The Options

For many years I was a faithful "Day-timer" person. The system served me well. Day-timer is one of many systems that you can use to keep track of your life and administrative duties. It is a paper system. I, and many of you, have moved to a digital system. The basic rule remains the same! USE IT!

There are many options out there for keeping track of contacts, lists, projects, etc. The important thing is to find one that you can and will use. Currently, I am committed to Google Email, Contacts and Calendar. These I use all of the time, often on my phone. It works pretty well for me - WHEN I REMEMBER THE BASIC RULE - USE IT!.

When you are using a system you need to make it your own. I cannot create labels or tags for you. I cannot sort the various items for you. You have to create that part of your system. I know artist-type people whose system looks like they used a 64 crayon box of Crayola Crayons. Others are strictly black and white. Some of the things you need to do follows.

1. Have a way to sort and store your email. You might use names or projects dates (pretty difficult over a long time). Learn to create rules in you digital system and these things can be done automatically.
2. Have a way to prioritize your to do list. Again, you can color code or letter code the list. Sometimes by altering an item simply you get a better list. For example, I will add a "0" (zero) to an item if I want it at the top of my list (in a digital system). Numbers always come before letters in sorting in ascending order.
3. Use your calendar to help with you list. Put a list item in the day you need to be working on it or the name of someone you want to contact at a later date in that day.

The bottom line for all of this info is,

Have a system and use it.

Administration - Gift, Skill or Stupid

I've been asked to develop a training module on ADMINISTRATION - for pastors. The comment was that many pastors have no idea how to do administration in their churches or in some cases their life. So, I thought I would develop it here so that I can add your feed back to my learning module.

By using the term "learning module," I'm saying, it is part of the training a pastor needs- probably only a part of the training in administration.

But you say, "I'm not the administrator, I have an administrator." Nice. But, you, the pastor need to have some ability in the area of administration. Why? Your own life, your families life and your church need you to be involved. No, you don't need to be THE administrator of your church but, you do need to be able,to some degree, to administrate, manage, order, and organize - with the help of the Holy Spirit - those things you have been given responsibility for by the Lord.

This is an area in which I have some gifting - it comes without much effort - and I have spent the last 40 years trying to improve. Perhaps you are one of the gifted or, perhaps, that is a gift that you never received. Let's see if we can help you develop the gift, or if you are the latter, give you some help developing some of the skills that will serve you, your family and your church family.

In the past week I have been trying to think about this question of administration. But first, let's get one thing clear, I may not always refer to God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit directly, but everything I write has their involvement implied.

There are two thoughts - so far - that seem important.

1. the system you use is not as important as being consistent in your use of the system
2. you need to manage three things: time, stuff, and relationships.

So what do we mean by administration? My definition would run something like, administration is that set of skills/gifts that allow my life to operate in a way that brings me a sense of peace at the end of the day.

I'm going to stop there for now. I will be interested in receiving your comments and thoughts.

What Do I Do?

I've been a pastor for over 30 years—ouch! In that time I have needed and given three different types of care; pastoral care, mentoring and coaching. Sometimes I really mix these up and I'm not really sure it makes a lot of difference. But it is good to have some clarity at the start. If you are preparing for leadership or in the midst of it, having an understanding with those you are leading helps.

Pastoral care

I would define pastoral care as the practice of looking after a person (or group) and their spiritual, personal and social well-being. The primary responsibility of the pastor of a church is to see that this is done. Many people are membered in a church and never receive this kind of care. Unfortunately, many pastors never receive this kind of care either. One of the joys of my life, as a man, husband, father and pastor is that I have had this kind of care. My pastor would sit with me on a regular basis and love me by asking me about my finances, my relationship with my wife and kids (he also asked my wife about this occasionally, keeping me honest), my ministry/church, my physical well-being, and my personal spiritual life. After 27 years, our meetings are not as frequent but the topics are the same.

Mentoring

Mentoring is a process where a more experienced colleague is chosen to pass on a particular skill to a less experienced person (my definition). Note that this is not always "older to younger." There are times when a younger person may have a skill that someone older needs, and mentoring takes place. In our discussion mentoring could take place in the areas of preaching, writing, pastoral care, or any number of different areas. Usually this is for a limited, defined time.

Coaching

Coaching (again, my definition) is the providing of guidance, feedback, and direction in response to the one you are working with at the time. The second year I was in Brazil a friend gave me a scholarship for a ministry coach for one year. On a monthly basis we would have a one hour conversation reviewing what I was doing, giving me feedback and suggestions that were very helpful to my work in Brazil. The agendas of our meetings were established by me and he then helped me think through each item. I am still using some of the skills he passed on to me.

These three often overlap and we should not get hung up on keeping them too separate. They are all needed in our lives. I want to be mature in Christ and I want those whom I have primary care for to become mature in Christ. That is going to take more than one person, more than me. Let's rejoice when others are able to impart to those we are relating to more skills and maturity. It is one kingdom.

Feel free to add your comments, definitions and experience. Here are some questions to get the "juices" flowing.

•  How have you experienced these three methods of helping other people in your own life?
  
• Think through the people who have helped you grow. Pick one of them and explain how they imparted what they had to you.
• What was you understanding of “pastor” and how has it changed as you read through this chapter?

Strengths and Weaknesses

One of the primary issues we deal with has to do with our strengths and weakness. The “Peter Principle” states that “every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.” (The Peter Principle, Lawrence Peters, 1969) Phrasing it in my own words, we will continue to be promoted until we are unable to fulfill the needs of the last promotion. When this happens, we become frustrated, discouraged, angry, sometimes fired, and unproductive. What does this have to do with leadership in the church? Often times the same thing happens in the church. We see someone who is doing a marvelous job in a particular ministry, move them to another, perhaps more prestigious, ministry and they don’t experience the same success they had previously. Perhaps a common example is an associate pastor, youth leader or small group leader that has been very successful in their ministry and is tapped to be the Sr. Pastor. When the change takes place they do a poor job and constantly struggle with just maintaining the status quo. What happened? They stepped out of their area of giftedness and skill.

As leaders we are expected to be competent in three basic areas: dealing with people, proclamation, and production (The ability to get things done and make things happen whether numerical growth, greater financial contributions or a successful building program, for example.) Few of us, if any, are actually competent in all three areas. This lack of competency causes us to find various ways of coping with our lack: blame others, blame circumstances, avoid issues and people, keep things focused on another area so our weakness is not seen, or demonstrating a humility about our inability and doing nothing to change. This is a quick rode to major trouble in your life and in the life of those who follow you. How do we deal with this?

Recognize your call and your gifting. Yes, “you can do all things in Christ Jesus!” but it doesn’t mean you should or are able do it all. We need to know what we can do well. Where our gifting lies and what skills we have. Then we need to work within those parameters. It all comes from God. (II Cor. 3:4-5 “And such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.”) Rightly discern you gifts and talents with the help of those you trust. Jack Miller states the following spiritual laws: Only God is God; you are not God. See the problem is we have these confused, many times. If we put these laws in the right order we will find we are much more fruitful.

Do a self-evaluation. Ask the hard questions. What can I do that nobody else can do? What are my strengths? What am I good at? Where have I seen results? What do I enjoy doing? After you have answered these questions let someone else answer them for you—being sure to have an open heart to what God might be saying. Face the weaknesses others might see in you. Some of these weaknesses you can improve on with study and work. Others are more a part of who you are and you will need to work with that limitation.

One of the keys to being a good leader is to find people who can fill-in your weaknesses and work together with them. My personal conviction is that we were never meant to work alone. Churches should be led by plural leadership where men can fill-in what others are missing. Then we build a team of real strength under the guidance of God.

Where you can find ways (study, reading, classes, etc.) to improve you skills and weakness, do so. Where you cannot, acknowledge you are in over your head, have the courage to back out and move on, becoming a better leader.

Would love to hear you comments on the following questions.

• How well do you know who you are? What have you done to find out the answer to the question?
• How would you define your strengths and weakness?
• What do you need to do to discover, more fully, who you are and what you are to do?
• Finally, what is one thing you will do this week to become more acquainted with you?

LEAD CREATIVELY

As we think about leadership it becomes apparent that there are different styles of leaders/leadership. I want to offer some ideas of the different styles of leadership we can experience. Some of these overlap and you probably never use only one in a situation. Remember, we are talking about an overall style of leadership that is very different from what the business or political world shows us. We are talking about servant-leadership. Our goal is not control but release. We want to develop people is such a way that they are able to do the same for others. My "success" does not depend on my "disciples" but on their disciples. Have my disciples been able to pass on to theirs the life and style of leadership I have tried to pass on. Our life in the church is described as a body and implies that each part has a critical part to play in its life.

Some of the ways you might express your leadership follows. You will need, if you continue in leadership, to use all of them at sometime.

Hands on direct leadership: Here you accept responsibility for the task and the results. At the beginning of a training relationship this type of leadership could serve well. You've just met someone who wants to learn to be a leader. You begin by having him watch you in a specific task where you are directly responsible for the result.

Model: Perhaps this is one of the strongest training methods and one of the most dangerous. We are not perfect. We need to model our strengths as well as our weaknesses. This requires wisdom and humility. This style also requires substantial time with the trainee(s). It does not take place in a once-a-week one hour meeting. The trainee needs to see us in many various situations--and be able to talk about them later.

Partner: Here you are working together. You become an anchor or support but you do the work together, helping others develop their abilities and sharing the desired results. It is important that you don't take a "do this" approach.

Coach: You will spend time with your charges, training them in specific skills and then releasing them to use those skills in various situations without you. If you are to succeed, you will bring them back in, talk about the results and any challenges, re-teach some skills, and send them back out again.

Teach: This, perhaps, is the most abused style (along with the direct leadership). Leaders often think that their only responsibility is to present their "vast" wealth of information and then they are finished. There is a time for teaching and it is an important, necessary gift and style. But it is best used along with some of the other styles and rarely by itself. You may have a gifted teacher who speaks to your charges but you need to work with what they have learned and challenge them to apply the new knowledge so it becomes more than just information.

Advice: This should be used as doors open for the same. Giving advice when it is not asked for (please note that this does not mean a direct question but an openness to hear) can create a gulf between you and your charges. Listening and responding at the right time is critical skill to learning.

Counsel: Some may come alongside of you and need help in relating some theory to practice. They may need help in clarifying some things God is saying to them and ask for your counsel. Remember you are not God and what you can give them only comes from your life and understanding of God (limited).

Facilitate: This type of leadership is indispensable. This leader may draw up an agenda and help a group work through the agenda. Or he may just be asked to do the same from someone else’s agenda. He may lead a small group of people who have a common task and he helps to see it through to the end. This means giving up your personal agenda and beginning to work with a group in a creative process, as a servant. Often the most difficult part of this style of leadership is, not talking. Let others do it.

Observe: Hopefully as you work with your trainees you will take time to watch them in their service. Often, I would rather be part of a service and observe what is going on if I am responsible for the leader. It is a difficult position because when the "big guy" comes in they want him to teach or minister. We need to be in these meetings as members if we are going to observe our charges at work. Take time afterward to use some of the other styles to continue working with the leader.

We are called to be leader-equippers-servant. Never are we the end. We want to lead in such a way that those we lead will quickly be leading others in a way that they too will be leading others. Sometimes we need to get over ourselves and realized that Jesus is most important and we are all his body.

TO GET YOU STARTED ON COMMENTS

• What is your favorite or most used leadership style?
• What style have you been under the most?
• What do you need to do to become a better leader-equipper-servant?
• What can you do this week to move in this direction?

THE FOUNDATION

Before we look at becoming leaders we ought to do some study on what a leader is and does. The world — business, political, church, and society — has many different types of leaders. Because we are focused on the Christian church we need to be looking at only one leader to find the foundation for what we are about. His name was Jesus. The Bible contains many references to him and we want to look at these before we begin looking at ourselves. As you work through this book some of these “pictures” will be repeated.

In Psalm 23 we find a description of a shepherd from the Old Testament. As we look at this Psalm we find that the Chief Shepherd has some responsibilities.

Psalms 23:1-6 ( NIV )
1The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,£
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

The shepherd here gives the sheep security, provision, rest/restoration, leadership, and protection. The shepherd provides an environment that is safe but not challenging. In all of his care for the sheep, the sheep still go through the “valley of the shadow of death,” they still experience discipline (“your rod and your staff comfort me”). They are found “in the presence of their enemies.”

The key for us is the love that the shepherd has for his sheep. Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are his sheep. The pastoral scene of the shepherd and his sheep is reflected in many places in the New Testament (Mt 25:32; Mk 14:27; Jn 10:11)

In Peter 5:1-5 the shepherd motif continues.

1 Peter 5:1-5 ( ESV )
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,£ not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;£ not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Peter is addressing the “elders” in the church. These are the primary leaders of the local congregation. (We will speak of them later.) Peter uses the image of the shepherd to pass on instruction to the elders of the church. Function as a shepherd. Do this willingly and watch out for them, which means not to focus on them but to keep your eyes moving around them to protect them from the enemy. This is done by example and not forcefully.

Now he gives instructions to younger “shepherds” and tells them to be humble toward one another. We, as youngers, are to submit to the shepherds over us. (not blind obedience as we will see later.) It is interesting here that we are both the sheep and the shepherd, depending on our relationship with another person.

Again in John 10: 11-18 we find more information about what it means to be a shepherd in the church (a leader by any other name).

John 10:11-18 ( ESV )
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

This passage of God’s Word starts out pretty extreme. Yes, it is referring to Jesus but there is a model that is found here for leaders in general. The sheep are most important. He knows them by name and he cares for them. Leadership (shepherding) is not something that can be done from some ivory tower. We need to know our sheep—those we are responsible for and for whom we care.
The early church used the term sheepdogs to refer to church pastors. This did honor to the Lord as shepherd and the “sheepdogs” as his servants. We certainly need to understand that we are not the CHIEF Shepherd or the Lord or God. Our task though is not quite the same as a sheepdogs. We are undershepherds. Leaders who take our authority and service from the Chief Shepherd. We must always remember that each person we care for only has one God and he is not us. The thing that using “sheepdog” does is keep us humble. It helps us to keep our eyes on the true shepherd and to point our “sheep” to the true shepherd.

As we finish this chapter we need to understand that some of us are called to be pastors in a more formal or traditional way according to our gifting. That does not mean that the rest of us don’t have a responsibility to care for each other. As we read through the New Testament we find over and over the term “one another.” Regardless of your position God has called you and me to care for each other.

BEGINNING

When considering the subject of leadership, several truths come to mind. First, we can never get far from our personality . Furthermore, a leader needs to have character—not simply be a character, though the two are not mutually exclusive. One who leads needs a certain amount of skill in working with people and communication. Also, since the leadership we are considering is primarily leadership in the context of the Christian church, a leader needs a growing understanding of the Scriptures.

When we speak of character we speak of “the inherent complex of attributes that determines a person’s moral and ethical actions and reactions.” Or, to put it more simply, as John Warfin says in the film Buckaroo Bonsai, “Character is what you are in the dark.” When no one can see you, applaud you, correct you, or encourage you, your character determines what you do. Ask yourself, "If there were no one there to punish me or correct me, or award me, what would I do?" Developing good character is a crucial step in the development of good leaders. Thankfully, character can be built.

Ability to work with people and skills in communication are also invaluable in the social network we call “church.” How we talk, the tone we use, the questions we ask, and the way we listen are all part of these skills. These skills can be learned if one is willing to put in the effort required.

Understanding Scripture is a life-long pursuit. If one is to become a leader in the Christian church, this has to be a primary pursuit. Formal education is not required; however, some type of structured, intentional, and accountable learning process is necessary. We run into many problems when we fail to learn from the great saints of old – and not so old. We believe that the Scriptures are plain and understandable in matters of salvation and yet, the personal interpretation of portions of the Scriptures have sometimes allowed too many leaders to fail personally, and worse, to lead astray many of those under their leadership and teaching.

Along with continual study of the Scriptures, familiarizing yourself with some of the available Christian theology books will be helpful. Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem is a challenging tome that brings in various theological views. I enjoyed
H. Orton Wiley’s Christian Theology while I was in seminary. There are others.



For your Journal

• Explain the difference between PERSONALITY and CHARACTER.
• What traits make up your personality?
• What PEOPLE SKILLS or COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS have you found compelling in other leaders that you know?
• What skills are you already aware of that need work?