5 Guidelines for Conflict Resolution

by: Dan Reiland

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Conflict is no stranger within the local church. Different opinions, diverse perspectives, and opposing priorities can cause your best leaders and staff to experience conflict with each other. This is normal and virtually unavoidable amongst leaders. Leaders cause motion and motion causes friction!

The goal is not to practice avoiding conflict, instead we all need to become good at resolving conflict.

In order to be good at conflict resolution, the first step is to know the primary internal causes. When we understand what causes conflict, we can begin to recognize and deal with it before it gets the best of us.

7 primary internal causes of conflict:

1. Immaturity
2. Self-Centeredness
3. Insecurity
4. Pride
5. Controlling nature
6. Fear (Fear of loneliness, rejection, abandonment, being manipulated etc.)
7. Broken trust

The bottom line is that conflict emerges when we don’t get what we want.

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

James 4:1-2

We all wrestle with some of these internal causes that lead to the more visible expressions of conflict.

7 primary external causes of team conflict:

1. Unhealthy culture
2. Unclear or misaligned vision
3. Lack of communication
4. Unclear expectations
5. Territorial attitudes
6. Unhealthy competition
7. Ineffective systems and processes

5 Guidelines to Conflict Resolution:

1) Give the benefit of the doubt.

My personal frame of reference is that our staff is made up of really smart people who are committed to the vision and work hard to do the right thing. So when something seems odd my first reaction is to assume the best. When I choose to give the benefit of the doubt and seek to understand, it’s amazing how quickly conflict dissipates.

2) Extend trust.

Your teammates need to earn your respect, but it’s important that you give them trust up front. If and when they violate that trust, that’s a different story, but until then operate in an environment of mutual trust.

3) Get the issue out on the table.

Don’t hold back. Polite harmony never advances the vision or accomplishes meaningful success. If there is a problem, get it on the table. Be candid, speak truth, but do so with kindness and honor. Seek to understand, listen carefully, and find common ground within the vision.

4) Set your agenda aside.

James 4:2 is a truth we can’t escape. We get upset when we don’t get what we want. Maybe it’s a bigger budget, or more staff, or greater recognition… and the list goes on. The Devil loves it when we fight like that. However, when we rise above our own agenda, personal ambition, and seek the best for others and the church overall, everyone wins!

5) Forgive and move on.

It doesn’t always work out happily-ever-after. Sometimes people are hurt and it takes time to heal. Forgiveness is a critical part of any healthy staff. It may take time and God’s peace to help you through the process. But in the end, restoration needs to be realized so that you may continue to model the kind of relationships that honor God.

> Read more from Dan.

Tags: Dan Reiland, conflict resolution

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9 Ways to Grow Generous Disciples

by: Dan Reiland

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For every leader, it requires artful and prayerful leadership to inspire a congregation to give.

That said, I know how much stress pastors and church leaders carry about church finances. So my hope is that this “simple” list is helpful, encouraging, easily accessible, and therefore worth the risk.

1) Never make money about expenses, make it about vision.

People can smell desperation from a leader. When you allow your financial pressures to leak into your teaching and general announcements from the platform you receive less income not more. Vision is what moves people to contribute financially. People work hard for their income and want to know it’s going to a Kingdom purpose greater than they can produce on their own.

2) Practice generosity personally.

Your personal giving patterns may never be of public record, but your level of generosity is inherently connected to your leadership. When giving to others is as natural as breathing, that finds its way into the DNA of your leadership and people respond accordingly. You behave differently and the congregation responds in kind.

3) Offer an online giving option.

In the last 5-7 years online giving has caught tremendous traction in the local church. It fits the normal practices and patterns of your people for a great deal of their personal finances. In short, it’s easier than remembering to write a check and carry it to church. Don’t stop receiving your physical offering, but I highly recommend you set up online giving.

4) Teach one series on giving per year.

If you talk about money too much your congregation becomes anesthetized to what you are saying. In general, people know they are “supposed to give,” they see the offering received every week! Merely telling them or asking them the same way over and over again doesn’t change anything. If you prepare and present, for example, an annual 4-week series on biblical stewardship, including tithing, the impact is far greater.

5) Demonstrate wise stewardship.

Giving starts with vision, but continues through good stewardship. Nothing increases trust faster than when the leadership consistently demonstrates wise money management. If you are not great at the financial part of leadership, get some help from a few sharp business leaders in your church.

6) Teach tithing for the benefit of the people, not the church as an organization.

This should be included within your annual financial series, but it deserves special note on its own. Giving is not about money as much as it is about trust. It’s a heart issue more than a wallet issue. Trusting that God will provide for personal needs, and that principles like obedience and gratitude are part of spiritual maturity are of huge benefit to each person.

The results of giving are a major blessing to the individual and far exceed the significance of the church “making budget.” I’m not downplaying or dismissing the church’s need for financial resources, but I’m saying make it personal not organizational.

7) Be bold about tithing with leaders.

Tithing is part of a believer’s spiritual journey. It’s good to be clear and direct, but also be very encouraging with the general congregation when it comes to your teaching on tithing. But when it comes to teaching leaders to tithe, it’s good to be bold. If they are representing the church, carrying spiritual responsibility and commensurate spiritual authority, it needs to be backed by spiritual obedience.

8) Tell stories of life change.

Few things are more inspiring than stories of life change. When your congregation consistently hears these stories, whether you tell them or by video or just a hallway conversation, they are reminded of the vision and what God wants to do through your church. Make baptisms a part of your worship experience, they are some of the best stories ever told!

9) Offer personal financial training.

When we as leaders challenge people to give without equipping them to give, we create a kind of spiritual dissonance. Without knowledge of basic budgeting, debt reduction and personal savings etc., it’s difficult to embrace consistent giving, let alone tithing. Offer top-notch finance training through small groups and seminars at your church. Financial freedom is a powerful tool to help your people grow!

> Read more from Dan.

 Would you like to learn more about generosity? Connect with an Auxano Navigator and start a conversation with our team.

Tags: Dan Reiland, Generosity, Generous Disciples, Vision

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2 Necessities for Health in Discipleship AND Evangelism

by: Dan Reiland

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Which is more important discipleship or evangelism? It’s not a trick question, but it is a difficult one in practice. Every church leader has a unique wiring that creates a personal bias toward either discipleship or evangelism. And each church, therefore, quickly reveals an emphasis toward one or the other. This is also true for departments and teams.

Matthew 28:19-20 makes the general mission of the church clear, “make disciples”, but that inherently includes evangelism. Without people coming to faith, there is no one to train in their faith. We can quickly argue biblically that this is a both and not either or issue. Fair enough. But if you want to answer this question honestly, you must consider the patterns, habits and results of the ministry practices in your church. We all need to do this.

Simply ask the question in the context of your church. How many are coming to faith in comparison to how many are being nurtured in their faith? This is the great caution, be careful not to justify discipleship because of the absence of evangelism. Our devotion to spiritual formation is most healthy when it is the response to people finding faith in Jesus.

One thing we have learned for certain is that there is a natural gravitational pull in every church toward discipleship. With minimal intentionality, discipleship (spiritual formation) will occur. Evangelism, however, will not consistently happen without great discipline, effort and intentionality.

So what can we extract from these considerations?

1) It is necessary to make evangelism a priority.

Evangelism needs to be the priority not because it’s more important, but because if it isn’t it quickly becomes weak and can slide to a nominal position and practice in any church. Evangelism, unlike discipleship is not the natural pattern of the church. It is, however, the cutting edge that helps you take new territory.

Keep it simple. 16 classes in how to share your faith over complicate the matter. Cast vision for your congregation to make friends and invite them to church. That’s it. Let it happen in a natural lifestyle way. Of course there is no “wrong” way to approach evangelism, but some are more effective than others within your community and culture. The bottom line is make evangelism a priority, from local compassion to inviting friends, keep it the focus.

2) It is necessary to strive for quality and life change in discipleship.

While we acknowledge that in nearly all churches spiritual formation is happening, it’s not true that it’s always of high quality and effective.

Here are a few questions to get you started:

• Are your small groups working? Do you have stories of life change?
• How about new Christians? What do you have in place? Are you happy with the process?
• Are baptisms a regular part of your congregational life?
• Is serving (volunteering for ministry) vibrant and widespread?
• Is prayer vital, core and prevalent in your church?
• Is worship robust and alive?
• Are people growing or just repeating the process over and over again?

Discipleship or evangelism is an age-old question.  Hopefully you and I can give some fresh new answers.

> Read more from Dan.

Tags: Dan Reiland, Discipleship, Evangelism

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7 Characteristics of Great Team Chemistry

by: Dan Reiland

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Port City Community Church (PC3) in Wilmington, NC is a cool church. The founding and senior pastor is @MikeAshcraft — a great guy with a strong Kingdom vision for the future. They are a multisite church with 4 locations.

Recently I had the privilege to speak to their entire staff of about 75 people. What an awesome day we had as we tackled the topic of leadership development!

They have a fantastic staff, and while I was with them, it struck me that some teams are more likely to become better leaders than others. This was one of those teams.

We had the whole day together that included teaching, Q&A, and a huddle with their ministry directors. There was plenty of opportunity to get to know the team, including some lunch conversations with Trolley Stop Hot Dogs! They even had a veggie dog option for this SoCal boy! That’s hospitality!

Let me share the characteristics I observed and experienced that make me believe they are more likely to become better leaders than some other teams.

I encourage you to evaluate your team with this list:

They were hungry to learn and grow.

Teams who are more likely to become better leaders are willing to pay the price. They carve out the time from busy schedules and invest in their teams like PC3 did over the course of two days. It was obvious they were hungry to learn. They asked insightful questions at every break, and never stopped taking notes! They wanted to be there!

They want to develop and empower others.

Teams who are more likely to become better leaders than others know the value of selecting and including volunteer leaders, in order to develop and empower them for significant leadership roles. This requires intentionality and specific skills as well as strong and secure leaders who are willing to hand over the keys. Just one example, Dudley Raye, a new staff member (Host Team Volunteer Co) has some 600 volunteers and was fired up to develop leaders!

Their collective attitude was positive and full of faith.

You know a team is more likely to grow as leaders if they have a positive attitude and are full of faith. It’s part of the culture, and so true at PC3. You could feel the energy in the air and sense a spirit of anticipation that God was up to something big in and through their church.

How about your church? What vibe is in the air among your team? Gratitude is an overflow of a positive spirit and faith; and it showed at PC3.

They valued and enjoyed each other.

I’ve been with staff teams that didn’t get along very well, and behaved like they were in a library, not so at PC3. They knew how to have fun, laughed easy and enjoyed the process. That is key for any team who wants to grow. Ministry isn’t easy and you work hard so it’s important that you find joy in your calling and love the people you serve with. That creates an environment that enhances personal growth. Toxic environments stunt growth and make becoming a better leader difficult.

They are willing to work hard on their craft.

It’s fun to play, but that’s not how you grow. Teams get better because they are willing to work hard and practice leadership. Practicing leadership means that you work on things that you can’t do, until you can. It’s the opposite of the more common scenario where leaders do the same things, with the same people, in the same ways, over and over again. Keep up the good work PC3!

They understand the need to blend the spiritual and natural realms.

As I listened to Mike Ashcraft share the vision for the church my heart resonated with the obvious spiritual passion and yet grounded connection to earthly realities. Leaders on teams who become better leaders know how to navigate the grand partnership between what God does and what we as leaders do! Pray like it’s up to God and work like it’s up to you!

They have demonstrated competence.

You don’t grow a church to over 5,000 people on 4 campuses if you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s always fun to spend a day with a team of competent leaders; yet leaders who all realize they still need to grow.

As you think about your staff team and key volunteer leaders, whether your church attendance is 50, 500 or 5,000; what are you really good at and where do you need to improve?

>Read more from Dan.

Tags: Dan Reiland, Staff Characteristics, Team, team chemistry

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Five Insights to Help You Communicate Better as a Leader

by: Dan Reiland

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Former President Ronald Reagan was known as the Great Communicator. That title wasn’t an award, it was just true. President Reagan was optimistic when he spoke, had a quick wit and sense of humor, gave hope, and had a deep belief in what he spoke about. He possessed a natural connection with people that allowed him to speak truth with a folksy wisdom that captured young and old alike. How about you, what distinguishes you as a communicator?

First, I’d like to encourage you with three thoughts about your communication potential as a church leader.

• The size of your stage doesn’t determine the size of your gift. God may have chosen you for a smaller platform but that does not limit your ability to develop your skill. Don’t seek a larger stage, strive to develop your ability.

• The size of your gift doesn’t determine the scope of your reach. The power of prayer will always trump eloquence and skill. Your eternal impact can be greater than your skill when you bathe your communication in prayer.

• The scope of your reach doesn’t determine the value of your ministry. If you never speak to large crowds, you can still rock the gates of heaven with staggering stories life change.

Second, here are 5 questions that give you insight to great communication:

1) Are you are comfortable in your own shoes?

The best communicators are at ease with who they are as a person. They don’t try to look, sound or speak like other people. They are self-aware, genuine, and have found their own voice. Because of this they can communicate with poise, confidence and personal authority rather than insecurity.

2) Do you connect at heart level?

All great communicators connect with people. Their authenticity gains them an innate trust from the listeners. There is no pretense, which will always break a heart level connection. Though the topic may be serious, there is a light-heartedness and sense of humor in their style. This allows them to engage the emotions of the people.

3) Do you read the room quickly?

Knowing your audience is important but there’s more to it. Great communicators have the ability to sense if the people are engaged and responsive. And if this is not the case, they can change their approach in the moment. It might be as simple as slowing down and cutting content, or something more complex like adding a personal story on the fly to recapture the room.

4) Do you make people think?

Jesus made people think. From the Pharisees and Roman leaders to his own beloved disciples, he challenged them with questions, and made them think by telling stories in parable form. His approach was simple but profound. For you and I, there is simply no substitute for substantial preparation.

5) Do you know how to land the plane?

This is the leadership moment, the moment that captures why you are teaching.  Be strong, clear, concise and bold. Don’t circle the runway when it’s time to land the plane! Know the point of your message and stick to it. There are two questions that will help your message land in a way that makes a difference.

• What do you want each person to know?
• What do you want each person to do?

> Read more from Dan

Would you like to know more insights on how to be a better communicator? Connect with an Auxano Navigator and start a conversation with our team.

Tags: Better Communication, Communication Insights, Dan Reiland, Insights for Better Communication

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Two of the Best Questions to Ask to Determine if Your Small Groups are Working

by: Dan Reiland

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A couple days ago a church leader asked me if I thought small groups were kind of “old school and over with?” He continued to suggest that small groups were now passé and wanted to know the new cutting edge innovative thing.

I pressed in further in order to better understand his question and discovered that small groups were not working at his church. Although it sounded like his church is healthy and growing, the small group attendance is declining. His interpretation and conclusion of their reality, is that small groups are over. My thoughts are different.

Small groups have been a part of culture from the beginning because people are created to flourish and grow in community. But what has always been on the table is how we do small groups. The structure, format and method will always change and evolve.  For example, I love hearing stories about some of the cool digital/online small group innovations that help people in larger churches connect. There will always be new and innovative ways to do small groups, but small groups are here to stay.

Perhaps a better question to ask is, “Are your small groups working?”

Two of the best questions to ask to help figure out if your group life is working are:

• What is the purpose of your small groups?
• How do you measure success of your small groups?

Let’s start with purpose.

If you don’t know the true purpose of your small group ministry, the leaders won’t know and you’ll never be as effective as you’d like to be. When I interview small group leaders in any local church, and ask that question, it’s amazing how many different answers I get. It’s important to train your small group leaders to know the purpose. It is essential that the leaders stay focused on the purpose or all that effort and energy will slide sideways to good fellowship at best, or general busyness at worst. Don’t get me wrong, good Christian fellowship is great, but that’s a lot of work for something that often happens naturally on its own.

So, what is your purpose? (Why do you meet?) Here are the 7 most common answers.

• Bible Study. We meet to study God’s word in depth to learn more about biblical principles.
• Connection.  We meet to help make the church become more “sticky” and help our large church feel smaller by enhancing healthy relationships.
• Serve.  We meet not so much in a group discussion format, but the group comprises a serving team and provides a ministry that serves people and supports the church overall.
• Prayer. We meet to pursue God in deeper ways, intercede for others and the church as a whole.
• Spiritual Maturity. We meet with a purpose of spiritual formation overall, seeking to grow in our faith and walk with God.
• Care. We meet with a focus on pastoral care and shepherding. Our church is large and the staff can’t keep up with caring for all the people personally.
• Evangelism. We meet with a desire to engage people who are not yet Christians with the ultimate desire to see them say yes to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Nothing new right? Right. But here’s my challenge to you. More often than not church leaders say something like: “All those components are part of our small group system.” I understand that answer, but I want to challenge you with this thought, if you don’t intentionally choose your primary focus, you will lose your effectiveness. Look at the list again. Do you think that your small groups can achieve all those elements?  I’m going to press back and say they can’t. So, again, what is your focus? If you get that settled, you are on your way toward much greater effectiveness.

I believe we would all agree that the big picture is life change. In some ways that seems highly subjective and possibly illusive. But on the other hand, it’s really easy to see when someone in your group has truly experienced change in their life.

Life change is the best measure of success regardless of your choice of focus or purpose. You may be tempted to form a list of attributes or scripture passages by which to measure the spiritual maturity of people in your small groups. I have done that multiple times over the years. Each time I’ve been part of an effort like that to “measure success” (measure life change) it turns into a mechanical nightmare and eventually fades into non-existence. In small church environments, it works okay for a while, but the larger you get the more unmanageable it becomes and you’ll likely find yourself looking for something much more intuitive and organic.

Let me offer a simple, powerful way to measure success (assess life change).

Gather stories! That’s it! Gather stories of life change. Don’t make it more complicated. Train your leaders to look for, gather and send you clear and concise stories of how real change is taking place in the lives of small group attenders. They can be:

• God Stories – Where God shows up and does what only God can do!
• Growth Stories – How a person takes steps toward being more like Jesus.
• Gift Stories – How a person understands that God has gifted them for Kingdom purpose and serving in ministry. (Story about serving in a ministry.)

Tell these stories on Sunday morning! Your church will love 3-4 minute videos of the stories. They don’t need to be highly produced. Just make sure the point of the story is clear and that you capture heart. It’s also a great idea to include these stories, videos and even live testimonies within your sermon.

This practice creates momentum and begins to infuse group life into the culture of your church and each time you open groups and invite new people to join, you’ll see greater participation. Of course you need good systems (the method for getting people connected to groups) and good group leaders and apprentice leaders, (effective and consistent training), but you also need the ministry of group life to be clearly part of the (ministry) culture of your church.

Your small group ministry is one of the most important things you can do in your church. It’s also a lot of work. I can promise you that if you are not fully committed to small group ministry the results will be average at best. If you’re going to do it, go for it 100%.  If your church feels too busy, it may be wise to lean out or simplify your ministry menu in order to do a better job with the most important ministries. Small groups don’t work well as “one of the things you do.” It needs to be at the top of the list if you want great results.

The method or structure you select isn’t nearly as important as knowing your purpose and how you measure success. My prayer for you is that you truly experience life change through group life in your church!

> Read more from Dan.

 Would you like to know more about the importance of small groups in the life and health of your church? Connect with an Auxano Navigator and start a conversation with our team.

Tags: Dan Reiland, Discipleship, Small Groups

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10 “Different Numbers” That Really Matter

by: Dan Reiland

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Being loyal to a denomination, I’m no stranger to filling out forms and reporting stats. There are good reasons for this accountability, and we at 12Stone® Church are good team players in the Wesleyan Church. We report all numbers requested. I’m not saying it’s fun, but it’s a healthy practice.

We also keep a demographic spreadsheet of more numbers than you could imagine, from attendance to car counts. Again, these stats are kept for good and practical reasons. They help us in everything from decision-making to setting budgets. But I’ve been thinking about the things we care about, things that are more difficult if not near impossible to track, and started making a list.

I’m not sure how well we track all of them. Some we are good at, others we might need to improve. We do chase stories of life change, and that is a great practice, but I think there may be more to learn about strengthening a local church ministry by knowing some of these “other numbers.”

How about you, how close of a pulse do you have to these ten in your church?

1. Serving the poor 

Jesus speaks much about caring for those in need and those who are poor among us. A mark of a strong and healthy church is how it cares for people who may never attend and can do nothing for the church. Your church, and the one I serve, can’t help everyone, but I believe there are certain ones in need that God intends for us to serve.

2. Visitors that don’t look like you

When I travel to churches I’m amazed at how similar everyone looks. That’s not bad, I fully understand natural connections, culture, and how people invite friends. All good. But recently I sat by a twenty-something with some cool looking tats, a full sleeve, piercings and carried a well worn bible. He worshipped with passion and was warm and genuine when we said hi. He looked the opposite of me, (and way cooler). I couldn’t help but think that was a good thing and that God smiled.

3. Next Gen called to ministry

I will admit a personal passion and bias for this one. It seems to me that for nearly twenty years or more, we are losing ground on young “sharpies” being called to full time ministry nation wide. The church today is not attracting them enough for God to get a chance to capture their hearts. Yes, I know that God can call young leaders any way He wants, but He often uses the local church. The future of the church depends on the “best and brightest” being called and committed to vocational ministry. That’s one of the reasons we are so fired-up about our two-year post college residency training program for ministry students.

4. Restored marriages

Divorce is rampant. I think the accepted norm is that 50% of all marriages will end in divorce. We can’t settle for that as acceptable. Each time the ministry of your church helps to prevent a divorce that is a huge Kingdom win! That really matters! From pre-marital training, to biblical teaching, to workshops and referrals to professional therapists, all your efforts for strong marriages are worth it!

5. New Christians / Baptisms

This may be the most common number on this list, but I couldn’t write this article and not include it. Salvation is at the core of the Great Commission. A redeemed life is at the very epicenter of what we do! Each baptism represents an amazing story. I’m confident you feel the same about reaching people, and I want to encourage you to stay fired-up about seeing people come to Christ.

6. Addictions broken and Fear conquered

This may not be as common as divorce in our culture, but it’s more prevalent than I would have imagined, and far more so than twenty to twenty-five years ago. I won’t attempt to list addictions, the list is long, and we all understand fear. The point is that the freedom that comes from an individual breaking through and living out of bondage is incredibly powerful. Your church may not be equipped to deal with these complex issues, but there are organizations in your community you can partner with in order to help make a difference, even for a few.

7. First time tithers

When it comes to Christian maturity, the returning of a tithe from one’s income is often the last thing to happen in a Christian’s life. And for many, it never happens. It’s not about the money. Yes, your church needs money to operate, but it’s really about a surrendered life that chooses to trust God. Few things are more powerful than when someone realizes that they may be in charge but they are not in control. Be bold in your teaching about trusting God with finances!

8. New Leaders and Volunteers

Next to the favor of God, everything rises and falls on leadership. My personal belief is that it’s nearly impossible to over invest in leadership development. Leaders raise up volunteers and volunteers make ministry possible. Recruiting, inspiring, encouraging, training and empowering your volunteers is essential and your leaders will help you do that!

9. Hours devoted to prayer

I don’t really think we should count how many hours we pray, but I can’t help wonder what the correlation might actually be when you compare hours in prayer to the health and life change impact of a local church. I don’t think God is keeping score, but I do think He cares about what our heart treasures and how we chase after Him. Candidly, I believe prayer makes a huge difference, in fact, I think it is the true difference maker for any local church.

10. Kids treated with respect 

Jesus had some very clear thoughts about how we are to treat the children. How strong is your children’s ministry? Do you put as much effort toward the kids as you do the adults in “big church”? It’s not a competition, but doing your best in children’s ministry really matters. If your children’s ministry needs a lot of work, don’t stress over it, but commit to improving it a little bit at a time and you’ll be surprised at what can be accomplished in 6 to 9 months!

So there you have it –a list of ten different numbers. How would you evaluate your ministry with these ten? Are there one or two that you want to focus on? What would you take off this list? What would you add?

The Pastor’s Coach is written by Dr. Dan Reiland, and is available via a free email subscription. You can subscribe by clicking here.

Tags: Dan Reiland, Measurement, Numbers

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5 Practical Points in Leading a Turnaround Church

by: Dan Reiland

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A church split, a failed leader, changing economics or an aging congregation, there are many reasons for a church to be struggling and in decline. In fact, of the approximately 350,000 churches in the U.S., far more are in need of a major turnaround than are healthy and growing.

It’s true that both church planting and the multi-site model are highly productive strategies to advance the local church, but we can’t ignore or dismiss the tens of thousands of struggling churches. There is always hope!

My friend Brad Powell led his church to a great turnaround and found so much passion for helping struggling churches that he wrote a book titled: Change Your Church For Good, The Art of Sacred Cow Tipping. (Thomas Nelson) I highly recommend it.

There are layers of complexity involved in any turnaround church scenario, but the core principles are always similar. The following practical points will help you lead your church back to the place you dream it could be.

1.    Think leadership. 

Most struggling churches think problems. Leaders think solutions. John Maxwell says: “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” It’s true. A church can be friendly, debt-free, and teach the Bible and still be going nowhere.

A leader brings purpose to the party. It’s great that the church gathers, but after a few hundred Sundays of “church” without a clear purpose the people find other things to do. Busy is no longer a virtue. Reaching people for Jesus has always been the central theme and mission of the church, anything other than that is largely just being busy doing church. It takes leadership to drive mission because the church naturally drifts toward comfort in fellowship rather than risk in reaching people.

The pastor and leaders need to be willing to make tough decisions or a turnaround will never happen. Most churches are just one tough call away from a breakthrough, and the leader usually knows what it is. It’s the willingness and courage to actually do it that makes the difference.

2.    Tell the truth.

You can’t solve a problem if you won’t admit there is a problem. Churches and their leaders work so hard to keep everyone happy and everything nice. The problem with that is that it’s not real. Get comfortable with problems because you will always have them. Good leaders solve them and thereby move the ball down the field. Essentially a leader makes progress, (toward the vision), solves problems and helps people.

It’s healthy to talk about a ministry area that is weak and in need of improvement. Maybe it’s the children’s ministry, or perhaps the usher’s team or the worship team.

That’s okay, as long as you do something about it. Perfection isn’t the goal, the point is to make progress. The conversations should not be negative or discouraging, just honest. Never allow meetings to turn into complaint sessions. Gather small groups of leaders who will be candid, positive and produce solutions. It can be done!

3.    Establish trust and hope.

It is not uncommon for a struggling church to have experienced some form of hurt or discouragement. This usually involves broken trust and thereby erodes hope.

Healing is needed to reestablish trust and this takes time. There are several ways this can happen, and often requires multiple efforts. For example, the pastor can teach a “Shepherding” sermon series through the Psalms. The pastor or board members can lead small group discussions for honest conversation to take place. And an outside consultant can be brought in to help bring the congregation through a difficult season.

If broken trust is not the issue, but the congregation is tired and has little hope, hope can be restored by quick wins and vision. Remind the congregation that the Church is God’s idea and He owns it! He wants it to work and gives the power of the Holy Spirit for that very purpose!

4.    Realize the power of quick wins. 

Effective church ministry is more like a marathon than a sprint. It’s a long road full of hills and turns. Small victories along the way are vital to finishing the race, and essential to begin the turnaround process.

One small church was discouraged and didn’t think they could do anything. Every wall in their worship auditorium was covered in dark wood paneling and several light bulbs were burnt out. It was depressing. The pastor inspired the congregation to raise about $800 for paint, supplies and light bulbs. They tore down the paneling and painted a fresh coat of white paint and it was like they were in heaven. They were fired up again!

Another pastor raised about $600 and started a food co-op in their town. Their church became outward focused and in one weekend they felt renewed and recharged. Both congregations began to believe they could turn things around. The small wins gave them tangible and practical hope for success in the future!

5.    Create spiritual intensity within your vision. 

Over the years I’ve worked with hundreds of churches, many of whom craft an intelligent, biblical and creative mission/vision statement. But for some reason it doesn’t seem to work. In many cases, one of the primary missing ingredients is spiritual vitality. There doesn’t seem to be a sense of spiritual intensity that carries with it a passion to make things happen and go the extra mile to reach one more person.

Prayer is at the core of spiritual intensity and evangelism is a close second. Together they will keep a church white hot for the vision. Intensity does not suggest weirdness. It’s not an ascetic sense of guilt driven sacrifice. It’s actually the opposite. Its origin comes from people who genuinely love God and are fired up about Kingdom work, so much so that joy and service are a natural by-product.

Vision requires strategy. If you are not sure where to start, focus on improving three areas. 1. Your worship service. 2. Your children’s ministry. 3. Your small groups ministry. And always undergird the ministry processes with leadership development.

For ideas on leadership development, visit my blog at danreiland.com.

Tags: Dan Reiland, Leadership, Quick Wins, Trust, Truth, Turnaround Church, Vision

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3 Driving Factors in Creating Culture in Your Church

by: Dan Reiland

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Chick-fil-A is a favorite fast food restaurant chain in the Southeast. When you get something to eat there you are likely to hear a cheerful “My Pleasure” from any employee. It’s part of their culture.

I recently visited Christ Fellowship Church in West Palm Beach. Todd Mullins is the senior pastor and Tom Mullins is the founding pastor. I love that church. The spirit there is amazing. It’s a huge mega-church and yet they make you feel special. Each person is treated like a million bucks! The spirit of hospitality and serving is palpable.

In contrast, I’ve also traveled and consulted with churches that had no need for parking lot attendants because there was plenty of room. The ushers were grumpy and the people glared. (really) The staff members were unhappy and gossiped. The senior pastor was discouraged and the morale was dismal. The culture was toxic and the church was in serious decline. This is extreme, but more common than you might imagine.

You can’t tell people the culture of your church. They experience it. For good or bad, your culture is in full play. It is possible to change it, but requires a long road of deliberate and intentional leadership. You can’t print the six points of your culture in the bulletin and think that will change anything.

Some church staffs have gone on retreat to figure out what they want their culture to be. That’s good, but again, you can’t come back and announce it. The leaders need to live it out.

Candidly, it’s very difficult to repair a negative culture. Rather, you replace it with a positive culture. In other words, you are on defense if you attempt to repair what is broken. It’s like putting your fingers in the dyke to stop the flooding. The problem is that there are one hundred holes and you have only ten fingers! You can’t keep up. Instead, you want to get out in front.

Make the changes you need to make. If you need to make a change in staff, be courageous and make the change. If you need to make a shift in your ministries, then do it. If you need to seek forgiveness or return to teaching the gospel, serving the poor; whatever it may be, just do it.

Don’t jump into this process with fear or in panic. Think clearly and pray much. This is a long, slow and deliberate road. If a healthy culture represents a healthy personality, then what is your healthy personality? Live that out authentically. You won’t need to hype anything up, or try to sell it; it will come naturally if you live it out intentionally.

It takes continual effort. Your culture is never set. As your church grows and new people become part of your church, the culture will drift. In very large churches, the same thing happens in the staff. When the culture drifts it’s not the people’s fault and it’s not the staff’s fault. It’s the responsibility of the senior pastor, key staff and board.

At 12Stone® Church where I serve as executive pastor, we have grown rapidly and experienced a slight culture drift amongst the staff. This is not the staff’s fault. It’s my responsibility. If I’ve not communicated something or modeled something, or corrected something, how can the staff be responsible? The good news is that our team is so positive, hard-working and passionate for the vision that slight culture corrections are not a big deal. If you wait, or miss it altogether, that’s quite another story.

Dr. Sam Chand has written an excellent book titled CRACKING YOUR CHURCH’S CULTURE CODE: Seven Keys to Unleashing Vision & Inspiration. It’s a great book, and I highly recommend it. Sam doesn’t tell you what your culture should be, but helps guide you to experiencing the culture you want. He offers these helpful questions:

• Who actually controls what gets done and what doesn’t?
• Does everyone understand the why behind the what?
• How is leadership discovered, developed and deployed?
• How are changes made?
• Is failure allowed?
• Are risks taken?
• Are the leaders courageous?
• Does the team think systematically?
• Who are your heroes?
• How much does the average staff member feel he or she has input into the direction and strategy of the church?
• Is there a spirit of hospitality and servant leadership?
• Who is rewarded, and for what accomplishments?
• What are the sacred cows?

The senior pastor is a major driving force in setting the culture. It’s not an autocratic thing; it’s a normal part of life and leadership. In fact, I believe this is one reason why churches that experience frequent senior pastor turnover struggle more with culture issues than churches that have a more tenured pastor. A tenured senior pastor is certainly not a guarantee to a healthy and thriving culture, but it’s one significant factor.

In essence, there are three driving factors that create culture.

1. What you do. 

No one church can do everything. Therefore what you do is an important expression of who you are. The prayerful selection of what ministries you do and don’t do is a major factor in setting the culture of your church. What you do (and don’t do) from global missions to local compassion and justice endeavors, to how you embrace first time guests to developing leaders all plays a significant role in shaping your culture. It’s true that culture is greatly impacted by things of style and preference like if your church is more casual or formal, and your style of worship, but what you actually do has a far greater impact.

2. How you do it.

Churches do ministry differently. That’s a given. We learn from each other, and some things are replicated, but there is an element of interpretation and factors such as leadership style, theology, priorities, finances, church history, size of church etc. that naturally cause the leaders to practice ministry a little differently from church to church. This has a huge impact on your culture.

3. What you care about. 

Let me be candid, as a leader you can’t care about everything! None of us like to admit that but it’s true. We don’t like the way that sounds because it suggests that there are some things we actually don’t care about. That’s not the heart of what I’m saying. The point is to be honest about the practical realities of leadership – and that connects back to point number one.

Here are a few questions that will help you land this point. 

• What has God put on your heart?
• What are the burdens for people you carry?
• What keeps you awake at night because you feel something must be done?
• What ministries are thriving and you are passionate about their future success?
• What ministries are struggling that for you are non-negotiable and must improve?

If you follow this “5 Step” process, your culture is likely to flourish.

1. Know your culture.
2. Model your culture.
3. Communicate your culture.
4. Correct drift in your culture.
5. Celebrate your culture.

At 12Stone our culture is felt, seen and quickly experienced. It is made up of three DNA strands and they are Spiritual Intensity, Creative Ideation, and Leadership Development. That’s not our purpose or mission, it’s our culture. That truly is who we are, and we invest much to keep that culture healthy and flourishing so that we can lift up the name of Jesus and see lives changed!

“This article is used by permission from Dr. Dan Reiland’s free monthly e-newsletter, “The Pastor’s Coach,” available at www.INJOY.com.”

Tags: 12Stone Church, Creating Culture, Dan Reiland, Organizational Culture

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Four Questions Every Young Leader Should Answer

by: Dan Reiland

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The leader in trouble is not the one who doesn’t have all the answers; it is the one who doesn’t know the right questions.

As a young leader I craved answers. I had just graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary, was recently married, and had little experience as a leader.  There was so much I didn’t know. We all crave answers.  We need to make things happen. You find yourself moving fast and when you don’t know what to do it slows you down. You want someone wiser and more experienced to help you clear the fog and keep moving forward. To a degree, that is normal and good.  But it lacks long-term development and depth.  A good answer is valuable and helps you keep moving forward, but it doesn’t necessarily help you think and grow.

A coach that asks the right questions of you is often more helpful in the long run than the one who provides the answers you seek.  As an executive pastor and leadership coach, there are times when I need to provide answers, but candidly I think I’m of greater value when I ask my team the right questions.

What makes a question good? Is it the question itself? Not necessarily, the art is asking the right question at the right time. That said there are a few essential questions that all leaders, and especially young leaders should ask themselves. Here are four of those questions for you.

• What do you want?

The most frustrated people in the world are those who don’t know what they want. They are the most difficult to lead and often do not possess an inner peace or genuine happiness. Leaders who don’t know what they want are dangerous. Instead of serving the people they, (unknowingly and without malice), use them in an attempt to discover what they want from life. That pursuit is often preceded or paralleled by attempting to discover who they are.  Candidly, they need people rather than lead people.  You don’t have to know the full depths of that answer when you are in your twenties, nor are you locked into one answer for your entire life. But the sooner you have a solid grasp of knowing what you want, the better you will lead and live.

• Who do you listen to?

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.  (Matthew 16:13-17)

You don’t have to be a biblical scholar to understand this passage of Scripture. Who you listen to matters. Who are the people that speak into your life? Do you give them permission to tell you the truth? Are you receptive and responsive?

• Can you discern the difference between a wrong turn and a wrong direction?

All leaders make mistakes. If you don’t make mistakes, you are playing it too safe and therefore not leading. The important thing is to not make the same mistake twice. Making a mistake is a wrong turn, making the same mistakes repeatedly is heading in the wrong direction. Mistakes are temporary. The wrong direction can result in an epic failure. The difficulty is that in the daily grind it’s hard to tell which is which.

The best way to avoid heading in the wrong direction is to possess a clear picture of the vision and keep your heart and mind focused there. Distractions, pressures, problems and difficult people can take you temporarily off course, but if you keep your eyes on the big picture you won’t lose your sense of the right direction.

• What trades are you willing to make?

Life is a series of trades. Because time, energy and resources are finite, you must make choices. Your worldview and belief system shapes your trades as well.  Over the course of time those choices or trades determine your leadership effectiveness, quality of life, and ultimately, your legacy.

A classic set of trades that pastors make is what it takes to grow a small church to a large one. You can’t have it all. There is something special about the warmth and closeness of community in a small church. There is something powerful about the leadership and programming of a large church. As a leader you trade either way.

In order to make good trades, you have to know what you want. You need to listen to God and wise counsel. You need to be willing to make mistakes but keep heading in the right direction – and then just keep praying through the trades trusting that God is guiding your steps as a leader.

Are you asking the right questions?

Read more from Dan here.

Tags: Dan Reiland, Staff, Staff Development

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