Tag Archive - clarity

0

How to Raise the Speed Limit at Your Church

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Everyone is going to spend eternity somewhere. And there is a moment coming when you and I will no longer have the opportunity to affect change on the world. Jesus will come back and set everything wrong…right. Until then we’ve been given a window of opportunity to join Jesus in a sacred mission of reconciling the people of the planet to the purposes of God. That’s why it’s rare that I ever meet a church leader that wants to slow down. Most have a white hot passion to see people far from Jesus come near to him. While as church leaders we can’t control the movement of the Holy Spirit there are things we can do organizationally to set the sail.

1. The Speed Limit goes Up as Clarity goes Up

The clearer you can be with the vision that God has given you the easier it is for people on your team to make decisions to organize behaviors, strategies and ministries to get you there. In fact the decision rate of people is directly related to vision clarity and defining the playing field for your team.

2. The Speed Limit goes Up as Trust goes Up

As trust on the team goes deeper the speed limit goes higher. The more trust that exists on a team the faster that team has the ability to go. Trust is the fuel that leadership runs on. Everyone wants to be a part of a winning team and when the team believes in where it’s going that pace goes up.

3. The Speed Limit goes Up as Development goes Up

The more people you develop to grow into assuming responsibility and leadership roles the faster your church can move. When you delegate, empower, and provide young leaders with the opportunity to exercise their leadership gift the pace increases because you are no longer leading alone. Your ministry impact is directly related to the amount of leaders you develop.

Photo Credit: Lucas Stanley via Compfight cc

Posted in Leadership

0

Helping Your Church Get Unstuck

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Churches get stuck for all kinds of reasons. It’s okay to get stuck, it’s just not okay to stay that way. There’s too much Kingdom potential on the line. That’s why 2014 needs to be the year that your church finally gets unstuck! At the Unstuck Group we help churches grow their impact through church consulting and coaching experiences designed to focus vision, strategy, and action.

At the Unstuck Group we don’t just offer consulting solutions. We help churches get unstuck!

Check out this infographic to discover more about how we help churches get unstuck!

unstuckinfographic

Consulting Services:

Ministry Health Assessment Complete a comprehensive assessment of your ministry and identify opportunities for next steps.

Strategic Operating Plan Clarify your mission, vision, and core strategies – and then realize it through prioritized action initiatives.

Staffing & Structure Review Determine the best organizational structure for future growth and get the right people in the right roles.

Communications Review communications systems, staffing, websites, graphic design, branding, social media and messaging to develop a communications strategy.

Training Join one of our leadership coaching experiences for pastors and other ministry leaders. We’ll equip and train you to have a bigger impact.

Speaking We’re available to speak at your conference, leadership or staff gathering on a variety of leadership and ministry topics.

Ready to move forward? Our team is prepared to help you have a bigger impact! We’d like to get to know you, talk through options and design solutions that work for you. Let’s start the conversation! Follow this link to get started today!

The Unstuck Group isn’t just the Consulting Group that I’m a part of. It’s the Consulting Group that I believe in – because I trust the team, I trust the process, and I trust the results.

Posted in Leadership

5

7 Traits of Churches that Experience Repeat Success

Sunday, December 1, 2013

It’s one thing to experience success; it’s another thing altogether to repeat success over, and over, and over again. Many churches experience moments of success, but few experience repeat success. Fewer still, understand why they were successful in the first place and intentionally create behaviors in the organization of the church to make success become the norm. Below are 7 traits of churches that experience repeat success:

1. Finding the Right People

Successful teams don’t just have talented players on the roster, but the right players that fit the scheme and system the team is trying to run. Find the right players and let them run.

2. Longevity

Sometimes you just need to outlast your critics. Trust is the commodity of leadership, and trust is built up close and over time.

3. Work a System

“Ready-fire-aim” leaders rarely experience long-term success because they don’t allow a system time enough to gain traction, momentum, and produce compounding results.

4. Leaders Lead Leaders

It’s not just about leading followers, but attracting, developing and leading other leaders. If the vision is small enough for you to accomplish on your own, it’s too small.

5. Clear Vision

Lack of clarity is the number one reason churches get stuck. If your people don’t know where you’re going you can be sure they won’t be able to organize and align the systems of the church to get you there.

6. Work Ethic

One of the missing elements among many church staff today is simple work ethic. The ability to tenaciously see projects through to completion and do the hard things, without giving up.

7. Teachability

All great teams possess the ability (and humility) to learn from others outside their circle of influence and industry. In fact they seek it out.

Posted in Leadership

1

Early Warning Signs Your Church is in Trouble

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Many churches have a tendency to measure attendance and money as their primary indicators for success, and not necessarily always in that order. There are a lot of other indicators that churches can measure to understand if they’re winning or not (baptisms, 1st time guests, and how many people are in bible studies just to name a few). Early indicators that a church is in trouble are often more difficult to detect however. Similar to the way many life threatening diseases behave a church can look healthy on the outside while wasting away on the inside. And like a life threatening disease it can be very difficult to detect. Here are a few early indicators your church should be paying attention to:

Fuzzy about the Future

Perhaps the single most life-threatening indicator that a church is in trouble is a lack of clarity. Clarity provides a church with the power to make decisions efficiently and align the organizational components of the church to move forward. If you don’t know where you’re going, and can’t state it clearly, you’ve got no chance to get there.

High Rate of Turnover

When a church has trouble keeping staff and volunteers, the church is in trouble. Turnover is not only an issue when it comes to the paid staff of the church but also the volunteers. When turnover becomes the norm there is a cultural problem at play.

Playing Defense

When a church becomes risk averse and starts making choices based on who they are going to keep as opposed to who they are going to reach, the church is in trouble. The real danger in playing defense is that it becomes a cultural mindset that actually stands in opposition to the Gospel. You see the Gospel was never meant to be or does it need to be defended it’s intended to be unleashed.

Inward Focus

When a church uses language that you have to be an educated Christian to understand, has a high giving-per-head ratio, is expecting nonbelievers to jump in on and participate in ministry programs that long-time believers participate in, have a poor guest experience and haven’t thought through way-finding…that church is in trouble. For more on being an insider focused church follow this link.

Think your church might be in trouble? The Unstuck Group can help! We help churches grow their impact through church consulting and coaching experiences designed to focus vision, strategy and action. Follow this link to learn more!

Posted in Leadership

1

Are You a “Big L” Leader?

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

People don’t just become “Big L Leaders” overnight. It’s not something that can be learned by reading books or by going to conferences. They learn to lead by leading. Want to know if you’re on your way to becoming a “Big L Leader”? The following six characteristics will help you in identifying “Big L Leaders.”

#1 They Have a Proven Track Record

They’re not a novice. They’ve built something and have demonstrated the ability to deliver.

#2 They are Driven

They have a forward lean and a bias towards action.

#3 They can Lead Through Conflict

They have the internal fortitude to endure the personal attacks and pain that comes with conflict. They lead through it by bringing clarity to the chaos.

#4 They don’t Delegate Tasks they Empower Leaders

Delegation is telling people what to do every step of the way and then having them report back after every step. Empowerment gives people both the position and authority to choose their course while remaining responsible for outcomes.

#5 They Lead through Vision

They can rally people around a vision and build a culture.

#6 They Embody Organizational Values

They lead with moral authority and make decisions through the filter of the values of the organization.

Posted in Leadership
Page 3 of 4«1234»