REAL Ministry

What to Read???

January 23, 2012 2 Comments

Recently, Jon Acuff tweeted about a couple books he was reading this year. His goal is to read 12 non-fiction books by the end of the 2012 (one a month). I think that’s a great goal, and very realistic and manageable.

I make a concerted effort to read 30 minutes a day a book that will help me grow in my leadership and ministry. I’ve had that goal for about eight years now.

Jon Acuff sharing his reading list inspired me to share some of the books I’ve read or will read in 2012. This is obviously not a complete list, as I often find books along the way, but here are some that I think will help me in my ministry.

Quitter, by Jon Acuff (speaking of). This was a great book to read and provides a lot of motivation (no, I’m not going to quit my job in ministry).

Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry: From a Strategy of Influence to a Theology of Incarnation, by Andrew Root (youth ministry is a passion of mine and is still one of my primary ministries)

Great By Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All, by Jim Collins (I’ve read many of Collins’ books, and I’m looking forward to this one)

They Call Her Pastor: A New Role for Catholic Women, by Ruth Wallace (I’m studying leadership and organizational development for my doctorate program, so this should serve as an interesting read)

Leadership Without Easy Answers, by Ronald Heifetz (Heifitz has written some great books on adaptive leadership)

Mojo: How To Get It, How To Keep It, How To Get It Back If You Lost It, by Marshall Goldsmith (I read another books of his a couple years back, so I’m giving him another try)

Lasting Impressions: From Visiting to Belonging, by Mark Waltz (all about engaging people in to church)

Lost in Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood, by Christian Smith (he is the lead researcher of the longitudinal study on youth and religion, and is following these youth as they grow into young adults)

What are you reading this year?

Filed Under: Attitude, Equipping, Leadership, Relationships Tagged With: books

Wisdom from Matthew Kelly

February 22, 2011 2 Comments

In Matthew Kelly’s book, The Rhythm of Life, he lists out ways to help make relationships function better. In ministry, these ideas are key as ministry is all about people. To continue my wisdom series, here are his wise words.

“Let others talk.

Avoid arguments.

Don’t complain.

Give honest and sincere compliments.

Be more ready to compliment that to criticize.

Invite input.

Make a point to remember people’s names; it is music to their ears.

Never be afraid to seek advice.

Never criticize someone in front of other people.

Be aware of other people’s desires.

Find joy and pleasure through taking an interest in people.

Talk about yourself only if asked.

Smile—it is contagious and opens people’s hearts.

Learn to listen.

Remember people’s birthdays and anniversaries—it shows you care.

Encourage people to share about themselves.

Engage people where they are—talk in relation to their interests.

Help other people to discover their uniqueness, to feel special and important, without patronizing them.

Respect other people’s opinions.

Admit when you are wrong.

Be kind and friendly to every person you meet.

Ask questions people respond to positively.

Encourage other people in their dreams—particularly children.

Try to see it from the other person’s point of view.

Hold up ideals.

Challenge people gently.

Talk about your own failures.

Appeal to higher motives.

Always look for yourself in others and others in yourself—it affirms the ones of the human family.

Affirm the highest values of the human spirit.

Never pass up an opportunity to speak a kind word of appreciation. There are 6 billion people on the planet, and 5.9 billion of them go to bed every night starving for one honest word of appreciation.”

(pg. 258-259)

Filed Under: Books, Relationships, Wisdom Tagged With: books, relationships, wisdom

Wisdom from John C. Maxwell

January 18, 2011 Leave a Comment

I make no secret of the fact that John C. Maxwell is my favorite author on the topics of leadership, relationships, attitude, and equipping. I pretty much have an entire shelf devoted to his works. Continuing my “wisdom” series, here is some wisdom from John C. Maxwell, taking from his book, Winning with People:

My success can be achieved only with others.
My lessons can be learned only through others.
My weaknesses can be strengthened only by others.
My servant-hood can be tested only under others’ leadership.
My influence can be compounded only through others.
My leadership can be focused only on others.
My best can be given only to others.
My legacy can be left only for others.
So I should commit myself to and celebrate with others!

(pg. 213)

Filed Under: Books, Relationships, Wisdom Tagged With: books, relationships, wisdom

Six Things Every Leadership Team Should Know

December 21, 2010 Leave a Comment

I was reading through a great book on church leadership by Larry Osborne, titled Sticky Teams, and he came up with a list of six things that all leadership teams should know. I found the list intriguing. So here it is with some of my thoughts and interpretations.

1. Ignore your weaknesses:

I really like this concept. We have grown up in a culture that when you came home from school with an A in math and a D in english, the following response was typical: “Focus on english and get that grade up.” Essentially, what Osborne (and many other authors, including Marcus Buckingham, John C. Maxwell, Ken Blanchard, Tom Rath, and Donald Clifton) is saying is that focusing on your weaknesses will not allow you or your ministry to grow to its maximum potential. It’s counter-intuitive for us to think this way, but our greatest room for growth is in our areas of strength, not weaknesses. If we work really hard, we can probably become average at something we are weak in. However, if we work just as hard, we can become excellent at something we are good at. People pay for and want to get involved in things that are excellent. That includes your ministry.

2. Surveys are a waste of time:

Osborne states that trying to get people’s opinions via survey is not a good use of our time. People very easily say one thing on a survey, like they think it is a good idea to start a youth ministry program, but when it comes to them actual acting on what they said in the survey, you get mixed results. I agree and disagree with Osborne’s reflection here. I think thoughtful surveys are important to get you the data you need to show success in your ministry and measure progress. That information can be helpful. However, surveys to get opinions from people you minister to might not be worth our time. Typically, we get results that we already knew we would get because we’ve been in relationship with the people we survey and have spent time talking to them. For me, survey’s can be good and bad, depending on how it is implemented and what it will be used for in the end.

3. Seek permission, not buy-in:

This statement caught me off guard. I constantly try to get full buy-in from the people I work with in ministry before implementing a new ministry or a change in the way we do a current ministry. Osborne convincingly argues that getting total buy-in is difficult and time consuming, and often ends in failure. Why? Because you typically cannot get full buy-in from everyone. Getting buy-in is like waiting until all the lights in town are green before you drive out of the driveway to go to the store. If you waited until all the lights are green, you’d never leave the house! Instead, Osborne thinks that all we need is permission to try something to see if it works. It’s a win-win for you and the people who have given you permission. If it was successful, then you will gain full buy-in and those that you consulted can brag that they gave you permission to do it. If it fails, then you can easily move on to something else while those that you consulted can brag that they knew it might not work, but thought it was worth a try. Everyone looks good in the end and you get a chance to try new things in your ministry.

4. Let squeaky wheels squeak:

Osborne it talking about people here. Every church and ministry has people that will always complain about one thing or another. Often times, leaders will listen to their complaints and go out of there way to make changes and shift ministry plans. Why? We want to make sure all of our people are happy. It’s human nature. But it does not work. When we make these changes, these squeaky wheels keep right on squeaking. Osborne states, “They don’t squeak because a lack of oil; they squeak because it’s their nature to squeak.” So let them squeak because these squeaky wheels will never be happy.

5. Let dying programs die:

Why we hold on to programs that no longer work is beyond me. In church especially, we find that we keep doing things just because we have always done it that way. Tradition. Well, first of all, we have not always done it that way, and secondly, if it’s not working, dump it. Needless to say, I am in agreement with this point. Dropping ministry programs allow us to look to new ideas that can better meet the needs of those we serve.

6. Plan in pencil:

Plans change. They are our road map and are very helpful to get us to our end destination. But, in the process, we find that there are road closures and mudslides and obstacles that force us to change our plans a bit. The path is not straight. Planning in pencil, and making sure the entire leadership team is aware that these plans are in pencil, allow us to change and be flexible when the situation differs. Rigid planning stunts growth. Flexible planning increases opportunities to minister in new ways that we did not think of when we first drafted the budget.

Take these six ideas and try to apply them for a month and see what happens. I think we’ll find that this will require a shift in the way we work and minister, but the results will be very fruitful.

Filed Under: Books, Leadership, Teamwork Tagged With: books, Leadership, team

Wisdom from Warren Bennis

October 1, 2010 1 Comment

Warren Bennis has written many excellent books on leadership. One book that I read was On Becoming a Leader. One important reflection from this book was defining the difference between leadership and management. So I share with you Bennis’ wisdom:

The manager administers; the leader innovates.

The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.

The manager maintains; the leader develops.

The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.

The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.

The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.

The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.

The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the horizon.

The manager imitates; the leader originates.

The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.

The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

(pg. 39-40)

Filed Under: Books, Leadership, Management, Wisdom Tagged With: books, Leadership, manager

Sins to Recruiting Volunteers

August 31, 2010 Leave a Comment

The New Breed, a book by Jonathan McKee and Thomas McKee, is one of the best books I’ve read on volunteers in a long time. In ministry, volunteers create the backbone so that we can accomplish our vision and goals. The bigger the dream, the bigger the team.

However, it seems like one of the toughest job for anyone leading a ministry is simply getting volunteers to sign up and commit! We need to create strategies that allow us to effectively recruit quality volunteers. The McKee’s came up with a list of recruiting “sins” that I thought was very good.

1) Expect announcements to get volunteers

Announcements are not bad. In fact, they can be very good. However, we often assume that a bulletin or pulpit announcement is going to get people super-excited about volunteering. The fact of the matter is that it rarely brings in volunteers, let alone good volunteers. What announcements are able to do is create awareness about the need for volunteers. Then when you ask someone to volunteer one-on-one, they are not taken by surprise by the need. They will only be taken by surprise that you’re asking them specifically!

2) Go it alone

If you’re like me, you’re a very confident leader. And if you’re like me, that means you think you can do everything (or almost everything). The fact is that I can’t. We often feel that we need to go it alone for a couple reasons: 1) we think we can do it better than anyone else; 2) we feel that we need to do it ourselves. The answer is to let it go. We sometimes let the challenge of recruiting volunteers make us want to just do it ourselves. In the end, with a good team of volunteers, we will accomplish so much more than we could ever do on our own.

3) Recruit only volunteers who make long-term commitments

When we think of volunteer roles, we need to think outside of the box. We don’t always need someone to join the pastoral council for a year or the youth ministry core team that meets weekly from now until forever. Sometimes we just need a dad who can come cook for the weekend youth leadership retreat. Sometimes we just need an organized person to come in a couple times this month to help finish organizing all the supplies you need for the church town hall meeting. Look for volunteer roles that are short-term commitments.

4) Assume that ‘No’ means ‘Never’

Sometimes, ‘no’ means ‘not now.’ Maybe this is a busy season in the life of their family or work. If that is the case, follow up with them six months or a year from now. Next time, they may just say ‘yes’ because life has calmed down a bit.

5) Recruit any Ol’ B.I.C (Butt in the Chair)

When we recruit just anyone, we are lowering our standards. We often recruit an ol’ B.I.C. because a more capable volunteer has not said yes yet. Nothing lowers the quality of the ministry more than this. Avoid the trap of saying yes to a volunteer just because it is ministry and we are afraid to say no because we don’t like conflict. Instead, just wait. And trust that God will bring about the right person soon.

6) Ask busy people to do busy work

Nothing demotivates a volunteer more than doing busy work when she knows she is capable of so much more. What if your volunteer was a busy CEO? What would you have them do? File papers? No. If I had a CEO volunteer, I would want to use them to help me create a better strategic plan for my ministry. Busy people want to do more than just mundane busy work. It may still need to get done, but if busy people wanted to do busy work, I imagine they’d just stay at the office longer.

There’s no easy way to recruit volunteers. But if we avoid some of these common sins, we will be able to get a team of volunteers that will help move our ministry to the next level.

Filed Under: Books, Leadership, Management, Volunteers Tagged With: books, recruiting, volunteers

You Become the Books You Read

July 9, 2010 Leave a Comment

I once heard someone say that you become the people you interact with and the books you read. I think that is so true! I’ve been intentional about trying to surround myself with people I can constantly learn from and who encourage me to grow to my maximum potential. I have also taken seriously the books I read. I try to read 30 minutes a day books that allow me to grow both personally and professionally. Usually, my books are on leadership, ministry, change, relationships, and management. Broad topics, but there have been some great books that have come across my shelf and have shaped me as a ministry leader.

Here are a few that I have read recently that have had a tremendous impact on me.

Good to Great in the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great by Jim Collins. Collins’ team realized that their Good to Great book was helpful for businesses and companies whose goal is to make a profit. But the book needed to be translated for the non-profit world, where success is not ultimately measured in dollars and cents. Some key points I took away from this book:

In business, money is both an input (resource) and an output (measure of success). For the non-profit, money is purely an input. Our outputs are much harder to define, but they need to be defined before we know where to put our resources, both money and people.
In the social sector, “True leadership only exists if people follow when they have the freedom not to.” Depending on a formal hierarchical structure alone does not bring greatness. Influence is key.
Social sectors need to spend more time defining its resource engine, which includes time, money, and branding.

Leading Change by John Kotter. Change management seems to be on the minds of many churches these days. How do we engage more youth and young adults in the life of the church? How do we go about revitalizing our liturgy and worship services? John Kotter offers a formula to leading change. Although I believe the formula is too simplistic for the adaptive changes needed in ministry these days, I do believe it offers a great framework to begin. His eight step process to leading change is as follows: