What spells success for you?

Fast-forward your life to the day of your funeral. Your family is there, as well as your friends and colleagues. What are they saying about your life? What are your children remembering? Your spouse! Those who knew you best? If there were a handful of things you would want to be known by, what would they be?

Assume that you have five years left in your current ministry. If you could accomplish three-to-five things that leave a lasting influence, what would they be?

What you have just identified are the big rocks of your life. They are the key results that you want your life and your work to have? Getting these big rocks right is one of the most important things we can do if we are going to live intentionally and focus on results. If we don't know the big rocks, we don't know where to focus our activity.

Now take another moment and answer this question for each of the big rocks above for your life and work. How strategically is my activity aligned with the few key results I want for my life and work? Be honest with yourself.

KRAs are Key Result Areas. Understanding of and commitment to KRAs is a major contributor in moving from activity to focused living (activity and results are two different things). Much of what we have been taught or seen modeled that is related to how we structure our lives, focuses around activity. For instance, most job descriptions are a description of the activities that the job entails. The message is that if one carries out the activities found in the job description they will have been successful in their work. But it is not true!

There is a major fallacy here because activity does not equal results. There are many people whose work lives are filled with activity but there is not much to show for it. All of us are busy with activity but activity is not the relevant issue.

Key Result Areas are the specific results that spell success for us in our job and life. KRAs do not spell out how we will achieve those results (activity) but describes the definition of success (results). KRAs define the critical areas of success that one must achieve if one is going to be successful in one's work.

Because KRAs define what success looks like, they cut through the clutter of activity and get to the heart of the matter - what our activity must lead to. They answer the question of success and are applicable in both our personal and professional lives. KRAs do not define activity, goals or methods. They define the end result of our work, the ultimate outcome that we want to see in any given year. Goals and methodology come after we have defined our KRA's.

Why KRAs? Key Result Areas allow us to focus on the critical rather than be driven by the urgent. They clarify the non-negotiable priorities and allow us to make decisions about our time and energy on the basis of a set of clear outcomes that will allow us to fulfill God's call on our lives.

Think of all the demands on your time. Some of those demands come from others who love to tell you what is important for you and how you should spend your time. All of us have options and opportunities as to what we could do with our time and we face regular pressures to fulfill the expectations of others. We face the challenges:

• How do we prioritize?
• How do we schedule?
• What gives us the confidence to say yes or no?
• Where do we focus?
• How do we deal with competing voices?
• How do we free ourselves from the tyranny of the urgent?

The answer is to identify your Key result Areas. They become your key focus and priorities and the grid from which you can answer these questions.

My Key result areas are these:

1. Personal Development: Ensuring that I live an intentional life in my spiritual, family, emotional, relational and professional life.

2. Strategic leadership: Providing strategic leadership to the organization or the part of the organization that I lead.

3. Strong team: Building a healthy, unified, aligned, strategic and results oriented team.

4. Leadership Development: Develop current and future leaders.

5. Mobilizing Resources: Mobilize key resources necessary for the ministry of the team to flourish.

Have you identified what spells success for you?

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Revisited

In teaching a seminar on team recently we spent some time talking about the issue of the EQ (Emotional Intelligence) of those who serve on our teams. I was fascinated but not surprised about how many of the ministries represented were struggling with people whose poor EQ were causing relational chaos on their teams.

People with poor EQ leave a wake behind them. Signs of poor EQ include defensiveness, manipulation of others, anger, poor conflict management skills, lack of understanding as to how their words or actions impact others, triangulation of relationships, narcissism, divisiveness, inability to work productively with others, inability to listen to or to empathize with others.

All of these characteristics leave a wake of pain and relational chaos behind them. Sometimes the wake is with an individual or a team, sometimes it impacts entire organizations.

There are few things that compromise the health, effectiveness or synergy of a team than a leader or team member who exhibits poor EQ. I am convinced that if they cannot be coached and helped to understand and modify their behaviors that they do not belong on ministry teams (and if I worked in the secular world I would not want them on my team there either). They are too toxic and in the end undermine everything we are trying to accomplish.

How do you spot people with poor EQ? They leave a wake behind them of broken relationships, conflict and unhappy colleagues. Generally they always have a reason why the wake occurred and it is never their fault. Where there is a pattern, you know you have a problem.

Our evaluation is not about motives but about behavior which negatively impacts others and our ministry. When someone cannot or will not take responsibility for their own behavior in conflict but rather ‘demonizes’ those they are in conflict with, you know you have a real problem.

Perhaps the most difficult EQ issue to deal with is that of narcissism. People who are narcissistic believe that life is about them, that they are always right, that they have an inside track on wisdom and that problems are never their fault. That perspective on the world causes a narcissist to use other people, not listen to them, discount the input of others if it does not fit their world view and marginalize anyone who might disagree with them (they are the enemy). Given that view of the world, it is almost impossible to gain a hearing in order to help them to understand the pain they cause or to help them become healthy human beings.

I am a believer that we ought to be redemptive where we can be in ministry. That means that where we encounter poor EQ we are upfront and honest with the individual involved and give them a chance to modify behavior. I have seen surprising outcomes in those who have chosen to look in the mirror, listen to those who can help them and grow in their understanding of themselves and their treatment of others.

My experience has been that in about 50% of cases where we have had significant EQ issues, we have been able to help people grow and become productive with honest feedback and significant work with a professional. Rarely have I seen success in the case of those who suffer from narcissistic personality disorder.

I am also a believer that our ministries need to be healthy. Only healthy people can produce truly healthy ministry outcomes since relationships mean everything in ministry. Thus where it is not possible to help an individual with EQ issues, we will move them off of our teams. To do otherwise is to hurt the rest of our organization and to violate people. Much chaos, conflict, and unproductive behavior could be eliminated if we paid greater attention to the EQ of those who work in our ministries.

Spiritualists and strategists

Ministry teams and ministry boards often experience conflict between two kinds of people: spiritualists and strategists. When not understood this conflict can cause significant relational disconnect. When understood and appreciated, the difference between spiritualists and strategists can become a strength on the team or board rather than a source of conflict.

The spiritualist on your board or staff is the one who strongly identifies with the need to appropriate God's power through prayer - sometimes to the exclusion of planning and strategy.

Moses is a good example of a spiritualist. Moses loved nothing more than to be in the presence of his Lord, and God rewarded that desire by meeting with him face to face (Exodus 33:11). When faced with difficult issues, Moses' first instinct was to go to God.

Strategy was less of a gift for Moses. In fact, he nearly burned out from trying to personally deal with all of the issues faced by several million people! It took his father-in-law, Jethro, to help Moses develop a strategy for organizing the people and dealing with their problems.

On the other end of the spectrum, the strategists on your board or staff are the ones who love to plan, think ahead, set goals, evaluate results, question practices and insist on 'ministry results.' These individuals are sometimes impatient with the spiritualists who, in their opinion, are unwilling to use their God-given abilities to think strategically and naive to think that God's going to do everything without a lot of our own effort.

I believe that Paul qualifies as someone who tended toward the strategist end of the spectrum. On his missionary journeys, he thought carefully about where to plant churches and chose the population centers of the Roman Empire, where the gospel would have the greatest impact.

This does not mean that Paul was not also deeply spiritual or a man of great prayer. But he tended to look at his ministry from a strategic perspective. It may well have been this strategic bent that was at the core of the rift between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark (Acts 15:36-41).

Barnabas, whose name and spiritual gift meant 'encourager,' was probably much less bent toward the strategic than toward the relational and spiritual. Paul, with his strategic bent, grew impatient with John Mark and was blinded to the benefits John Mark brought to the work. Barnabas had a more understanding approach.

If Paul and Barnabas could stumble on the relational shoals over their differing approaches to life and ministry, it should not surprise us that we face these challenges as we work with one another. Apart from Christ, who was a perfect balance between the spiritualist and the strategist, all of us fall somewhere on a continuum toward one side or the other. We do not see life perfectly, and we have been gifted differently.

This goes to the question of which is right, the spiritualist or the strategist? Biblically, both are right, and those who are at either pole fail to understand the genius of 'and.' It is our prayer and strategy. It is following Christ and the best of our thinking on behalf of His kingdom. It is passionate dependence and ferocious resolve.

We ought to thank God for both the spiritualists, who remind us to trust God and live in dependence, and the strategists, who prompt us to think strategically for the advancement of His kingdom. When we understand that both of these approaches are biblical, and that it is in the balance of deep dependence and ferocious resolve that the best ministry happens, then we will embrace both and denigrate neither. God has gifted us differently, and it is in the plurality of gifting that we are most complete.

Steps to church renovation when unhealthy DNA needs to be confronted

Churches can experience spiritual renovation if its leaders are committed to helping the congregation become healthy.

Remember that crisis can be a friend.

Spiritual renovation for congregations, like individuals, often starts in crisis. Pain is a friend for those who will listen - a wake-up call that not all is well. Rather than run, wise leaders use a crisis to ask important questions about healthy, about the past and about the future. Crisis reveals spiritual fault lines in a congregation that needs to be addressed.

Start to lead more intentionally

Spiritual renovation of a congregation requires courageous leaders who are not afraid to face brutal facts, who are willing to admit sin and make commitments to change, and who will lead their congregation in a healthy spiritual direction.

Face reality

Wise leaders face reality rather than run from it, no matter how painful or unpleasant. Facing reality is a necessary prerequisite to healing and wholeness. Leaders in troubled congregations must first clearly understand the issues that have contributed to where they find themselves.

Confess sinful practices

Where there are significant areas of sin (often the root of unhealthy genetics), those sins need to be confessed and renounced by church leaders. The naming of the sin along with its confession is a powerful step for church leaders.

Covenant to new practices

Unhealthy and sinful practices need to be replaced by healthy and godly practices. If a new genetic code is going to be planted in a congregation, it needs to be specified and articulated, and leaders need to commit to it first. A written document can become a reminder of your commitment to renovation - one that articulates both what has been confessed and what new practices have been embraced.

Recruit a guiding coalition

Significant change across a congregation takes more than the influence of the leadership board. Bring into your process other leaders in the church who can embrace and model with you the changes that need to be made.

Model, teach and establish new practices

At this point you will need to be proactive in teaching, modeling and establishing new, godly practices at every level of ministry. Talk frankly with the congregation from the pulpit, in small and large group settings, in membership classes and wherever you can, to remind them of 'who you are' as a congregation and commitments you have made to be the authentic body of Jesus Christ. At all costs, keep the issues in front of the leadership community so that you model that to which you have called the congregation.

Establish a prayer coalition

Things happen when people pray. The Holy Spirit starts to remind us of positive behaviors and convict us of sinful behaviors. Engage a prayer team to specifically pray that God would bring change to the congregation.

Don't be surprised if things get worse before they get better

That may surprise you, but it is often the case. Exposing sinful practices and calling people to new and healthier practices is not going to make everyone happy. Often you will face deep resistance from a segment of the congregation even though you are calling the congregation to healthier and more godly practices.

Realize that it's OK when people leave during renovation - expect it

If you have walked through significant crisis and change in a church-leadership setting, you know how discouraging it is to come to meeting after meeting and hear the latest list of those who have left the church. Spiritual renovation in a church will often leave some people cold - people who have no desire or intention to renovate their attitudes or change their behavior. We cannot force others to change.


When leaders start to lead well, they help the congregation clarify who they are as a church and what their future is. Clarification causes some to say, I don't want to be on this bus anymore. It's going in a direction I don't want to go.' Often, those who leave your church disgruntled find another church where they can fit and minister productively.

Hang in, trust God, keep praying and lead wisely

Spiritual renovation of congregations is not easy and is rarely fast. However, God wants to bring renewal. If leaders are patient, stay the course, do what is right and keep praying, chances are good that renovation will come.

Unhealthy DNA in the church

Every congregation has unhealthy DNA. Sometimes it has a minor impact on a congregation's life and effectiveness. Other times, it has a major impact. Leaders must understand where the congregation is unhealthy, even if they choose not to attack the issue head-on.

Churches change slowly. They are made up of people who, as a rule, do not find change easy! Before we become impatient with those we lead, we need to remember how much time it takes for us to deal with issues in our own lives that need renovation.

One of the keys to transformation is the willingness of leaders to set the standard and commit themselves to healthy practices. Congregations are much more likely to respond when leaders set the pace. This is why healthy and unified leadership boards are far more likely to grow congregations that are healthy and unified as well.

When unhealthy practices are identified, church leaders should first look honestly at themselves and ask where they have either contributed to unhealthy practices or engaged in unhealthy practices.

It is not surprising that some of the most unhealthy genetics that congregations face are in the area of interpersonal relationships. Healthy relationships require a great deal of energy to build and maintain. It's no wonder that Paul regularly addressed the importance of good relationships in the letters he wrote to the early church.

It is my conviction, that, after bad theology, poor relationships within the body are the next greatest contributor to deadly DNA. The converse is also true: Almost anything is possible in a body that has healthy, God-honoring relationships.

We have all learned, from our families of origin, ways of dealing with people - some healthy, some not. Like families, congregations reinforce either healthy or unhealthy relationships by what they teach and allow, and particularly by what leaders model. This places a heavy responsibility on leaders to practice what they desire the congregation to practice and avoid what they want the congregation to avoid.

Leaders often get what they deserve from their congregations. Congregations that are relating poorly are often simply following the lead of church leaders who are unwilling to submit to one another and who do not live by godly principles Until boards agree to practice godly behavior, congregations will not follow. Almost always, the congregation mirrors the level of health or dishealth of its leadership.

Leverage and contrarians

Ministry leverage is the ability to understand how to take finite resources whether people or financial and leverage those resources for maximum results. Leverage is a way of thinking about how we do what we do in order to achieve out of the ordinary results.

I spoke to a pastor this week who understands leverage. Fifty percent of the job description for everyone they hire is to raise up and train others to do what they do. Even if they are qualified to do the ministry they need to perform they will not be hired unless they are also able to train others to do that ministry. This pastor understands the power of leverage. He can hire someone to do a ministry or he can hire someone to multiply those who can do that ministry.

Larry Osborne and his leaders at North Coast Church in Vista, California stumbled onto leverage when they ran out of space and decided to try to replicate the teaching in their services via video preaching. The lack of space forced them to ask the question, how do we continue to grow without adding more services in our main auditorium? Today North Coast has thousands of people attending with several dozen worship venues.

Strategic people (and all of us should be strategic) are always asking the question, “Is there a way that we could get more done if we were to do something differently?” Sometimes we are forced to think that way when we run up against a wall. But we should always be asking that kind of a question just as a matter of stewardship.

This is a significant question in the world of missions. With 6.5 billion people on our planet, most of whom do not know Christ, we must think leverage and multiplication in everything we do. That is why the central ministry focus of ReachGlobal is to develop, empower and release healthy leaders around he world. It is not what ‘we’ do but what we can empower ‘others’ to do. We used to think of our personnel as ‘church planters.’ Today we think of them as ‘trainers and coaches’ who partner with others to help them be successful in their ministries.

Strategic folks are contrarians. Not in the sense of being contrary but in the sense of questioning conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom is conventional but it is not always wisdom – or very strategic. Strategic folks are always asking “Why do we do it this way?” and “Is there a better way to do what we do?” Conventional wisdom in car manufacturing has nearly put Ford and General Motors out of business. The Japanese and Koreans questioned conventional wisdom and refashioned the automotive industry. Amazon questioned conventional wisdom and changed the way books are sold.

One of the secrets of those who understand leverage is that they think – a lot. And that takes time that is not available in the typical hurried life. They are also willing to take a calculated risk, go against conventional wisdom and try something new.

Here are the kinds of questions strategic people ask:

-What could we do to increase our impact and influence using our current resources?

-What are others doing that gives them leverage in their ministries?

-Are we doing addition or multiplication in the ministries we are involved in?

-Why do we do what we do the way we do it?

Checks and balances in church leadership?

I hear one common objection to moving toward what I suggest is a more biblical and healthy governance system: the question of checks and balances. If a church only has one board, and if greater authority is vested in this board, where are the checks and balances to its power?

That is a good question and one that goes to the heart of congregationalism. But it also reveals that the American church is driven more by its national polity than its biblical theology.

American government was designed as a three-part system - the legislative, judiciary and executive branches - each with different responsibilities and a carefully worked-out balance of authority so that no one branch could exert disproportionate power over the other two (at least in theory). The framers of the Constitution had a high-enough view of the depravity of man and the potential abuse of power that they tried to design national governance structures that would limit the power and, therefore, potential abuse.

Interestingly, the New Testament also provided for healthy leadership accountability, but in a different way. For instance, the New Testament always speaks of a plurality of overseers or elders, of which teaching pastors are one.

In other words, authority is never vested in an individual but in a group of leaders. In addition, strict qualifications exist for those in leadership positions, starting with character qualifications. These leaders are not at liberty to do as they please. Rather they are "under-shepherds" of Jesus, serving on His behalf, and will have to give an account for the quality and faithfulness of their ministry. That is huge accountability! Leaders are never the ultimate head of the congregation. Jesus is.

What you never find in the New Testament are competing boards of groups that exist to limit the authority of the senior leadership group, 'balance' its power or provide a check on its leadership. When we incorporate such systems into our church governance, we are modeling our systems more after our national polity than our biblical theology.

In a proper understanding of 'congregationalism' the congregation itself has the ability to override decisions of the designated leadership, but there is no biblical model or rationale in the New Testament for other checks and balances to the authority of the senior leadership.

Ripples in global ministry

You have seen the pictures. A pebble is dropped in a still pond and the ripples flow out from the center. Or raindrops on that same pond, each drop creating its own ripples and together the multiple ripples create a mass of energy - ripples against ripples until the whole pond is dancing with ripples.

When we think of mission strategies we need to think of ripples. All ripples count but the more and larger ripples we can create the more influence we have for the gospel. It is possible for missions to ripple on very large numbers of people globally - if they think strategically.Here are some ripples moving from small to large that together can create huge mission impact.
Ripples of evangelism
A small ripple but one that every missionary should be committed to. Every time we lead someone to Christ a ripple occurs and if they are healthy Christ followers they will ripple on others down through their lives.Ripples of church planting
God chose the local church as His means to reach the world. Every time a healthy church is planted it creates a ripple - especially if that church is committed to reproducing itself.Ripples of training/coaching/mentoring multiple national church planters.
Now the ripples start to get larger because instead of concentrating on a single church plant, mission personnel are seeing themselves as coaches and trainers of multiple 'national' church planters who are far more capable of planting and pastoring a church than from someone outside their culture. Here we move from addition to multiplication.Ripples of formal and informal theological education
Training pastors, twenty, forty, one hundred, multiple hundreds creates even greater and multiple ripples leading to even greater multiplication of influence. While formal theological training is vital, the informal training of lay bi-vocational leaders is critical if we are going to maximize our impact. In order to reach large numbers of people it is necessary to train far more leaders informally than through formal education.Ripples of holistic ministry
In a poor and needy world (54% of our world lives on less than $3.00 USD per day) bringing needed help through education, medical assistance, micro development, crisis relief, community development and any number of services opens hearts, opens conversations and becomes a wonderful, powerful platform for evangelism and church planting - especially among populations that would not otherwise be open to the gospel.Ripples of coming alongside movement leaders or entire movements
God has gifted the church with amazing movement leaders around the world who are missional, deeply committed to reaching their people for Christ but who are looking for partners who can come alongside them and partner with them. Think about this. When you partner with, help, encourage a gifted movement leader, all of a sudden you have multiplied your kingdom influence to touch all the people that this movement leader touches. This is huge multiplication!

In the same way, when we come alongside movements around the world, be they movements of 10,000, 200,000 or even larger to provide training, teams, specialized help - in order to help these movements be more successful and missional the influence one has is even greater. Again, huge multiplication.Ripples of mission movements
When missionaries can help other national movements become mission sending movements there is extraordinary opportunity to extend kingdom impact. Missions is about 'all people' reaching 'all people.' Every time we can partner with a movement to enable them to send missionaries and then partner with them in those mission efforts, together we create synergistic ripples that makes God smile.

There are many other kinds of ripples. I think of MK educators and service personnel who make it possible for others to be involved in the kinds of ministries I have outlined above. They ripple on more people than they know because their service makes possible the service of others.

We can think addition or multiplication in missions. The more we think multiplication, the more we think strategically, the more kingdom influence and impact we will have. Here is an amazing thought. Never in human history have there been more people on our planet. And with globalization, ease of travel and modes of communication, never has it been possible to reach more people for Christ more quickly than today. Not that it is easy in many places. But globally the opportunity is amazingly huge, if we will think strategically, think multiplication, think ripples.

Is your mission primarily doing addition or multiplication?

Big Rocks, Pebbles and Sand

One of the most frustrating aspects of church leadership is the tendency of boards to deal with minutia and present-day details rather than the truly significant issues that drive ministry forward. Leadership boards are not supposed to handle all rocks and pebbles, only the big rocks.

Big rocks are values, mission, vision, ministry initiatives, the spiritual leadership of the congregation, policies and church health. What characterizes the big rocks is that they affect the whole church, have to do with the spiritual health of the organization and are more related to how we can do ministry more effectively (future focused) than they are to day-to-day management.

Pebbles and sand are day-to-day management issues, staff management, the development of specific ministry plans or strategies, and details of church life that can be delegated to others.

When boards think of their work, there are always more rocks than they can effectively handle in the time available. But here is the good news. Leadership boards are not supposed to handle all rocks and pebbles, only the big rocks.

Some principles for effective board work include:

Build agendas around big issues, not small ones
Some issues are board issues: many issues that come to boards are not. When building agendas for board meetings, it is important to ask, "Is this a big rock or a small rock? Is this an issue that others can deal with, or does it need to be a discussion of the board?"

Concentrate on direction, spiritual health and policies - not management
Boards do not exist to manage but to exercise broad leadership for the congregation. Full-time staff members or volunteers manage day-to-day issues of church life - not the board. When management issues arise, before they become board issues, ask, "Is this a management decision? Who should be empowered to deal with these kinds of questions? And do we need to develop a policy so that others can make the decision in the future?"

Spend more time on future plans than on present issues
Leadership is about the future and leading your congregation into greater ministry effectiveness. Leaders think ahead of the congregation. If you are spending the majority of your board time on day-to-day issues, you are probably deep into management rather than directional issues, spiritual health, values, mission, vision or ministry initiatives. Keep track of the time that you spend in a month on current issues compared to future plans and opportunities.

Delegate regularly
Here is a general rule: Don't do anything as a board that others could do. We give staff members and volunteers far too little credit for what they are capable of doing. If an issues comes up that others can figure out, either delegate it outright or, if necessary, ask someone to come up with a proposal and bring it back to the board.

Always use a written agenda for board business meetings
Boards use agendas as a tool to prioritize their work. A carefully written agenda provides a road map for board work and requires the discipline to place big rocks first and pebbles later.

Stay within agreed-upon time parameters
Church board meetings can proceed endlessly. When you ask leaders to serve, you are asking them for their most precious commodity: their time. If your meetings regularly run longer than 2 1/2 hours, you are probably not exercising discipline in the conduct of your meetings or the size of the rocks you are dealing with.

Meet twice a month - once for business and once for prayer
One of your gatherings ought to be a business meeting where decisions are made and the business of the church can be conducted. With rare exceptions, the business of a church should be able to be done in 12 scheduled meetings per year. Because the spiritual level of the congregation will rarely rise above the level of its leaders, wise leaders invest half of their time in praying for one another and for the church, studying Scripture together and dreaming about the future.

Agree on principles of decision-making
Healthy boards are made up of people who can engage in robust dialogue that can result in creative solutions. Boards often make one of three mistakes: (1) They don't honestly engage in creative conflict due to conflict avoidance; (2) they engage in healthy conflict but don't seem able to resolve that conflict, leading to difficulty in decision-making; or (3) they allow one or two board members to create and perpetuate conflict that holds the rest of the board hostage from moving forward. I recommend the adoption of a board covenant that clarifies how the board will work together.

Communicate board work to your congregation
The trust of a congregation in its leadership is essential for a healthy church. Too often, work of a church board is shrouded in secrecy or mystery. While some issues must remain confidential, most work should be regularly communicated to the congregation, especially general directional issues.

Institutional or organic church?

What is a church? Most people, when they think of 'church' immediately think 'institution.' After all, churches in the developed world context usually have a building, a full time pastor, who has a degree and a bunch of people - house church movements excepted. Because that is our 'model' of church, by in large, we often duplicate that model in the places where we do missions.

Actually, the New Testament does not define the church institutionally but organically. It describes the local church as a group of believers who gather regularly with Christ at the center for worship, fellowship and ordinances under recognized leadership. A local church is really very simple and can exist in any economy, social context or political situation.

Think how easy it is for this organic description of the church to multiply across a city or a region in local cells of groups of believers. It costs no money. It requires no full time pastors. It requires no formal degrees.

When we define "church" institutionally not only do we move away from a simple biblical understanding - but we face a major problem in our church planting efforts. It is much harder to multiply buildings, formally trainged pastors and full time staff.

Think about this. 54% of our world lives on three US dollars a day or less - over three billion people (world population is 6.5 billion). 94% of our world lives on $10,000 or less per year. The reality is that we live in a very poor world.

In this world, the organic definition of church is able to reproduce easily while the institituional is not.When we export, or encourage an institutional model of the church that includes real estate, and a full time pastor who has a degree we immediately have a problem. In a poor world, that is a tough proposition and it kills the organic multiplication of the church. Simple, organic church works, institutional church does not.

Remember that in the first years of the church, having a facility was rare, having a full time pastor was very rare and there were no degrees. Yet, the church grew, spread and flourished regardless. It humors me that even the disciples themselves would not make it through many of the ordination processes that denominations have for their pastors.

It was assumed by many that the church in China would decline in 1949 when Mao Tse Tung came to power. Churches were closed, pastors were imprisoned and seminaries were shut down. There were about one million Christians in the country. But you know the story! Some 59 years later it is estimated that there are almost 70 million believers (some say more) and even in the darkest days, the church flourished.

My conviction is (and history bears it out) that God designed the church to be the most flexible organism on the planet that could and would survive and thrive in any economy, any political regime, and any social context.

This was true of the church in China in recent years and the Macedonian church in the early days, dirt poor as they were - and Paul applauds their generosity as he tries to chide the wealthy church in Corinth to be generous like the Macedonian church was (2 Corinthians 8-9).

Wise people engaged in missions do not impose or encourage models of the church that will not be able to reproduce naturally in the places they minister. That is why ReachGlobal stresses both formal and informal theological training and the use of bi-vocational pastors/leaders as well as full time credentialed pastors. And, the use of homes or inexpensive facilities for meetings until a local congregation has the ability to find a place of their own.

Churches are most able to multiply if they are healthy, self-supporting, indigenous, inter-dependent and reproducing. Our job in missions is not to create barriers to the natural multiplication of the church and to encourage models that fit the context in which we are working.


Keeping the church simple and organic in our church planting efforts allows for the easy multiplication of cells of believers. Some of these cells will grow into larger groups who may at some time be able to support full time staff who are formally trained. They may acquire property. But not starting with those elements allows for organic growth and multiplication without institutional elements which stall what would otherwised be natural multiplication.

Intentional Living

The key distinction between high impact teams and other teams is the intentionality with which leaders and individuals live their lives and pursue their ministries. We live in a day of huge needs, multiplied demands, out-of-control schedules and the tendency to be driven by the urgent, not the most important. Over time, our effectiveness is eroded, our hearts become tired and we know deep down that there must be a better way to live life and pursue ministry.


Three observations ought to give us pause. First, we are all busy. When people describe to me how busy they are and how fast they run in ministry, I am not impressed. Everyone is busy.


Second, we are all busy but not everyone sees the same results. Some people are exceedingly productive while others accomplish little.


Third, activity does not equal results. This is a critical distinction. Busyness does not equal results. That is why I am unimpressed with how packed one's schedule is. The question is not how much activity we are involved in, but what the results are of our life and work. Activity that is not strategic yields little for the energy expended and leaks away opportunity for Kingdom results.


People who see significant results of their work think differently than others. Rather than focusing on activity, they focus on results. They have identified the results they want to see for their lives and then strategically focused their activity toward those results. They are highly discriminating in what they do, the obligations they agree to, and how they schedule their days. Before they say "yes" to new opportunities they think and pray, determine whether the activity will contribute to what they understand to be the big rocks of their lives, and practice the power of saying "no.


"Intentional living is the discipline of knowing how God made us defining the big rocks in our life and work, and executing with an intentional annual plan that connects our schedules with the big rocks in a way that maximizes our God-given gifting and call.

Team Covenant

Every team has rules, written or otherwise, by which they operate. These rules can be healthy or unhealthy. Unhealthy rules include certain topics that everyone knows are off limits (the elephants), or might be that nothing can ever be said that the leader might take as critical. Some teams are great at process but do not deal with accountability or results. Unhealthy rules prevent teams from having candid, honest, robust dialogue.

Only the leader can truly set the tone or culture of a team. Others can try but the leader has the authority to either encourage a culture of discourage it. The more a leader defines the team 'rules of how we work with each other' and then models that culture, the greater the freedom the team has to operate comfortably with each other. The following rules of engagement would typify a healthy team. It takes healthy emotional intelligence on the part of the leader and those on the team to make this possible.

TEAM COVENANT

We encourage robust dialogue where honest opinions, probing questions and potential solutions can be freely shared on any topic relating to the team's (or one another's) ministries. We commit to robust dialogue without attacking one another and to maintain on open, non-defensive attitude.

In the spirit of Matthew 18, we will always speak in love and keep short accounts when offense has taken place.

We will regularly evaluate progress of the organization or that part of the organization we are responsible for and do so with utmost honesty. We believe in timely execution and ministry results.

We practice autopsy without blame. We know things will go wrong and when they do we will do an autopsy of the failure so that we can learn from it without casting blame for the failure.

We keep our promises. When decisions have been made and assignments given, we are committed to fully executing those assignments on time.

We take full responsibility for corporate decisions our team makes and will not engage in leadership default. Our first loyalty is to this team and we will always represent this team well and fully support its decisions. Outside of our team meetings we speak with one voice.

We keep confidential those issues which are shared in our team meetings which should not be shared with others.

We are committed to thinking the best of one another, speaking the best of one another, praying for one another and supporting one another's ministries.

We agree to hold one another accountable for keeping this team covenant and we agree to allow others to call us on it if we violate this agreement

The five priorities of every leader

Good leaders must do at least five things well in their leadership role. There may be other things a leader does but if she or he does not do these five things well, they will not become great leaders. These five responsibilities are the five highest priorities in one's leadership role. How well they are done will determine the effectiveness of the team.

One: Personal Development - Ensuring that I live intentionally in my spiritual, family, emotional, relational and professional life.

By personal development I mean the core issues that make and keep a leader healthy spiritually, relationally, emotionally and professionally. These become a leader's highest priority because health in these areas determines their ability to lead spiritually and professionally and to model the kind of faithful, fruitful, connected life that the New Testament describes for leaders.

Two: Strategic Leadership - Providing strategic leadership to the organization or part of the organization you lead.

This is not about administrating the team. There is a crucial difference between 'activity' and 'results.' Good leaders are always seeking results that are consistent with the mission. Leaders do some administration but they are not administrators. Rather, they are always pushing the mission forward - which often gets lost in the press of activity. Strategic leadership is about keeping the mission of the organization central and the team aligned toward accomplishing the mission.

Three: Strong Team - Building a healthy, unified, aligned, strategic and results oriented team.

Newsflash: The higher the altitude at which you fly, the less you can do yourself and the more you are dependent on other people. Your ability to influence the organization you lead and advance the mission is directly dependent on the people who make up your team. Your success is tied directly to your team. So, the better the team, the more you will see accomplished.

Four: Leadership Development - Develop current and future leaders.

Are you developing current and future leaders for your ministry? It amazes me how many churches and organizations have no strategy or plan to develop future leaders and then wonder why they have trouble when new leaders come and create problems. Leaders pay close attention to identifying and developing new leaders for the future. I will have failed if I do not raise up the next generation of leaders for the organization I lead so that it flourishes into the future.

Five: Mobilizing Resources - Mobilize key resources necessary for the ministry of the team to flourish.

Team leaders are mobilizers of people, strategies, finances and other needed resources. Leaders use their authority, vision-casting ability and position in the organization to ensure that their team has the resources it needs to fulfill their responsibilities. This may mean negotiating with others at their level or higher for necessary budgets or cooperation.

Mobilizing resources is not simply about funding. Leaders are 'people raisers,' always looking for individuals who can contribute to the mission. They are always on the lookout for strategies that might work or people who have been successful in what they are trying to do. All to often we try to 'reinvent wheels.' Leaders point their team to those who have already figured it out and encourage them to explore successful models.

If a leader pays attention to these five priorities, they will grow healthy and effective teams.

The Profile of an Effective Church Leader

If we desire healthy church boards, we need to ask: "What are the characteristics of an effective church leader?" Consider some of the ways churches have traditionally filled leadership roles:

-We look for Godly individuals.
-People who have 'power' in the church get the nod.
-We try to balance 'power blocks' in the church by making sure there is representation of the various blocks on the board.
-There is an unofficial system that rotates key leaders through the leadership spots.
-We choose those who have been in the church a long time.
-Congregations simply nominate people; if they have the votes, they end up on the board regardless of gifting or qualifications.
-Leadership slots are filled even when there is a lack of qualified candidates. Priority is given to filling slots rather than ensuring leadership 'fit.'

Clearly, none of these methods is likely to result in a board of great effectiveness or impact. Nor are these methods likely to be 'leadership friendly' - motivating those with true leadership skills to serve.

The way we choose leaders and our understanding of what good leadership looks like goes to the heart of church health and ministry impact. Who you choose to lead will determine the impact of your congregation.

I would suggest that the New Testament implicitly or explicitly describes the kind of individuals who we should place in church leadership.

Exhibits godly character and lifestyle
This is the most critical, non-negotiable characteristic of a church leader. We are called to lead on behalf of Jesus Christ, as shepherds accountable to the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). Paul made it clear in First Timothy and Titus that, above all else, a leader's life must be in the process of being transformed into the likeness of Christ. Only those deeply committed to personal transformation and authenticity can lead others in that direction.

Has a deep passion for Jesus
The church is about Jesus! He is its leader. We serve as leaders under Him. Thus, only those with a passion for Him are qualified to lead His people. Those we lead will be influenced by whatever passions drive us. It is painfully obvious when church leaders are more interested in power, ego or their own agendas than in leading Christ's people where He wants them to go. Remember, few congregations rise above the spiritual level of their leaders.

Displays personal humility
Leadership in the church differs in two significant respects from how it is practiced in other arenas. First, it is a leadership of service rather than power. As Peter wrote, "Overseers should be 'eager to serve: not lording it over those entrusted to you.'" Second, this leadership already has its agenda set by the Lord of the church. Our agenda has been set, and our leadership priorities are Christ's not our own.

Genuinely loves people
Ego-driven individuals love themselves, not others. Humble godly individuals love others as Christ loves them, and their leadership is fueled by genuine spiritual concern. The driving characteristic of God's pursuit of us has been unexplainable, powerful, unrelenting love, bathed in mercy, compassion, forgiveness and grace.

Is a lifelong learner
Leaders are learners. They are hungry to understand the leadership task. They are driven to lead well to become more effective. Nowhere is it more important for leaders to be lifelong learners than in the context of the local church. Healthy leaders are learners of God, of effective ministry options and methods and of leadership. Once leaders give up learning as a high value, their effective leadership days are over.

Understands and agrees with God's leadership assignment
I often ask leadership boards if they can clearly articulate their responsibilities. Invariably the answer is no, apart from generalities. It is my belief that God has given leaders specific responsibilities and every leadership board should be able to define its responsibilities.

Grapples with the future
To lead is to be out in front of others. True leadership is primarily about the future and secondarily about the present. While this may seem obvious, most leadership boards spend the majority of their time dealing with present-day rather than future issues.

Focuses on the team
Warning: Never elect or appoint to leadership an individual who cannot graciously work in a team setting - and publicly and privately support decisions that the team has made. Leadership teams require team players. Those who cannot function as a healthy member of a team will destroy the unity necessary for a leadership team to lead (remember humility). Mature, healthy leaders choose to subordinate their egos to the will of the group and deeply value the perspectives and input of others and the collective decisions of the board.

Leads willingly
Good leaders are willing leaders (remember 1 Peter 5). Willing leaders are ready to make the sacrifices necessary to lead, without inner resentment and frustration. It is a mistake to coerce individuals to serve in leadership positions. When we push people to serve before they are mature enough to handle the difficulties of leadership (such as conflict), they often have experiences that cause them to avoid future leadership.

Positively influences others
Real leaders have influence over others, whether they are in positions of leadership or not. This is the key: When considering individuals for leadership, ask the following questions: "Do they already have a positive influence over others? Do people look to them for leadership? Do they lead people closer to Christ and in positive ministry directions?"

Has an action bias
Leaders do things. They have a bias toward action and away from the status quo. They don't always know what to do but they will try things and see what sticks, what works. Leaders are never content with how things are but dream of how they could be - continually looking for ways to accomplish mission more effectively.

Is a purveyor of hope
Leaders are optimistic about the future and convey that optimism and hope to those they lead. They believe that positive things can and will happen because they understand that it is God who empowers and it is He who has promised to be with the Church until the end of the age. Pessimists are not leaders! Pessimists telegraph caution and see all the reasons why things cannot happen.

Rarely will a church rise above the personal, spiritual and missional health of its leaders. Who you select is a key either to mediocrity or to health. No one has all of these characteristics in equal measure but they are key questions to ask about those whom you put into leadership.

Guiding principles that impact ministry decisions

In a prior post I gave an example of guiding principles that can actually guide ministry decision making.

I liken guiding principles to the channel markers that one encounters when piloting a boat in inland waterways. The green and red buoys that mark the channel are there for one reason: to keep you and your boat safe. They tell you that as long as you stay inside the channel, you are in safe water. If you choose to leave the marked channel, you are in unsafe water. It amazes me how many would-be pilots think they don't have to stay inside the channel and find out the hard way that shallow water or shoals are not good for their boat's hull!

In the same way, an organization's guiding principles are designed to delineate the safe water or channel that everyone is to say within, If you review ReachGlobal's guiding principles from a prior post you will see that they delineate how we do what we do and provide concrete guidance to all personnel as to how they must approach their work. They are prescriptive in nature and measurable. Supervisors can dialogue with personnel on how well they are living by the guiding principles and hold them accountable if they choose to ignore them.

Many organizations have values that are so general they provide no real guidance and are ignored. I asked the president of an organization recently what the guiding principles or values of his organization were and he could not even remember them. Obviously they were of no help to him or others.

Guiding principles serve several key purposes that are central to a healthy organization. First, they allow you to define for all personnel the core commitments that you want everyone to live by. For instance, in our organization, 'team' is a non-negotiable commitment and our guiding principle makes it clear that all personnel work in a team context. It is not an option and the guiding principle makes it clear.

Second, taken as a whole, guiding principles allow you to craft the kind of ministry culture that you want to permeate your organization. When all of your personnel are living by the same set of guiding principles, you start to get significant alignment.

Third, they keep your organization in 'safe waters' by clarifying those things that are non-negotiables. By doing so, you prevent the unintended consequences of traveling outside the channel markers into unsafe waters.

To get to clarity on guiding principles you can ask yourself these questions:
-What are the non-negotiables that apply to our whole organization?
-Around what things must we have absolute alignment by everyone on the team?
-What are the principles, that if followed, will keep our organization in safe waters?
-If we had to describe the most important principles of how we do what we do, what would they be?

To be meaningful, guiding principles are not merely a phrase or word but should include and explanation of what the word or phrase means in your organization. That way they can truly guide behavior.

A well-chosen set of guiding principles also gives your organization permission to choose certain courses of action. One of our guiding principles is that "We measure results." That sends a strong message to our personnel that we are committed to seeing measurable results in our ministry and that everyone in the organization must be productive vs. busy. What we measure is important, but the ability to measure is ensured by the guiding principle.

Well-written guiding principles are not only the channel markers for the ministry but they empower personnel to make decisions that are consistent with the principles. They provide both empowerment and accountability.

A journey from ambiguity to clarity

I have worked for the EFCA for 18 years in the national office. It is a great organization. However, for the first eight or so years that I worked there we had a very nebulous idea of what our mission was. We knew it revolved around churches and we were focused on the number of churches we had. Apart from running good programs and focusing on church planting, however, it was very hard to define what we were apart from being one of those 'denominational offices.'

About ten years ago, a big transition took place for us as we worked through a process to define a new mission statement: "The EFCA exists to glorify God by multiplying healthy churches among all people." All of a sudden we had meaningful targets that were not simply about numbers. We are about multiplication of churches, the health of churches, becoming a movement of 'all people' in the United States, and reaching 'all people' globally. These four integrated foci began to drive everything we did.

At the same time, we determined that we had to be a service organization for the churches in our movements. We existed for them and not them for us! In other words, by helping our churches become all that they could be (the local church is God's chosen instrument to reach the world) we fulfilled our mandate. Our surveys show that about 98% of our pastors know and believe in the mission of the EFCA today. And, because our churches voluntarily give financial contributions to the national office, they vote on our effectiveness with their pocketbooks. In the past 10 years, the financial support of the EFCA national office has gone up dramatically. All this is the result of moving from ambiguity to clarity and then living out that clarity.

Moving from ambiguity to clarity is one of the most powerful things a ministry organization can do to increase its missional effectiveness.

The common dysfunction of bureaucracy

Bureaucracy is a first cousin to control because it is perpetuated through unnecessary 'toll booths' that must be stopped at and tolls paid before one can move forward. Bureaucracy is not usually created to control (although sometimes it is) but rather to ensure that right decisions are made and right directions pursued.

Boards that require all items to come to them before decisions are made, or leaders who demand the same from team members, or layers of organizational leadership and oversight often create unhealthy and unnecessary forms of bureaucracy.

I define burearcracy as unnecessary toll booths that need to be negotiated by ministry personnel in order to move forward. Again, leaders have a significant role in whether or not bureaucracy is part of the culture.

Bureaucracy matters because it has a negative impact on the ability of the ministry to make timely ministry decisions, on the level of empowerment leaders and staff feel and therefore on their satisfaction level in their ministry. Where Return on Mission is affected by bureaucracy, it hurts the organization.

Considering your organization's culture

Every organization has a unique culture that defines it. If we have been in an organization for awhile, we don't even think about its culture - we have become part of it. However, it is worth thinking about because the culture will have an impact - positive or negative - on our ministry. Culture is never neutral. Leaders, especially, must be acutely aware of the culture of their organization.

Organizational culture is the unspoken ethos of a group of people including its beliefs, social behaviors, practices, attitudes, values, and traditions - all of which contribute to a collective way of thinking and practice.

Culture matters. The best ministry people will not stay long term in cultures that are unhealthy because they value as an asset the time they have to make a difference for the Kingdom, and they will not invest their lives where the culture does not support the desired returns.

Organizational culture has a direct impact not only on people, but also the ability of the organization to flex and meet rapidly changing ministry opportunities and environments. Mission agencies that have a traditional, change-averse culture and are still planting churches one-by-one using Western missionaries as their primary church planting method are missing the mark. They could be seeing multiples of church planting results if they concentrated on developing, empowering and releasing healthy national workers. Their culture is preventing them from being effective in their work.

Church cultures that are controlling and do not empower and release good leaders and team members are compromising themselves missionally. Culture matters.

Take 15 minutes and jot down one-word descriptors of the organization you are a part of - taking into account its beliefs, social behaviors, practices, attitudes, values and traditions. Then write a one-sentence description of its culture. Is it the culture you desire to have?

Maximum Clarity on your central ministry focus

The central ministry focus of an organization is the one thing that is must do day in and day out - the most important thing it does to help it fulfill its mission. The central ministry focus is the organization's most critical activity or perspective that has the greatest impact on missional success of the organization.

The question we must ask is this: Given our particular mission, what is the most important thing we need to focus on with a laser-like intensity to maximize our opportunity to fulfill our mission.

How one answers that question has huge implications for the effectiveness of one's ministry. The answer to this question ought to help your organization have the greatest impact on its mission and maximize its ministry opportunity.

The central ministry focus is the one thing that everyone in the organization must be committed to doing all the time. For many ministries - including churches - this will be about equipping and releasing people into ministry. You need to to ask, "What is the one thing that all of us must be committed to doing and that, if done consistently and well, will ensure that we maximize our ministry opportunity.

For the ministry I lead, the central ministry focus is to develop, empower and release healthy mission personnel and healthy national leaders. The more we focus on this the more effective we will be.

I believe that the central ministry focus for the church is found in Ephesians 4:12-13 where Paul says that the job of church leaders is "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

The key to our ministry, according to Paul, is the developing, empowering and releasing of the whole body for ministry rather than simply doing the ministry ourselves. Our ministry in large part is to release others into ministry themselves.

If every congregation lived out Ephesians 4:12 in developing, empowering and releasing people into active, life0-changing ministry in accordance with how God had gifted them the local church would be the revolutionary force God designed it to be. There are churches that live this out, but way too few.

The Power of Clarity on Guiding Principles

Values or guiding principles answer the question "how will we do what we exist to do?" They should be clarified and written in a way that actually provides significant guidance in how we do what we do. That is why I prefer to call them guiding principles to drive home the fact that these values were actually designed to guide everyone in the organization in how they make decisions and carry out ministry.

In our organization we defined 10 clear values or guiding principles that every leader and all personnel are expected to live by. As you read the following guiding principles, note that they actually describe how personnel will approach ministry. They are specific enough that it is possible for any leader to determine whether his or her reports are ministering in alignment with them.

Reach Global Guiding Principles

We are word based and spirit empowered
As a Word-based organization we are committed to ministry that aligns with God's Word. Spirit empowerment comes from intimacy with Christ, a deep commitment prayer, watching where God is at work and always listening to His voice.

We are team lead and team driven
Believing that there is strength in teams and in the voice of multiple leaders, we are committed to a paradigm of team leadership under a gifted leader at each level of ReachGlobal ministry. We believe that ministry personnel are more productive when they are deployed in ministry teams and in community with one another. We will build strong teams with healthy relationships wherever we deploy personnel.

We are partnership driven
We are committed to carrying out the Great Commission in partnership with local churches in the United States, national partners and other evangelical organizations. We recognize the Biblical value of healthy cooperation with national partners. This includes the avoidance of paternalistic attitudes and a willingness to appropriately share in ministry decisions that affect both parties. Healthy partnerships included mutual cooperation without either party losing its identity or ability to work toward its intended objectives.

We empower personnel
We are a permission-granting - within agreed-upon parameters rather than permission-withholding. We help personnel discover their strengths and deploy them in ways that maximize their gifting and abilities.

We practice entrepreneurial thinking
In global ministry, one size does not fit all and, while our mission remains constant, the strategies to complete the mission vary and change. We always look for 'best practices' and better ways to fulfill our mission.

We measure effectiveness
ReachGlobal is committed to being accountable to EFCA churches and supporters for tangible ministry results. A commitment to effective ministry requires the accountability of measurements.

We do multiplication rather than addition
ReachGlobal is committed to providing ongoing training and equipping of personnel in life and ministry skills. ReachGlobal will only be as good as the leaders who provide leadership at each level. We will find, equip and deploy those who have the gifts of leadership and who have proven leadership effectiveness.

We resource for maximum ministry
A well-resourced organization is more likely to be an effective organization. It is the responsibility of all ReachGlobal personnel to participate in the three-fold resourcing of personnel, strategy and finances.

We are holistic and integrated in approach
Historically, missions have emphasized the Biblical mandate of ministering to the whole person in the name of Christ. This includes ministries of compassion, education and other ministry platforms in addition to those of evangelism and church planting. A distinctive of ReachGlobal is that all ministries are integrated into the goal of multiplying healthy churches.

Notice that each guiding principle is followed by a clear definition of its meaning. These definitions have been carefully crafted and edited over time to clarify as well as we can what we mean by the guiding principle and how it actually impacts how we do ministry.

Both the headings and the explanation of each principle are designed to provide maximum clarity. Today there is no question in the minds of our personnel that we are committed to these guiding principles and that all of us are expected to live by them. They inform and influence everything we do.