What got you to here won't necessarily get you to there

Think about that phrase: What got you here won't get you there. Those of us who lead organizations, ministries and churches often forget that truth. We assume that if we simply continue to do what we have done in the past we will get to the next level of effectiveness. Here is the truth. What got you to where you are got you to where you are. But without thinking differently, one is not likely to get to the next level.

An example of this is that of boards and what they spend their time on. In the early days of a ministry, boards often get involved in management decisions because there are few staff. As the ministry grows, however, unless they start to focus on governance and the future, they will become barriers to growth. What got them here will not get them there. Transition is needed in order to go to the next level.

Leaders themselves must continually reinvent themselves for the next run. Time priorities, focus on building strong team, constantly evaluating methods and strategies, awareness of the ministry environment in which they work and ensuring that the right people are in the right place in the ministry all become crucial elements. What got them here will not get them there. Figuring out what will get them to the the next place is one of the most important jobs of a leader.

It is the difference between General Motors who thought one could just do what they always did and continue to be successful and Toyota who knew that could not happen. One ended in bankruptcy and the other weathered the economy. Those principles apply to churches and ministries as well.

Understanding what got us to where we are is important. Understanding what will get us to the next level of effectiveness is even more important. Just thinking that it will happen by itself is naive. It is worth taking the time to think, pray and dialogue about your team and what will allow your team to go to the next level. It will require change - it always does. It may require rearrangement on the team - it often does. It will require a new way of thinking in certain areas.

The art of Grey Thinking

Contrarian thinking often simply means that we think grey on issues until we must make a decision. Grey thinking is the practice of soliciting as much input on a situation as possible, allowing those options to marinate in our minds and not making a final decision until it is necessary to do so. In the process, we often realize that there is an out of the box combination solution that is far better than any one of the proposed solutions by themselves.

Some people think it is a skill to make quick decisions and they pride themselves in their ability to do so. The truth is that slow decisions that have had significant input from a variety of sources is usually far better than a rapid one. In fact, wise leaders always bring the best thinking to the table including disparate viewpoints in the process of seeking the very best solution.

Outside my office is another room that used to be occupied by my executive assistant. Today is has a table, four chairs and white boards on two walls. I use that office far more than my actual office with a desk because this is the “think room” where together with colleagues I tackle complex issues in one of our many white board sessions. It is frequent in a conversation with colleagues that someone will say – “We need a white board session on that!”

Out of those sessions have come all kinds of unique ideas and solutions that were far better than any one of us could have crafted. There is no such thing as an all wise “sage” who invariably makes the right move. The sages of our day are those leaders who are secure enough in their own leadership to invite many others to the table in order to find solutions that no one person could have found.

Having sought a variety of wise counsel, wise leaders will than mull on those ideas, always asking the question, “Is there a solution that is different from a conventional solution that would allow us to move forward in a leveraged position.” And, they will often wait until the decision must be made to give themselves as much time as possible to consider alternatives. This is not decision avoidance: Rather, it is getting the right input and giving the right time to come up with a solution that is unconventional and better than what might have been decided earlier.

I will often tell my colleagues that I am thinking grey on an issue. They know that as long as I am thinking grey, they can dialogue with me on it. Of course, I rarely make a decision alone anyway – they are part of the equation. Grey thinking gives all of us the opportunity to continue to look for a unique solution. Remember, conventional wisdom is always conventional but it is rarely wisdom.

Things I wonder about

Why do so many churches that have the name grace in their name have a lot of legalism?

Why are there so many narcissistic Christian leaders when the mark of Jesus was humility?

Why do churches who split off from other churches think they can become the best church the world has seen since the New Testament? Did they read how messy the New Testament church was?

Why do we think we have a corner on truth when every generation that looks back sees what was missing in prior generations?

Why do I have a hard time trusting God for the future when He has been so good in the past?

Why am I so easily satisfied with less than all I have in Jesus?

Why does it take me so long to learn basic lessons of the Christian life?

Why do I get anxious when I know God is sovereign?

Why is money such a big deal when God told us to trust Him for what we need?

Why does God's grace cover all my sin day after day?

Why does God choose to use broken pots like us in His divine work?

Why can I find it so hard to forgive when God has forgiven me of everything?

Why do I try so hard to fix others when the Holy Spirit is the only one who can truly change hearts?

Why don't I care more that my neighbors will be in eternity without God unless they find Jesus?

Why do I have a hard time seeing all people as made in His image no matter how messed up that image is?

Why do I overvalue this life and undervalue eternity?

How come life does not get easier with age?

What do you wonder about?

Social media and ministry staff

Like all technology, social media is a double edged sword. It has its advantages and it can get individuals and ministries in trouble - depending on who uses it and how. In addition, what many ministry staff do not always think about is that what they post reflects in some way on the ministry they represent.

That is why, for instance, I do not take political stands on my blog. Whether I like it or not, as a senior vice president of the EFCA, my words can be seen to represent a denominational view and thus I am careful about the issues that I address on Facebook, Twitter, my blog and other avenues of social media. The same issues exists for ministry staff everywhere - even if they are not aware of it. 

This applies to both our words and our pictures. One ministry started to receive feedback on one of their female staff members who in the name of "fashion" raised eyebrows with her skimpy outfits online. She was a newer believer and had not thought of the implications. Transparency can be good but too much can be problematic.

Ministry staff represent something and as public figures to that extent must take into account who they represent. They are not private citizens in the social media space. The same goes for conversations online which when they cross the line from appropriate to inappropriate reflect poorly on the organization they represent.

Thus my question: Does your organization or ministry have a set of expectations regarding how your key staff engages in social media and have you communicated those expectations? It is far better to have a conversation now rather than face embarrassment later. Some of your staff have most likely not even thought about it. 

Language, culture and discipleship

Language is powerful and reflects societies mores and commitments. You can be a friend on Facebook without really knowing someone. If they have more than five thousand friends you can be a fan on their fan page. And many of us both follow and have followers on Twitter. While there are up sides and down sides to social media (and I participate in them regularly) they are the reality in an extraordinarily connected world.

It is not surprising that some of these same "ways we relate" to one another in the social media can carry over to our relationship with God. There are many who would consider themselves fans of Jesus. He was after all, an impressive guy. Others would consider themselves friends of his and others, in the language of twitter are followers. Of course Twitter followers regularly choose what content they read or don't read. It really denotes a general interest rather than anything else. None of these terms in their popular context denote a disciple of Jesus. 

A central challenge of the church today is to help people understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. One who takes up their cross daily to follow Him. One who devours His word as the authoritative word for us and not something we can pick and choose from. One who deserves our full and undivided devotion in all circumstances whether good or bad. These are not fans, followers or friends in the popular sense but fully devoted followers - all in disciples.

The word disciple may seem old fashioned but it may also communicate something that our alternative language does not due to their use in popular culture. At the lease we need to differentiate  between what we mean in the social media and what it truly means to make Jesus King and Lord of our lives.

Dealing with organizational elephants

Elephants are interesting things. They are big! They are obvious! They are loud. Everyone knows when they are around. Which is why "elephants in the room" issues that are big, obvious and loud are so tragically ignored by a staff or a board. Everyone knows they are around but everyone pretends they are not there. And no one is ever fooled!

Here are some real life elephants that I am aware of right now in various places:

A staff member in a church obviously does not fit and is dragging the rest of the staff down but no one talks about it or does anything about it.


• A board member creates regular conflict on the board to the consternation of others but no one is willing to address it.


• A pastor has systematically alienated a long series of individuals but the board will not talk about it.


• A team leader never wants to hear anything critical of his leadership so everyone tip toes around sensitive issues but everyone knows the score.


• A member of a congregation leaves relational havoc in their wake but because of their influence, no one will address the issue.

The thing about elephants in the room is that they are obvious but remain unnamed, unresolved, even unspoken. It is frankly one of the sins of humanity that we allow known problems to exist without seeking to resolve them. And that starts with an acknowledgement that they are there.

OK, there is a reason that elephants remain unnamed. The main reason is that there is not permission in the group to engage in real, honest dialogue. The unspoken rule is, "don't go there" or "if you go there the rest of us will be silent" which leaves any brave soul hanging out in the cold - very alone.
There is one description for such a situation: cowardice! And it happens all the time in many situations. And, it is wrong.

There is a very important descriptor of Jesus given by the Apostle John in John 1:14. It says that Jesus came full of grace and truth.

As one reads the gospels it is evident that Jesus was always willing to put his finger on the truth, but he did it with grace. The woman at the well was an adulterer and Jesus got at that truth but He did it with grace. Jesus did not shirk the truth - indeed He spoke it always - but he treated people with grace.

This is the example that needs to guide us when we name the elephants in the room which good and courageous people do. Once it is named it is no longer an elephant - it is now an issue to be discussed and resolved. Done only with truth it can be harsh. Done only with grace it probably won't happen but done with grace and truth it can be powerful.

I have resolved that I will not live with elephants in the room because life is too short and I am not willing to compromise opportunity and effectiveness for the sake of sweeping issues under the rug. If I cannot name the elephants where they exist or if those on my team cannot do the same, I am in the wrong place or on the wrong board. 

 I have actually left teams and boards where that was not possible. But I have also resolved to deal with them with equal measures of grace and truth. Truth to name the issue and grace to seek to resolve the issue. If I cannot address the issue with both grace and truth I wait until my heart is right so that I can.

I was once in a contentious meeting where individuals said their were many elephants in the room. I asked them to name them, and they did. Here is the interesting thing. Once expressed, they were no longer elephants but issues to be discussed and resolved to the best of our ability.

None of us do this perfectly but I have tried very hard to adopt an attitude of "Nothing to prove, nothing to lose" and in that spirit encourage all of my staff to dialogue openly with any issue that is on their heart - as long as it is done with grace and without a hidden agenda. 

All leaders struggle with the risk of doing that. I do. But it is a great blessing to be free of the need to be right, or perfect, or have all the answers, or to pretend that the elephants are not there. Sometimes they are and I want to be courageous to hear them and when necessary to name them. Do we have that courage?

With grace and with truth.

Six questions ministry leaders ought to ask regularly

Periodically it is helpful to ask the question: What can I do raise the bar in my effectiveness?

It is incremental gains in our effectiveness which make a big difference over time. These do not need to be large changes but all of us ought to be making changes on a regular basis. Consider these questions:

What do I need to focus on more closely to drive our mission forward?

Circumstances, needs and opportunities change over time. It is a mistake to simply think that if I do the same things that I always did that I will be maximizing my impact. In fact, not asking this question is what causes us to "get into a rut" rather than staying fresh.

What am I doing that I should give up?

We ought to be able and willing to give something up to others. You cannot take on new responsibilities or refocus your priorities without making room by giving something else up. Not doing this becomes a trap that leads to burnout and over-commitment  You give up what others can do and what you do not have to do, whether to volunteers or other staff.

How can I organize my time for greater effectiveness?

Time is the most precious commodity we have and is the one thing we can never get back. Almost all of us can make modifications for how we organize our time which would allow us to accomplish more without working more. Consider looking through your schedule and seeing where you are actually spending your time. Does it reflect the priorities you want it to? What changes would help you be more effective?

How can I work smarter, not longer?

Most of us in ministry already work too long. The question is how can we work smarter, accomplish more but not work longer? Often if we would take a few hours to think about what we do and how we do it we would realize that there are alternative ways to get certain things done that would free up time for more important priorities.

What am I going to do to stay sharp?

Intentional growth is a non-negotiable for those who want the get the advantage and stay sharp. Do you know where you need to develop and do you have a plan for that development? None of us are exempt from that need.

Are there specific challenges I believe my ministry is going to face that I need to be aware of?

Every ministry has specific challenges that it is likely to face. Thinking ahead about the challenges you are likely to face allows you to consider how you will potentially respond to those challenges.