Archives For Stewardship

trust

The Fallacy of “Earning Trust”

May 13, 2013 — 3 Comments

Some leadership teams believe a new staff hire needs to spend time “earning trust” before they are given significant freedom to lead. I addressed the reasons I believe such is usually (not always) a counterproductive posture to take at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures. When I asked the class how long it took to “earn trust,” the consensus was, five years.

Five years.

Churches are willing to get less out of a minister for five years so they can protect against them doing the church harm either practically or spiritually? Why hire such a person if they deserve such suspicion? Who would jump at the opportunity to serve in such a system? Does this all make sense?

At one level, it makes none at all–given the average pastoral tenure is less than that. In addition, new elder selection processes reset the trust clock with at least some. Furthermore, frustrations relating to freedom to do ministry usually run toward the top of the list. In addition, how is a minister supposed to earn trust based on competency when they aren’t allowed to do what they’re capable of?

Ironically, churches choose people as elders they believe are trustworthy. In most cases, full regard for their input and authority is granted from day one. However, this doesn’t happen at the staff level–which is why both systems–elders and staff–struggle to work together.

I obviously believe absolutely EVERY minister should be trustworthy. However, I also believe the infamous “earning trust” phase is self-defeating–leading to lower productivity and higher turnover than would otherwise.

Why not just hire people you trust?

Don’t spend five years paying someone to be, largely, a professional trust earner. Besides, every elder and church member may have different criteria for what earns their trust. For some, it will be competency. For others, it will be not rocking the boat. Others will have totally different “trust earning” criteria.

This system doesn’t work.

Hire people you trust, and trust them until there is some reason not to–remembering grace if/when they make mistakes. Let’s not choose five years of suspicion and caution instead of five years of ministry together based on trust. The best way to do that is to hire well, with a clear picture of “trustworthy” looks like as you hire.

As New Vintage Church, we look for these four things.* (The first three are from Bill Hybels in Courageous Leadership.)

  1. Character. They pursue a growing relationship with Christ and live a life of integrity.
  2. Competency. They are able to lead their area of ministry with excellence.
  3. Chemistry. They get along well with others in leadership and the congregation as a whole.
  4. Fit. They fit our staff culture–creative, excellence-oriented, flexible, fun-loving, and buy into our ministry philosophy.

If we know (as best we can) they have these four things, it’s not hard to trust such a person.

Question: What does it take for you to grant trust to someone you work with?

In Church Finance, Church Growth, Church Staffing, Church Strategy, Leadership, Productivity, Stewardship , , , , , , , ,
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stream of consciousness

Friday Stream of Consciousness – 76

April 12, 2013 — 2 Comments

Here are some things on my mind this Friday morning:

  • Would you rather have a cup of cheap, fresh coffee or overcooked, high-quality coffee. I’m going cheap and fresh. Burned Starbucks coffee tastes like I’m drinking the contents of a microwaved spittoon.
  • KFC just started offering gravy as a dipping sauce. This is sheer brilliance. The world would be a better place if more restaurants offered a side of gravy with things…
  • Like cereal.
  • I’m embarrassed to say this, but out of all the conferences I’ve attended, I’ve never been to a Catalyst conference. Next week, I get to go to Catalyst West with the NVC staff. I’m really looking forward to it.
  • On the sports front, Emily and I just happened to have attended a certain baseball game between the Dodgers and Padres last night. How entertaining…
  • I do think Zach Greinke hit Carlos Quentin on purpose. There are many reasons, here are a few:
  • 1) The pitch high and tight to Matt Kemp in the 4th was the instigator. 2) Greinke’s reaction when he hit Quentin…not exactly dust and ashes. He cursed at Quentin. 3) The catcher lined up low and away. Greinke threw high and in. You don’t make 17 million because you miss spots that badly. Plus, his mechanics completely changed on that pitch. 4) Vin Scully, in his live call, seemed to think it was retaliation for the earlier pitch. Trust in Vin. 5) Matt Kemp’s reaction–totally illogical…unless Greinke got hurt trying to avenge you. 6) There is a history between Quentin and Greinke. 7) The count and game situation actually mean you can hit him without getting tossed–that’s why it’s perfect. People who think pitchers don’t throw at anyone when the game in the line don’t get the code. Roger Clemens threw at Mike Piazza in a tight World Series game. This is a throwaway game in the early part of a 162 game season. 8) Quentin has been hit by a pitch more than any active player (116 times), and Greinke has hit more batters. Quentin has never charged the mound…until last night. He knows when he’s targeted vs. one that got away. 9) Randy Johnson blames Greinke…and RJ was one of the greatest bean-ballers of all-time. He knows who did what there.
  • Having said that, Quentin shouldn’t have charged, and I don’t like that Greinke broke his collarbone.
  • Having said that… Kemp really talked and strutted a lot. He threatened much and did nothing. His parking lot “confrontation” and going after Bud Black (the Padres Manager) was weak. I think Kemp ordered the Code Red, and was freaking out because it got out of hand and now Greinke’s out for a minimum of 8 weeks.
  • Don Mattingly was disingenuous in the press conference–and that hurts me to say–he was my childhood hero. I understand being frustrated, but you can’t say Quentin, a two-time All-Star and Stanford man is too mentally dim to understand the game if he thinks Greinke threw at him. Mattingly played in the 80′s, when bean-balling was made an art form. He knows better. Having said that, I’d probably take up for my player, too.
  • Now, the Dodgers-Padres series at Chavez Ravine starting Monday has become must-see TV.
  • Many in our church have been praying the hours this week to cultivate a more prayerful life. It’s been a huge blessing.
  • The discipline of praying on the hours might have helped Carlos Quentin with his anger management issues.
  • I used to watch American Idol religiously. I’ve hardly noticed it’s been on this year. I get the sense I’m not the only one. In hindsight, I think they’ll look at hiring Nicki Minaj as the beginning of the end.
  • When a church is looking to hire a minister and calls looking for names before describing their church, that’s a red flag.
  • When they aren’t interested in discussing the long-term vision of the church (even when asked) because they want names, that’s another red flag. It suggests both a lack of captivating vision, and a low view of staff. This is intrinsically also a low view of the church.
  • Microsoft and Google are in a spat, and as a result, Microsoft no longer supports Google Calendar and vice-versa. It’s a losing cause for Microsoft in my opinion. Microsoft’s product is superior, but Google’s is more popular and has a larger platform.
  • Meanwhile, despite massive stock value loss, Apple hibernates like a sleeping Grizzly. Watch out for them.
  • One takeaway from coaching girls softball this year–you can push players (even 9 and 10-year-old girls) really hard and have a good time. However, they must know you love them, and you must mix in some fun. There is a lesson here for those leading staff teams.
  • A & E better hurry up and give the Duck Dynasty crew their raise. I’m almost done watching season three and will go through serious withdrawals if I stop.
  • I might even go Carlos Quentin on an A & E executive. Give Si his raise!
  • That’s all for this week, Jack!

What’s on your mind this Friday morning?

In Church Growth, Church Strategy, Current Affairs, Generosity, Leadership, Leadership Vault, Personal, Spiritual Formation, Stewardship , , , , , , ,
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stream of consciousness

Friday Stream of Consciousness – 75

April 5, 2013 — 4 Comments

Here are some things on my mind this Friday morning:

•This week at New Vintage Church we start a new series on prayer. I love preaching on prayer for three reasons: 1) Prayer’s power and essentiality for life with God, 2) It forces me to examine my prayer life in great detail, 3) It always strikes me how Western and achievement-oriented our vision of prayer is.

•I’ve blogged rather modestly this week…and over the last few. The reason: I haven’t had a lot to say. I vowed to myself when I started the blog five years ago I wouldn’t just fill the blogosphere with stuff just to do so–so I post when there’s something to say, or I re-post something that might be found helpful in revised form. We live in a dust-storm of useless “5 Ways to…” lists and relatively shallow stuff. There is certainly some good stuff out there–I just don’t want to add to the dust storm of weak verbiage.

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In Christianity, Church Growth, Family Life, Leadership, New Vintage Church, Personal, Spiritual Formation, Sports, Stewardship , , ,
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money-drain

How to Keep from Running a Deficit in Your Church

March 4, 2013 — 5 Comments

So, how’s your church budget doing this year? It’s March now, which means it’s also a good time to look at church finances. You can probably already tell what kind of start the church is off too. Granted, January and February are not strong months for offerings, historically. However, you can take this into account as you look at what kind of January and February the church has had–and make some adjustments. If you’re off to a better year than anticipated, praise God. If you aren’t, praise God anyway, and make a small tweak or two now. It will save you much greater pain down the road.

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In Church Finance, Church Strategy, Leadership, Leadership Vault, Stewardship, Theology , , , , ,
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dominos

The Church Really is a Body

February 6, 2013 — 3 Comments

In the last post I introduced the subject of mental preparation for ministry and offered three skills of those well prepared mentally for ministry (Click here to read it). Here are the other two:

4. Understanding the Church as a Body. The church is a Body, not merely the sideshow for our preaching. One of the biggest reasons Lead Pastors and Elder Boards make poor decisions is they lack an understanding of how the church functions as a Body. If a person goes to the doctor with back pain, a bad doctor may assume they’ve slipped a disc or had poor posture. However, it may be an old knee injury is causing them to overcompensate as they walk, thus leading to the back pain. The pain is in the back. The problem is in the knee.

Pastors who are well prepared mentally devote themselves to the field of knowledge known as “church systems.” Or, think of it as holistic medicine and wellness care for the Body of Christ. The church is a bit like a mobile. Pull this and that moves, pull that and this moves. We need to know what moves what. We need to understand how our decisions impact the whole church Body and how before we make them–as best we can.

If you want to see this principle at work–watch the budget process carefully. The budget process is like a throat culture for the Body. You can see so many incubating diseases in it. Watch as we cut things, spend things, etc., based on making ends meet and the value system of those making the decisions–rather than a full understanding of how cutting out pizza night for the Youth Ministry or not giving raises this year is actually going to impact the Body. Understanding the church system as a Body may not change whether the cuts need to be made, but it might change where the cuts are made or whether an effort to raise more resources is the solution.

5. Breadth of Practical Ministry Understanding. There is a reason doctors are trained exclusively within their area of specialty. An ENT doctor has to also study some podiatry. This is because the body is a system and knowledge of the bodies various parts helps in understanding their specialty–and the body as a whole. The church is the same. Reading broadly, studying broadly, experiencing broadly–these all help you as a leader in subtle ways that add up over time.

A Lead Minister really needs to know something about Youth Ministry, Worship Ministry, Children’s Ministry, etc. Notice I said “know” and not “think they know.” Also, notice I said “something,” not “everything.” If a leader of a staff has zero knowledge of a given ministry area, they will likely lack the ability to understand the Body’s parts and health system. Study Youth Ministry, hang out with the Youth Minister some, and go to a few Youth events. Watch the band rehearse, walk through the children’s wing at check-in time. Sit in on Finance Team meetings and have lunch with the chair every few months or so. You get the picture. All of these add to our understanding in subtle ways intellectually and experientially–and they keep us from making subtle mistakes as we lead because we didn’t know various parts of the Body existed or how they functioned.

This two-part series of posts is about growing as practitioners of ministry. I’d like to know what you think about the concept of mental preparation, and what you might add or remove from this list.

If we devote ourselves to practical, mental preparation for serving the Lord, we will be more effective practitioners of the Gospel.

Can you think of other traits of those mentally well prepared for ministry?

In Church Finance, Church Growth, Church Strategy, Leadership Vault, Productivity, Stewardship , , , , ,
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