You Are Who You Hire

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You Are Who You Hire

Sunday, March 23, 2014

As a kid I can remember being coerced into eating my broccoli with phrases like, “you are what you eat.” Well…that and a lot of melted cheese. And while that’s true when it comes to eating healthy, the principle also holds true when it comes to who you hire. If you lead long enough and well enough than eventually you are going to have to hire and fire people on your team. Hiring a new team member is a powerful and often overlooked moment in many churches and organizations. It’s an opportunity for an infusion of new talent, new ideas, if done well it challenges the status qua, and you inherit a brand new library of experiences to learn from. A hire that’s done well raises the water line for the entire team.

The reason that a new hire is so powerful and pivotal is because people lead out of who they are and the organization or church always takes on the personality of the leader. In other words, you are who you hire. No matter what their skill set, abilities, experiences or personality is; people always lead through the filter of their unique identity. That’s why these next two statements are so important.

Hire from the inside when you like what you already have.

If you like the culture of what you already have in your church or organization, if you like the direction things are going and you want to keep going that way then hire from within. Because people who are on the inside already get your culture, the way you do things, and the direction you’re going.

Hire from the outside when you want to change what you have.

If you are ready for a change in culture, direction, way of doing things, an upgrade in talent or a new skill set is needed in your church or organization then it’s time to hire from the outside. Because if the people inside were going to lead it there they would already be doing it.

People lead out of who they are, and if they’re not who you are, or who you want to be, then don’t hire them. Because you are who you hire.

Posted in Staffing

5 Articles that will Help You Make Vision Real

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Thank you for making February 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 How 2nd Chair Leaders Lead Up

In working with leaders around the country one of the most frequently asked questions that I hear is, “How do I lead up?” In other words, second chair leaders are asking, “How do I support my leader while influencing them at the same time?” Below are six methods that the best second chair leaders I’ve met utilize to “lead up.”

#2 How to Convince Your Sr. Pastor to Join a Small Group

One of the most common points of frustration I hear from church leaders around the country is, “My Senior Pastor wants Small Groups to be a big deal at our church, but they won’t be in a Small Group themselves.” And the natural follow up question that’s asked right after that statement, “How do I get my Senior Pastor to be in a Small Group?” In an attempt to answer that question, here are a couple of steps you can take to help convince your Sr. Pastor that they need to be in a Small Group.

#3 How to Lead Through Crisis

If you lead long enough eventually you’re going to find yourself leading through a crisis, and it’s at this moment that leadership is needed most. Even an average leader looks great when momentum is on their side and things are going well. But a crisis or downturn has a way of revealing the true identity of a leader. Great leaders lean into crisis because they intuitively understand that crisis is an opportunity for change and could be their greatest leadership moment. In the consulting work I do with The UnStuck Group often times it’s the pain of a crisis or downturn that helps churches realize that they’re stuck and motivates them to seek help. Pain often times can be a great motivator for change. While crisis is a window of opportunity for incredible leadership moments, the approach you take to leading through crisis matters.

#4 A Large Multisite Church in Phoenix is Hiring a High School Pastor

I’m pleased to announce a new Staff Search. Sun Valley Community Church, is beginning a search for a High School Pastor to serve on our Tempe Campus. Sun Valley began as a church plant in 1990 in Chandler, Arizona. Over the years Sun Valley has grown into a large mult-site church in the Phoenix metro area. Currently there are three campuses located in Gilbert, Tempe and Casa Grande with a total weekend attendance of over 5,000 people. Sun Valley was recently named by Outreach Magazine as one of the top 10 fastest growing churches in America. The Tempe Campus is the result of a merger in October of 2011 with Bethany Community Church. In the merger Sun Valley acquired a 16-acre, 8 building campus with over 100,000 sq. ft. under roof. Since the merger the campus has doubled in attendance and at present attendance is over 1,000. When fully utilized the campus capacity will accommodate 7,000 people. Sun Valley was recently featured in a new book by Leadership Network about church mergers: Better Together: Making Church Mergers Work. To learn more about that story click here Part-1 and Part-2.

#5 Why the Church Wins When the Church Staff are in a Small Group

I talk to church leaders all the time who bring up how lonely they feel in leadership. My response? You’re as lonely as you want to be. Yes, relationships are risky. Any time you entrust your heart with others there’s a chance that it won’t be handled well. And I understand that church leaders often feel pressure to perform and live up to unrealistic expectations of perfection. But if the church staff chooses to shrink back from vulnerability and authenticity in relationship with others then you’ll build a culture of superficial pretending in your church. That’s why when the church staff takes the risk and jumps into a small group bible study the whole church wins!

Posted in Leadership

A Large Multisite Church in Phoenix is Hiring a High School Pastor

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Interested in learning more? Continue reading below…

Posted in Staffing

New Staff Search: A Church in Phoenix is Searching for a Youth Pastor

Sunday, January 5, 2014

I’m pleased to announce a new Staff Search. I’m helping Desert Springs Bible Church as they begin the search for their new Student Ministries Pastor. Desert Springs Bible Church was planted in the 1970’s to reach the growing North Phoenix community and grew to as many as 800 in regular attendance. Currently, at 600 in attendance, Desert Springs has gone through a period of renewing their mission, vision, values, and transitioning the worship style to appeal to a new demographic of 30-somethings with kids, which better reflects the personality of the community. Desert Springs has a history of a Student Ministry that “out performs” the national average of 10% of the weekend attendance! Poised to move forward, Desert Springs is looking for the right person to join the team and help lead into the future!

Desert Springs Bible Church is located in Paradise Valley Village, just northeast of Phoenix, Arizona. A middle-upper class community, the area boasts beautiful outdoor living at the Phoenix Mountain Preserve System including biking, hiking, equestrian trails and other outdoor recreational activities. The community is also convenient to shopping, golfing, and resorts. With it’s proximity to Phoenix, Paradise Valley Village provides all the benefits of small town living with the appeal and amenities that come from being close to a major city.

Position Summary:

The Student Ministry Pastor will recruit, build and empower teams of volunteers to develop intentional ministry to teens and their families. He will develop systems and structures in alignment with the church’s mission, vision, values, spiritual maturity pathway, and philosophy. He will be a team player with the rest of the Desert Springs Staff Team. He will develop a ministry that builds environments in which students who don’t know Jesus are reached with the Gospel, help them get connected in small groups and grow in their faith, and develop them to reach their peers. He will be a model of integrity, living out biblical truth and demonstrate the Core Values of Desert Springs Bible Church.

Interested in learning more? Continue reading below:

Posted in Staffing

Top Posts of 2013 #8: “What is a Campus Pastor?”

Monday, December 23, 2013

As we continue to count down the top 10 posts of the year on Helping Churches Make Vision Real, this post about defining the role of a Campus Pastor generated a lot of interest. After all this emerging role in the church is beginning to redefine the church landscape in North America.

In August, 2012, Leadership Network released a report stating that over 5,000 churches are now multi-site churches (churches that meet in more than one location for worship). It’s a growing trend that first began with mega-churches, but has now expanded to churches of all sizes. With this new trend a new staff role has emerged, that of “Campus Pastor.” While a lot churches are still trying to figure out this new role, here are 6 things that great Campus Pastors do:

1. Reproduce Culture

In a multi-site setting you’re not building culture as so much as you are reproducing it. Somewhere along the line there was a decision made that the church had a culture worth replicating. That’s a big reason you’re multi-siting in the first place. Great Campus Pastors know how to reproduce culture in the context of the community of the new campus location.

2. Build Organizational Alignment

A Campus Pastor doesn’t have to come up with the mission, vision, values, spiritual maturity pathway, leadership distinctives, campus constants, and doctrinal statement. Again, those things probably already exist. But they do need to know how to build alignment around them and through them.

3. Big “I” Implementer

A great Campus Pastor makes things happen. They know how to see ideas through from concept to completion. They know how to set the staff up to succeed in the implementation of the goals, calendars and budgets of all ministries on their Campus in a manner that moves the campus towards the vision.

4. Cooperation

Great Campus Pastors know how to work with others. They know how to work with “Central Services” such as a centralized Business or Creative Arts Department to get the right things done.

5. Build a Leadership Culture

They know how to recruit, train, coach and mentor a Staff Team. They provide leadership and oversight to the Campus Staff and in so doing create a healthy staff team environment and leadership culture.

6. Shepherd the Congregation

At the end of the day great Campus Pastors love the local church. They have a shepherding gift and care about people becoming what God has dreamed up for them to look like. They know how to problem solve and shepherd through congregational matters.

Posted in Leadership, Staffing

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