Wayne Hedlund

Author: Wayne Hedlund

  • Elim Family: BASIC College Ministries

    I have BASIC to thank for introducing me to Elim Gospel Church way back in 1990. B.A.S.I.C. stands for Brothers and Sisters in Christ and is a ministry dedicated to encouraging college students to connect with God through college events/activities, conferences, and the local church. I believe every college student should get involved in a BASIC group (find a campus near you here) or help to start one. Don’t know where to start? How about checking out their upcoming events and check out their website at www.thebasicsite.org! This amazing ministry is led by one of my favorite men of God, Todd Cavanaugh – who attends Elim Gospel Church and seems to be a magnet for local news channels!

  • 6 Things to Consider Before Hiring

     

    I enjoy hiring people just a little bit more than I do firing people. That is to say – not at all. It is stressful, time consuming, and just plain scary. After years of both successfully and unsuccessfully ‘hiring’ at Elim Gospel Church and the YWCA in York, PA, I’ve landed on a few key principles that I now take into account before I make the final plunge. Over time, these ideas have eased the pressure and anxiety surrounding hiring. I hope you find them helpful as well.

    • Take Your Time.
      I’ve heard both sides of the argument about whether you should hire quickly or slowly. I’ve landed on ‘slowly’. It’s much better to take your time to find the right person for the job than it is to hire a bad apple and go through the pains of figuring out how to let them go. Waiting can really be difficult in the interim while you are short-staffed, but in the long run, it’s worth it. If it’s any help at all, both Jim Collins in his book Good to Great and Bossidy/Charan in their book Execution encourage doing what it takes to get the right people on the bus as well.
    • Use the ‘Four C’ Filter
      Evaluate and interview each candidate based on what we (at Elim Gospel Church) call the four “C’s”. You may have heard Bill Hybels use similar language – though we’ve modified it slightly. Each word reflects one key area by which we will evaluate job applicants. We also let the applicant know about these criteria during the interview. If one of these four C’s don’t line up, we are very reticent to move forward with the hire. The four C’s are:
    • Character:
      Obviously, their faith in God and Christian values should be unquestionable. There should not be any area that we know of in their character that is in question – things like honesty, integrity, respect for authority, etc.
    • Competency:
      It’s important that the person being hired have the skills necessary for the job. You have to sometimes ask uncomfortable questions to dig below the “glossy surface” people tend to paint on their resume’s. In an administrative role, I would suggest asking them to complete some task or another to see how they handle it. Even just having them write up a letter for you at a computer can be very insightful. I have wished in previous hires that I spent more time evaluating this area.
    • Chemistry:
      It is extremely important to us that the potential hire will ‘connect’ with our values and culture in the office and church. This has a lot to do with how well we will work together, how closely aligned the candidate is to our vision for the church, office, department, or whatever area it is. Sometimes a person can NOT have the right chemistry, but be a mighty man of God. This probably means the position just isn’t the right fit – but that the person can still fulfill his calling somewhere else in the church or in the body of Christ. I know of a couple of examples where I ended up letting someone go because the chemistry wasn’t a good fit.
    • Calling:
      We really want to make sure the person isn’t feeling pressured into the role by us or being manipulated by us. We may let the candidate know that we want them for the job, but ultimately it’s up to them to pray to the Lord and seek His advice on whether He is calling them to function in this role right now. We don’t want someone serving on staff who doesn’t believe he is called to – otherwise, their motivation may be for money, prestige, or something else that doesn’t really fit.
    • Don’t Hire Alone.
      I’ve come to the realization that it’s wise to have two or three others involved in this decision as well as the interview process. Often, one of us may have insights about the person the other doesn’t that helps move things along. In fact, sometimes having others in the process protects the church from me. I might have in my mind that this is who I want to hire and end up disregarding important ‘red flags’ as a result. Others will help catch those ‘blind spots’ as well. Also, it’s a great feeling to hire someone when several of you were able to confirm that it’s a fit.
    • Hire from Within.
      It’s almost always safer to hire someone who meets the above criteria who is already part of your church and/or leadership. Among other reasons, they will likely tend to be more loyal to you and the mission of the church than someone from the outside. That’s not to say you can’t hire from outside the organization. Sometimes it’s very appropriate and necessary. Just err on the side of hiring from within whenever you can.
    • The Three Month Trial
      In other words, give them and you an easy “out” if it’s not working. We usually let them know we will evaluate how things are going in 3 – 6 months and decide if we will continue on from there. This provides a natural safety net for you if the hire is going sour. It also gives the new hire an easy out if they can’t seem to get motivated to continue.
    • Ask for a Two Year Commitment.
      Note: this suggestion primarily applies to leadership or highly administrative roles. It takes the average person a good year just to learn their new position, even if they are very experienced and competent. This is because they aren’t just learning the trade, but also the culture, communication, vision of the church, etc. Asking for a two year commitment means you get at least one good year of their full capabilities and production after they have been fully trained and acclimated to their new role.

    Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

  • Strategic Quitting

     
    {Note: This entry is a compiled re-post of two older posts on Transforming Leader.}

    Seth Godin wrote a very short and easy to read book named, “The Dip” a few years ago that has changed my language forever. In fact, I find myself using the simple illustrations found in this book quite regularly. What I find particularly helpful is the super simple concept surrounding WHEN you should consider ‘quitting’ and when you should persevere and keep going.

    Ironically, we often get these things mixed up. We keep doing some things when we should really STOP doing them and we give up on new ideas and ventures too quickly rather than push through ‘the dip’ to the other side.

    Seth talks about the three different ‘curves’ that will help you decide when to quit and when not to. A while back I recorded this short teaching about these three curves. Take a moment today and listen in below.

    Applying ‘The Dip’ to your ministry & life.

    If you can’t see/hear this audio player, try clicking here.
    Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

  • ‘Invite’ Series by Andrew Manzano

    Andrew Manzano

    I’d like to introduce you to a friend at Elim Gospel Church – Andrew Manzano. Andrew owns his own production company at www.thesoundtank.com and makes some AWESOME video’s for the Christian community.

    A while back I encouraged you to consider ‘spicing’ up your Sunday morning services with the occasional Sunday Service Video Clip. Andrew’s clips have given www.sermonspice.com some great traffic – and for good reason. Check out his “Invite” series below and consider purchasing one or more of them this week!

  • Andy Stanley’s Podcast (for the non-tech Christian leader)

    Pastor Andy Stanley

    If you are a pastor or church leader you are probably familiar with Andy Stanley. If you aren’t, then I recommend you get familiar with him right now. Andy Stanley is a very important voice in church leadership, management and personal growth. You can learn more about Andy right here and you can browse and purchase some awesome books right here.

    This post is meant to be a quick and easy way for you to listen to Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast without actually subscribing to the podcast (which I recommend you do – subscribe with iTunes/subscribe with feed-burner). If I were you, I would make it a personal goal to listen to every one of these 25 minute audio clips . . . several times. I also recommend you ask your church leaders and friends to listen to them as well.

    If you are unfamiliar with how to listen to podcasts, then I recommend you watch one of these short video tutorials.

    Subscribe to Podcast in iTunes

    Subscribe to Podcast using Google Reader


    Note: Due to copyright issues, I am unable to provide links to each individual Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast in this blog. However, should you choose to subscribe via Google Reader you can easily see past Podcast’s and listen to them whenever you want.

  • Time Management 101: Margin – A Matter of Priorities

     

    I wonder what you would change in your schedule if you found out you could spend personal, 1on1 time with Bill Hybels for the next four weeks? What would you decide you could afford to ‘let go’ for a while?

    • The weekly lunch or breakfast appointment?
      Perhaps you would arrange to meet with them monthly instead.
    • A block of time set aside for counselling?
      Maybe a church elder could meet with them, or you could refer them to a professional.
    • A Bible Study or weekly church event that you lead?
      You may possibly cancel it or find someone else to lead it.
    • An upcoming special event that you know will heavily tax you this month?
      Perhaps you will cancel it or delegate it to others.
    Wow. You just freed up 2-4 hours every week for several weeks in a row! That’s what I call ‘margin’. It’s ‘flex’ time that is specifically set aside to focus on Quadrant 2 Activities – the things that are Important, but not necessarily Urgent (click here to learn more about the priority matrix.) What if you knew you had at least 2-3 hours every single week that was solely dedicated to thinking, praying and planning? What if you had time to think and focus on the various problems that you generally ignore each week, but wish you didn’t have to?

    Here’s the problem: Most of us don’t prioritize ‘margin’. We read books, watch seminars and go to conferences that remind us that we should set time aside in our weekly schedule to dream, plan, problem-solve and pray, but rarely do we actually set that time aside. The ‘Tyranny of the Urgent’ keeps us off balance. Our ministries stay unfocused. We have become semi-comfortable with being overwhelmed and overworked.

    Margin isn’t something that shows up in our calendars all by itself. It’s planned. It’s prioritized. It’s meticulously protected; but you DO HAVE WHAT IT TAKES to build margin into your life. You just need one key ingredient and it’s yours for the taking: You need to change your priorities. 

    Somehow, you’ve convinced yourself that everything you’re doing this week and next week and the weeks after are more important than several hours of strategic planning and prayer. I know they aren’t more important. Note: I didn’t say the things you do aren’t important, I said they aren’t AS important.

    Don’t believe me? Let’s participate in a short exercise to find out. Let’s pretend for a moment that a great and respected pastor or leader called you out of the blue this week and told you that he or she would be willing to meet with you, privately, once a week for the next month for a few hours. Perhaps it would be someone like Bill Hybels, Robert Morris, or Beth Moore. Think of the person you would absolutely love to spend time with for a while. You know where this is going . . . would you be able to reorganize your life and schedule to accommodate them? 

    If you answered ‘yes’ then you just proved my point. The fact is that you may actually get MORE out of a few hours of focused planning and prayer each week for the specifics of your ministry than you would in meeting with these highly respected and seasoned leaders!

    Steal 15 minutes from your schedule RIGHT NOW to build margin into your schedule. Cancel, reschedule, shift and reorganize whatever you need to. I know you won’t regret it.

  • Tactical Tip: Say ‘Thanks’ in Your Email

    Everyone knows that email is grossly inadequate in communicating emotion, motives, and attitude. The ‘stories people tell themselves about you’, the content of your email and how good a communicator you are will all shape the overall ‘tone’ that the reader picks up – whether it’s true or not.

    For example, consider the following email:

    “The office will be closed and locked all day on Monday. However, I will be in my office. If you need to get hold of me, do not knock on the doors or call the office. Shoot me a text or ring the doorbell instead.”

    There’s not a whole lot wrong with that email. It presents the information that the writer wants to communicate and states clearly what not to do and what to do if someone wants in the building. However, it’s kind of abrupt and assumes the reader isn’t reading between the lines. There is one very small thing you can commit to do in the majority of your emails starting today that will help soften your digital tone of voice.

    Tactical Tip: Say ‘Thanks’ at the end of your email.

    That’s it. It’s so simple, yet we often just end our emails with no closing line, like the example above. Consider that same email with that one extra word added:

    “The office will be closed and locked all day on Monday. However, I will be in my office. If you need to get hold of me, do not knock on the doors or call the office. Shoot me a text or ring the doorbell instead. Thanks!”

    Image compliments of scibak on istockphoto.com

  • Demystifying Our Plans

    In chapter 4:13-15 James warns: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”

    He’s got a good point. We can make all the plans we want, all for nothing. That last sentence is such a foundation to everything we do in life, at home, at work and in ministry. Really, our plans aren’t (or shouldn’t be) about us – after all, we are just a mist in the grand scheme of things. We know it’s possible to build something that lasts, that ends up being bigger than us. But that means setting aside “me” and picking up “God”; His purposes, His ideas, His plans. I think it’s a lot harder for us to do that than most of us are willing to admit. James didn’t tell us we shouldn’t make plans. He just warns us to keep them God-centered. To get out of and stay out of the way.

    Whatever you’ve got planned today, tomorrow, next week, and if you are really with it, next month and year, submit and commit it to the Lord right now. That’s Who we’re doing all of this for anyway, right?

    Photo credit, infinityNANO

  • An Exceptional Sunday Service Report

    Does your church host Exceptional Sunday Services? Recently, I had the chance to provide some coaching in this area to an area church leader. After our meetings he went back to his team and with great zeal championed several small but key changes in his Sunday morning preparations. Check out this email he sent me a few weeks later . . . .

    Hello Pastor Wayne,

    Here is an update on our improvements on Sunday mornings. After some great discussion, we implemented a few things.

    • Our secretary changed our Service Planning meeting agenda to be more specific and include minutes.
      That alone has made a huge difference. We now better understand how everything breaks down and what needs to be improved. For the first time since I can remember we actually discussed, re-ordered and even trimmed some things in our Sunday Services. That made an immediately and huge difference in our services.
    • We began having a service coordinator for every service.
      We have three people serving in that role, I do it most of the time and the other two serve in that role when I am not around.
    • We also started a service coordinator meeting.
      This is a short 5 minute meeting where we walk through the whole service with all the key players involved in that Sunday morning service. At this meeting we discuss when music plays and lights go on and off. We talk about what microphone everyone is using and who to give it to next. Our transitions have improved quite a bit now that people know when they are to come onstage and know when to be ready. Everyone sees how efficient we are and also feel’s more part of the team! 

    It’s great when we have a guest speaker as well. They see how organized we are and when I go over the details with them about when they should begin and end they actually end on time now. A few weeks ago, a guest speaker who traditionally always ends late (and I mean always) ended on time and his message was actually better than other times.

    The main thing that made me want to write this email is that in the past we have been so uptight with ending on time (and often we wouldn’t end on time) that we would often just be stressed out. We have also always been concerned that if we become more organized we won’t leave room for God to move. Well, last Sunday we had an 8 minute altar call during worship. Not to mention 3 prophetic words. God moved, people were touched, and no one was stressed about time because we knew we had it all under control. The service still ended on time.

    By becoming more organized and efficient we are not taking God out of the service. In fact we are giving God MORE room to move. If we couldn’t end on time with our previous schedule imagine how uptight we would get when God moved during those services? But now we end early a lot and when God moves we are free to enjoy it because time is no longer an issue like it once was. There is no doubt that all our hard work developing the services has definitely given way to a greater presence of God in our services!

    Thank You Pastor Wayne for the help and coaching!

    I am so inspired and encouraged when I hear stories like this from church leaders. I am also confident that this church will continue to experience God’s Presence in their Sunday morning services as they continue to grow in their preparations  and communications. Their ‘partnership’ with God just took a major leap forward.

    If you’re interested in hearing more from me about hosting exceptional services then I invite you to download and listen to the “Hosting Exceptional Sunday Services Workshop“ I presented earlier this year at the Elim Fellowship Leadership Conference. I have included a copy of the workshop notes and several other resources as well. Click on this link to purchase it today.

  • Telling Yourself Stories

    Whether you are a public speaker or not, you ARE a storyteller.In fact, you are such a good storyteller that your primary audience is almost always convinced of the reality and truth of your stories, even though they are sometimes not true. You are your primary audience and you tell yourself stories every day.

    • When you’re mother-in-law gives you ‘that look’ you tell yourself a story about what she is saying to herself about you.
      EXAMPLE: “There she goes again. She’s judging me. She never accepts me for who I am. She thinks I’m fat, lazy and a bad dad.”  REALITY: Something you said reminded her that she forgot to return an important phone call at work yesterday. The ‘look’ had nothing to do with you.
    • When the lady on the phone seems rude, you tell yourself a story about her competence and professionalism.
      EXAMPLE: “How could this company hire someone like this lady! Why is she being so defensive? I just want them to return my money and pay the shipping fees. Doesn’t she know the customer is always right?” REALITY: She just found out last night that her husband has been having an affair and she doesn’t have the authority to return your money, even though she agrees and wants to.
    • When a leader in the church sends an email expressing frustration about what happened this Sunday in church, you tell yourself a story about his attitude and loyalty to you and the church.
      EXAMPLE: “What does he mean that he’s ‘disappointed’? Who does he think he is, my boss or something? I thought he was committed to this church and one of my trusted leaders. He’s really borken my trust.” REALITY: The man was genuinely offended by something someone said from the pulpit and took it personally. He’s committed to the church but would like to understand why it was said publicly.
    Check out these two articles by Michael Hyatt and Seth Godin. These are great reminders to combat what we tell ourselves about others every day.

    What Story Are You Telling Yourself? By Michael Hyatt