Wayne Hedlund

Author: Wayne Hedlund

  • How do you waste time at work?

    I ran across this great infographic about how we tend to waste our time at work. What do you think? Does the shoe fit?

  • When People Follow a Poor Leader

    large_119912283I can lead worship. Very few people in my circles know this today. I taught myself how to play chords on the piano in my 20’s and for more than a decade I led worship regularly in various venues and events at the church where I served. I did a pretty decent job most of the time.

    But I don’t do it anymore. Why? To be honest, a lot of it has to do with my lid. I often frustrate and hold back the other members of the worship team. I don’t have very good rhythm. I tend to overwhelm the band by overdoing it on the piano. I can’t harmonize and when others do it sometimes throws me off. And since I can’t read music I often don’t have the language needed to properly communicate with the team what I want to do next. 

    John Maxwell introduced ‘The Law of the Lid’ in the first chapter of his book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (by the way, it’s a must read if you haven’t done so yet.) John summarized the law like this, “Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person’s level of effectiveness. The lower an individual’s ability to lead, the lower the lid on his potential. The higher the individual’s ability to lead, the higher the lid on his potential.” In this post I want to talk about what happens when people end up being led by leaders with a low lid.

    What happens when people follow a poor leader. 

    • Frustrated
      When I’m driving down the road and come across a man driving 20 miles slower than everyone else, I’m frustrated. Why? Because I should be capable of driving faster, but someone else’s driving limitations are preventing me. My expectation, based on my own skills & experience, is that I could do more than the one I’m following. Likewise, when great leaders are stuck behind poor leaders, its very easy for them to become frustrated by the limitations imposed on them.
    • Disappointed
      When I’m served food that is cold and overcooked I’m disappointed. Why? Because I was led to believe that I would receive better service. Similarly, when people follow someone who is in a position of leadership, they build expectations that are often unmet because the leader did not have what was necessary to meet them. 
    • Confused
      When I’m told to turn right at the light, when I was really supposed to turn left, I get confused. After a while I realize I’m not seeing the roads and landmarks I think I should be seeing and I have to get more directions to reach my destination. Poor leaders often don’t know how to get where they’re going or they simply don’t know how to communicate and lead others there. Sometimes, they don’t even know the destination themselves. This creates confusion for everyone.
    • Lethargic
      When I walk on the creaky stairs in my house several hundred times I eventually tune them out and forget they are even there. I never think to fix or improve them, because I’ve chosen to integrate them into my life as normal and acceptable. Similarly, when people are led by poor leaders for a long time they get familiar and comfortable with lower standards, less vision and ineffective ministry. It becomes their norm and they become blind to what could or should be instead.
    • Limited
      When I ask an amateur to teach me how to play golf, the best I can hope to attain is amateur golf skills. I will learn some of what I need to know to play the game, but I will also likely adopt habits & tactics that may always limit my chances for success. Likewise, people tend to only rise as high as those who are leading them. 

    Poor leadership is dangerous for everyone. Like rust on metal, it has a tendency to erode foundations. It creates false hopes that will eventually burst. What makes it even more dangerous is that we often become enablers by allowing poor leaders to continue as they are.

    I’m not proposing you hit the eject button on the leaders in your organization who don’t measure up. That could present just a few problems. If you think you might fall into the category of ‘poor leader’ or someone else in your ministry falls into that category I suggest a few things to get you started:

    1. Prayer.
      I am regularly dumbfounded by how God intervenes when we humble ourselves before Him. If what you are doing is from Him, then I believe He is interested in helping you find and build great leaders. 
    2. Cards on the Table.
      Find the right people and expose the elephant in the room. Do this with compassion, humility, submission to your leaders (regardless of their ‘lids’) and faith that God is for you and everyone on that team.
    3. Get Help.
      We live in a day when help is often available to those who are willing to ask for it. Whether it be through hiring a ministry coach, finding a mentor, reading relevant material, etc. Tackling barriers is always better done with others than alone.
    4. Make a Plan.
      Every situation is different, which means there is no cookie cutter solution out there. Through prayer, honesty, help and some great planning I believe you and your team can and will discover what needs to happen next. Your strategy may be to provide mentoring and extra education to the weak leader or it may be to find a replacement. Whatever it is, having a Spirit-led plan will bring clarity and peace while you face the challenge.

    photo credit: Andreas. via photopin cc

  • A Field Guide to Procrastinators

    I love this infographic. The shoe fits, in several places, for all of us.

    Before you give it a gander, let me remind you of the upcoming ‘Getting Things Done’ webinar I will be hosting next month. Don’t procrastinate! Register today!

    field_guide_to_procrastinators_20px

  • Waking the Sleeping Giant

    xJosh.jpg.pagespeed.ic.o9dSnVb45tJosh Jansen is a full-time Campus Minister in Syracuse, NY. Through a dynamic speaking style, he challenges audiences to live out the key Biblical principles that God has promised will change the world.One of his dreams is to eventually pastor a local church that will harness the energy and talents of passionate college students, like those in BASIC College Ministries, to transform the way society views Christianity. Josh is a graduate of Elim Bible Institute in Lima, NY and has a Master’s Degree in Ministry from Southwestern Christian University in Oklahoma.

    511In his book, Courageous Leadership Bill Hybels writes “The local church is the hope of the world.” I read that about seven years ago and since then it has been the driving force behind everything that I do. I want nothing more than to see the local church make the impact on society that it has always been meant to make.

    My focus for the past four years (I am fairly new at this) has been on young adults. There are a few reasons for this: first of all, I am one. Secondly, I understand the potential in my age group. This generation of young people is a sleeping giant. They have barely scratched the surface on all that God has for them and, more often than not, churches have not fully tapped into their potential. If the church is the hope of the world, then young leaders between the ages of 18-29 are the hope of the church.

    Last year it was evident that there was a lack of ministries geared towards young adults in the Syracuse area. I had begun working for BASIC College Ministries at Faith Chapel in Syracuse and I saw a great opportunity to make a big impact on the young adults. We formed a leadership team and we launched a young adults ministry. Over the past 9 months we have seen our ministry grow to 80 young adults (over 20% of our church population), who represent about 10 different churches. Some even drive an hour or more to be with us. We are still very new at this, but here are some good ideas that I’ve discovered as we’ve grown:

    • Develop a leadership team. 
      This is leadership 101 and it is easy to try and do it yourself. There are eight people on our leadership team who meet weekly to discuss future plans and upcoming meetings/events. Each member oversees an area of the ministry (worship, greeting, hospitality, service production, etc). Everything that follows this section happens because we have an awesome team.
    • Have a church service. 
      We have held to this belief from the beginning because we were not interested in having a coffee house. In my church experience, those are awkward 98% of the time. Our church service is usually about an hour and 15 minutes in length. Why do we do it? Well, we win in 3 ways: people get saved, people come back to church, and/or people start serving in their church. We are not a local church substitute; we offer a legit service with the goal to motivate young adults to return to their own local church ready to serve.
    • Preach a sitcom. 
      For our purposes, shorter is usually best. There is the old church adage: “if you can sit through a 2 hour movie you can sit through an hour long sermon.” Well, maybe, but I did not have two years to prepare this week’s sermon (the length of time it takes to prepare a 2 hour movie). Everyone can sit through a 20-25 minute sitcom though. Whoever preaches is authentic, to the point, and biblically sound. We do not neglect Jesus. Our goal is to cut to the heart in 30 minutes and then send them out to impact their churches and their city.
    • Be creative with what you have. 
      We do not have thousands of dollars to put into our ministry so we find ways to be creative. Branding is a great place to start. We spent the summer doing a series called “Summer of Heroes” and designed a graphic to go along with it. The value of professionalism with the graphics is important because they act as first impressions on Facebook (our main form of advertisement). On Friday nights after we worship we do the outrageously cliche ‘meet and greet’ but with a twist: we download clean secular songs from Spotify (it’s free) that have to do with saying “hello” to someone. You will be shocked at how happy people are to talk when Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” is blasting in the background. This little idea has gone a long way. Think of creative ways to do the same things differently. 
    • Give them a cause. 
      Young adults are quite generous if you give them a reason to be. They spend money on things that they believe in. Notice how a high percentage of people under 30 use Apple products! We had a missionary from the Middle East come to preach over the summer. After the sermon I went up and explained some of the needs that this modern day ‘Paul the Apostle’ had. They felt the need and they responded with a $2000 spontaneous offering. The missionary left with almost everything he and his family needed (an Apple computer was among the needs). Give them a cause and young adults will back you. Note: please do not gauge their generosity by whether or not they are giving to ‘Sister Mary’s Quilting Class Fund.’ 

      Opportunities are also provided for people to give their time for a cause. This fall we are launching our ‘Salt the City’ initiative (Syracuse is called the Salt City). We have partnered with local charities and have about a dozen different outreaches planned. One of these is a foot clinic that our medical students started on their own.

    • Build Relationships. 
      This is so important. We ALWAYS have food out after every service. Pizza, vegetables, chips, and drink are provided for free. Relationship is valued over spending $80 on food for the night – we welcome this financial hit. Our service ends at 8:30 PM and people generally stay well past 10 PM. My wife and I will be at the mall and see young adults who met at The. 511 hanging out together. There have even been small groups beginning organically through just having food available after the service. The. 511 only meets two times a month. This allows us to have social events on our ‘off weeks.’ We have had a bowling night, a BBQ at the beach, and an open mic night (to name a few). Couple your church services with social events; it is a match made in heaven. Tip: keep social events social. There is nothing wrong with a party that doesn’t end in a sermon or a prayer time. 

    These are 6 practical things that we do at The. 511. We believe that we are awakening a sleeping giant in Syracuse, NY. If you can awaken young adults to the reality of Jesus, you are awakening that sleeping giant. Faith Chapel has young adults serving in every aspect of its church service and in several areas young adults are even leading the service.

    Create an authentic environment where relationships can be built and you can grow a thriving young adult ministry that defies the statistics. 

    Check out The. 511 Facebook page for more information on who we are! Thanks for reading my thoughts and if you have any questions feel free to comment or email me at josh@thebasicsite.org. 

  • Bad Website Design

     

    bad-website-titleI ran across this great infographic about “What Makes Someone Leave A Website?” at www.churchm.ag. Since I’m a firm believer that your ministry website is mission critical I want to share it with you as well.

    I recommend you use this very simple tool to evaluate YOUR ministry website. Even the best websites can stand for regular evaluation and feedback.

    Tactical Tip: If you are really busy or overwhelmed right now, at least create THREE “Next Actions” based on this infographic and put them in your calendar/task list. Otherwise, we both know what will happen . . .

    UPDATE: We have just launched a ‘website rebuild’ initiative for local churches. We will rebuild your church website from the ground up, and give you the training you need to update and use it each week. To learn more about cost and details, visit our Website Services page.

    why-people-leave-church-website

  • Guest Friendly Website

    guest-friendly-church-website

    There is no longer a good reason why any church should have a weak, unattractive & outdated website. And yet, so many still do. It is treated like a leftover, back burner project that, perhaps, one day will get completed.

    Unfortunately, every day a church hosts a weak website is another day it may be turning away guests, before they even darken the church front doors. A strong web presence is a critical part of the churches ongoing mission to reach the community for Christ.

    Eight Reasons Why You’re Church Needs A Great Web Presence

    • It plays a critical role in attracting first time guests.
      The vast majority of your first time guests will check out your website BEFORE attending your service. This is now true for nearly every generation. Even if someone has been invited by a family member or co-worker, the likelihood is extremely high that they will stop by your website first. So your website will be the first impression for those considering attending.
    • It allows people to visit your church and seek God from the safety of their home.
      Going to church is intimidating. Those of us who have gone for years tend to forget that. Potential guests need a way to visit church without all the real or imagined strings attached. I’ve heard it said that if a car salesman can get his customer to take a car for a test-drive then the sale is half made. Likewise, if a guest has a positive experience at your website, she will be much more likely to visit on a Sunday.
    • It represents your values.
      Like it or not, your website will be a reflection of your values – even if that reflection is completely wrong! You may have a high standard of excellence, great worship, fabulous preaching, loving members, and Holy Spirit led ministry happening every single week; but if your website is shabby your web-guests will assume you are out-of-date, unorganized, irrelevant, and perhaps old-fashioned. One look at your site may be enough for them to click “back” and check out the next church their Google search pulled up.
    • It clarifies who you are.
      If your prospective guests have any church background at all, they will be curious to know at least a little information about who you are. You may be surprised with what they are most interested in too. It’s probably not going to be your “Statement of Beliefs” page. Rather, they will likely want to learn more about what your church looks like, what the people in your church look like (and how they dress), and what they should expect when they arrive.
    • It provides critical information about where you are.
      For most people, it is much easier and more practical to just go to a website and click “Directions” than to look up your address in the phone book. In fact, with the massive increase in the use of smartphones, many will look up your church on the road or use their gps device.
    • It encourages evangelism within your congregation.
      If your regular attendees are excited about what’s going on at your church then they will want ways to invite people to your church. A great website will be a natural touch point for them and for you at those critical invitations. For example, “Hey, why don’t you stop by our church this Sunday? I think you’d really enjoy it. If you want, you can go to our website to learn a little more about us first.” or “We’re having a special marriage seminar next Saturday that you and your wife would really like. It’s going to be fun! Check out our website if you want to learn more or sign up.” However, nobody is going to promote the website if they feel it’s inadequate or embarrassing.
    • It facilitates critical communication among your attendees.
      Once your website is established as a guest-friendly website, you will find that your regular attendees will visit a lot as well. Posting important info about upcoming events and critical communications will go a long way in keeping people informed. Let’s face it, when we want to know something most of us start with the computer. It’s easier than trying to dig through the pile of mail, bulletins, homework, and who knows what else that has piled up on the kitchen counter!
    • It puts extra mileage on your weekly sermons.
      I’ll assume for a moment that your Sunday morning speakers are decent communicators and have something to say that is impacting lives. If that is true, you will receive extra mileage on those great messages by posting them online. Your attendees will thank you. Knowing they can point friends and family to a message that really impacted them or that they can listen to on a week they were absent will help them feel cared for and equipped to put what you said on Sunday into action.

    I could go on. Suffice it to say, your website is a very, very important part of your church. In fact, I recommend you look at it right now and ask yourself this one simple question: “Would I feel comfortable asking the local business owners in town to check out the church website?” If you hesitated at all, then you have work to do.

    What Next? We have just launched a ‘website rebuild’ initiative for local churches. We will rebuild your church website from the ground up, and give you the training you need to update and use it each week. To learn more about cost and details, visit our Website Services page.

  • Announcing New Website Services!

    site_upgrade45f483

    It has long been my hope to help local churches transform their outdated, clunky websites into something easy on the eye, relevant, and perhaps most importantly, Guest Friendly. Today, I’m pleased to announce that I finally can.

    Transforming Leader is very happy to now offer website services for local churches!

    I believe your church website is a very important part of your ministry. Unfortunately, most churches fail to give it the attention it needs. It used to be that churches had an excuse, but that’s not true anymore. Website management has become easier to do every year, and shouldn’t require experienced programmers. Your staff should be empowered to update pages, create events, upload videos & sermons and a whole lot more.

    With that in mind, we are offering to rebuild your church website using the popular WordPress web platform, including coaching & instructions for accessing & updating it upon completion. 

    The new website will feature a customizable home page with sliding banners, image boxes and custom widgets for special events, sermons and more. It will also come bundled with an events calendar, a built-in media section to showcase sermons, an image gallery, staff profile pages and a blog. 

    For a one-time fee of $850, we will design a brand new website for your church. 

    Please note:
    • This price does not include the costs associated with web hosting. Click ‘What You Need to Know’ below to learn more.
    • Additional features may also be included at additional rates.

    Note: Transforming Leader is partnering with Elim Fellowship to provide this offer to anyone who signs up as an Elim Fellowship Affiliate Church at a greatly reduced price. Click here to learn more!

    Current EF Affiliated Churches are also eligible for special rates on this offer.

    [button link=”http://www.transformingleader.org/website-rebuild-conditions/” target=”_self” color=”blue” shape=”rounded” size=”large” align=”center”]What You Need to Know[/button]  [button link=”http://www.elimfellowship.org/churchwebdesign/” target=”_self” color=”blue” shape=”rounded” size=”large” align=”center”]   Preview Website   [/button]  [button link=”http://www.transformingleader.org/sign-up/” target=”_self” color=”blue” shape=”rounded” size=”large” align=”center”]       Sign Up Now       [/button]

  • Facelift, Overhaul, Funeral.

    painting wall with a roll in greenYears ago I heard a friend of mine coin the phrase, “Facelift, Overhaul, Funeral”. The idea was that sometimes we are forced to admit an area of ministry needs an upgrade.

    Ideally, the upgrade will just require a simple facelift. A few tweaks and all is well. The other day I drove by Joy Community Church in Rochester, NY and they were painting the exterior of the building.

    Facelift.

    Then there are times when something needs an overhaul. Usually, we aren’t looking forward to this because there is going to be a considerable investment in time or money involved. An overhaul is when we make considerable changes, not only to the exterior/appearance of the ministry, but to the internal structures, systems & strategies. Last year I took on the project of overhauling the Elim Fellowship website. We moved the whole site to a different web platform, web host and web programmer. I can say with confidence that it’s definitely an improvement over the old one.

    Overhaul.

    And of course, sometimes a funeral is the order of the day. Really, who enjoys a funeral? But sometimes we have to admit that the season of success for that area of ministry is over. Hopefully, we have the wisdom to end things with grace. Years ago as a youth pastor I started a coffee house for teens. It was very successful for about 4 years. Then the time came for us to admit that we had a good run but it was time to focus on other things.

    Funeral.

    TO DO:
    Meet with your team this week and set aside one hour. In that hour, ask the question, “Which systems, strategies & ministries need a Facelift? Overhaul? Funeral?”

    Image from khorzhevska at istockphoto.com.

  • What’s the real price tag for change?

    bio-pic-joshua-finleyPastor Joshua Finley is the Lead Pastor at Elim Gospel Church in Lima, NY. – a thriving church of about 800 located in the middle of (almost) nowhere.  I had the great privilege of serving with him at the church for several years before making my move to Elim Fellowship in 2011. Josh is an outstanding communicator & leader, and certainly understands a thing or two about change!

    “When you are through changing you are through!” –Bruce Barton

    Preparing for a vision talk on change with my church family I came across some really helpful reminders and insights on change I picked up from Tony Morgan at tonymorganlive.com:
    • changeIt’s a lot easier to embrace change when you’re the one initiating it.
    • Change without vision is chaos.
    • Change is a lot easier to understand when it’s shared through stories.
    • Many times the successful changes also produce the most criticism.
    • It’s almost impossible to change a change that previously worked.
    • Test-driving or experimenting with a change is a lot easier than fully committing to the unknown.
    • Change is more likely to take hold when it’s followed by an immediate win.
    • When you think you’ve communicated enough about change, you need to communicate more
    • Slow change is rarely positive change.
    • Organizations that don’t change die.
    • If everyone recognizes the need for change, you’re obviously not the leader.

    Change is a healthy necessity in every area of our lives. Marriages, friendships, businesses, churches, governments, even TV sitcoms, all require a steady diet of change in order to remain or become healthy.

    Though few people would disagree with that statement, ALL of us resist change on some level. There is a reason for this. Meaningful change comes with a very real price tag.

    How much does change cost?
    • There is no growth without change.
    • There is no change without loss.
    • There is no loss without grief.
    • There is no grief without pain.
    • Change always involves some kind of pain.

    “The place between where you are and where you want to be is a painful decision you are either willing or unwilling to endure.” –Samuel Chand

    “There is no such thing as a great victory at bargain prices.” –Gen. Eisenhower

    “Not all hurt is harmful. Much of it is beneficial and necessary.” –Dr. Henry Cloud

    My prayer is that you and I will make the painful choices necessary to lead wisely and courageously into the future God has planned for each of us.

    Questions to Consider.
    • Where are you currently needing and leading change?
    • What painful decision have you put off in the past 30 days that keeps looping around to face you again
     

    Image from Irochka_T on istockphoto.com.

  • How People Embrace Change

    diffusion-innovationA pastor once told me a long-standing family left his church because of the new colors painted on the walls in the sanctuary. Upon further investigation I discovered a few things about the church. First, change didn’t happen often. Second, when it did happen, it was almost always a surprise. Finally, the pastor was overjoyed by the recent departure of this particular couple. It seems they played a substantial role in the first point above.

    As a ministry coach it’s my job to recommend change. Nobody really asks for my input unless they see change in the mix. However, quite often we just aren’t ready for the repercussions. The fact is, properly rolling out change takes a lot of communication & time – as well as a good measure of wisdom.

    In his book, Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code, Samuel Chand bottled up the ‘Diffusion of Innovations‘ theory into an easy to understand application for the local church. In essence, it summarizes the general distribution of ’embracers’ to change in your congregation. Used wisely, this information can become a valuable asset when rolling out almost any change. Enjoy.

    • Excited Embracers (2% of group)
      They are the dreamers and visionaries who are usually recognized as leaders or policymakers.
    • Early Embracers (18% of group)
      They are respected and influential, and they eagerly get on board when the concept is explained. Leaders treasure these people on their teams.
    • Middlers (60% of group)
      They feel more comfortable with the status quo, and they listen carefully to anyone who resists change. They are willing to get on board only when they are convinced that everybody else will, too.
    • Late Embracers (18% of group)
      They resist change as long as possible, offering objections all along the way. Eventually, they will go along with the majority, but with a large measure of skepticism and without any enthusiasm at all.
    • Never Embracers (2% of group)
      They are steadfastly committed to the past, and they continue to resist change long after the rest of the team is working hard to achieve success.

    What does this model suggest to you regarding HOW to roll out change in the church?