Welcome to the “Guest Friendly” series. In this series I focused on the question, “How can we establish an environment at our church that guests feel comfortable attending and will leave wanting to return again?” Click on any of the links below to learn more:
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| An Incredible System . . . Made by God |
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” Psalm 119:1-3
I am utterly amazed when I stop to think about God’s creation. In specific, the fact that everything God created is self-supporting. God is into systems . . . a lot. Take a moment right now and see if you can thing of something God created that doesn’t contain systems which stimulate ongoing cycles of sustenance and growth. Perhaps there’s something out there that doesn’t meet that criteria and I’m just thinking too narrowly. If so, please enlighten me.
For example, we could dedicate our entire lives to the study of the Solar System. The center of that system consists of a massive inferno that can be seen for millions of miles. The light from that inferno hits a tiny planet we call home and triggers a process we know as ‘photosynthesis‘. You may remember from science class this ‘system’ which allows us to survive every day on planet earth. It’s the fascinating process by which sunlight interacts with plant-life to create oxygen. Within our bodies we have several ‘systems’ that work tirelessly to keep us alive. For instance, our respiratory system utilizes the oxygen generated through photosynthesis to stimulate and feed our various other vital systems like the digestive ‘system’ and circulatory ‘system’.
My point . . . God is into systems. Big time. Systems are one of the primary elements of everything He has created. So if you have ever felt like you should create a ‘system’ to better accomplish the work of the Lord (note – same Guy) then please be released today. I don’t think God will have a problem with that at all.
Us pastors and church leaders can get stuck into thinking that if we create systems to facilitate various aspects of ministry then we are trying to do things the way of the world. After all, the bible does warn us to “not to be conformed to the patterns of this world” (Romans 12:2) – so we try to stay far, far away from doing things systematically. Today, I’d like to clear that myth up once and for all….
The world did not think up systems – God did.
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This month I’ve been talking about the importance of getting the right people on the right seats in your bus:
What if you find yourself in one of that bottom left quadrant? In that scenario I would recommend that you work extra hard to ensure you don’t fill your Strategic Team with others of the same personality. In other words, be sure to recruit team members who lean to the upper right. You may also want to consider asking someone else to lead the team meetings. You should definitely be present and have a voice in the discussion, but it would probably be easier for you if someone else focused on leading so that you can give more of your energy towards processing the discussions in the room.
In my last two blog entries I have been talking about the importance of getting the right people on your bus and also making sure you have the right people in the right seats.
In particular, it is very important that every team member is aligned with you in four different areas. At Elim Gospel Church, we simply call these “The Four C’s”. Three of these “C’s” Bill Hybels talks about in his Leadership Book, “Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs
Character: It goes without saying that character is critical when recruiting someone to an influential position. What is often NOT said, or thought about, is just what “character” traits you are looking for. We tend to see people as “good” and have a hard time labeling them as someone lacking in character.
You should identify your own list, but here are a few things we deem very important:
Competency: The business world has this one figured out. They’ve got resume’s, job applications, and interviews down pat. The Christian world? Not so good. Again, it seems like we somehow think it’s “unchristian-like” to evaluate whether someone actually has the right skills for the job. Classic example: the lady who played the organ when growing up in church during my teen years. Was I the only one that noticed she didn’t have any rhythm and constantly got the wrong notes? Oh yeah, and she couldn’t really sing either.
When recruiting, for anything, figure out in advance what competencies are required for that role; then you can begin the process of deciding who best meets those criteria (along with the other 3 “C’s”.)
Chemistry: Again, this area is one many leaders are afraid to discuss or consider. This is the arena where you determine if the person in question is going to be a good fit in your culture as well as with you as their leader. Chemistry is not to be confused with character. It is strictly about whether this person carries the key aspects of your ministry DNA or not. This is why nearly every great leader in both the marketplace and ministry will tell you that it’s much better to hire from within – because those people will be much more likely to be DNA carriers and score high in chemistry with you as their leader.
Here is what I have discovered about how chemistry impacts your team and ministry. When you have a team player that is high in chemistry with you and your organization, you will very likely have little relational conflict. Conversely, when chemistry is low, conflict will likely abound. I’m not talking about the constructive conflict that should be in every relationship and team. I’m talking about the conflict that continually rises up because two different worlds/mindsets/standards keep colliding. This is also why it is becoming more and more popular for organizations to hire competent but young and less experienced people as opposed to those who have a ton of experience. The more experienced professionals also tend to have a lot of opinions and mindsets on what should be done and how to do it.
Calling: The final “C” we look for when hiring or recruiting is also critical to us. We actually walk all new hires through these four C’s and end with this one. This is our reminder that God has an interest in this decision. Jesus told us to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” God told Jeremiah, “I know the plans I have for you…” So we remind the candidate to seek God for His purposes for them and we do the same. It is quite possible that the person would be a great match in every other way, but that God is directing them towards something else in your organization or in the world.
We take these criteria very seriously. If even just one of them doesn’t seem to be lining up, we slow everything down and re-evaluate. Better to struggle through a leadership void for a season of time than to get the wrong person on the bus and find out 6 or 9 months down the line that they aren’t going to work out.
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.”
OK. So we have acknowledged that there are different kinds of seats on the bus. Why is this so important? Would it really be that big of a deal if team members picked their seats? What if someone who sits in the middle of the bus decides they would really like to hang out in the back of the bus? Shouldn’t we let them?
Do you remember where you sat on the bus when you were a grade-schooler or teenager? It’s pretty likely that, although you perhaps thought you would enjoy sitting somewhere else, if you did you would have felt really out of place. Or perhaps your parents made you sit in the front and you couldn’t wait for the ride to get over?
The point is, team members should be placed on the RIGHT team for their OWN benefit as well as the benefit of your organization. This is especially true when it comes to identifying who should be on your strategic team. It’s not for everyone to sit in the back of the bus. The conversations taking place in healthy strategy meetings will include honest and open assessments of current ministry, big picture brainstorming, and plans to make both small and large shifts and changes in your organization. Some of those conversations are enough to send your average “tactically-minded” team member to counselling for weeks.
Here are some signs you may have the wrong person in the wrong seat in Strategic Meetings:
Philosophical Dilemma: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Evidently the age-old question has finally been solved. Ironically, the solution British scientists have come up with supports creation pretty well! If you are into poultry philosophy, fell free to check out the article here.
Leadership Dilemma: Which came first, the strategic plan or the strategic team?
Most of the business and ministry world would likely have answered this question with, ‘the strategic plan’. After all, doesn’t it make sense that we determine where we want to go, what our vision is, and THEN pull together a team of people to implement that vision? I would have thought so myself until I read the book, “Good to Great
“We expected that good-to-great leaders would begin by setting a new vision and strategy. We found instead that they first got the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats – and then they figured out where to drive it. The old adage, ‘People are your most important asset’ turns out to be wrong. People are not your most important asset. The right people are.”
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.”
I challenge you to try a dangerous experiment. The idea is to pay an unchurched person to come to your church anonymously and evaluate the experience. What better way to get feedback from your community than to ask them to give their honest opinion? It’s dangerous because, if you do it right there’s a chance the truth just might hurt.
The fact is many of our churches are in-grown. We tend to be primarily focused on the people in church and end up seeming exclusive to guests. At Elim Gospel Church where I serve as Executive Pastor we try to remember to speak in guest friendly terms. Despite our attempts we still regularly catch ourselves making comments and references that assume every listener has been around our church a while, knows their Bible stories or has an awareness of basic biblical truths.
Just this past month I was speaking to a small group of adults who were attending a class to learn more about getting plugged into our church; many of those present had only attended for a few weeks or months. At one point in my teaching I referred to “Daniel when he was confronted by the official due to his unusual eating habits.” Those were just about my exact words. I assumed everyone knew who Daniel was, had read the story, and were aware of the end of that story. My one sentence was supposed to somehow convey the fact that there are often good reasons to question our leader’s motives. Wow. Talk about a serious “miss” when it comes to being guest friendly!
Our vernacular from the pulpit is just a piece of the overall puzzle. What else is confusing, irrelevant, or perhaps even offensive to your average unchurched guest (assuming you actually get those?) What about the worship experience? How about their interactions with other attendees? Here’s the big question . . . “What do they think of your bathroom?” I’m not joking. You’re bathroom speaks volumes and is a big “first impression” maker.
So we intend to hire several “mystery guests” with the express purpose of learning the truth. I challenge you to do the same. Here are my suggestions on how to pull this off at your church as well.
So keep it a secret from yourself and your Sunday morning leaders. Ask someone you trust in your church that doesn’t have Sunday responsibilities to recruit the mystery guest. Let them know that they shouldn’t tell anyone that they are the recruiter, who they recruited, or that they know any details about when they might arrive. Also request that your trusted friend have minimal interactions (if possible, none) with the mystery guest. They should make it clear to the guest in advance that this is intentional.
Once you have received the survey, you place the $ amount on a Visa card with a thank you note in a sealed envelope and ask your friend to deliver it to the mystery guest.
You ever have the mildly embarrassing situation where you are looking for something, like your hat or glasses, only to discover it’s on your face or on your head? It was so obvious we missed it.
In my final installment to this rather lengthy series on Strategic Planning I want to talk about something just like that. It’s called tactical planning. There are five key steps to Strategic Planning as outlined in the book, Being Strategic
The Strategic Process includes Five Steps:
We have been walking through the “Strategic Process” based on the book, “Being Strategic
If you haven’t read the rest of the series, you’ll want to so you’ll understand the overall context of this conversation. You may do so by clicking on any of the below links.
The Strategic Process includes Five Steps:
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| “What’s in the way?” |
This is part 4 in my series of posts walking you through the “Strategic Process” by exploring the guest experience in a hypothetical church scenario. The premise of the strategic process is based on the book, “Being Strategic
The Strategic Process includes Five Steps:
1. Define the Challenge
2. Clarify ‘What Is?’
3. Envision ‘What’s the Hope?‘
4. Face ‘What’s in the Way?’
5. Determine ‘What’s the Path?’
Today we will Face ‘What’s in the Way?’ In this step we hope to identify any external or internal roadblocks that might prevent us from reaching our goal. This is where we compare the results of Clarify ‘What Is?’ with Envision ‘What’s the Hope?’ What might prevent us from reaching that goal? What’s standing in the way?
Understand, there’s a difference between the brainstorming you did in Clarify ‘What Is?’ and Face ‘What’s in the Way?’ The big difference is this. In Clarify ‘What Is?’ we are looking at what we know about ourselves, the good, the bad, and the ugly. In Face ‘What’s in the Way?’ we are identifying what could end up stopping or sidetracking us from reaching our goal. It is a fine but very important distinction.
Note: It’s not important that you identify a lot of barriers, or any barriers. What is important is that you take this step seriously and ensure you haven’t missed any barriers that may be present.
In Face ‘What’s in the Way?’ we will follow three guiding principles. you’ll find these are the same principles we applied to the question, Clarify ‘What Is?’: