this spirit running through its entire office (not the one I work for which is a great blessing). 

Words and attitudes matter. They either build or tear down. They encourage or they discourage. I would go so far as to say that where such a spirit is pervasive it is not the spirit of the Father but of the evil one - even when wrapped in spiritual language.

This does not preclude honest dialogue. In our organization, robust dialogue is a huge value and anything can be put on the table that does not include a personal attack or a hidden agenda. The problem with critical and negative attitudes is that in many cases they are indeed personal attacks and there are personal agendas. There is a huge difference between critical and negative spirits and robust dialogue. It lies in the attitude and motivations behind it.


The truth is that we ought to treat one another as our Father treats us and as Jesus treated people in the gospels. Our attitudes and words are deeply spiritual issues for Jesus said in Matthew 7 that what comes out of us comes from what is inside us. Critical and negative people have a spiritual issue (and don't we all from time to time in this arena). It is sin and it comes from our lower nature.


In my view, church leaders ought to directly and boldly deal with pockets of critical spirits and negativity in their congregation because, like cancer they will eat away at the very core of your congregational health and it usually spreads. It is also one of the reasons I encourage churches to define the culture they want to see embedded in their church (see the book, Leading From the Sandbox). Once you have defined your culture you can hold individuals accountable for keeping the culture.

In the two churches I referenced above, I would not personally recommend that any pastor take them until the church has dealt with the insidious infection that is destroying them from within. And the pastor who left? I agreed with his decision to resign. The church and leadership were so unhealthy that it was destroying him as well. Don't ignore criticism and negativity when it pops up. It will hurt you and the cause of Jesus.

Please pray for Southern Sudan!

I received this from one of our ReachGlobal staff today. This impacts many believers in Southern Sudan.

I just received this horrific string of emails from one of our Pastors and President of the EFCS William Laku. The conflict in the Northern part of Southern Sudan continues to escalate! As we near the July 9^thindependence day and birth of the world’s newest country “Southern Sudan” the country of Northern Sudan continues to bomb and plant land mines in Southern Sudan’s Unity State, Abyei and Southern Kordofan which has been a disputed area since the South’s almost unanimous vote for secession took place in January. 

The disputed areas are wanted by Northern Sudan because of their rich oil fields. These areas were promised, by the Government of Northern Sudan, that they would also have the opportunity to vote for secession from the North or to unify with the North. After realizing that these areas were most likely going to vote for secession, the North refused to allow them to vote and decided to take the land. This is the same scenario that took place before the 25 year war that ended in 2005. 

As with many disasters there is great opportunity to share the gospel and bring much needed help to these people. 

Please join me in prayer for the people of Southern Sudan and that these attacks from the North would stop. They have waited so long for their much deserved independence and to have peace in their lives. Many lives have been lost and many families devastated by the atrocities committed by the North. 

The following accounts are from Christians on the scene.

    

 From the 17Th -18Th June 2011, I was in Khartoum to attend the Board of Trustees of the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC). During the meeting, we had two people who managed to escape from Kadugli. The lady who gave us her testimony painted an extremely bad picture of the killings of the Nuba people by forces of the SAF in Kadugli. She saw 360 dead bodies as she and her tree children were trying to escape killings. Hers was a rela miracle as women, children and men were being slaughtered.

Nuba youth have been targeted apart from  the aerial bombardments. After listening to their disturbing and lengthy testimonies, the meeting issued two statements to the International community and the other statement was directed to our ecumenical partners in form of an appeal, if they could begin to mobilise relief items; food, water, clothing, shelter and medicines as a matter of urgency to the 73,000 displaced of Southern Kordofan. Kindly share the info with as many people as you can.

At moment I am in Nuba Mountains. I am writing this email from Kauda . I want to tell you it is really Genocide. We are bombed daily by Northern government, even just few minutes before writing this email we were frighten by one of them and we runned away before writing this email. What I want you do is to pass this information on behalf of me and my people. Here is a link to the latest news if you are interested.     http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43535068

Can you legislate morality?

In a recent address, the president of Trinity Law School in California made the point that most evangelicals would answer no, you cannot legislate morality since morality is a matter of the heart. However, morality is being legislated every day.

When the state of New York made gay marriage legal yesterday, putting it on par with the marriage of a man and a woman they were in effect legislating morality.  A generation from now few will question that this is as life should be (I have gay friends whom I love dearly but I cannot find justification for the redefinition of marriage). When the Netherlands made it legal to euthanize infants with serious abnormalities it is legislating morality – just as Germany did in the days of Hitler. Countries that have made abortion legal – and even promote it as a means of birth control,  have made immorality legal and largely accepted. 

When people try to take Christianity out of any and all public discourse, they are legislating morality – their morality. Indeed, little by little, chip by chip, the underpinnings of Judeo-Christian ethics are being intentionally legislated out of the law both in the United States and elsewhere.

It was William Wilberforce who through his undaunting opposition to the slave trade and the institution of slaver who led the passage of the abolition of both in England leading to its eventual abolition in the United Sates. Wilberforce was a politician who rightly brought his biblical convictions to bear on one of the most insidious institutions in modern history. Through law, a grossly immoral practice was outlawed. When Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, congress through law, outlawed racist practices embedded in American society.

Certainly one cannot legislate the condition of the human heart. But, the laws that we pass and the court decisions that are made impact the morality or lack of morality of whole nations by their consequences. In effect, the law can move a nation either toward or away from biblical morality: issues of justice and poverty included.

I thank God for men and women in the public arena who are willing to bring their biblical convictions to bear in bold ways from all parties.  The liberal elite, after all have been bringing their version of morality to the public square for a long time. They have an agenda for our society that is in large part antithetical to morality as defined by Scripture. While the law and courts are not the answer to all evils, their laws and decisions impact the moral behavior of entire nations. Both morality immorality can be legislated.

Leadership in Missions

Let me make an observation. Many mission organizations do not value leadership on their teams or fields. It is a holdover from the past where missionaries viewed themselves as independent contractors rather than a part of an organization or team. In that culture, when there needs to be leadership, one elects someone who will basically leave you alone and the criterion is often that they have been on the field a long time (paid their dues) or it is their turn (among those who have paid their dues) with little evaluation as to whether they are truly leaders or not.

Let me make a second observation. Not valuing leadership in missions means that those missions are not truly concerned about good strategy, seeing significant fruit or missional effectiveness. The long term result will be the decline and eventual death of those missions because while they don't value strategy and missional effectiveness, the individuals and churches who pay the bills do - a lot. And they will not continue to pay for ineffective missionaries or strategies.

Furthermore, long experience on the field does not equal leadership skill. All it equals is long experience on the field. Veteran missionaries often resist leadership from individuals who don't have that long experience but they miss the point. Good leaders release others into focused, missional, strategic leadership. They don't need to know what a veteran missionary knows because they use the expertise of the team an determine where they go and then they align all team members in a direction that is likely to be fruitful. 

Leadership should be seen as a skill in itself. Good leaders don't know everything, in fact they may not know a lot. But they do know how to position people for success, build a team that is pulling in the same direction, solve problems and ensure there is a healthy strategy. That is true in business and industry, just as it is in missions. The job of leaders is not to know everything. It is to take the corporate wisdom of those involved and help craft direction and strategy and alignment.

In industry when business is in trouble, the board often will bring in a leader who has no prior experience in that field. What they do have is leadership skill and the ability to access, get the right people in the right seat on the right bus, determine what needs to be done in concert with the corporate wisdom of good people and turn the business around. 

Missions that will thrive and survive in the years to come will do so because they have courageous leaders who help lead missional teams toward fruitful ministry. Ignore leadership and your mission is destined to fail. Value it and you will move forward.


One final observation. All Christian movements globally require good leadership. That is why Paul spent so much time developing leaders. Missions who don't understand good leadership will never be able to develop indigineous leaders. And if you don't do that, you will not leave behind fruit that will last.

Red, Green, Yellow

Visual management is a tool long used in industry but has wonderful application to ministry as well. For instance, we evaluate our adherence to our core commitments in ReachGlobal with a series of defined metrics along with a color for each. Green means that we are doing well, yellow that we could be doing better and red that we need to pay attention to it. Behind each color is a comment indicating why we evaluated the metric the way we did. 

In the same way, as we define processes that we follow for various key functions we rate each process with one of the colors along with comments. This is easily done using Microsoft Excel. 


The colors are not about whether someone has done well or badly, in fact, yellow and red are not negative. Instead they represent "opportunity" to do something better. Red is an indicator that we have something that we really need to pay attention to.


Ministries are not good at evaluation, generally. Giving our metrics or processes a color along with comments is an easy way to start to evaluate what we say is important to us. If in fact, we don't honestly evaluate it is not really important to us!


Further, the colors give you a quick indicator of where you are doing well and where you can improve. Knowing that you cannot improve everything at once or solve all problems concurrently you have a choice from your visual management tool as to which you want to pay attention to now. 

The first time a team does this, everyone wants all the colors to be green. They never really are. Furthermore, if they were all green it would mean that you have nothing to improve which we know is never true. In fact, using colors honestly gives you a continuous management tool which is what we all really want. 

It takes a little bit of work but it is a highly effective tool! It is even more effective if you put them on a wall for all to see. People start to pay attention to areas where improvement is possible and they all get in the game.

Books on Kindle

I am pleased that all three of my current books are now available on Kindle. Each are $7.99. Just click on the book to be linked to Amazon.

Words that bring life and words that bring pain. Our daily choice.

We live in a world that is often hard and harsh. Circumstances disappoint, life often throws us curves we don't expect or appreciate and people can be less than supportive. That is why we gravitate toward those people in our lives who are encouraging, who speak words of life to us and are literally Jesus in our lives.

Think of the difference between the words of Jesus and the words of the Pharisees. Jesus' interactions were life giving and the Pharisees' interactions were life taking. Jesus was full of grace while the Pharisees were full of legalism. I know believers who reflect the attitude of Christ and those that reflect the attitude of the Pharisees, those who bring grace and those who bring guilt.

Recently someone made a comment to me that was like a knife in the stomach. Words that hurt deeply. It reminded me of how powerful words are, either to be life giving or life taking. As I shared the pain I was feeling with another friend he brought words of encouragement, perspective and life. He was Jesus to me in my pain. 

Paul encourages us to "not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs...Be kind and compassionate to one another...Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs...(Ephesians 4-5)." 

Here is what I know. My words today can be life giving, encouraging and reflect the love and grace of Jesus. Or, they can be critical, hurtful and life taking and reflect the attitude of the Pharisees. I have this choice in every interaction I have. When I speak like the Pharisees I do so from pride and judgement. When I speak like Jesus I do so from humility and grace. 

Could this generation be the last?

I am not a predictor as to when Christ is going to return. However, I do read Scripture and am a student of both history and current events and what I am watching in the Middle East and elsewhere sure looks like it could lead to the apocalypse predicted in the Old and New Testaments. Think about oil, radical Islam, atomic weapons, terrorism, natural disasters, wars, the global financial crisis, the growth of unrighteousness and you have the descriptors of what will be at the end of time as we know it.

In the past, prophecy was a regular topic of preaching - perhaps too much so. In the present, it seems to be largely ignored. Yet, Jesus told us to be aware of the times and Paul lived in light of the return of Christ. 

It matters because when we focus our attention exclusively on this world we forget that there is a future for us in a recreated world that is better and more wonderful than anything we could ever imagine. And, that when the end comes, there is no second chance for those who don't know Jesus. Their future is one without Jesus - forever.

The truth is that any one of us could meet Jesus at any time. Apart from His divine intervention, I should have met him three and a half years ago when I was in an induced coma. None of us know when our days will be up - we all live on borrowed time.

As one who is deeply involved in missions I have an urgency for the billions of people who if Jesus were to return today would face a Christless eternity. It is estimated that half the people who have ever lived in human history are alive today so the spiritual stakes are high.

It is easy to be satisfied with our lives and our possessions and ignore our own mortality, or the coming return of Christ. The time we have is precious so we need to use it wisely. Jesus and Paul would ask the question, "If we knew that Christ were going to return in our generation how would we live differently?" I want to know that I have invested my own life in ways that build His kingdom and introduce people to their savior. In the end, not much else will matter. 

As you read the news of our world, remember that there is a day coming when the nations of the world will cause a huge conflagration that is unimaginable to anything we have ever seen. And, that Jesus will return in glory and power. Are our lives aligned  and lived in light of His (soon) return?

Develop, Empower and Release

As ministry leaders we love to release people into ministry and we should – that is the heart of Ephesians 4:12. The question comes as to how and when we do this in ways that are helpful to others and not harmful. I believe that the answer can be found in the concept of Develop, Empower and Release.

But first, There are some common mistakes made by those who lead others in terms of their training and releasing. Let me suggest three:

• Just releasing people to do their thing in the name of empowerment. While empowerment is wonderful, empowerment without training, development and coaching is to set up people to fail – and to hurt the church or organization they serve with.

• Never releasing people under the guise of “they are not ready.” In this scenario, we never really release because they don’t have the same training as we do or would not be as effective as we think we are.

• Development in the form of academic training only. Here we think of training of more theology (not bad), leadership theory (not bad) but short on hands on ministry experience.

All three of these errors contribute to disappointing results with those we are raising up and releasing in ministry. I believe there is another way: that of developing, empowering and releasing others. This was the pattern of Christ and of Paul and it is one that we could learn again from today.

Development is about helping others understand how they are wired and gifted, spending quality time with them in ministry, dialoguing and sharing our lives in a serious way. It includes modeling ministry, modeling the life of a disciple, training and mentoring in the things of God and the life of a believer. This is best done in relationship or in community where discussion and dialogue are possible (think of Christ with his disciples) and where they are challenged to follow God seriously and invest their lives in ministry. Even in this stage we are inviting people to use their gifts but in an informal way in their homes, neighborhoods and circles of influence. 

Empowerment only comes after development has been part of the picture. Empowerment is inviting people into ministry under our direction or coaching in ways that are appropriate to their readiness and gifting. It comes when we believe someone is ready to put some of their training into practice. This was Paul when he asked Timothy to take on certain assignments. It was Jesus when he sent out his disciples to heal and proclaim the good news and come back and report. It is ministry opportunity with a leash of coaching and accountability.

Empowerment is not just throwing people out on their own: it is inviting them into ministry in line with their level of maturity, under the coaching or authority of others. It is on the job training with feedback, coaching and ongoing development. Development and empowerment are not two separate phases as the development continues as we empower people to try their wings in ministry.

While developing is the first step, developing and empowering are tandem activities where increasing ministry responsibility is given as our mentee grows and develops. This was Paul’s strategy with Timothy. First Timothy traveled with him, then he started to give Timothy ministry assignments under his authority and as Timothy grew so did those assignments. If one short changes this dance of development and empowerment we run a significant risk of a ministry crash once on their own.  

Releasing is acknowledging at some point that people no longer need us in a direct way and are ready to be released out on their own. Paul developed and empowered Timothy for a number of years but the time came when he released Timothy to pastor and stood in the background to encourage him. Jesus released the disciples on his resurrection and ascension. Paul spent several years at Ephesus planting a church and training leaders and then released them to fly on their own. 

It can be hard to release because we are so vested in the development of others but at the right time it is time to let go, stand in the background, pray and encourage. It is like a parent who lets their eighteen year old fly on his or her own. They will make mistakes (as we did), they will pay dumb tax (as we did), they will face huge discouragements (as we did) and they will grow in their ministry (as we did). If we have developed and empowered, they will be ready to move forward. All the while, like Paul with Timothy or Christ through His Holy Spirit with the disciples we stand behind them cheering them on, encouraging them and providing counsel or insight as needed.

In our developing of people we will fail if we don’t pay attention to all three of these pieces of the development of individuals to the place where they can fly on their own – with a high probability of success.

One last note: For those who want to leave a legacy, the developing, empowering and releasing of people into ministry is the key. It is the 2 Timothy 2:2 principle.

Ministries don't drift toward success!

We wish we could but it does not work. Drifting toward success simply does not work. It takes a clear direction, intentional strategy, courageous resolve and long term thinking to get us to where we need to go. Think about those four descriptors. Do they represent the ministry you are a part of?

Clear direction. If you had to describe in one minute or less what your ministry was about and where it was headed, could you do that? Clarity of direction is not complex (forget the multi page position papers that no one remembers). Rather it is clear, concise, and easily understandable. If you were to ask each of the members of your team to do the same thing would there be significant alignment about what they all said? If not, some dialogue might be helpful!

What is your intentional strategy to accomplish your clarity of direction? Is it understood, easily communicated and make sense? Is that strategy a shared strategy by all members of your team and are they actually living it out rather than using it as a slogan? More to the point, do you have a strategy at the macro level to accomplish your goals or do you just hope that your activity gets you to where you desire to go? Remember there is a significant difference between activity and results.

Direction and strategy don't mean a lot without courageous resolve. There are many impediments to actually accomplishing the mission you have starting with people who may not want to cooperate, obstacles that get in the way, competing agendas or simply difficult circumstances. One of the reasons that ministries often do end up drifting is that they don't want do to the hard work of tackling these obstacles, courageously resolved to move in the right direction regardless of the costs incurred. It is much easier to simply let people do their own thing for a scattered result than to ensure that everyone is one the same page for a significant result. But that takes courage, conviction and resolve. Without those, ministries drift.


Long term thinking is the fourth key to helping move toward success rather than simply drift. Long term thinking is the result of leaders and teams thinking deeply about the desired future and what it will take to get there. They are not interested in the flavor of the month, the newest leadership guru or doing what everyone else is doing. They are thinking long term for long term results which is why courage to get there is so important. Can you articulate the long term results of what you do? One of the ways to do this is to ask what your five or ten year broad goals look like. They ought to paint a picture of the long term impact your ministry desires to have.

Drifting is easy, requires not real work, does not require discipline or accountability. It is also poor stewardship and won't get one to success.

Give us this day our daily bread

For those of us in ministry - and many of us in our own families one of the greatest burdens is that of finances. It is easy to worry, lay awake at night, deal with angst and on the ministry side send out crisis letters about the need for funds. 

In all of this perhaps we miss the most important thing we could be doing and are invited to do by Jesus in the Lord's prayer. Simply ask in faith that He would provide for our daily bread, what we need today in our lives and ministries. We are invited to pray for the basic needs for life and ministry. So simple and yet so profound. 


Behind this invitation is the simple fact that God chooses and wants to provide for the needs of His children. "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly father know that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:31-33).


Did you catch what Jesus said here? He is saying, don't worry about these things like the pagans (non-Christ followers) do. Don't run after these things like the pagans do. As children of God, ask and trust that He will provide because he knows what we need. In fact, concentrate on knowing Him and living a life worthy of one in the kingdom and He will take care of your needs.


Simply trusting without anxiety or worry, is the lifestyle that Jesus is advocating - knowing that He knows our needs and will provide us with what we need. While those around us pursue what they need, we can trust God for what we need. While others live in worry and fear we can live in freedom and trust.


Our simple daily prayer. Give us this day our daily bread!

People in the Shadows

There is a famous painting by Rembrandt of the Prodigal Son scene from scripture. One can study it for hours at the Hermitage in St. Petersberg and still not take it all in. When I saw it in person, however, I noticed that there was a figure deep in the shadows that can hardly be seen on pictures or reproductions of the photo. You have the father and the two sons but lost in the shadows is another individual watching the scene.

That painting is a reminder to me that we are surrounded by "people in the shadows" who are not recognized, are often not noticed, do not get the attention others get and who look on at those around them from a distance. They are the forgotten, those who don't fit into our socio economic group perhaps, maybe disabled or different or elderly, or just don't fit into the mainstream. They are people in the shadows, often lost and forgotten by others. In Jesus' day, they were the leper, the prostitute, the woman who suffered from years of discharge, the paralytic and those shunned by proper society.

To the prophets in the Old Testament, the people in the shadows were the orphans, widows, sick, poor and hungry (Isaiah 58). They were those who could not (from a human perspective) add value to the lives of others so they were ignored and forgotten. In other places it was the "alien in your midst."

From the world's point of view, people in the shadows are marginalized, unimportant and even "throwaways." To God they are men and women and young people made in His image, precious, and potential sons and daughters of a king. If Jesus saw them as valuable and important, so should we.


Who is standing in the shadows in your congregation, your workplace, your neighborhood - like the almost invisible individual in Rembrandt's painting? Almost unseen because they are marginalized and left alone. The truth is that we ought to go out of our way, like Jesus, to recognize those in the shadows. Most of us get the attention, love and recognition that we need. Those in the shadows do not. Watch for them and love on them and show them that they too are special in God's sight.

Complainers and thankers, optimists and pessimists

If there are two attitudes that ought to be banished from a believers life they are those of complaining and pessimism. In their place the attitudes of thankfulness and optimism ought to become what characterizes our lives.

Think about this: When we live with complaints and pessimism we deny the amazing gifts and promises of God whose power, love, mercy and concern is far greater than any possible negative issue we could face. Effectively we say to God - "You are not sufficient for my situation." Paul makes that case in Romans 8 where he makes the case that there is no situation in life that can separate us from the "love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39).

No matter what our situation, how dark our medical prognosis, how seemingly unfair the blows that life has dealt us we live with an amazing reality in Christ. "I pray also that your eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead" (Ephesians 1:18-20). 


If all that is mine through Jesus, what do I have to complain about? How can I live with pessimism for the future? In fact, there is no future I face that is not overwhelmed by my ultimate destiny with Christ which will make everything we face today look small and insignificant: overwhelmed by Him, His presence, and the joy of eternity with Him.


The antidote to complaint and pessimism is thankfulness every day for all that God has done for us along with faith that His power is greater than any challenge we face. This is why the New Testament continually talks about being people of thanksgiving to God. The more we focus on thanksgiving the less we can live with our pessimism and complaints. 


Pessimism and complaining are nothing less than the residual of our lower nature whose focus is on me. Thanksgiving and optimism are indicators of the transforming power of God and a focus on Him. When I focus on me I have plenty to be unhappy about. When I focus on Him, I am overwhelmed by His goodness to me. It really comes down to the focus of our lives.

Leaders in the raw

As an organizational leader I am constantly on the lookout for other potential leaders because I know that good leadership is the key to releasing a great staff. Poor leaders disempower staff while good leaders release them and make their work a joy. Sometimes, these potential leaders are young and raw (we all were at one time) but there are still some powerful markers that indicate they have the stuff to make a good leader if mentored and coached.

The challenge is that "leaders in the raw," are just that - raw! They can look arrogant to others, impetuous at times, don't finesse their language or analysis, challenge the status quo, ask a lot of questions and can be somewhat obnoxious. That is when I perk up and think, "Maybe I have a young raw leader here." Here are some of the things I look for.

• Self starters who figure out where they need to go and simply do it. 
• Those who go and find resources and people who can help them get a task done. 
• Individuals who don't complain about barriers but simply find a way to go around, over or under those barriers to achieve their goal. Rather than ask permission, they will often ask forgiveness if they run into trouble. 
• Individuals who others seem to listen to and instinctively follow. 
• Those who ask good and probing questions and display a high level of inquisitiveness. 
• Individuals who regularly challenge the status quo and ask the irritating why questions.

Young, raw, inexperienced individuals who have leadership potential or wiring can often be brash, irritating and come off as arrogant. Rather than write them off as such, realize that what you may well have is a leader in the raw who is not content with the status quo. The very things that irritate you about them may well be that leadership wiring stirring in them that if channeled and mentored could result in future leadership.

It is not unusual for leaders in the raw to even clash with those who lead them precipitating some necessary "come to Jesus meetings." It is, frankly, the very fact that they are flexing their leadership wiring (even if in an undisciplined way) that causes some disruption. I did that plenty of times as a young, raw leader. Rather than simply writing them off - start a dialogue to see if what you have is a leader in the raw rather than simply an obnoxious individual. They may be future leaders in your organization! If they have that potential, start meeting with them to help them hone their skills, temper their words and impatience and coach them toward productive leadership roles.

Creating dialogue through questions

Good leaders learn to ask questions of those they lead in order to solicit feedback, create meaningful dialogue and help people think through issues. This is an important part of coaching and mentoring because good questions provoke thinking and the opportunity to dialogue more deeply on the issues that surface through the answers.

Often the natural inclination of leaders is to  tell rather than dialogue. The art of asking probing questions is one that is often not natural to us but can be learned. The more we do it, the better we become. Here are the kinds of questions that can provoke meaningful discussion with those we lead or supervise.

If there were one thing you could change about your job, what would it be?

How do you think our team is doing? What would make it stronger?

Where do you want to be three years from now personally and professionally?

Is there something you wish I would do differently as your supervisor?

Are there ways that I could make your job easier?

What is your greatest challenge and your greatest joy in your role?

Do you feel you are being used to your highest capacity? If not, what would you like to add to your responsibilities?

Is there anything you need from me that you are not getting?

As you think about our mission as an organization, where do you think we are doing well and where do you think we could do better?

Where do you need to push yourself for better results?

What percentage of your time are you working in your sweet spot and what percentage in your weaknesses?

Are you doing things that someone else on your team could be doing that would allow you to focus on more important issues?

Is there something you know you really need to focus on but have not found the time to do so? If yes, how can you reconfigure your time so that you can focus on that priority?

What leadership lessons have you learned in the past year?

How are you measuring results for your ministry?

What changes have you made in the past three years in how you live and work? What prompted those changes?

Do you have a mentor who speaks into your life outside of your supervisor? Who are you mentoring?

Talk to me about how you empower your team.

If you have favorite questions that generate dialogue I would love to know what they are.

Thinking spiritual influence rather than personal recognition

Our world is driven by success, personal recognition and financial accumulation. For Christ followers there is a far more important goal, no matter what our job or role: it is that of maximizing our spiritual influence - the most important result our lives could have.

This recognizes that life is not about me but about God. Rather than personal recognition or fame, our goal ought to be to lift up the reputation of God and make His Son look great! When we meet Jesus face to face as we all will sooner than later our own personal status will mean nothing but what we did to lift up the reputation of Jesus and make His name well known will mean everything. This focus on God rather than self is counter culture and radical but it is the mark of a true Christ follower. 

Focusing on maximizing our spiritual influence means that we are always asking looking for ways to invest our time in ways that will have eternal value. When I spend time with my neighbors who don't know Jesus, it is all about spiritual influence. When I mentor other leaders to help them become better leaders, it is all about spiritual influence. When my wife Mary Ann uses her mercy gifts with those in deep need it is all about spiritual influence. When I write blogs, it is about spiritual influence. My point is that every one of us has ways that we can uniquely have spiritual influence with others in our neighborhood, workplace, among our friends, through our mentoring or giving or hospitality. In giving ourselves away rather than selfishly living for ourselves we expand our eternal influence for Jesus. 


We all have bank accounts. Our financial bank accounts will not mean anything on the day we meet Jesus. Our spiritual influence bank account will last for all eternity and is an investment in the Kingdom of God and the eternal destinies of others. I want to be rich when I die in my spiritual influence account. Not much else will matter. And all of us can be wealthy in spiritual influence. 

Those of us in full time ministry need to ask ourselves regularly whether what we do is about us or Him. It is easy to fool ourselves that we are about spiritual influence rather than personal recognition simply because we are in full time ministry. Not so: we face the same temptation as others to make it about us rather than about him. In fact, it may be easier for us to fool ourselves because of our ministry vocation. Each day is a choice. Am I investing for spiritual influence or for something else?

Persecution: How God turns the tables

Whenever and wherever the gospel pushes boldly into new territory, the evil one pushes back resulting in hardship for believers and the church. Jesus warned His disciples that they would face opposition just as He had. And the stories of Paul's missionary journeys are filled with accounts of satanic "push back" in the form of persecution.

Satan's goal in persecuting believers is of course to halt the spread of the gospel. But in a great divine reversal, God turns the tables on Satan by using that evil push back to actually broadcast His name and turn the spotlight on the Gospel.

Take the state of Orissa, in India, for example. For some time, radical Hindu's have been killing and maiming believers, driving them from their homes and burning churches. Unfortunately for those persecuting, the world turned their spotlight on the plight of believers in Orissa and shamed the Indian government into intervening. Because of the publicity generated by persecution, the gospel and believers in that state have become more well known than ever before. And, the reputation of Jesus is held high by many who have seen how believers handled the persecution and became even more resolved in their faith.

In our own organization the evil one was certainly pleased when the Russian authorities withdrew visas for our staff working at a Bible school in Russia. It looked like the dream was going to die. Instead, the school went virtual, using DVDs. Because "copyright" in Russia means "the right to copy," for every DVD of a Bible course purchased it is estimated that their are 100 copies made and shared across the entire former Soviet Union. What looked like failure was actually the beginning of spectacular success for Bible training with thousands being reached who would never have come to the residential school.

There is nothing more powerful than the gospel of Christ and persecution, rather than hurting the church, actually propels the gospel forward in unexpected ways. It cannot be stopped and what looks like defeat is often the prelude to significant expansion. When you hear of persecution, pray for the believers involved, and pray that God will turn the tables on Satan and use that very persecution to propel His church forward.

Common vocabulary and common culture

One of the questions I enjoy asking staff or leaders of organizations is this: "What is the common vocabulary in your organization that everyone would know." I ask for two reasons. First I want to find out if there is a common vocabulary, and second, if there is, I am curious as to what it is because it tells me a lot about the organization.

In ReachGlobal, such common vocabulary would include: "Whatever it takes," "We measure results," "KRAs and AMPs," "personal retreat day," "autopsy without blame," "develop, empower and release," "intentional living," "the RG Sandbox," "teams," "empowerment," and "leading from the sandbox."

These and other common words and phrases define a common culture that is our unique culture. Because they are well known, they shape the ethos of the organization including its leadership philosophy.

Organizations that do not have a common vocabulary usually do not have a shared culture. This is why good leaders work to communicate key values or commitments with carefully chosen and continuously repeated words or phrases. When we say, "We practice autopsy without blame," we are sending a strong message that when problems happen we will focus on the problem and not the people. That is an organizational value that I will live out but that I also want lived out at all levels of the organization. As it is modeled and communicated the phrase becomes our practice. 


It is an instructive exercise to ask a group of people in an organization what they think the common vocabulary is and what they think it means. In unhealthy organizations that vocabulary will reflect the dysfunctions. In healthy organizations it will reflect the healthy practices. If there is simply a lack of common vocabulary, it is reflective of leaders who have not yet been intentional in creating a common culture. Think about this for your organization.

Applications and Invitations

Want a job? Fill out an application! Want to fill a key spot in your ministry? Consider making an invitation rather than an application. Here is the principle: while most jobs in middle management and below are filled by taking applications, the best people in upper management or leadership positions are invited into a conversation to see if there is a potential fit between the needs of the organization and themselves. 

The higher the position you are trying to fill (in a church or ministry organization) the less likely that the individual you want is going to fill out your application and apply for a job. This is where a high touch and personal approach is the most powerful. One identifies potential candidates and then invites them into a dialogue to see if there is interest, fit and synergy.

This is true in many pastoral searches. Search committees are overwhelmed with resumes when spots open up. Often, however, the chosen candidate never applied but was invited to a conversation that resulted in their coming. If you are looking for staff, who are you inviting into a conversation?

Because I lead a mission organization where key leaders are always needed, I initiate conversations on a regular basis with other leaders to ascertain their current satisfaction in their job. Often I find that they are looking for a larger platter with more responsibility. I file that information away and when an opportunity arises in ReachGlobal, I initiate another conversation. I see myself as recruiting all the time through the development of relationships and looking for common passions. But it all starts with an invitation to talk. 

Hearing the voice behind the voice

A former leader in the church says to a current leader: "I have some deep concerns about the pastor and there are others who who do as well." "Who are the others?" queries the leader. "Well, I can't really say because that would violate confidentiality but there are quite a few." 

"What are the issues," asks the leader. "Basically we don't trust the pastor and he has not handled some things very well." "Do you have first hand information about this," asks the leader? "Well, not really but I am sure that what I have heard is true." "Have you asked the pastor about your concerns?" asks the leader. "Oh no, he is not approachable." "How do you know that?" asks the leader. "Well he has a reputation of not listening and being defensive." "Hmmm, that has never been my experience," says the leader.

Did you notice in this conversation that there is a "voice" behind the "voice" of the one complaining? He has no first hand information about this situation but he has become an inadvertent spokesperson for someone else in the congregation who has an agenda to raise issues from behind the scenes, quietly and even perhaps with spiritual language ("I am deeply concerned for the pastor" or "we need to be praying about this trust issue."). And the one speaking should be listened to because after all he has taught an adult Sunday school class for years....

It is not unusual for me to receive a call from a pastor or church leader asking for my help because there are unhappy people in the church who are raising all kinds of issues, want a public forum to voice them and have spokespeople who are regularly "sharing their concerns" with leaders, leaving leaders wondering how big an issue is this and how do they deal with it. And, it seems that no matter how many conversations they have the issues don't go away. 

As I dialogue with leaders in these situations I am listening for the "voice behind the voices." Usually there is an individual, perhaps a few who are talking behind the scenes. Their friends pick up their issues whether they are legitimate or not and soon there are a number of folks who don't "trust the pastor" even though they have no personal reason not to - and the poison starts to run through the congregation.

I will often ask if there are common themes they are hearing and of course there are. I will probe as to where they think it is coming from and they often answer that they think it is a wide congregational issue (which I don't believe). Starting to probe more deeply I often come to an individual who was a former leader or a founding member of the church (sometimes not either) who is actually the voice behind the voices. Even then, some board members, knowing the truth don't want to do anything about it because he or she is "godly" and have been around for a long time.

My last blog was on courageous leaders. Courageous leaders are innocent as doves and wise as serpents. They are not naive and they do not allow anyone in the church to bring division and the behavior above is one of the most destructive behaviors any church can experience. Often it leads to pastors resigning and churches being held hostage by someone behind the scenes who wields underhanded power because no one has the courage to confront them.

When you see this scenario happening don't be deceived and figure out who the voice behind the voices actually is. Then deal with it. If you need to bring in an outside voice to help you do that make that call. It takes just one fox (sorry but that is what they are) to cause mayhem in the hen house. Paul told the elders at Ephesus that such fox's would show up and he told them not to be deceived but to deal with it (Acts 20). I know of foxes right now who are quietly chomping their way through congregations and there is blood everywhere.

Courageous church leaders

Church leadership is not for the faint of heart, the easily discouraged or those who lack courage. Yet too often there is a failure of courage at critical junctures in church leadership and it can only be laid at the foot of leaders. What makes for a courageous leadership board?

They are willing to clearly define vision and direction knowing that clarity is critical even though some will not like the clarity. Many boards do not take the time to clarify and communicate clarity because it is hard work, first, and because they know that some will object, second. Yet, it is clarity that brings focus, alignment and direction so there is no true church health without clarity. This may involve making tough directional or ministry calls that upset a few. Process is important but courageous leaders will do what is right even when a few loud voices protest.

They are ready to stir the water at times to move the congregation out of their comfort zone and into a gospel centered ministry zone. All churches naturally revert back to their comfort zone where life is easy and the focus is on who is already in the church rather than who is outside the church without Christ. It is the job of leaders to ensure that the congregation is living out its Gospel mandate which will be inconvenient and uncomfortable at times. If the water is not being ruffled regularly you are living in the comfort zone.

They deal with divisive voices who would divide the congregation. Paul talks much to his friend Timothy about how to deal with divisive people who cause damage to the church. One thing he does not say is ignore them. They are foxes in the hen house and courageous leaders see them for what they are and lovingly but firmly deal with this sin that so easily divides.

They hold themselves to high standards. Leaders are to be above reproach not only in their own personal lives but in the way their interact with each other as a team. Courageous leaders call out behavior that is counterproductive to a healthy board and hold one another accountable for their unity, relationships and work together. 


They are candid and honest about the state of the church and its ministry. It is easy to ignore real issues and not evaluate the true state of the congregation. It takes courage to name the elephants and then deal with them. This must be done without a hidden agenda or personal attack but it must be done. If there are any elephants in the board that cannot be discussed there is a failure of courage.


They are people of hope and optimism that God can and will do something big through their people and congregation and so they dream big, plan big and expect God to show up. Why? Because they believe in God's plan and power and that He is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20)." It takes courage to believe in God's power and therefore step out to do great things for him and that is exactly what courageous leaders do.


Our world is driven by fear at many levels. Congregations often have leaders who are more fearful and cautious than courageous and bold. Failure of courage leads to failure of mission. Courageous church leaders infect their congregation with their optimism, courage, resolve, Gospel commitments and call them to live it out together.

Focusing on problems not people

It is interesting how we are usually think about problems. Something does not work, goes wrong, fails, is causing frustration and we automatically ask, "who is responsible?" In other words we go to a person and we go to blame.

It is the wrong focus! The focus should be on the problem and trying to figure out why the problem occurs and how it can be fixed. In many cases we find that the problem is not about an individual but about a process that is poorly designed.

It is instructive to take a problem that is frustrating in your organization and on a white board diagram the entire process involved with the inputs and outputs. Who is involved and what process is involved and where does the process break down and why? In most cases you will quickly discover that the problem is no caused primarily by individuals but by a flawed process that needs to be refined and fixed. In fact, any time there is ongoing frustration about something, the white board process picture should be drawn and analyzed. 

Now if after you have analyzed the process you discover it breaks down with a specific individual you can deal with the individual. But as a philosophy, focus on problems not people. 

One last thought. Every problem is an opportunity to refine systems, change processes, eliminate what is not needed and do what you do in a more effective way. A problem equals opportunity to do something better. That is why I like problems.

KMS

It stands for keep mouth shut and it is an acronym that I use with myself often when I am tempted to say too much, need to listen rather than respond, speak out of anger or frustration, dominate a conversation or when dealing with people who are argumentative, arrogant or obnoxious.


Wise people guard their tongues. What we say or how we say it is more likely to get us into trouble than anything else as James reminds us in talking about our tongue. As we mature we ought to learn to speak less, listen more, ask questions rather than make pronouncements, keep our own counsel and be circumspect with our words. It goes against our natural tendency to speak quickly, defend our positions carelessly and respond out of emotion rather than a considered response. 


Think about the person who speaks seldom in a meeting but when they do everyone listens because they speak wisdom. And then think of the individual who speaks often and dominates the conversation but without much wisdom. The first has learned the KMS principle and in practicing it they think before they speak and in doing so they actually contribute more by speaking less. 


Leaders are tempted to speak too much rather than ask questions and listen to others. They are tempted to give quick answers rather than allow people to come to their own conclusions or let a group process work. The temptation comes from their ability to quickly analyze, for some to be the center of attention, and their leadership position. Of all people, those who lead need to remind themselves to KMS often. To the extent that they dominate the conversation, give the answers and make pronouncements, they dis-empower other members of the team. Even if they know they are right, speaking less will get them further.

Those who choose to listen more than talk, ask questions rather than pronouncements or not to be the center of attention are displaying humility rather than pride, a secure rather than needy makeup and good emotional intelligence (EQ). 


I have been known to use a post it note with KMS written on it as a reminder when going into a potentially contentious meeting. I know my own tendencies and the wisdom of keeping quiet in many situations where I could otherwise speak unwisely. How are you doing with the KMS principle?