Leaders whisper

November 17, 2011Leave a comment

“why are leaders busy shouting at people when they should be earning the right to whisper” Seth Godin

How to promote ministry events when speaking

November 17, 2011June 11, 20122 Comments

Let’s face it, if you are involved in ministry then at some stage you will have to promote an event. It may be an event that you are running or it may be an event hosted by another group. Either way there are three different ways to promote events:

1. You should go – some people promote events where all the work is on the other person. This style of promotion usually involves phrases like:

There is a great weekend coming up, you can check out all the details on the website
If you want to attend the event then registration forms are in the foyer
The talk is going to be awesome you will really love it

This style of promotion places all the emphasis on the other person to get involved. Whilst you might be keen for people to attend, this style can come across as impersonal. However you can use this style effectively to pass on all the invitations you get via Facebook and email.

2. I am going – some people use this style to promote events in a way that is more personal, I am going do you want to join me. This style encourages others to attend because they know at least one other person is going. Many young people don’t want to go to an event alone so it is wise in youth ministry to say that at least you will be attending. This style of promotion usually involves phrases like:

I am attending this event and I can tell you more about it in the foyer
On the weekend I am attending the camp, if you need a lift come and see me

This style of promotion is great for building a team. As the ministry leader it establishes you are the peer leader; you are on board with the event and you want others to join you.

3. We are going – when your ministry gets bigger (bigger than your core group of leaders) then you should move to this style of promotion. This style states up front that this community/ministry is attending the upcoming event, if you belong here then you will be going too. It might seem a little bold but people want to be part of something popular and this style implies “everyone” is going. This style of promotion usually involves phrases such as:

We are attending the camp next month please think of someone new that can join us.
We are hosting a guest speaker, please sign up to help set up or pack down the event.
On the weekend we are having an event for all those we haven’t seen for a while so pick up some flyers off our team in the foyer.

Whilst this might be the best system to use when promoting events, you need to have some track record of “everyone” attending events. If this is the fifth time you use this style and nobody has turned up to any of the events before, then perhaps people may doubt that “we” are really going.

Pick your promotion style wisely so you know when to use each of the three styles.

Use the “you” style to pass on community events that you get in the mail.
Use the “I” style when you are attending an event and you want some others to join you.
Use the “I” style to build a core leadership team as it builds your place as the leader
Use the “we” style when your group is bigger and you want everyone to attend.

In the next post we will look at some things not to do when promoting events.

Leave a comment of how you have had success in promoting events.

You need disagreement in a team

November 15, 2011November 15, 2011Leave a comment

Disagreement can strengthen a team if it is about the mission not about the people.

There was a time in my ministry career where I was offering a particular church an internship program that included a free trip to Europe to pass on to their volunteers as an incentive or reward and this particular church rejected the offer. It was difficult for me to understand how they could reject an offer that was free, all it cost them was some mentoring time and administration. From my perspective it was the “right thing” but from their perspective it was not “free”, it was extra work.

Whilst this disagreement was difficult at first, it was the best thing in the long run. From my perspective I had to rethink how I was selling the idea and from the perspective of the church they had to rethink why they rejected the idea. After much thought I was able to understand the concerns of the church and answer their concerns. Together we were able to run the program in their church which was a great outcome.

Sometimes in ministry we go to great lengths to avoid disagreement because we think that is the Christian way. But what if disagreement helped strengthen our ministries? What if we could give and take a little bit to strengthen an idea or event? Perhaps we need to have people around us that disagree with us as leaders so that we can grow stronger.

Here a three reasons we need people who are prepared to disagree with you in your ministry team:

Much of the world disagrees with us – sometimes we get so enclosed in our ministry bubble that we forget that many people disagree with the church. We can surround ourselves with people that think and act like us to the point that we think we are doing perfectly. Yet Jesus called us in Matthew 28 to reach all the nations, not just the ones that agree with us. When we realise that much of the world disagrees with us, we learn to contextualise the Good News.
It builds stronger relationships – when we learn to push each other and ask for clarification it can strengthen the bonds of friendship. When people go through difficult times together it strengthens their relationship. The great organisations allow healthy disagreement so they strengthen the team. It is reported that Steve Jobs (Apple inc.) rejected the packaging design for one of the products Apple was about to launch. When the designers simplified the packaging Steve Jobs liked it and that simple style became part of the Apple branding. Disagreement can strengthen a team if it is about the mission not about the people.
It makes you a better leader – if you create a culture as a leader where everyone has to agree with you then you might loose some of your best team members. People on a team want to believe that their idea can be heard and implemented, even if it is not the idea of the top leader. Generation Y are especially concerned that their ideas have a chance of being implemented. You will be a better leader if you can surround yourself with people who will agree and disagree with you.

A final word of warning; there can’t be total disagreement in a team if you want to be successful in your mission. Every team needs to unify for the mission at some point. Many successful ministry teams have specific creative meetings to brainstorm ideas where disagreement is allowed then once the idea is defined then all members must unify; agree to agree on the final outcome.

Please post a comment on how you have been strengthened by some disagreement in your ministry.

Attendance vs Commitment

November 4, 2011March 8, 20132 Comments

“Sitting in a garage doesn’t make you a car anymore than sitting in a church makes you a Christian”

I am not sure who first said this but I have heard many ministry leaders use it. Sometimes in ministry we judge someones level of commitment by their attendance at our ministry events. We think that someone is more committed as a follower of Christ if they attend everything we offer in our church or ministry. Yet really wise ministry leaders go beyond attendance to look at someone’s heart.

As a ministry leader here are four questions to ask about attendance:

Is this person a Christian who is overcommitted? Sometimes the most committed Christians have over extended themselves and they don’t have any spare room in their schedule. These might be people who have their finger in many ministries rather than committing just to your ministry. As a ministry leader of this group of people you have to acknowledge that they serve God not you. You have to help these people live out their mission and appreciate any small amount of time they can give you. Perhaps you might even encourage them to skip your ministry to take some sabbath time.
Is this person learning to follow Christ? Sometimes the people in our ministries don’t get that they should serve the Church because they are still learning; they don’t get it because they don’t get it. Some people may have been around the church a long time but they are not a follower of Christ, they just are doing what their family have trained them to do. As a ministry leader of this group of people you have to have a lot of patience. With people in this group you need assume nothing and go back to basics, explain that being a Christian means serving more than attending. Some of these people may never have seen good ministry in practice so you will have to role model it for this group.
Is this a Christian with a lack of commitment? Many people have a lack of commitment, some people are graced with a commitment to the church others aren’t. With this group of people you might have to be a little stronger and a little shorter in patience. As ministry leaders we don’t often feel comfortable saying “that is just not good enough”. I have met some young people who are always on time for their job, always upfront with teachers/lecturers yet they feel the Church should be happy with what ever they give; the Church should be happy with the left overs. The best thing you can do for these people as a ministry leader is raise your expectations of them.
Is this a Christian who has lost their vision? Sometimes we come across a committed Christian who has lost their focus, lost their passion or is discerning a change of direction. As a ministry leader to this group of people you need to help them explore where God is calling them. Perhaps you need to encourage them to take a break for deeper level of prayer, perhaps you need to be their spiritual director for some time or perhaps they should serve in a broader range of ministries. As a ministry leader to this group of people you can help them by sharing why you are passionate about you area of ministry.

These are just four examples and we know people are more complex that just one of these four categories. But these four groups of people do exist in your church/ministry and you need to be aware of their different understanding on attendance. As ministry leaders we have to go beyond attendance, seeing the mark of faith on someone and help them grow deeper in Christ.

Please leave a comment about the examples of attendance vs commitment that you have seen in your church or ministry.

The atheist environmentalist

November 2, 20113 Comments

Recently I was talking with a friend about a presentation that he sat through at his work. The presentation was from a secular organisation about how their workplace could be more environmentally aware. The two presenters showed a number of ways that my friend could recycle, reduce or reuse in the workplace. My friend raised the topic not because of the great presentation but because he said it was obvious that one of the presenters was an atheist and he commented “how could you care for the environment and not believe in God?”

I have sat with that question for a whole week now, “how can you care for the environment and not believe in God?”. If a person doesn’t believe in any spiritual being why care? I am sure that there are many reasons that atheists care about the environment but the environment shows so many signs of the wonder of God it is hard for that not to rub off on a person. But it also highlights that our beliefs system should determine our actions or else people will judge our belief system by our actions.

Before he was a federal politician I heard a talk by Peter Garrett, the front man of the Aussie rock band Midnight Oil. When asked which can first his care for the environment or his love of God, he replied that it was his belief in God that compelled him to care for the environment. For this environmentalist his faith lead him to care for the environment, it seem natural to him that one lead to the other.

For any person with the mark of faith on their life, it should be obvious from their actions what their belief system is. Whether you care for the environment or not, do your actions match your beliefs? Or like the atheist environmentalist do your actions seem confusing to others when they find out you are a Christian?

Sometimes we fall short in acting out what we believe, but if we never reflect on this then others will always judge our belief system by our actions.

Please leave a comment.

Faith in “uncertain” times

October 25, 2011October 25, 2011Leave a comment

We often hear that we are living in “uncertain times”. Perhaps people use this term to refer to the economic uncertainty that started two years ago when the economic bubble burst. Since this time many economies have slumped, retails sales have dropped, property prices have flattened out and many companies have down sized. The landscape of many industries has changed forever after the record growth rates of the previous decade came to an end.

It is important to realise that only a week before the economic downturn, we were living in “certain” times. The economists were confident in their predictions, property investors were certain of growth and many industries were expanding their workforce. With the advantage of hindsight it seems that there was nothing certain about those times except that we didn’t feel uncertain.

This got me thinking, for people of faith are uncertain times really uncertain? Are these times any less certain than if things were stable? Perhaps we’re are living in a new paradigm rather than uncertain times. The economy functions a little differently, property prices may not rise and retailers can’t expect record sales to continue but could things keep growing forever?

In certain and uncertain times in our economy we can be certain that God is looking after us. Our faith gives us the ability to face all conditions because of Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). A person who has the mark of faith will be able to follow God no matter what the conditions or circumstances they face in life. The person marked by faith does not seek a life without difficulties because they seek a life with God.

Nehemiah – when he began his mission to rebuild the city wall, he faced difficult and uncertain times but he stayed doing the work of God.
Paul – when he began preaching in some towns they made him so unwelcome they ran him out of town, yet he persisted to run the race and fight the good fight.

So the next time someone calls these “uncertain” times, remind yourself that we are always certain that God loves us. As a person with the mark of faith, how are you being a light of hope in a world that feels uncertain? Feel free to leave a comment below.