Creativity Within Boundaries

Posted on March 25, 2014 Written by

In beginning: God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Genesis 1:1

As a church administrator there is a certain order to this story of creation that warms my heart. There is a goal of conquering the chaos, there is organization to what must be done, there are daily tasks to be accomplished, there is a time of sitting back and admiring what’s been done (crossing it off the list, if you will), and then getting ready for the next day. There is good administration and organization to this job and I like that (I tease my colleagues that Genesis 1 proves that God loves church administrators the most because the first thing God did was get organized – they don’t laugh much).

But look at this story from another perspective: each day had specific things to be done but within those boundaries, there was a fantastic amount of creativity. This shows God’s balance between being right-brained (creative, artsy, subjective) and being left-brained (logical, analytical, objective), the creative and the logical. God established boundaries (left-brain) but within those boundaries, God was massively creative (right-brain). Humans tend to be either right- or left-brain oriented. Very, very few people are both (think Da Vinci as a rare crossover: artist and engineer).

Churches need to use:

  • volunteers who are creative and who are analytical
  • staff who think outside the box and those who are the guardians of tradition
  • people who bring new ideas to the table and those who retain institutional memory

As children learn to use crayons and markers, parents and teachers encourage them to stay within the lines but use whatever colors they want. Staying inside the lines helps with fine motor skills which children must develop but using a variety of colors helps add spice and variety to what is being done. Just as God worked within specific lines, churches must do the same – establish the boundaries and then be creative within those borders.

Churches must establish their boundaries: finances, space, leadership, location, and anything else that will be a constraint to them. No two churches have the same restrictions, but all churches have some limitations. Once a church has defined the lines within which it will work, then it must unleash all forms of creativity. “Blue sky” thinking should rule the day and when ideas bump up against the reality of the borders, then those ideas should come back to reality.

I don’t know how all of this is carried out. I do know that it is possible because I’ve seen some churches do this – they dreamed big, knew what they could and couldn’t do, and then accomplished some incredible feats for the Kingdom. So, be creative but always within the proper boundaries – just like God did.

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: church administration, leadership, wisdom Tagged: , ,

Church Budgets: Top 10 List (part 1 of 2)

Posted on February 18, 2014 Written by

This week I am posting #1-#5 of the Top 10 considerations regarding church budgets. Stay tuned for the remainder of the list next week.

 

1. Why do you need a budget?

A budget is a tool – nothing more.

  • It is a yardstick to measure your progress toward planned goals.
  • The planned goals are the most important aspect of the budget, not the financial numbers.
  • The financial numbers are ONE indicator of how well the church is doing toward achieving these goals, but it is not the ONLY measurement.

Budgets must be developed holistically

What do we want to accomplish in our youth ministry, worship area, building maintenance, staffing needs, etc.?

How are we going to reach these goals using our resources?

  • People: staff, volunteers, and paid vendors
  • Money: from all sources, not just budget
  • Time: when do we plan to achieve these goals

Ideally, budgets look forward over several years, not just the next few months. The Budget Committee should always be looking at how the church’s finances need to be structured over the next several years.

 

2. What is the timeline for developing a church budget?

There are several elements to the process and each one has its own timeline. Some churches use all these elements and some use only a few. Determine what works best in your specific church’s culture.

Theme development

  • Churches that use a theme typically have a team working on this 7-8 months before the beginning of the new fiscal year.
  • Some churches have themes centered on the core aspects of church (worship, fellowship, missions, member care, and education) and promote each one every five years. This helps guide theme development.
  • The committee usually selects a verse, logo, tag line, and music which will help focus the church during the budget emphasis. Churches with a fiscal calendar year often use October as the budget emphasis time, and theme development is in April and May.

Committee budget work

  • Committees need 2-3 months to find times to meet and come up with goals (numeric and intangible) for their ministry areas for the few years.
  • Committees should have a leader (staff or lay member) who can make a presentation, if necessary, to the Budget Team.
  • Committee work is done 4-6 months before the new fiscal year.

Budget Committee coordination

  • It is up to the Budget Committee (sometimes a subset of the Finance Committee) to gather the info from the various working committees and compile it into a comprehensive budget.
  • Some Budget Committees want representatives from the various teams to make presentations to the Budget Committee so that they’ll more fully understand the why behind each of the numbers. These presentations can help this Budget Committee to be the most fully informed group of lay leaders about the wide variety of work being done by the church.
  • Budget Committee work is done 3-4 months before the new fiscal year.

Church-wide presentations and vote

  • Some churches have a month-long budget or stewardship emphasis to help people understand what makes up all these figures and why each person in the church is important to make all of it happen. Many churches will use every form of communication possible to inform members and get them involved.
  • If the church is on the fiscal calendar year, then these presentations are in October with a vote by mid-November (before Thanksgiving) so as not  to encroach on Advent.
  • Typically, this work is done 2-3 months before the new fiscal year.

Follow up

This is a continuous process during the fiscal year. People need to be reminded of how their money is being used and the good that it is doing. Take advantage of Sunday morning offering times to tell the stories of how lives are being changed due to the generosity of church donors.

 

3. Who needs to be involved in the process?

Early stages

  • In the early development of a budget, you need the informed leadership working on the budget. This usually means the informed leadership in each budget area meets to plan their goals and determine the resources they need to achieve those plans.
  • The Budget Committee (or designated sub-committee of the Finance Committee) does not have jurisdiction over the goals in the various ministry areas because they are not as fully informed about those areas as the respective committees are.

Middle stages

  • At some point in the development process, the many ministry committees should invite feedback from the people invested in each area.
  • For example, the Missions Committee should tell people interested in missions what the plans are and then ask them for their ideas about what is needed on future endeavors. Committees must never create budgets in a vacuum – seek input first from the leadership and then from the followship. The “wisdom of the crowds” is valid and insightful.

Later stages

Finally, the different components of the budget will become public and that is when as many people as possible should be aware of the budget (at a minimum) and invested in it. The more people that are “buying into” the budget and what it wants to do, the more successful all the areas of the budget will be.

 

4. Should you use pledge cards?

Some churches have used pledge cards for decades and will continue to use them. Some churches stopped using them; some of those members regret that decision and others do not.

Pledge cards have several purposes:

  • As a tool in setting the budget
  • As a way to challenge people to give more
  • To track how much people have given

Increasingly, younger generations do not want to commit to a figure they’ll give. They will give – and give generously – but they just don’t want to state how much they’ll give. There are so many variables in life (debts for school, home, car, credit card; kids; trips; business and home; etc.) that are hard to plan for.

If you use pledge cards, then have a clear, concise, consistent reason WHY you are using them.

  • Pledge cards should never be used as a tool to bully people into committing or giving – too often that is what pledge cards devolve to.
  • Like ALL aspects of church finances, pledge cards must be used in a positive way, such as encouraging people to be more generous (with their prayers, their time given to church activities, and their finances).

 

5. How do you estimate your annual income?

This is one of the hardest numbers to determine in financial budgeting.

Fiscal prudence suggests one or a combination of the following. A church should be able to do better in the future than it has in the past.

  • Use the past 12 months’ rolling figure of actual receipts
  • Use 90% of the past 12 months’ rolling figure of actual receipts
  • Use a spreadsheet formula to forecast the next 12 months’ income

These formulas are intentionally conservative. The church can use any “excess” for capital needs, additional staffing or programming needs, and/or to establish and replenish reserves.
Be financially conservative in your projections. You won’t regret it.

 

Filed Under: budget, church administration, church finances, church financial statements, leadership, wisdom Tagged: , , , , ,

Rocket Scientists

Posted on January 7, 2014 Written by

Years ago I heard a story about a pastor who was ready to quit after just a few months at his new church. Every decision he made, every item in business meetings, and every issue in church council meetings was being questioned in detail. The lay leaders wanted to know every answer before they gave their approval. And the pastor didn’t have every answer –he knew that some answers would only come “somewhere down the road” and that wasn’t good enough for many of his key leaders. He was frustrated to the point of quitting and he expressed this to the monthly gathering of local pastors, a group with whom he could share his feelings and problems.

Some of them laughed at him which he didn’t appreciate. They asked him where these lay leaders worked who were “causing this trouble.” “At NASA, of course, and they are all rocket scientists,” was his answer. This was a “company town” in that the major employer in the county was NASA and yes, the lay leaders of every church in that city were, quite literally, rocket scientists.

Rocket scientists are a special breed of engineers. Engineers study the heck out of everything – they want to know the answer to problem and potential problem before they embark on actually carrying it out. Rocket scientists take it one step further because they know that they never get a “do over.” If something breaks in a factory, the engineer can go in with a team, find a solution, and fix the problem. That is usually not an option for rocket scientists – they’ve got to know and prevent every single problem that might even remotely happen before they even build the rocket. That is a phenomenal amount of planning. These rocket scientists were merely taking their training to their church’s finance, personnel, deacons’, and church council meetings. And the new pastor didn’t understand the background of his leaders.

After his colleagues helped him understand the dynamics of working in that city, the pastor had a long tenure there. He helped the leaders understand that in church work, you don’t know all the problems before you embark on a project and you certainly don’t have to have all the answers ahead of time. The leaders helped to pastor to be more organized in planning and assessing the failure or success of an activity. In short, they helped each other as they were making decisions.

The lesson for leaders is to understand who they are working with and the backgrounds each one brings to the table. Everyone has different gifts and those can be a huge asset to the organization if they are used correctly (or damaging if used improperly). Get to know your people and use their skills for the Kingdom.

(FYI: I’ve heard this story is true and attributed to a specific church but without confirmation, I prefer to leave it more as a parable than fact.)

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: leadership, wisdom Tagged: ,

Rational Conversations on Emotional Subjects

Posted on December 31, 2013 Written by

I’ve noticed an interesting thing about most human conversations. Sometimes one person approaches the subject in a thoughtful manner while the other person, may have rational point of view and an emotional link to the subject. Occasionally, both sides have emotional connections to the topic. Infrequently both sides talk about a subject in a completely rational manner.

When emotion enters into any conversation, it becomes difficult to talk in a balanced manner. Emotions usually trump reason; feelings are more powerful than thoughts and frequently control human actions.

As you have a conversation with a colleague, vendor, church member, volunteer, family member, or anyone, keep in mind your own emotions and how they are affecting your point of view and what you are saying. Likewise, recognize the feelings that the other person has and how those emotions affect the topic in ways that you don’t know or understand because they’ve had a different life-experience than you’ve had.

Emotions will always affect every decision that is made but emotions should not control the outcome of all decisions. Decision-making should be based on the best information available until more or different information is available. By definition, feelings will affect decisions – and that is a good thing. The key is to ensure that in the end, there is a well-thought out decision which is in the best interest of everyone involved.

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: leadership, strategy, wisdom Tagged: , ,

You Can’t Do It All

Posted on December 17, 2013 Written by

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.

Acts 3:1-8

Many ministers feel they have to do everything they possibly can to take care of the needs of the people in their church. It is a mindset that frequently leads to ministry burnout. It also leads, falsely, to members thinking that every problem they have should be dealt with by their pastor.

In Acts 3, Peter and John enter the Temple in Jerusalem and encounter a man who has been lame for several decades. He positioned himself in the best location possible to ply on the emotions of people so they’d give him some money. The best place to do that was the Temple – so those coming to seek God’s favor could demonstrate to everyone including God how good they are.

Jesus went to the Temple a lot; like all good Jews, he was at the Temple every Passover and he most certainly passed by this lame guy. But Jesus never healed him. Wait a minute! Jesus didn’t take the initiative to heal this guy and take care of this need? Why?

We don’t know for sure: some will say that Jesus was “leaving it for Peter” or that the guy never expressed an interest in being healed or some other reason. The interesting thing to me is that not even Jesus got around to doing every single thing that he was capable of doing – he didn’t feel every hungry person, he didn’t heal every sick person, he didn’t remove every demon, etc. Jesus left many, many things undone.

And if Jesus with all of his God-power didn’t do everything while he was on earth, then who are we, mere humans, to think that we can do everything? We can’t and we shouldn’t think we can. We’re going to leave a lot undone, and that is just fine. Ministers should never feel guilty about not doing everything; instead, ministers should do the most important things in front of them.

Just as Jesus prioritized the critical things he needed to accomplish, ministers must do the same. The things that a minister cannot do should be left for others or even left undone. Focus on what is most important, just like Jesus did.

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: church staff, leadership, wisdom Tagged: , ,

More Advice for Young Leaders

Posted on November 19, 2013 Written by
  • Deal with things once
    • Paperwork, personnel issues, complaints, and so many other things are easy to put off. Instead of delaying, deal with them once and for all. Just do it. Touch a piece of paper one time – answer it, throw it away, or file it. Take care of a personnel situation as soon as you can (unless you need some time to think about the matter or consult with someone), and don’t let it fester. Honest-to-goodness complaints (not the whiny kind) should be handled one time. And then, move on. Don’t stand there staring at the past; turn around and look ahead to the next challenge.
  • Appreciate the past; invest in the future
    • Young leaders need to acknowledge and even honor the past, especially those who sacrificed and led others. After all, young leaders got where they are now because they stood on the shoulders of previous leaders, so these past leaders are owed some gratitude. However, you cannot dwell on the past – you must focus on the future. Look to what may come as a reason for your leadership, not where the organization has been. Honor the past; anticipate the future.
  • Meet with your direct reports monthly
    • I cannot stress this enough: meet with all your direct reports at least monthly in one-on-one sessions. Staff meetings are fine, but you won’t get details and information you need to do your job unless there are individual meetings. You need to hear the truth from your direct reports without it going through the self-filter inherent in a group meeting. AND, one-on-one times provide you the opportunity to tell that person, in private, how he or she is doing. Each month, each direct report needs to know what the boss thinks of his or her performance. Do not wait for the annual evaluation; do the evaluation monthly.
  • Find a mentor and a coach
    • Mentors and coaches are excellent. They can help you see things in a different light; they provide insight that you’d not thought of before; they can help you be creative in finding solutions; etc. However, they cannot make you want to change – only you can do that. And implicit in having a coach or mentor is the desire to get better, and that usually requires change. So find a good person to lead you, but make sure you’re willing to adapt to the new things you’ll learn along the way.
  • Prioritize important things, not urgent things
    • When a crisis or problem arises, ask yourself if this situation is “urgent,” “important,” “urgent and important,” or “neither.” If it is neither, then ignore it. First tackle things that are urgent and important, and then the rest (although you may not have the luxury of deciding what you take on first or second). I’ve learned that asking myself if this is urgent, important, or both really helps cut through all the fluff so that I know if I’m using my time wisely or if I’m just using up my time.
  • Empower subordinates to make decisions that affect them directly
    • You don’t have to decide everything for your organization. Determine early on what merits your attention and what really could be handled by others. Let others do things that don’t need your input or which need only a modest amount of your oversight.
    • Letting others make decisions gives them ownership of the ultimate decision, gives them a challenge to work on, makes them feel part of the team, and saves you a lot of time. It also helps them understand the daily decision-making process that you go through (with both good and bad results). Invite your subordinates into part of your management world and see how they can help you.
    • My best example is when I asked the administrative assistants to choose the office copier. They self-organized, visited the sales floors, tested the products based on what they knew they would need it to do, gathered information on pricing and service, and then presented me with their recommendations. My only job was to make sure their request fit within the budget (which it did). These ladies felt very good about the entire process until the machine broke down (on the 3rd day we had it!) and then they only had themselves to point fingers at. I then helped them understand that breakdowns are just a matter of time with copiers. When the copier contract came up for renewal, those ladies were much better at making a decision and that provided me even more time to focus on more important (and urgent) things.
  • Learn to make decisions quickly, decisively, and effectively, but not permanently
    • Decision-making is one of the key elements of leadership. It involves amassing information and opinions, sorting through the data, and making a determination (and occasionally leading a group to make a decision).
    • Do not get swallowed by “analysis paralysis” – you can always get more information, but will that additional information be sufficient to change the decision? Decide ahead of time how much is enough to proceed.
    • Follow up by communicating that decision up, down, and around to everyone – be as transparent as you can possibly can so that all know what is going on. Keeping everyone informed is vital to effective decision making.
    • Lastly, change your mind when necessary. If new information is received that is sufficient to warrant changing the decision, then do it. Life is dynamic; decisions should be, too. Do not be set in stone in your decisions; change them as needed but only when there is sufficient, relevant information to make a change for the better (never change for change’s sake).
  • Flow
    • Flow. I can’t emphasize this enough. Just “flow.” Many times you don’t need to fight against the situation; you need to flow. Trying to be heard on every subject is pointless, so just flow. Know what is worth your time and energy and what things are not – then flow with those that are not worth your resources. Flow – keep calm, be relaxed in tense situations that are not really that important, and ensure you have a level head. Flow.

Lead On!

Steve

 

Filed Under: leadership, wisdom, young adults Tagged: , ,

Advice for Experienced Leaders

Posted on November 12, 2013 Written by
  • Value Training, Be a Mentor  New and young leaders need someone to teach them how to be a wise and good leader. Experienced leaders must share their knowledge, experience, and expertise with the next generation. And the best way to do this is one on one (same gender to same gender, too, lest there be any mixed signals). Be intentional about finding, mentoring, and developing future leaders. Your investment of time and skill will return benefits for decades, perhaps forever, as your mentee becomes a mentor later. And, when you’re almost finished with one young leader, find another one and keep it going.
  • Employee Evaluation  Employee evaluations should be done every time an employee meets with his or her supervisors, as every employee should know every day what their employment status is. The annual evaluation time is merely to fill out paperwork, not to go into in-depth evaluations. Employees who do not know what their status is may feel a Damocles Sword hanging over their heads and thus might not be as productive as they could be because they’re wondering when or if they’ll be terminated. Keep your staff informed, and let them know each month when you meet with them how they are doing.
  • Set the Stage for the Next Generation  Over the years your organization has taken on your personality traits; that is a truism in business. However, these ruts and routines created by you will probably not be helpful to your successor who, frankly, needs to create his or her own. As you end your career, you need to be intentional about who is on key committees, what processes are being done “because the boss wants it” (and not because it helps the company per se), what “minefields” need to be cleared out so your successor doesn’t wander into them, and what personnel need to be moved on so they are not a headache to the next leader. Set up your successor for success; clear the launch platform of unnecessary things so the next leader can shoot for the stars.
  • Make Stakeholders Uncomfortable  For the most part, stakeholders in organizations want things to continue in the same ways so that their personal investment is not threatened but is instead honored. Stakeholders may be current or former employees, board members, longtime customers or vendors, major and minor donors, etc. Organizations cannot live in the status quo, and going forward often involves risks. It is up to the leader (hence the term “leader”) to nudge or even shove the organization and its stakeholders forward. Experienced leaders know the key stakeholders and will work with them to move everyone forward so that the organization doesn’t die from valuing the status quo over progress.
  • Foment Wealth-Sharing  You have tremendous experience and knowledge. Do not hoard that; share it with your community by serving on non-profit boards, volunteering in community-based organizations, and helping your church. You are responsible for leaving your neighborhood, church, and city better off than you found it. You stood on other people’s shoulders in order to achieve your status as a leader – you need to pay it forward by helping your community and its leaders be even better than where they are now. AND, you must challenge, prod, and encourage other leaders to do the same. You are rich in life – share the wealth!
  • Teach Wise Risk-Taking  Risk-taking is part of business, but it is not intuitive because everyone wants their “risks” to be certain successes. Experienced leaders know that failure is part of risk, but failures can minimized by taking “wise risks.” That involves asking lots of questions, doing an incredible amount of due diligence, and training people well. Risks are a necessary part of leadership – not taking risks means the person in charge is managing, not leading. Risks should be done strategically so that the “win” is clearly defined. AND, when the risk turns to failure, wise leaders know when to stop the venture cut the losses. Experienced leaders must teach the next generation how to take wise risks.

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: church staff, future, leadership, wisdom, young adults Tagged: , , , , ,

Tools for Your Staff

Posted on November 5, 2013 Written by

One of my favorite sayings is that all staff members need proper tools to do the jobs you’ve asked them to do. And then I follow up by saying that if I don’t give you the tools to do a job, shame on me. But if I do give you the tools and you don’t do it, then we’re going to have a serious talk about your future.

What are the tools that a staff person needs? Actually there are lots of them, but let me try to hit the top few:

  • Time
    • A staff person must know how long they’ve got to do a job
    • They need your time to meet with them so they know what to do
  • Knowledge
    • Staff members need to come with basic skills to do a job
    • They need to come with an attitude of being willing to learn new skills
  • Money
    • Staff members need a budget to do their job
    • They need to know the organization as a whole has sufficient funds to keep going so that they are not distracted by whether or not the organization will fold
  • Job Description
    • All staff need to know what their job is in clearly defined terms
    • The job description is also the standard by which their performance will be measured
  • Praise and Criticism
    • All staff need to hear positive things about their work, because those kind words go a long way in helping people feel good about themselves and their role in the organization
    • All staff need to hear some constructive criticism so they realize they have room to improve and stretch; the criticism should never be demeaning but must be a way to push the employee beyond where he or she is now
  • Challenges
    • Humans get into ruts all the time, but that isn’t good or healthy because you can’t see very far when you’re in a rut – the routine becomes the norm
    • Goals which are just beyond our grasp are good ways of making employees push and reach just a little farther than they thought they could

Give your staff the tools they need and in turn, watch them flourish. Nurture that growth and you’ll be impressed and amazed at what they can do. They might even grow so much you’ll need to promote them, and that is an excellent thing!

Lead On!

Steve

 

Filed Under: church staff, leadership, strategy, wisdom Tagged: , , ,
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