Expectations for Leaders

What are the expectations of leaders in your church or organization? Have they been clarified and do you remind them of them often? The more clarity you provide your leadership community (whether volunteers or staff) the better they will be able to lead and contribute to the health of the organization. How leaders lead, the commitments they keep or don't keep impact the ethos and culture of the organization. Defining healthy expectations contributes to a healthy organizational culture. In addition, staff take their cues from the behaviors of leaders for better or worse.




These are the expectations that ReachGlobal (RG) has for its leaders.


Personal
 Stay current with Jesus


 Annual KRA’s with accountability


 Monthly Personal Retreat Day


 Annual Planning Retreat


 Schedule your priorities first




Leadership


 Model the leadership you want to see in others


 Respond to issues quickly


 Deliver on promises made to staff and others


 Communicate vision and mission to your team regularly and clearly


 Live, communicate and be a champion for all four sides of the RG sandbox


 Develop your area of responsibility for maximum impact


 Find and develop new areas of ministry opportunity


 Seek to influence national leaders intentionally toward healthy ministry


 Ensure and be accountable for the health of the teams under your leadership




Management


 Ensure that staff members (reports) have what they need to be successful


 Clarify expectations, empower and hold accountable


 Be accountable for budgets


 Provide regular, clear, honest feedback to your direct reports


 Monthly meeting with all direct reports by phone where necessary and in person where possible. Review KRA’s, encourage, coach and equip. Monthly short report from all direct reports with priorities for the following month and update on the past month.


 Individual coaching and equipping plan for all direct reports


 Annual development plan for the team you lead in line with priorities of EQUIP and their leadership responsibilities.




Followership


 Monthly meeting with your supervisor


 No surprises. Keep your supervisor appraised of bad news quickly or key developments quickly


 Your primary team is the senior team you are on. Your secondary team is the team that you lead.


 Be a champion for RG as a leader in RG


Leaders in RG can expect their supervisors to regularly ask them about these kinds of issues as they go to the heart of the kind of organization we want to be. Have you clarified your expectations of your leaders?

What is the Gospel worth?

What is the gospel worth?



Ten Christian workers answered that question by giving their lives this week in Afghanistan – shot one by one by the Taliban. They made the ultimate sacrifice as they ministered to the “least of these,” the poorest of the poor in rural villages accessible only on foot.


Tom Little along with his wife and daughters had lived in Afghanistan since 1979, even staying during the years of the Russian invasion and the rule of the Taliban. Tom and his wife, Libby, raised three daughters in Afghanistan. Tom was the program director at the National Organization for Ophthalmic Rehabilitation, NOOR, in Kabul and his wife teaches at an international school in Kabul.


Each of these servants of God knew the risks of serving in war torn Afghanistan. They went where others would not go because it was too dangerous. They ministered to people that many would not minister too because they were too poor. They went places most would not go to because it is too remote and the conditions too harsh. They understood that there is nothing more important in this world than sharing the good news of the Gospel – Emmanuel – God with us with those who have never heard that there is good news.


They followed the call of God – a call higher and more sacred than any other call. They understood God’s love for the “least of these” and that in ministering to those who don’t know Jesus, they became the hands and feet and voice of a God who loves every man, woman and child on this hurting globe. In staying even during torturous years of war and Taliban rule, Tom and Libby fully identified with those they served.


There are heroes in this world. They are not those who the world usually identifies as important. They are men and women who follow God’s call on their lives no matter what the cost.

Please pray for the families of these ten men and women who paid the ultimate price. Pray also that their sacrifice would move those they ministered too to look to Christ. From the blood of martyrs comes the growth of the church. May their example and lives raise up a new generation of missionaries who will follow Christ wherever He may lead. 

Organizational Humility

Humble individuals are a wonderful treat to find. They are non-defensive, open with others, have nothing to prove and nothing to lose, understand their strengths and their weaknesses, love to empower and release others and have an inner strength that comes from their understanding of themselves and who God made them to be. 

True humility is the foundation of cooperation with others - understanding that we need others to complement our strengths and weaknesses. And it is a cooperation of respect and openness that recognizes the God given gifts to others and that we are better together than separate.

There is a need in Christian ministries to apply those same principles to our ministries and to develop a sense of organizational humility. Like individuals, organizations can be characterized by pride or by humility. How many ministry leaders in churches or other ministries communicate the message that we are special, we are better, we are the best or we are on the cutting edge?

Really? We may be special in some way, better in some things, hopefully on the cutting edge of something but so are our so called competitors. Is it this pride that keeps ministries from working more closely toward common objectives, that keep us siloed and protective of turf? Are we unwilling to share our gifts and expertise as well as learn from the gifts and expertise of others?

In the mission world (and church world) this pride and lack of humility often keeps us from working in creative ways together. It promotes competition among God's workers (I wonder what Jesus would say about that) rather than a kingdom mentality (it is all about Him). We have learned in ReachGlobal how much other ministries have to offer us, how much we don't know, how much better we are in partnership than alone and how much broader the family of God is than we often think. But, we must constantly work on this because the natural tendency of ministries is to go it alone rather than take a posture of humility, knowing that we need others to be the best that we can be.

Like people, every organization has strengths and weaknesses. Like individuals we complement our strengths and make up for our weaknesses in working with others. While we should be proud of our organization for what it represents, our humility should make us open to what we can learn from others. And prevent us from lifting our organization up by diminishing other organizations (or churches) around us.

Organizational humility is an attitude of graciousness toward others, thinking cooperation rather than competition, knowing we can and should work with others and refusing to life ourselves up at the expense of others.

Keepers of the Brand

Every ministry has a brand! It is made up of its mission, core convictions and ministry philosophy. The better that brand is understood by its leaders, members and constituents the more powerful it is as a unifying factor. When the brand is not understood or is foggy, that power is diluted.

Leaders are by definition the "keepers of the brand" with the senior leader leading the way. He or she is constantly communicating, reinforcing and living out the commitments of the brand. They do this in a number of key ways.

Common vocabulary is key to your brand. The Central Ministry Focus, for instance in ReachGlobal, the organization I lead is that we are all about developing, empowering and releasing healthy national workers. The three words, "Develop, Empower and Release" are constantly used by all leaders and are common vocabulary that defines our brand as a mission. Another phrase that is known by most is "We don't own anything, control anything or count anything as ours." This is part of our philosophy as a mission that exists to empower others and not control. It is central to who we are and the common vocabulary communicates that principle.

In your own ministry, have you developed a common vocabulary that defines who you are? It is a powerful way to communicate your key convictions and to inculcate that understanding among your constituency.

Leaders are those who clearly articulate the brand by developing this common vocabulary. They spend considerable time thinking about how they can best communicate a clear, consistent message that sticks with those who hear it and is instantly understandable. And then they repeat it often - in writing, in person and in presentations. Those who know me have heard me say often, Do not underestimate my resolve. I am committed to those principles that drive ReachGlobal and that phrase articulates that conviction that we will deliver on the promise of the brand. It is a reminder to those who hear it that we take our convictions seriously and we will move in the direction of those convictions. Leaders articulate the brand by clear, concise statements that reinforce the convictions of the organization constantly.

This becomes most powerful when the commitments of the brand are directly tied to decision making. Part of our brand story as a mission is that we are committed to healthy people serving on healthy teams under healthy leadership to plant healthy churches. This is the culture we must have if we are going to be successful. But it has implications. If a team is not healthy we will do everything we can to bring it to health because unhealthy teams cannot produce healthy churches or disciples. It would be easy to ignore an unhealthy team. To do so, however, would be to violate the commitments of our brand and to communicate that we are not really committed to what we have articulated.

Often in decision making we will go back to the commitments of our brand and ask the question, is what we are doing consistent with our convictions. When members of the organization see alignment between the brand message and decision making, they know that we are serious about those convictions.

What is the test of whether we have articulated our brand well? It is when everyone in the organization can articulate it. When the common vocabulary is known by everyone and everyone can articulate the core convictions of the organization, you know that you have been successful as a keeper of the brand. This is true in the local church, in mission organizations, other non-profits and frankly in the business world.

This morning as I was wondering if I should actually get out of bed at an early hour to finish up some projects, the words Just do it, came to mind and I popped out of bed. Thank you Nike - your brand is well known. How about you? Is your brand well known? If you are the leader or in leadership, how are you doing as a keeper of the brand? Or do you need to clarify the brand first? A brand is only possible when there is missional clarity but with missional clarity the brand is a powerful reinforcer.

The Crack in the Rock

Guest contributor, Ellen Conserva. Ellen ministers to at risk women and children at a ministry center in Thailand.

There is a new baby at Agape. He is 9 months old and really sick. He is barely able to hold his head up. And oh so thin. It's amazing, really, how huge the human skull is on a baby, when there is no fat on the face or hair on the head. It was obvious that he was not thriving and whoever was taking care of him before his arrival, was not coping with parenting, or even realizing that this baby has HIV.



Recently, I made it a point to go in and hold him, as I wasn't sure how long he would be for this life. He was sleeping on his side, propped up all around. So I started whispering to him and stroking his arm, his skin leathery and moving like it isn't attached to anything, as if it is just draped over the bone. His eyes flickered and I picked him up. He was so awkward to hold, spindle-like limbs jutting out all over. He opened his eyes and looked at me with no expression and then started to cry. I kept talking quietly, telling him he was going to be okay now, he would get better, and how I was sorry he was so ill. He cried harder and I pulled him into my chest, trying to make the most bodily contact with him that I could. I whispered, "I love you, little darling." He cried louder. I rocked and swayed and he writhed and wailed. He seemed to have this expressionless sort of look on his face, even as he cried. So, I put him down again, on his side, propped him up the way he was, and he stopped crying. He let out a little sigh and fell back into a contented sleep. He was much happier in his sterile crib than in my warm and loving arms.


This didn't surprise me much, just confirmed to me what he is lacking in his life. Human touch. Gentle words. Real love. It was as if he was crying out to me, saying, "Are you kidding me? Don't hold me. Don't talk to me so sweetly. Don't love me. I have learned from birth how to make myself content and to live without this gentle touching and lovely whispering. Don't throw off my groove. Don't start making me believe in something or someone who will love me like that because it's just setting me up for disappointment. You are really irritating me here. Put me down and return me to the world I know, the place where I have adapted. It isn't the best, but it is the safest. Leave me alone." I will not, of course, leave him alone. I will go back again and again and try and pull him out of that place where he thinks it is so much better.

We can be like that with God, can't we? We become so enmeshed in our own world. In our own place of darkness or sin or bad habits or wrong thinking. We believe things about ourselves that are not true. We push away things in our lives that would be good for us, but we prefer the bad familiar. We see what could be a blessing in our lives, but it seems like too much hard work to reach out and take it. We hear the voice of God, telling us where we are going wrong, but we have this amazing ability to rationalize our sin, make it seem like it isn’t that bad.


And God whispers...and we swat at our ears and tell Him to leave us alone. He pulls us closer into Himself, but we resist and kick out with our pathetic self-will. We cry out that WE know best, that it's easier to cope with the little bit of what we have than to readjust and surrender to His love. He pulls and He pulls. And we push and we push.

This reminds me of when Moses asked to see God's glory. And God said that He would cause all of His goodness to pass in front of Moses and that He would say His name out loud. But before God passed by, Moses had to be shoved down into a crack in a rock. And God had to cover Moses' head with His Hand. And God said, "After I have passed by, I will take My hand away and you can look at My back. But not My face. No one looks at My face and lives." So God passed by and as He did, He spoke words to Moses. He talked about who He is and how He feels about Moses. And He mentions His love several times, how it is abounding and how He maintains it. Moses had to hide because God is so overpowering. So bright. So fierce. So shocking. God doesn’t dumb Himself down or use a dimmer switch with His love and glory. It just come at us with all barrels blazing. His love is long and tight and His words of endearment keep flowing from His lips and He never runs out of words to express how much He loves us. And He never lacks ways to show us, either. And He longs for us to know this and to see Him, even if it is only His back.


Just like the sick baby. I know what he needs. I know what is best for him. I know I can help him. But he thinks he knows best. He thinks he has what he needs to survive. But the truth is, he will die unless he allows us to help him bond with human love. When he comes to realize what true love is, his face will change from being dead and cold to having a radiance about it, like most children have. I long for that day. I want to be a part of that love process.

And just like me. I think I know what is best for me. I know what I need. But I don't know what I need like God knows what I need. God told Moses the things he needed to hear. He showed Moses just a flash of His glory. And it was enough. When Moses went back down the mountain, his face was radiant. He had been in the presence of God and he knew how much God loved him.

As I continue to grow and learn in the crack of my rock, I want to feel comfort from the pressure of God's Hand on my head as He passes by and whispers truth about me and about Who He is, and about how much He loves me. Kicking against God only makes Him hold me tighter. But it doesn’t stop Him from wanting to show me His glory. He wants to be seen. And I am the vehicle He chooses to use. When see God, I radiate God. And His Glory is made known. Even when I am in the crack of a rock.

When my church board is not healthy

My recent blog, Split Boards, Split Congregations generated a fair amount of comment - especially on face book. The comment below illustrates the dilemma that we find ourselves in when one's church board is not healthy.


So as a member of a congregation like this-where personal agendas are taking over and boards are not being held in check--how do you know when to leave? Knowing this is the state of your leadership, how do you keep worshiping in this setting? Is is possible?



Obviously a board like this won't care if your one little family leaves, so no "point" will be made if you go.


When you know of this discord and the heart of leadership, should you stay connected to this body? There are probably more problems like this than we are even aware of. It would sometimes seem ignorance is bliss, but what happens when you DO know? the telling line: the board thinks what they do is done in secret. You are right, it never is! Church members can see and feel it!


There are no easy answers to this dilemma. Obviously the first answer is to pray that the board will get its act together. In addition, I would consider talking to someone on the board that one trusts and who can do something about addressing the issues at the board level. There are books like "High Impact Church Boards" that address these very issues and describe how to take an unhealthy board to greater health.

Often it is necessary to bring in outside counsel who can candidly address the issues that are contributing to poor health and call unaccountable board members to accountability. I have done this on numerous occasions as a consultant to church leadership.


I do not believer we ought to leave churches easily. However, when the leadership is unhealthy and over time one discerns that this is not likely to change, you will see a quiet exodus. The sad thing for the church is that those who leave first are often the healthiest members because they are missionally driven and unwilling to tread water in a place where leaders are spending their time fighting over agendas or guarding the status quo rather than leading the church into healthy ministry. The end result is that when the board wakes up, those they need best are often gone.


These are not people who easily bail. They are generally those who care about leveraging their lives for maximum ministry impact and are unwilling to waste precious years where that passion is not held by the leaders of their church. Generally they will not fight (they are not in a place to make a difference with leadership) but will quietly leave.


What unhealthy boards don't get is that there is a cost to their unhealthy behaviors:
First, congregations will rarely rise above the spiritual level of their leaders.
Second, congregations are often aware of tension, agendas or unhealth on their board.
Third, congregations will often mirror the conduct of their leaders.
Fourth, unhealthy leadership cannot lead congregations in healthy ministry.
Fifth, over time, your most missionally minded people will gravitate to places of greater health.


I cannot answer the dilemma raised by the above response to my prior blog. What I can say is that leaders have no idea how destructive unhealthy board behaviors are to the church and they will be held accountable by God for their leadership - healthy or unhealthy. Many church boards need a wake up call to how their lack of discipline, health, ability to police themselves and lack of missionality is hurting the bride of Christ.

Discouragement and our Hearts

Ironically, we must guard our hearts during times of failure and discouragement as well as success. While success may cause us to take our eyes off of our Lord and focus on ourselves, failure and discouragement have the potential to do the same thing: only this time in disillusionment and discouragement rather than pride and entitlement.



I know how dangerous failure and discouragement can be. I came very close to walking away from full time ministry altogether after deep pain in my late twenties. I know both vocational and avocational ministry driven individuals who have done that in the face of great difficult times. I am sobered by the implications in my own life and ministry impact had I chosen to walk away from the call of God on my life because of my great pain.


I have come to believe that times of failure (real or perceived) and times of discouragement are critical for the health of our hearts as they force us to choose where we will put our trust even in the face of impossible circumstances. We are forced into the decision to put our faith in our heavenly father just like those listed in Hebrews 11 even when we cannot see a way out. Looking back on some of the most painful periods of life I have come to the conclusion that I would not trade them for anything but I never want to experience it again!


Failure and discouragement force a life changing choice. Will I continue to trust and follow closely after Christ or will I settle for a diminished and wounded life? The first leads to greater faith and the second to a lessened faith. Failure and discouragement are never final unless we allow them to be. We make the choice as to whether we will move on and follow Him in the midst of our pain or allow our pain to pull us away from Him. It is always our choice and our move.


My own heart has been molded in pain and disappointment more than in any other way. That pain was God’s graciousness to me in order to make me what I have become. I am humbler, gentler, kinder, more comfortable in my own skin and less driven because of the gift of pain. Some of the best gifts come in the most unsuspecting wrappings.


One of the common responses to discouragement and failure is cynicism. All of us have reason to be cynical about people: especially those who claim to be Christ followers and do things unworthy of that walk. Yet, cynicism too, is a destructive attitude and hurts our heart. It causes us to doubt the good intentions of others, robs us of our ability to trust and skews our attitude toward others. Think about this: What if God chose to be cynical toward us? Our actions and attitudes often deserve it, yet he chooses to love and believe the best for us. Cynicism robs us of the ability to love and believe the best.


In my fifties, I am deeply realistic about the realities of people’s lives and situations I face. What keeps me from cynicism is my awareness of my own struggles, failures, imperfections and deep desire for righteousness. I am thankful that God is not cynical with me and I want to resist the temptation to be cynical toward others. Paul meant it when he wrote his letters to the “saints,” even when he needed to chastise and take people to task. We are saints, even in our imperfections and struggles and we want to treat all of God’s people in that light – even those who irritate us significantly.