When Are You At Your Best?

I love to fly on Southwest Airlines!  I felt I needed to say that at the outset.  What could a church learn from an airline?  Plenty!

Recently, I had a flight delay while trying to get home after consulting with a church for a few days.  You probably wouldn’t expect me to start praising an airline by telling you about a flight delay.  Here, however, is a little secret – anyone can perform well on a good day.  The day you really need an airline to come through for you is when circumstances are unfavorable.  On the particular day I am speaking of, the weather blew up in the south-central U. S. creating havoc for many travelers.  In my case, we had a plane but no flight crew.  The ground crew did a great job of patiently answering questions and assuring people they would be taken care of.  I never saw anyone lose their patience when asked the same questions over and over.  In fact, I noticed many of the Southwest agents engaging people in conversation and explaining what was happening.  They were stretched and tired but put on a positive face while interjecting grace and humor into the situation.

Talking with one crewmember, I learned they usually have back up flight crews strategically stationed at many airports to prevent planes from waiting because a crew can’t get in from another location.  Also, on this particular day, a connector flight had been held to accommodate passengers who would be arriving a little late.  I can promise you, these contingency plans would have saved me a few problems in the past!

How does all of this relate to the church?  Here are a few things to apply as we seek to serve people well:

• Create a culture of positive, helpful people who treat problems or disruptions as an opportunity to really shine!
• Empower people to take action when needed.  Don’t be afraid to allow them to step in and minister in times of need.  Raise up shepherds to feed and care for His sheep!
• Develop contingency plans for circumstances you know will likely happen sooner or later.  For example, develop a budget to meet practical needs within your congregation, in your community and around the world.  You can’t have a committee meeting after a natural disaster.  Trained people and allocated resources need to be ready ahead of time to allow you to be the hands and feet of Christ to hurting people.  I lived through the flooding in Nashville two years ago and was struck by how quickly and effectively a few of the churches in our area mobilized.  They ministered to people they would have never met any other way.

People matter to God!  If anyone cares for them well (on both good and bad days), shouldn’t it be the church?

Don’t Lose Your Ministry Mojo

 

Only a small number of churches in America are growing.  That number is debated, but it is less than 15% for sure.  If your church is in that 15% of growing churches, God has entrusted you with something special.  Part of being a good steward of this ministry opportunity is to take care not to lose momentum.  Once that happens, it is hard to re-ignite.  Momentum is easily understood by studying a flywheel.  A flywheel is heavy and balanced.  It is hard to turn initially, but once it gains speed it takes less effort to keep it spinning.  Jim Collins described this concept well in regard to ministry in his excellent book “Good to Great”.  With this in mind, here are some ways to help your ministry continue moving forward:

• Clearly and consistently cast vision for the future!
• Encourage people to take a next step personally.
• Help people see how what they are doing is having an eternal impact on those far from God.
• Recruit, train, deploy and encourage volunteers (church is not a spectator sport).
• Take care that sufficient space is provided for core ministries at optimal times.
• Welcome and assimilate visitors (this starts at your web site and in the parking lot).
• Have a cohesive, workable long range plan.

As a church gets larger, all of this is more difficult and complex.  Don’t be afraid to hire some coaching to help you think things through.  The question that you haven’t thought to consider and answer could determine future trajectory.  The stakes are too high not to turn over every stone possible as you steward your ministry in a positive direction!

Parking Wars – Church Edition

If you were to monitor your church parking lot, you may be surprised at what happens in the last few minutes prior to the start of services and for the next ten minutes.  Most pastors and church leaders never see this because they are normally inside doing ministry.  Here are some examples of what you may observe:

• A traffic jam created by many cars arriving at the last minute.  This sometimes includes traffic backed up into the public street.
• All the spots near the building are long gone, which requires people to drive around and around looking for any parking.
• Several cars are parked in driveways, further impairing navigation.
• Many people (adults & children) are crossing in front of traffic while trying to hurry into the building.
• Sometimes horns honk and people “greet” each other with the universal sign of displeasure (yes, this has happened in church parking lots!).

I could go on, but you get the picture.  Remember, the last people who normally show up are visitors.  What is this scene telling them?  It says, we really don’t have room for you or, worse, you are not a high priority to us.  In fact, many visitors have been seen driving into church parking lots late, driving around and leaving without even getting into the building.  Here are some things to consider as you endeavor to create a user- friendly arrival:

• Be sure that you have enough parking to support your building occupancy.  Most churches need a parking space for every 2 – 2.5 people in the building.  Building codes are not sufficient.
• Make sure you have enough acreage to balance your site with ample parking.  You can park 90 – 100 cars per acre of usable land.  If your building can hold 1,000 people, you need to park 400 to 500 cars.
• Work hard to master plan your site to create good traffic flow and safe, easy walking access.  Think of a shopping mall where parking is close to multiple entrances.
• Recruit, train, and deploy volunteers into a parking ministry.  They are exterior greeters, not traffic police (I actually had a parking attendant ask if he could start issuing tickets! – He didn’t get it).
• Be sure you have some parking spots near your building specifically for parents with young children.
• Be sure to have some spaces reserved for visitors.
• Hire off-duty police officers, if needed, to control traffic on the public street to keep traffic flowing safely and effectively.
• Be sure you plan for all of this before you build.

Are You Leading? Why?

A good question for those of us placed in positions of leadership is this –  “ Am I focusing more on the authority I have been given or on the positive influence I can have?”  Authority, almost by definition, insures that you will have influence, but it does not insure whether or not that influence will be positive.

Here are some ways we as leaders can make life better for those around us:

* Choose to allow God to renew our minds with His Word –  (Romans 12:2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

* Choose to believe the best about others.

* Choose to trust God for His promises and to live that faith out before a lost and dying world that desperately needs a Savior.

* Choose to feed our minds positive things – (Philippians 4:8) gives us a beautiful list that fits this criteria.

* Choose to give whatever you are doing your best.

* Choose to serve others  – Jesus clearly communicated that leaders should be committed to serving others.  He said in (Mark 10:45), “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”  Wow, that is the prime example of service!

* Choose to find people you can serve without concern for reciprocation.

* Choose to have a positive attitude regardless of circumstances – don’t be disingenuous, but choose to live knowing that God loves us  (He does!)

* Choose to respect and care for ourselves,  so we can better help others.

* Choose to begin to apply these principles liberally every day with our spouse, children, family, and friends.

This is just a list to start your thinking.  I write this not because I live this way, but because I want to.  I want to be available 24/7 for God to use as a positive influence in the lives of others.  It doesn’t take any authority to do that, just action.

If you have any other actions to add to this list, please respond!

Good Church Debt?

The landscape is strewn with examples of churches that took on too much debt and are dealing with the negative consequences. Here are some of the obvious outcomes:

• Staff layoffs
• Ministry budget cuts
• Endless debt retirement fundraising
• Inability to fund new ministry opportunities

In short, too much debt keeps us from being the church that God has called us to be or at the very least, creates a distraction that pulls us away from our mission.

That being said, it seems to make sense to take a no debt stance. However, ruling out any debt can have an equally negative impact on your God-given mission advancement. Interestingly, the negative impact is less obvious. When we, as church leaders, fail to exercise some faith and trust God for the future, we fail to steward ministry opportunities. This is comparable to Jesus’ parable on the talents in which the owner rebuked the steward for burying his talent in the ground, thus having no return on the “investment”. If we are called to lead His church, we need to steward everything including the opportunity to reach more lost people. It is worth some risk.

So the best question is, what does “good debt” look like? Here are some ideas:

• The plan to pay it back is not assuming rapid growth in giving
• You have a plan to pay it back in a reasonable timeframe – Maybe 5-8 years instead of paying the minimum on a 20 or 25 year loan
• Be sure you only borrow what is actually needed for the next phase of ministry for core ministries only
• Be sure your facility plan scales financially as the space is needed. I have never worked with a church who can build everything at once (they shouldn’t even if they could)
• Your church body should understand how this debt moves your vision forward so they have the opportunity to “buy in” to it
• Be sure you understand how to build and maintain some free cash flow into your budget for downturns or for ministry opportunities that arise

It takes courage to lead out. Be sure you pray and process before you act. Make sure you hammer out a clear understanding of who God as made you as a church and what He is calling you to do. If you have that level of clarity, it will make the next steps easier to see and take.

Relevance is a Biblical Mandate

I smile when I hear a church state that they feel called to be culturally relevant. I applaud them and am encouraged to hear about churches focused on staying in tune with the people God has placed them near. I would argue that this is not a new strategy, but rather a biblical mandate.

The Apostle Paul talked about being relevant to the Romans; not in order to be like them but to win them to Christ. Jesus was always mindful of who He was talking to and what their frame of reference was so He could communicate timeless truths about Himself and His Word without barriers. It is not surprising that He talked with the woman at the well about living water that would allow her to never thirst again. To this woman who made the trip over and over and over again to draw water from the well, the contrast of that from living water could not have been more impactful. After Jesus built a bridge of communication, he was able to take the discussion with her to a much deeper level.

Some questions for you:

• Who has God placed you near?
• What are some felt needs in your community?
• What are people in your area blogging or tweeting?
• What is being discussed on local talk radio?
• What is true of the history of your area that might be important to know?
• Where do people go to hang out in your area and what are they talking about?
• What does the community think about your church?
• Is their perception accurate?

As you begin to learn more about the people around you, you will find ways to serve them better and to be more relevant to them. Think about assigning a group to go out and learn more about your area. Gather the group back and compare notes. As you come to some consensus, begin to formulate a plan to be more relevant to people. This is part of the fun of doing ministry together!

Man Church

I recently walked into one of my clients and saw a brand new four-wheeler in their lobby. I learned that they were also serving nachos and popcorn in their 3^rd place area. I soon learned that they are making a concerted effort to reach young men and are willing to give a four-wheeler away to aid the effort. As I have gotten to know this church, I have learned that this is not just a promotional gimmick but rather an attempt to live out their God-given mission.

This church and many others realize that if they want to attract and minister to men, they must appeal to them. They have seen the positive impact to families when husbands and fathers are reached and discipled. Transformed men also have positive impact in their churches, communities, and businesses.

Part of successfully implementing the men mission is to make sure men are comfortable in your facility. Too many church buildings make men uncomfortable according to some recent studies. That is especially true of un-churched men. If you agree with this direction, you might want to take a hard look at how these men experience your church. One thing we noticed is that women will give up a lot of their own comfort if their husbands and fathers are excited about attending.