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.

Church planning takes on a variety of meanings in various settings. For instance let’s say there is a new event a church is going to undertake. In some churches the pastor would make the decision and call the person(s) he feels would “get the job done.” He would explain his thoughts and desires for the event to this key person(s). Then he may or may not be heavily involved in the planning stages.

The amount of detail that goes into the planning depends on two key factors: who is leading the planning process, and how many are on the developing team. Now, it is not actually the “who” is leading as much as the personality and character of the event planning leader.  If she is an analytical, details oriented person, then the planning will take on a detailed process. On the other hand if the leader charged with planning the event is a more driven, “get the job done” type of leader, he will likely not be into details as much and continually push to move the planning and development process forward.

It is good to have both of these personality types on a planning team, be it an event, ministry, or the future of the church (or other organization). The driven personality will help keep the planning from stalling out. The detailed person will be sure the team is thorough in its planning process. The measure in which the leader involves others in the planning and development process will also have a great impact on the depth of planning and the outcome of success at the event.

While some form of planning is required for all events, ministry, and future predictions many churches do not have strategic planning as part of their DNA. Strategic planning requires tactical, calculated, and deliberate researching and consideration of all factors that could come into play. For example: planning an outdoor event in September in the central coast region of California does not require a lot of consideration for rain. It does not rain in that region in June through September. However, planning the same event in the Midwest would require this rain consideration and an alternate plan because rain is likely in any given month. In California you might want to plan for adequate shade, not necessarily for rain.

The weather is only one factor to be considered for planning such an event. What else would you need to consideration for the planning process? The analytical personality will likely list at least ten areas to consider while the driven personality might come up with three or four. These may be the three to four that are most predominant; however they may not be all inclusive of what is needed to execute a successful ministry event. How many times have you been in a discussion meeting (or series of meetings) and after most of the planning is complete someone (normally the preschool director) asks, “What about childcare?”  There are always ramifications for areas of consideration missed by the planning team.

Whatever you are tasked to lead in planning and developing for your church be certain to be a strategic planning leader. Certainly be open to researching all areas.

Be tactical – showing skillful planning for success

Calculated – consider a situation carefully and consider what is likely to and what could happen

Deliberate – carefully thought out with intentionality

Happy Planning – Happy Strategic Planning!

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

 Lead – to show the way by going in advance; to guide or direct in a course; to guide the action or opinion of.

If I asked one of you to leave this room and make your way in and out of two other rooms in this building (your choice of rooms) and reenter this room from a different door and stated this is your leader, could you then follow in his footsteps while he remained in this room and gave you no indication of his journey? No, you could not, could you?

Did your “leader” follow one of these definitions?

1. To show the way by going in advance.
2. To guide or direct in a course.
3. To guide the action or opinion of.

What could have made him a leader? How could this exercise have been changed to enable him to be your leader as described in each of the definitions?

1. Allow him to encourage you to follow closely behind him.
2. Allow him to give you directions in taking the journey or to draw you a map.
3. To go along with you on your journey, encouraging you at every turn.

Why did Peter desire to walk on the water? Because his leader, whom he trusted, was walking on the water. Where in Matthew 14:22-33 do we see Jesus demonstrating these three definitions of leadership?

Going in advance is leading by example. Leading by example is, I believe, one of the most important characteristics of a good leader. Jesus led by example. Where else do we read about Jesus leading by example? Think on this for a moment and name two others.

How do you as a church leader lead by example? …Everything you do you are setting an example.

The more we read and study the ministry years of Christ we see that Jesus’ teachings and His lifestyle demonstrated leadership of the heart. Even at age twelve he says, “…I must be about my Father’s business.” He repeatedly makes similar statements throughout His ministry years.

Leading by example, Jesus shows us that to be a truly great leader we not only need to lead by example, but our example is to be that of a servant. A kingdom leader is a servant leader. Where is one place in scripture where Jesus demonstrates and teaches of being a servant leader? (John 13:1-17 Jesus washing the feet of His Disciples).

“I have set for you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:15

Why is it important to be a servant leader and lead by example?

We call these characteristics because being a servant leader and leading by example are traits of a person’s character. You see, character is formed on the inside. It starts in the heart and blossoms outward.

To be an effective kingdom leader requires a change of the heart. As seen in Matthew 20:20-28 the hearts of the disciples needed a change and in verse 26 Jesus is once again teaching about becoming a servant leader.

When did the disciples experience a change of heart?

Character grows and flows from the inside out.

Becoming a kingdom leader is a process that starts on the inside with who we are, our character. Kingdom leadership is not a position earned or granted by an authoritative body or person. Kingdom leadership is an outward expression of the godly beliefs held within our heart and directed by the Holy Spirit.

For more information on Characteristics of Christlike Leadership or this conference contact George L. Yates and visit soncare.net .

Formulating good thought-provoking questions may take some practice, but it will be well worth the investment of your time and effort. Regardless of the information, facts, or statements you are reviewing, ask yourself, “How can this information (facts or statement) be used to create higher order thinking in our next meeting?” That, in fact, is a good example of the type questions you want to develop. It is certainly an open-ended question. There is no simple, one way only, answer. You can come at it from different angles and perspectives. The question causes you to think and to look into the material being addressed from different approaches.

A good open ended question will promote higher order thinking (deep thinking) from everyone in the room; causing people to look at the information or issue from different viewpoints and approaches. Never ask a question you do not want someone else to answer. In other words never answer your own question and do not ask a question and move on without giving an opportunity to field responses from others in the room. Their responses may provide the needed learning for others in the room as well as their own. Sometimes, you may need to re-ask your question or change the wording to give better clarification.

Using How, What, and Where questions are possibly easiest to formulate for good thought promoting discussion. Using Why to begin a question perhaps requires the most precaution. “Why” questions often lead to responses allowing to people to live in the past, to pass blame, and respond defensively. This type of question is generally not productive and can produce a negative atmosphere. Example: Why do you think your church is in the situation it is today? Certainly, How, What, and Where questions could just as easily be posed leading to negative responses. Why questions though are easiest to turn on the defensive nature in people.

Instead of dealing in the past and the negative, find the positive or objective of the issue by looking to the future. Example: instead of, “Why do you think your church is in the situation it is today?” you want to ask, “In your opinion, what will a brighter future beyond this situation look like for your church?” This question causes everyone to think. Not about the past or negative issues, but about a brighter, positive future. As different people respond everyone in attendance is processing the information shared. In addition people’s thoughts will not be on issues of the past, but on ideas of how to avoid those issues.

For more information on formulating good thought provoking questions contact George L. Yates and visit soncare.net.