Leadership Barriers to Church Growth-Part 4
February 23, 2009
This week is the final installment in a four week series on subtle reasons leaders limit church growth. Sometimes, we are the problem! We have learned there are leader-style barriers that can undermine the best attempts to implement church growth strategies. As we have considered these barriers, we have analyzed each with a diagnostic question and a proposed solution, along with appropriate illustrations.
We have previously considered three barriers – the Capacity, Security, and Perspective barriers. The next leadership barrier to church growth is the Focus Barrier. Once again, let’s look at the diagnostic question, proposed solution, and some illustrations to help us grasp the concept.
The diagnostic question to help you the Focus barrier is “who or what controls your schedule?” Time, even more than money, is the currency of leadership. How we spend our time, who controls how our time is used, and what commands our attention (or focus) largely determines the outcomes we achieve.
Many leaders, particularly pastoral leaders, allow their schedule to be determined by others. They allow their time-use to be dictated by the need of the moment, the crisis de jour, or the needy person who “just has to have a few minutes right now.” And, to be sure, there are times when immediate needs and critical personal struggles must be addressed.
Leaders, however, who allow their schedule to be determined by pressing needs will not usually be able to lead larger churches. Leading a large church requires disciplined, relentless focus on mission rather than on immediate issues. The solution to overcoming the Focus barrier is not to be callous toward hurting people or arrogant and unavailable to meet pressing concerns. The solution is focusing resolutely on your mission and the tasks required accomplishing that vision. The solution is keeping your focus on your mission and ridding your schedule of time-draining distractions – no matter how urgent they may seem.
Often, pressing needs or issues, even from well-meaning people, are more of a distraction to accomplishing your mission than a step forward in that process. Leaders of larger organizations discipline their time use to devote priority time to mission-sensitive actions and lesser time to other activities.
Leaders who break the Focus barrier keep their focus on their mission. One of the best compliments I have ever received was from another minister who said, “Jeff never does anything except on purpose.” I wish that were true! While I work on keeping my focus on my mission, missional drift is inevitable. No one does this perfectly. But we just admitting and addressing the problem is a major step in the battle!
So, if you want your church to grow you must overcome the Focus barrier. You must spend your time on activities and people focused on the mission. Take a hard look at your schedule for this week. Is it focused on your mission? If not, what needs to be dropped? What needs to be added? Leaders of growing churches narrow their focus and limit the range of their activities as their church becomes larger. That seems counter-intuitive, but it’s true! Work on your focus, narrowing it to relentlessly hone in your mission.
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Leadership Barriers to Church Growth-Part 3
February 16, 2009
We are continuing our consideration of why well-intentioned leaders are sometimes the reason for limited church growth. More conferences don’t seem to be the answer. In fact, many pastors are frustrated after church growth seminars because their best attempts to implement what they have learned are undermined by invisible, but very real barriers. All too often, leaders have not been able to sustain the changes their good intentions hoped to put in place.
Why is this? My conclusion is there are embedded issues in leaders, systems, and organizations that limit change. They are the unseen opposition, the undermining forces that keep the best intentions from being realized.
As we consider each barrier, we are analyzing it with a diagnostic question and a proposed solution, along with appropriate illustrations. The next leadership barrier to church growth is the Perspective Barrier.
The diagnostic question to help you think through this barrier is “how fast do you want the results?” Many leaders would say “tomorrow” and think that is the appropriate answer for a leader committed to growing a church. That is, however, the
wrong answer.
If you want quick results in a church or ministry organization, the fastest way to achieve those results is to do everything yourself. If you want better worship planning, do it yourself. If you want someone to be saved, go witnessing. If you want need stronger marriages, start counseling couples or organize a marriage retreat. If you want a better youth program, take it over. You get the idea. If you want immediate improvement, since you are the most competent and best trained leader/minister/worker in your church, you should be able to improve things very quickly.
The problem is short term gain undermines long term growth. It’s like a sugar high. It feels good at first, but leaves you with a splitting headache later. Growing churches, large churches, are usually built over a long period of time. They are like a snowball that starts small, moves slowly at first, and then grows as it gains momentum.
What is the solution to breaking the Perspective Barrier? You must change your role and image as a leader from minister to equipper. You must shift your focus from doing ministry to training others to do it. You become more of a mentor, coach, encourager, cheerleader, and consultant. To be sure, you are still a
player-coach – engaged in the game as an example of what you want others to do. But your primary purpose in doing ministry is to model “how to” for others on your team.
During my first pastorate, I learned this lesson profoundly. I wanted more people to be saved. So, I went witnessing often and preached guilt-inducing messages designed to get people to join me in soul-winning. Not much happened. Finally, one of my best supporters told me, “Stop telling me what to do without teaching me how to do it.” That impressed me deeply!
So, I started training witnesses in a formal process, repeated semester after semester, until we had a cadre of people sharing their faith. Two years after I gave up on the former plan (do all I could and “guilt” everyone) and started the new plan, we had 22 adults make professions of faith in one month – none of whom were led to Christ by me!
How soon do you want results? Growing churches have leaders who commit for the long haul and train people, step-by-step, to do all aspects of the work of the church. There are no short cuts.
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Leadership Barriers to Church-Part 2
February 9, 2009
As I expressed last week, many of my attempts at training leaders about church growth have not been that effective. To be sure, I have been part of some good events that communicated a lot of important information. And, along the way, some leaders were able to implement the principles and practices to improve their church’s performance. But all too often, leaders have not been able to sustain the changes their good intentions hoped to put in place.
Why is this? My conclusion is there are embedded issues in leaders, systems, and organizations that limit growth initiatives. They are the unseen opposition, the undermining forces that keep the best intentions from being realized. Last week we consider the Capacity Barrier.
As we consider each barrier, we are analyzing it with a diagnostic question and a proposed solution, along with appropriate illustrations. The next leadership barrier to church growth is the Security Barrier.
The diagnostic question to ask is, “what makes me feel secure?” By this, I mean what gives you a sense of well-being, of doing your job, of making a difference, of mattering? For many leaders, the answer is related to being conscientious, focusing on outcomes, and receiving accolades for a job done well. There is nothing wrong with this! But, if your sense of well-being as a leader is connected to results you accomplish, you will
not likely lead a growing church or organization.
The solution to overcoming the Security Barrier is moving from control to empowerment in your leader-style. Controlling leaders are usually thought of in a negative context. And, some controllers, and the control they exert, are negative. But not all controllers should be lumped together. Some people are simply highly conscientious, highly engaged, and are energized by impacting people in direct ways. These are leaders committed to controlling their ministry process to produce the outcome they desire. They are not “control freaks” in the negative sense, just highly engaged, hands on ministry workers.
Empowering leaders, on the other hand, draw their sense of well-being, their sense of a job well-done, their sense of fulfillment from the outcomes of their ministry (rather than the process). They willingly share their vision, methods, resources, and responsibilities so others can carry out their plans and reach their shared goals. An empowering leader is more fulfilled standing in the shadows and watching others touch people, than from actually touching people themselves.
My role as president is a good example. I enjoy teaching. But it would be futile for me to teach very many classes. It is better for me to do the complicated behind the scenes work to put an outstanding faculty in place, and let them do the teaching. I get great fulfillment from watching others, whom I have empowered, be successful. Do you?
If not, you will need to change your leader-style before your church or organization can grow. That is a hard choice, but changing from controlling process to empowering outcomes is essential for anyone who leads a growing church.
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Leadership Barriers to Church Growth-Part 1
February 2, 2009
For many years, my work has involved planning, promoting, and speaking at conferences on church growth. Frankly, over the years, I have been disappointed with the results. To be sure, I have been part of some good events that communicated a lot of important information. And, along the way, some leaders were able to implement the principles and practices to improve their church’s performance. But all too often, leaders have not been able to sustain the changes their good intentions hoped to put in place.
Why is this? My conclusion is there are embedded issues in leaders, systems, and organizations that mitigate change. They are the unseen opposition, the undermining forces that keep the best intentions from being realized. Over the next few weeks, let me address four issues leaders face that limit church growth. We will save the system and organizational issues for another time!
As we consider each barrier, we will analyze it with a diagnostic question and a proposed solution, along with appropriate illustrations. The first leadership barrier to church growth is the Capacity Barrier.
The diagnostic question to help you analyze this barrier is “how much can you oversee?” Be honest. Do you feel more comfortable working with a small group of people you know personally or with a large group, many of whom you don’t know very well? Do you enjoy “hands on” ministry or seeing the results of others doing ministry on your behalf?
When a relational leader attends a conference about church growth, he or she often feels guilty and determines to reach more people. But when they try, the reality of losing personal contact causes them to revert to a leadership style that reconnects them with people. Various studies have shown a competent leader can only maintain relationships with about 150-200 people. Isn’t it amazingly coincidental this is about the size of most churches in America? This is the number of people a pastor, with a shepherd’s work-style can effectively lead.
Before proposing a solution to this dilemma, let me make a startling statement – particularly given my leader-style and my proclivity for church growth.
Not every leader has the capacity to lead a large church and not every leader should try to do it. God has made many leaders to work more directly with people – rather than directing people who work with people.
If you want to change in this area, however, here is the solution. You must change your leader-style from being a shepherd to being a rancher. Lyle Schaller, noted church growth consultant, was perhaps the first person to use this terminology. What is the difference between a shepherd and a rancher? A shepherd takes care of sheep while a rancher manages shepherds.
Again, not every leader must make this change. But understand this fact. If you are a shepherd-style leader, you will
never lead a large church or organization. And if you try, you are headed toward an emotional collapse and burnout. You will run yourself ragged!
If you decide to become a rancher, you must learn delegation skills and management skills. More importantly, you must learn to feel fulfilled from the results of your leadership rather than the effect of your personal ministry. This is a hard transition, and again, not every leader should make it.
My wife Ann is a good example of a leader who chose not to make this change. She once led a large preschool ministry, supervising more than 60 volunteers and multiple programs. She quit and took a job as a teacher in the three year old class of a weekday preschool. She told me, “God made me to teach children, not manage adults who teach children.” She continues to resist management type ministry roles in favor of direct teaching roles. She knows her capacity and is comfortable with it. Are you? Analyze your leader-style capacity and be sure it matches with the setting, expectations, and requirements of your current leadership role. If it doesn’t, either change – or change positions.
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