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5 Articles to Help Your Church Make Vision Real

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Thank you for helping make October a great month here at Helping Churches Make Vision Real! It’s fun to be a part of the interaction on social media and hear about how helpful the content has been. So, thank you for connecting with me through the content on this blog! You made these the top 5 Posts from this last month. If you missed out on any of them, here they are all in one place for your convenience!

1. 6 Children’s Ministry Trends

I was recently at a Vision Arizona Network meeting where two very successful Children’s Ministry Directors were interviewed about recent trends in Children’s Ministry. Brett Humprhey from Sun Valley Community Church and Michell Loyd who serves at Harvest Community Church shared some great thoughts that I wanted to pass along to you. And for those of you who were wondering, Vision Arizona is Church Planting Network that I’m a part of. Thinking about planting a church in Arizona? You should check these guys out!

2. 5 Reasons People Don’t Volunteer at Your Church

Do you need more preschool workers to serve children? Do you need more greeters to greet? Do you need more ushers to…ush? If so, you’re in familiar territory. I’ve never met a church that said, “You know…when it comes to volunteers, we’re good. We’ve got plenty. In fact, there’s a waiting list for the nursery.” Churches everywhere need to mobilize more volunteers to get ministry done. But before you start signing people up and filling slots, it might be helpful to take a look at why people are NOT volunteering.

3. What the Church Can Learn from U.S. Airways About Fun

When you put the word “fun” and “airline” together in the same sentence what usually comes to mind for people who regularly fly is Southwest Airlines. They’re known for their comical antics and exceptional guest experience. But I can honestly say that I recently had one of the best flying experiences of my life, and shockingly it was with U.S. Airways! All of the credit is due to the lead Flight Attendant, a young lady by the name of Florence, who made the experience hilariously fun. Sadly most organizations miss out on what a powerful driver fun can be in the workplace.

4. 10 Indispensable Practices of the 2-Minute Leader

I’m excited about my friend Brian Dodd’s new book and accompanying study guide 10 Indispensable Practices Of The 2-Minute Leader.  Brian has over 25 years of experience in church leadership and his site Brian Dodd On Leadership is one of the most popular Christian blogs for Church Leaders. I recently had the opportunity to talk with Brian about his new book. Here are some of the highlights and thoughts that stood out to me from the conversation:

5. The Difference Between a Shepherd and a Leader

I love helping churches and leaders get unstuck and make vision real. In fact out of all the stuff I get to do with churches and leaders one of the things I enjoy the most is Leadership Coaching. Recently I had the incredible opportunity to spend a day coaching a group of Pastors and Church Leaders from Australia (unfortunately their cool accent didn’t rub off). One of the topics we spent time digging into was the difference between shepherding and leading in relation to why some churches are stuck while others move forward. Here are couple of thoughts from the conversation.

Posted in Leadership

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3 Reasons Big Churches Keep Getting Bigger

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Recently Leadership Network published an article in which they shared the following research about megachurches (a Protestant congregation with 2,000 or more weekly attendees – both adults and children):

  • In 1970 there were less than 25 megachurches in all of North America
  • In 1983 there were less than 100 megachurches in the United States
  • Today there are more than 1,650 megachurches in North America (roughly 1,625 in the United States and 25 in Canada)

All of that means this past weekend of those who went to a Protestant Church in North America, 1 out of 10 went to a megachurch. The megachurch phenomenon of recent history doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. In fact it seems to be growing, even outside of North America big churches are getting bigger. But why?

1. Directional Leadership

There is a shift in thinking that is happening. No longer are pastors simply seen as someone who cares for the flock through providing counseling, marrying, burying, and preaching nice messages that educate people. Rather, more than any time in the history of the church, pastors are beginning to view themselves as directional leaders tasked to move the people of God (the church) from where they are, to where they need to be. Large churches have a tendency to be Staff-led as opposed to Committee-led. They also view leadership as a spiritual gift and build a culture to develop and nurture that gift in others.

2. Organizational Alignment

The larger the church, generally speaking the more focused it is. They know what they do well and what they don’t do well and they play to their strengths. They’ve actually clarified their purpose and as a result they’ve been able to simplify their processes and organize their staffing, budgeting, calendaring, ministries, discipleship strategies, and behaviors around that purpose.

3. Outsider Focused

Large churches fundamentally believe they exist to reach people outside of the faith. They don’t believe the church is for Christians, but the church is Christians and they exist for people who are not here yet. As a result everything they do from style in the worship services and other ministry environments to language that is chosen, guest services and way finding is done with the outsider in mind. They consistently make choices based on who they are going to reach, not who they are going to keep.

What are some other reasons you think large churches keep getting larger? And what keeps small churches small? I’d love to hear your thoughts…leave a comment!

Posted in Leadership

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The Difference Between a Shepherd and a Leader

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

I love helping churches and leaders get unstuck and make vision real. In fact out of all the stuff I get to do with churches and leaders one of the things I enjoy the most is Leadership Coaching. Recently I had the incredible opportunity to spend a day coaching a group of Pastors and Church Leaders from Australia (unfortunately their cool accent didn’t rub off). One of the topics we spent time digging into was the difference between shepherding and leading in relation to why some churches are stuck while others move forward. Here are couple of thoughts from the conversation.

Leaders Lead and Shepherds Shepherd

This may sound naively obvious, but leaders and shepherds have different gifts and skill-sets. The Scriptures define leadership as a spiritual gift (Romans 12:8). Shepherding is an analogy that Jesus used along with various writers of the New Testament to describe to an agrarian culture what spiritual leadership looks and acts like.

People are Led by Leaders and Cared for by Shepherds

People follow leaders because the very essence of a leader is to lead. They’re going somewhere and people are inspired to go with them. On the other hand, people often feel endeared to shepherds because shepherds know their name, know what’s going on in their lives and provide more intimate care to their flock.

Shepherds have their Eyes on the Flock while Leaders have their Eyes on the Hill

Shepherds and leaders naturally think about and fix their gaze on different things. Shepherds are consumed with the state of the flock while leaders naturally drift towards the future and where they’re taking people.

Some of the best Church Leaders not only have a leadership gift, but also have the heart of a shepherd. Church Leaders who don’t naturally have the heart of a shepherd would do well and benefit by surrounding themselves with others on the team who do.

Posted in Leadership

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6 Children’s Ministry Trends

Sunday, October 27, 2013

I was recently at a Vision Arizona Network meeting where two very successful Children’s Ministry Directors were interviewed about recent trends in Children’s Ministry. Brett Humprhey from Sun Valley Community Church and Michell Loyd who serves at Harvest Community Church shared some great thoughts that I wanted to pass along to you. And for those of you who were wondering, Vision Arizona is Church Planting Network that I’m a part of. Thinking about planting a church in Arizona? You should check these guys out!

#1 Partnering with Parents: What happens in the home is more important that what happens at church. Children’s Ministries are doing a better job of partnering with parents and providing resources like family dinner time talk sheets, family devotions, and video tips to help parents continue the conversation from the weekend throughout the week.

#2 Department Integration: Churches are beginning to break down department silos and think more holistically about birth through graduation. This includes everything from curriculum, events, the way ministries approach volunteering, and more.

#3 Handoffs: In life transition points have a high potential to be make or break moments. Children’s Ministries are catching onto this and becoming more intentional with settings up children and their families for success as they transition from Children’s to Student Ministries.

#4 Security: Safety is becoming a major issue in Children’s Ministries. Once a rarity things like secure check-in and check-out processes, background checks for volunteers, security teams and secure Children’s facilities are becoming the norm.

#5 Volunteers: There is always a need when you are trying to care for and minister to children. But many Children’s Ministries are beginning to approach volunteering differently. They’re beginning to realize that “join me” is always better than “you should.” They’re building sub lists just like the local school system. They’re realizing that people want to be a part of fun winning teams. They’re spending more time setting volunteers up to succeed. And they know that (just like in the workplace) people are more likely to stay engaged over the long haul if they have a friend they’re volunteering with. Need help with volunteers? Don’t miss this FREE online seminar featuring nationally leading pastors that will help get more volunteers!

#6 Lead Pastor: Winning Children’s Ministries have Lead Pastors who don’t treat the Children’s as a “separate ministry” but rather ensures that the same mission, vision, and values are in place in the Children’s Ministry as they are in the rest of the church. These Pastors provide clarity for direction, honest feedback and coaching, they lean into their Children’s Ministry Staff as a resource and advocate publicly for the ministry.

Posted in Leadership

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Why Leadership is Not Power

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Have you ever thought to yourself, “If I were in charge, things would be different, things would be better”? Because, after all whoever is in charge has the most power right? They’re the ones who get to make the big boy decisions right?

What makes a leader is not power, but the ability to empower others.

Is the most powerful person in the room really the best leader in the room? Or could it be, that the better leader is the person who gives away the most power?

You win the hearts of people when you help them grow personally.

Lording over people and barking out orders never endears people to a leader. It was Peter Drucker who is credited with saying, “The leader of the past was a person who knew how to tell. The leader of the future will be a person who knows how to ask.” Click here to learn more about this leadership tension. Helping people grow as a leader means giving them authority to make decisions, practice with leadership situations and socraticly coach them to move in the right direction. It’s true. You get more when you give. Even in the economy of leadership.

“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear extra long tassels on their robes. And how they love to sit at the head of the table at banquets and in the most prominent seats in the synagogue! They enjoy the attention they get on the streets, and enjoy being called ‘Rabbi.’” Matthew 23:5-7

A majority of leaders are interested in keeping their position and acquiring more power. The Pharisees were interested in power and position. So much so that many had even sided with Rome. As a leader are you more interested in acquiring power or giving power away to others? Are you more interested in attaining more power, or providing the shoulders for others to stand on?

Posted in Leadership
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