A few years back while serving on staff at a church, we had a young lady visit. Her clothes were not like what most of our congregation wore. She wore blue jeans and a top. They were not the nicest, newest of clothing, but they were not dirty. Maybe not dry cleaner pressed, but her clothes were clean and decent.

I got to know a little about her background. It was not the prettiest of stories. She’d had a rough few years. Life was not kind to her, she was downtrodden. She had tried many avenues; life had gotten to a very low point for her. She did not know where to turn. She had heard of the church but in her thirty some years had never attended church.

She was welcomed into our church, though some were reluctant to give a genuine warm welcome. After three weeks, this young lady did not show up for Sunday services or Bible study. As was our custom, myself and someone else went to visit (to show we care). Our church logo was, “The Caring Place”. I still believe in visiting. A personal visit makes a greater impact than any other communication.

When we arrived, she met us outside her house. The reason she had not attended the previous Sunday was that one of our nice, friendly women had told this soul-searching young lady that she should wear a dress to church and “Blue jeans are not fitting for Sunday mornings.” She exclaimed to us, “I do not own a dress.”

I was not only embarrassed, my face likely turned flush red, as I was furious. Part of me wanted to find out who said this mean and ugly statement to this woman trying to find her way in a world that kept knocking her down. We tried to convince the young lady that her clothing was not an issue in our church and we would certainly address the real issue within the congregation. She would not commit to return. I had a couple of ladies in the church to reach out to her, to no avail. I pray she found a church home, a church that loved her and showed true compassion.

We were a church of several hundred loving, caring believers. Yet, one careless, misplaced comment sent this lost soul back into the darkness of the world.

Many of our churches are filled with loving, compassionate people, at least to one another and perhaps to those guests who look and dress like us. Oftentimes our love stops there.

I get to speak in a lot of friendly churches, and I sometimes ask who is the friendliest church in town. Of course, every church says, “We are!” I follow up with, “If I go to the church down the street and ask them the same question, they will tell me that you are the friendliest church?” It is easy to get caught in the trap of believing our church is the friendliest church in town. After all, we are extremely friendly to one another.

Jesus came to reach the outsiders. He established His New Testament church to do the same. One main goal for every church member should always be to “show that you care”. And you do show how much you care by the way you treat the stranger among you.

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.

One last article on processes for your church or organization. With questions coming in about processes I thought I’d finish this series up with some examples of effective processes. I use the term processes, some use the word systems for the same “how” structure within an organization. A reminder, when I use the term processes I am speaking of; Processes are those repetitive actions you use to accomplish your goals and advance the mission or purpose of your organization.

First, I’ll share of two processes we led a church in Ohio to implement. While serving as Minister of Education one of the first processes we implemented was a monthly training meeting for all Sunday School leaders. I let the leaders choose the day and time to meet and I led the meetings. Each meeting was about strengthening the Sunday School; fruitful teaching, care structure, class structure, community involvement, prayer ministry within the class, evangelism among others. Prior to this, the church had not any structured training to equip their Bible study leaders.

In the same church we moved away from the fill an empty slot with a warm body mentality. The pastor asked when we were going to fill a particular teaching position. My reply, “I’m not. I’m not going to fill the spot with the first person who will say yes.” Let’s face it this is our recruiting method in many churches. Instead we changed our processes to locate the person most gifted by God to fill positions. We looked for people with passion for the task at hand. People will serve out of their passion.

That church grew by an average of ten percent each year while I was there and continued for several years afterward. Why? It was not about me. The church grew because we implemented simple processes that everyone could grasp. Processes that allowed people to grow instead of forcing certain ideas.

Years later, in another state, another group, regional training was lacking. Some churches had not experienced any training for more than twenty years. God gave me an idea to create a training event. I set out to create a one day event that would encompass training for various areas of church life.

The state convention got on board but cautioned that they had never (in twenty years) held or seen any event in that region of the state to have more than 250 participants. We were praying for 400. On the inaugural day we had 520 in attendance. Why? Not because of me. We instituted a process for promoting and recruiting that far exceeded anything the churches in that region had previously witnessed. That event grew from the 520.

In each of the processes shared above two more components that made these successful were prayer (bathed in prayer) and the personal touch. The more personal between the leaders and congregation/constituents the greater success of your process. Your people do not need to hear you telling them what they need to do while you sit in your “ivory tower” as they see it.

It’s not your people, take a look first at your processes and work toward implementing new, effective processes that lead to fruitfulness. Read the other 3 articles on processes. Let me know how I can assist.

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.

Last month I wrote a couple of articles on organizational processes. The first, “It’s Not your People” described that while the first accusations are usually “Our people”, people are rarely the issue. It is most aways something in your processes. The second article, “Help with Processes,” attempted to help you understand processes using real life examples.

Processes are those repetitive actions you use to accomplish your goals and advance the mission or purpose of your organization. The church’s God-given purpose is to fulfill The Great Commission. Therefore, the processes your church uses are the repetitive actions and practices to supposedly bring people to know Christ, follow in baptism, and grow into mature disciples who are growing others into mature disciples.

On the basis of that last paragraph, more than 80% of U.S. churches are failing in their processes. How can we say we have healthy processes when even our attendance numbers have been greatly shrinking over the last 30 years? Attendance is only a brief indicator. Attendance does not reveal discipleship. It does show we are not multiplying disciples. We need better processes.

Books can be written on good or best practices as long as they stop short of saying you must do it “our way.” Each church must spend quality time in prayer – at a deeper level than normal and each step of their process must also be bathed in prayer. Your first step may be to designate a special prayer team of your most dedicated prayer warriors. This team will not only pray but lead the church in seasons of prayer as your leadership works to develop and implement new/renewed processes for the church.

In the article, It’s Not your People, I gave five questions to ask. This is a good place for your leadership/Process team to begin. The following are suggestions for furthering the process renewal. Please, do not undermine the power of prayer throughout the design and develop process.

1, Identify your what, your purpose. In this phase you may want identify one expectation that your entire church should desire. Or you could identify up to three, how to lead people to know Christ, baptism, and growing current and future members into mature disciples making disciples.

2, Identify behavior patterns within the church that are not accomplishing your answer to number 1. Behavior Patterns are those repetitive actions or practices of your congregation as a whole and as individuals. Our churches are dotted with poor behavior patterns. Your processes determine what behavior patterns are accepted within your organization.

3, Design a process that will introduce new productive behavior patterns, replacing the unproductive ones. Without new/changed behavior patterns, new processes will never take hold. People are not the issue, but what is allowed and encouraged by your processes.

4, Design new expectations that will be set as the standard. This will be the normal anticipated accountability for leadership and congregation. Please use friendly accountability, not forceful culpability. Friendly accountability is helpful, assisting one another as Hur and Aaron holding up the arms of Moses.

This is the How of your organization. How you will accomplish your purpose. Include the expected steps and who will be accountable for each step and part of the process. Be careful to not just throw in what you’ve always been doing.

5, Simplify your new processes and preach, teach them in every setting from the pulpit and Sunday School class, to every committee meeting and each conversation.

I am out of space for this article. Contact me or your denomination staff for more information and assistance on creating productive processes for your church or 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.

Christmas has come and gone. Another year is nearing its end. It is time to reflect on your life in 2023. I recently wrote a letter to the church I am currently serving about this topic. I am not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions, but I do believe it is a good time to reflect on the previous year and to make plans for improvement for the coming year. After all, there is always room for improvement. That statement is never truer than in our spiritual walk.

Consider the following three ways to strengthen your spiritual walk in 2024.

1, Spend more time with God throughout the week. Whether it is more time reading, contemplating, and praying scripture, or finding new ways to serve Him in your community. What will you challenge yourself to do to spend more time with God in 2024?

2, Commit to be more faithful in attendance to your church and true worship to God Almighty. Faithful worship and Bible study attendance will honor God and draw you closer to Him and His will for your life. Did you know that by your attendance at worship services and other events at church, you encourage others and help them to worship?

3, Invite others to join you in worship and service at and through your church. More than 85% of people surveyed say they began attending church because a friend invited them. Ask God for a renewed enthusiasm in your life about worship and you will find yourself inviting others.

In Ephesians 1:4-5 the Apostle Paul writes, “for He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for himself, according to his favor and will,”

Will you join me in praying scripture as we reflect on our spiritual walk? “Thank you God Almighty, for you chose me before you formed the world. You chose me to be holy and blameless in Your sight. I cannot be either of those without you. In Love, you made a plan for me to be adopted through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, according to your favor and will. Thank you for choosing me. May I serve earnestly in 2024, drawing nearer to you, growing stronger in you. In your precious Son’s name, Amen.”

May your reflections on 2023 strengthen your resolve for greater service to God in 2024.

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 less than a week away. Have you finished all your shopping? Is everything wrapped and ready? If not, fear not. Let me help. Keep reading as I will reveal what the people on your list want and desire this Christmas. I have heard on several occasions this month of how hectic and stressful it seems to be this year. Don’t stress over the events and business of the season.

Brand new to starting a family, Mary and Joseph, a young couple were required by the government to take a trip they had not planned, to a city they had no intention of going to, and they had no funding to make this trip. It was a four day journey on foot, and Mary was nine months pregnant. But they had each other and a promise from God.

Though all of that was stressful enough, when they arrived at the government’s imposed destination, there was no hotel rooms to be found. No boarding houses, no Air BnB, not a room available anywhere. Yet, they had each other and a promise from God. Joseph and Mary learned that when the world says, “No Room,” God says, “No Problem!”

We would do well to take a lesson from Joseph and Mary. When there is no room at the inn this Christmas season, think of Mary and Joseph and say, “No room, No Problem!” When the world says No room, we can say we serve a God who says, “No Problem!”

When you are stressed from the hustle and bustle of the season and the world says there is no room for rest and peace, simply say, No room, No Problem! When in a difficult situation and there seems to be no room for a solution, remember, “No room, No Problem!” When in pain and hardship, when there seems to be no room for comfort, why not say, “No room, No problem!” The people on your list simply want a little time with you.

Keep your focus on Christ this Christmas. Enjoy Christ this Christmas. Keep Christ in your Christmas. Mary and Joseph had each other and a promise from God. You can have that same promise.

And remember…Like Mary and Joseph you may not find room at the inn, but there is always room at the foot of the cross.

Merry Christmas

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.

In February 2022 I awoke one morning feeling like I had just got out of the dentist chair, the right side of my face was somewhat numb. Thinking I might be having an allergic reaction to some cough syrup, I continued as usual. Later that day, realizing this was more than an allergic reaction, I headed home, a seven-hour drive. Once in the car I realized my right eye was not closing, blinking, or refreshing itself. Seven hours of manually closing/opening the eye for relief and lubrication, in addition to the increased numbness in the face.

The next day it was diagnosed as Bells Palsy. What we did not realize at the time was along with the muscle dilapidation, I had also experienced severe nerve damage in the right side of my face. Without the nerves, I could lose the use of my eye, the right portion of my mouth and all the muscles surrounding them.

I began Physical Therapy. The first two to three weeks the therapists tried massaging, exercising, and torquing the muscles attempting to bring new life back into them. With no improvement the therapists came up with a different process for treatment, one that included multiple needles and electric currents pulsing through my head – one that had never been tried to this extent before. Today I am at least 99.7% recovered from what appeared nearly impossible.

I share this to help you understand processes. The first process was a standard process for Bells Palsy patients. When that process was delivering no results, the therapists came up with a new process that brought results.

In the church, the way your worship service flows is a process. Your Sunday School or small group Bible studies follow a process. If these are not delivering fruitful results, extending God’s Kingdom, it is likely due to defective processes. Yet, we often criticize the people in our pews or classes – or we blame the leadership. Seldom do we look at the processes. It is, after all, much easier to lay blame elsewhere.

The extent of your community outreach is a result of your process for fulfilling The Great Commission. Many churches have no designed processes for fulfilling The Great Commission. It is a “whatever happens happens“ and we applaud whatever happens.

Processes are the repetitive actions, procedures, and methods you use to reach your goals and advance the mission of your organization. Walk into any Chick-fil-A restaurant and you will be greeted by every employee you come in close contact with. Each employee who serves you throughout your visit, if you thank them, will respond with, “My Pleasure!” emphatically stated with a smile. These are manifestations of well thought out and implemented processes.

Like the Physical Therapists, when your current processes are not accomplishing fruitful results, develop new ones that will. In a later article (January 2, 2024), we will address evaluating, tweaking, and building new processes. With the new year coming quickly, perhaps it is time for some new fruitful processes 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.

When an organization is not functioning properly, the first factor criticized is often the people within the organization. Reality is, People rarely are the main issue or cause. Robert Watts Jr. wrote a book titled, “People Are Never the Problem.” His book deals with a different topic than this article and I deal in opportunities, not problems. Yet, I like the title and it is appropriate.

When an organization is not functioning effectively or properly, it is rarely a people issue. The issue normally lies with the processes set within the organization. That’s right. Your “problems” if you deal with problems are not the people within the organization. Rather they are likely indeed with the processes.

Why was Southwest by far the most successful airline for its first twenty-five years in business? Because it had fruitful processes, effective systems in place. How did Chick-fil-A from 2011 to 2018 increase its revenue annually by 15 percent when the market average was less than 3.5 percent? Because Chick-fil-A builds the same fruitful processes within each employee in every store.

What I refer to as processes, Craig Groeschel, in Lead Like It Matters, refers to as systems. Processes/systems are those repetitive actions you use to accomplish your goals and advance the mission of your organization. Groeschel says systems are how you accomplish your what.

Every organization has systems/processes for doing. Some processes are intentional, others are not. The processes used regularly in your organization are either moving your organization forward toward your goals and fulfilling your mission, or they are holding you back. The results you are getting right now are the precise results your processes are designed to deliver. Check your processes. It’s not your people.

When was the last time your organization’s leadership examined your processes for accomplishing your goals and your mission? If you’re not completely satisfied with the fruitfulness of your organization, before criticizing your people, begin with these questions;

1, What processes/systems are being practiced that need to be overhauled or buried?

2, What new processes need to be put in place?

3, What will the results of this new process look like?

4, What needs to happen by whom to achieve fruitful results?

5, How can we encourage and exhort the expected behaviors from members of our organization?

There were many airlines flying during Southwest’s first twenty-five years. There are many fast-food restaurants in business today. Why did these two excel far above the others? It’s Not your people.

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.

Early in my Christian, church leadership days, I had a decision to make.  A service was needed in our church which required hiring an outside para-church organization. I interviewed two or three companies. One of the men I interviewed was a member of our church. In the end I contracted with one of the other organizations, whom I thought would give us a better product.

A few people in the church were upset and queried why I would choose a company other than the one of our church member. It turns out we had members from two families in the church working for this organization. They would’ve provided an adequate product for us, yet I had made my decision. With several people in the room, including the young man whose family was negatively impacted by my decision, the Senior pastor asked me, “Are you confident that you made the right decision?” I answered, “Yes.” He replied, “Okay then. It’s done.”

Through the years, I have thought of that situation and realized, yes, I made the best decision according to my leadership training and the years I had spent in leadership in the corporate world. It was not a bad decision – for the church members, for our budget, for the resulting product. It was good in all these areas. But did I do right by my brother in Christ? Today, I would likely give the work to my fellow church member.

Both organizations did very good work and produced quality resources. I had based my decision on all corporate worldly factors, not factoring in the financial and spiritual welfare of my fellow church member. Like many younger leaders I was somewhat impetuous in my decision-making. Seasoned leaders are likely to be more sensitive to the physical, fiscal, and spiritual aspects of decision making.

Good leaders are analytical. I was analytical in my decision making, at least from a corporate America point of view. Seasoned leaders are not only analytical, they are also sensitive to areas younger leaders tend to miss. Don’t tense up younger leaders. I am speaking from experience and from reading research on the topic. Seasoned leaders are more likely to acknowledge calculated risk factors of decision making. Seasoned spiritual leaders tend to seek counsel from other wise, seasoned spiritual leaders.

My encouragement to young leaders is to yes be analytical, learn to be sensitive to the needs of all who will affected by your decision, and be certain to surround yourself with seasoned spiritual decision-making leaders. They are not all old and outdated. They can help give you wise counsel that could save some embarrassment and hardship and may be able to see beyond your blind spots. Can you name three such leaders in your life?

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 Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock over 300 years ago knew nothing of the affluent times which you and I enjoy today in this great country of ours. During that first long winter at Plymouth Colony, seven times as many graves were made for the dead as homes for the living.

The Pilgrims didn’t have much, in fact the ship which was to bring food and relief brought 35 more mouths to feed, but not an ounce of provisions. no food.

The Pilgrims didn’t have much, but they possessed a great gratitude and it was upon this very gratitude that America was built. For years following that first winter they had a custom of putting 5 kernels of corn on each empty plate before a dinner of “thanksgiving” was served.

Each member of the family would pick up a kernel and tell one thing they were thankful for. It was to remind them that the first Pilgrims were in such dire straits that their food allowance was only 5 kernels of corn per person each day. Can you imagine living through the harsh winter conditions with only five kernels of corn to eat each day?

We have many reasons to be thankful today. Let’s take 5 kernels of corn and using Psalm 103:1-5 look at 5 kernels of blessing from God.

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all that is within me, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—

3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

1, The kernel of forgiveness. – “Praise the lord, O my soul, who forgives all your sins.” (v 3a)

2, The kernel of redemption – “Praise the lord, O my soul, who redeems you from the pit.” (v 4a)

3, The kernel of healing – “Praise the Lord, O my soul, who heals all your diseases.” (v 3b) All healing comes from God and He has power over all diseases.

4, The kernel of love and compassion – “Praise the Lord, O my soul, who crowns you with love and compassion.” (v 4b)

5, The kernel of satisfaction and renewal – “Praise the Lord, O my soul, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (v 5)

We have much more to be grateful for than those early pilgrim settlers. May our sense of gratitude this Thanksgiving season be fully upon the God Almighty as was theirs. And why not place five kernels of corn on each plate and start your own thanksgiving tradition.

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.

What kind of topics of your life do you enjoy talking about? You want to talk about your victories, your strengths and accomplishments, correct? We have a tendency to broadcast our strengths, our victories and cover up our weaknesses, our failures. No one enjoys broadcasting his/her weaknesses. We want to hide them, shun them, and not talk about them.

Now, I am not one to dwell on weaknesses. But, have you ever felt like your weaknesses were overpowering your strengths? We all have at times in our lives. Can I share with you that is okay. At least, as long as we see that as an avenue for improvement and self-awareness. Understanding and acknowledging our weaknesses is a fundamental factor in growing into our full potential. God uses our struggles with weakness to draw us closer to Him and to show us our real strength is found in Him.

It has been said that our weaknesses “force us to look down into the depth of our humanity and discover the deep-seated pockets of selfishness and pride we didn’t know were there.”[i] While growing in Christlikeness this is where we learn that it is okay to admit our weaknesses. I often refer to it as sharing your vulnerabilities. If you are not willing to share your personal vulnerabilities, weaknesses, you are not willing to be a true leader.

Another lesson from the Apostle Paul, who wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 first sharing what he had learned from Christ. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Understanding Christ’s teaching, Paul then said, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me. I delight in weaknesses…For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Realizing, and letting our weaknesses be made known allows God’s glory to shine through greater and brighter than any words or deeds we can share. Culture has told us all of our lives to hide your weaknesses. Do not put them on display. Shun them, cover them up. Jesus says, in your weaknesses my (Christ’s) strength will shine through. It is through my weakness that Christ’s strength is made known more clearly to all around.

Reading throughout the Holy Scriptures you will find God intentionally seeking out the weak to demonstrate and affirm His power and strength. God takes our inadequacies and builds upon them His majestic works. Out of my weaknesses He is making something beautiful.

Focus on building on your strengths. But do not run from your weaknesses. God gave you those so he could shine through you. Allow God to be the weakness transformer in your life.

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] Go the Distance, John Trent, Focus on the Family Publishing, © 1996