Lessons learned by Luaulou

10 of the Hardest Things We Face in Ministry 2 Timothy 4: 7-18

No one ever said that being in Ministry was going to be easy.  The Apostle Paul knew this better than anyone else. He knew that there would be daily challenges and a multitude of situations that would require him to stand and remain steadfast in the face of adversity even when everyone with the exception of Luke had left him Here are just 10 of the many hard things we will face in Ministry and what we can learn from Paul.

 

10 Attributes of Leadership

Here is a great post by David Foster on the attributes of leadership.  I think many people have their own definition on what leadership is and isn't.
Leadership is a mysterious thing. It’s hard to define, though easy to recognize. Many people call themselves leaders and yet we are in desperate need of leadership. One of the things we can do is try to know and recognize the qualities of leadership when we see them. So here are ten attributes of leadership.

1.    Leadership provides the courage to begin. Leadership is about action - taking action, moving the group toward the highest good, toward the goal, the mission. Nothing happens until someone takes action that requires leadership.

2.    Leadership is about self-control.  While a leader can’t control circumstances and others, he certainly can control himself or herself. He can respond rather than react. He can do the next right thing rather than wallow in excuses for an activity.

3.    Leadership has a keen sense of awareness in what is just. This is the leader’s ability to gain respect of those who follow him. If they know the leader is always going to do the right thing, then it’s easy to follow him to the destination.

4.    Leadership is about definiteness of direction. Leadership is not about meaningless activity for activity’s sake. It is about direction. He or she knows where the group must go and guides them methodically, but purposefully toward that direction.

5.    Leadership is about definiteness of plans. You’ve heard the old saying that you must plan your work and work your plan. Leadership is not about guesswork. It’s about knowing what the next right step is. Leadership is like a rudder on a ship, guiding it where it should go along a predetermined path of intentionality.

6.    Leadership is in the habit of doing more than it’s paid to do. I’ve often heard it said that if you do more today than you are paid to do, you’ll be paid more for what you do in the future. It’s all about going the extra mile, not just quitting at 5:00 and walking away.

7.    Leadership is about likeability. Agree with it or not, the truth remains that people follow people they like. To be successful, people must know you, like you, and then trust you. Likeability is important; not just filling a role, mindlessly grunting your way through a day, or through meetings. Nothing can substitute for a smile, a handshake, eye-to-eye contact, and engaging people.

8.    Leadership is about empathy. Leaders understand their followers. They understand those for whom they are responsible. They don’t care because it’s their job, they make it their job to care. The genuine, caring, understanding people they know, those they work with, have other lives. And the complexity of their work lives, personal lives, and family lives have to be taken into account.

9.    Leaders have the willingness to know more than anyone else. Leaders are students. Leaders are learners. Leaders are readers. Leaders are constantly gaining knowledge about the subject at hand. If they don’t have the knowledge, they find someone who does, and bring them in to create a mastermind group for achieving the goal.

10.    Leaders seek and gain cooperation. Leaders understand that you don’t pay people to excel. You pay them to show up. You create an atmosphere of cooperation. A great leader understands and applies the principle of collaboration and alignment, and he sets the standards for those who follow him, and their teams.

You Know You're Not Leading When . . .

Here's a great post from Jon Ferguson Pastor of Community Christian Church. I think we've all could benefit from his great insight.
Ever catch yourself not leading?  Of course you have.  When I find myself not leading the way I believe  God has called me to lead, I ask myself, "What does it look like for me to really be a leader in this situation?  Maybe this will help you know when you are slipping a little bit.

You know you are not leading when . . .

• You wait for someone to tell you what to do rather than taking the initiative yourself
• You spend too much time talking about how things should be different
• You blame the context, surroundings, or other people for your current situation
• You choose not to speak the truth in love
• You are more concerned about being cool or accepted than doing the right thing
• You seek consensus, rather than casting vision for a preferable future
• You aren't taking any significant risks
• You accept status quo as the way it's always been and always will be
• You start protecting your reputation instead of opening yourself up to opposition
• You sleep a little too sound
• You procrastinate to avoid making a tough call
• You talk to others about the problem rather than taking it to the person responsible
• You don't feel like your butt is on the line for anything significant
• You think what you say doesn't matter
• You ask for way too many opinions before taking action

Any places or situations where you are not leading?  Is it time to step up?

Church Leader’s Top 5 Weaknesses

Somewhat to their surprise, Thom Rainer and his research team found effective church leaders not only recognize and admit their mistakes, but they were happy to share those weaknesses. The top five weaknesses revealed are:

1. Pastoral Ministry - 3 out of 4 admit their number one leadership weakness is providing personal pastoral ministry. Pastoral ministry is defined as counseling, doing hospital visitation and performing weddings and funerals, to name a few of the responsibilities.
2. Lack of Patience - Another top weakness among effective church leaders is that they are task driven. More than 7 out of 10 indicate they are impatient to see objectives accomplished. Contributing to this dilemma is the fact that most American churches are notoriously resistant to change.
3. Dealing with Staff - 7 out of 10 considered their staff leadership skills to be weak.
4. Dealing with Criticism - Nearly 7 out of 10 effective church leaders struggle with handling or avoiding criticism.
5. Always Task-Driven - The dominant leadership style noted was "task-oriented." Task-driven or oriented is defined as "high interest in production and getting things "done." When a leader is always task-driven, sometimes to the exclusion of relational issues, there is a tendency to fail to take people's feelings into consideration. It's good to be task-driven, but it's not good to be so driven that you forget about people.

Adapted from Lessons on Integrity:A Tribute to James Draper by Tom Rainer, Christian Post 8/13/07

Drift, Surf, Drown or Sail

Mike Metzger, professional mentor and president of Clapham Institute, observes, "You meet four kinds of people on the ocean of life. Those who drift just go with the flow. The wind and the waves control their speed and direction. The drifter quietly floats along and says, 'Whatever.' Those who surf are always riding a wave, the next big thing. They stay excited until the wave fades away, then they scan the horizon for something new. Surfers don't usually get anywhere, but they make a lot of noise and put on a good show. Those who drown seem to stay in the center of a storm. It doesn't matter how often you rescue them, they'll soon be in another crisis, crying, 'Help me, save me, it's been the worst week of my life. I don't know what I'm going to do.' Those who sail are navigating toward a fixed point. They counteract the wind and waves by adjusting the rudder and shifting the sails to stay on course. But without an immovable, fixed point in your life, there can be no sailing. There's nothing for you but drift, surf or drown." Everyone, but especially ministry leaders need to have a fixed point in their life and insure their team members establish one as well. 

Church Attendance Linked to "Positive Behaviors"

Isn't amazing what happens in a person's life when they allow God in.;)

Religion increases positive outcomes and decreases the negatives--both for society and for individuals, according to research presented at a seminar in Washington, D.C.

Jennifer Marshall, director of domestic policy studies at The Heritage Foundation, which co-sponsored the event, said an increase in church attendance was connected with an increase in positive behaviors and a decrease in negative behaviors such as drug abuse and delinquency.

"This is a very intriguing, emerging field," she told family news in focus   ."There are many sociologists, psychologists, even economists beginning to note the significance of religion in American life."

Byron Johnson of the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion, another co-sponsor, said it's not just churches that benefit.

"Not only are religious people more likely to participate in religious charities and activities, they are significantly more likely than secular folks to participate in secular volunteer activities," he said. "Religious people do the heavy lifting in this country in terms of civic engagement and volunteerism."

Are You A Person that People Follow?

Leaders are people who possess three traits which naturally attract others. You don’t have to be head of a national organization or owner of the business for which you work. You can be a leader from the middle of your organization, the leader in your family, and even in your neighborhood. The three qualities are character, competency and caring. People naturally follow others who show themselves to be effective in their tasks around which the relationship is built. But competency is not the only requirement if you want to lead others. Character must also be present. Being good at what you do is not valued by others if your character is deficient. Even if you are competent and solid in your value system, people still will not follow you if they do not sense that you care about them. People naturally want to follow someone who possesses all three of these key traits.
Greg Fell, PhD, Superintendent of the Evangelical Free Church of America’s Rocky Mountain District’s Prayer Letter 9/07

Reverse Mentoring

As I grow older there are things that I have become aware of.  One of those things is that, as much as I hate to admit it, I am not as hip as I think I am.  Knowing that I have begun to be mentored by someone young than than I who can help me as a Pastor to be more relevant to the younger generation.  Here is a great article on reverse mentoring by Angie Ward.

When General Electric head Jack Welch realized that GE was falling far behind other companies in its use of the internet as a business tool, he knew he needed help. But who could he ask? Welch himself rarely surfed the Web, finding it overwhelming, but he realized that understanding and embracing online technology was critical to GE's long-term success.

To catch up, Welch instituted a "reverse mentoring" program at GE. He required more than 500 of his top executives to find a younger, tech-savvy "Web mentor" to teach them how to use the web and understand e-business. Following Welch's lead, over the past few years, a growing number of organizations, from Proctor and Gamble to the Seattle Public Schools, have implemented reverse mentoring programs to help them understand technology, business trends, and pop culture.

Reverse mentoring can take place either formally or informally. Wharton School of Business requires older MBA candidates with long resumes to partner with younger, full-time students. The exchange of information goes both ways.

Of the organizations using reverse mentoring, 41 percent of respondents used the method to share technical expertise, while 26 percent said their executives gained youthful perspective. (The poll was conducted by The Center for Coaching and Mentoring as reported in American Way magazine in January 2004.)

  Emerging implications for church leaders: What if seasoned ministry leaders followed such an example and used reverse mentoring to gain understanding of the emerging culture? As postmodern thought continues to permeate our culture, church leaders would be wise to become fluent in the language of the emergent conversation. The best way to do this is to become a willing and intentional student of the culture, to become the humble protégé instead of the mentor.

Ideas for Getting Started:

1. Create a "focus group" of high-school or college students. Reassure them that they can say anything they want and you welcome their analysis and criticism. (This means you need to sit quietly and fight the urge to refute or explain anything.) Take notes, the take their comments to heart and prayerfully consider their implications for ministry.
2. Find a leader in your area who is fluent in the emerging culture. Meet monthly to learn more about the emerging generations. Ask about ways to involve them in church life and leadership.
3. Attend the next Emergent Convention which runs simultaneous with the National Pastors Convention, or sample local Gathering  www.emergentvillage.com.
4. Ask teachers or professors what their students are talking about these days. What are the hottest bands, TV shows, movies, and political issues?
5.     Check out these Christian websites:       www.theooze.com;the-next-wave.org; www.faithmaps.org
6.     Buy (and read!) a copy of Entertainment Weekly. Spend several hours browsing the magazine covers at Barnes & Noble. Watch a week's worth of the opening monologues on late-night TV shows.

Angie Ward is writer, ministry leader, and pastor's spouse living in Durham, North Carolina.

Three Traits of a Leader

Leadership begins with one person?the leader. A thousand people may be led or a dozen management skills exercised, but ultimately the leadership equation may be reduced to a lone person, one individual whom people follow.What kind of person has the manner of life that causes other people to follow? There are three identifying characteristics: competency, personal character, and genuine concern for others. In the church, pastors are expected to be competent at many things, but particularly preaching. Yet a pastor who is not a very good preacher can be a successful leader. He might be more effective in small Bible studies, one-on-one encounters, competent in putting together a quality staff. But perhaps the most vital leadership competency is an expertise in seeing the “broad view” of where the institution is going. Character requires that a leader must have the kind of personal qualities that would-be followers respect. Peter Drucker, in one of his books, comments that "quality of character" doesn't make a leader, but the lack of it flaws the entire process. God knows there are certain qualities required of a person to be a Christian leader. Without them, a Christian leader becomes useless to God. Being a servant is one of those qualities, and it’s the servant heart that has a genuine concern for others.

Adapted from an interview with J. Richard Chase, then President of Wheaton College, published in the book Leaders, 1987, CTI

Four different hats all leaders must learn to wear

Article by Stan Toler and  Alan Nelson

Good leaders can read and respond to a variety of situations that require very different leadership styles. Most pastors are limited to one or two styles of leading. Their churches will eventually outgrow their limited response abilities. Churches vacillate in the type of leading they require, just as individuals need varying styles of leading within the church.

All leading is not the same. For example, if you respond too passively to situations that demand heavy-handed attention, people will lose respect for you and dismiss your influence. A leader who cannot respond effectively in a crisis will lose the faith of followers. Conversely, if you try to assume too much control in situations where mere facilitation is required, it will be like crushing a rose in your clenched fist. You will lose talented people as they flee or turn dormant out of fear of confrontation.

Here are four effective leadership hats, each useful in certain types of situations:

1. General/foreman: This is a required hat when people are floundering. In these situations, time is of the essence, and team members need direct, specific instruction as to what is expected of them. Times of crisis or acute lack of motivation require us to provide ample “presence” within our churches. While you do not have to be mean to provide assertive leading, you do need to convey an attitude of urgency along with ample communication. If you appear overly relational or laid-back, people will not rise to the occasion.

2. Coach: When people are somewhat motivated but lack information or direction, your role is that of a coach. You do not need to be as confrontational or assertive as a general/foreman, because people on the team desire to be involved. Pushing the team may be necessary from an inspirational standpoint, but knowing strategies, implementing plans, and arranging players according to their strengths and abilities will raise the perceived competence of you as the leader and the players’ respect for you.

3. Team captain: Unlike a coach, team captains lead from within the game and are respected as peer leaders more than they are as top-down influencers. When people are generally competent, experienced, informed, and motivated, a leader must respond differently in order to be effective. A less assertive approach does not mean that the leader is out of touch with what is happening. This type of leader is more proactive in development, planning, and training. Encouraging team spirit and group accomplishment becomes the dominant theme of meetings.

4. Friendly expert: If team members are highly competent and motivated, the leader’s job is primarily one of facilitation. Some refer to these groups as leaderless groups, but that is a misnomer. Sometimes, an outsider would not be able to identify who the leader is because in meetings and interactions, this leader is more passive and more of a listener and observer. This does not mean that the friendly expert does not speak up and interact if needed. The role is more like a consultant or informed peer than an authoritarian leader. Being too strong or opinionated at this level will crush leadership and render the leader obsolete.

If you are limited to one or two styles of leading, you will reduce your ability to lead effectively in situations that lie outside of these styles. In contrast, effective leaders will at times change leadership styles several times within the course of any given day, depending on the meeting, the conditions of the situation, and with whom they are interacting.

	Article by Stan Toler and  Alan Nelson Alan Nelson is the editor of Rev! magazine and the author of numerous books. Stan Toler is the pastor of Trinity Church of the Nazarene in Oklahoma City, Okla. This article has been adapted from Stan Toler and Alan Nelson’s book, The Five Secrets to Becoming a Leader. Used by permission. Regal, 2002.