According to John Maxwell, an authority on leadership, the success of any endeavor or organization rises and falls on leadership (The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Thomas Nelson, 2007).  It is because leaders have tremendous influence over their organizations and their decisions, whether large or small, will often have a significant impact. That impact can either be positive or negative, depending upon the nature of each decision.  So in order for leaders to be effective it is important for them to lead wisely.  This is also true for pastors and leaders in churches and ministries.

I believe that there are 5 keys to effective ministry leadership, and each one is important to grow and sustain a ministry. Let’s look at each key individually:

#1. Leaders Use Influence, Not Authority

Leadership is about influence and the ability to motivate others to achieve a goal.  Influence is earned by building up trust and respect and results in others willingly following the leader. Authority, on the other hand, is about power and control, and generally comes from the person’s title or position in an organization. It is the ability of the person in charge to enforce their will on others. According to Romans 13:1, “There is no authority except that which God has established.” In other words, it is God who really gives leaders their authority.  Furthermore, He says there are two ways in which they are to use it.  First, they must use it to teach others (Titus 2:1 & 15).  Second, they must use it to serve others (1 Peter 5:2). So the true use of authority should be to teach and to serve others.  It is also always better to lead with influence than authority, because it means that the followers willingly follow their leader.  Sometimes leaders will have to use their authority, but just know that when they do they run the risk of creating opposition as not everyone will always agree with them.

#2. Leaders Have a Vision

Proverbs 29:18 says “Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint.” This means that without a vision people will often do what seems best to them.  The Book of Judges pretty well describes what happens when there is no leadership!  An effective leader has a vision of where he is going and where he is taking his followers. Without a vision a ministry has no direction and simply wanders about with no real purpose.  This often leads to stagnation or decline.  A strong vision enables everyone in a ministry to work towards a common goal. It must also be quantifiable so that it can be measured in order for the ministry to know when the goal has been achieved. Please note that a vision is not the same as a mission.  The mission defines what you do.  The vision defines the goal you are trying to achieve. A vision for any ministry must come from God.  So it is important for a leader to pray for a vision and to think BIG so he or she can allow God to display His power through them.

#3.  Leaders Have a Plan

If a leader has a vision then a leader must also have a plan.  A goal without a corresponding plan is just wishful thinking.  Without a plan a leader is unlikely to achieve the vision.  The plan is the vehicle by which the leader organizes the resources God has provided (people, money, time, information, etc.) to achieve the vision God has give them. In other words, the leader manages God’s resources for God’s vision.  God expects the leader to invest wisely and to produce a return on His investment in them (Parable of the Ten Talents – Matthew 25:14-30).  A leader’s job, therefore, it to plan the work and then work the plan.  But also note that a good plan is flexible and allows for changes. It is not set in concrete but changes as circumstances change.

#4.  Leaders Develop People

John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Similarly, leadership is not about telling others what they can do for you, but how leaders can develop their followers to achieve more for the ministry.  When you become a ministry leader you accept responsibility for your followers.  That means that leaders must serve them and develop them to their fullest potential.  First and foremost, leaders must make disciples of their followers.  This is true whether the leader is a pastor, worship leader, youth minister, or any other ministry leadership position. This is the sole reason the ministry exists. Second, leaders must train and equip others for ministry. Every believer is a minister of the  gospel (1 Peter 2:9) and leaders must help them find their role in the ministry of the church. Finally, leaders must develop other leaders in order to grow, expand and perpetuate their ministry.

#5.  Leaders Focus on Accomplishment

Effective leaders focus on achieving goals and producing results for the ministry.  Romans 14:12 says “So then, each one of us will give an account of himself to God.”  Leaders will be held accountable for what they did with what God gave them.  Consequently, effective leaders strive towards the vision and measure success by the results that are achieved. Effective leaders also focus on areas of greatest return for the ministry and abandon ministries that are not producing any fruit. They also understand that activity is not accomplishment.  Just because a church is busy and active does not necessarily mean it is effective or accomplishing anything.

I believe that if ministry leaders concentrate on these 5 keys they will be more effective in their ministries and produce more disciples for the Kingdom!

Developing Teams

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Since the church is made up of people, and ministry is done through people, it is important for a leader to encourage people to work together towards common goals. Building teamwork among church members is vital in order to accomplish the goals and vision of the church. When people work together, they share ideas, they share the workload, and they share their gifts and talents – all for the glory of God! An effective leader encourages people to work together and creates an environment where teams can flourish. As a church grows, teams will become more important to accomplishing many of the goals and projects it is pursuing.

There are several reasons why leaders should develop teams in their churches or ministries. First of all, Jesus himself built teams.  He gathered his twelve disciples as a team and even sent them out two by two to do ministry.  Jesus rarely did anything by himself, other than pray. Secondly, it is a good way to distribute the workload. Leaders cannot do all of the work themselves, nor should they. By building teams leaders can involve more people in ministry and enable more ministry to be accomplished. Third, teamwork allows for the collaboration of ideas and greater creativity as different people have different gifts and passions they bring to the group. It also helps develop relationships among team members and builds community. Finally, it will enable the ministry to develop new leaders because leaders often emerge from working in teams.

Teams have several purposes within a church or ministry as well.  They can be used to plan projects or large ministry programs, such as VBS or community outreaches. They are often used to create church budgets, make staff additions, or develop new ministry strategies.  Teams can also be an effective way to solve church problems or research new ministry opportunities, such as schools or child care centers. Teams are most often used in churches to oversee ministries, such as church boards, or to provide support and assistance to pastors and other church leaders.

When using teams, it is important for leaders to do the following:

1. Determine the focus and purpose of each team.  Each team needs a clear vision and plan for their activities.

2. Designate a team leader or have the team choose its own leader.  Every team must have a strong leader.  The success of the team will depend upon it.

3. Encourage team members to participate. Every team member adds value to the team so all must contribute their ideas and skills.

4. Hold teams accountable for results. Leaders must follow up with teams to make sure they are making progress and to show interest in their work.

5. Recognize and reward team success.  Leaders need to encourage and reward effort and accomplishment to reinforce team effectiveness.

6. Attend team meetings occasionally.  Leaders should be available to teams to provide direction, input and encouragement.

For teams to be successful in a church or ministry, leaders must be actively involved in the process. They cannot simply designate teams to do the work that needs to be done and then walk away. They must provide direction, follow up with team leaders, and be available to support and encourage them as needed.  If leaders fail to do this it will inevitably result in poor results, ineffective ministry and a waste of resources. Effective leaders are those who build teams that are focused, that work together, and that share their gifts to the glory of God!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

“If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me.”

1 Corinthians 14: 11

One of the most important skills that a leader must develop is that of good communication. Effective communication is an essential foundation for effective leadership. Without good communication skills, a leader is unable to motivate others to follow his vision from the Lord for the ministry they have been called to. A leader with strong communication skills can often succeed where others have failed simply by being able to better explain or convey the need, plan and purpose of a particular project or activity.

What is communication? Communication is the process of conveying information, thoughts, or opinions from a sender to a receiver with the use of a medium in an attempt to create shared understanding.  Communication can be either verbal or non-verbal, and the medium can be speech, gestures, writing, signs, sounds, touch, or body language! There are also two types of communication. The first is Sender-focused, as in lectures or speeches, which is a one-way communication intended simply to inform another person or group of something with no response expected or requested.  The second is Receiver-focused, where the intent is to engage someone else in a dialog and where a response is expected. For there to be effective communication, both the Sender and Receiver must participate.

The Bible itself is a form of communication.  It represents God’s Word to all people. The style God uses is Receiver-focused because He wants us to dialog with Him.  Whether His communication to us is an overt command or rebuke or if He speaks to us more subtlety through nature, events, or silence, or ultimately through the loving words and actions of Jesus, the Holy Spirit and his gift of Grace – his communication is always for us and not against us.  God also wants to dialog with us through prayer and meditation on His Word. Communication with God is called prayer, and 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says that we should “pray continually.”  That means we should not only speak to God regularly, but we should also be ready to listen to Him and receive His Word for us. Like Samuel says in 1 Samuel 3:11, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening!”

There are 4 principles of effective communication.  First, we must be Clear. We must speak with confidence and avoid generalities and vagueness.  The best communication is specific and intentional for its audience. The sender should not leave anything open to interpretation. The second is to be Concise. We should always strive to be as brief as possible and to the point, and avoid straying off-topic or bringing up irrelevant information. We should always speak to be understood, not to be heard!  The third principle is to be Open & Honest. We should endeavor to give out all the information we have and avoid being evasive or leaving out critical details.  This often causes confusion and the feeling that we are hiding something. The fourth and final principle is to be Frequent.  Regular, frequent communication sets a tone of caring and involvement.  Repetition produces recollection and regular communication builds stronger and deeper relationships.

So, if we want to become better communicators, we must develop the ability to clearly express a message in various forms of communication, including conversational speaking, writing, public speaking and formal presentations.  We can’t always be good at each form of communication, but we should try to improve where we can. We must also show a genuine interest in people and their needs. Proverbs 18:2 says, “A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.”  We must learn to see things, and communicate, from the other person’s perspective, and to be sincere and compassionate. We should also be more discerning and intuitive, reading body language and other signs so that we can determine if our message is being understood. And it is imperative that we must become better listeners so that we can understand the other person’s point of view and more effectively dialog together.

Finally, we must always remember that the goal of communication is not to win arguments, but to communicate ideas and messages clearly and effectively, so that there is mutual understanding.

Is It Time For a Change?

Someone once said that the only thing that never changes is change itself.  It seems that everything is changing all the time.  Just when you get into a routine, something changes that causes us to alter our plans and schedules.  Change is inevitable. And the wise leader and manager anticipates change and adapts to it.  Failure to adapt to change in our culture, our environment, or our ministries, will inevitably cause us to lose momentum. Staying the same while the world around us changes may give us peace and some level of comfort, but it will also leave us behind.  Ministries that fail to seize the opportunities that change brings will soon become out of touch with the world and have little to offer it in the way of meaningful value.

Think about some of the changes our world has undergone recently. For example, as I travel the world, it seems that everyone has a cell phone today, even in the remotest parts of Africa!  And many of those phones are smart phones, meaning that they also have access to the internet and social media, not to mention the functions of a camera and mp3 player.  Communication has accelerated at a mind blowing pace and the use of technology is an essential part of our world now and shows no signs of slowing down.  Similarly, the internet has opened up communication and information to anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time. Everyone has access to real time information, whether it is news, history, facts, books or people. We can shop on-line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Any question you can think of can usually be answered by a simple google search.  And if you don’t know what that is, you are seriously out of touch with the world today. Transportation has also become more affordable and accessible, meaning that people can travel the world with relative ease.

So learning how to manage change is important because we must deal with it every day. As Christians, we need to know where God wants us to be.  We need to seek God’s will to know if we are where we are supposed to be.  Galatians 5:25 says, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Sometimes God brings change into our lives to lead us in a new direction that He wants for us. We also need to understand change so that our message of the gospel remains relevant to those we are trying to reach.  So as the culture changes we must adapt.  The Apostle Paul said it well when he said  in 1 Corinthians 9:22 that “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.”  And change may also open up new opportunities for ministry, and we need to be able to seize them as they arise. And finally, change often helps us realize that some of our ministries are no longer effective and must be dropped or significantly revised.

Here are some basic principles for managing change:

1.  Change is Inevitable.  Nothing truly stays the same. And without change there is no future!

2. Change is Normal.  Everything changes, including people, cultures and even the earth itself. God built change into all of His creation. And without change, there is no growth!

3.  Embrace Change.  Those who adapt to change prosper. Change will grow you.

4.  Anticipate Change.  Prepare for change so that you can adapt more readily.

5.  Seek Change.  Be thinking ahead. Do not be content with the way things are.  Always be seeking to improve or get better.

6.  Master Change.  Become good at embracing, anticipating and seeking change.  It will improve your flexibility as a church or ministry.

So how do we manage change? Well, here are some things to consider when faced with a change .  First, identify what is changing.  Is the change permanent or just a fad?  Is it a structural or cultural shift?  Is it a local or national/global change? Second, determine the impact of the change on your ministry. Is it important to the way you function? Does it impact the way you present the gospel? Is it important to people? Third, determine if you need to adapt.  Will this change impact our ability to minister to others? Will it increase our effectiveness? Will it help us reach more people? Fourth, develop  a plan to adapt to the change. Do you have time to analyze what to do? Is the change happening now or very soon?  Do you have the resources to adapt?  What might happen if you make the change?  What happens if you do not adapt? Fifth, implement the change plan.  Who will lead the change? How will we communicate the change? When is the best time to make the change? Sixth, review your results. How has the change affected our ministry? Have we seen any benefits from the change? Has it made us more responsive or effective?

We must not fear change nor ignore it.  Change is part of life and the world in general. Only when we face it head on and determine how best to respond can we avoid being left behind or being left out.

So let us all pray that the Lord will open our eyes to the changes around us and give us the wisdom to discern if we must adapt to the changes, and if so, give us the courage and strength to change!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

It’s often said that life is nothing more than a series of choices.  We make decisions every day and every moment of our lives.  Some are trivial but others can turn out to be quite significant. We are where we are today because of the choices we have made in the past.  They may be choices about what college to go to, what career to pursue, what job to take, who to marry, or where to live.  All of these decision have led us to the place we are today, whether right or wrong.  And some decisions are irrevocable.  In other words, they cannot be undone.  Decisions such as having an abortion, committing suicide, or speaking your mind on Facebook! All decisions have consequences!

We cannot change the past but we can influence the future.  Our future will depend upon the choices we make from this moment forward.  Even if we have made bad choices in the past, God forgives us and gives us the opportunity to make better choices for our future.  The choices we make from now on, therefore, will have a significant impact on our lives, both personally and professionally.   God gives us one day at a time to live and no one knows (except God) what tomorrow will bring.  So, we can either influence our future for good or for bad.  The choice is up to us.  Making good decisions will honor God and will bring blessings into our lives.  Making bad decisions, on the other hand, will usually result in our suffering and will also dishonor God.

Have you ever noticed how great leaders seem to always make the right decisions?  I believe that leaders become great because of the great decisions that they make.    And those decisions are not always popular either, but they end up being right in the long run.  Leaders who make poor decision generally do not last very long.  So what constitutes a great decision?

There are 7 principles we must acknowledge when we are making decisions:

1.  All decisions have consequences.  Good decisions honor God and bless us.  Bad decisions dishonor God and result in sin and suffering.

2.  Decisions are only as good as the information they are based upon.  As is often said, garbage in, garbage out.  If you don’t have all of the facts, or you assume too much, you will likely make a poor decision.

3.  Not making a decision is a decision.  Sometimes any decision is better than no decision.  Procrastination about a decision causes confusion and may mislead others.

4.  If you don’t make a decision, someone else will.  If you delay in making an important decision someone else may step in and make it for you.  This could undercut your authority and create more problems because they will generally have less information than you have.

5.  Decision outcomes are not always proportional to decision importance. Sometimes small decision can have a major impact while large decisions have a minimal impact.  Just think of King David’s small decision to take a walk on the roof one night and what that simple and minor decision led to.

6.  Do not make decisions when you are tired, pressured or under great stress.  Under these circumstances you cannot think clearly and risk making a poor decision.  Get away, get rest, or take some time to clear your head so that you can think more clearly.

7.  Our decisions never change God’s will.  God never changes and His plan for us never changes. Proverbs 19:21 says “many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”  So it is important for us to align ourselves with God’s will so our decisions will be good ones.

So how do we become better decision makers?  First, pray and ask God to give you His wisdom.  He promises that He will and it will enable us to align our thoughts with His. Second, gather as much information as you can before you make a decision.  Get the facts and do not assume. Take the time to get it right.  Third, seek the counsel of others that you trust.  The Bible says in Proverbs 15:22 that “plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” Input from others can often save us from making big mistakes.  Fourth, organize your decisions every day.  Either delay them, delegate them or decide them. But do not procrastinate. Fifth, don’t delay important decisions.  Agonizing over a decision wastes time and may cause you to miss an opportunity.  And finally, handle interruptions quickly.  Either delay, delegate or decide them. Do not allow interruptions to cause you to make a poor decision.

God desires that we all make decisions that honor Him and bring Him glory. And He waits for us to come to Him and ask Him for His wisdom.  So let us all strive to become better decision makers so that we both honor God and receive His blessings in return!!

In our Management For Church Leaders™ training we teach about time management. Time is one of the resources that God gives each individual to use as they choose.  In fact, it is the one resource that is non-renewable.  Once it is gone or used up it is gone forever.  You cannot buy more time nor can you re-use the time you have been given.  Furthermore, none of us knows exactly how much time we will have in our lives and so time is a precious and exhaustible resource.

In America, time is very valuable and so we attempt to maximize the use of our time towards things that are important for us.  As the old saying goes here, “time is money”! That goes back to the importance our culture places on work and earning a living to build a financially prosperous life. But Americans also place a very high value on our children, whether it is education, music or sports. Parents spend a lot of time shuttling their kids to soccer practice, music lessons or school activities.

But the rest of the world does not necessarily operate with that same attitude.  Many places I travel time is valued much differently.  Other cultures value leisure time and family time much more than money, work or sports. They do not see time as solely an opportunity to make money, but rather to build relationships and live life more fully.  So you would think that they would not want any training on how to manage their time more effectively since time does not carry the same level of importance as it does in America.

But that is not the case.  Church leaders from other nations do want to learn how to use their time more wisely. They know that the Bible says in Ephesians 5:15-16, “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”  They want to be more effective time managers. They just don’t focus on money as the main objective.  The principles of time management can help them determine how best to use their time for their benefit and for God’s purposes.

There are 3 types of people when it comes to using time.  First, there are time wasters.  These type of people do not use time wisely and often use their time to do things that are either non-productive or wasteful. At the end of the day they wonder why nothing got done.  Second, there are time spenders.  These type of people use their time to spend on things they enjoy doing, like sports or entertainment.  But it has no lasting value nor produces anything tangible.  Thirdly, there are time investors.  These type of people use their time to invest in learning new things, developing their skills, building relationships or helping others. They see value in helping grow a business, helping others succeed, or serving those in need.  God wants us all to be time investors and to be producing something of eternal value for the His Kingdom!

The key principle about time management is that managing time is about managing priorities.  We all spend our time on things that are important to us, or the priorities in our lives.  If it is making money, then that is our priority.  If it is spending time with family, then that is our top priority.  Every single one of us uses our time according to what is important to us at that time.  Every minute of every day we are making choices about what to do with our time.  And whatever is most important usually gets our time.  And sometimes that is a nap, or reading a good book, or watching a movie! And in most cases we are in control of our own lives and get to choose how to spend our time.

So, when you ask someone to do something with you or for you and they tell you they do not have the time, that is NOT TRUE!  They have the time.  What they are really telling you is that there is something more important they either need or want to do at that time.  I recall as a teenage boy when I asked a girl out on a date she told me she could not go because she had to wash her hair.  I think you get my point! (I certainly did…)

So to get the most out of the time we are given we must establish the right priorities for our own lives.  We must learn to value the truly important things. As Christians, God expects us to value the things that He values, like love, holiness, service to others, family, humility, witness, faith, and Jesus Christ, to name just a few. When we have these priorities straight then God will indeed bless us and use us mightily for His kingdom building.  We will become His time investors.  And we will live the abundant life that Jesus came to give us as He states in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full!”

Yes, you have the time!  But let us be time investors and use our time to serve God and others and live life to the full!

In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said that we are to “therefore go and make disciples of all nations.” He did not say to go and make church members.  He did not say to go and make believers.  He was very specific in telling His disciples then, and us today, that we are to make disciples of Him!  A disciple is someone who adheres to the teachings of another and spreads His teachings to others as well.  The Christian church was created to make disciples of everyone, and everything it does should help achieve this goal.

Discipleship, however, entails two distinct aspects.  First, we must share the good news of Jesus and what He has done for all mankind.  This is the essence of Acts 1:8 where we are called to “be His witnesses, in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  In other words, to go to all nations or people groups and be a witness for Christ, and encourage them to put their faith in Christ as well.  But that is only one aspect of this calling.  Second, we are also called to make disciples, or followers, of Jesus Christ.  We are to do this by “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you,” as Jesus says in Matthew 28:20. Our job is not complete if we only make believers in Christ and not followers of Christ. And we have failed miserably if all we do is make church members.

So the goal or mission of every Christian church, and indeed every Christian ministry, is to make disciples of Jesus Christ, and every activity of the church or ministry should involve discipleship.  If it does not, it should be eliminated and replaced with one that does.  Too often churches have activities that do not include discipleship as an element so that they become nothing more than  service providers or a gathering place for sinners to commiserate.  I do not believe that this is what God intended the church to be.  God “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4) He wants the church to not only proclaim the gospel, but train and equip all believers to also be followers of Christ.  We need to begin to see the church as a training center, to equip Believers with the truth and send them out to spread the gospel and equip others.   This is what the first disciples of Jesus did and what we are called to do today for Christ!

This is a big challenge for the church, because so many Christians have become comfortable in simply attending church and not being the church.  We are seeing the erosion of Christianity in our American culture today, and I believe it is because many churches have not been focused on making disciples of Jesus Christ, but rather have focused on attracting church attenders and marketing to their consumer choices.  This is evident from surveys that show that around 75% of Americans say they are Christian but only 20% attend church regularly and even fewer are involved in church outreach. The Bible says in Romans 10:17 that “consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.”  In other words, we should not be trying to attract people to church through our own ploys or a slick marketing strategy, but rather to invite people to church to hear the Word and the Truth! All we need to do is proclaim and teach the Word and let God draw the hearers unto Himself!

The purpose of the church is… Discipleship! It is time for churches and ministries to get back to the basics and return to the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ through all of their activities and functions!

I have been training pastors and church leaders now for 12 years on  leadership and management, focusing on teaching them Biblical principles and giving them practical tools to help them lead & manage their churches more effectively.  I have 25+ years of experience as a leader and manager in business, in church, and in my own ministry, but yet I have never been pastor of a church.  This often makes it very difficult for me to relate directly to what pastors go through and deal with on a day to day basis because I have never been in their shoes, so to speak.  And it also makes me a little uncomfortable giving advice and counsel to pastors when I have not had any direct experience in that position.  So I often ask myself, “what qualifies me to teach pastors?”

Every time I begin to feel that way, the Lord will remind me of the 3 qualifications that I possess for this ministry work.  First, God Himself called me to this ministry.  This was not my idea nor my intent.  God used a pastor in the Philippines who needed help to ask me to share my experience from the business world with his pastors and church leaders.  As I responded to that invitation in obedience to the Lord, God then began to show me that there were others who needed this training as well.  He gave me a Vision for this ministry and has also led foreign partners and contacts to me who desire this training, and thus the ministry grew.  Second, God had prepared me for this ministry.  Prior to being called to this work, God had given me business and church leadership roles for more than 25 years. He was giving me experience in leading and managing people and resources.  He had also led me into His Word so that I could learn His principles and concepts and not my own. Third, God has affirmed my calling to this ministry through the testimonies of participants and the enthusiasm for this training from our foreign partners.  This was never about me or my experience, but rather about teaching God’s Word as it relates to leadership and management of His church.  I do not try to tell pastors how to run their church, but instead focus on teaching Biblical principles they can use & apply to their church situation to help them lead and manage the flock the Lord has given to them.  I do not give them some pre-packaged program guaranteed to ignite their ministry, but rather the Biblical fundamentals that will result in a growing church.  I simply remind them of what God’s Word says and encourage them to put those principles into action (“faith without action , is dead” – James 2:17).

However, I have often thought about what I would do if I were the pastor of a church.  What are the things that I would focus on and implement?  Like any good sports coach, I believe that learning & practicing the fundamentals is very important.  Practice does not make perfect, but rather it makes permanent.  But a coach must also have a goal for the team and a strategy of how to achieve it, and he must know his players abilities and how to encourage & develop them.  So as a pastor, first I would  focus on encouraging the fundamentals of daily Bible reading and prayer, participation in ministry, and being a witness for Christ through missions for every member of my church without exception.  These are the basics that support all endeavors of the church. Second, I would  develop a vision or goal for the church to work towards as well as a clear and simple strategy to achieve that goal.  I would want all church members to know where we are going and how we plan to get there. Third, I would also look for ways to develop the faith and participation of every church member in the ministry & vision of the church.  The church is not a building but rather the whole Body of Christ working together for God’s glory!  These are what I believe to be the fundamentals of church leadership and management.  They do not require an MDiv or a PHD in  Theology to implement either.  Any church leader can do these basic things.

For many years I worked as a business consultant.  And in that role I often went to companies and after assessing their problems simply advised them to do the things they already knew how to do but were failing to do.  The same can be said of churches.  Sometimes churches get so busy trying to be the best they forgot to do the basic things that will make them the best.  And for pastors and church leaders the basic thing is still to “go and make disciples” of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19), and to teach them to be a “doer of the Word” (James 1:22).

As we begin another new year, we are often led to think about the future and to set goals for ourselves and our ministries.  And it all starts with a vision of what could be.  A vision is simply a look into the future and seeing something that does not exist today.  It might be a new church building, a new church plant, taking your ministry to a new nation, or something else that is a tangible and measurable goal.  As Christ followers we must get that vision from God, who “makes all things possible.”  If we try to develop a vision apart from God it will fail (“Apart from Me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5). So the first thing we must do is ask God what He would have us accomplish for Him this year.  That then becomes our vision (goal) and what God would have us work towards.

Once we know the vision we must then develop a plan of how to achieve that goal.  Robert Schuller, a famous author and pastor, once said, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Without a plan a ministry is unlikely to achieve its goal because it will either waste resources or use them in a haphazard or ineffective way. A plan is not just a list of tasks that will ultimately produce the goal, but rather a strategy of how we can acquire, use,  and deploy the resources that God gives us that will best lead us to our goal.  Those resources are prayer, people, time, money, equipment, and facilitites.  And because the world around us is changing all the time, a plan must also change in order to adapt to a changing reality.  As every football coach knows, you start out with a game plan but when you are down by 28 points at halftime, you have to come up with a new plan/strategy if you want to win the game.  If we seek God’s input into our plan, He will guide us and help us develop the best strategic plan.  But we must also continually seek His counsel so we know when & how to change it when needed.

So, have you asked God what He wants you to accomplish for Him this year?  Are you willing to accept His vision for you or your ministry?  Do you have a plan or strategy of how to accomplish it?  If not, then I would strongly suggest you ask God today and seek His vision for you in 2013.  And God will respond, because He says in Matthew 7:8, “for everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”  

Have a blessed and successful 2013 serving the Lord!!

The church is about people—their relationship to God and to one another.  God’s ministry is accomplished through people, and the Bible says that all Believers are the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27).  A leader who is responsible for others must therefore develop them to their full potential.  This is true of any leader, whether in business or any other organization.  In the church we call this discipleship, and a leader must help his or her followers to fulfill God’s purpose for their lives  But it is also practical ministry management. The Church leader has 3 main responsibilities with respect to developing people.  First, their primary purpose is to make disciples.  This is the Great Commission and the sole purpose of the church.  Second, the church leader must train and equip others for ministry.  All Believers are ministers for Christ.  I like the way Paul says it when he says that “we are therefore Christ’s ambassadors” (2 Cor. 5:20).  As ambassadors we are all representatives for Jesus Christ to the non-believing world. We are all called to be ministers of the gospel.  No one gets a free pass on this one. And third, church leaders are to develop other leaders.  In order for the church to grow or multiply, more leaders are needed.  Pastors cannot do all of the ministry work themselves, nor should they.  Church leaders should also be concerned about the future and should always be developing others to take their place. The Apostle Paul’s development of Timothy is a great example of this.  Being an effective developer of people is key for any church leader.