Mark Conner's Space

Learning Leadership

It is often said that everything rises and falls on leadership. No doubt, there is a lot of truth in that statement. Any time you find something good happening, you can usually trace it back to a leader who is leading well. Any time you find something falling apart, you can usually trace is back to the absence of a leader or a leader who is leading poorly. This is true in the family, the local community, the church, in business and in the nation. 

The debates continues as to whether leaders are born or made. Of course, all leaders are born but even gifted leaders need to develop their leadership ability. I also believe that everyone can learn principles of leadership that will assist them in being a more positive influence on those around about them. 

In my BLOG, I have written a host of articles on the subject of leadership, covering topics such as: leading change, perseverance, a leader's self-care, evaluating your leadership, the role of the Senior Minister, women in leadership, and sabbaticals. 

Click here to access them.

Ministerial Sabbaticals (Pt.2)

In the foreword to Clergy Renewal, Roy M. Oswald lists the following six reasons for a church to encourage a pastor to take regular sabbaticals.

1. The very nature of being a pastor involves continual spiritual growth. Spiritual depth does not happen by accident; it takes hard, intentional work. Basically, it is a lifelong process involving big chunks of time set aside for reading, prayer, solitude and reflection ... A spiritual director can help a minister reflect on their own spiritual journey ... If ministers are to deliver deep and challenging sermons regularly, congregations will need to provide opportunities for their pastors to get away for extended periods of time dedicated to spiritual development.

2. Church ministry is changing rapidly. Congregations will experience neither numerical growth nor growth in spiritual depth and service unless they move with the changing times and develop fresh ways to reach new and younger generations. Meeting this challenge means ministers must periodically retreat from the congregation to retool or refocus their ministry approaches ... Visiting other congregations that are successfully reaching out to new people can help a pastor glean new insights to bring back to their own congregations. 

3. Without such renewal leave, there is a stronger chance that ministers will, over time, demonstrate the key characteristics of burnout - namely, exhaustion, cynicism, disillusionment, and self-deprecation. Research proves that people in the helping professions tend to burn-out the fastest, in part because the constant intimate involvement with the emotional freight of other people's lives can be draining. Burned-out ministers are much more likely to leave church ministry and seek other employment ... costing a congregation years of progress. Sabbatical leave helps avoid such situations.

4. Another lethal effect of burnout is that it makes a pastor dull, hollow, and uninteresting. Such people are not the best vehicle for bringing the good news to people. Ministerial vitality is the greatest asset in building up a congregation. When church members feel their pastor is exciting and spiritually alive, they can't wait to bring their friends to church ... The paradox of congregational ministry is that pastors are constantly invited to overextend (there is always someone they should have called or something they should have given attention to) but doing so can torpedo the vitality that drives their ministry. Renewal leave can be a powerful antidote to this kind of debilitating burnout.

5. The pastoral role generally involves long, hard hours without weekends off, or even the occasional long weekend. Pastors are rarely afforded the luxury of having two consecutive days off every week that most people enjoy. Every weekend involves a major output of energy on Sunday. For many pastors, Friday and Saturday are often consumed by sermon preparation, wedding rehearsals and weddings, and so forth ... Congregations too often assume that ministers can remain vital and healthy and maintain sound family life with only one day off per week. 

6. We also need to examine the ways in which congregations can become overly dependent upon their ministers. Some feel they could never manage without their pastor for three months ... but they can and they will grow and mature in the process.

In summary, everyone wins when ministers are granted periodic chunks of renewal leave. It is in everyone's long-term best interests. Pastors remain vital and healthy while congregations receive the benefits of engaged, long-term pastorates, new ministry skills, and exciting opportunities for mission.

Oswald suggests a three month sabbatical for every four years ministry, while other churches and denominations grant sabbaticals every seven years or after an even longer time.

P.S. To read about my upcoming sabbatical, click here.

Ministerial Sabbaticals (Pt.1)

Church work is not necessarily more difficult than other work, but it is hard. Staying fresh, alive and creative week after week, year after year, in the midst of the stress, emotion, study, as well as the people and leadership tasks that are required, can be quite a challenge. As a result, a minister's levels of passion, enthusiasm, excitement and vision for the future may not be where they would like them to be or where the church deserves them to be from someone in such an influential role.

Sometimes a tiredness and fatigue settles in that normal holidays don't fix. Pastors and church workers need to heed these kinds of warning signs. To ignore them can lead to burnout, which can be very hard to bounce back from. When you are running near empty and your reserves are low, that's the time to do something about it. One option to consider is a ministerial sabbatical.  

What is a sabbatical?

A ministerial sabbatical is simply a period of rest. However, a sabbatical is much more than holiday. It is rest with a purpose. When people in ministry are depleted, a sabbatical time apart for recovery of spiritual and creative energies can be extremely helpful.

The idea of the Sabbath is rooted in the Old Testament - God resting on the seventh day after six days of work (Gen.2:1-3) and commanding his people to do the same (Ex.16:26. Lev.23:3. Deut.5:13), as well as the command to allow the land to rest every seventh year (Lev.25:1-5).

The sabbatical also has a history with the schools of higher education since the middle ages where an instructor may be granted a leave of absence every seven years so that they can renew their passion for their subject. It is within this context that the ministerial sabbatical was born. Click here to read an insightful article containing more detailed background to the concept of a sabbatical as well as the types of activities that can make up a sabbatical period.

Ministerial sabbaticals are designed to strengthen and develop the pastor’s ability to serve the church. A well-planned sabbatical has been proven to provide a pastor with spiritual renewal, new perspective, further education, as well as renewed passion and vision resulting in a return to ministry with a clearer sense of mission and the renewed energy to work toward accomplishing it.

For those interested in taking a sabbatical, the book Clergy Renewal by the Alban Institute has some very helpful suggestions for sabbatical planning. Also, click here to read an excellent sample Pastoral Sabbatical Program.

If you are a church worker or pastor, is it time for you to consider a sabbatical? Even people in the corporate world can do something similar (check out the book Reboot your Life: Energize Yoru Career and Life by Taking a Break which has a ton of great ideas). 

Some other books I would highly recommend related to this topic are: Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic, Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion and Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul.

A sabbatical ... it could save your life, your family, your ministry and your future impact!

NEXT: Read Ministerial Sabbaticals (Pt.2). 

Leading Servants

Here is a well-known teaching from Jesus ...

Then (the disciples) began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves. [Luke 22:24-27. NLT] 

Jesus was radically different than the spirit of the age. He was not a leader who happened to serve others occasionally. He was a servant who happened to lead and influence others. His motivation was always for others - for His Father's glory and for the ultimate good of those he led. How different from those who lead for personal benefit - position, title, benefits, applause or self-esteem. 

It's a good practice to frequently ask ourselves 'why' we do what we do. What are our motives and what drives us? Is it all about us - or all about God and others? People soon pick this up one way or another. 

Could it be that those who follow us at one time or another ask the question, “Are you for me, against me, or for yourself?” Click here to read more about this insightful question.

Leadership expert, Max DePree once said, "The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor."

Seek to lead and influence others today for their benefit and for God's purpose in the world ... 

A Pastor's Prayer

I loved this prayer by Martin Luther (quoted in A Minister's Prayer Book by John Doberstein).

"Lord God, thou has appointed me to be a bishop and pastor in thy church. Thou seest how unfit I am to undertake this great and difficult office, and were it not for thy help, I would long since have ruined it all. Therefore I cry unto thee; I will assuredly apply my mouth and my heart to thy service. I desire to teach the people, and I myself would learn and ever more diligently meditate on thy Word. Use thou me as thy instrument, only do not though forsake me, for if I am left alone I shall easily bring it all to destruction. Amen."

 Any church leader would understand ...

Mastering Management

Leading and managing a church, a ministry, a business, or a non-profit organisation is quite a complex task. There is the cause or the mission that needs pursuing. There are the staff and volunteers who need encouraging and inspiring, much like a community. Then there is the corporate or business aspects that need conducting with excellence.

John Pearson has been active in management for over 25 years, serving with the Christian Management Association, the Willow Creek Association, and the Christian Camp and Conference Association. He is now president of a management consulting firm, serving both non-profit and for-profit organisations through workshops and training. John has recently released a book entitled Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-Profit. The twenty competencies are grouped around the concepts of Cause, Community, and Corporation. Much of his thinking has been influenced by Peter Drucker, commonly known as the 'father of modern management' and a committed Christian until his passing away at the age of 95 back in 1995.

There is a very practical book with a broad range of ideas and practices relevant to anyone in leadership or management within any type of organisation. I highly recommend it.

P.S. Check out the author's BLOG here, and book web site here.

Implementing Change

Ideas usually cannot be imported without modification. The cultures and other aspects of leadership and management are different; therefore, that they fail without some modification shouldn't be surprising. Even adopting simple devices may cause problems.

For example, traffic signals were invented in England, although the version used today was developed in the United States. Despite their successful use elsewhere, when traffic signals were introduced to Ireland, the Irish were so outraged that they actually rioted.

Why? Because the red light was on top and the green light was on the bottom, and to the Irish, red is the color of Britain; green, Ireland. That red was placed over green infuriated many Irish people. The solution was to mount the traffic lights horizontally.

[Source: Drucker on Leadership by William A. Cohen]

Managing Transitions

Leading change is one of the most difficult and important tasks of leadership. Yet it is something God calls each of his leaders to do. God came to Moses and told him they he and Israel had been going around the same mountain long enough and that it was time to "break camp and advance" into their future (see Deut.1:6-7). God wants us to be his "change agents." So often we settle far from where God wants us to be so he comes down to shake us out of our complacency and into a fresh vision for a better future.

Leading change is not easy and we need lots of faith, courage, and wisdom to do it well - in an effective and God-honouring manner. [Click here to read an article I wrote early last year on Leading Your Church through Change, which contains an excellent model for leading change from Nehemiah]

Those who study change tell us that it is not the changes that kill us but the transitions. It was one thing for Moses to get Israel out of Egypt with God's help. It was a totally different thing to get Israel throughthe wilderness and into the Promised Land. In fact, many of them didn't make it.

The most insightful contemporary thinker and writer on this vital subject is William Bridges. His book Managing Transitions contains a wealth of wisdom for anyone leading or experiencing change. Click here for an extended summary I did of this excellent book many years ago.  

Experiencing change is like letting go of one trapeze and you still haven't taken hold of the next one. That's a scary feeling! it requires trust in God that he will not let us fall and that there is a new trapeze for us to lay hold of.

To change the metaphor, there is a new season and a new chapter after the close of this season and chapter. God is a God of movement. May he give us grace to keep in step with him. We don't know what tomorrow holds but we do know who holds tomorrow in his hands. He is the ALPHA (the beginning) and the OMEGA (the end). He has begun a good work in each one of us and he will complete it (Phil.1:6). We can sleep at night because of that assurance.

Women in Ministry

Thank you to everyone for their comments on my recent post regarding Women in the Church. I thought it would be worth re-posting another article I wrote on this topic back in 2007. Here it is ...

At CityLife Church, we are commited to releasing every person into ministry. We truly believe that every Christ-follower is 'saved' (not just to go to heaven!) AND 'called' (to a special purpose here on earth - see 2 Tim.1:9). We believe that all ministry should be based on 'godliness and giftedness, not gender'.

Unfortunately, many churches restrict or limit women from ministry, and especially from leadership. I believe this is because of a misunderstanding of what the Bible says about women. As with any issue, we need to go back to the beginning - to God's original intentions. Before the Fall, men and women were both created in the image of God and they were both given the dominion and the reproduction mandate. They were called as 'partners' in life and ministry (see Gen.1:26-31). Only after sin entered was there hierarchy and a loss of the partnership model between men and women (see Gen.3:16).

Jesus came to bring us back to God's original intention - partnership. Paul tells us that in Christ there is 'neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ' (Gal.3:28). He is not saying that these distinctions cease to exist (racial, socio-economic and gender differences) but that they should now no longer be a cause for prejudice or discrimination.

Jesus and Paul valued women and released them into ministry. The Holy Spirit was poured out on men and women, and both prophesied (Acts 2). Spiritual gifts are given to men and women, and both will be held accountable for their use (1 Cor.12,14).

Yes, there are a number of places in the New Testament writings that seem to limit the activity of women in the church, but these are always in dysfunctional environments (e.g. at Corinth and in Ephesus, where there was false teaching spreading amongst the women). In healthy environments, women were encouraged to minister and were also involved in significant leadership roles, including leading entire house churches.

It has been terrific to see the focus on racial reconciliation in the broader church world of late. People today would never think of withholding ministry from someone based on their race. I believe we also need to see reconciliation and release of women into the full rights and opportunities of ministry and leadership within the church. It is part of God's plan and I believe it is a key to the church being all that God has called it to be in our generation. Men, I believe it's up to us to create an environment where women feel valued, appreciated and empowered.

CityLife Church benefits greatly from the many women who faithfully contribute to our church's ministries, who speak regularly as part of our teaching team, and who lead in various ministries within the church, including our Board of Elders. CityLife women, we appreciate you!

Go girls!

Mark Conner

P.S. For a more detailed statement outlining our beliefs about women in leadership, along with some recommended reading, click here - Women in Leadership.

P.S.S. For an interesting article on the increase in women as senior pastors, click here.

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Women and the Church

After sixty years of involvement in the Southern Baptist Church, former American President Jimmy Carter has left. Over what? Over his disagreement with their stance over the ordination of women. Read the article here. The SBC articles forbid the appointment of a woman as a pastor, as they see this as a male-only role.

The role of women in the church is such an important issue. It's sad to see some people ignoring the issue while others continuing with man-made traditions and spurious interpretations of the Scriptures.

As world renown biblical scholar N.T. Wright profoundly says, the best place to start when considering the role of the women in the church is John 20 and Romans 16. In John 20 we see women as the first witnesses of the resurrection and as being personally commissioned by Jesus to go tell others that he is risen. In Romans 16, Paul thanks and commends many women who were active in the church, both in leading house churches and even one who was an apostle - Junia (vs.7).

Other texts that seem to silence women need to be taken in their local context, which is always a dysfunctional environment and not to be seen as the 'norm'.

God's original design was for men and women to partner together in life and ministry. Jesus and Paul seek to get us back to that intention. Let's do the same in our generation.

P.S. For further thoughts on women in leadership and our approach at CityLife Church, click here.

P.S.S. For those who want to do some more scholarly work, this issue, like all issues, should take us back to our understanding of God as Trinity. Our God has revealed himself as one God existing in three persons. The Trinity is the model for all human relationships, including marriage. Is their equality in the Trinity or is their subordination? In the incarnation, the Son humbled himself and became man but does this equate to the eternal subordination of the Son? Kevin Giles has written an influential book on this topic called The Trinity and Subordinationism: The Doctrine of God and the Contemporary Gender Debate. Click here for reviews of this book and ongoing discussion.

Leadership Network Survey Results

Leadership Network is an excellent ministry established by Bob Buford. It's mission is to: identify, connect and help high-capacity Christian leaders multiply their impact. They provide a wealth of resources for churches and leaders through their web site, publications, blogs and e-newsletters.

Recently Leadership Network conducted an extensive survey seeking to gain insights into the ministry roles of Senior Pastors of larger churches and of Executive Ministers.

Click here to read the Senior Pastor report and here for the Executive Minister report.

Any questions, feel free to post them in the Comments section.

'How the Mighty Fall' by Jim Collins (Book Review)

Jim Collins is the best-selling author of Built to Last and Good to Great. Collins is a student of companies and organisations - great ones, good ones, weak ones, and failed ones. His latest book (which I picked up recently in an airport bookshop in the USA), based on extensive research, is How the Mighty Fall. In it he proposes that, "Whether you prevail or fail, endure or die, depends more on what you do to yourself than on what the world does to you."

In his research, which took more than four years, Collins sought to discover whether decline can be detected early and avoided. Decline is a bit like a disease. You can look healthy yet really be sick. His conclusion is that by understanding the stages of decline, leaders can substantially reduce their chances of falling all the way to the bottom.

Here are the five stages of decline:

1. Hubris Born of Success (arrogance and pride)

2. Undisciplined Pursuit of More (over-reaching for more and more)

3. Denial of Risk and Peril (ignoring the warning signs)

4. Grasping for Salvation (grasping for quick fixes)

5. Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death (atrophy settles in)

Every organisation, no matter how great, is vulnerable to decline. There is no law of nature that the most powerful will inevitably remain at the top. According to Collins, anyone can fall and most eventually do.

In its essence, the church is 'people' and is better represented by a living system (or organism) than an organisation. However, these organisational lessons about how the mighty fall apply directly to local churches and Christian ministries, as well as to individuals, especially leaders.

Collin's latest book was an interesting read, especially after having just read the Old Testament book of Daniel where we see great and powerful rulers getting caught up in pride, then falling dramatically. Nebuchadnezzar is a classic example (Daniel 4). He was warned ahead of time but ignored the warning and was humbled greatly. This is a good lesson for all of us.

Here are some wise sayings from God's Word:

"Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall." [Proverbs 16:18. NLT]

"If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall." [1 Corinthians 10:12-13. NLT]

 "All of you, serve each other in humility, for 'God opposes the proud but favors the humble.' So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor." [1 Peter 5:5-6. NLT]

Fruit and Gifts

Jesus said that we can know the credibility of a ministry by their 'fruit', not by their 'gifts' (see Matthew 7:15-23). Gifts of the Spirit, as well as natural talent, are important but they are no evidence of a holy life. In fact, gifts can deceive us as to the true nature of a person. That's why character is to be the foundation of all ministry. 'Who we are' (fruit) is more important than 'what we can do' (gifts).

The interesting thing about gifts is that God gives them and doesn't take them back. Read this comment by Paul when writing to the believers at Rome ...

"For God's gifts and his call can never be withdrawn." [Romans 11:29-30. NLT]

That means that a person can still continue to minister with the gifts God has given to them even when their character is not right. That's pretty scary because it enables people to abuse the grace of God - for a time.

The Challenges of Ministry (Part 3)

Let's continue today with some more thoughts about how to face challegnes coming your way ...

3. Don’t go it alone.

Please don’t face your mountains alone. Yes, many times they are burdens are issues that you alone fully understand and have to deal with. But gather a few climbing companions. It’s amazing how our resilience and our endurance increase when we have others with us on the journey. Build a close network of friends and climbing partners (‘safe’ and trustworthy people).

4. Draw on God’s grace.

Notice I said, “Draw on” not “Ask for”. Why? Because God always makes his grace available for us when facing challenges. In fact, he always sends ‘more than enough’ for what we are going through. Sometimes in the moment we may not ‘feel’ it, but when looking back, you’ll see it – amazing sustaining grace. Grace – it’s not just about salvation; it’s about life. Grace is his goodness but also his ability and his strength to cope (2 Cor.12:7-10). Challenges do many things but one thing is for sure - they make you dependent. You are acutely aware of your desperate need for God. You pray more and you trust and rely far less in your self (not a bad place to be).

5. Choose to be optimistic about the future

Expect things to work out well and in the mean time embrace a high tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty (Jer.29:11. 2 Cor.4:15-18). If we are not careful, challenges have a way of subtly draining away our sense of ‘hope’. It’s like the pressures of realities of today blind us from any respite tomorrow. We can slowly begin to believe that things will never change or that the challenges may never go away. Let’s be real clear – just choosing to be optimistic doesn’t guarantee that the challenges will go away but we can believe that even if they don’t God’s grace will carry us through.

I pray for God's strength and wisdom as you take on whatever challenges you may be facing today.

The Challenges of Ministry (Part 2)

What do you do when facing challenges?

Here are a few things that have helped me along the way ...

1. Believe that your challenges have the potential to make you strong.

The very process of facing and dealing with life’s challenges is how we become strong people. You can’t develop ‘strength’ without pressure and without a degree of stress (and sometimes even pain). The hard times can make us strong.

"Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors." [African Proverb]

How we think about our challenges is vital. The quality of ‘resilience’ is the ability to successfully meet and surmount challenges, obstacles, and problems. This quality is not hereditary and it has nothing to do with your talent or even your anointing. It has to do with your way of thinking – how you look at and interpret life’s challenges.

Paul tells us that, “God is working all things (this includes challenges!) together for our ultimate benefit because we love God and are called according to his purpose.” I believe that it is essential that each one of us has a clear sense of the call of God for our life and ministry, and then embrace a strong belief in the sovereignty of God and in his goodness.

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.  I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." [Mother Teresa]

2. Do what you can to overcome them.

Don’t give in or just come under the challenge. Give your best efforts to face it head on and believe for a solution. Give it your best prayers, your best thinking and your best energy. There’s always something you can do to either completely conquer the challenge or at least minimise its impact. Sometimes there are tough choices to be made, changes to be embraced and maybe even compromises where we have to choose less than the ideal. Sometimes you need to try a different approach – a different tack. Look at it a different way or do something different about it. Don’t ignore your challenges and try not to be overwhelmed by them. Refuse to just give up and become a ‘victim’. Determine to be a ‘victor’ no matter how long it takes.

We'll look at three more tomorrow ...

The Challenges of Ministry (Part 1)

This is my twenty-ninth year of active involvement in church leadership, both as a volunteer and as a staff member. People often ask me how I enjoy what I do – church ministry. I have a common answer – “I find ministry very fulfilling and I also find it very challenging.”

On the fulfilling side - what an honour and a privilege to be used by God to make a difference in someone’s life; what a joy to see people come to Christ and grow in their faith, and what a wonderful thing to see teams of people working together using their gifts to build God’s church.

On the challenging side: ministry stretches you to the maximum – constantly pulls you out of your comfort zone; ministry can be very draining – physically, emotionally and spiritually; what a tremendous amount of responsibility and pressure there is being a leader, and there are many problems and challenges to work through, often with no easy answers.

The apostle Paul, one of the great leaders of the church in the first century had a similar perspective on ministry. He saw ministry as a huge privilege and something he was willing to give his life for. He loved the reward of seeing people come to Christ, churches planted and the gospel impacting communities. However, he also found ministry very challenging (see 2 Cor.4:8-9; 6:3-10; 7:5).

My Top 5 challenges right now are: (1) keeping fresh, (2) not having enough time to do everything I’d like to do, (3) building emotional sustainability, (4) raising up more leaders, and (5) moving to a higher level of spiritual effectiveness. There are many more ... but we’ll leave it at that for now.

All of us have challenges, no matter who we are or how things look on the outside. Many of you have challenges that make mine look pretty insignificant - sickness that won’t go away (either yours or a family member’s), a marriage that’s not going well or family conflict, singleness issues, time pressures (balancing a busy career, family and a ministry), fatigue (you’re tired and run down), financial pressures that are beyond you’re ability to solve in the short term or personal internal issues that you grapple with every day (habits of life that you’re trying to change).

Tomorrow we'll look at some ways to respond to our challenges.

Evaluate Your Progress

Activity is not necessarily accomplishment! It’s easy to be very busy, especially in church life, yet not be moving forward to great fruitfulness and kingdom productivity. Therefore, it is essential that we stop regularly for periods of review and evaluation. How are things going? Really? What’s going well? What’s not going well?

One common tool for evaluation is the SWOT analysis. Get your key team of leaders together and draw a quadrant on a white board with the words “Strengths”, “Weaknesses”, “Opportunities” and “Threats” written on it. Then brain storm together and create a long list under each category. At this stage don’t evaluate the comments, just gather as many as possible.

Another idea is to use a list of key church health factors that present a holistic approach to ministry, such as your list of “core values”, Rick Warren’s “five purposes” of the church (in his book The Purpose Driven Church), Christian Swartz’s “eight characteristics” (from his book Natural Church Development) or “seven strategic shifts” (from my book Transforming Your Church). Honestly evaluate your church in each area with a rating of somewhere between 1 and 10, 1 being “very poor” and 10 being “outstanding”. Doing this in a group setting is best and the scores can be then tallied and then averaged. Use your one or two lowest scores as points of discussion and then strategise or plan how you can lift the effectiveness of these areas in the next period of time.

Can I say that it takes a really secure and strong leader to be open to criticism and to be willing to acknowledge weaknesses without reacting or feeling threatened. Be a big person by being wise enough to receive feedback with a good attitude (Prov.9:8-9). After all, everyone else knows our weaknesses (personal and church), so the sooner we face them, acknowledge them and deal with them, the better off we’ll all be! Create a culture that is always seeking to improve and to learn do things better.

I believe each church should have a good annual review of each of its ministries, as well as its overall progress. This becomes even more effective and easier to do if there are periodic reviews during the year (e.g. quarterly).

Leadership Selection

TO JESUS, SON OF JOSEPH,

FROM THE JORDAN MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT FIRM

By Dr. Fred Mueller

Dear Sir,

We would like to thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you picked for management positions in your new organisation. All of them have taken our battery of test and each of them has had a personal interview with our psychologist and our vocational aptitude consultants. And it is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have a team concept. And we would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience and managerial ability and proven capability.

Simon Peter, for example, is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership.

The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty.

Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that will definitely undermine the morale of your entire group.

We feel it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau.

And James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings and they both register a high score in the manic depressive scale.

One of your candidates only, Jesus, however does show great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness. He meets people well, has a keen business mind, has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We do recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right hand man. All the other profiles are self-explanatory. We wish you every success, Jesus, in your new venture.

[Author Unknown]

Climb a Tree

There is a big difference between leadership and management. Management tends to focus on “doing things right” while leadership focuses more on “doing right things”.

Here is a good story to illustrate this difference. Imagine a group of people cutting through a jungle. The managers are right there, making sure things are going smoothly - organising rosters, providing the sharp machetes, arranging regular rest breaks, ensuring adequate first-aid facilities, etc. The leader is the person who climbs a tree, looks around and yells, “Wrong Jungle!” But the managers respond by saying, “But we’re making such progress!” Yes, they’re making progress, but go fast in the wrong direction is not true progress!

For me, life in the ministry can be a bit like a jungle. There’s so much to do, so little time to do it in, the work is hard going most of the time and the pressure can become intense. I have found great benefit in scheduling a regular “Climb A Tree” day. I have been doing this monthly for many years now and it is one of my favourite habits of effectiveness. What I do is schedule one day for each month of the year where I “retreat”. I don’t prepare sermons on this day. I spend it totally by myself and I try to get out of the office (either go for a drive in the car or a walk in a park). I spend the day reflecting back over the previous month and asking myself some key questions such as, “Father, what are you saying to me right now?” “How am I doing … as a husband, father, pastor, leader …?” “What’s going well?” “What needs to change?” I then look forward to the coming month and do some prayerful planning and preparation for the future.

I record my thoughts in a notebook or journal. Writing things down helps you to focus (your mind can’t wander when you’re writing!) and it also gives you a record of what God says to you so you can review it later on (I usually review my journal from the previous month as part of this day).

The accumulated years of regularly doing this month after month give you a sense of continuity and progress as you see God’s work in your life. I come away from these days rejuvenated and with a clear fresh mind ready to face the coming month. By the way, I discovered that this is a Biblical concept! Not only were there weekly Sabbath rest days in Israel. Every New Moon was a special holy day or festival, like the Sabbath, for God’s people (Num.10:10. Ps.81:3). They were not to work on these days but were to offer special offerings and I imagine they took time to reflect on the previous month and get ready for the next one. Hey, God thought of it first!

The best gift you can give your church is you being a healthy leader. Climbing a tree every now and then makes sure you don’t get lost (or eaten!) in the jungle. Take time to look at your spiritual compass (where you’re headed) not just the clock (how fast you’re going).

Jesus did this regularly and I believe it was the key to his focus and his effectiveness. After all, at the end of only three and a half years, he was able to say, “It is finished!” Wow, wouldn’t that be great! He didn’t do everything that could have been done but he knew what he was called to do and he did that alone.

Leadership Essentials

Leadership is a complex task!

There are multiple things that we need to be aware of and do well at – mission, vision, core values, strategy, goals, plans, systems, programs, culture, just to name a few. Therefore, having a clear “big picture” of how all these pieces fit together is essential.

Let’s briefly look at some of the key components that a leader works with:

Leading Your Church Through Change

Church leaders are “change agents”, called by God to initiate change by moving people forward to where they need to be.

I believe that every leader needs a “model” for leading change. I have put one together from the life of Nehemiah that has been a great help to me.

Here are eight steps to leading effective change in your church. You will also find them helpful for leading change amongst any other group or organisation.

What’s a Senior Minister to do?

Church work is never done. There's so much to do with seemingly not enough time to fit everything in. The urgent constantly seeks to crowd out the important. We often question whether all our efforts are truly effective. So, what's a Senior Minister or Pastor to do? The leaders of the early church faced the same challenge:

"In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:1-4 NIV)."

Their response indicates that they had clearly determined their priorities and how they believed God wanted them to spend their time. This enabled them to say "No" to this urgent matter so as not to neglect the important work God had uniquely called them to do. Therefore, they chose to delegate this task out to others within the church community.

If you are a Senior Minister, do you know what your priorities are? Do you know what you should delegate and what you should not? Here are some extremely important tasks that I believe a Senior Minister should give his or her attention to:

Catalyst - a Leadership Resource

Catalyst is an excellent resource for those wanting to keep in touch with some of the trends and developments in church, leadership and ministry in the USA. The Catalyst catch phrase is - 'a leadership filter for what's next in the church'.

This ministry initially began out of a partnership between leaders from North Point Community Church in Atlanta, Georgia (led by Andy Stanley) and John Maxwell and his INJOY ministries.

Catalyst now includes an annual conference each October reaching over 10,000 leaders, an informative free pod cast (which I listen to each month), and other cutting edge on-line resources.

You can check out Catalyst at www.catalystspace.com

Committed to continual learning ...

Mark Conner

1 Timothy 4:13-16. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift you have, given to you and confirmed by prophetic words when the elders laid hands on you. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that everyone will see your progress. Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach. Persevere in this, because by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you. [Net Bible]

Multiply Your Ministry Impact

Everyone wants to have a fruitful life and ministry. But that's only half of our mandate. God wants us to be "fruitful AND multiply" (Gen.1:28). He desires us to reproduce ourselves in others "after our kind".

Great leaders are able to train others to join them in ministry and thereby multiply their ministry impact. God is calling church leaders to make a leadership shift where they see themselves as equippers, not only ministers. Each leader needs to take on the role of a coach, who empowers others to reach their ministry potential. This is leadership the way God designed it.

Church leaders must also help their congregations make a ministry shift where they see themselves as contributors, not only consumers. God has a vision, a dream and a destiny for each individual person and this includes a significant contribution to the local church.

Jesus is an exceptional example of someone who effectively multiplied his ministry by building a team of ministers (Matt. 4:18-22).

A Balanced Perspective of Church

So you're a pastor. What are you supposed to do with this thing called "church"? Is it a family to simply enjoy and have fun with? Is it an army to try to take the world with? Or is it a business? Gaining a proper perspective on church can be quite a challenge but it is essential.

Read the following Scripture slowly … "But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs" (Phil 2:25).

Paul describes his team member, Epaphroditus, by three words, each portraying three different aspects of their ministry relationship that we need to keep in balance as we lead our churches (an idea  I first heard from Bill Hybels).

Let's unpack this a bit further ...

Don’t Quit!

Being a leader or ministry volunteer can be very rewarding and fulfilling. It can also be a source of frustration and extra stress. In other words, ministry can be very draining – spiritually, emotionally and physically. What are some of your frustrations?

Come on, I give you permission to have an official approved "whinge session" - just for a few minutes! Make your own list. Okay, so there's occasional poor attendance at meetings, difficult people, time pressures, periods of no numerical growth, financial pressures, criticism, low commitment and conflict, just to name a few. These things all add up and often they're enough to discourage even the most motivated person and to even push us to the point of wanting to quit.

As we read the Bible, we see a wonderful honesty and vulnerability from God's leaders. They openly share both the joys and the pressures of ministry. Just ask Paul, Peter or James!

What were some of Paul's pressures and frustrations? Persecution (such as beatings, riots, imprisonments, floggings, getting stoned – with real stones, that is), life-threatening situations (such as getting shipwrecked, being in danger, cold and naked, hungry and thirsty), sleepless nights, slander and lies from opponents, false doctrine and immorality in the church, along with defection of team members, just to name a few (see 2 Cor.6:3-10; 7:5-6; 11:23-29; 17:7-10. 2 Tim.3:10-12).

How did Paul respond to these pressures? He refused to quit or give up (2 Cor.4:8-9,16-18). He said, "None of these things move me" (Acts 20:24. NKJV). He determined to "stay the course" and finish the race God had given him to run (Acts 20:22-24. See also 2 Cor.7:5-6).

Church Governance

In many ways, churches tend to rise and fall based on the quality of their leaders. Strong godly leadership is important, as is good governance, clear decision-making processes, and appropriate accountability.

When it comes to the subjects of leadership and governance, the New Testament presents a fairly fluid and emerging model for local churches. That's why there are so many different views on what church leadership should look like today. [For a detailed look at the subject of leadership as portrayed in the New Testament, click here to download a paper I wrote on this topic as part of my Master's Degree at Ridley College back in 2001 - A New Testament Pattern for Church Leadership]

Last year, we completed a governance review of CityLife Church and its ministries. As churches grow they need to occasionally review their structures and processes to ensure that they are conducive to creating a healthy environment. As a result of our review, we made the following decisions:

1. To simply our Constitution. [Our Constitution now contains just our Statement of Purposes, our Statement of Faith, and our Core Values. It then outlines the required Rules for: Membership, General Meetings, Governance, and Administration. Now that these things are clearly established, they will most likely not need to be changed again]
2. To establish a single Board of Elders as the primary governance group of the church. [Prior to this time we had two governance groups - Elders and Board members]
3. To create an internal Policy Governance Manual that further outlines the specific role of the Senior Minister and the Board of Elders, and how they relate to each other. [It is important to know what decisions a Senior Minister can make by themselves and what decisions require the involvement of the Elders. This document is a working document and will by updated as necessary. Our goal was to create an environment with a high degree of empowerment for the Senior Minister but also with an accompanying high degree of accountability]
4. To require that no more than 1/3 of the members of the Board of Elders be employed by the church or its ministries. [This is in order for there to be proper accountability and genuine ‘independent review’, which requires separation of the creation of ideas from the review or approval of those ideas. Both the Staff and the Eldership leadership roles are crucial in the life of the church but there must be adequate differentiation between them. As a large church, our desire is to be ‘staff-led’ and ‘Elder-protected’ - a phrase I first heard from Bill Hybels]
5. To have an Elder other than the Senior Minister Chair the Board of Elders. [This enables the Senior Minister to report and be accountable to the Elders. It also enables the Senior Minister not have to perform a neutral facilitation role that may be best filled by a different person]
6. To consider an appropriate 'length of term’ for members of the Board of Elders so as to balance continuity and connection with the past while providing opportunity for new members to bring fresh ideas and perspective to a particular group. [Prior to this time, Elders remained in this role indefinitely or until they resigned or were disqualified]

These changes were implemented at the beginning of this year, at which time we also formed a new Board of Elders' team. So far these changes have served us very well.

A Theology of Self Care

The Apostle Paul gathered the leaders from the church at Ephesus for some parting words. He had been with them for a few years and they had experienced an incredible revival in their city and beyond. We don't have this meeting on DVD but thankfully someone took some notes of what he said (see Acts 20:17-38).

In the midst of some important heart-felt instructions, Paul said: "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock ..." (Acts 20:28). Notice the order ... look after yourselves as a first priority THEN the church or people entrusted to your care. How often leaders pour all of their time and energy into looking after others while neglecting themselves.

Here in Australia, Rowland Croucher, from John Mark Ministries, estimates that there are over 10,000 ex-pastors. How sad! These are people who once had a dream and a vision but for some reason have dropped out of the race.

In 2001, the National Church Life Survey revealed that of existing pastors in Australia, approximately 25% are in burnout (clinical depression), 50% are in the danger zone, and only 25% are what could be called emotionally healthy (see the NCLS publication Burnout in Church Leaders). If the local church is the hope of the world and its future is in the hands of its leaders (a quote from Bill Hybels), then these are highly concerning statistics! No wonder Paul told these Elders to take care of themselves!

How do we care for ourselves - as followers of Christ and as leaders? Here are five habits for anyone who wants to be a healthy person:

1. Retreat Regularly (a healthy spiritual life). How easy it is for us to be more of a Martha than a Mary (see Luke 10:38-42). We can be so busy working for the Lord that we don't take time to sit at his feet and develop intimacy with Him. It's so important that we regularly pull aside from our busyness to connect with our God and to receive direction from Him. Jesus did this often (Mk.1:35. Lk.5:16) and so did the early church leaders (Acts 6:1-4). Make time for it - daily, weekly and monthly.
2. Deal with your Internal Stress (a healthy emotional life). Life and ministry can be stressful but it is the stress that we carry within that does the most damage. Internal stress can come from unrealistic expectations, negative emotions, and unresolved conflicts. Renew your mind, resolve conflicts quickly, confront issues, and talk about your feelings with a safe friend, counsellor or spiritual director.
3. Keep Growing (a healthy mental life). God has called us to a life of 'progress' (1 Tim.4:12-16). Keep growing and improving yourself on a continual basis. Read good books, listen to helpful teaching, learn from mentors, and gain all the experience you can.
4. Develop Close Friendships (a healthy social life). Love your family and spend regular time with emotionally replenishing people who pour back into your life. Also, develop a broad variety of interests and/or hobbies. It's healthy.
5. Keep Healthy and Fit (a healthy physical life). God is interested in all of us - spirit, soul and body. Maintain a balanced diet, get regular exercise, as well as adequate sleep. Balance activity times with rest, relaxation and recovery times. Develop a sustainable pace. Keep the Sabbath principle. Take a good day off. Have regular holidays. Laugh and enjoy life!

Rate yourself from 1-10 on each one of these habits. What are your lowest two? What could you do in the next few weeks to lift in these areas? Great. Like the prophet Nike says, 'Just do it!"

The best gift you can give those who follow you is for you to be a healthy leader. Remember, it's not how fast you run but how long you last. Finish your race! Don't be another statistic. All of heaven is cheering you on. We need you!

For those interested, here are some good resources for healthy living, especially for leaders:

• Adrenaline and Stress by Dr. Arch Hart
• Margin by Richard A. Swenson
• Unloading the Overload by Cliff Powell
• Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
• The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy Not Time by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz
• Pastors at Greater Risk by H.B. London and Neil B. Wiseman
• Articles for ex-pastors compiled by Rowland Croucher at John Mark Ministries

Leadership Development Event

One of the best leadership development events in the world is the annual the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. Bill Hybels and his team always put together an amazing line up of speakers all with the specific focus of helping people develop their leadership gift.

A few weeks ago this years summit was held in Chicago with satellite connection to 110 sites in North America enabling 65,000 leaders to participate in this event 'live'. Now through the Global Leadership Summit, another 83 sites around the world will experience much of the same event through delayed video presentations, resulting in around 100,000 leaders being impacted. That's phenomenal!

Speakers at the 2007 summit included Bill Hybels, John Ortberg, Colin Powell, Carly Fiorina, Jimmy Carter and Marcus Buckingham.

Here in Australia the Global Leadership Summit will be held in a variety of cities during the month of October. Click here to register online today. Early bird registration rates are available up until September 7th, 2007.

I have learnt more about leadership from Bill Hybels than anyone else. I encourage you to invest in your own leadership development through attending this event. Whether you're involved in church, business or community work, you'll definitely benefit tremendously from this experience.

DVDs of previous leadership summits are also available online. These make a great resource for personal development and staff training.

For a brief outline of a few of this year's topics and session content, see Dave Ferguson's blog (posts on August 10-11th, 2007).