Those who are attempting to move a church from institutional to missional face a daunting task, but not one that is impossible - with a lot of prayer, wisdom and perseverance. In fact it is a job to attempt only with eyes wide open, knowing that this is one ministry where a fair amount of blood can be shed before it is accomplished.
As I often point out, congregations have a very specific and ingrained genetic code. They do not change easily and the longer they have been in existence, the stronger the resistance to change. People inside a system often cannot imagine or picture life outside the system and since what is works for them, they have no incentive to move to what could be. Churches are like family systems and family systems are difficult to change.
Resistance to change often leads to sinful and obnoxious behaviors when someone seeks to bring renewal (seen as unneeded change). YouTube has many examples of church fights (ah the wonders of everyone having a cell phone) and behavior that would be funny if not so tragic.
People may say things, assume things, accuse others of things that are downright nasty and to say the least lack the character of Jesus. Even if their motives are not bad (and we cannot judge those), behaviors can be truly destructive. Remember that it is a family system that naturally moves toward protecting the comfortable and known status quo.
And then there are the politics of power which can be as unhealthy in a congregation as in the workplace. Remember, someone has a vested interest in what is. They helped create it and they have had influence within it. To suggest moving away from what is can be a threat to those who created it and they may well resist that movement knowing that if it happens it impacts their influence in negative ways.
The resistance may well not be overt but rather is often passive aggressive and therefore more difficult to pin down and deal with. If you are going to challenge the status quo be very sure what individuals you are also challenging and be aware of how they may respond. Be realistic about how they may respond rather than taken by surprise.
An absolute key is to get the right people in leadership to provide a guiding coalition of resolve to move the congregation in healthier directions. This means finding ways to move the wrong people out - those who will resist the move from institutional to missional. Until there is a core of healthy resolved leaders, it will be an uphill and often impossible road.
Recognize that this is a spiritual battle as institutional and inward focused churches are not a threat to the enemy while intentional, missional and outward focused churches are. An ongoing and unrelenting prayer strategy is essential to make the shift.
A key is to appeal to those in the congregation who want to accomplish something for God. You will probably not convince those who are deeply opposed to change so it is not worth your time trying to do so. In fact, you may assume that there will be people who will always be convinced that you have ruined their church no matter what transpires. The constituency you want to appeal to are those who are more interested in reaching people for Jesus than they are in guarding the status quo.
Expect that people will leave the church. Whenever major change takes place some people will get off the bus. This is normal. If your board is united and you are moving the church toward health do not let the fact that people leave threaten you. They may well be very happy where they go and what is at stake are many who will never hear the gospel unless the church becomes healthy.
Be resolved about your direction but remain kind and gentle to those who disagree. Listen to those who are unhappy but stay the course. This is not about people liking you. Rather it is about helping the church become the church it was meant to be. In the middle of such a transition you are likely to be deeply discouraged and wonder if you did the right thing. That is not the time to abandon ship. It is the time to see the change process through. In fact, to start the process and then leave in discouragement may well do more harm to the congregation than if one had not attempted to bring change in the first place.
Be clear where the leadership believes the church needs to go and what that looks like. Celebrate small wins as people respond to the new vision and live it out. This will reinforce the new values and practices in a powerful way. It also gives people hope that the church will emerge on the other side of change.
Finally remember that this is not about whether people like you. It is about whether the congregation becomes what God wants it to be. In the process you may take major hits. It is the nature of leading through change. It is not comfortable but it is natural. Good leaders have counted the cost, have major resolve and stay the course with their eyes fixed on what can be, not what currently is.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
The Emotional Intelligence of your ministry team or board: take the test
The emotional intelligence of your ministry team or board makes all the difference in terms of its health and your ability to carry out healthy and effective ministry. Here is an inventory that can help you gauge the EQ of your team or board.
Give each question a number from 1 to 10 that describes the accuracy of the statement with 1 being very untrue and 10 being very true.
Ask each member of the team/board to score the ten questions. Take the total score for each participant and divide by the number of respondents for your group score.
You may want to discuss the ten questions in one of your team/board meetings as a growing exercise.
What the scores tell you:
Take the test and grow your board/team.
Give each question a number from 1 to 10 that describes the accuracy of the statement with 1 being very untrue and 10 being very true.
Ask each member of the team/board to score the ten questions. Take the total score for each participant and divide by the number of respondents for your group score.
You may want to discuss the ten questions in one of your team/board meetings as a growing exercise.
What the scores tell you:
- 60 or less, your board/team needs to do serious work and would be considered to have poor corporate Emotional Intelligence.
- 60 - 75, your board/team has moderate Emotional Intelligence but needs to be more intentional in these areas.
- 75 - 90, your board/team has fairly good Emotional Intelligence and would gain by talking about places where the score was low and could be brought higher.
- 90-100, your board/team has excellent Emotional Intelligence and should both celebrate and work to stay that way.
Take the test and grow your board/team.
- There are no issues that we cannot put on the table for discussion. _____
- Members of our team/board respond with non-defensive attitudes when their position is challenged. _____
- All of our team/board are willing to abide by decisions of the group once they have been made. _____
- Members of our team/board keep short accounts and quickly resolve interpersonal conflicts. _____
- There are no ongoing divisions on our team/board. ______
- Total honesty and candid discussion is always encouraged by the team/board leader. _____
- Members who may disagree with a course of action are never marginalized. _____
- Members carefully listen to the opinions of others and fully engage in the discussions of the group. _____
- There is a high level of interpersonal trust among members of the team/board. _____
- When members of the team/board become disruptive to the work of the group the issue is handled and not ignored. _____
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Six things every church planter should pay attention to from the beginning
A Church's genetic code is hardwired into it early in life so if you want to establish a healthy transformational church there are values and practices that need to be planted up front. Ensuring health on the front end prevents the need to back up later and fix something that is not going well.
If you are a church planter, consider these issues before you plant. It is easy to let them slide in the chaos and busyness of church planting but if you do they will be hard to retrofit later.
1. How you do leadership/board work will generally set the tone for a long time. From the start, keep the board focused on the big rocks of mission, values, spiritual temperature, and the six responsibilities of leaders: keeping the spiritual temperature high; ensuring the congregation is taught; developing, empowering and releasing people into ministry; ensuring that the congregation is cared for; led well; and protecting the congregation.
If you want to keep the board out of management and focused on governance and direction, do that from the beginning. Bad habits die hard once started. My book on boards can help you chart a healthy course.
2. When you write your constitution and bylaws (yes you need them) make them as short as possible in order to give you the most latitude as possible. Remember that there are people who believe bylaws to be more sacred than the sacred text (which they may violate all day but not allow you to violate the bylaws). You can always add later. It is easier to add than to subtract in this case.
3. Be absolutely clear about what your church is about and is not about. Clarity solves a lot of problems especially as people from other churches show up and want you to become what the church they left was (never mind they left unhappy).
Clarity on your mission, your guiding principles, central ministry focus and culture will allow you to be aligned around the most important things from the start. If you are not clear from the start, others with agendas will fill the gap with their clarity - usually not a healthy thing.
4. Develop the kind of team relationships you want to see long term on the part of your staff and volunteers. Again, what you teach, model and put in place at the beginning is going to last a long time so develop the healthiest ethos as possible from day one - and insist on it. Larry Osborn's Sticky Teams and my Leading From the Sandbox can help develop healthy teams from the start.
5. Keep the congregation focused on the right things like evangelism and life transformation. The minute you cross the line toward programs that start diverting from outreach and life transformation you have started to move from missional to institutional. Keep the main thing the main thing from day one and keep them focused. When people live out the main thing, celebrate and tell the story from day one. It will stick if you stick to it.
6. Set the date for the church plant your new church is going to commit to. If you are planting a church you believe in church planting. The sooner you birth a church the more likely it is that you will birth others and that those you birth will reproduce. Put the goal out there from day one.
If you are a church planter, consider these issues before you plant. It is easy to let them slide in the chaos and busyness of church planting but if you do they will be hard to retrofit later.
1. How you do leadership/board work will generally set the tone for a long time. From the start, keep the board focused on the big rocks of mission, values, spiritual temperature, and the six responsibilities of leaders: keeping the spiritual temperature high; ensuring the congregation is taught; developing, empowering and releasing people into ministry; ensuring that the congregation is cared for; led well; and protecting the congregation.
If you want to keep the board out of management and focused on governance and direction, do that from the beginning. Bad habits die hard once started. My book on boards can help you chart a healthy course.
2. When you write your constitution and bylaws (yes you need them) make them as short as possible in order to give you the most latitude as possible. Remember that there are people who believe bylaws to be more sacred than the sacred text (which they may violate all day but not allow you to violate the bylaws). You can always add later. It is easier to add than to subtract in this case.
3. Be absolutely clear about what your church is about and is not about. Clarity solves a lot of problems especially as people from other churches show up and want you to become what the church they left was (never mind they left unhappy).
Clarity on your mission, your guiding principles, central ministry focus and culture will allow you to be aligned around the most important things from the start. If you are not clear from the start, others with agendas will fill the gap with their clarity - usually not a healthy thing.
4. Develop the kind of team relationships you want to see long term on the part of your staff and volunteers. Again, what you teach, model and put in place at the beginning is going to last a long time so develop the healthiest ethos as possible from day one - and insist on it. Larry Osborn's Sticky Teams and my Leading From the Sandbox can help develop healthy teams from the start.
5. Keep the congregation focused on the right things like evangelism and life transformation. The minute you cross the line toward programs that start diverting from outreach and life transformation you have started to move from missional to institutional. Keep the main thing the main thing from day one and keep them focused. When people live out the main thing, celebrate and tell the story from day one. It will stick if you stick to it.
6. Set the date for the church plant your new church is going to commit to. If you are planting a church you believe in church planting. The sooner you birth a church the more likely it is that you will birth others and that those you birth will reproduce. Put the goal out there from day one.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Refreshment for pastors
In all the discussion on leadership in the local church - which I often write on - we sometimes forget the goal of all that we do - the care of souls that Jesus has put in our charge.
My friend of many years Lee Eclov is the quintessential pastor who loves the day to day care of his congregants. He has written a refreshing book on the Pastoral Graces: Reflections on the Care of Souls.
It will encourage you, refresh you, remind you of our ultimate calling and challenge you. We need to be reminded often of what ministry is all about. This book will do that.
If you are not a pastor, consider gifting this book to your staff as a thank you for the care they provide you and the flock.
Monday, August 20, 2012
When boards are unable to police their own
Here is an interesting dilemma to consider. One of the Biblical roles of church boards is to protect the flock against the "wolves" of heresy, unrepentant ongoing serious sin and those that cause division in the body.
Yet many church boards are unable to even police themselves and deal with individuals on their board who cause disruption to the board itself. How can a board that cannot deal with its own issues deal with the issues of the church at large?
Consider these behaviors of board members that hurt the board:
- Unwillingness to abide by corporate decisions and team process.
- Sharing of confidential board discussions with others outside the board in an attempt to influence others.
- Holding offense against other board members that they are unwilling to resolve.
- Speaking ill of other board members or the staff.
- Problems of anger.
- Defensiveness that prevents others from speaking into their lives or behaviors.
- Disruptive behaviors that hurt board processes.
It takes only one unhealthy and unaccountable board member to poison the atmosphere of a board. Almost everyone who has served on a church board has encountered one or more of these. Yet all too often, the board itself is unwilling or unable to deal with behaviors that hurt the board and consequently the church.
Two rules of thumb that I have observed over the years make this even more problematic. First, the congregation rarely rises above the spiritual temperature of the board - and this issue is a spiritual issue. Two, the behavior of a board usually becomes the behavior of a congregation. Thus, unhealthy behaviors on a board will usually be reflected in the congregation as well.
I strongly advise boards to have a board covenant that all members sign before they come onto the board. When there is a violation of that covenant, boards must exercise the discipline of policing their own for the sake of the health of the church.
The bottom line is that when boards cannot police themselves the hurt the church as a whole and cannot expect members of the congregation to live by standards they themselves cannot live by.
Yet many church boards are unable to even police themselves and deal with individuals on their board who cause disruption to the board itself. How can a board that cannot deal with its own issues deal with the issues of the church at large?
Consider these behaviors of board members that hurt the board:
- Unwillingness to abide by corporate decisions and team process.
- Sharing of confidential board discussions with others outside the board in an attempt to influence others.
- Holding offense against other board members that they are unwilling to resolve.
- Speaking ill of other board members or the staff.
- Problems of anger.
- Defensiveness that prevents others from speaking into their lives or behaviors.
- Disruptive behaviors that hurt board processes.
It takes only one unhealthy and unaccountable board member to poison the atmosphere of a board. Almost everyone who has served on a church board has encountered one or more of these. Yet all too often, the board itself is unwilling or unable to deal with behaviors that hurt the board and consequently the church.
Two rules of thumb that I have observed over the years make this even more problematic. First, the congregation rarely rises above the spiritual temperature of the board - and this issue is a spiritual issue. Two, the behavior of a board usually becomes the behavior of a congregation. Thus, unhealthy behaviors on a board will usually be reflected in the congregation as well.
I strongly advise boards to have a board covenant that all members sign before they come onto the board. When there is a violation of that covenant, boards must exercise the discipline of policing their own for the sake of the health of the church.
The bottom line is that when boards cannot police themselves the hurt the church as a whole and cannot expect members of the congregation to live by standards they themselves cannot live by.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
The failure of church boards to realistically evaluate the ministries they oversee
Over several decades of consulting with church boards I have observed that they are often reluctant to realistically evaluate the ministries of their church.
I think there are several reasons for this. One, it is easy to say that this is ministry and you cannot evaluate God's work like one can in other arenas. Two, "Christian nice" keeps us from wanting us to be critical. Three, there can be significant defensiveness from pastors who equate the evaluation with themselves and resist it. Four, the lack of understanding that it is the board as the senior leadership group of the church that is going to answer to God for their leadership stewardship. In all it adds up to a significant lack of courage.
The result of this is that ineffective programs continue to exist long past their era of fruitfulness, systemic issues that keep the church from moving forward are not addressed and staff issues that need to be addressed are not dealt with. Essentially the board has moved from leadership to the guardian of the comfortable and status quo enjoying the illusion that all is well.
I have watched churches go into a slide of decline in places where other congregations are flourishing and still the board does little or nothing and when it does it is often too late. We ask why companies like General Motors ignored the obvious for so long as their business went into deeper and deeper trouble. I ask why church boards ignore the obvious for so long as their ministries languish or go into decline.
If you are on a board I would encourage you to consider these questions:
1. Are there any issues we know exist in the church that we have been unwilling to address? If so why?
2. Are we as a board able to put any and all issues on the table for discussion as long as there are no personal attacks or hidden agendas? If not, what is keeping us from doing so?
3. If the answers to question 1 is yes and question 2 is no, are you willing to challenge the board - maybe by sharing this blog - to have the courage to look realistically at your ministries and deal with issues that need to be dealt with?
Board members serve the church under Jesus Christ (1 Peter 5) and will give an account to Him for their leadership stewardship. It is a serious undertaking that has eternal consequences for those in our congregations and communities.
If you need a refresher on the role of church leaders, you may want to look at my book High Impact Church Boards. It provides a clear road map for church leaders in their leadership role. Above all, don't live with the illusion that all is well when in fact it is not.
I think there are several reasons for this. One, it is easy to say that this is ministry and you cannot evaluate God's work like one can in other arenas. Two, "Christian nice" keeps us from wanting us to be critical. Three, there can be significant defensiveness from pastors who equate the evaluation with themselves and resist it. Four, the lack of understanding that it is the board as the senior leadership group of the church that is going to answer to God for their leadership stewardship. In all it adds up to a significant lack of courage.
The result of this is that ineffective programs continue to exist long past their era of fruitfulness, systemic issues that keep the church from moving forward are not addressed and staff issues that need to be addressed are not dealt with. Essentially the board has moved from leadership to the guardian of the comfortable and status quo enjoying the illusion that all is well.
I have watched churches go into a slide of decline in places where other congregations are flourishing and still the board does little or nothing and when it does it is often too late. We ask why companies like General Motors ignored the obvious for so long as their business went into deeper and deeper trouble. I ask why church boards ignore the obvious for so long as their ministries languish or go into decline.
If you are on a board I would encourage you to consider these questions:
1. Are there any issues we know exist in the church that we have been unwilling to address? If so why?
2. Are we as a board able to put any and all issues on the table for discussion as long as there are no personal attacks or hidden agendas? If not, what is keeping us from doing so?
3. If the answers to question 1 is yes and question 2 is no, are you willing to challenge the board - maybe by sharing this blog - to have the courage to look realistically at your ministries and deal with issues that need to be dealt with?
Board members serve the church under Jesus Christ (1 Peter 5) and will give an account to Him for their leadership stewardship. It is a serious undertaking that has eternal consequences for those in our congregations and communities.
If you need a refresher on the role of church leaders, you may want to look at my book High Impact Church Boards. It provides a clear road map for church leaders in their leadership role. Above all, don't live with the illusion that all is well when in fact it is not.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Our culture and Kingdom culture
Here is an interesting question to ask yourself. What parts of the culture in which you live would God celebrate? He was, after all, the originator of differing cultures and languages back at the Tower of Babel. Many things in our cultures are good and healthy.
Take the emphasis on family and friendships in many cultures. The long meals - lasting hours - in some where the gift of food and drink and fellowship come together. Or, the respect for the elderly (those of us over fifty say wise) in other cultures. Or weddings that last three days with great celebrations. There are many wonderful and unique cultural differences that bring color and richness to all of us. It is one of the reasons I love my job which takes me to many different cultures and the wonderful friends I meet there. I learn so much from other cultures as I travel, interact and minister.
There is a second question though that is equally important. What are the parts of the culture in which I live that God would not celebrate. It is an important question because we are often rather blind to the deficiencies in our cultures (we are part of it) and while we may easily spot deficiencies in the cultures of others we are blind to our own.
My home culture suffers from some deep deficiencies: the thinking that materialism and success is a guarantee from God. Chasing after things instead of pursuing Jesus closely. A can do attitude (good) which often leaves dependence of Jesus out of the equation (bad). A morality based on personal preferences rather than on righteousness and which pervades the church as much as it does our society.
The reason these two questions are important is that as Christians we actually live in two different cultures simultaneously. Our home culture and God's Kingdom culture and they are not the same. In entering His Kingdom we take on a set of Kingdom cultural practices that supersede our earthly home culture and which unite all Christians from all cultures across our globe. That is why Christians from many cultures can be together and feel a great unity and oneness.
Those who travel oversees in ministry often come home with a new set of eyes as they see their own culture from the outside for the first time. What God desires is that we so immerse ourselves in Him and His culture through His word and His people that we are able to distinguish what is His culture is compared to our own - and when they clash, to choose Kingdom practices over our home cultural practices.
All of life is influenced by culture. Think about your own culture in light of His Kingdom culture and be discerning as to those elements that call us to adopt His culture over our own. We are, after all citizens of heaven first and aliens and strangers in this world (1 and 2 Peter).
Take the emphasis on family and friendships in many cultures. The long meals - lasting hours - in some where the gift of food and drink and fellowship come together. Or, the respect for the elderly (those of us over fifty say wise) in other cultures. Or weddings that last three days with great celebrations. There are many wonderful and unique cultural differences that bring color and richness to all of us. It is one of the reasons I love my job which takes me to many different cultures and the wonderful friends I meet there. I learn so much from other cultures as I travel, interact and minister.
There is a second question though that is equally important. What are the parts of the culture in which I live that God would not celebrate. It is an important question because we are often rather blind to the deficiencies in our cultures (we are part of it) and while we may easily spot deficiencies in the cultures of others we are blind to our own.
My home culture suffers from some deep deficiencies: the thinking that materialism and success is a guarantee from God. Chasing after things instead of pursuing Jesus closely. A can do attitude (good) which often leaves dependence of Jesus out of the equation (bad). A morality based on personal preferences rather than on righteousness and which pervades the church as much as it does our society.
The reason these two questions are important is that as Christians we actually live in two different cultures simultaneously. Our home culture and God's Kingdom culture and they are not the same. In entering His Kingdom we take on a set of Kingdom cultural practices that supersede our earthly home culture and which unite all Christians from all cultures across our globe. That is why Christians from many cultures can be together and feel a great unity and oneness.
Those who travel oversees in ministry often come home with a new set of eyes as they see their own culture from the outside for the first time. What God desires is that we so immerse ourselves in Him and His culture through His word and His people that we are able to distinguish what is His culture is compared to our own - and when they clash, to choose Kingdom practices over our home cultural practices.
All of life is influenced by culture. Think about your own culture in light of His Kingdom culture and be discerning as to those elements that call us to adopt His culture over our own. We are, after all citizens of heaven first and aliens and strangers in this world (1 and 2 Peter).
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