Effective Staff Members Grow

One of the saddest places to be in your Christian life is the place where your spirit ceases to be teachable—the place where you have stopped longing for growth. Weariness, depletion, arrogance, experience, disillusionment, and even suffering—these things can cause us to stop thinking, to stop moving forward and growing in God’s grace.

The moment you stop growing, is the moment you begin to become increasingly less effective. The longer I serve the Lord, the more keenly aware I become of how much more there is to learn.

In our quest to be effective servant leaders, I believe a quest for growth and a healthy dissatisfaction with “status quo” is key. Here are a few areas an effective staff member is always seeking to grow:

Grow in Spiritual Life—nothing is more valuable than your understanding of biblical truth and your ability to transfer it and apply it to the lives of others. When you hit a “growth plateau” this is where to go first—renew your passion to grow in God’s grace and spend more time in His Word. But be ready—sometimes the tools God uses to create growth are painful. Sometimes they involve trials. Spiritual growth is often painful and uncomfortable. Do you want spiritual growth enough to endure the pain that might be involved?

Grow in Skill and Competence—this is about growing in your understanding of your role and the skills involved in fulfilling your job description. Nobody’s competence is static. You are always either becoming less competent or more competent. What have you done recently to increase your practical skills for ministry? I have found that every hour I give to growing in competence—learning a new software program to enhance ministry, developing a new administrative strategy, reading a good book—every hour gives me back multiplied hours in the months to follow!

Grow in Gracious Leadership and People Skills—good staff members love people and love to help other people to grow and succeed. Therefore, an effective staff member will seek to grow in leadership—learning to compassionately nurture people. Leaders after God’s heart seek to be shepherds—to lovingly nurture people and to constantly express abundant grace toward them as God’s heritage.

I appreciate serving with our people in ministry. It has allowed me, as a pastor, the opportunity to grow - in the areas I just listed, as well as in other areas. As much and as often as I have failed, I’m thankful that every failure produced growth, and continues to do so.

Are you growing? Are you walking with God consistently? Are you reading, studying, and expanding your knowledge-base and skills? Are you seeking to become a more Christ-like individual in working with people?

Here’s the test: What intentional steps have you taken in the last thirty days to grow personally?

An effective staff member keeps growing.

An Effective Staff Member Commits

Do you serve on a ministry staff? Are you a member of a team? If so, you are no second-class citizen in the work of Christ. Some men are called to be a “Senior Pastor,” but probably many more are led to serve on a staff under a pastor. While some may believe that only Senior Pastors “have a clue” and everybody else is a second-rate servant, I believe that God’s Word is filled with great examples of winning teams. There is no doubt that God brings people together to strive together for the faith. He calls some to serve by leading, and others to serve by following, and frankly, almost everybody who serves the Lord in one of His true churches, does a good bit of both!

The big question is simply this: What qualities make an effective staff member? What character traits and principles create winning teams? If you serve on a team, what would make you an excellent team player?

First and foremost, an effective staff member commits—100%!

This commitment is first to the Lord, and second to the Pastor and team. What does this mean?

 It means your life is absolutely, irrevocably committed to living for God and serving Him.
 It means that ministry isn’t a “try it and see” proposition.
 It means you don’t have “plan B” constantly taking shape in your mind.
 It means you aren’t using the ministry for your own agenda.
 It means you aren’t competing with anyone else on the team.
 It means you aren’t carving out your own career path or personal dreams of success.
 It means you believe in the cause of the team.
 It means you trust the leader and believe in his integrity. (Not his perfection.)
 It means you don’t care who gets credit for victories.
 It means you are committed to guarding the spirit of the team.
 It means you are fixed in your heart and not making other plans.
 It means you plan to stay and work through hardships.
 It means you will do whatever required to protect relationships.
 It means that those you serve can count on you sticking around.
 It means that you believe you are in the will of God.

May I challenge you to commit! Anyone who ever did anything for God was first deeply anchored in God’s call. Those who are used by God are first committed to Him and to the team to which they are a part of.

Great marriages begin with commitment. Great families are built on commitment. Great churches are established with commitment. Great church families consist of people who are committed. And great staffs begin with a group of committed people.

Without commitment you are merely flirting with the eternal. Without commitment, your attempt at serving God will be merely an experiment—and short-lived at that! Without commitment, you will greatly handicap your ability to have a profound impact on others.

You know what we need more of in local church ministry? Commitment. We need pastors, assistant pastors, teachers, youth pastors, music ministers, and team players to dig deep, anchor in, and stick it out. We need fewer “try and see if ministry works out for me” staff members. We need more “count on me—I’m not going anywhere any time soon” staff members.

We need to declare war on superficial, shallow, surface, temporary, flighty ministry endeavors.

If you want to get something done for God, it takes serving over time. So, buckle up for the long haul, God will honor it!

Delegation is only presumed when work is delegated out. It becomes a reality only when the delegation is received and carried out faithfully by the person or persons the work was delegated to.

15 Tips for Assisting Your Pastor

In 1 Peter 5:2, we read instructions that God gave to those that we call “pastors.” He said, “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof.” While God certainly calls pastors to lead and feed, He has also called many people to help carry the load of leadership. We see this example unfold very clearly before us when we look at those who physically and figuratively helped carry the load that belonged to Moses.
"But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun." Exodus 17:12
Here are 15 ways to significantly lighten your pastor’s load rather than add to it:

1. Be sure that you are on the same wavelength as your pastor.
You must strive to discern your pastor’s heart as you work for him.

2. Demand more of yourself than you do of your pastor.
One of the most helpful things you can do is to manage yourself well. Constantly evaluate how well you do your job.

3. Acknowledge that there is much you may not understand.

4. Learn to understand his weaknesses and not lose respect for him.

5. Don’t just identify problems; provide solutions.

6. Make him look good.

7. Prepare yourself to give to, not demand from him.

8. Be candid with your pastor.
If he asks for details of a situation or what you think about something, he wants to know the truth. Don’t tell him only what you think he wants to hear. Be honest and kind.
Once a decision is made, it should be carried out as if it is your own decision.

9. Be conscientious of his time.

10. Have an attitude that makes you valuable.
Take on difficult projects.
Be willing to serve in areas not necessarily considered your “area” of ministry.

11. Pray for him.
Pray for the details of his responsibilities (i.e. counseling, meetings, etc.).
Pray for his vision and leadership of the church.
Pray for safety for him and his family.

12. Have a spirit of encouragement around him.
He carries a burden that you will only know pieces of; an encouraging word goes a long way.

13. Never apologize for decisions the pastor makes.
When speaking to others use the word "we" instead of "him" or "they".
Take responsibility for decisions. Don’t pass the buck.

14. Strive to complement the strengths and weaknesses of your pastor.

15. Have faith to follow.
When you would prefer to do something differently than your pastor, have faith that by honoring your pastor, God will honor you and the task that you’ve been given. Never try to be a "little pastor" by taking his duty of oversight away from him.

Leadership Chart

Don't Give Up On Struggling Teens

Have you had a student come through your church’s youth group, graduate, and not mature spiritually the way you hoped? It seems no matter how we pray, labor, plan, or serve—there are some that graduate and drift spiritually.

What about trying to help a struggling youth, only to feel like you’re spinning your wheels? Gauging by the immediate response or lack of change, you would guess your influence was zero. Few things in life are more frustrating and discouraging to a youth worker. These experiences make us feel like failures and scream at us to quit.

The same is true for the parents of the kids who struggle—times maybe a million! Feelings of discouragement and disappointment can be overwhelming.

But consider for a moment: How many adults in sound churches who were saved or came back to the Lord in their 20’s or 30’s? How many men surrendered their life to the Lord while they were in the military? How many mature Christians do you know that struggled during their younger years?

The reality is, as long as someone’s heart is beating, there is is still hope for them to stop drifting. When do you give up? NEVER… EVER… EVER.

God has allowed me to have worked with some adults who loved the Lord and became very passionate about living their lives for Him. Years ago these adults were teens who brought about some tearful meetings and discouragement for their parents and others. They were seriously struggling. They struggled with life issues.

Today, they are growing in God’s grace, loving Him. In every case, through their struggles, their spiritual anchor (their parents and pastor) remained in place.

After a season of drifting, many will return to the strong foundation to which you led them in the first place. Keep the big picture in focus—the long term. You might lose the battle now, after all they do have a free will. But the rest of the story hasn’t been told yet. Don’t stop praying, loving, and hoping. In time, some of those who drift will mature and return—and when they do, they should certainly find a friend in you and me!

What Is Right Here?

5 Aspects of Right Ministry
When a string of setbacks come into our lives we seldom begin with the question, “What is right here?” The typical starting point is, “What is wrong here?” I would be the first to agree that if a series of setbacks presents a trend, then something is wrong. As we relate this to our ministry, we know that God built churches to grow. He is the architect, we are the builders by His grace, and those yet to be reached are both the materials and the beneficent of God’s work. Times like these are profoundly difficult for churches. By that, I’m not referring to the obvious, but the oft overlooked part. Many churches compromise or shift during seasons of duress. As ministry leaders, we can wrack our brains, but let us also be reminded that the basis for legitimately finding what is wrong is to begin with what is right. To meticulously walk through the mine field of growth and transition, you have to know the stepping stones where you’ll find your footing. So—what is right here?

1. Our Message
I’m not referring specifically to preaching, but to the overall thrust of our message. The Gospel is right. Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” This point seems obvious, but the tendency of many during seasons of difficulty is to grow more sensitive to the seeker, or the potential attendee. A pastor’s sensitivity must remain on the emphasis of a biblically correct message, and that begins with the Gospel. Wrapped up in the Gospel is a multitude of additional biblical teachings that work together. Our position should be biblically-based. We must remember that the Great Commission has three parts – Evangelize, Baptize, and Stabilize. All three need to be part of ministry!

2. Our Methods
Over the years, I have sought to employ a methodology that reflects the principles of the New Testament. Much has changed in 2,000 years, but the principles remain the same. Soul-winning, discipleship, teaching, and preaching will never be outmoded. We don’t need a new track in terms of our overall methodology.

3. Our Means
The means by which we do spiritual work is the Holy Spirit, but we must be servant leaders. We must enlist as many people as we possibly can in the Lord’s work because every saint should be a servant and every member should be a minister.

4. Our Motivation
This is a tricky one. We all do spiritual work in an earth suit that is prone to wander. We all want something big to happen in our ministries and to be honest, a lot of our desires are rooted in the flesh. It is simply more fun and more fulfilling when things are going well, but as we search our hearts during hard times, we find that we are driven to our knees seeking for God to work for His glory. As imperfect as we all are in this, that is the motivation that keeps us going. We’d all quit when things got tough were it not for a deeper sense of commitment to God.

5. Our Manner
Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 1:5, “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.” By “manner” he was talking about the sort of man that he was before them. He dealt with them the right way. He wasn’t overbearing or manipulative. In fact, he cherished those he served as a mother would a young child.

When things are going good we often fail to play to our strengths. We need to get back to the basics. Tactically, there is always much to do and more to learn. But practically, we simply need to do the basics.

We all know that the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result. That is not what I’m talking about. I’m suggesting that staying true to those things that are right is an uphill battle. The old cliche is, “When all else fails, compromise.” That is our default setting in life. It takes a real commitment to stay focused on the reality that this is God’s work, and His work is to be done His way. As we strive for growth in our ministries, let us remember it all has to begin with a commitment to stick with those things that are right.