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.
The 3 C’s of a Church
Each and every church operates according to the 3 C’s. Most of them just don’t know it. The dynamics of each C determine decisions and results - but most leadership teams have little knowledge of how to utilize this information to align their vision and resources. Here they are:
1. Concept: The future (or vision) is simply a concept that exists within you and your church about what the church sh/could look like. Like most concepts, there are always challenges to making them into reality.
2. Context: This is the reality in which you and your church exist. This has to do with everything from the socioeconomic makeup of your community to the Spiritual gifts that God has placed within your congregation.
3. Content: This is the way that you will go about programing and resourcing your vision. It is the area where most leadership teams like to focus after the vision is cast. That is a mistake.
In order for the local church to really have an impact, it must get it’s C’s in order.
1-2-3
Concept - Context - Content
If your leadership team is struggling with getting this right, let our team help. That is why we are here!
Contact 218Consulting
Pastor, Preacher and Leader
The burnout rate for those who lead churches is very high. I believe the core of this problem is based in the three headed monster that we have allowed our churches to create.
Pastors today have the challenge of fulfilling an impossible task.
The demands placed on the pastor are simply too diverse to meet. Traditionally the role of pastor has been one of “caretaker” of the people. In fact many answered the call to full-time ministry from a place of compassion and caring for the people. It was the desire to comfort, counsel, and to care for people that in many ways that drew them into the profession of being a pastor. The title “pastor” is synonymous with caring. Part of the role of the pastor was to preach to the people that in the church.
Within the last couple of decades a change has taken place. There is now a distinct difference between being a pastor and being a preacher. A preacher is one who has the ability to communicate God’s Word to groups of people in an effective way. A great preacher is a great communicator. A great preacher holds people’s attention and inspires them to action. With this growing difference between a pastor and a preacher, we have discovered that many of those who fill our pulpits are either one or the other. The very gift-mix that makes someone dynamic from the pulpit, does not lend itself well to being compassionate and caring on a personal level. For many years churches were willing to put up with a mediocre communicator because they appreciated being cared for. That has changed. Through technology, our church members are constantly surrounded by dynamic communicators. They now expect the same from their pastor.
The third part of this monster is the role of leader. Many small churches are now closing their doors, and it is only the growing churches that will survive. It is vitally important that these churches have a solid leader. If we are limited in the number of people who can be both an effective pastor and preacher, we are almost nonexistent when it comes to the pastor, preacher, and leader combination.
Unfortunately, we have too many people trying to be all three, and doing more harm than good for the local congregations in the process.
The correct challenge for pastors is not trying to have all three heads, but to determine which head you already have. Once you make that determination, embrace it and excel at it. If you are a preacher then preach, but don’t try to pretend to be an effective pastor and leader. Preach well, but also surround yourself with people that can take care of your congregation. Preach with passion, but also empower other people to lead.
If you are a great pastor, get out of the pulpit and let someone else be the dynamic communicator. Let them use the gifts that God has given them to bring His Word to His people. Find a leader who can set the direction and rally the people to a great vision and future.
If you’re a great leader, you may be OK in the pulpit, but you’re probably a lousy pastor. You need to quickly find someone who can be compassionate and caring for the people you’re leading.
Answering God’s call to ministry is fairly simple - the challenge is not letting the “systems” of the past determine how you answer that call.
Using StrengthsFinder in the Church
In earlier articles- I gave my take on the validity of using StrengthsFinder in the local church. Most of the questions that I get now are more on the “How do you make it work?” side of things.
Here is a quick StrengthsFinder primer for the local church.
Think in terms of what your members understand.. . The terms that StrengthsFinder uses are straightforward (for the most part) and easy to grasp. That is one reason that people are drawn to it. For example, I am a Maximizer. That does not take a lot of explanation. I also have the Spiritual Gift of Prophecy…and I constantly have to explain what that means!
These are not Spiritual Gifts… Your Strengths are just that, strengths. They are more connected to your personality profile (Introvert, Extrovert) and your natural abilities than to anything else. Think in terms of how someone is “wired” by God to be a part of this world. Everyone has strengths. Spiritual Gifts are given by the Holy Spirit to accomplish His work, which is particular to the building up the body of Christ.
They are useful in the local Church… how many times have you selected someone to serve in an area based on their personality? “We need friendly people greeting at the door on Sunday”. I have never heard a church leader say - “Leave the door empty until we find someone with the Spiritual Gifts of hospitality and giving (greeting and handing out a worship bulletin). Strengths are an effective way of identifying who will have the basic “stuff” to fit the role.
Put together a catalog… List the areas where you need people, and then list the Strengths that you believe will qualify someone. You will be surprised how many of your people will connect with the terminology of StrengthsFinder. There are churches that have developed very elaborate procedures for all of this, but it can also be done very simply.
Organizations versus Strengths
In a past article, I wrote about the importance of focusing on the strengths of individual employees as opposed to trying to “fix” their weaknesses.
I fully believe and embrace this concept. However, I seem to find myself unable to effectively apply this concept to the other areas of my consulting.
Imagine that you hire me (now there’s a great idea!) to evaluate and make recommendations for your church or organization. You , like most clients, will expect me to figure out what is wrong and to give you a plan to fix it. That’s how the system works.
A Strengths based approach discovers what your organization/church does well, and how to do that even better. For some reason, this idea meets with fairly significant resistance. often from the key leaders. Why?
For starters, we are still in the industrial age when it comes to our thinking about organizational structure and functions. We view the organization as an assembly line with various pieces and parts that perform specific functions. Leaders like to find a part that is broken and can be replaced - or a part that can perform better than the old part. It is simple and clean.
But - it doesn’t work (and never really has). For years futurists predicted the time that computers and robots would completely replace people. The consistency and interchangeability was highlighted as the vital key. It hasn’t happened. And it never will.
At all areas of the organizational process, the ability to think and function on both a rational and emotional level is vital. It is the unique ability that the human mind has to simultaneously process both types of information and act accordingly that sets them apart. That being said, your organization is simply a collection of humans that function in a system based on their abilities (and inabilities). They may oversee automated processes and systems, but it is still the person at the controls that determines what the system does.
This collection of people brings a combined strength to your organization. That strength can be evaluated and identified by a good leader. It can be made even stronger. Just as the individual grows the most in the area of their Strengths, and least in the area of weakness, an organization can see the same results.
StrengthsFinder 2.0
I have been a fan of the “Strengths” concept for many years. I can remember the first time I heard Marcus Buckingham speak on the subject - I was incredibly excited that the “truth” was finally being exposed!
For years I had studied business books, leadership materials, and real life leaders. Everywhere I looked, people were stuck in the same rut when it came to staff and employee evaluations. The focus was always on “areas to improve”. I personally found it disheartening to have my previous year of service come down to the list of how I failed. Almost universally, this was also tied to my financial compensation for the upcoming year. What a horrible way to approach an evaluation of a person!
I innately knew that what I wanted was for my employers to see where I was being successful, and to push me to grow in those areas. I was painfully aware of my failures prior to my evaluations (with the one exception when I didn’t know my job description had been changed!). Pointing them out seemed more like a way to justify a low “merit” raise than anything else.
StrengthFinders 2.0 picks up on this theme, and has the added bonus of more data to use since the original book came out. In using this tool with various teams, it is always exciting to see them “discover” themselves in a new light - one based on the strengths they bring to the team.
Some in the Church have dismissed this tool as “unBiblical”. On the contrary, scripture is filled with the idea of knowing who God has created you to be and living your life out of that knowledge. Strengths are not “Spiritual Gifts“, but rather the traits that you have. Knowing both your Strengths and Spiritual Gifts is a significant key to understanding who you are and what God has in store for you!
Show Me the Right People!
Continuing in the need for people topic… Another mistake that churches often make is to get a group of willing people together to attack a project or program. Willingness and ability are two completely separate issues. People are willing for many reasons, and some of them very bad reasons. I had a friend who once served a church where the key volunteer in his area was somewhat of an icon. She had been in that ministry area for 12 years when he arrived. Church members talked about all the sacrifices that she had made over the years, and how vital she was to the ministry. Initially, this seemed to great to my friend, but as time moved on, he came to realize that it was a serious problem. Like many things in life, what was going on behind the scenes created a different picture. She was the wife of an alcoholic, and received little to no affirmation at home. Like many spouses of alcoholics, she was an enabler. In the church, she had found a place where she was able to play the part of the martyr, and gets lots of attention and affirmation for it. She was willing, but not really able. Her dysfunctional patterns had set the tone for a dysfunctional ministry. My friend saw this and soon realized that she perceived him as a threat to her. She worked to undermine him, and eventually was successful. She needed all the glory for herself.
On one hand, it was great that this woman was able to find a place to fit in and be loved. On the other hand, it should not have been in a key leadership position. The need for a willing person to do the work often clouds judgment in getting the right people into the right positions.
So how so we deal with this in an arena that is always in need of more and more people? It begins by making sure that the key leaders are generally emotionally healthy people. Moving unhealthy people out and replacing them with healthy ones can be a long and difficult process. You may not always be in position to explain publicly why you are making these changes, which can bring up other issues.
Once your key leaders are in place, you begin by helping them to work out a plan for their ministry areas so that they can recruit effectively. (see Show Me the People). There is one other key step. Before you sit down and ask anyone to serve, find the Connectors in your church. A Connector is someone who seems to know everyone, and often also knows their gifts and abilities. Connectors are vital at putting all the pieces into place to form a great ministry team.
A word of caution: Do not turn them into recruiters! That is not the best use of their time. Get them to generate the list and have someone else call and say, “Jim recommended that I contact you regarding this position”. The effect is powerful, and you are likely to get a positive response. Getting your teams on track will go a long way to creating dynamic, thriving ministries. Remember, people like to be on a winning team!
