Pastor's Blog

Leading Your Team into Commitment

Today I want to answer the question, "How do I get my team to be committed?" The answer is, You lead them into it. Here are some thoughts on this. First, understand you can't measure anyone else's level of commitment by yourself. Everyone has different time constraints, so be flexible and let them tell you what they can do. Next, realize leadership is a process not an event. It takes time to build a team and get commitment. Leading a team is a journey and along the way look for some sign posts. You will be able to gauge a persons level of commitment by them. Here they are. The team has to buy into the leader before they will be committed. Then they need to understand what is expected of them. We call this setting parameters or building your sandbox(remember as a child, you were shown the sandbox and told you can play and do anything you want inside this sandbox). After they understand the expectations look for them to start making suggestions. When this happens, it doesn't mean they are committed, it means they are testing the waters to see if you will "slap their hand". If you accept their input, then they will begin to take ownership. This is the first real sign of commitment. The last point on leading your team into commitment is to value them. You don't have to agree with them on everything, but if they supposed to be on your team, they will have good ideas and they will be a great support. So listen to them!

Leadership Is

Hey guys, I just got back from Saturday night prayer. WOW! It was powerful. I would like to encourage everyone to make it to at least one prayer time during the week. See the bulletin or the website for times. Anyway this weeks leadership thought is about understanding what leadership is. I have heard people say "I am the leader over this ministry(whichever one it is)". And even though I know what they mean, that statement does not reflect the true meaning of leadership. A true leader is a leader of people not stuff or a department. Realize, we are in the business of developing people on all levels. If every time someone disappoints you or doesn't live up to your expectations you replace them because they can't produce, you will never get anything done.I know you are going to say they just need to be committed and do the work. Yes you are right, but that is one of the things we need to lead our team into. How?  Stay tuned to find out.

Creating a culture of Empowerment

Someone said the other day that they realized I was delegating responsibility to others so I could spend more time in the Word, and they were partiality right. Yes I must spend the bulk of my time in prayer and the ministry of the Word, but, I also am creating a culture of Empowerment. You see, to continue to grow we must raise up not workers but leaders. As a leader we must empower those called along side to help us. To empower means to give someone the power to do. You empower someone by giving them the resources, responsibility, and the authority to carry out the assignment they have been given. Then you release them to do it. The opposite of empowerment is control. As we look at these keys to empowerment you will see the difference between the two. First, You must give a leader the resources to do the job. Control would say,"when you need something, come see me". We must give the leaders under us the training, the money, and the vision to accomplish their job. Next, we must give them the responsibility for their area. Let them feel the weight of the project on the shoulders of the team. It is damaging to the leader to give them a project and then take it away if it looks shaking. I must always be close enough to help if they ask, but not jump in and doing all myself. This causes people to stop trying. I know, this will cause some things to fail from time to time, but how are people going to learn if you step in all the time. The third point is, give them the authority the carry out the task. As a leader, I need to stand by my leaders and their decisions. If you make decisions for them or disagree publicly with their decisions, you have just taken the authority away from them. Lastly, Release them to do the work. It won't get done just the same as if you did it, but you will gain a leader and a valuable member of the team. And who knows, They might do a better job than you! And you know who benefits then??? Everybody!! You can't argue with that.

Mark Hankins at Valley Word Church

WOW! What a weekend. I am so charged up! If you were not able to be a church for the services with Mark Hankins, here are some of the points I wrote down.

God knows a sower by his habits, patterns, and attitudes toward giving.

If you addicted to giving to the Kingdom, God will support your habit.

Our voice has to be hooked up with the Word not our circumstances.

Get caught with so much faith, you are guilty of possession with the intent to distribute.

Some things it would take too long to save for, so you must sow for it.

Harvest just as much work as sowing. Here is the work of a harvester. 1. watch your month. 2. rejoice in harvest. 3. Meditate on the Word concerning tithing and giving. 4. Keep sowing.

I hope these points help you as much as they did me.

Leadership Negotiations part 2

Here is the continuation of Wednesday's blog. As part of any team, we must realize it is not all about us! We have a team because there is more wisdom and insight in a team than from one individual. This brings us to the third point of this blog. To be successful in a team there has to be some "give and take". If you only take your suggestions and ignore the team's opinions it won't be long to you don't have a team. They will either shut down on you or they will quit. Either way the project suffers. Here are some thoughts on learning to "give and take" in leadership negotiations. Of course, as I have already said, Realize you don't know everything. We need each other. It takes the whole team to get the big picture of a project. You don't have to be right al the time. If you think you have to be the one with the answers all the time, this is a sign of insecurity. So, GROW UP!!! Next, understand what is the goal of a project and be okay with someone suggesting a different way to get there. Don't compromise your integrity or your values, but be flexible. If you feel strongly about a particular part of a project, then take your stand, just be willing to let someone take their stand later. And lastly, be mindful of the way you communicate your opinions. Rather than demand your way, ask questions of the team that creates a team response. If you charge into a meeting like a bull being let out of the gate, you will only put people on the defensive. "A team that decides together stays together". Isn't that the way the saying goes?  Well it is today.  Until next time.

Leadership Negotiations

I have watched teams work on projects for a long time and I have seen some things that help the project and I have seen some things that have not only hurt a project, but have killed it. One of those things is Leadership Negotiations. By this I mean the way a team comes up with the final project plan. As a leader, you have to be able to move the team along in a constructive way. Proper team negotiations are based on three things, vision, respect, and "give and take". Let's look at each to get a better understanding. First is vision. When discussing a project, everything has to reflect the vision. By this I mean a project has to tie back to the church vision and at the same time express the vision for the project. It is important to understand what the leader wants the project to look like, so don't be afraid to ask questions. Next, is the idea of respect. Have you every heard the saying,"You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar"? If you respect every member of the team and treat them as important and equal, that will go a long way. When someone on the team is making a point listen to them. Try to understand them from their point of view. Talk to each person in a way that will not put them on the defensive. Never go into a meeting thinking "I will tell them a thing or two", that means you have already made up your mind you are right and they are wrong. Tomorrow we will look at the third point. Until then...

Climbing the Mountain part 4

OK here are the last three points on "How to choose what to leave behind when climbing to the top."     Realize, everyone can live at sea level. It is easy to stand at the bottom of the mountain and look up and give your opinions. But the only opinions that matter are from thosewho have been where you are going. All along the way to the top, you will have to say goodbye to people who won't go where you are going and will try to tell you it can't be done. Think about it, as of 2007 only some 700 people had made the ascent to the top of Everest. That is a very small percentage of the people who could go. Next, the higher up the mountain you go the less comfortable you become. Leadership is not about you. You will have to leave behind the desire for comfort and press on to the top. Being a leader is not always comfortable, fun, or easy, but we are called to do great things. To go to  the top!  And last, as a climber gets close ot the top, they have to rely on supplemental oxygen. The air is too thin to be enough to sustain you. As a leader the closer to the top you get, the more you will have to rely on God's voice to get you to the top. You will have to leave the voices of the past behind and focus on hearing His voice. Think about this, Very few reach their full potential in God, but you can be one of the few. The view from the top is amazing and only a few have seen it. I am going to be one of the few. How about you?  See you at the top!!!

Climbing the Mountain part 3

Using the climb of Mt. Everest as an analogy of the climb a leader must take to get to the top, I said as you climb higher you must choose what things you have to leave behind to get to the next level. The good news is, you get to choose. So, how do you choose? Here are several things to think about. First you should look at the experiences of others. To successfully climb Everest, the climbers would studythe climb of those before them. As leaders, we should always be studying leaders who are at the level we need to get to. Next, you need to know what gear and knowledge will be needed ahead. You can leave behind things you won't need. A good example of this would be the transition from a small church to a medium church for a senior pastor. In a small church, the pastor has to do a lot of the work, but as the church grows , the pastor has to delegate the work ( leave behind the feeling they have to do it all) so they can oversee the work. That takes a whole different set of skills. You can't do both. Another way to choose what to leave behind , is to realize the higher you go the lighter your load must become. You will have to leave behind some of the things that are burdensome and time consuming. When ever I get to a place I say I can't do anymore, I know it is time to shed some stuff. Here is my favorite saying about this. "Do only what only you can do!" If you keep this saying in front of you, you will be able to transition to the next level.  More to Come...

And We're Back

After a couple of weeks of not being able to connect, I am back on.  So its time to answer the question I ended with on my last blog. Remember I said as you climb higher up the mountain of Leadership you get to choose what things you leave behind. How do you choose???  Stay tuned...

Climbing The Mountain part two

On the 14th of September I wrote a blog about climbing Mt. Everest. Today I want to continue that thought.  There are two points I didn't get to that are extremely important. First as the climbers reach a new level on the mountain, they would stay there until their bodies got use to the new altitude. This is just like leading a team in any growth endeavor. As you grow, you can't move too fast. Your team needs time to process their new assignments and what it takes to succeed. You know, you can't always answer today's challenges with yesterdays success. The second point I wanted to make is that the climbers could not carry everything they started with all the way to the top. They had to leave certain things at the present camp, in order to make it to the next level. The same is true with leadership. As you lead your team to the top, you have to be willing to let go of some old ideas and people along the way. Here again, just because something worked yesterday doesn't mean it will work today. Also, I have found that some people can help you get to one level, but, can't help take you to the next level. I have also found that some people can't help you at your present level, but will be invaluable at the next level. The good news is, you get to choose what things you leave behind. How do you choose???? Stay tuned...