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

                                                Proverbs 23:7

Last week I shared the following:

 

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?

 

I shared the first five last week. Here are the others:

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

Energy Level

Acts 2:46-47

E- Church is fun and possesses a high level of enthusiasm.

I- Church is viewed as a duty and/or obligation.  Somber spirit pervaded.  Energy poured into maintenance rather than touching the community.

Music

Psalm 150

E- There was admitted tension in this area in the effective churches. However, there was an acknowledgement that the greatest growth possibilities tended to be among the younger population. Therefore, adjustments were made where needed to aid in the appeal to young families. The churches were slowly making changes in this area.

I-Music was viewed as a sensitive subject and there was a reluctance to discuss it or make any adjustments.

*Please note that the style of music according to other studies is not as relevant as the “life and quality” of the music.  The only style that was not found in growing churches was “high church” style. 

Expectations of Pastor

Ephesians 4:11-12

E- a) The pastor was viewed as an equipper.

1. b) There was a “teach me to minister” attitude.

I- a) The pastor was called to preach, visit, and counsel.

1. b) There was a “minister to me” attitude.

Willingness to Change

Matthew 15:1-9

E- a) There was an understanding that growth demands change.

1. b) Evangelism was such a priority that it forced the churches to try new things.

I- a) Keeping traditions was a “critical value.”

1. b) Change was seen as too great a price to pay.

 

Role of Laity

I Corinthians 12:7

E- Attendance was desired, but most important value was involvement in ministry.

I- Involvement was characterized in terms of attending and giving.

 

Spiritual Growth

II Corinthians 5:16-17

E- Measured and described in relation to changed lives.

I- Measured and described in relation to Bible knowledge.

 

“Is it really Monday already?”

“The weekend can’t get here quick enough!”

“Do I really have to get up and go to work today?”

John G. Millers says that “some people hate their jobs, feel trapped, feel under appreciated, and are miserable about what they do each day.” Their dissatisfaction with their work turns them into “clock watchers.” Each day begins by counting down the hours until quitting time or until the weekend. The days are long, the work is tedious, and any passion for the job is absent. I worked with someone just like this during my first year out of college. I taught at Pepperell Middle School in Lindale, Georgia and I loved going to work every day. I was located in a classroom right next to a more experienced teacher who apparently had the gift of whining. As a 21 year old young man, my thought was, “Why do you work here? If this is so horrible, why don’t you go do something else?”

I was too respectful to say it out loud to an elder to whom I was newly acquainted. Sadly this teacher was cheating. She (in this particular case a female, but I have encountered as many men with the same issue) was cheating herself and she was cheating the students. I do not know about you, but I want someone teaching my child who is passionate and excited about the opportunity to serve my child. I determined at 21 years of age that I would always do my work with passion and that if I could not that I would step aside so that someone who had passion for the position could give the role what it deserves. I still hold to that today.

Most of the leaders that I work with are blessed to serve in some vocational ministry. Their job is a ministry and their ministry is a job. However, the ministry dynamic does not immunize those who serve in ministry from potential dissatisfaction. Let me say that there is nothing wrong with looking forward to the weekend or to some much needed time off. However, if you lose your passion for what you do, for what the organization is all about, and you live for the weekend instead of for the opportunity to serve….then you must take honest account of yourself. I have served in my current ministry for almost 18 years. I can’t believe it. The time has flown by. I am more of a “calendar watcher” than a “clock watcher.” I have seen the years fly by doing what I love…serving the Lord through a series of ministry assignments at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.

I heard Dr. Johnny Hunt say recently that you should always look forward to going to work and always look forward to going home. When both are true you will not simply be balanced, but be content and much more effective wherever you are. Be true to yourself and more importantly be true to the Lord. Be sure that the person serving in your role does so with passion. Hopefully, it is you!

Perhaps you have known someone who was smart but lacked common sense. Or someone who always dressed very professionally but came across as rude and critical. Or someone who had a great personality but never seemed to get anything accomplished. Having intelligence, a good education, a professional demeanor, attractive appearance,  a great looking resume, an impressive title, and/or the ability to impress peers or employees with people you know or have connected with can be an advantage. However, many people who possess these qualities are quickly viewed by those they work for or work alongside as incompetent if any of the following eight issues begin surface in your work or leadership. Here are the first four:

1. When you are perceived as lazy. I have taught my three daughters this principle and it has served them well. One is a senior in college with a 3.96 G.P.A.. A second is an elementary school teacher and by her second year was being tapped to orient new teachers on how to excel in managing their classroom. A third leveraged her work ethic into a $4.50 per hour raise last year. I shared with them how sadly easy it is to out-perform the average person by simply working a little harder (which is not that hard). Arrive a little earlier, stay a little later, be known as someone who gets the job done, don’t be a complainer, volunteer to do extra, and when you have an idea, own it and work to make it happen. But, whatever you do, never, never, never let it be said of you that you are lazy. If so, you will be viewed as incompetent no matter what your qualifications may be.
2. When you are not purposefully punctual. This issue is cultural and you ignore it at your own leadership peril. Being on time, finishing on time, completing work on time, following agreed upon timelines, and timely responses to all forms of communications are examples of how punctuality needs to be applied. Everyone is subject to getting stuck in traffic, having a family emergency, or occasionally getting snowed under by the workload resulting in falling behind or being late. It is understandable. However, failure on this point should be the exception rather than the rule. Otherwise, you may have the highest academic degree in the room, but people are viewing you as lacking in competence.
3. When you cannot get organized. This is a tough one for those who do not have administrative skills or gifts. The higher you go in an organization, the more you can get by with disorganization if you have the prerogative to compensate by bringing people around you who can organize for you. However, at any level of leadership or service, the inability to organize comes across as lack of competence even if you have the higher I.Q.  If it is not your gift, you must make it a discipline or surround yourself with others who do it for you.
4. When you are unwilling to adopt new technologies. In order to be viewed as a competent leader, you need not be tech savvy nor do you need to possess the latest technological device. However, you must be tech aware at a minimum. I know some people who have titles, degrees, experience, and intelligence, but refuse to use email, to text, to engage in social networking, or to change day to day practices or communications. In spite of their resume, people view them as incompetent, especially followers who are younger. You need to know what the current communication preferences are, know the lingo of social networking even if you do not plug into every source, and continuously have a willingness to adopt new forms of technology and communication. Here is why…every day of your life, the number of people younger than you is dramatically growing. They are suspicious to start with and you only enhance their skepticism of your leadership when you are not at least “tech aware.” Unfortunately, your actions, or lack thereof, lead them to interpret you as incompetent. Don’t allow that to happen.

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.

“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.

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.