Trust is defined as the firm belief in the ability, reliability, or strength of someone or something. Trust inside our churches has been waning for several years. Perhaps this stems from the lack of trust from outside the church towards churches. Yet, the failings inside the church have certainly contributed as well. Moral failure of church leaders, infighting amongst church members, and congregation against congregation has taken its toll on trust in and of the church.

Whether you want to believe it or not, there is broken trust in your church. It may be from something a pastor twenty years ago did or did not do. It may not have anything to do with the Pastor. There is quite possibly broken trust within your congregation.

How do we regain trust within the church? Regaining trust is not something that is granted overnight. Regaining trust is more difficult than originally gaining someone’s trust. Once you break the trust of any relationship, it may take years before that trust is completely restored. Regaining trust is a very slow process requiring an openness further than prior acknowledgement.

In the church we must go out of our way, sacrificially give of ourselves to restore and rebuild trust. The key word in that statement is sacrificially. If we are not willingly giving up more of ourselves for the relationship, we are relaying a message that is not building trust.

As leaders in the church, we must be trustworthy to our members and to the community around us to be lampstands for Christ. As church members, we owe it to our pastor, the leadership, and all other members present and future, and most importantly to Christ our Lord, to build the highest level of trust possible. As a church member it is your responsibility, your obligation to Christ to build and rebuild the trust factors inside your church.

If the community believes there is reason not to trust the pastor or church leaders, even if the reason is from false hearsay, your church’s trust factor in the community is trampled to nothing. God placed your church in that community to reach it for His Kingdom. The necessity for you and all members of your church is to begin with a repentant and forgiving heart. Then it is imperative as a church to get out into the community with humility sharing the love of Jesus Christ in ways you’ve never dreamed of before now. (Contact me. We’ll discuss some possibilities specific for your church.)

Prayer is the beginning point and must remain a daily interface with God for our personal trust factor and that of the church as well. Trust is more than a physical battle. All our congregants live in the flesh. Therefore, we all are prone to the wiles of the adversary. Trust is a spiritual battle and regaining trust will require extra time on our knees before God and His throne.

Our ministry must become Trust oriented.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

Whether you serve in a church, an office, manufacturing plant, or any other organization, if you want highly productive people there is one major key factor, empowerment. Empowering people is not turning over the reins of the organization. However, a congregation or workforce that is properly empowered will be motivated to strive for the organization’s goals and will serve at a higher level.

In much of the United States of America the practice of top down or hierarchal leadership is the norm. This is a common practice because it is what is known and taught both in schools and in the workplace (and in churches). Ken Blanchard and his associates in Leading at a Higher Level state, “Empowerment means letting people bring their brains to work and allowing them to use their knowledge, experience, and motivation…”

While humorous, there is great truth in their statement. Business researcher Edward Lawler found that companies that give more freedom and responsibility in operational issues concerning their workplace showed a 10+ percent more productive workforce. When people are empowered to lead out in their work, they will excel and rise to meet the organization’s goals. In this culture new leaders are being raised and trained, not only by the leaders, but by their peers and co-laborers.

Creating a culture of empowerment is not as easy as it may sound. Empowerment is the practice of releasing the knowledge and experience of the people in all levels of an organization, yet it is not turning over all control. Borders must be set. Major decisions are still in the hands of the leadership. However, the rank-and-file employees or congregants can be part of operational decision making.

While for the leaders, the toughest portions of moving to an empowering culture include letting go and not interceding, employees or congregants also find difficulties in such adjustments. Hierarchical leadership is so ingrained in our culture that employees (congregants) will enter this new empowering culture with timidity and hesitation. Making decisions is not part of the almost robotic nature of today’s organizational structure.

Any organization that so desires can move to an empowering culture. A caution is to move forward slowly. People are hesitant to change. Too much change too fast can cause damage in the production of the organization. When this happens, in addition to the change, damage restoration must also take place.

An empowering culture is more than entrusting the members of the organization with decision making power. Empowering leadership builds in responsibility and accountability as well as a teaching/learning configuration. People become more of a team and want to share and teach others to be more effective and efficient. Productivity and reaching organizational objectives becomes an all-in practice.

Each person has his/her own life’s experiences. These experiences have left us with knowledge and insight. Our experiences, knowledge and insight build a motivation within us. What better way to unleash all this than empowering the people of your organization? What can you do to assist in turning your organization into an effective forward moving organism complete with people motivated to fulfilling your organization’s objectives? For more information contact George Yates.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

The last church I served in Ohio (1993-99) realized an average growth rate above ten percent each year. It was not because of me, we, the staff, had instilled principles and practices that would out last me or the other staff members in the church. Indeed it did. The church continued its climb at a similar rate for several years after my and other staff departures. While serving at that church I would have people see me at conferences or other events and query, “So, you’re George Yates” (or something similar).

I never really knew how to respond to that. At least not until they explained what they meant. Usually, it was someone who had attended my former church and heard my name attached to some biblically based practice we had set up while I was on staff. Or it was someone who had heard my name from another person who had attended a conference. It was never about me, but about the health and spiritual growth of the church(es) involved. That is never from man, but always from God.

While in California, Associational Missionary, Mike Stewart and I were blessed to have a similar mindset for building a healthy organization to assist New Testament churches. When strategically developing any process or ideal these two thoughts guided our thinking and discussion. 1) How will this lead to better effectiveness in churches. And 2) We know we can live with this, but how can we implement something that will outlive both of us. It was never about the Mike & George show. It was always about the current and future health of the organization and helping churches.

God moved me from that work twelve years and 16 days ago. That association is, in my estimation, one of the strongest associations in the nation. Mike Stewart is still there, having celebrated twenty years in 2018. I can guarantee you Mike’s mindset is still to build something to grow beyond him and anyone working with him today.

Fruitful organizations that last, do not build an organization around a charismatic leader. On the contrary, effective leaders build healthy organizations that continue beyond him/herself. In each of the churches and organizations listed above I can still to this day name emergent leaders who rose from the ranks of membership. I began to list them, but realized I would leave some out and the list is long.

Leaders who try to manage every part of the organization as if he is the only one who can make a decision, that leader is setting himself and the organization up for failure. Building a church or any organization around a leader and his/her personality or past experience will set the course for a downhill spiral.

When a leader strives to build an organization that is above and beyond the leader, one that will outlive the leader, emerging leaders will begin to arise from all rank and file within the organization. What needs to change in your thinking to build such an organization?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

The story is told of a man horseback riding one day when he happened upon a group of soldiers attempting to move a heavy piece of timber. With each attempt they failed. The timber was too much for the men. There was another man on the scene a corporal, barking orders to heave and roll the large and heavy timber. The man on horseback asked, “Why aren’t you helping them?” The man retorted, “Me? Why I’m a corporal, sir.” Some versions add, “If you want, why don’t you help them?”

The rider dismounted walked over joined the men and moved the timber in place. Before leaving he turned to the men with whom he had co-labored and said, “The next time you need assistance, send for me, your Commander in Chief.” The man on horseback was George Washington.

I have often wondered what that corporal was feeling and thinking as Washington rode away. Certainly, there was a great lesson to be learned that day about leadership. Not only servant leadership, but higher-level leadership. Over and over again in his life, George Washington demonstrated integrity and other traits of higher-level leaders. While every leader aspires to be a higher-level leader, few ever make it.

Whether you have studied five, seven, or even ten levels of leadership, most leaders settle in at one of the two lower levels of leading. I concur with five levels of leadership and realize very few men or women ever reach level five. I work quite consistently with pastors and other church and denomination leaders. I have also served in the corporate world and have studied and observed leaders throughout my teen and adult life.

Most pastors (and many other leaders) reside at level one or two for their entire career though they believe themselves to be higher-level leaders. Level one is known as positional leadership. Like the corporal in the above story, level one leaders lead from their position which they assume gives them authority to “bark orders” and command others to obey. Level one leaders never gain the respect of their reports and constituents.

Level two leaders in the church operate in the permission arena. These leaders will never take their church (organization) beyond where they (the leader) believe the church will allow. I had a pastor once ask me, “George, why are we stuck here? We’ve done…” and he named three to four outside resources and processes the church had undertaken. He listed events and activities. Yet, the church had plateaued and declined for several years.

At the very moment he was sharing this with me in front of some of his church members, it occurred to me. The reason was not about processes, events, and activities. The real reason was, this pastor, like many others I have worked and interacted with over the years are permissional leaders, not willing to risk moving to higher levels of leadership. Not wiling to risk losing members or drawing conflict.

Moving to higher level leadership is linked to building other leaders. Before you can bring others along into higher levels of leadership, we must first be willing to be built into higher-level leaders ourselves. What will you do today to commit to learning and building yourself into a higher-level leader? Whom can you ask to lead, coach and guide you to greater heights in leadership?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

Pastors/leaders, what could happen in your organization if you changed your point of view to realize that God has blessed you with a society of dreamers? What would your role become? Would you become an overseer of dreamers? Would a major focus of your role be identifying and encouraging the great ideas for the organization? The truth be told every organization has innovators; every church has visionaries.

Unfortunately, many leaders have bought into the idea that he, the leader, must come up with the ideas to pursue and everyone else is to buy into his ideas and vision (which ultimately may not be God’s vision). Not one of us has all the gifts and talents needed for any organization to succeed. Therefore, God has placed around you people with complementary personalities, people with gifts to fill in the gaps. Believe it or not God has placed people in your organization whom He wants to use to grow you and the organization.

When we as leaders identify these people and turn them loose – empowering them to seek God’s direction using their giftings and talents, then God can and will bless the entire organization. I understand that most pastors/leaders believe this is exactly what they are attempting to do. However, a reality check will often prove that we want them to use their giftings, but only as it pertains to our agenda and our ideas.

God may have placed them in our church organization to help move us (the leader) to a better – God driven – path. Who are the complementary personalities around you? Who are those people who keep coming with ideas that could be worthy to investigate? Those idea thinkers whom you wish would get on board with your ideas? Is it possible God desires to use him/her to propel your thinking and your organization on His God-given path?

Granted, there must be guidelines to follow, a protocol set in place for new ideas, new ministries, and changes to existing structure. Yet, when we remove ourselves as the only innovator, and follow biblical examples and principles, any organization can set practices in place to propel the organization forward. In the church God is to be in control. He has placed an undershepherd there to help lead and to guide.

A shepherd leads his flock into the pasture. He does not hand feed every blade of grass. Lead your flock to be discerning. Then turn them loose in the community to be used of Christ, The Good Shepherd, with their own abilities and giftings. Try something new. Equip your people to use their own creativity, giftings, and understanding of God’s will and desire for reaching those outside the church. Equip them to unearth the dreams and ideals in which God desires to use. Yes, ministry can be messy at times, and that is okay!

For pastors and other leaders this is difficult. It does not mean giving up your position. It is sharing the visionary responsibilities. It is allowing others with their God-breathed giftings to help envision the course to be charted. What is your first step this week to realizing the God-given society of dreamers in your organization?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

I believe I was in my late thirties when I found myself in the Emergency Room, the first time since a sporting accident at age 21. This is not a place that I frequent. I had gotten sick earlier in the week and had heaved so heavily that I threw my body’s electric system out of whack. I could feel every beat of my heart albeit irregular. It is a very strange feeling to be conscious and realize your heart stopped beating. Yet, that is what was happening to me. It wasn’t stopping long enough to cause damage, just missing three to five beats, then irregular to regular.

Perhaps the strangest thing, yet maybe life-saving, was that I could feel my heart beating in my chest. I was aware of every beat and every missed beat. After a battery of tests including an echocardiogram, I was sent home with a Holter Heart monitor to record my heart for three days. Within that three days, my heart and electrical system corrected itself. There were no side effects, no lingering issues, no damage. I did not go looking for an irregular heartbeat, but I certainly was looking for a solution.

Is it possible many churches today find themselves in a similar situation? Churches are continuously looking for solutions, but they are not going to the emergency room. In fact, the solutions sought after are solutions to symptoms, not the cause. A drop in attendance is not a cause. It is a symptom of some other ailment or irregular heartbeat in the church. A void of new people coming into the church is not a cause. It is a symptom.

Our churches often are looking to the world for spiritual remedies. This is an oxymoron. The world cannot provide spiritual remedies. We live in the world but are not of the world. Spiritual remedies are truly needed, and they will only be found in the spiritual realm – from God above.

Effective Great Commission churches are effective because they are not attempting in their own power what can only be accomplished through God’s power. You will find in these churches’ men and women of prayer. Their prayers are not like those of most church members. Theirs is a lifestyle of deep concerted prayer. Their prayers are for more than wisdom alone. They are praying for beyond natural ability of comprehending the varying factors of the issues before them. Their prayers include the capability of embracing God’s directive and directions for the church. They are praying for the capacity to lead the entire congregation in the same matters.

The leaders I am speaking of are more than the Senior pastor and staff. These are congregants, spiritual leaders whom God has placed in these churches and He has placed some in your church as well. Effective New Testament churches feel the heartbeat of God as I could feel the heartbeat in my chest during that week of irregularity.

The New Testament church does not exist without the drumming heartbeat of God within her. When was the last time you experienced the drumming heartbeat of God in your church? What is required of you personally to return to this state of health realizing and depending on the drumming heartbeat of God?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

While living in Gilroy, California, my wife and I purchased a home with a pool. Not that we wanted a pool, but it came with the house. Gilroy is considered to be in part of one of only for regions in the world with a Mediterranean climate. While temperatures rise into the 90’s in the daytime in summer, they will fall into the low 60’s at night with very low humidity. This is great in most every situation, except for an above the ground pool owner.

Since the temps vary so much, the water temperature never warmed up in our pool. The top four inches of water was nice and warm. But the remaining 3 ½ feet of water was always cold. Pam and I realized that if we could overcome the initial shock of the cold, we could spend the first five minutes in the pool walking in circles around the perimeter stirring the water until it warmed enough to enjoy the pool. We also found that when we both entered the cold water we could stir it to warmth in a shorter time and enjoy the benefits together. To arrive at the desired condition required first adjusting to the initial shock of the cold water then stirring the water.

Leading a church (or other organization) through transition has great similarities to the pool of cold water. Effective leaders are often stirring the waters. They also recognize the more people who join in the stirring together, the quicker arrival for the desired outcomes that everyone can enjoy. At issue for leaders is convincing others to take that initial plunge into the unknown cold temperatures. People’s nature is to remain in the warmth of their present comfort rather than plunge into the cold waters of what could be a promising future.

Casting vision of what the warm waters will be is an invitation to excel beyond the existing organizational conditions and circumstances. While 80% of our churches are in decline or plateaued, every church could use improvement to become more effective in fulfilling the Great Commission. Casting vision often requires raising the bar of service and engagement on all individuals. This is the cold plunge that people are averse to.

One trait of effective leadership is properly elevating the sense of urgency. When the leader can lead the organization to a genuine understanding of the urgency on each person, results will begin to climb. The water is being stirred by more than the leader and the desired outcomes are close at hand. Creating the understanding of a sense of urgency is key.

Someone has said, “The only issues you will solve are the ones you engage.” When leaders are unwilling to initiate the stirring of the water, desired outcomes will never be seen in or through the organization. To lead means to step out and bring others along with you. Organizations flourish or are plundered (from within) based on the leadership’s willingness to “stir things up”.

Many churches are operating out of the practices of the 1970’s or 1990’s. It’s time to stir the waters of biblical practices. Today how will you prayerfully ask God to use you in stirring for the greater good of your church (organization)? Not of your own personal preferences, but to assist your church in becoming more effective in truly fulfilling the Great Commission.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

I remember as a child my mother pulling up to a stop sign on a slight hill in our big white Oldsmobile sedan. Mom was new to driving a car with a manual transmission. To the five of us kids in the backseat she was driving fine. However, my Dad, sitting in the passenger’s seat knew the apprehension Mom was feeling. Stops on hills with a manual transmission for a new driver can be very apprehensive causing worry, angst, and fear. “Will I roll back into the car behind me”, or “Will I release the clutch too quickly causing the car to lurch and stall. What if I stall the car and cause an accident.” The fear of not releasing the clutch while accelerating to move the car forward smoothly to a new driver brings on all these emotions. This is the paralysis of uncertainty and it is where Mom found herself on this particular morning.

The issue is not that people fear change so much as they fear the in-between. What is known is what is comfortable, even if it is not the healthiest of situations. Anything that brings uncertainty into our lives can be paralyzing. People are inclined to stay in the muck and mire of a bad situation rather than risk the unknown of the uncertainty. Not only today, this was true in the day of Moses as recorded in the book of Exodus.

God delivered the Israelite nation out of a life of torturing slavery, promising them a land flowing with milk and honey. They celebrated their delivery from slavery. Yet within one week they began to realize the uncertainty and fear of the unknown. They asked why they could not go back to what they knew – even though it was a horrible, captive life.

Why? Because they had not arrived at the new “Promised Land” yet. The entire nation was paralyzed by the uncertainty. It is that time between what we know and arriving at the promised land that we fear. The unknown brings an unsettled mind. It is the uncertainty of the journey and the vagueness of seeing the new reality that causes people to be trepid in accepting a new course.

Making a transition in your personal life or ministry organization requires patience and prayer. Transitions, change, and adjustments no matter to how big or small they may seem to the leaders, will seem insurmountable to some. Be patient, take your time. Introduce transitions slowly and gradually. Teach and equip everyone who is involved and every person who will be impacted about the needed transition, the coming changes, and the benefits of the transition. Listen to their concerns.

Even moving through transitions with patience and equipping, some will dig their heels in. That’s natural and okay. Proceed slowly, methodically, and prayerfully. Allow the Holy Spirit to set the timeline. Too often leaders move forward at their desired speed of transition setting up disastrous outcomes, destroying trust within the church.

As bringing home a newborn baby for the first time requires adjusting to new challenges and a new lifestyle, so transitioning a church (or even your personal life) can be challenging and joyful at the same time. What will you implement in your life to assist you in identifying and moving through the paralysis of uncertainty? What can you implement in your life and ministry to assist others through their paralysis of uncertainty?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

“It’s the economy or that other political party.” “It’s that big church that moved in.” Isn’t it amazing how people in the church pass the blame of the church’s decline on so many factors outside the church? Seldom do we hear declining churches accepting responsibility for decline. Could the same be true of your personal life? Are you blaming outside sources for the disappointments or setbacks in your life? Perhaps it is time to accept responsibility, pull up your bootstraps and move forward.

Do you have power over the economy? No. Do you have control over the weather? No. Do you have control over that big church that moved in down the street? No. In our personal lives and in the church, we tend to lay blame where we have no control. The only thing you have control over is that which God has blessed you.

In the church what you have power with is the giftings of the people God has brought into your church. Each time you or someone in your church blames outside sources for something your church is not accomplishing, you are denying that God has the power to accomplish. We quote scripture and state that He who is within us (God) is greater than he who is in the world. Yet, our actions deny that God is more powerful than he who is in the world.

True, there is a declining interest in the church among the outside world in recent decades. However, do you not believe there has been other times as this in centuries gone by? God has overcome each of those seemingly godless societies and He has the power to overcome the godlessness of our generation.

Churches must once again become the spiritual leaders in local communities and around the world. This is what Jesus called us to in Acts 1:8 and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Effective Leaders identify and address needed changes. Effective spiritual leaders identify, and address needed changes not only within the body of the church, but also within the community. This is how God works through the church to reach the community and rippling out into the world.

What we see today is many churches attempting to identify style changes within the church expecting to affect the community. Changing the name of the church, dropping any part of the name that “we feel” might offend or not be appealing to outsiders, changing music style or move to “seeker sensitive” teaching styles.

While we are responsible for delivering God’s message in a relevant manner, style never addresses the true cause. Style only addresses symptoms. Style never addresses the true issue. Isn’t the biggest issue today that we, the church, are not being obedient in fulfilling the Great Commission?

My challenge for you today is to pray, asking God to reveal to you personally how you can begin anew in shouldering the responsibility and assisting/leading your church to do the same. Ask God with a sincere heart to guide you in accepting your personal responsibility.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.

As every life has issues, so every church has issues as well. While most people talk of problems, I believe there are no problems. Certainly, there are issues in every life. But issues need not turn into problems. When you deal with problems, you start from and act out of the negative. However, when you envision those issues as opportunities instead of problems, you approach them from the positive, optimistic aspect of the issue.

When we address and attack an issue instead of the person, we are more likely to come to a desired resolve. Attacking an issue and attacking a person are two completely different paths to walk. While the first brings resolve, the second will only bring dissention and disunity. To bring resolve or to redirect the course, always address the issue, not the person.

Because most people are confrontation averse, we often ignore issues in our personal lives and in the church. When we ignore issues in the church, we acknowledge a lack of confidence in God’s ability to prevail over our difficulties. Our God is a Great God, greater than our difficulties. While some issues are known by many in the church they become the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about.

Part of the role of a leader is to identify, and state issues within the church. To avoid conflict and complaints many leaders avoid speaking of the issues. Ex. We know the church is in decline, but it is easier to ignore it. Yet, we cannot take the above statements as a license to bulldoze our way through issues, destroying every thing and person who does not see our reasoning.

It is difficult to paint a picture of a brighter future when leaders do not first lead the church to see the current canvas in its accuracy. This is not a time for browbeating. Rather it is a time to speak the truth in love. Speaking the truth in love about issues can be painful and difficult, but without it true restoration and resolve cannot be found.

Begin with prayer.

• Pray asking God to help you understand the depth of the issue.
• Pray asking God to help you to understand the personalities involved.
• Pray for wisdom of how the issue could be addressed without involving names.
• Pray for a God-based resolve that will not negatively impact God’s kingdom witness.

People respond better to questions rather than being told. Think (and pray) how to formulate thought-provoking questions that will lead everyone on each side of an issue to openly and honestly view the issue (not people) in light of The Great Commission. A series of properly formulated questions will bring about God’s desired resolve and will lead the group/congregation on a better path, preferably on a path toward righteousness.

What is your first step in learning to better understand how to deal with Issues instead of people?

For more information on properly formulated questions contact George Yates and read some of his earlier blogposts on questions.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.