Tag Archive for: Exponential Conference

Are You A Spiritually Plateaued Leader?

in /by

I have started to read Organic Leadership – Leading Naturally Right Where You Are by Neil Cole. This book will challenge every aspect of ministry, church and leadership that you presently know. I love reading books like this. I might not agree with everything that is written, but it forces me to start thinking more in terms of where ministry and leadership could be going 10 plus years from now, if not sooner.

I love what Neil points out in his introduction about church leaders who have become spiritually plateaued and not even noticed it or that could be in denial of it.

Here are a few characteristics of spiritually plateaued leadership:

1. A spiritually plateaued leader avoids relationships of personal accountability.

2. A spiritually plateaued leader rarely applies the truth’s of God’s Word to him – or herself personally.

3. A spiritually plateaued leader had replaced his or her joy, peace, and love with envy and resentment.

4. A spiritually plateaued leader frequently looks for greener pastures in other places.

5. A spiritually plateaued leader finds faults in others more often than in self.

6. A spiritually plateaued leader is burned-out from lots of busyness that has been substituted for simple intimacy with Christ.

7. A spiritually plateaued leader compromises on ethical principles once held dear.

8. A spiritually plateaued leader stays within safe areas of expertise rather than branching out into new learning endeavors.

9. A spiritually plateaued leader is unable to acknowledge the wisdom of others.

10. A spiritually plateaued leader has reduced the Christian to a routine.

Now, I caught myself in a couple of the above statements that Neil listed. With that I realize that I need to repent and ask God to continue to grow me in those areas. But, if you can see yourself at all in the list above, here is how it will impact and affect your leadership within the local church at any level you serve.

The Impact and Affect of Spiritually Plateaued Leadership:

1. Poor leadership needs to control all ministry.

2. Poor leadership needs to filter God’s voice.

3. Poor leadership promotes upper class Christianity.

4. Poor leadership emphasizes knowledge at the expense of obedience.

5. Poor leadership sees church as a worship service, more than a service of worship.

6. Poor leadership is lured by fame and fortune.

This will be a great book that you must get and have your whole staff and/or small group read. It will challenge the status quo of church and leadership and help prepare you for what is coming!

Your Thoughts?

For more information about Organic Leadership or Neil Cole, use the Google Search Bar on the Upper Right Hand and we will connect you with the correct websites.

Delegate Authority, Not Tasks!

in /by

We’ve all heard of the 80/20 rule in churches. 20% of the people do 80% of the work. And, it’s always the same 20% until they get burned out and you have a turnover of the next upcoming 20%. But, in real honesty its more like 15% that does 80% of the work. Why is it so hard for church leaders to recruit and maintain strong and passionate volunteers?

I don’t have all the answers to that question, but I do have one thought to throw out there. When you recruit volunteers, are you recruiting so you can delegate tasks that you don’t want to do yourself or are you trying to delegate authority so a volunteer leader can grow and develop an area of needed ministry? There’s a big difference between the two.

Let me be real blunt with some church staff volunteer recruiters I know in church world, if your only delegating tasks, your average time period of keeping a faithful volunteer will be around three to six months, if that! When you recruit task-driven volunteers, you train people to follow, not lead. When you delegate authority, you train people to lead, not follow.

When a volunteer steps back and disengages themselves  in your ministry, it’s not because they don’t have a heart to serve. And, it’s not because they don’t love to be involved or called into the ministry.

Here is the reason: They are burnt out being a follower. Everyone is called to lead and think like a leader. Volunteers should be leading. They should lead by thinking, coaching, acting and moving in delegated authority so they can use their primary gifts and talents to grow an area of ministry whether for the local church or an non-profit organization.

Here is another side note: I have seen this in churches time after time again. If you have volunteers who are more educated and have more experience in business/ leadership development, coaching, and ministry than your own church staff, then your time span in keeping sharp volunteers will definitely be shorter than you realize. If your staff’s leadership lid is low and your volunteer caliber is high, it will be just a matter of time until your church will only be ran by appointed staff with very little volunteer support. Or, you will have a high volunteer turnover around every six months. People will not follow incompetence, I don’t care how long a person has been on staff or how “anointed” they are. If volunteers can’t grow spiritually and in their leadership abilities under your appointed staff personnel, then they will not stay to support your cause in giving of their time.

I encourage you to read  Ed Stetzer blog on The Biggest Sin in Your Church. He points out other important information that church leaders need to know about why the 80/20 stays at 80/20 or even drops to 80/15.

Your Thoughts?