Adults Have Wallets

Posted on February 24, 2011 Written by

Several years ago my wife worked for a pastor in North Atlanta. The church grew incredibly fast: in a few years it went from a couple of hundred people to over a thousand. The growth was because it was the only Baptist church in an area of Atltanta that exploded in population. The church built buildings as fast as it could afford. They created a master-plan and communicated to everyone what the plans were for future expansion of the facilities. But the need for buildings meant that they had to rent some trailers for temporary housing of some Bible study classes.

The pastor and other leaders made the decision to put adults in those mobile home-like classrooms. He took some flak for that decision. Here was his response, “Adults have wallets, chidren don’t.” If the adults were uncomfortable with their trailer classrooms, then the adults should give more so the church can build more rooms. It worked. Within a dozen years the church had completely finished their master planned campus. It is really nice. I’m sure they still have debt, but everyone is in the same set of buildings all because the pastor was willing to challenge the people with wallets, adults, to give more.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church finances, generosity, leadership Tagged: , ,

Executive Leadership

Posted on February 8, 2011 Written by

The adult Bible study class I lead is going through Joshua – we study a book of the Bible verse by verse and chapter by chapter. It’s a lot of fun leading a very discussion oriented class. We just began Joshua.

In Joshua 2.1, “Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp…” Some points to consider:

  • He sent out two (2) spies – 40 years before, Moses sent out 12 spies and only two came back with a favorable report. The other 10 were so pessimistic that their majority report caused the nation of Israel to wander in the desert for 40 years until every person age 21 and over had died.
  • He sent them out – Joshua had probably selected these guys and trained them for a dozen years or maybe more. That reminds me of the quote of General of the Army, George C Marshall, Chief of Staff during World War II, “I want an officer for a secret and dangerous mission. I want a West Point football player.” Joshua got exactly the person he wanted for this mission.
  • He sent them out secretly – Joshua did not ask for a vote of everyone; he didn’t ask them to huddle for a church-wide prayer meeting; he just did it and knew that if things went wrong, he’d bear the blame. But he was willing to do that. He weighed the consequences of having everyone know what he was doing (and maybe word getting out to the wrong people) versus doing what he knew was right and getting the info he needed for his decision.
Leadership is tricky. In this case, Joshua decided executive leadership was necessary and that’s what he did. In other circumstances, legislative authority (corporate buy-in) is necessary. Frankly, I feel that executive leadership is needed more often than it is used; executive leadership must always be tinged by the advice of clear-headed counselors. The decision can/must be explained to all later, but a leader must lead – that’s why God made leadership and leaders.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: leadership, strategy Tagged: ,

The Church At Play

Posted on December 11, 2010 Written by

I really wanted to address two separate but related issues: church staff and the church itself.

What I mean by “at play” is very simple – how do church staff (and members) do fun things together on company time. Here’s why: years ago I had a boss who said that the only time he gets worried about his staff is when he did not hear laughter in the halls of the church office. Laughter is an indication that the staff is having fun together and not taking life too seriously. If you don’t hear laughter, you’re going to hear gossip. Laughter is much better.

Most church staffs do church together. Nothing else. That is not healthy – they need intentional times when the church approves (and funds) the staff going out on the company clock to do something memorable together: bowling, watching a movie, painting pottery, playing golf (if you like chasing a little white ball) or frisbee golf, playing softball or flag football, going fishing or sailing, etc. You get the idea. Do something that does not involve church. That will the staff something to talk about for months (years?) to come that does not involve “talking shop.” Give your staff something else to remember – not just last week’s worship and Bible study. After all, church is very stressful – giving your staff permission to play will reduce the stress and give them good memories and a pleasant shared experience. You’ll never regret it.

That leads to the church at play. I know a couple of churches that intentionally shut down their doors on Sundays for the entire church to go on a retreat over Labor Day or Easter. It’s the same principle as above – give the church members something to remember, an experience to share that is out of the ordinary. Going through seminary I worked for a large hospital company – 7000 employees. Each year during the state fair, the company rented a large tent, provided free food (served by top management), and gave away free admission tickets to the state fair to all employees and their families. Many churches do a picnic once a year and that is very healthy.

Most churches know that fellowship is a key component of a healthy church. Most churches view fellowship as punch and cookies after a Sunday music function or the Wednesday supper. Sorry to burst your bubble, that is not fellowship – that is a church program (church programs are quickly becoming a “four-letter word” to me – more in another post). The best fellowship invovles getting away from the church buildings – do something out of the ordinary and out of the four walls of your church. Get out, go away, make memories, take pictures, and have FUN!

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church staff, generosity, leadership, planning, young adults Tagged: , , , ,

Churches as Businesses

Posted on December 1, 2010 Written by

Every so often someone will tell me that “the church is not a business and shouldn’t operate as such.” Just as frequently, I get the comment, “the church really is a business.” So, which one is correct? Well, let me say unequivocally, both are right. Here’s why and why not.

Churches are businesses in that they have the same basic building blocks of a business – every church has:

  • operating budgets
  • staffs
  • “products” (in churches it is “intangible religious benefits” in IRS terms)

Churches are not businesses in that they have a different purpose

  • Their goal is to give to people, not get from people
  • Their goal is empower people to give away more to other people

The foundational structure of every church is business-like. The programming of churches is not necessarily business-like. However, I need to clarify one area there where churches should be more like a company: evaluation.

Churches shy away viscerally from evaluating their programming. They hide behind the phrase “but if it helps just one person, it was worth it.” After 35 years in church work (I worked in a Christian bookstore as a teenager), I feel that churches must evaluate almost everything they do. They can’t hide behind the trite phrase of helping just one person – I do not believe God honors that (or better said, God blesses even more those ministries that are regularly evaluated and improved). The church today must evaluate its staff, buildings, and programming.

Staff: many churches do an acceptable job of evaluating staff but it is frequently a look back and not setting goals for the future. Staff (from the pastor on down) need to be assessed on what they did in the past 6 or 12 months against goals that were established for those staff. Too infrequently bosses fail to set expectations for staff so that there is nothing against which to measure the staff. Then you have the hard part, staff that is not performing need to be encouraged/mentored if they have potential. But if there is no chance that a staff member is going to succeed in your church’s environment, then that person needs to be terminated. Termination is very hard on everyone but in the long run it is beneficial to the rest of the staff and the church. In the words of Spock from Star Trek, “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.” Pruning is hard, but it leads to greater growth in the next season.

Building: this represents sunk costs. A church has already built and paid for those bricks and mortar. But the evaluation should be, “is what this building was originally built for still a viable option or should we change the building to meet future needs?” Buildings can be retro-fitted (for a price, yes) for needs that the church leadership feels is coming up. Do not be wedded to the past “just because we’ve always done it that way.” Years ago I learned how the new anti-termite pesticides work: the chemical inhibit the termites from shedding their old skin when they outgrow it. Thus, the termites strangle inside their old skins. Don’t let your church do that – change your skin as often and necessary to keep the church from killing itself.

Programming: by far, this is the most politic- and emotion-laden area of church work. People have invested their own blood, sweat, and tears in their pet ministries and feel that any mention of cutting them is a threat to them personally. Evaluation is not acceptable and they play their trump card almost immediately – “God is using this ministry.” My grandparents decided that a car was better than a horse and buggy; my parents decided that telephones are better than letters; my generation decided that computers are better than typewriters; the next generation is totally committed to the internet (which is replacing just about everything!). Change is painful but evaluation is an absolute necessity if a church wants to grow or not lose ground.

Evaluation is a matter of opinion – not everyone will evaluate the same program or person the same way. Church leadership needs to determine how the evaluation will occur and how the results will be implemented. That cannot be explained in a blog – every church has a unique culture and that culture must form part of the decision-making/evaluation process. But please heed this note of warning: to do nothing, to not evaluate things on a regular basis, is to ensure that the church will continue its present track with no heed to the future of the church. If you want a biblical example, read Acts 15 when the church in Jerusalem struggled with whether or not to permit Gentiles to be part of the church. Enough said.

Lead On!
Steve

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

Resources, Insources, and Outsources

Posted on November 7, 2010 Written by

Several years ago, Dr. Al Sutton of the 6th Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, spoke to a group of church administrators. D. Sutton used the biblical text of Jesus feeding the 5,000 men (or about 25,000 men, women, and children). It was getting late and the people were hungry. The disciples asked Jesus to send the crowd away. The disciples wanted to outsource the problem but Jesus insisted on “insourcing” the situation. Then the disciples said they didn’t have any money and Jesus replied, “what resources do you have and lets see how we can use that.” Dr. Sutton thanked us administrators for putting up with pastors who want to imitate Jesus by insourcing problems and by telling the finance people to just use whatever you’ve got (without fully knowing what there is to begin with). I’m not doing Dr. Sutton justice with this brief paragraph, but you get the idea.

Every day Christians (and non-Christians) ask God to make personal problems go away. If the issue will only disappear, then there won’t be a problem, right? We even throw Jesus back at God, “If we have faith the size of a mustard seed, God will solve everything.”  God wants us to deal with issues – not run from them. God wants all of God’s disciples to get involved, to get our hands dirty, and to “insource” problems. God doesn’t outsource – God uses you and me. BTW, I’m not talking about medical, ethical, or legal problems – those have tangible consequences and are a matter of much prayer; sometimes God does intervene in human events in miraculous ways to cure diseases and take care of situations far beyond our powers and require divine resources. But what is within our control, God wants us to confront and deal with directly – not push aside.

Next, Jesus asked about the resources available. All too often we tell God that we don’t have enough; that if he’d only provide more we could do more; that the problem is too big for our meager resources. Jesus isn’t about what we have – he’s about what God has. I don’t like it one bit when God tells me to start out on a project when I know that I don’t know the way or have the material goods to finish – I even tell God about the parable of the king who went to war without counting the cost. Invariably God tells me to keep going and trust him. I know it sounds corny and trite, but it is true (about trusting God for daily needs – not daily wants).

So here’s my stewardship lesson for all who read this – all Christians must get involved using every bit we’ve got. Asking God to take the issue away won’t solve anything. Problems are opportunities for God – stop telling God to take some issue away that you don’t want to deal with. Next, use all the resources (time, energy, money) to address the opportunity at hand. As you’re in the middle of the issue, you may be surprised to see God at work and multiplying resources more than you thought possible. Or it may be like the disciples, only after the event is over and some time (hours, days, or months) has passed, will you be able to reflect on that event and see how God was at work. But rest assured of this, God is always at work!

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church administration, church finances, leadership, planning, strategy Tagged: , , , , ,

Personnel as a Percentage of the Entire Budget

Posted on October 14, 2010 Written by

Every year the question comes up, “Is the personnel budget too big?” Some people actually mean, “Are we paying the staff too much?” and that is a question that hurts. In reality, it shows the ignorance of the person asking the question more than anything – they have no idea what their staff does. But more often than not, the intent of the original question is concern over the size of the staff (number of employees) and is that cost appropriate for our church. Here are some figures that I gathered from my local colleagues regarding their church’s 2011 personnel budgets:

  • 40.00%
  • 53.58% – does not include food service or custodial personnel
  • 48.00% – does not include custodians; church also pays $400,000 in debt service
  • 54.00%
  • 47.80%
  • 52.60%
  • 55.76%

From this data, you can tell the personnel team, inquiring church members, and curious onlookers that a range of 40%-60% is within the “normal” range. Feel free to use this info and share it with others – it might help you from those who feel the staff is paid too much or the staff is too big.

BUT, the real question is, “How much staff do we need to do what we want to do?” That is a completely different question and it is too deep to unpack here. However, I do want to wade in ankle-deep.

Most church staffs grow organically – that is, stafff members are added progressively every year or two as the church grows. This is the normal and customary route. Oh, we need someone to help the youth minister, hire a part-time middle school coordinator; our seniors are feeling neglected, hire a retired minister (he can use the income) to take care of the seniors; our current custodians aren’t cleaning the building well, hire another one.

Let me suggest a better method – strategic growth. Strategic growth is more painful in the short run but far more productive in the long run. Because of the time needed, cuts in staff that result from this, and the ensuing time needed to educate members and implement the new structure, I suggest that churches only do this at most every five years.

Strategic growth, in a nutshell, is when church leadership (ministry council, elders, etc.) looks at the “five-year plan” that every church should have. Simultaneously, the council gets a conservative estimate of income for each of the next five years. With those two pieces of info, the council decides what is the #1 goal for the next five years (that thing, without which, the church would cease to exist) and then funds that with staffing, programming, and building money. The council then decides what is #2 and funds it appropriately and so forth until the estimated money runs out.

When the council has run out of money to fund its strategic plan, all other items on the priority list are cut. That means that some staff will be cut, some buildings may not be built or may be renovated, and some programs and ministries will no longer be done. That is going to please some members and anger others – this is where the hurt and pain come in. You’re not going to please everyone, but you will please God as the church uses its resources (staffing, building, and members’ time for ministries) in a strategic method.

A lot more can be said about this but I think you get the idea of where to go from here. I do feel that if strategic staffing and programming is implemented, you’ll be able to look back and be amazed at how far how fast the church went.

So, next time someone asks, “How big is our personnel budget?” return the question with one of your own, “Are we spending personnel dollars in the right way?”

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: budget, church finances, church staff, leadership, strategy Tagged: , , , ,

Business Books

Posted on June 9, 2010 Written by

Why don’t ministers read more business books? There are some classics out there by gurus such as Tom Peters, Peter Drucker, and Jim Collins. There are lesser known authors or newer authors such as the Heath brothers (right now I’m reading their book, Made to Stick – great stuff). Popular business books from the past few years are very readable and enjoyable.

If I could, I’d challenge every minister to read one business book for every two books he or she reads on theology or church life. Think outside the box! After all, a minister is the CEO of a corporation. An aside, a minister once told me that the church is the only organization in the world where the customers (who pay the bills) are also the stockholders (who control the company) which leaves the staff in the middle.

So, please read some business books. Here is a sample:

  • Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer (story of the rise and fall of Veggie Tales)
  • In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters (a management classic)
  • Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath (communicating your message)
  • Switch also by the Heath brothers (how to bring change to your organization)
  • Good to Great by Jim Collins (and the 30-page monograph dealing with non-profits)
  • How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins (how to detect and stop the decline of your organization)
  • Y-size Your Business by Jason Dorsey (not read it yet but gets rave reviews about including the next generation of 20-somethings)
  • and too many others to count but this list will get you started
Lead On!
Steve
Filed Under: leadership, wisdom, young adults Tagged: , ,

Book Review

Posted on May 7, 2010 Written by

Just finished reading “The New Context for Ministry: Competing for the Charitable Dollar” by Lyle Schaller. He wrote this at the end of 2001 and it was published in early 2002. In the book, especially in the last handful of chapters he makes some predications about the future of church economics. It is uncanny how accurate he was and is.

Schaller gives all churches (and non-profits) a warning shot across the bow about the way they’ve always done church finances versus the new economy and how they need to re-shape their church’s finances. It is also hard to acknowledge that the church is not prepared for the future. What is worse, is that no one seems concerned about the future enough to do anything about it.

About once a year someone pulls the fire alarm in my church. It is always a false alarm. Everyone knows it is a false alarm. So, no one moves the exit; no one gets the kids out of the building; no one runs to investigate the source of the alarm. In this book, Schaller is pulling the fire alarm for churches because there is a real fire. Unfortunately, churches believe that “God will provide” the financial resources they need. Well, God will but the church must actively work and search for it.

I recommend the book (even though it is not particularly readable) with an emphasis on his recommendations at the end of the book.

Lead On!
Steve

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