The Immediate

Posted on April 8, 2014 Written by

Western civilization, especially the United States, is an immediate culture. Since WWII, we have wanted things faster and better (and cheaper). If we’re not satisfied with the immediate, then we’ll move on without waiting to see if the intended results came in just a few minutes, days or hours – within a respectable time period. Instead, our society increasingly wants things now – news reports, weather updates, weight loss, health wellness, financial accumulation, home improvements, marital bliss, political change, etc.

This trend is extremely disturbing because the chase for the immediate will usually lead to frustration and dissatisfaction with the present and even with the eventual results, all because it didn’t happen right away.

Good doesn’t have to be immediate. Patience is often rewarded with great results. Slowing down life is much needed in our day and age – we are too much in a hurry and it is usually because of our desire for the immediate.

Let me challenge you to focus on the pursuit of excellence even if, as it usually does, require time and perseverance. Persistence is a good trait (but not stubbornness) in the hunt for wonderful outcomes. The immediate is tyrannical – it insists on getting its own way. Do not be ruled by the immediate.

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: future, strategy, wisdom Tagged: , ,

Olive Trees

Posted on December 10, 2013 Written by

Olive trees are rather amazing. I’ve never worked in an olive grove, but I did grow up in Spain, which has about 40 million olive trees. I couldn’t help but learn about olive trees as I drove across the country and saw olive trees from one horizon to the other.

There is a saying that when a farmer plants an olive seedling, he is planting it for his children. Olive trees mature slowly; an olive tree is 25 years old before it bears fruit. Not many farmers today can wait 25 years for a crop to come in.

But the olive tree is also amazing for its longevity. An olive tree will live about 1, 000 years, and some are even 2, 000 years old. So once an olive tree is 25 years old and begins to produce olives, it will continue to do so for the next 1,000 years if it is cared for properly.

Olives are harvested in a rather harsh fashion. Cloths are spread out under the tree and the branches are beaten with long poles. A hail of olives falls on the cloths. The cloths are gathered, and the olives are poured into buckets. These olives are used for food, pressed to make olive oil, or planted for another generation’s benefit. The olive tree doesn’t grow tall; it is smallish. Its trunk is not straight, so its wood is not good for construction. The olive tree is a humble tree that in maturity gives results for centuries to come.

It may be a stretch, but I’d like to compare church buildings to the olive tree. Typically they are not grandiose architectural masterpieces but are functional. They take many years to plan and build, but they will be with us for generations to come. Every generation or so, churches add a structure—knowing the primary beneficiaries will be their children and grandchildren. And, at some point in the unknown future, a decision will be made to tear down the building that the current generation labored so hard to construct.

Church buildings should be seen as investments:

  • First is the money that is raised to pay for the land and the building itself. It usually takes years to raise the money and pay off the principal and interest on the construction debt. If the generation doesn’t pay off the debt, then we saddle the next generation with debt plus the expense of maintaining the facility.
  • The second and greatest investment we make in our new building is people, especially our children. The building is a tool, not the goal; the measuring stick is how many lives the building affects for the Kingdom. We must ensure that the classrooms have the best teachers and leaders and they have all the training and resources they need to do the volunteer job they’ve been asked to do. The result will be people who leave the structures each day to go into the world knowing and sharing the love of God with each and every person they meet.

As we invest our money and our lives in church buildings, only God knows the fruit it will bear over the next several generations, because we planted a seed.

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: church administration, church finances, future, strategy 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: , , , , ,

David & Solomon: Setting Up Your Successor For Success

Posted on October 22, 2013 Written by

David ruled Israel from 1000-960 BC and his son, Solomon, ruled from 960-920 BC. David was Israel’s greatest king: he unified the country, defeated the Philistine threat, built major civic projects and palaces, and prepared the way (and supplies) for Solomon to build the first permanent temple in Judaism. That temple lasted about 350 years and was the focal point of Judaism. Its restoration became a rallying cry of Jewish nationalism.

1st Kings in the Bible describes the materials, construction, foremen, and laborers needed to build the temple using a LOT of detail. The person most responsible for prepping for the temple was King David, but he never saw it. His job was to gather all the things needed to build the temple so that his son, Solomon, could do the actual building. David’s job was to create a platform so that his successor could be a success.

Pastors who are within five years of retirement have one primary job – to take care of things in the church (some of which have been lingering for years) so that his or her successor is set up for success. This involves making some hard decisions about personnel and/or volunteers, reallocation of budget figures, changing some of the expectations of the church about its leaders, and in general ensuring that all the minefields within the church have been cleared. A longtime and soon retiring pastor should have enough clout to do all these things and still retire gracefully. His financial future will not be dependent on the church when he retires, and that knowledge should free him up to make long-delayed decisions which can help the next generation.

David ruled and finished well as king. He made mistakes and he was vain, but for the most part his motives were pure. Yes, David was used by some of the people around him, including the conspiracy regarding his successor. But David knew that all that he did over the course of his 40-year reign could fall apart if he didn’t gather the materials and wise counsel his son and successor would need. In turn, Solomon was able to stand taller on his dad’s shoulders than he could have on his own. Solomon completed some of his dad’s unfinished stuff (the temple) but did a lot on his own (foreign relations). Solomon’s time was good for the country and good for him (albeit he made some unwise choices in his wives and advisors). Solomon’s success is directly related to David’s setting him for success.

Are you a David who will retire in a few years? If so, what are you doing to intentionally set up the next generation for success? Are you finishing well or just barely crossing the finish line? Be like David and help your successor be a success.

Lead On!

Steve

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

Standing Rubble (part 2)

Posted on August 13, 2013 Written by

In my last post, I wrote about Solomon’s Temple, Herod’s Temple, and the First Church of Jerusalem as the three greatest structures in ancient Judaism and early Christianity. These buildings helped shape Judaism and Christianity, and they became centers of their respective faiths. However, all three buildings are gone – only the Western or Wailing Wall of Herod’s Temple remains. Everything else is rubble, as Jesus predicted in Matthew 24:1-2.

As a church administrator, one of my roles is to maintain and upgrade church buildings. I believe that all church buildings should be places where people want to come to, pleasant to be in, inviting to newcomers, and welcoming to all. This means keeping the buildings clean and in good condition – walls with good paint, updated furnishings (not outdated furniture), well-lit, clean carpets and floors, free of clutter, etc. Well-cared-for and well-maintained facilities are important to getting younger generations inside a church – they have high expectations of what they want to see, and too many churches fall short. I’ve been in too many churches that are not taking care of their brick-and-mortar investments and that is a failure of stewardship, but that isn’t my point.

Taking care of church buildings is important, but taking care of people is even more important and urgent. Building up people is the real purpose of the four walls of a church edifice. Renovating hearts and minds is essential to the work of the church. Sometimes “gutting” mindsets and hardened anti-God feelings is necessary so that God can use that hollow structure to construct anew. Helping people begin to understand the love of God is the core purpose of every church building. The church must always be looking out its windows at the horizons God has set in front of it; it must take care of what God has entrusted to it, but the main thing for all churches is people.

All church buildings die. If they didn’t, then I’m sure that at least one of these three central religious structures who be standing today. None of them are. It’s not that God doesn’t care for the buildings, he just cares for people infinitely more and will sacrifice everything, including beautiful and important buildings, for the sake of his most loved creation. We should imitate God and realize that every building can be replaced, but people can’t. We need to prioritize our focus on buildings; they are a tool to help individuals get to know God just like so many other tools God gives us. Take care of your buildings, but take care of your people even more.

Lead On!

Steve

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

Last Will & Testament of Churches

Posted on May 7, 2013 Written by

Does your church have a will? What will happen to the church when the time comes to close the doors? No one wants to think about that; it’s too emotional. After all, this is the building where you were married, your children were baptized, your dad’s funeral was held, and your children ran down the halls despite your threats. This is a building full of emotion. So how do you make a rational decision about an emotional subject? The answer is, you don’t at the time. You make those decisions before it becomes overwhelmingly emotional.

Every church will close, and every church building will crumble. That’s a fact. Yes, there are some churches that are over a thousand years old, but most of those are historical structures (think cathedrals in Europe) that are tourist sites and thus get a lot of their funding from visitors (FYI, it costs money to get into St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in London but St. Peter’s in Rome is still free though donations are encouraged).

First Church, Jerusalem was pastored by James, the brother of Jesus. This guy, not one of the disciples, was so revered that he was elevated to be the leader of the most important church in the new group called The Way (aka, Christianity). To see how important James was, just read about the very first business meeting of the church (Acts 15) and that when James spoke, everyone listened and followed what he said. First Church, Jerusalem probably met in a home, albeit a house big enough to handle over 100 people. At some point the Jesus Movement became institutionalized with buildings and structures but early on, it probably met in a house. Here’s the kicker, we don’t know where that house is today – it’s somewhere under all the buildings currently in Jerusalem. Surely God would have saved the meeting place of First Jerusalem just to show everyone how important church buildings are, but God didn’t. That building is now rubble, somewhere.

If God didn’t save First Church, Jerusalem, He won’t keep your building and your church around till Jesus comes. So, what is your plan when the time comes? I urge you to think about it – and I mean “think.” When the time comes the decision will be so overwhelmingly emotional that most people will not be able to deal with the subject in a calm manner. That is expected, this is an emotional subject.

Put together a plan now to answer questions related to closing the church

  • How small will the congregation have to be so that the doors are closed?
  • How small will the budget have to be?
  • What options will be pursued prior to closing the church? Options include merging with another church; becoming a mission point of another church.
  • What will happen to the assets of the church?
  • Will you sell the building and grounds to a developer or donate the property to the local denominational governing body?
  • Will you take action before the buildings begin to deteriorate such that their upkeep means they are the single largest expense?
  • Who will originate the discussion?
  • Who will make these decisions? The trustees? The deacons? The church members themselves?

There are a dozen other questions to be asked of any congregation and a dozen other questions which are congregation-specific. I encourage every church’s leadership to have a well-thought-out and well-documented conversation now, while your church is in good shape. Then, when the time comes to begin a painful conversation, you’ll be ready to address this subject.

 

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: future, leadership, planning, strategy Tagged: , , ,

Choices

Posted on September 10, 2012 Written by

Have you noticed? Young people today just don’t have the same level of commitment to church as their parents and grandparents! They have no loyalty. They have no deep roots. They don’t believe and support the one thing that their ancestors did – that bedrock commitment to their church. They really don’t value investing themselves in a church, planting seeds into that faith community, and paying it forward to the next generation.

(Okay, this is where I insert a disclaimer to say this is not true but a massive generalization – please read on)

Of course they don’t.

They don’t because their parents and grandparents – the same ones who voice many, if not most, of those complaints above – taught them they don’t have to have commitment to anything. I’m not blaming anyone, I’m just pointing out how this past two generations have been brought up by their parents.

Choices.

That is one of the hallmarks of capitalism and one of the benchmarks on which this nation is built financially. You, the consumer, get to pick and choose.

So, flashback to your childhood and remember when you sat in the grocery cart as your mom turned the corner and enter Wonderland – the cereal aisle. Mom slowly pushed the cart and you began saying (or if you couldn’t speak, you’d scream) what cereals you wanted. Mom ended up buying 2, 3, or even 4 different kinds of cereal because she knew you would switch every few days. And Mom didn’t stick just to Kellogg’s  brands, she’d even get General Mills or even the occasional off brand (which Dad usually ended up eating or maybe you gave it to the dog!).

Sure enough, over the next couple of weeks you’d have Cheerios for a few days, then switch to Fruit Loops, and then jump over to Sugar Smacks, circle back to Cheerios and finally you’d say you were tired of all those but you’d seen a new cereal on TV and you wanted to try that one so Mom might as well throw away all of the others and just go get the new one.

Kids learned that they can switch cereals on a whim. But also soft drinks, clothes brands, fast food chains, and any other consumer product out there. As an adult, we switch loyalties with car manufacturers (even though grandfather was a Ford or Chrysler or Chevy buyer) and even neighborhoods – I know of people who will move every few years when they grow tired of their home. Young people do the same with jobs. 20-somethings today will switch careers 7-10 times in their work life – that means that they will change job every 3-7 years.

Anyone who has been a child in the past 65 years (since WWII) has been raised in a culture of choices where they are in charge of making those choices.

So why do long-timers in the church get all upset when their kids and grandkids jump from one church to a different church to no-church and over to a church of a different denomination or no denomination. After all, it’s what we taught them: “you don’t have to accept what is in front of you,” and “you have the power to change your circumstances and surroundings so do it.”

Church-hopping today doesn’t happen for only the same reasons as before. I think that our grandparents jumped to another church because of something that happened and caused them to leave. They take that frame of reference and apply to their kids or grandkids.

I think there are a multitude of reasons why people today leave church.

  • They don’t like the programming or staffing
  • A friend invited them to go to another church
  • They want to experience and experiment with a different church
  • They’re looking for a church with values that they have (at the present time)
  • They want a church that will be good for their kids even if there is nothing for the adults
  • They’re seeking a church that is strong in one area of ministry or cause which they identify with
  • They’ve had a conflict with a lay member or staff leader
  • Or any of hundred other reasons

So what is a church to do. How do you address the issue of church hopping in your church? The number of responses is equal to the number of problems but here are a few prime answers

  • Do nothing – just accept that people will come and go through your church. Don’t change anything and realize that the back door is just as wide as the front door and that many people will use both and a few core people will stay and help run things.
  • Focus on a few core principles that guide your church and which in turn limit the number of ministries you do and then do those few ministries extremely well. That means the people who do come will be inculcated into your few ministries.
  • Provide a variety of ministries so that you’re trying to do lots of different things. This is what many churches do – focus on nothing and aim at everything. It works for a while but frankly it dilutes the power and ministry and energy of a church to focus on nothing and try to do everything.
  • Have a few compelling environments which attract people and make them stick to your church. These compelling environments will attract like-minded people so long as it remains a high-level of quality. This is simliar to #2 but that is focused on ministries and this point is on people-groups.
  •  Have several different worship styles within the same facility. That means building several worship centers or doing quick-changes; it also means a bigger staff. But the hope is that you can be a church where people can flit between worship and education venues all the while hearing the same message in a variety of methods.

OR, change the point of view of the people coming to church. That is MUCH harder to do. You see, everything I wrote above sees people coming to church as consumers. They aren’t. And church leaders should stop treating members as consumer. Church attendees are to be givers – of their time, their talents, and their financial treasure. They are to be GENEROUS!

When you attend a wedding, you are not a consumer. You are there at the invitation of the bride or groom; you didn’t just crash it. And the wedding is NOT about you – it’s about the bride (sorry, grooms!). You are a participant – there to enjoy the party and to help celebrate a special day.

Worship is NEVER about the people inside the church. People are there at God’s invitation (and we have no right to turn anyone – anyone! – away). Everyone must be there with the right motivation – not “to get something out of it” but to celebrate God and the life we’ve been given and in turn give away anything and everything we can to help others.

Yeah, changing members in a consumer-oriented culture into reverse-consumer (generous givers!) is not easy. But God doesn’t do easy (or else he’d wipe us off the map – LOL) and God certainly isn’t a consumer-God.

God does love and giving and celebrating and joy. We should and can and must, also.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: future, generosity, strategy, young adults Tagged: , , ,

Leadership and Followship

Posted on December 10, 2011 Written by

Recently I came across a couple of really good articles on leadership:

  • Leadership in Church:
    • http://www.healthychurch.org/doorpost/enews-december-2011
    • Oh, those are sticky wickets to address but every single one of them is a potential minefield for both the church and its leaders. And, minefields don’t go away. A study of minefields (the ones used in wars) show that mines become more unstable over time and the least little pebble can set them off. This is also true of church life – any event can set off a long-dormant mine. Dig up the mines (carefully); confront the elephants in the church (carefully) – they won’t go away on their own but need to be led/taken gently out of harm’s way.
  • Leadership in Sports:
    • http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/in-sports-theres-no-faking-leadership/2011/11/30/gIQAnoksGO_story.html
    • Actually, the “cover story” is about sports but the article cites some research on what followers want: “According to Hogan’s research, followers want four things: integrity, confidence, decision-making and clarity. But just as important is what followers don’t want: irritability, moodiness, untrustworthiness, indec­i­sive­­­ness, needless micro-management and excessive authority. They perceive these things as incompetent, and pretty soon the leveling mechanism kicks in and there is a subtle rebellion.” Those are very powerful words for leaders to remember – all the time.

I also saw a short (less than one minute video) with the former CEO of Xerox. She turned the company around from death’s door to being financially successful. When asked about leadership, her answer was that leadership was dependent on followship – how those who actually do all the work see you and follow you.

Years ago I heard that one of the problems of leadership is that sometimes people are following you and sometimes they are chasing you. Obviously, followers are much better than chasers but sometimes you need both to keep you on your toes.

Don’t run away from the chasers, turn and ask them point-blank (in a nice way) what they want to follow. You may be surprised by how reasonable their answers are. And you will certainly take the wind out of their angry sails. Make the chasers your followers; make the followers your disciples; make your disciples your new leaders; make the new leaders your successors.

Lead On!
Steve

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