If you’ve ever worked a jigsaw puzzle, you know the frustration of not being able to find that one missing piece. Most of us could get OCD about one missing piece. We look frantically for that one small piece; in the box and box top, under the box, all around the table, under the table. We may even look places where we know there is no possible way it could be.

You do realize that your church is one piece of a much larger puzzle? Actually, many puzzles. Every church is one connecting piece in differing societal puzzles; your local community, your city, your county, state, nation, and the world. You likely never thought of your church this way. Most people, even church leaders fail to recognize this truth. Therefore, your church could be a missing piece to one or all of these puzzles.

How are each of these six societal areas affected by your church? What would be different if your church were the current-day version depicted in the book of Acts?

Some churches are making a difference in their community – and abroad. Let’s start at home, your community. What does your church do for the community? How does your church truly attempt to get outside the confines of the building and work to meet the needs of the community with the intent of sharing the gospel. Perhaps eighty percent of our churches in North America are doing nothing to truly reach out to their community with the gospel.

Some attempt to satisfy their own guilt believing the church is doing something – like serving Wednesday night meals with the community invited. Yet, the only people coming are church members. We’re filling our tummies and claiming ourselves good and faithful because we offer the meal. “It’s not our fault if they don’t come.”

Another ten percent or more are doing the minimal; hosting a food bank or clothing closet. These are good ministries and there is a need. But how many food pantry’s and clothing closets are in your county? Do you know? One church set out to find what ministries were needed in their county. They had discussed all the norms like the two above. After inviting city and county officials, non-profits, and other agencies to their church for a discussion and free meal, the church found out there were already 53 agencies or offices assisting the physical needs of the residents.

The church’s conclusion was, “We do not need to start any needs-based ministries. We need to find where God is working and join Him in some of these established ministries.” This church realized their piece of the puzzle at this time was not to reinvent some ministry, but to utilize their giftings and resources with other ministries.

A good way to begin is to use the Strength & Needs Matrix offered (free) by SonC.A.R.E. Ministries. Identify the perceived strengths of your church, determine if they are currently being used as inward focused or outward – actually taking The Great Commission to your local community. Then get out of your building and ask for the true needs of the residents in your community. These two parts will lead you to find where you can be used by God in your local community. For assistance with this process contact George Yates @ SonC.A.R.E. Ministries.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life.

My church won’t follow…”, “My church won’t get on board with the vision.” “I feel like I’m the only one who cares…” “No one is trying.” These are very commonplace statements among pastors today. Before any readers get on your spiritual high-horse, pastors understand they serve God’s church. These statements are not about “me” and “my” church. They are simply referring to the people in the church where they serve.

Its true people can be apathetic to the cause and mission of the church in North America today. Also true is the fact that people lead busy lives. Yet, is what we are facing today something new? The New Testament church has existed for 2,000 years and faced many challenges – apathy, tyranny, false teachings, infidelity, the list goes on. And the bride of Christ (the church) lives on. Perhaps it is time to look at the way we lead the church.

Growing a church is not something you do. The growth of a church, like the growth of a young person, is a result or by-product of good healthy practices. Too often pastors attend conferences, read books, or listen to other pastors and attempt to change the practices of the people in their church based on what they’ve seen, read, or heard. In most cases the pastor is clinging to an idea instead of the biblical principles behind the idea. Rule of Success: Don’t copy models; capture principles.

In The Antioch Effect, Dr. Ken Hemphill states, “…any time we attempt to force growth methods (or change) upon people who are spiritually unprepared, the results will be chaotic carnality.”[i] (parenthetic emphasis mine) The health and thereby true growth of a church is a by-product of a super-natural empowering of God through the Holy Spirit.

As leaders in the church we must – well, lead our people into a proper relationship with Jesus Christ. Much of what we see paraded as “Christianity” in North America today is not the Christianity of the Bible. (That’s a post for another day) I have a family member that suffers from Parkinson’s disease. He cannot control the tremors in his hands. There is a disconnect between his head (brain) and his arms and hands.

It could be said that we in the North American church have a similar disconnect between the head (Christ) and the body (believers).

While I am grateful for The God of All creation using me, I realize God does not desire for me to be a “successful” church revitalizer. God’s desire is for me to love Him so much that He can use me to strengthen and build His churches. God’s desire for you is to be so deeply in love with Him that He can grow His church, His kingdom, through you. The #1 way to grow your church? Fall more deeply in Love with God!

What is the first step you can take today to fall more deeply in love with God so He can use you more effectively in your church setting?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life.

[i] The Antioch Effect, B&H 1994, Ken Hemphill, page 18

In my profession, I deal with change – a lot. Change is a six-letter word that brings fear, trepidation, and anxiety. To some, change is a dirty six-letter word. And yet, it is not change that is bad. In fact, it is not even that most people dislike change. However, we do not like change forced upon us.

We change in every area of our life. We do not listen to music as we did just 5-10 years ago. Television has changed and the way we watch TV has changed dramatically. The clothes we wear, the way we cook. We could go on and on listing the changes in our lives. So why do we dislike change in the church (or other organization) to which we belong.

Organizationally speaking, people need to be led through change. Properly leading change will bring less stress and anxiety. First, carefully select those who will assist in determining and leading change in your church (organization). There are four quality characteristics to look for in each person to be recruited for such a vision/revitalization team.

1. Open-minded – Every person on the team must be open to new ideas, thoughts, and concepts. The absence of open-mindedness in team members can bring sudden death to any new ideas and needed change.
2. Forward thinking – To move forward, to make progress, the team collectively must think in forward terms. Living in the past and trying to recreate past “good times” will only lead to stalemating the process. Forward thinking requires creative thinking.
3. Ready to speak – Each person on the team has an equal voice (including the pastor or leader). Each one has insights and life’s experiences that others on the team do not. Remaining quiet is not allowing the team to process all thoughts and ideas properly. Each person’s thoughts need to be voiced so that the team can make the most justified decision.
4. Willing to Listen – Because each person on the team has an equal voice/representation, all team members must be willing to listen to every other team member, even when others may express opposite views. Healthy debate can only occur when everyone will speak openly and listen equally to all viewpoints.

Selecting the right team members will help start the process and will carry the organization much further than creating a team of “because they’re in leadership” members. Elected leaders are not always the best for this vision creating team. They may be better suited to finesse and implement the ideas in his/her ministry area.

The best place to start is with prayer. First, pray for your personal thinking (or that of your pastor/leader). Pray that you will have the four quality characteristics even in the selection process. Pray for God to bring to mind the people in your organization who have the four qualities listed above. Then pray individually for the names that come to mind.

In any building or remodel project the greatest key is getting started right. Proper selection is getting started right. In your next project, how will employ these thoughts in getting Started Right?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life.

Before modern technology, before ink-jet laser, or toner copiers, there were these blue ink laden sheets known as carbon sheets. By taking a carbon sheet and placing it between an original (on top) and a blank sheet of paper (on bottom) then tracing over what was on the top sheet you could create a carbon copy on the bottom blank sheet of paper. Hence the name carbon copy.

One of the great fallacies in organizations is keeping dying practices alive too long. In the church we call these traditions. Traditions are those practices that we repeat over and over. Too often these traditions become our weaknesses. They become our weaknesses because we rely on their past victories. If it once worked (years ago) we believe it is still as good today.

The issue is good is not good enough. In fact, many traditions are not good or healthy in the church today. Good is the enemy of great. Each time we settle for good, I’m convinced we are pleasing Satan, not God. As long as you settle for good, you’ll never reach for the greatness that God created you for.

Can tomorrow be a carbon copy of yesterday. Regardless of business you are in the answer is a resounding NO. In case you have not noticed, a copy is never as good as the original. Carbon copies were not as good as the original they were pressed from. Today, photocopies are not as good as the original. Tools, cars, knock off clothing and any other thing that is made as a copy of an original falls short of being as good as the original.

In church (or any organization) we cannot expect to move forward while hanging on to things and practices of the past. The culture around us has changed and is indeed changing at a more rapid pace than anytime in history. While we have heard this for years, even decades, the church, in general, has failed to embrace the need for redeveloping itself to reach people for Christ.

We must understand that for two millennium the church has evolved and transformed to share God and His love to its contemporary generation. I once worked for a retail establishment. It was the second largest (sales volume) of its kind in the nation. Competitors began changing their stores using a different concept of shopping experiences. The company I worked for refused to change. The store models had worked in the past, the company was relying on them to do the same. Trusting in the past and expecting a greater future, killed that company.

Whether in a church, religious judicatory, or any organization, tomorrows practices cannot be copies of yesterday. We were not given the past to live in. We were given the past to learn from. We live in the present and strive toward a better tomorrow. Somehow, we’ve forgotten that truth. What will you do this week to help move your organization to a better tomorrow?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life.

“Oh no. here comes Barbara again. I wonder what’s wrong now. She’s a real pain in my side.” In his book people are never the problem, Robert Watts Jr. states, “Ignoring the real problem and treating people as though they are problems often causes them to strike out against their accusers…”

Personally, I like to say there are no problems, only opportunities. But for this article I will interchange the words issue and problem. When we treat the problem bearer (or issue bearer) as the problem, we set at least two catalysts into motion. 1) The problem bearer is put on the defensive. 2) The real issue is set aside causing it to grow.

I agree with the title of Watt’s book; People Are Never The Problem. People are never the issue. There are people who simply cannot recognize solutions to issues (problems) when those issues arise. And issues certainly will arise – in every area of life. Those people who keep coming to you with issues or problems, are not problem solvers. This is why they come to their supervisor or speak with others. He/she does not recognize opportunities, only issues.

When we see issues as problems, we only recognize the negative effects on the surrounding people and environment. On the other hand, when we recognize issues as opportunities, we accentuate the positive, which drives us to seek resolutions.

Wise counsel is to train people instead of bringing a “problem” to leadership, bring a possible solution. As leaders, we would much rather have someone bring a possible solution to an issue that we may or may not be aware of. Bearers of solutions get rewarded. Bearers of problems get shunned. It’s human nature.

To be effective leaders we must do our best to equip our people (employees, volunteers, followers) to reach his/her individual greatest potential. Part of this equipping is to avoid problems and see opportunities to improve self and the organization. What will you do this week to build the eyes of opportunity in your organization?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life.

As we shared previously, much of our daily actions are routine habits. Our days consist of a series of habits. Some leaders have been successful due to changing the habit loops of their constituents, employees, or customers. It does not require an in-depth study to see how political parties have used the habit loop in swaying the thought process and habits of voters. (This, in my opinion is not a good use of changing the habit loop.)

On the other hand, Tony Dungy changed the processes of coaching football with his concept of building a team of habit driven players. Dungy, over time changed the habit loops of his teams players causing them to rely on habit, not thinking – which in football often leads to overthinking and missed opportunities. His coaching practices were unusual to the game of football at the time.

Knowing that habits are difficult to break, coach Dungy realized the need to introduce new routines into the habit loop of players. Over time the new routines began to take hold. His players were beginning to implement the new routines without thinking. His teams began winning – not one team, but two NFL franchise teams.

The habit loop consists of a cue, a time, place, or preceding action that triggers the brain to enter an automatic response. Passing through the kitchen you see a plate of brownies, your brain decides you want a brownie. The cue is seeing the plate of brownies.

The second part of the loop is your response or routine. You love brownies, so your routine is to pick up a brownie as you pass by. It is an automatic response. You don’t take time to contemplate it. Your routine is to eat a brownie.

Then comes the third part of the habit loop; the reward. The reward is simply that. It is the satisfying emotional compensation you get from the taste of the brownie. The reward is a positive stimulus the brain receives following the routine of the habit loop.

Because the satisfying reward was sent to the brain as a positive stimulus, the next time you see a plate of brownies you will desire a repeat of the same routine – because your brain desires that positive stimulus.

Dungy’s teams focused on only a few plays instead of the traditional 200-400 plays most teams used. Instead, his teams were focused on habits. The way an opposing player lined up across the line of scrimmage, gave a cue for Dungy’s players. When his players reaction followed the practiced routine, each player and the team was successful.

In the organizational world (business or church) to become more effective, ascertain and observe the reward in your members/employees. Then identify the current routine which brings about that reward. Next brainstorm with key leaders different possible routines which could bring a similar reward- positive satisfying stimulus to the brains of members/employees. You might need to experiment, try two to three different routines, to find the one that brings the desired reward.

The cue may remain the same. Finding the right routine will lead to the path of higher productivity and effectiveness. Happy Habit Hunting! And enjoy the brownies.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life

What is the habit loop? A habit consists of three parts; a cue, a routine action, and a reward. According to Charles Duhigg in The Power of Habit, the cue is a trigger that tells the brain to go into automatic mode following a learned routine. The routine is a physical, mental, or emotional behavior that follows the cue. The reward is a recurring positive stimulus that tells the brain this routine is good and to be remembered. The next time the cue is introduced, you will follow the same routine desiring a similar reward.

In the first decade and a half of the 20^th century good dental hygiene in America was almost non-existent. It is said the greatest detriment of our military in World War I was not the enemy but tooth decay and oral infections. In fact, the federal government declared the deficient state of dental hygiene to be a national security risk.

This began to change when a persistent inventor & salesman convinced Claude Hopkins to invest his outstanding marketing skills behind a product called pepsodent, a paste for brushing teeth for better dental hygiene. Hopkins had been the mastermind behind Quaker Oats and other now famous products such as Goodyear.

Hopkins was perhaps genius at targeting the habit loop of Americans by finding a trigger or cue then introducing them to a new or different routine – using his product and delivering a positive reward. This reward would instruct the brain that this routine was something needed regularly. “Quaker Oatmeal would give 24 hours of energy – if you take a bowl every morning.” People ate it, they felt better, so this became a habit every morning. Sales for Quaker Oats skyrocketed.

His ads for pepsodent asked you to run your tongue across your teeth. “Feel that film? Pepsodent will clean that film and give you whiter teeth.” Other toothpaste manufacturers had tried this same ploy, to no avail. What made the difference? Pepsodent ingredients included a citric acid and other ingredients that left a tingling sensation in the mouth.

This sensation, still to this day, represents in our minds a fresh clean mouth and good dental hygiene. The difference was Hopkins keyed a trigger, rubbing the tongue along the teeth, and a reward at the end of the suggested routine. Other toothpastes left no reward. In less than ten years Americans rose from less than 7% brushing their teeth daily to over 65%. Pepsodent became the number one selling toothpaste for nearly forty years. That’s changing the habit loop.

If you want a more effective life or organization, change the habit loop. Most every action we do daily is based on habit. You do not think of your morning routine; you just do it. You do not look at a map to go to the grocery store, you get in your car and drive. Your day follows a regimen of habits. Why is it when you pass by a familiar bowl of candy that you side step and indulge in a piece or two? It is the habit loop.

Understanding how habits work helps you control certain areas of your life and can assist leaders in affecting the habit loops of their organization. (By the way, I know you brushed your tongue along your upper front teeth as you read that statement above)

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life.

The pastor came to me with a concern. People were leaving his church – long term, stalwart members were leaving. I give him credit, at least he was concerned about this exodus. I speak with too many pastors who do not take a concerned attitude over people leaving. Be yours a church, manufacturer, corporate business, or retail establishment, people will leave for differing reasons. When you have a collective exodus, you have reason for concern.

In this particular case, it was later determined, these long-term, formerly stalwart, members were leaving in large part because they no longer felt as if their voices were being heard or appreciated. The pastor (and other leaders) discounted these members as not liking the changes taking place in the church. Occasionally I hear, “People don’t like change, especially in church.” I disagree with this statement. People change in every area of life. However, people do not like change forced on them.

In the church, it is important to lead change and not force change. Leading change means bringing people along, not forcing the square peg into a round hole. In leading change you compel people to want to come along. When people feel their voice isn’t being heard this is often a sign that leadership has not communicated well enough and is not leading the organization.

Serving in retail management, I was weekly looking at all upcoming ads for the next six months. Daily and weekly ½ page adds, weekly full-page ads, monthly and quarterly 15-20 page ads. Each week checking design, layout, proper photos, pricing, order cycles for each product, inventory, and more. By the time the ad came out I was sick of looking at it. Yet, I had to remember my sales people were seeing it for the first time.

When they asked questions about a particular ad, my first thoughts were, “we covered that months ago.” Then, I remembered, “No, I covered that months ago. This is brand new to them.” The same is true in the church. What seems old and well covered to the leaders, still needs great, simplified communication to the members of your organization. They have not yet wrestled with it, slept with it and thought through all the scenarios as you have.

When any person feels they are being pushed into change, there will be rebellion of some sort. This is true of every person, even the CEOs of the largest corporations. Change is something we must be led into, guided through, and invited to accept as our own.

Oftentimes we can avoid such losses when we take time as leaders to communicate and over-communicate. I have had resisters become champions of the cause, simply by taking a little extra time with them. Take time to over-communicate what is about to happen, why it is happening, and the benefits to come to everyone individually as well as the organization corporately.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life.

It would be hard for anyone to contradict that the culture around us is changing. In fact, God created us all as beings of constant change. Every living thing that God created, He built for continuous change. As leaders in our family, business, or ministry, things around us are changing and our leadership should also see changes. These changes should always be for self-improvement. Parenting looks different with preschoolers than teenagers. Regardless of where you lead, your leadership at year 30 should look different than year one.

At various times in your career, be it business or ministry, to be the leader you need to be, you must unlearn some behaviors, styles, or mannerisms. Some of these changes will come due to cultural changes. As a pastor, each church you lead will have a differing character and qualities. It is wise to understand that to be a great leader requires adapting your leadership to those you lead and not necessarily the opposite.

I’m not suggesting you unlearn everything about leadership. Rather, adapt your leadership qualities to the new culture around you. A grade school teacher who later becomes a high school principal, leads differently. The way she speaks to her students and charges will change. An inner-city pastor who moves to pastor a small church in a slower paced rural community, must adjust his leadership to the pace and culture. He must unlearn some of the pace-setting habits, and peculiarities of the inner-city.

Just as a leader of a small company moves to the CEO position of a large corporation, his/her leadership has grown and changed so is the leadership change of a pastor who began his ministry in a small church and later moves to pastor a large mega church. Both the CEO and pastor must unlearn some habits and relearn others to be better leaders of the larger organization. One of these is unlearning management and oversight and learning the art of proper delegation and release.

These are cultural diversities that require needed change and growth in leadership. Other reasons that will cause you as a leader to unlearn some leader traits will be habits you’ve adopted. Some may be bad habits. I’ve known of leaders with military backgrounds who later held positions in usually smaller organizations and only knew to bark orders like a drill sergeant. Morale was always low, and motivation was non-existent.

As our tenure in leadership progresses, so should our ability, including unlearning habits and character traits that bring unhealthy results to our organization and the people we lead. Unlearning for greater leading demonstrates growth in our leadership abilities. What can you do this week to improve your leadership abilities?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life.

“Were you that pastor?” Came the energetic inquiry from my colleague and fellow consulting/coach. We were sitting in a church Bible study classroom listening to the 76 years of age pastor of this small, declining church. At the time of our meeting the church was running about 12 in their Sunday morning service. This was never a huge or mega church. I’m not sure if they averaged 150 in worship for any length of time. But just a few short years ago they were running 45-55. That’s when this story took place that my colleague inquired of.

This pastor was wanting to motivate his congregation to think not of themselves, but of helping others. He prayed and planned his sermon for the week and as closing remarks he said I want us to compare our church to…and he named one of the largest churches in the region. (My numbers aren’t going to be exact, but they’re close)

The pastors shared, Last week X church had over 3,000 people in attendance. We had 45. Last week they’re offering was $148,000. Ours was a little over $300. (Get ready, his next statement was great) “I think we need to help that church out.” That’s right, he was suggesting this small church should help the mega church. The pastor even gave a suggestion as to how they were to help.

His suggestion was that this small church should give all their offering the next week to the big church. His congregation’s response. Well, at first, they thought it was a joke. When he assured them he was serious, some probably considered having their own pastor committed. But the next Sunday the church made an extra effort. That little church collected over $600 that week. What did they do with it? They sent every penny of it off to the mega church with a card signed by the members.

Why would the pastor of a small struggling church suggest to his members that the church give ALL of one week’s receipts to the largest church in the region? Certainly, there were many other struggling churches in the area who could use the money more than the mega church. Yes, there were. The pastor’s message was, “Don’t you want to be part of something much bigger than yourself?”

We all want to be something big. And God’s design is for us to desire to be part of something bigger than our self-worth. That small church has been a giving church ever since, giving offerings and extra monies to other churches, church plants, and ministries. $100 here, $300 there, another $200 to a struggling pastor – never wanting anything in return.

One challenge from a pastor, a life-long lesson learned for all his congregation. Not only did his congregation learn a life lesson. So did the mega church and their pastor. And the story has been shared far and wide since then for others to learn. I’m so glad that I was in the room to hear this 76 year’s of age pastor share of this one incident in his ministry. And my colleague, Daniel Wilson, well he was enthused to meet the pastor of the story he had heard several years ago. May God continue to bless this pastor and his ministry. What lesson will you take away from his story?

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life