Leadership: On Getting Volunteers

My wife is perhaps the world’s foremost expert in getting church people to volunteer. She heads our cradle roll program — class for kids from old-enough-to-sit-up to two years. And she needs a lot of people to hold crying babies, wash toys, teach the lesson, etc. She’s booked one-year in advance for both Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights.

And so … the church was having trouble filling slots for the nursery, and had zero results despite announcements, sign up sheets, and a requirement that parents of children in the children’s minister must volunteer in the ministry. And so my wife has now booked all the volunteers needed through April 2011. Really.

Bad Elders: Leadership Hubris

Thom S. Rainer is a well-known author, consultant, and speaker on church growth and leadership. He recently posted an article in his blog about hubris among church leaders.

“Hubris,” of course, means pride. It’s the Greek word for the kind of pride that goes before a fall.

Rainer teaches some lessons based on the failures of the Big Three American auto makers —

Replanting a Church: Leading Fearlessly

We are working through an article by Scott Thomas on replanting an existing church, that is, renewing a church so that it grows and matures as a church plant does.

7. Fearlessly Lead the Replanting Process (1 John 4:18).

1. Prayerfully determine if God has called your church to enter a replanting at this time. Do you feel God is calling you to replant your church?
2. Once affirmed, lead fearlessly through the rough waters, people jumping overboard, sea sickness, and mutiny among the crew. Many people (including leaders and even spouses) will become disoriented, discouraged, and dissenting. Lead the body patiently, lovingly, but firmly – just as Jesus would. But don’t lead fearful of losing popularity, friendship, or a comfortable, secure job. A manager is a pleaser of people. A visionary leader is a pleaser of God.
3. Do you have the visionary, God-called leader in place?
4. If so, does he have the support of the leadership?
5. If not, where will you begin to look for a shepherd leader with the skill set to replant your church?

Any effort to make as dramatic a change as we’ve been considering in this series will require remarkable courageous, tenacity, and patience. But I wouldn’t want the leadership to be fearless — because there are lots of things to be afraid of.

Replanting a Church: Leadership

We are working through an article by Scott Thomas on replanting an existing church, that is, renewing a church so that it grows and matures as a church plant does.

2. Church Leadership
a. Identify the top three or four lay leaders of the church.
i. What will each of their roles be in leading change?
ii. What resource or encouragement do they need to more effectively help guide the ship?
iii. Do they fully understand the vision for replanting a missional church?
iv. How could they lead organized groups of men as you work through this process of change? See the Disciples’ model below and try to identify at least the six key positions of leadership:
Top Leader 1 Leader Leader Leader
Top Leader 2 Sub-leader Sub-Leader Sub-Leader
Top Leader 3 Sub-leader Sub-Leader Sub-Leader

Remember that we’re talking about replanting an existing church. In Churches of Christ, this means the elders have to be firmly on board with such an effort. There’s no going around the elders.

Overseeing the Moderate Church: Part 3

This brings us to teaching. Moderate churches generally have a very weak educational program, because the doctrines that divide the church are off limits. Either one side dominates the classes and the other side doesn’t listen, or else the tough topics are just never talked about in a serious way. Or else there’s one class that teaches one doctrine and another class that teaches another–but no one is ever required to question his pre-existing beliefs.

After all, serious consideration of the doctrines that divide the members would seem, well, divisive. It just seems so prudent to avoid such issues and talk about what the church agrees on. But avoiding the conflict is the surest road to division.

Overseeing the Moderate Church: Part 2

In Part 1, we considered the difficulties of managing a moderate church, that is, a church that is divided between progressives and conservatives. While it’s not inevitable that such churches divide, they often do. The reason is almost always a failure of the leadership to confront the problem. Rather, most churches decide to delay the day of reckoning, piling political compromise on top of political compromise, until one day the church collapses.

Overseeing the Moderate Church, Part 1

[This series from way back in March 2007, when there were maybe, oh, 30 readers, keeps getting attention because a lot of churches wrestle with these problems. I thought it might be helpful to re-run it, and I couldn’t help editing it just a tad.]

Some churches are thoroughly progressive, with progressive elders, staff, and members–at least, most of them. Some churches are thoroughly conservative, with conservative elders, staff, and members–at least, most of them. But most are not. Most are something else. Let’s call them “moderate.”

Obviously, a moderate church has a serious, built in problem–its elders, staff, and members are theologically divided. Now, this is not an insurmountable problem, but it’s a big problem. It’s especially big because most churches have leadership that seeks to avoid confrontation, meaning that this serious problem will not be addressed. Rather, the usual Church of Christ style is to sweep the problem under the rug.

Firing and Hiring Ministers: The Search Committee

I just received an email asking an important question I can’t recall having addressed before. I asked for and received permission to post an edited version of the question —

Jay:  I’m a recent convert to your “One in Jesus” brilliance…thanks so much for doing it.  I don’t know how you churn out so much material on a daily basis!

Our church just went through a preacher-less span.  During that time, the task of seeking out and hiring a new preaching minister was given to a search team, composed of a cross-section of elders, staff, and members.  The new hire was announced.  It was the first time 99% of us had seen his face or heard his voice.

How Not to Have to Fire Your Preacher: Keeping the Right Guy, Part 1

If you made a good hire, then you should feel sufficiently invested in the man that you will do what it takes to keep him.

Now, ask yourself, as traumatic as leaving is on a family, why would a preacher leave your church? Then think about how you can take away the temptation.

a. Money

Preachers leave for lots of reasons. Money is not usually the biggest reason unless the poor guy just can’t make it on the salary you’re paying.