Church Planting Challange
About 8 months ago one of our pastors decided that it was time to go plant a new church. At the exact same time as this decision, we had been laying the groundwork for our first multi-site effort. We (the Lead Pastor, he and I) spent a great deal of time praying and talking about whether it would be a church plant of our church, a satellite campus, video venue or just have no affiliation with our church at all. Ultimately, our friend made the decision for us. He wanted to structure this new church in a way that would not fit any of the concepts that we were working on. It had to be it’s own entity with no connection to us.
That was hard. It was like finding out that you were indeed going to the prom, but not with the person you wanted to go with… and now, by the way, it would be a blind date.
We looked for a win-win solution for both our friend and our church. He had been a key leader for several years, and a gifted communicator. Our church was better with him, and our church was good for him. We decided that we would try to keep him on staff for close to a year, while slowly decreasing his responsibilities and allowing him to ramp up the new church. Planting a church is challenging, and this would give him financial stability and continiuty as he began. It would also allow us to keep him in the teaching rotation, and benefit from his gifts.
There were leaders in our church that challenged me on the wisdom of this arrangement. In business, (and in many churches) once you announce your are leaving - you’re out. But we were convinced that we could make this work. The three us have met together most every week for a time of prayer and accountability. We have committed to communicate and be honest with one another throughout the process. There are times that is easy, and others…well “not so much”.
There have been a couple of significant bumps along the way, especially when it came to the “who” of this transition. You see, his church plant is in the same town with us. Many of the people that have grown close to our friend at our church are now faced with the question of whether or not to go with him to his new church. Slowly that list is growing and includes some staff and key leaders from our church.
For each loss we feel, he feels a gain. He celebrates, we suffer. Just last night we learned of another staff member and key church leader that are leaving to be a part of his church - and it felt like a punch to the gut.
Ultimately, I hope that we are able to find a way to navigate all of this without the conflict that usually arises in this type of situation. We have a relationship with a good friend at stake, as well as the responsibility to take care of the church God has called us to pastor and lead. And there are times that what is “right” just isn’t very clear. Ultimately, our desire is to please God with our actions, and to advance His kingdom, though all means possible. More churches reaching more people is a good thing.
We are still moving forward with our first multi-site launch early next year. God has blessed us and encouraged us in more ways that we ever imagined. Our church has grown in every way possible during this same time frame. But for some reason, it just doesn’t take the sting out of those losses.
Rise of the Creatives…
In working on a yet to be publish post on the Future of God, I realized some truths about the Past of Leadership.
Industrial Age -The Individual worker is minimized, the Managers are Empowered, and Leadership is minimized. (think Peter Drucker)
Technology Age - The Individual worker is minimized, the Manager is minimized, and Leadership is Empowered (think John Maxwell)
Creative Age - The Individual worker is Empowered, the Manager is minimized, and Leadership is minimized (think Richard Florida)
Empowered in the sense that the attention is shifted to that position, and much is written on how to make the work environment most conducive to that position being effective.
Minimized in the sense that ability to perform is assumed and not the focus of attention.
The current trend of business related thinking on this topic will soon begin to significantly impact the church (as it has in the past) and we will feel the same shift. There is already the early signs of this with the growing movement in the church to develop a “Strengths based” ministry concept. We are still very consumed with the Leadership models of the past 30 years, so it may take a while to see this as a “new” paradigm of ministry.
There are several other posts on this site about the Strengths-based approach on this site.
A wise church leader will listen and learn, and be read to lead in a new Era.
Design Thinking and the church
Sooo…why the long blogging absence???
Well, in a word. BUSY. Very busy.
Several months ago I decided to put together a new website that would cover a different area of my consulting life: Design Thinking.
At the time, I thought it would be a small site that might get a little traffic, and maybe inspire some people to consider the effectiveness of the Art of Design Thinking. Wrong.
It has been a HUGE surprise to see the amount of traffic from all over the globe. As a result, I have spent a great deal of time blogging, Tweeting, and consulting on the topic.
So how does this fit with the primary topic of this blog??? Well, it’s all about the ability to bring effective solutions to real problems. And that is what leaders do…especially in the church.
If you have not had a chance, I encourage you to check out the new site DesignThinkingBlog and see what you can learn.
And for those of you who are looking for direct help, use the contact page and let’s talk.
Leading versus Managing
OK - this is not a new topic by any stretch of the imagination. If you Google the topic, you will get a bajillion results. Ultimatley it comes down to how you relate to the people that are in your area of influence. I had a great conversation with a church leader the other day on this topic. We talked about people that think they are Leaders, but are really Managers. And of course, there are people who think they are Managers, but they really are Leaders. So what makes the differnce and does it really matter?
Yes.
It matters because some of the people that you are leading/managing can work for one, but not the other. Here is what I mean.
There are people that need a large vision cast that captures their attention and motivates them to look for ways to make that vision into a reality. They will ask general questions to see what the boundaries are for the task, and then make things happen. They need to be checked on through out the project but given lots of room to make it happen.
There are also people who really don’t care about the big picture, but simply want to know exactly “what” it is that you want them to do. They want very specific instruction with a list if possible. They want feedback on each and every step.
This first person needs a leader.
The second needs a manager.
Look at the people that work for you and seem to be very content with how you lead/manage them. If they are in the first group—congratualtions, you are a leader. If they fall into the second group — congratulations, you are a manager.
So which is more important to a church or organization? The one that is effective.
Church Leadership is Boring (sometimes).
I recently sent out a tweet that said “Sometimes, Church leadership is boring”. It got a lot of reactions!
Here’s the deal. Every job is boring on occasion. There are no exceptions. Even when you are serving the most Holy and Awesome God.
When you think about it, you know that it is true. “Bored” is literally a state of mental being. I have been in incredible places with my boys, where opportunity and adventures abound - and I still hear the phrase ” I’m bored.”
I have met with some incredible, cutting edge, type “A” leaders in both the church and business worlds and heard the phrase “I’m bored.”
Tough Leadership Decisions
There is a great story (probably true) about a leadership decision that Mike Slaughter of Ginghamsburg Church made several years ago. The church had been meeting for worship in a gymnatorium kind of space and as the church grew, so did the quality of the worship service. That quality was one of the big draws for people who attended.
As many churches do, Ginghamsburg decided that it was time to build a large “state-of-the-art” worship center. When they were in the meeting to finalize the blueprints, as the story goes, Mike Slaughter took a step back and made a tough call. “We have always said that we will focus on youth and children. This expensive building does nothing for them. We need to abandon this project and put up a youth center instead.” And that is exactly what happened.
Follow us on Twitter: @SwineFlu
The words swine flu (H1N1) generally bring one of two reactions; a roll of the eyes or a look of fear. This past week my church has been dealing with a handful of possible cases of H1N1 that originated on a youth trip to Florida. Fortunately, it has turned out to be a quick recovery for those who were sick.
The old saying that “there is no such thing as bad press” does not really apply to the church. The church, as compared to many businesses or organizations, uniquely relies on how people feel. Those feelings translate into invitations to attend and involvement within. For the church to do its’ vital work, people must have a positive view and feeling about the church.
Change in the Church
I spend the majority of my time working with leaders of local churches. Talk about a group that struggles with change!! One of the most significant ongoing “challenges” that these leaders face is that they have experienced success with something in the past, and are having trouble adjusting to the currently reality.
Churches have a great deal of trouble distinguishing between their “methods” and their “work”. No product or service delivery “method” is effective forever, but the “work” of the church never changes. When it is being effective, suffering is being relieved, people are finding hope, and lives are being changed for the better. It is vital that the church finds ways to be effective.
21 Rules of Innovation… numbers 15-21
15. A good team is always an active learning team.
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16. Be aware of the balance and flow of polarities that exist for your team. Remember that too much team can be just as bad as not enough. Allow for individual self-expression within the team. Teams are not problems to solve, they are a mass of polarities to manage (see Bruce Johnson’s “Polarity Management”)
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17. Your team is a strong as its weakest link. A good team makes efforts to cover, improve, or strengthen its deficiencies. Read “The Goal” by Eli Goldratt to understand more about the “theory of constraints.”
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18. Effective teams engage in constructive disagreement around content with a ‘yes and not a ‘yes but’ attitude.
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19. Listening is key.
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20. Know thyself – what you can contribute to the team and what others can contribute that doesn’t come naturally to you.
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21. In teams, seek to ‘pull in’ the outliers, the mavericks, those who we tend to exclude. Everyone has something important to offer the team – find it.
21 Rules of Innovation…numbers 8-14
8. Trust is not blind. The more you seek to understand the motives of your team members, the better.
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9. All teams go through rough patches. As Dean Kamen says, if you don’t encounter big problems or surprises, you’re not innovating. When it “hits the fan”, be an example in keeping the faith and remaining positive.
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10. Vince Lombardi won a lot of championships by focusing on, and repeating endlessly, the most basic plays and fundamentals. Basic fitness and clarity of jobs and roles were the rock he built his teams on. So, when in doubt, return to the basics.
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11. Sometimes a person simply shouldn’t be on a team. Be very careful in making this judgment, because sometimes the mavericks are exactly who you need. Still, sometimes people can’t be brought into the fold and focused on the goal at hand. If you are dead sure, cut out the “cancer”. It’s a very tough call, but when you make it you are often thanked for doing it by other team members.
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12. Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate. Celebrate victories, even the small ones, and celebrate learning even in failures or setbacks. Edison was of the philosophy there is no failure; be like Edison.
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13.Kick-off’s are important. Do them with energy and style.
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14.Communicate unselfishly, share your knowledge, and share honestly in a way that the person can hear.
