Equipping

How sad that someone possessing a sufficient degree of talent, experience, intelligence, or skill would be viewed by those who serve alongside or others as incompetent. It can happen. You may have the credentials and yet be viewed as incompetent if any of the eight issues we are discussing are true for you. Take heed and make sure these are not part of your leadership makeup. Here are the first four that were discussed in last week’s post.

1. When you are perceived as lazy.
2. When you are not purposefully punctual.
3. When you cannot get organized.
4. When you are unwilling to adopt new technologies.

Now on to the other four:

5. When you are often low on energy. Those following politics can observe this principle with one or more talented candidates who are vying for a presidential nomination at this time. They have great ideas but are not connecting with potential voters. Failure to exhibit passion for what you do, the gifts you possess, the people you serve, or the organization you lead is interpreted by followers as incompetence. Perhaps you are introverted, introspective, or very task driven. Keep in mind that perception is reality to the person that has the perception. You must exude some degree of enthusiasm or all of your credentials will go to waste.

6. When you exercise poor judgement. While everyone makes mistakes, not all mistakes are created equal. Being a few minutes late a couple of times is not the equivalent of making an inappropriate comment in mixed company. Losing a receipt is not the equivalent of double billing for expenses. While everyone is subject to making errors, the blatant choice to do something that is unethical, immoral, illegal, or to take some action that compromises the safety or reputation of those you serve or serve alongside is not only egregious but also an indication of actual incompetence.

7. When you do not produce for your organization. What is the purpose of the organization that you work for? That is a critical question for you to know and understand. Once you know the purpose, your activity should always be directed toward helping achieve that purpose. Anyone can fill a position, occupy a desk, or fill in the hours required. But when you are not viewed as one who is making a difference in the organization fulfilling its purpose, you are viewed as incompetent.

8. When you fail to communicate. Communication takes several forms in an organization ranging from giving as much advance notice as possible if you will be absent, representing your organization well to the public, actively participating in staff meetings, to building relationships with co-workers just to name a few. Be proactive in all forms of communication. Be timely, friendly, gracious, diligent, and sufficiently detailed. Failure to communicate well is viewed as incompetence and therefore, should not be underestimated.

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. . .

                                       Proverbs 23:7

The way that we think is important because it is our thinking that affects our actions.  The way in which we think comprises our attitude.  Good attitudes lead to better decisions and healthier decisions.  Churches also have attitudes that we often refer to as a “church culture.”  Like individuals, congregations as a group have corporate attitudes. What is the attitude of your church?  How does your congregation think?

Some years ago, one of my peers in a neighboring state studied the thinking of churches in his region. For the purpose of this study effective churches were defined as those who were experiencing growth in membership.  He found eleven distinctive attitudes that were clearly opposite from the corporate attitudes in churches that were plateaued or declining.

You should note that the congregations had much in common.  They were Baptist Churches, with small group ministries that generally met prior to worship, and provided the typical ministries and programs you would associate with a Southern Baptist congregation. While the programming and ministries were similar, some were growing while others were not.  What was the difference?  It was not the style or the programming.  It was the mentality of the congregation.

I took one other step in examining these attitudes.  I connected the scriptural basis for the attitudes.  How does your church think?  Here are the first six distinctions:

(E= Corporate attitude in effective churches  &  I= Corporate attitude in ineffective churches)

Prayer

Acts 4:31

E- There was a consistent mention of prayer and its role in personal and church growth.

Prayer was strategic.

I- Prayer was not mentioned.  Note that prayer occurred in the life of these churches during worship, offertories, Wednesday nights, times of crisis, etc.  However, it was not intentional or strategic like in effective

Friendliness and Inclusion

Acts 2:42-47

E- Members had a consciousness that newcomers need help in order to break into a new group.

I- Their level of friendliness was strong and intentional to one another, but passive to outsiders.

View of Evangelism

Matthew 28:18-20

E- Evangelism was seen as the responsibility of each member and was expected to be taken seriously.  Evangelism was described in relational terms.

I- The responsibility for evangelism was assigned exclusively to staff and pastors.

Evangelism was described primarily in institutional and programming terms.

View of their Community

Matthew 9:37-38

E- The perception was that there were many in the community to be reached and members were equipped in personal evangelism.

I- The perception was that the community was made of people already churched and/or people who had already made up their minds.

Time Orientation

Philippians 3:13

E- a) The best days for the church are yet to come.

1. b) All problems are solvable.
2. c) Optimism dominated.

I-Our best days were in the past (“Do you remember when. . . “)

 

More next week…

“I’ll give you a call by then end of the week.”

“I’m going to take you lunch soon.”

“I’ll get that info to you by the end of the day.”

“I’ll sit down with you and we can talk it through.”

Have you ever let someone down? I know that I have and I’m not proud of it. But I will tell you straight up that it is always my intent to follow up on what I say I am going to do. I’ll take it a step further. I would personally want to know if I have neglected anything I told you that I would do and would appreciate a reminder. That does not bother me because I want to follow through on what I said I would do. When I led the Evangelism team at the Georgia Baptist Convention, I would meet with the staff each month. One part of the agenda was labeled “What about” This item was where I made myself accountable back to my team for anything that ever came out of my mouth. I have likewise done this with all teams I have led through the years. I was always willing (and still am) to give an explanation, status update, or apology if needed for anything I said I would do that may have been left undone. You can ask those who have served closest to me about this. I want to keep my promises.

I imagine you know someone who makes statements like the four in the introduction and you know good and well you are not going to hear back from them. They make proclamations and don’t understand that their credibility erodes further with each failure to follow through on what proceeded from their own mouth. I am not talking about making a mistake here. I am referring to not following through on what you say you will do. Sadly, when this occurs with customers they don’t simply interpret it as “Mack does not keep his promises,” but as “the whole organization does not follow up on their promises.” Ouch! It is not only your personal reputation at stake. John G. Miller says, “Whether its boss to employee, peer to peer, or corporate to field and vice versa, no one should be surprised when anyone keeps a promise. Whatever we say that we’ll do, we do. When people treat one another like this, your leadership is maximized.”

Adapted from Chapter Fifteen of John G. Miller’s book, Outstanding; 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional.

Maximized Leadership: Making Multi-Generational and Cross-Cultural Connections

Is your organization struggling with a generation or culture gap?

Has the community changed over the past years bringing the challenges of a growing cultural diversity?

These two challenges have much in common. People naturally find themselves more effective as leaders among those in the same life stage and from the same cultural background. However, leaders who serve the Lord Jesus Christ do not have the luxury of limiting their influence to people their own age who speak their own language (literally or figuratively). The Great Commission commands believers to “make disciples of all nations.” Study up on the cultures that surround you but jump ahead by utilizing these three actions that transcend all generations and cultures.

1. Relationships: Everyone responds to personal interaction that is gracious, loving, caring, and expressive of appreciation. Are you connecting with others simply for love’s sake.
2. Passion: You will never lead anything up by talking it down. If you do not believe with all of your heart who Christ is and what He has called you to do, you cannot expect anyone of any generation or culture to respond to your leadership. Serve Him with passion.  Colossians 3:23
3. Deference without compromise: You need to change. Everyone that grows changes. You cannot be all that God has called you to be without changing. Rarely will you effectively cross cultural or generational barriers without changing or deferring on some level. The key is to do so without compromise of biblical convictions. The challenge is that some people have difficulty separating the convictions from their upbringing. It’s tough and requires godly wisdom. Learn to defer but never at the expense of God’s Word.

Here is a small post that can pay huge dividends in your leadership:

Papa John’s Founder, John Schnatter made this observation:

“I’ve always found that people who struggle are hard on others, but those who do well in life are hard on themselves.”

I believe in high expectations. I believe you should expect the best of yourself and of others. I believe those who serve around me should embrace high expectations of themselves and others. When I make a “goof,” I try to own it, correct it, and own up to it. When others make a “goof,” I try to help them correct it and show as much grace as I can. I believe we can get the “best from one another” without being “hard on one another.” I will not suggest that I have perfected the concept but I do acknowledge that when applied it exemplifies and honors Jesus Christ. In order to maximize your leadership, you must be forgiving.

Adapted from Chapter Thirteen of John G. Miller’s Outstanding: 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional

 

 

I love college age students and enjoy occasional opportunities to speak at events on college campuses and churches for that life stage. My youngest daughter is in college and I have always had affection for this group. Those who know me also recognize that three years of my ministry were spent as a pastor to college age students. My concern for the post high school grads has ramped up even higher in light of the research Tom Crites and I recently conducted on young adults who grew up in church and “stayed” active instead of dropping out. Of the fifteen greatest influences, three directly related to what a young person experiences between ages 18-22 and one other had an indirect, though profound effect. Ministry to college age young adults is not just important to the future of the church but critical. Please allow me to take a few moments to dispel some common myths about ministry to this age group.

1. College age students do not care to attend church. That is not true. Many churches have a very healthy attendance of 18-22 year olds while many others have absolutely none. If they did not care to go to church, then there would be no churches with thriving college age ministries. In my leadership of Sunday School over many years I often stated that the number one reason that people do not want to go to Sunday School is because they have been. Ouch! Sadly, some churches are not connecting with young adults and the experience leaves some questioning the value of church attendance. I would argue that a mature believer would be devoted no matter what their prior experience. But, remember that these are 18-22 year olds meaning they are in the phase of “maturing” rather than “maturity.” 

2. There is no point in having a college ministry in your church if you are not in a college town. That is not correct. As a matter of fact, when I was a college pastor, we were 30 miles from the nearest college and averaged well over 100 in this age group on Sunday morning as well as for a weekday Bible study. I do not suggest that the typical church can draw that many students on a weekly basis. But, here is the key. Every community has 18-22 year olds residing there whether there is a college nearby or not and not every young adult goes to college. Many churches think it not necessary to have a college ministry because they have no college students. However, you will not likely reach college students if you do not have a college age ministry with some leaders focusing on this life stage.

3. College age students don’t have much to give to the church. That is not true. Perhaps if you are thinking totally in regard to finances you could make the argument. However, it is during this life stage that many young adults are called to ministry, experience missions, commit to serve as missionaries, and are at a place of strong influence over high school and middle school students. Though you may or may not reap immediate benefits, the church at large reaps the results for decades to come when the lives of college age students are touched by your ministry.  

4. Most churches do not have the resources to have a ministry for college age young adults. That is not true because it does not require a dime. Only one thing is needed. It begins with an adult who is willing to invest time, build a team, minister throughout the week (not just on Sundays), and patiently invest in the lives of post high school grads and young adults.

I want to challenge you to pray, enlist, and initiate a ministry to college age young adults in your church. This ministry is very tough but greatly rewarding. I hope you will check out chapters 17-20 of my new book Why They Stay to learn more about some key discoveries related to the college age experience and the impact on the likelihood that they will still be in church at age 30. Go to www.whytheystay.com to learn more.

I love to compete. I don’t’ know that you can tell from my 56 year old body but I actually possess a pretty good sense of balance and coordination. Although I never excelled enough in athletics enough to play on the college level, I have always been able to pick up any game or sport and to become competitive pretty quickly.  I played baseball, basketball, and football growing up and in my adult life have golfed, bowled, played tennis, played softball, and some basketball just to name a few. We can play horseshoes, ping pong, corn hole, or about any other game and I won’t suggest that I will beat you but I will give you a run for your money. [“He who puts on his armor should not boast like he who takes it off” as the Bible says.] I like to compete. As a child my closet was filled with games. My neighborhood was the junior version of the NBA-NFL-MLB and I was the commissioner organizing games, leagues, and tournaments on weekends and throughout the summer beginning at about age six.

 

Competing can be an attribute or a detriment depending on your attitude. I like to win but I don’t consider myself a sore loser. There is always another opportunity to compete and I now possess the added advantage of complaining about some ailing body part that impeded my ability. A competitive spirit can help you excel in your work if it drives you to do your best and to maximize your potential. However, it can be a detriment if you find yourself competing against your fellow team members. I am not referring to a healthy competitive spirit where you seek to be your best. I am referring to an unhealthy competitive spirit that would lead you to “talk down other staff members” in order to make you look better (they lose and you win), or you choose not to support an idea that you did not create (they lose and you can claim it’s not your fault), or you choose not to communicate with another ministry area (you look good and they look bad). It is okay to be competitive, but beware of competing against your own team.

 

John G. Miller concludes chapter fourteen of his book, Outstanding: 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional with this thought: “Its stated in the Bible: ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ Nor can the leadership be maximized.”

 

*Adapted from chapter fourteen of John G. Miller’s book, Outstanding: 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional

 

Leaders by definition serve as “change agents.” Leading change is more difficult when the followers are larger in number, when the followers have been longer entrenched in a culture, or when the leader lacks the skills to inspire and move people toward the desired change. As a leader, you only have control of one of those factors; your skills. Books have been written on the subject but I am going to be audacious enough to suggest four keys you can apply immediately that will help bring about change.

1. Earnestly pray before the process instead of after growing frustrated. Ideas always sound good in theory. However, leaders many times assume an idea is good without seeking God’s wisdom prior to “pulling the trigger.”
2. Sincerely show love to the people you lead. It may sound obvious but I have seen many a leader fail on this one. If you really love on people and they grow to love you, the result is that they trust you to make decisions and are less resistant. The love of a leader will often trump sentimentality for a tradition or idea. This idea takes time to work but you must begin to implement it right now.
3. Make key followers think the change is their idea. When you present a problem to key influencers in your group and ask them to brainstorm solutions, they often will come to the same conclusions as you but are much more enthusiastic about the change when they believe it is their idea.
4. Develop an incremental plan to bring about the change. Sometimes it is possible to divide a solution into ten or more distinct steps that can be applied over many months instead of making a complete change in a weekend and the followers not only don’t resist but sometimes don’t know the change has taken place until it has become the norm.

When Tom Crites and I conducted the research for the book “Why They Stay,” we found several surprises. The book addresses the issues that keep children and teens connected to church into their adult lives. On its face, one of the surprises sounded like bad news and actually hurt my feelings personally as a new grandparent. We were surprised to discover no correlation between the faith of grandparents and whether young adults were still actively involved in church as adults. That is not to suggest that grandparents cannot have an influence. The key message of this finding is for parents and the message is this; You cannot delegate the spiritual development of your children to anyone else. Though you may take pride in the fact that your dad was a deacon or your mom sang in the choir, it is you and your spouse that your children are most likely to model their faith after.

 

What is a grandparent supposed to do with this information? Quite frankly,  I would ignore it and that comes from the person who wrote it. Here is why. My grandparents had a direct effect on my spiritual journey. The research is a 10,000 foot view of trends and probabilities. The whole premise of the book is that parents and church leaders have influence and the research directs them to the points of impact. What steps can a grandparent take to increase the probability that their grands will be in church as adults?

 

First, revitalize your relationship to your adult children. If you are estranged from your adult children for any reason, your ability to influence your grandchildren is lessened greatly. You will have less time with them (if any), less access to them, and less influence on them if your children are undermining your credibility based on a damaged relationship. I want to acknowledge that the problems may not even be your fault. Let’s assume for the moment you are totally on the right side of whatever the issues may be. Could it be that you need to make a sacrifice for your grandchildren? Take the high road and the humble road and set aside the fact that you are right, seek reconciliation even at a cost to your pride, and turn your attention to any possible influence you can have on your grandchildren. This is particularly important if one or both of their parents are not in church. They are in an uphill struggle for their spiritual development and you need to be a cheerleader for their faith. You cannot do that if you are estranged from the your grandchild’s parents.

 

Second, do what you must to get your grandchildren to Jesus. Ideally, their parents are taking them to church. If not, and it is in your power to do so, take them to Sunday School, worship, Vacation Bible School, send them to a Christian Youth Camp, and do all in your power to get them to Jesus and to a place where their faith is continually being fed as often as is within your power to do so and as early in their lives as possible.

 

Third, share the tools (of how to keep kids connected) with your  adult children. Whether you give them a copy of a book like “Why They Stay,” or share from the lessons you have learned from reading it yourself, or pointing them to a website like whytheystay.com, find a way. Obviously I highlighted the resources that are part of the project I am invested in right now, but please understand that the principle is what I want you to see and not a product. Discover good resources and feed them to the parents of your grandchildren.

 

Fourth, be a model of faith and a cheerleader for the faith of your grandchildren. You have probably heard it said before that  your life may be the only Bible that some people ever read. That may be true for your grandchildren if their parents are not living their faith. Be a Christ-like model of faith and demonstrate what it means to live for Jesus Christ. In addition, everyone needs encouragement. Be a cheerleader for the faith or your  grandchildren by affirming any and all steps of faith and spiritual growth. Celebrate their spiritual milestones and make much of them as they make much of Jesus.