Are you part of an effective team or one person in a group meeting for a common cause? There is a difference. Sometimes groups that call themselves teams do not operate as a team. If you are a sports fan perhaps you can recall watching a “team” like this. The dysfunction of its members leads to chaos and infighting, everyone looking out for his own interest and not the best interest of the team. Not only in sports, perhaps you have witnessed this in your organization or workplace as well. Have you ever considered what makes certain teams more successful than others?

There is much that could be written about building a successful team, more than this blog has space for. With that in mind let me list three initial characteristics of a healthy team. There are certainly more characteristics of healthy, successful teams. However, without these three as a foundation for forming a team and initiating the work, your team will not reach its potential.

Compatibility

One key characteristic is compatibility. Are all team members attuned to the need and working toward a ‘best’ solution and greatest potential of the team? All team members need to be harmonious for working side by side to accomplish the task of the team? This does not mean all members think alike. That can actually be disastrous for a team. Diversity on the team will lead to deeper exploration and greater search for the best outcome. Yet, all team members should be harmonious in reaching for the best solution/result. Compatibility should not imply that we all come in with the same thoughts or gift set on a particular situation. The compatibility needed is that we all agree that a resolution that is best and beneficial to the team objective is what we will work toward. And we will do it without animosity toward each other or ideas presented by other team members.

Loyalty

Loyalty of members to a team is crucial to the performance of a team and all outcomes by the team. We all have priorities in life and the priorities of your team need to be established at the very onset of your working together. Loyalty includes attendance to all meetings, participation, confidentiality, encouragement, and support of team members and objective. These descriptors of loyalty should be discussed and agreed upon by each member at the first meeting of the team.

Shared Responsibility

The term, team, in itself designates the work to be accomplished is to be shared by all members of the team. Too often organizational teams exist with one or two people carrying the load of the work and the team comes together periodically to discuss progress. This is not a team. Every person on a team should be recruited for the team for his or her gift/skill set. Each person has a role to fulfill and skills to assist the team in reaching its goals and objectives.

This is not intended in any way to be inclusive of all characteristics of a functioning team. But insuring these three are investigated and discussed before the team begins its actual assignment will greatly enhance your chances of an effective team and productive meetings and progress. What other characteristics do you value in a team?

For more information on developing effective teams or to pass on your thoughts and ideas contact George Yates and SonC.A.R.E. Ministries.

In a recent conversation a minister asked a couple questions of concern about his church. His questions could have been asked by many church ministers and members across our nation. Actually, I have had similar conversations with other pastors and church leaders. The basis of these questions revolve around, “Why is our church not growing?” While this and similar questions occupy the thoughts of many pastors, I was pleased this minister friend was seeking answers and not afraid to ask.

Our church continues to provide opportunities for the community, Easter and Christmas events, harvest festivals…How does a church make these a ministry and not just a handout? We’re giving away these services and fun times, including food. Most of the time we are asking guests for their name and address but, as far as I know, no follow up is done except to send them a flyer the next time we have a free event coming up.

Follow up is a key to any event or attraction of people to a church. They cannot know the depth of caring unless you demonstrate that depth. In the church world we have bought into the idea that we are showing depth of compassion by hosting these types of events and ministries. How shallow our thoughts when we do this. In essence are we not merely trying to lure them in with a baited hook? Unfortunately, in too many instances this is the truth being played out through today’s churches and we think by hosting these community events we are fulfilling the Great Commission.

I have heard it said more than once that you cannot visit in people’s homes any longer. I find this to be one of the biggest untruths of our day. Serving in KY, OH, GA, CA and working with churches in other states, I have never been kicked out of a home or off a porch when visiting for God. I do go in prayed up and with a proper loving attitude, never with a preconceived idea of the length or specific depth of conversation. My aim is always to share God’s love and my appreciation for the face to face meeting. If this is as far as the visit goes, then I have been obedient in attempting to share His love beyond an event. I always pray for an open door and opportunity to enter into a conversation about Christ as God wills. When this happens I praise Him for the bonus blessing.

Too many times when follow up visits are made, I’m afraid we go in with a wrong attitude or air about why we are there and lose the opportunity to share God’s love allowing Him to work through us in the situation. Whether we verbally express it or not, different agenda comes through to the prospect. I believe when we do not conduct appropriate follow up visits, we do an injustice to God and send a message of the lack of depth of our care and compassion for lost souls headed for an eternity in Hell.

These events can be fun and we get a good turn out from the community but it doesn’t seem to be doing the church any good except for, perhaps, warm fuzzy feelings that we are reaching out into the community. We are building a good reputation in the community for the church but thus far it hasn’t encouraged anyone to visit us for worship. Other churches are doing them, even some government programs do the same.

I’m beginning to feel that the community is merely receiving these as another form of welfare or as entitlements that the church is obligated. I think these have become so common place that they have ceased to show the community that the church cares for them. Thus no longer engendering a desire to become a part of the church.

(Notice the pastor is coming close to answering his own question) Perhaps you are correct. If so what are you willing to do for a different outcome? God has called your church to reach the surrounding community. At some point in history a group of people believed God was leading them to reach the people of that particular area, and I do not believe God’s plan was to reach the community for only a certain number of years. There are still people in the community who need Christ. Therefore, there is still work to be done.

How will your church be intentional about embracing the community? If the community has changed, what changes are required of your church to reach the new face of the community? There are successful churches doing exactly what you know you need to do, be intentional and make the adjustments. Throughout the last 2000 years the church has modified its methods to share the good news and the love of God to the changing cultures surrounding the church. Today is no different. God has placed you, (each person) in the church body where you find yourself today, for a reason. This is your watch. How will you be intentional and lead your fellow believers to be intentional about sharing the love of God and reaching the community where God has placed you?

People often ask, “Why are so many churches in decline today?” and “What causes decline?” If only it were simple to give a one sentence answer to these two questions. Yet it is not that simple, at least not on the surface. First, we must determine what constitutes a declining church. In the introduction of Reaching the Summit I lay out some of the guidelines that I use for this determination.

There are differing reasons for decline in churches; apathy within the church, loss of vision, lack of purpose, jumping from one ‘next big thing’ to another, and the list goes on. When asked, leaders and members inside the church will give a number of reasons, many of which have to do with outside circumstances, the economy, changing culture, the new church down the street, and more. The difficulty I have with these is you had no control over these when things were going good and you have no control over them now. Therefore, why do we use these as our scapegoat for the church’s current condition?

As God has called us to build His church, has he stated “except in a bad economy” or “with the exception of…” No, He has not. I believe our God is bigger than any economy or cultural shift. Blaming outside forces or circumstances does not get the rebuilding job done. It hinders and keeps us from rebuilding. It does please our adversary. Yet we know that is not our intent.

I believe a better place to look is in God’s word to find a reason for the decline in so many churches today. As I prayed through those questions a few years ago the conclusion I came to can be found in Jesus’ own words in Revelation 2:4.”Yet I hold this against you, you have forsaken your first love.” (NIV) That can be a bitter pill to swallow, at least about our own church. “It may be true of many other churches, but not mine.” When we examine the issue fully, open, and honestly, I believe this is where we need to begin.

Great news is found in the very next verse, Revelation 2:5, Jesus gives us the prescription we need today. “Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you you did at first.” (NIV) He is not saying go back to big tent revivals and the methods of yesterday. Jesus is advising us to get back to the love we shared and the compassion with which we shared it. What a glorious revelation to the church at Ephesus and to you and me today as well. What was the passion that drove us in those tent revivals and the “Million More in ’54”? That is where we will find the big tent revivals of today.

God has called you and placed you at the particular place you are serving at this specific time in history to join Him in building His church. He desires to do great things through you. What will you do today in light of Revelation 2:4-5 to bring His light back into the community around you and through the local body of believers in which He has placed you?

For more information on avoiding and reversing decline in your church visit soncare.net, pick up your copy of Reaching the Summit,  and contact George L. Yates at SonC.A.R.E. Ministries.

A little more than a year back I wrote a series of posts on Organizational Health for religious entities including the church. In the first post I mentioned the need for returning to leading instead of managing. In recent months speaking on this topic I have observed many realizing as for the very first time that they have slipped from leading to managing in the church or other religious entities. I have also received several comments and questions about moving from managing to leading. In this article my aim is to briefly address the difference between the two.

I have never met a person who entered the ministry to be a manager. Think about it. Have you ever heard anyone say one of the following: I want to be in ministry so I can manage people. or I think ministry is right for me because I want to manage programs and facilities.

My guess is, like me, you’ve never heard these or similar statements because no one enters the ministry to be a manager. Rather, a ministry calling involves the desire to lead; leading people to faith in Christ, leading others in deeper spiritual intimacy with God, leading people in maturation of discipleship, etc. It is all about leading. We want to lead. Our passion is to lead.

When you look up the word lead in the dictionary or thesaurus you find words as front-runner, guide, direct, and steer. When you look up the word manage you see the words; to cope, control, and handle. Ask yourself, “Do I prefer to be guided or controlled?” The answer is always guided. Your people, your staff, team, volunteers, and members are the same. They want to be guided, to be led.

I do understand in leadership there are times when you must manage. However, when our focus becomes managing instead of leading, we have missed God’s calling. While no one enters ministry to become a manager, too often ministers and ministry leaders become managers – managers of people, programs, and facilities. When managing occupies your time you are not leading. In our churches and religious organizations of North America we must return to leading as God ordained and called each of us.

For more information on leading in ministry and moving away from the manager mentality contact George Yates and visit soncare.net.

Continuing from the previous post are two additional passions for building a strategic foundation for your Small Group Bible studies.

Passion for Growing People

Your church leaders and teachers must have a passion to grow people. The Great Commission says to “make disciples…teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20). Jesus taught us and God desires us to have a passion for people to have the abundant, joyful life that is only available through a life lived according to the truths of Scripture.

Teaching should not be drudgery or a laborious chore. Teaching should be an exhilarating and electrifying experience. But as the Bible cautions, it should only be undertaken by those called of God to teach biblical truths. When you teach biblical truths and the ways of God to others, it is a thrilling and moving experience, especially when you see a truth being caught by learners. Remember also that teaching is not dispensing knowledge. Teaching is guiding others through the learning experience. God has given us two (that I have discovered) natural learning abilities—discovery learning and imitation.

As a teacher, guide people in the discovery of God’s truths and principles for their lives. This is where learning takes place. Good, effective teachers do not give all the answers. They guide learners down the path of discovery learning. As Christian believers, we are to grow people into the likeness of Jesus as we grow closer ourselves. As long as we are alive on earth, we are to be learners and to be guides and leaders of learners, always striving to observe and teach others to observe all things that God has instructed.

Passion for Prayer

As believers we should have a passion for prayer, communion with God. Communion is a spiritual union through a close relationship. How can we have a close relationship without spending time with the other person in the relationship? It would be impossible. The only way to have a close relationship is to be in frequent two-way communication with each person involved in the relationship. The more contact and open communication we have, the closer and stronger the relationship will grow. The more time we spend with God studying His Word and in prayer (communing with Him), the closer our bond and relationship will be with Him.

The closer our relationship, the more apt we will be to hear and understand the voice of God leading us through our lives. Always striving to draw closer to God in our relationship will allow us to be better equipped to lead and guide others. Through small-group Bible study we can learn with others about the closer intimacies of a relationship with God as we study and pray together.

The second principle or set of factors for a healthy growing church through small-group Bible study is through strategy: intentional strategic planning and implementation. In short we need a strategic plan for implementing and continuation of each of these four passions.

For more on building Passion and Strategy in your small groups contact George Yates at SonC.A.R.E. Ministries and visit soncare.net

In many churches especially declining churches it is often a fault to attempt to reach for what has been working in another church, usually one of the mega-churches in the nation. The thought process is if it worked for them, surely it will work for us as well. The blunder is we chase after models and this is detrimental to the health of any church. It can be fatal to a church in the final phases of decline. If you take nothing else away from this post, remember this: Do not copy models – capture principles. The dress code of a pastor of a church in southern California should look different than the dress code of a pastor in rural Texas. It should look different because the communities and cultures are different in each location. The worship style of a church in New York reaching Jamaican Americans will be different than the worship style of a church in inner city Wisconsin. Why, the cultures to be reached are different.

If either of those styles are working and you want to know how that can be adapted to your church setting, do not copy the worship style. Research the principles behind their worship and determine how those principles can be adapted in your worship setting. If the principles are biblically based they can be adapted and successful in your worship set. We are not speaking only of clothing or worship styles. This is true of any part of your ministry or ministry endeavors. Find the principles of effective student ministry, Bible study, or prayer ministry and capture those principles.

You might be surprised to find some of the newest and best forward moving ministries are based on longstanding principles used throughout the ages by successful ministries. My friend Darryl Wilson uses the term “ancient-future”. When you look at the principles behind many successful and thriving ministries today you will often find their ministries are based on principles that worked fifty, sixty, and even one hundred years ago. Methods of ministry change, principles never do.

God has given your church a passion to fulfill your purpose as a church. A purpose validates the intent, extent, and direction of the church. How has the extent of your intent directed your church over the past ten years?

This post is excerpted from Reaching the Summit: Avoiding and Reversing Decline in the Church, Chapter Nine, The One Best Thing. For more information on this topic visit soncare.net .

Perhaps you have seen video clips in movies or on television shows of a steam locomotive taking off from a depot. You hear the water boiling and see the steam rolling, and at the right time the engineer pulls a lever, and you hear that steam being transformed into energy, energy to turn the wheels on the train. It is then that you see the wheels turn
slightly and ever so slowly. The engineer pulls again, the engine bellows, and the wheels turn again, slightly and slowly. Another pull, and the wheels turn a little more and slightly faster. The actions are repeated again and again. Each time the wheels move with slightly more speed than the last. All the wheels turn simultaneously, and each turn is faintly
greater than the one before, each turn building momentum from the previous turn.

This process continues until the train is moving and generating speed and seemingly pulling its own weight. Momentum has kicked in, and the train will continue to
move down the track, headed for its destination. The wheels are now turning with ease. The engineer’s job now becomes maintaining the correct pressure on the boiler and, as
needed, converting that steam into the energy needed to maintain the forward motion and speed of the train.

To reverse the decline in a church requires not one turn of the ignition but a series of good decisions, each one building upon previous decisions. Like the steam locomotive, it takes
time and energy exercised in the right direction. All of the train’s wheels are always pulling in the same direction. To get the train moving, each blast of energy is pushing the wheels in the same direction. Every blast is for forward motion.

As a church you must set the course (this is articulating the vision), and from that moment every decision made needs to be to move the church forward. You cannot go in different directions. The track is set, and every move will be either forward or backward. To make one not-so-good decision or the lack of a decision to move the church forward
only thwarts the momentum gained by previous actions and good decisions.

To gain momentum is to make each decision with God’s wisdom and with the express intention and purpose to move the church forward. Each good decision will improve the
church’s momentum, until the church appears to be moving on its own, as does the train. Every good, solid decision you make is fueling the locomotive of the church forward. It is
helping gain the momentum to propel your church to be the church God wants it to be.

Excerpted from Reaching the Summit: Avoiding and Reversing Decline in the Church, chapter 11.

My Father is glorified by this; that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples. John 15:8

You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, John 15:16 (HCSB)

I love all of scripture and the 15^th chapter of the gospel of John is one of my favorites. This chapter will speak volumes to us if we will only listen.

In verse eight it is clear to see that we please and glorify God by not only producing fruit, but producing much fruit. The only way you produce fruit is by planting, and tending to the fruit trees or vines. For us that is sharing the gospel – God’s story, our story of God in our lives through one time opportunities and on-going relationships.

To glorify is to elevate to a level above all human elements. This is truly where God lives and we need to recognize this and be certain to live this way. This is exactly what verse eight is speaking of. We lift Him up, elevate Him in our eyes, mind, heart, and soul, and in the eye and mind of others when we produce fruit, when we live our lives in such a way that it points others to God and to a personal relationship with Christ.

The sixteenth verse says that we are to produce fruit that remains. I believe the last word in this verse is a key word in this statement from Jesus and one that is often overlooked or dismissed. I often hear pastors and church members make statements as, “We gave out 340 backpacks” or “We fed more than 500 families this year through our food pantry.” While these are good and worthy ministry efforts, where is the fruit that remains? I applaud churches who do these community ministries and yes we are in many of these efforts planting seeds. However, many times they are done without premise of fruit that remains.

Certainly God blesses our efforts – when our efforts are in line with His will for our particular body of believers. Copying ideas and events that we read or heard worked for another church will most often lead to poor results in our church. When we copy models we are not likely to see the results like the ones we hear or read about. Do not copy models, capture principles.

We could copy the model of Jesus: dawn a long plain linen robe and sandles and walk everywhere, teaching on hillsides and at the dinner tables of IRS agents. But that is not what God blessed. That is not what made the difference. The principle of Jesus life and ministry is that He poured Himself – all He knew and all He did – into others. He had compassion on others and He continued to pour into His disciples. He was meeting needs and he was continuously feeding the mind and soul, teaching, equipping. He was building disciples – fruit that remains. Then, in the Great Commission this is exactly what He advised us to do. Pouring himself into eleven men, then to the apostle Paul, Jesus turned the world upside down – and is still doing so 2,000 years later. Now that is producing fruit that remains. May we do likewise.

We can fully live out verse eight only when we have mastered verse sixteen.

Implementation: Uninformed people are ill-informed people

Pastor John and his staff spent six months planning the upcoming changes and adjustments to their worship service. After months of prayer, searching, reading and studying a multitude of options, they began settling on what would fit their particular ministry setting. The team researched and contemplated every angle of each potential adjustment. They were certain they were ready and this is where God had led them as a church staff. Now it was time to pull the trigger, so to speak. The date to unveil the new service had arrived and Pastor John was particularly excited about the potential to expand their ministry through the new approach.

One thing the Pastor and staff failed to do was prepare the people, the church members for the implementation of the upcoming change. And this would prove to be disastrous. Uninformed people are ill-informed people. And in a situation like this, the execution of change could bring about the ministry execution of the pastor or ministry leaders. While thorough strategic planning is essential to a successful event or ministry, without proper implementation, you could be planning your own execution.

Though your church may conduct planning and even strategic planning as discussed in the previous post, strategic planning is only the beginning phase for any event or adjustments in your ministry. Perhaps the more strenuous challenge and the area of greatest difficulty is implementation and execution of your plans. Planning needs to include identifying potential drawbacks and reasons people might not embrace the adjustments. If you do not consider and plan for these possibilities, you will not be ready to properly manage them should they arise.

Planning also needs to include instruction and training everyone involved (in the case above, all church members).Uninformed people are ill-informed people. When planning any event or change in ministry, those involved in planning must remember though they have exhausted all possibilities and perhaps spent countless hours studying and preparing for the adjustments, everyone outside the planning team is in the dark concerning the upcoming change. The planning team has investigated and wrestled with the various components and possibilities. The general membership has not. Everything is new and foreign to everyone not on the planning team.

Therefore, you must begin slow and early to introduce the potential adjustments that “may” be coming. You do not need to give too much information as you begin to identify to the members what is being considered. However, you do want to give enough to allow them to begin to process the possibility of change (perhaps without using the word change) needed to improve or redirect the ministry. It is best to try to build in excitement and intrigue as to upcoming enhancements or redirection of ministry. As the calendar moves closer to the date of implementation expound more and train everyone on what is coming and how it will benefit everyone individually, the ministry as a whole, and God’s kingdom.

As you move forward, drawing closer to the implementation, you will want to involve more and more people. Be certain everyone who has a role to play in the implementation is on-board, equipped, and informed with the implementation count down. This may not give you a flawless implementation, but it will cut down on some of the errors many churches incur in leading change, and beginning new ministries.

For more on strategic planning and implementation contact George L. Yates and visit SonC.A.R.E. Ministries.