From Little League and Pop Warner to the Fortune 500 and beyond, coaching as a paradigm has swept in from ballfields to board rooms. I would say that if you searched 'coaching,' you would find everything from life coaches to death coaches. Coaching is practically an overused term
But the paradigm is here to stay. Here's the rub, though - who wants to be coached? A major leaguer in a slump needs a batting coach, to tweak his swing (or most likely, take the tweaks out, and replace the way the player has tried to compensate for the lack of hits with a better, purer habit) Major leaguers need coaching, but do other people. Leaders? Pastors??
In order to prepare to receive coaching, there are few things we must do.
First, admit your need. This can be the hardest part. Most Type-A people don't stop long enough to reflect on anything.
Second, be a F-A-T person. Be faithful, available and teachable. Recognize while you may know many things, you truly do not know everything. A good coach recognizes that too, but the second set of eyes on business rules, organizational regularities, processes and procedures may give you insight that is right there, but not immediately seen by staff or leadership.
Third, realize that coaching is a life-long process. Whether it be nutritional counseling, personal fitness training, or spiritual direction, coaching is for every area of life, and there is a coach for every season.
Would you like to explore coaching for your church leadership group, or yourself. Connect with me via berachahleadership@gmail.com and we can customize a coaching plan for you and leadership team to make more, and emotionally healthier disciples of Jesus Christ.
Be blessed!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
An Excerpt from my new friend, Jim Seybert
Facebook, Twitter and MySpace Growth
June 15th, 2009 by Jim Seybert
Inside Facebook is reporting a milestone reached by the social network in May 2009 - that’s when the number of unique US users on Facebook exceeded unique US users on MySpace. The margin was small, but to paraphrase Aristotle, “a win is a win.”
The Internet measuring site comSCORE pegged Facebook’s unique US users at 70.28 million in May 2009 with MySpace at 70.26 million for the same period. What’s probably more telling is the rate of growth - Facebook gained 97% between May 2008 and May 2009. The number of MySpace unique sites declined by 5% during the year.
And you certainly shouldn’t be surprised to learn that Twitter grew nearly 2700% from May to May - from just over 600,000 users to a whopping 17.5 million in 12 months. (Nearly everyone I know who is now using Twitter was not using Twitter at this time last year - including me).
One of my first Strategy Retreats (in February 2002) included a short segment where I helped an executive team think through how they might use email to supplement their marketing efforts. The agenda for an upcoming retreat includes a half day focusing solely on taking Facebook and Twitter “to the next level.”
The futurist in me is dying to know what we’ll be talking about this time next year?
Me: I just found a treasure trove of Twitter secrets, email
berachahleadership@gmail.com and I’ll send it to you.
Friday, June 19, 2009
From Church Leaders Intelligence Report
 |
|
 |
|
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Are you looking for a good church?
Are you called to plant a church?
Calling is a personal issue; discerning God’s will is the big deal here. Leadership begins with the leader and church planting begins with the leader.
There are unhealthy reasons to start a church:
1- To desire to plant a big church: Leighton Ford, and his generation went into parachurch to fulfill their Kingdom ambition;
2- Be wary of an unhealthy desire for size and achievement;
3- All of the authors are pastors and church planters---gets into the psyche (ego)
4- To be the next hero or celebrity….size, media, books, etc.
5- You just like the style of the church/ method; just want to have the freedom.
6- There is a difference between reaching the lost, and operating in a style you enjoy
7- To leave or escape a transition, or a failed attempt; starting a new church is the way around failure
8- Wanting to create a dream job, in a dream location, in a dream: means to an end for self, instead of doing selfish things for selfish reasons…creating my own Disney World
[Beginning: church planting is apostolic, structure grows over time, and by-laws are not even applicable until the second year of growth]
NOTE: Have structure planned at front end
Spiritual Gifts
Either alone / in team—for any seeker-targeted church
Vision
Resources all are needed
Motivation
Spiritual Gifts
Romans 12
1 Cor 12 listings are indicative, not definitive—the Spirit is not limited
Eph 4:11f.
1 Peter 2
Four essential gifts that are essential in the planter or in the team
1. (Creative) Communication: the point communicator MUST be engifted with communication Get consensus from a wide variety of sources as to the efficacy of your communication.
Small churches are small for a reason; usually the gift-mix is not in the leader; can be coached to the next level, if the gift exists; passion for communication for the gift of communication
2. Gift of evangelism: desire to reach the lost is different from the gift of evangelism; not personal evangelism, but mass evangelism—Billy Graham; specialist in wide-area evangelism. Specialization: curricular evangelism, personal, etc. Mass evangelization - ability to spread the widest net possible
3. Leadership: most leadership intensive; cast vision, impart cooperation; non-profit leadership is based on the altruism of others; strong catalytic leader is needed; Romans 12; spiritual gift of leadership, more dynamic than a strong personality,
4. Chemistry: There must be excellent chemistry on the team. That chemistry is created by koinonia, and protected by the team.
What kind of church are you called to plant?
Seeker-targeted is the default kind of church that is planted: not a style or a strategy, but it is a value. There are five choices:
1. Seeker-hostile: This is a seeker culture in America, right now. Illustration: “you’re not our type”
Dress, politics, worship service, rhetoric in preaching, music, modes of fellowship
[Looking at the Gospels, Jesus was able to speak uncompromised truth, and still was invited to everybody’s party]
2. Seeker-indifferent: Not thinking about seekers at all; seekers are not on the radar screen, don’t think of any other growth is transfer growth; evangelical are so good at being shielded that there is no other life; Christian cliques and holy huddles insulate one from the wider culture
3. Seeker-hopeful: Nothing concrete was done to guide the seekers in their decision-making process: very high on rhetoric, very low on reality. No intentional planning
4. Seeker-sensitive: clear changes in behavior, clear adjustment in contemporary forms, but the front-door client is still the believer. Announcements, Lord’s Supper, lingo, sermon topics are fitted to the believer (contemporary model)
Front-end customer is the transfer-growth of believers…..
5. Seeker-targeted: the mission is to turn irreligious people into serious followers of Jesus Christ. Main, front door, web page, direct mail, is directed to the outreach pattern of the newcomers. Starting points are where seekers are; orientation, value, results in intentional behaviors and changes to attract and keep seekers [as opposed to being seeker-driven]
Here is a "No man’s land" for planters: you think you are targeting the seekers, but don’t go all the way, but don’t go all the way in the entry points that reach believers. Until you know who is not going to like your church, you have not sharpened up who you are reaching. [Laser-beam vs. shotgun]
Audience is determined by the point communicator. If your vision is to be seeker-targeted, be that way. Be strategic. Assimilation must occur before discipleship begins….
Two foundational ministries for churches: CHILDREN and ARTS!
If you are seeker-sensitive, know that some front-door elements will be for believers!
These are not styles, but orientations…..
Context: Jerusalem, Mars Hill, Antioch, Ephesus, etc.
There is a greater experiential element in the culture, now than ever before. Does authentic worship touch the seeker? Yes, remembering the size, dynamics, culture, psychographics, etc.
Strategy doesn’t eliminate, but reprioritizes them at different times.
Most ministries have separated Evangelization and Edification. For example, weekend seeker services, mid-week New Community believers’ service.
The natural way for the depraved church is to move from mission and to the maintenance of need-fulfillment of believers. Disproportionate amount of time needs to be spent on evangelism…..mission must return in order for church to be real church:
Believers with a breaking heart about lost people
Sharing Christ, turning conversations around to spiritual things
Making invitations to individuals to a life-changing encounter with Christ.
Seekers seek a congregation from a consumer perspective; seekers questions and believers’ questions are growing more similar
Seekers want to experience before they believe.
You cannot plant a church until you understand your culture…how do you exegete a culture
What are the top radio stations?
Education level by strata (more important than income)
Blue collar/ White collar
Age
Married? Kids? Number of kids?
Vertical needs:
What is a spiritual life?
Nature of God
Apologetics
Ask the questions of your target group, then give them God: Raw and uncut
Horizontal needs:
Marriage
Parenting
Family
Self-esteem
Meaning of life
Listen to the hearts, then create an environment for life in at least one of these areas.
1950’s [___________________________________________________] Xianity
1 8 10
Acceptance of the deity of X
Basic knowledge
Built in sense of guilt and conviction
Understood role of membership
[____________________________________________________] Church
1 8
Understood moral value of the church
Outreaches
Revivals
Sunday school
Door-to-door
Bus ministry
Mid-1970-
Late 1980’s [______________________________________________] Xianity
1 8
Same understandings, but different praxis:
[_______________________________________________________] Church
1 3
Door-to-door was unlawful
Revivals /no longer amusement: church was no longer center of community
Sunday school: not a beginning for unchurched, small group meetings were in SBC, decline since 1971
Churches that grew (Willow Creek, Saddleback, and First Baptist Church in Houston) do certain things
R1--reason, approach to evangelism was a reasonable, critical to process in order to decide
R2--relevance, outline to use on Monday, preaching with life application, contemporary music, printing; décor was related to the culture of the day.
R3--real: turn off was hypocrisy, televangelist scandal, wanted authentic community, to connect with people; people born in 1963-1977 have no memory of the gospel, struggle with incarnation of Christ, vast majority do not believe in absolute truth, no confidence in truth or authority of the Bible, no idea of John 3:16, (must be a Web site), complete repudiation of the gospel, new unpardonable sin is saying that anything is a sin.
[___________________________________________________________] Xianity
1 3
[___________________________________________________________] Church
1 3
“The Great Divorce” ---it is the separation of religious experience, and the particular claims of a particular faith tradition.
Seekers are
Not interested in church
Not having time
Not a value
Shift: We are no longer preaching to Jews in Jerusalem; we are now talking with Pagans at Mars Hill.
[__________________________________________________________] Spirituality
1 8
Enormous spiritual interest: prayer of Jabez, DaVinci Code, Purpose-Driven Life
Spirituality, yes: church, no. Christianity, maybe.
Today’s people are mystics…..link the 3 R’s with the 3 E’s Leonard Sweet calls them "soul artists."
E1--Explanation: we need to help people to understand, before reason 50’s, 80’s facts,
o 00’s introduction to truth; “this is a Bible”----must talk to a truth source, not from a truth source
o 50’s “Does God exist”….
o 00’s “What kind of God are we talking about?”) old school apologetics ---reason
E2--Experience: encounter with the divine, sacred acts that brings feeling of spiritual---
o People need to belong before they believe, 80-90’s people believed their way into feelings, 00’s people feel their way into believing. ----
o no theological framework,
o no worldview to guide them into to good things;
o need classic frameworks of spiritual disciplines,
o Interest in the ancient, there is a thin line, need mix of new and ancient, wanted to touch the transcendent. Watch the culture, size, group dynamics…….50- 80/ 500-800 smaller
o the group is everything! Norms are established communally.
E3--Example: the effective churches of the 90’s worked very hard to appear real, now it is time to be real
o Relational examples of transformed life must be seen; the skepticism about the counter-culture must be disproven by real Christianity.
o Truth reigns supreme…..this doubt is applied across the entire culture….this is prime time for cults, because can see a true faith (in the wrong things)…..***people need to see good news, before they hear good news---
There is an evangelical sub-culture in which the church orbits, and has no knowledge of the needs and pain of unchurched people….we've got to jettison that.
Culture is flattening at an amazing pace: clothing, art, music, and lingo: the cultural Icons are worldwide---dissemination is immediate and global—Education, judicial systems, and media: values are communicated, so that cultural distinctives are less apparent.
Goal: a cybernetic, QI, systems approach to strategy, staying ahead of the curve, providing cultural environments that provide communities for nurturance, constantly responding to culture, doing evangelism, ministry, worship, training—becoming a loving and learning community….
Tradition is not orthodoxy, and the method is not the message.
The emerging church is not wed to the strategy, but to the VALUES
If you would like discover whether you are church planter or belong on a church planting team, email me at berachahleadership@gmail.com
Calling is a personal issue; discerning God’s will is the big deal here. Leadership begins with the leader and church planting begins with the leader.
There are unhealthy reasons to start a church:
1- To desire to plant a big church: Leighton Ford, and his generation went into parachurch to fulfill their Kingdom ambition;
2- Be wary of an unhealthy desire for size and achievement;
3- All of the authors are pastors and church planters---gets into the psyche (ego)
4- To be the next hero or celebrity….size, media, books, etc.
5- You just like the style of the church/ method; just want to have the freedom.
6- There is a difference between reaching the lost, and operating in a style you enjoy
7- To leave or escape a transition, or a failed attempt; starting a new church is the way around failure
8- Wanting to create a dream job, in a dream location, in a dream: means to an end for self, instead of doing selfish things for selfish reasons…creating my own Disney World
[Beginning: church planting is apostolic, structure grows over time, and by-laws are not even applicable until the second year of growth]
NOTE: Have structure planned at front end
Spiritual Gifts
Either alone / in team—for any seeker-targeted church
Vision
Resources all are needed
Motivation
Spiritual Gifts
Romans 12
1 Cor 12 listings are indicative, not definitive—the Spirit is not limited
Eph 4:11f.
1 Peter 2
Four essential gifts that are essential in the planter or in the team
1. (Creative) Communication: the point communicator MUST be engifted with communication Get consensus from a wide variety of sources as to the efficacy of your communication.
Small churches are small for a reason; usually the gift-mix is not in the leader; can be coached to the next level, if the gift exists; passion for communication for the gift of communication
2. Gift of evangelism: desire to reach the lost is different from the gift of evangelism; not personal evangelism, but mass evangelism—Billy Graham; specialist in wide-area evangelism. Specialization: curricular evangelism, personal, etc. Mass evangelization - ability to spread the widest net possible
3. Leadership: most leadership intensive; cast vision, impart cooperation; non-profit leadership is based on the altruism of others; strong catalytic leader is needed; Romans 12; spiritual gift of leadership, more dynamic than a strong personality,
4. Chemistry: There must be excellent chemistry on the team. That chemistry is created by koinonia, and protected by the team.
What kind of church are you called to plant?
Seeker-targeted is the default kind of church that is planted: not a style or a strategy, but it is a value. There are five choices:
1. Seeker-hostile: This is a seeker culture in America, right now. Illustration: “you’re not our type”
Dress, politics, worship service, rhetoric in preaching, music, modes of fellowship
[Looking at the Gospels, Jesus was able to speak uncompromised truth, and still was invited to everybody’s party]
2. Seeker-indifferent: Not thinking about seekers at all; seekers are not on the radar screen, don’t think of any other growth is transfer growth; evangelical are so good at being shielded that there is no other life; Christian cliques and holy huddles insulate one from the wider culture
3. Seeker-hopeful: Nothing concrete was done to guide the seekers in their decision-making process: very high on rhetoric, very low on reality. No intentional planning
4. Seeker-sensitive: clear changes in behavior, clear adjustment in contemporary forms, but the front-door client is still the believer. Announcements, Lord’s Supper, lingo, sermon topics are fitted to the believer (contemporary model)
Front-end customer is the transfer-growth of believers…..
5. Seeker-targeted: the mission is to turn irreligious people into serious followers of Jesus Christ. Main, front door, web page, direct mail, is directed to the outreach pattern of the newcomers. Starting points are where seekers are; orientation, value, results in intentional behaviors and changes to attract and keep seekers [as opposed to being seeker-driven]
Here is a "No man’s land" for planters: you think you are targeting the seekers, but don’t go all the way, but don’t go all the way in the entry points that reach believers. Until you know who is not going to like your church, you have not sharpened up who you are reaching. [Laser-beam vs. shotgun]
Audience is determined by the point communicator. If your vision is to be seeker-targeted, be that way. Be strategic. Assimilation must occur before discipleship begins….
Two foundational ministries for churches: CHILDREN and ARTS!
If you are seeker-sensitive, know that some front-door elements will be for believers!
These are not styles, but orientations…..
Context: Jerusalem, Mars Hill, Antioch, Ephesus, etc.
There is a greater experiential element in the culture, now than ever before. Does authentic worship touch the seeker? Yes, remembering the size, dynamics, culture, psychographics, etc.
Strategy doesn’t eliminate, but reprioritizes them at different times.
Most ministries have separated Evangelization and Edification. For example, weekend seeker services, mid-week New Community believers’ service.
The natural way for the depraved church is to move from mission and to the maintenance of need-fulfillment of believers. Disproportionate amount of time needs to be spent on evangelism…..mission must return in order for church to be real church:
Believers with a breaking heart about lost people
Sharing Christ, turning conversations around to spiritual things
Making invitations to individuals to a life-changing encounter with Christ.
Seekers seek a congregation from a consumer perspective; seekers questions and believers’ questions are growing more similar
Seekers want to experience before they believe.
You cannot plant a church until you understand your culture…how do you exegete a culture
What are the top radio stations?
Education level by strata (more important than income)
Blue collar/ White collar
Age
Married? Kids? Number of kids?
Vertical needs:
What is a spiritual life?
Nature of God
Apologetics
Ask the questions of your target group, then give them God: Raw and uncut
Horizontal needs:
Marriage
Parenting
Family
Self-esteem
Meaning of life
Listen to the hearts, then create an environment for life in at least one of these areas.
1950’s [___________________________________________________] Xianity
1 8 10
Acceptance of the deity of X
Basic knowledge
Built in sense of guilt and conviction
Understood role of membership
[____________________________________________________] Church
1 8
Understood moral value of the church
Outreaches
Revivals
Sunday school
Door-to-door
Bus ministry
Mid-1970-
Late 1980’s [______________________________________________] Xianity
1 8
Same understandings, but different praxis:
[_______________________________________________________] Church
1 3
Door-to-door was unlawful
Revivals /no longer amusement: church was no longer center of community
Sunday school: not a beginning for unchurched, small group meetings were in SBC, decline since 1971
Churches that grew (Willow Creek, Saddleback, and First Baptist Church in Houston) do certain things
R1--reason, approach to evangelism was a reasonable, critical to process in order to decide
R2--relevance, outline to use on Monday, preaching with life application, contemporary music, printing; décor was related to the culture of the day.
R3--real: turn off was hypocrisy, televangelist scandal, wanted authentic community, to connect with people; people born in 1963-1977 have no memory of the gospel, struggle with incarnation of Christ, vast majority do not believe in absolute truth, no confidence in truth or authority of the Bible, no idea of John 3:16, (must be a Web site), complete repudiation of the gospel, new unpardonable sin is saying that anything is a sin.
[___________________________________________________________] Xianity
1 3
[___________________________________________________________] Church
1 3
“The Great Divorce” ---it is the separation of religious experience, and the particular claims of a particular faith tradition.
Seekers are
Not interested in church
Not having time
Not a value
Shift: We are no longer preaching to Jews in Jerusalem; we are now talking with Pagans at Mars Hill.
[__________________________________________________________] Spirituality
1 8
Enormous spiritual interest: prayer of Jabez, DaVinci Code, Purpose-Driven Life
Spirituality, yes: church, no. Christianity, maybe.
Today’s people are mystics…..link the 3 R’s with the 3 E’s Leonard Sweet calls them "soul artists."
E1--Explanation: we need to help people to understand, before reason 50’s, 80’s facts,
o 00’s introduction to truth; “this is a Bible”----must talk to a truth source, not from a truth source
o 50’s “Does God exist”….
o 00’s “What kind of God are we talking about?”) old school apologetics ---reason
E2--Experience: encounter with the divine, sacred acts that brings feeling of spiritual---
o People need to belong before they believe, 80-90’s people believed their way into feelings, 00’s people feel their way into believing. ----
o no theological framework,
o no worldview to guide them into to good things;
o need classic frameworks of spiritual disciplines,
o Interest in the ancient, there is a thin line, need mix of new and ancient, wanted to touch the transcendent. Watch the culture, size, group dynamics…….50- 80/ 500-800 smaller
o the group is everything! Norms are established communally.
E3--Example: the effective churches of the 90’s worked very hard to appear real, now it is time to be real
o Relational examples of transformed life must be seen; the skepticism about the counter-culture must be disproven by real Christianity.
o Truth reigns supreme…..this doubt is applied across the entire culture….this is prime time for cults, because can see a true faith (in the wrong things)…..***people need to see good news, before they hear good news---
There is an evangelical sub-culture in which the church orbits, and has no knowledge of the needs and pain of unchurched people….we've got to jettison that.
Culture is flattening at an amazing pace: clothing, art, music, and lingo: the cultural Icons are worldwide---dissemination is immediate and global—Education, judicial systems, and media: values are communicated, so that cultural distinctives are less apparent.
Goal: a cybernetic, QI, systems approach to strategy, staying ahead of the curve, providing cultural environments that provide communities for nurturance, constantly responding to culture, doing evangelism, ministry, worship, training—becoming a loving and learning community….
Tradition is not orthodoxy, and the method is not the message.
The emerging church is not wed to the strategy, but to the VALUES
If you would like discover whether you are church planter or belong on a church planting team, email me at berachahleadership@gmail.com
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Reprint: Safety 101
Safety 101
A church leader's guide to risk management
Developing a comprehensive risk management plan for your church starts with assessing the risks in each key area of ministry.
When a child custody dispute erupted after a nursery school graduation ceremony at the Grabill Missionary Church in Grabill, Indiana, teachers at the school were caught squarely between the battling parents. "At the time, we didn't have a clear policy in place," Pastor David Sjoberg said, "and our staff even disagreed among themselves how to handle the situation."
In the wake of that incident, church leaders realized that they needed to develop more comprehensive risk management policies. "We want to make our church the safest place we possibly can for the children in our care," Sjoberg explained.
Like an increasing number of churches, Grabill Missionary sees the need to take steps to prevent problems before they happen—the very essence of risk management. Many churches, like Grabill Missionary, are working on comprehensive risk management plans that thoughtfully consider and address the exposures involved in their ministries.
Developing a Plan
Even when church leaders recognize the value of developing a risk management plan, it's sometimes difficult to know where to start. Your first challenge is finding the right person to oversee the responsibility. Then, you need to decide which area of ministry to tackle first. Trying to address every aspect of your ministry at once could be overwhelming and discouraging. Once you have implemented risk control measures in one area, you'll be able to build on that success to make changes elsewhere.
Choose good people. Recruiting the right people to develop the plan is key, says Matthew Greene, southern regional manager for Brotherhood Mutual. Create one or more committees of people who understand and value risk management. Include professionals in areas you intend to address, such an accountant for financial issues and a builder for structural ones. Most importantly, Greene says, "put someone in charge who is invested with enough authority to make things happen."
Take small steps.
To make it more manageable, break the process of developing a risk management plan into several "bite-size" steps. First, focus on the areas most central to your ministry, suggests Jehu Brabham, business administrator of Parkway Baptist Church in Clinton, Mississippi. For his church, this meant starting with children's activities and transportation.
Identify risks. Then, look at all the possible risks in those areas, asking yourself: "What's the worst thing that could happen?" In the children's area, you might ask if a non custodial parent could kidnap a child or if the nursery wing could catch fire. Assess the probability of each risk and what you can do to reduce or eliminate it. (See "Six Steps to Reducing Risk")
Use available resources.
"Remember that you don't have to reinvent the wheel," Brabham said. "There are many places to find help with risk management strategies." He picked up ideas from reading church-oriented magazines, talking with other church business administrators, and conferring with his insurer's loss control experts.
At Brookside Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Executive Pastor Rocky Rocholl found that his membership in the National Association of Church Business Administrators was a valuable source of information about risk management. He also found help within his congregation. "We've been fortunate in having a number of insurance professionals among our members, and we've tapped their knowledge in identifying risks and finding ways to address them," he said. "Risk management has been in our DNA from the start."
Implementing the Plan
Once the plan is developed and approved, communication is critical. Church leaders should share relevant parts of the plan with key employees and volunteers and make sure they get periodic training, Rocholl emphasized. At Brookside, training usually occurs quarterly. It also occurs as new volunteers are screened and selected.
Brookside Church's risk management plan covers 13 different areas, from human resources to preventive maintenance and emergency response guidelines, said Rocholl. Each component of the plan (e.g., childcare) is developed by the director or minister for that particular area, working with his or her staff and volunteers. The plan must be approved first by the entire staff and then by the church's Leadership Council before being implemented.
The rollout of a new plan may upset some church members. When Parkway Baptist introduced extensive new screening policies for childcare and youth workers, some longtime volunteers questioned whether the policies went too far. Brabham explained that the policies were developed with one thing in mind—protecting the church's children. He reminded volunteers that screening them would allow the church to stand behind each of them with full confidence, and he said the grumbling slowly gave way to understanding.
Following Through
Once completed, a risk management plan shouldn't just end up as a document that gathers dust on a bookshelf, Greene said. "It really needs to be an all-encompassing, proactive approach," he explained. "We keep seeing new types of risks all the time, so you need a plan that's updated fairly often."
For churches like Grabill Missionary that are just starting to develop a plan, Greene offers encouragement. "Ultimately, having an ongoing risk management plan is one of the best investments a church can make," Greene said. "By spending a little time up front and thinking through their risks, church leaders can effectively protect their ministry and keep it moving forward."
Adapted from Volume 18, Issue 3, of The Deacon's Bench. View a printable version (PDF 881k) of this issue.
A church leader's guide to risk management
Developing a comprehensive risk management plan for your church starts with assessing the risks in each key area of ministry.
When a child custody dispute erupted after a nursery school graduation ceremony at the Grabill Missionary Church in Grabill, Indiana, teachers at the school were caught squarely between the battling parents. "At the time, we didn't have a clear policy in place," Pastor David Sjoberg said, "and our staff even disagreed among themselves how to handle the situation."
In the wake of that incident, church leaders realized that they needed to develop more comprehensive risk management policies. "We want to make our church the safest place we possibly can for the children in our care," Sjoberg explained.
Like an increasing number of churches, Grabill Missionary sees the need to take steps to prevent problems before they happen—the very essence of risk management. Many churches, like Grabill Missionary, are working on comprehensive risk management plans that thoughtfully consider and address the exposures involved in their ministries.
Developing a Plan
Even when church leaders recognize the value of developing a risk management plan, it's sometimes difficult to know where to start. Your first challenge is finding the right person to oversee the responsibility. Then, you need to decide which area of ministry to tackle first. Trying to address every aspect of your ministry at once could be overwhelming and discouraging. Once you have implemented risk control measures in one area, you'll be able to build on that success to make changes elsewhere.
Choose good people. Recruiting the right people to develop the plan is key, says Matthew Greene, southern regional manager for Brotherhood Mutual. Create one or more committees of people who understand and value risk management. Include professionals in areas you intend to address, such an accountant for financial issues and a builder for structural ones. Most importantly, Greene says, "put someone in charge who is invested with enough authority to make things happen."
Take small steps.
To make it more manageable, break the process of developing a risk management plan into several "bite-size" steps. First, focus on the areas most central to your ministry, suggests Jehu Brabham, business administrator of Parkway Baptist Church in Clinton, Mississippi. For his church, this meant starting with children's activities and transportation.
Identify risks. Then, look at all the possible risks in those areas, asking yourself: "What's the worst thing that could happen?" In the children's area, you might ask if a non custodial parent could kidnap a child or if the nursery wing could catch fire. Assess the probability of each risk and what you can do to reduce or eliminate it. (See "Six Steps to Reducing Risk")
Use available resources.
"Remember that you don't have to reinvent the wheel," Brabham said. "There are many places to find help with risk management strategies." He picked up ideas from reading church-oriented magazines, talking with other church business administrators, and conferring with his insurer's loss control experts.
At Brookside Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Executive Pastor Rocky Rocholl found that his membership in the National Association of Church Business Administrators was a valuable source of information about risk management. He also found help within his congregation. "We've been fortunate in having a number of insurance professionals among our members, and we've tapped their knowledge in identifying risks and finding ways to address them," he said. "Risk management has been in our DNA from the start."
Implementing the Plan
Once the plan is developed and approved, communication is critical. Church leaders should share relevant parts of the plan with key employees and volunteers and make sure they get periodic training, Rocholl emphasized. At Brookside, training usually occurs quarterly. It also occurs as new volunteers are screened and selected.
Brookside Church's risk management plan covers 13 different areas, from human resources to preventive maintenance and emergency response guidelines, said Rocholl. Each component of the plan (e.g., childcare) is developed by the director or minister for that particular area, working with his or her staff and volunteers. The plan must be approved first by the entire staff and then by the church's Leadership Council before being implemented.
The rollout of a new plan may upset some church members. When Parkway Baptist introduced extensive new screening policies for childcare and youth workers, some longtime volunteers questioned whether the policies went too far. Brabham explained that the policies were developed with one thing in mind—protecting the church's children. He reminded volunteers that screening them would allow the church to stand behind each of them with full confidence, and he said the grumbling slowly gave way to understanding.
Following Through
Once completed, a risk management plan shouldn't just end up as a document that gathers dust on a bookshelf, Greene said. "It really needs to be an all-encompassing, proactive approach," he explained. "We keep seeing new types of risks all the time, so you need a plan that's updated fairly often."
For churches like Grabill Missionary that are just starting to develop a plan, Greene offers encouragement. "Ultimately, having an ongoing risk management plan is one of the best investments a church can make," Greene said. "By spending a little time up front and thinking through their risks, church leaders can effectively protect their ministry and keep it moving forward."
Adapted from Volume 18, Issue 3, of The Deacon's Bench. View a printable version (PDF 881k) of this issue.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
How to Draw the Best Out of Your Team - Church Leaders Intelligence Report
How to Draw the Best Out of Your Team
Steven Liparoto, in his leadership guide, "How to Draw the Best Out of Your People" offers the six leadership practices that make the most of your team members.
-
Lead Yourself. Self-discipline must be "job one" if you are to draw out the best in others. Know your natural talents, your limits, your goals and values.
-
Know Your People. Discover what each person is best at and capitalize on those gifts, talents and abilities. Do not attempt to "fix" their weaknesses but find ways to manage around them.
-
Build Trust With Them. Building trusting relationships with your team members will encourage full commitment from them. An absence of trust leads to a fear of conflict, avoidance of accountability and eventual inattention to results.
-
Coach Them. Provide the resources, encouragement, guidance and correction needed so your people can excel and achieve winning results. Address the needs of the whole person: heart, body, mind and spirit.
-
Release Them. Continual checking up on your team members warns of a lack of trust and damages your credibility. When you permit your team members to function autonomously with less over-the-shoulder monitoring, they are "released" to exercise their own judgment about achieving results. This freedom creates a sense of ownership, accomplishment and responsibility. Define your goals and results clearly, then be approachable and recognize positive contributions.
-
Have Fun With Them. Intentionally create a satisfying, joy-filled workplace by playing fair, encouraging friendships, offering challenging work, and reminding the team that the work is worthwhile. When you give people the opportunity to get together and laugh, it creates a strong sense of camaraderie, solidarity and team orientation.
Excerpted from Steve Liparato, "How To Draw the Best Out of Your People" Leadership Guide
Adapted from Mark Sanborn, "Why Leaders Fail" Leadership Wired, 08/08.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Minister's Life
I have heard it said that nothing is more important in ministry than the life of the minister. I've been reading of late about the minister's life, and like most lives, it is a morass of emotions, dreams, desires and disappointments. Really, the goal of life is life, right. And smack-dab in the middle of life and ministry, stuff happens. Death and taxes, and a review from the district superintendent!
It's all good, but there is another factor - I call it the superman factor. The minister is never to show these facets of humanness to "real" people, except for the occasional (and I mean, occasional) personal sermon illustration. Always smiling, always speaking with "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs," the minister never lets one emotion through the tough pastoral INFP veneer (that was you Myers-Briggs fans!)
So, who do you confess to? To whom do you turn who serves as community to you? I hope you have someone. I pray that you find someone - a trusted counselor, a minister in another community, in another denomination to serve as spiritual director, a soul friend.
At Berachah Leadership Coaching, there are those who can serve as that soul friend. Drop a line at berachahleadership@gmail.com
be blessed!
sp
It's all good, but there is another factor - I call it the superman factor. The minister is never to show these facets of humanness to "real" people, except for the occasional (and I mean, occasional) personal sermon illustration. Always smiling, always speaking with "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs," the minister never lets one emotion through the tough pastoral INFP veneer (that was you Myers-Briggs fans!)
So, who do you confess to? To whom do you turn who serves as community to you? I hope you have someone. I pray that you find someone - a trusted counselor, a minister in another community, in another denomination to serve as spiritual director, a soul friend.
At Berachah Leadership Coaching, there are those who can serve as that soul friend. Drop a line at berachahleadership@gmail.com
be blessed!
sp
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
