Leadership Is Exercised in a Context

Norman Wolfe, over at Fast Company, commented today on a colleague’s blog about the context of leadership. His colleague, Paul Walker, looking on the current situation in the USA observed that our nation needs a giant team-building exercise. Wolfe counters that while the intent seems good, we need to pay attention to the context of our life together as a nation state. We exist in a system of checks and balances that create a different game than often happens in successful companies. The following fleshes out his point:

Our government was set up to achieve certain ends; it was designed primarily for control of power. Our three divisions, executive, legislative and judiciary were purposely designed to ensure no one function could gain complete control of our nation. Checks and Balances was the designing objective.

And as for organizations who “explore ideas to find the best way instead of playing win/lose games” I have to remind you that our whole society is based on the adversarial principle (a win/lose game). Our founding fathers recognized that we were unlikely to find A Solomon the Wise to discern the truth or the best solution so they set up our system based on the idea that the truth can best be is discovered by opposing views being voiced and through the “jury of one’s peers” truth would emerge. This is the basis of our legal system and it is also the foundation of our Two Party System. It was once said that the political extremes define the issues and the moderates pass the laws. We need a return of the moderates to act as “jury of one’s peers.”

The problem we have is not one of team building but organization design. We designed it to have opposing positions compete with the belief that the best solution would emerge from the conflict. We could of course redesign our system and create one that relied on the same principles of business. However business is governed as much by market forces as they are by leadership team dynamics.
Government was never designed to run efficiently, it was designed to control misuse of power and given that we are dealing with humans playing with immense powers, I am not sure I want to change the design.

As I read his post, I pondered the intricacies of most church structures and find myself asking “do we have clarity about what our decision making structures will produce? Do the rules of the game allow us to align ourselves with God’s kingdom purposes? Where can we learn (and unlearn) from business and government organizations?” More importantly to me, what questions am I not asking?

Ed Stetzer on Equipping for Success

Ed has been at the work of supporting new church plants in the Southern Baptist church for years. When I met Ed several years ago I was impressed by his self-deprecating humor and passion for the hard places in ministry. Surely, like in the business world, one of those hard places is launching a new venture. In his piece Equipping Church Planters for Success he identifies the following components of a support system:

1. Use of a Behavioral Assessment to measure 13 key qualities developed by Charles Ridley helps suggest who has the potential to succeed in this task.
2. Boot camps to teach the skills and energize the candidate make a significant difference.
3. It seems obvious that church planters need mentors and supervisors, but we have failed with some of my colleagues to provide this support.
4. Each planter needs to be in a support group. Friends whatever you are doing, find a posse. My team has been meeting for 15 years and they have seen me through the my ministry successes and failures.

Check out Ed’s article for all the details.

Seth Godin on why there are not more leaders

In Seth Godin’s recent book Tribes (2008) he notes the following reasons that there seem to be few leaders in the workplace. Read this snippet:

Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead.

The scarcity makes leadership valuable. If everyone tries to lead all the time, not much happens. It’s discomfort that creates the leverage that makes leadership worthwhile.

In other words, if everyone could do it, they would, and it wouldn’t be worth much.

It’s uncomfortable to stand up in front of strangers.
It’s uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail.
It’s uncomfortable to challenge the status quo.
It’s uncomfortable to resist the urge to settle.

When you identify the discomfort, you’ve found the place where a leader is needed.

If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader.

Some of this sounds like Adam Hamilton’s recent description of “leadership by nausea.” That is, if the decision you are making as a leader makes you ill, you are probably on the right track!

Better late than never …

At the United Methodist Church’s School of Congregational Development someone thought to have a conversation about what characteristics are required for a new church’s second pastor. They offered the following insights (after confessing that while they thought to have the conversation, they forgot to invite anybody who had walked that walk. I have been a new church’s second pastor and I could point you to others):

# A Maximizer Strength- Gallup would define it this way, “people strong in the maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.” (Rath and Conchile, Strengths Based Leadership Gallup Press, 2008. p. 203)
# Systems Thinking- is able to build systems that will keep the church on the growing edge of ministry and moving toward multiplication.
# Self-awareness- knows their own unique gifts and strengths for ministry and is not intimidated by the success and popularity of the founding pastor.
# Stick-to-itiveness- understands the dynamics of change a congregation experiences transitioning away from the founding pastor and hangs in there when the waters become choppy (as they will!)
# Better than average administrative skills- helps the church move toward better organization and administrative practices.
# Entrepreneurial traits- is able to help the church think creatively about new venues for ministry. Keeps the congregation from becoming “settlers”.
# Affinity with the Congregation and Mission Field- is a good fit.
# An understanding of the dynamics of new church development- needs to have a thorough understanding of the process or church planting and the uniqueness of this type of ministry.
# Experience in “turn-around” churches- as someone has said, “It is far more difficult to raise the dead than it is to give birth.” The skills gained from helping to resurrect a dead or dying church can prove invaluable to the ongoing development of a newer community of faith.
# Proven fruitfulness in growing ministry- you don’t want a “maintainer” as a second pastor.
# Good Pastoral Care skills- knowing enough about the importance of this to develop systems for pastoral care AND for being someone who has good caring skills.

The item they missed on this list is possibly buried in their fourth point. To be a second pastor in a new church requires first that you have thick skin. After you have checked for their thick skin, check it again, and then check it one more time. It is the first three requirements for a new church’s second pastor. Here’s why. The founding pastor does an incredible work of launching a new church. From inception to crawling, to walking, even running they use their unique gifts to establish a community of faith. Along the way, their congregation comes to see their unique set of gifts, strengths, and even weaknesses as THE qualifications for being a pastor. The judicatory body may be looking at the above list, but the second church pastor will be judged by the congregation by the standard of the founding pastor’s gifts, strengths, and even weaknesses.

I feel pretty confident that I did a good work as a second pastor for the new church plant to which I was appointed. I even embody much of the list above, but consistently I was measured by whether or not I functioned as the founding pastor did. Its unfortunate, but true. It may be the best work of a second pastor to be an interim. Help the congregation deal with the loss of their founding pastor and then transition them to someone with the gifts lifted above. The above list reflects good intents, but it lacks the boots on the ground reality of those of us who have walked as a second pastor in a new church.

George Barna on How Faith Varies by Congregational Size

A new report from The Barna Group, based on interviews with more than 3,000 adults, shows that congregational size is related to the nature of a congregation’s religious beliefs, religious behavior and demographic profile. There are clearly significant differences between the smallest and largest of Protestant churches in terms of the theological beliefs of adherents. The survey results discovered the following:

* On all 9 of the belief statements tested, attenders of large churches were more likely than those engaged in a small or mid-sized congregation to give an orthodox biblical response – e.g., the Bible is totally accurate in all the principles it teaches, Satan is not merely symbolic but exists, Jesus led a sinless life, God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe, etc.

* On seven of the eight behavioral measures, attenders of large churches were substantially more likely than those of small churches to be active. (These included behaviors such as attending church in the past week, reading the Bible in the past week, volunteering at their church in the past week, etc.) The average difference related to these seven behaviors was 17 percentage points.

* There were significant differences on six of the ten demographic attributes examined. Specifically, larger churches were more likely to have college graduates (a 22 percentage point difference between those who attend churches of 100 adults or less and those who attend congregations with 1000 or more adults), affluent attenders, and children under 18 living in their home. Adults attending Protestant mega-churches were also more likely to be registered to vote and to be registered as a Republican (a 16-point gap compared to adults attending churches of up to 100 adults). Those who attend small churches were more likely to home-school their children.

Barna adds that the significant transition barrier is found at around 200 persons in worship. The variations from congregations with 50-100 and over 1000 in worship were significantly different from those congregations that averaged about 200 in worship. As Barna points out, congregations with less than 200 in worship are where about 65% worship with larger congregations serving about 35% of a typical Sunday’s worshipers. Barna closes with a disclaimer that is unclear whether or not the beliefs and practices were taught in the churches currently being attended or formed at an earlier stage in one’s spiritual formation.

The Toughest Size Transition for Congregations

Alice Mann, consultant with the Alban Institute and author of Raising the Roof, speaks here about the toughest size transition for most congregations. The transition is from the Pastoral to the Program size transition. Churches that plateau between 150 and 250 in worship attendance in a growing community need to pay attention to this video.

If you want to know more you may want to join Alice Mann at Raising the Roof seminar at Lake Junaluska. The dates are September 15-17 and click here to learn more from the Alban Institute.

Andy Stanley & Bill Willets on “Creating Community”

In the church world these days everyone is saying “you gotta have small groups” as if the mantra itself provides the energy to turn-around every church on the planet. As a United Methodist, I confess that we just lost it … this was easily one of Wesley’s key innovations to building the people called Methodist into a revitalizing force in England and the United States. Andy Stanley & Bill Willets, in Creating Community: 5 Keys to Building a Small Group Culture (North Point Resources: Multnomah, 2004) provide a comprehensive vision and strategy that North Point Community Church used to launch their adult education plan. Their sense of the five keys to building and sustaining a small group culture are:

People Need Community (see chapters 1-3)
Leaders Need Clarity (see chapters 4-6)
Church Need a Strategy (see chapters 7-9)
Connections Need Simplicity (see chapters 10-12)
Process Need Reality (see chapters 13-15)

Most folks, including myself, tend to move to the strategy without thinking through the process the way the folks at North Point have. One would do well to follow their lead and discern the need and clarify the goal. Below is a summary of the introductory chapters:

A Culture Craving Relationship. “Our goal is to avoid people at all costs – and costs us it does” (p. 22). “Americans are among the loneliest people on earth” – George Gallup (p.24).
It’s Not All Good. “Living life alone does not accurately reflect the One whose image we bear” (p. 34).
The Divine Community. “One of God’s biggest dreams for us in authentic community” (p.40). “God has called the church to create environments where authentic community can take place” (p. 46).
Clarify the Goal. “What is the point of your church?” (p. 53). “Clarifying what you want people to become will ultimately define your church’s mission (p. 56). The BIG THREE #1: What do we want people to become? (e.g. Bible Knowledge or Skills-Based churches). NP’s answer: “We want people growing in their relationship with God” (i.e. spiritual mature, see p. 57). “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19).
Define Spiritual Maturity. “Saying spiritual maturity is a point in time is like saying physical fitness is a point in time” (p. 65). The BIG THREE #2: What do we want people to do? (e.g. worship, Sunday school, sub-groups, ministry teams, spiritual gifts, etc.). NP’s answer: “We want people growing in three vital relationships: a person’s relationship with God, with other believers, and with unbelievers. We want people to grow in their intimacy with God, community with insiders, and influence with outsiders” (p. 65). “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Decide Where People Go. “Have you decided what home plate looks like for your church” (p. 73). “For children to adults, we want people’s destination to be the same” (p. 76). The BIG THREE #3: Where do we want people to go? (e.g. Sunday school class, ministry team, or doctrinal seminars). NP’s answer: a small group.

So did you pick up the big three questions you must answer? If not, here they are again:

The BIG THREE #1: What do we want people to become?
The BIG THREE #2: What do we want people to do?
The BIG THREE #3: Where do we want people to go?

Andy Stanley & Stuart Hall on “Being an Influence without Being Influenced’

(1) The Standards Principle – Gaining the High Ground:

Principle: You must develop, be able to personal articulate, and live by personal standards.
Critical Question: Are you developing and living by standards that you can clearly articulate to others?
Key Passage: Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge (1 Peter 2:11-12).

(2) The Priorities Principle – Putting Your Own Spiritual Health First:

Principle: You must establish your own spiritual health as a priority over the spiritual health of the friends you are attempting to influence.
Critical Question: Are you prioritizing your relationship with Christ over your relationships with friends?
Key Passage: But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).

(3) The Accountability Principle – Making Sure Someone Has Your Back:

Principle: You must maintain effective accountability relationships with other Christian students.
Critical Question: Are you accountable to other Christians.
Key Passage: My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:1-2).

(4) The Unconditional-Acceptance Principle – Out-Loving the World:

Principle: You must love and accept your unbelieving peers unconditionally.
Critical Question: Do you unconditionally accept your lost friends?
Key Passage: Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God (Romans 15:7).

(5) The Sustained-Influence Principle – Sustaining the Influence You’ve Gained:

Principle: You must sustain the influence you gain with your unbelieving peers.
Critical Question: Are you sustaining your influence with your lost friends?
Key Passage: You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).

(6) The Leverage Principle – Using Your Influence Wisely:

Principle: You must properly put into practice the leverage you gain.
Critical Question: Are you using your wisdom to leverage your influence for the sake of the gospel?
Key Passage: Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ-whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died (1 Corinthians 15:12-20).

BEING AN INFLUENCE WITHOUT BEING INFLUENCED

Andy Stanley and Stuart Hall, MAX Q: Developing Students of Influence, (West Monroe, LA: Howard Books, 2004).
Andy Stanley and Stuart Hall, MAX Q Student Journal: How to Be an Influence without Being Influenced, (New York: Howard Books, 2004).

Andy Stanley & Stuart Hall name “Seven Principles Every Teenager Needs to Know”

Checkpoint #1 – Authentic Faith:

Principle: God can be trusted. God will do all that he has promised to do.
Crucial Question: Are you trusting God with every area of your life.
Key passage: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Checkpoint #2 – Spiritual Disciplines:

Principle: When you see as God sees, you will do as God says.
Crucial Question: Are you developing a consistent devotional and prayer life?
Key Passage: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).

Checkpoint #3 – Moral Boundaries:

Principle: Purity paves the way to intimacy.
Crucial Question: Are you establishing and maintaining godly boundaries?
Key Passage: For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8).

Checkpoint #4 – Healthy Friendships:

Principle: Your friends will determine the direction and quality of your life.
Crucial Question: Are you establishing healthy friendships and avoiding unhealthy ones?
Key Passage: Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm (Proverbs 13:20).

Checkpoint #5 – Wise Choices:

Principle: Walk wisely.
Crucial Question: Are you making wise choices in every area of your life?
Key Passage: Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is (Ephesians 5:15-17).

Checkpoint #6 – Ultimate Authority:

Principle: Maximum freedom is found under God’s authority.
Crucial Question: Are you submitting to the authorities that God is placing over you?
Key Passage: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment (Romans 13:1-2).

Checkpoint #7 – Others First:

Principle: Consider others before yourself.
Crucial Question: Are you putting the needs of others ahead of your own?
Key Passage: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death-even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:3-11).

SEVEN PRINCIPLES EVERY TEENAGER NEEDS TO KNOW:

Andy Stanley and Stuart Hall, The Seven Checkpoints for Youth Leaders: Seven Principles Every Teenager Needs to Know, (New York: Howard Books, 2001).
Andy Stanley and Stuart Hall, The Seven Checkpoints Student Journal: Seven Principles Every Teenager Needs to Know, (New York: Howard Books, 2001).

Adam Hamilton is “Seeing Gray in a Black and White World”

As in the national election last fall, health care is now emerging as an issue that divides us to the left and to the right. Many of us find ourselves in the middle on this an other divisive issues. When we stand in the middle we are often accused of being soft, muddle-headed, wishy-washy, etc. Adam Hamilton, author of Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White (Abingdon Press, 2008), suggests that the middle with its gray is often exactly where we ought to be. As pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, Hamilton became increasingly uncomfortable with trying to align himself and his congregants with one particular side of the political aisle. He writes: “Each has valuable perspectives to offer, but each seems to see the world only in black and white terms. The problem is that sometimes things are gray, and we must train our eyes to spot them.” To address his concerns, Hamilton preached a five-week series on matters that most only hear about on Capital Hill. The outline of his book detailing this sermon series is listed below:

Introduction: Are Jerry Falwell and John Shelby Spong Our Only Options?

Part I: Seeing the Gray in a Black and White World

01. Are you Liberal or Conservative?
02. Straining Gnats
03. “If You Can’t Say Anything Nice…”
04. Stage Five: Spiritual Maturity
05. Finding the Sweet Spot
06. Shhh! Just Listen!
07. Being Pentacostal without Losing Your Mind

Part II: The Bible, Beliefs, and the Spiritual Journey

08. The Battle Over the Bible
09. The Galileo Affair
10. Apes, Evolution, Adam and Eve
11. Is Your Jesus Too Small?
12. Will There Be Hindus in Heaven?
13. The Logic of Hell
14. Where Is God When Bad Things Happen
15. In Praise of Honest Doubts
16. The Messy Truth about Spirituality

Part III: Politics and Ethics in the Center

17. Ethics and WWJD
18. Abortion: Finding Common Ground
19. Homosexuality at the Center
20. The Question of War
21. Faith and the Presidential Elections
22. A Worthy Vision of America
23. The Radical Center