CHURCH POLICY GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

Hi All,

We have been in the process for the last couple of years of transitioning our church from an action-based Board model, to a policy governance structure. We have been helped by this through the Carver model of policy governance. The Policy Governance model as defined by the Carver website says this: "Policy Governance is an integrated set of concepts and principles that describes the job of any governing board. It outlines the manner in which boards can be successful in their servant-leadership role, as well as in their all-important relationship with management...." Let's put some flesh on that esoteric definition. For our church, this model is making a difference; let me tell you why.

First some background:
Most people are familiar with the '200 barrier' of church growth; not as many are aware of the '800 barrier'. While the 200 Barrier is all about moving from a single-celled church leadership to multi-celled, the 800 Barrier is about larger issues of leadership. Specifically, for a church to be pro-active and to have a long-range vision, they must move their Board from an action-based Board that works IN the church, to a policy-based Board that works ON the church. Now, there are other factors that have to happen to break through the 800-Barrier, but this leadership issue is one of them.

It basically means this: somebody has to tell the forest from the trees. If the leadership of the church (both pastor and board) are focused too much on the detailing of the ministry, they never get to step back and look at the big picture. In a policy-based governance model, the Board becomes much more responsible for helping to set the direction, policies, and major initiatives of the church. Other details such as starting up & recruiting for a ministry, or promoting and pushing 'the next big event', or worry too much about the facilities all distract from the primary function of a policy-based church board. I think you get the picture.

So what have we done about this? Our church of 700 has been operating with the same patch-work quilt of a By-Laws that they started with from day one with 100 people. So in order to develop new By-Laws, we first spent time on developing a policy-governance document for our church. It has four parts: 1st - It defines the Board's relationship with the Senior Pastor & any staff; 2nd - it defines the Board's relationship with the Congregation & individual members; 3rd - It defines the Board's relationship with itself; 4th - it clarifies the specific rules of operation within the Board.

One of the key guidelines, for example, is that the Board has only one employee: the Senior Pastor. The other Staff have no policy-based relationship with the Board. The Board does not oversee the Staff; the Senior Pastor or his designee does that. The Staff do not report to the Board, the Senior Pastor does. All of this simplifies the direction and planning for the church. It also enhances the Senior Pastor's role and authority with the Staff. They are accountable to him; he hires and fires; it diminishes much of the politics out of staff-board relationships.

So, we developed our policy-governance manual. We had this approved by the Board. Then, having gained their acceptance of the general direction, we worked for the next year on redesigning the By-Laws to match the policy-governance model. We are now in the process of presenting it to the congregation for approval this December. So far so good.

That's how we are growing in terms of our infrastructure. If you have 'functional structures' according to the Natural Church Development survey, you have one of eight key planks in place for growth. This move to a policy-based governance model is one of those functional structures which we have found important in keep the growth and direction of our church on track.

That's all for now.
In Christ,

Dr. Bill

THE TWO DANGERS OF LEADERSHIP

There are two extremes which a leader must avoid if s/he is going to successfully lead God's people. These are two dangers faced by every human leader, because every person is confronted with the knowledge of their own weaknesses, and this self-knowledge can force a leader to take actions which are inconsistent with the role of a leader. Every leader is tempted to waiver between two extremes and these two extremes are illustrated in the life of King Saul, the first king of Israel. (For the full text, you can read his sad story in 1 Samuel, especially chs. 10 - 15. The key passage of focus is 1 Samuel 15:17-23.)

The first danger of those in leadership is Self-Doubt.

Saul suffered from this at the very beginning of his leadership as king. When Samuel was looking to anoint Saul, he could not be located until the Lord revealed in 1 Samuel 10:22 "He has hidden himself among the baggage." This is a serious case of self-doubt. He understood some aspects of what it may mean to be the king and he doubted his own abilities to do it. So he hid himself. This is further illustrated by the Lord's words through Samuel when he was rebuking Saul in 1 Samuel 15: 17

Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel?"

  Saul was "small in his own eyes", which is a very descriptive statement of the first danger of those in leadership: they do not think they are up to the task.

This results in a few problems as leaders: In the early days of their leadership, or for as long as they suffer from this problem of self-perspective, they do not seize the opportunities quickly enough which God sends their way. They question; they second-guess; they worry; they fret; they are concerned about what people think of them.

Because they are small in their own eyes, they believe that everybody else sees them that way as well. And so they do not step up to the opportunities which God has placed before them.

They see themselves alone and without the power and presence of God in their lives and this leads to fear, self-doubt, and lost opportunities.

I'm sure there are many victories which could be had by such leaders, victories which God is prepared to give them, if only they will step out in faith and trust, not themselves, but God at work in them. Note all the references in Joshua 1, as Joshua assumes the leadership role of Moses over the people of Israel. Again and again God says to him "Be strong and courageous". Why does God need to say this to Joshua? Because Joshua is in the early stages of leadership and he, like Saul, and like most leaders at the beginning, could be suffering from a bit of self-doubt.

Self-doubt is the first danger of leadership, and it is most often one that occurs in the beginning of a leadership tenure. Some leaders never escape from this problem and this self-perspective handicaps their leadership efforts for quite a while until they grow out of it, or lose their leadership role because of it.

The second danger of leadership is not Self-Doubt, but Self-Importance.

Naturally, some people suffer from this before they step into leadership roles, but for many people, as they become more self-assured in their leadership role they move from self-doubt right past self-confident, and into the realms of self-importance. If we were to put it on a line scale, we would see self-doubt off to the left at about minus ten, we would see self-confidence at about the zero spot, and we would see self-importance at the plus ten end of the line.

Self-importance is the thought that a leader has that he is the most important part of this organization or mission, and he doesn't really need others and the roles they bring to the team. Saul suffered from this when he made the sacrifice without waiting for Samuel. This was a role that only Samuel was supposed to do, but Saul, who had once been small in his own eyes now believed that he was capable and called to do something which was not appropriate even for a king to do.

Here was Samuel's judgement:

But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.”

 

So Saul went from one extreme to the next in a short period of time: Staring with self-doubt, he then developed the self-confidence to call the tribes together to defend themselves against the Amalekites. But then after that victory, he faltered over to the self-importance side, which Samuel called "arrogance like the evil of idolatry". Saul suffered from a case of idolatry, in this case worship of self; self-importance. Because of that he lost the anointing of God as king of Israel.

So there are the two dangers of leadership, and either one can destroy a person in leadership. Either they suffer from self-doubt, and therefore do not seize the opportunities presented by the Lord, or else they suffer from self-importance and go too far in their attempts to lead people.

Better to find that perfect spot of self-confidence, where you know how God has gifted you, and are willing to use your gifts to serve Him, while at the same time keeping your eyes on the Lord, and also being grateful for the gifts which God has given to others. That is the perfect balance a leader needs to maintain to flourish in his/her role as a leader.

Please use these thoughts to guide your own prayers and meditations as you seek God's guidance in your role as a leader.

For now,

Dr. Bill

THE PREMISE OF CHRISTIAN COACHING

Fellow Christian Coaches,

The Premise of Christian Coaching is this: Not, ‘what do YOU want’, but what does GOD want?

If you are a Christian and if you are a coach, then there are two truths which must intersect your coaching aspirations and guide your coaching with clients: What do they want to achieve? & What is God indicating in their life?

The first question, "What do they want to achieve?" is common for any coach, Christian or secular. Obviously, this is the goal of coaching, to help someone achieve their goals in life and succeed.

But the second question is what separates the Christian Coach from other secular-oriented coaches. You see, there is a third party in the coaching relationship, and that third person is God Himself. God created this person and designated a plan for them from before they were born (Jer. 1:4). And God's indication of what that plan may be is hinted at in their spiritual gifts. How God has gifted someone is the best clue as to where they will excel in life. And so how do you, as a coach, help them to get to that point of seeking God's plan for their life?

And so in my coaching with individuals, one of the early questions asked when they are trying to determine their life mission, is "What are your spiritual gifts?" After all, if you are a Christian then you want to have a life with eternal significance. That means to make an impact on other people's lives for eternity you need the power of God at work through you as you minister to them. Therefore, a person needs to know how God has gifted them to make a difference for eternity. So we are back to the issue of spiritual gifts.

When I help people to discover their spiritual gifts, a couple of resources I use to help them with this process are found here. (This is a link to our church, Crossroads', website which links to two resources: an on-line spiritual gift inventory or a printed copy of a spiritual gift inventory.) After completing either inventory, there is a scoring tool to help you discover your top gifts.

Once your coaches have completed their spiritual gift inventory, the next step is to take them through a ministry inventory. Rick Warren has popularized this with his SHAPE inventory. Or you can download this interview form from HighPowerResources.com here.

This will get you started on helping you to help your coachees discover this key part of Christian coaching, which is "What is God's will for me?"

In His Service,

Dr. Bill

Simple Church - Year Two

Hi All,

We have been working on a re-tool of our church philosophy of ministry for the last two years. It's amazing how long this has taken, but it has incorporated quite a lot of changes crammed into just 20 months.

Here's what's been happening:
--November 2006 - We read "Simple Church" by Thom Rainer, and are absolutely captivated by the idea of a clear, simple ministry plan for making effective disciples of Jesus Christ.
--Dec '06 - Jan '07 -- We ask all the Ministry Staff to read the book as well.
--Feb '07 - May '07 -- We spend time during our Strategic Staff meetings discussing the implications of the book for our philosophy of ministry.
--June 2007 -- First sermon is delivered to the congregation to introduce the simple church idea.
--Summer 2007 -- We plan out a Fall series which will detail the Simple Church concept. We also begin designing and writing our first set of discipleship courses which will match the Simple Church vision.
--Fall 2007 -- Six-week series presented to the congregation explaining Simple Church concepts as related to our church. Link up our membership class and the first of our discipleship courses together.
--Fall 2007, Winter & Spring 2008 - We teach courses one through four of our discipleship curriculum.
--Summer 2008 -- We start work on stage three of our three-part discipleship plan
--Fall 2008 -- we have all three discipleship stages in place: Main Street, Community Circle, Ministry Way.
--Fall 2008 -- we host our first 'ministry community' meeting, for everyone serving in ministry, called "REFUEL"

What's next? We pretty much have all the "big rocks" in place now. Now we are clarifying our "hedge hog" concept (ala Jim Collins, 'Good to Great'). When we have that totally nailed down, we will incorporate that into the next round of our improvements phase this year. This is what Jim Collins calls "spinning the fly-wheel". We will just get really good at what we are doing in terms of our three-stage discipleship plan, and keep adding and adjusting as God leads.

That's enough for now.
Stay with us as I update you on our church's progress in developing a simple, clear, intentional discipleship process.

God bless,
Dr. Bill

DEVELOPING APPRENTICE LEADERS

HI All,

If you are responsible in your ministry area for recruiting either workers or leaders, this post is for you.

One of the toughest jobs that I believe exist in the local church, but also one of the most important ones, is developing leadership apprentices who are qualified to take over and lead an existing ministry. Every church has ministries which somebody needs to lead. In many cases, there is one person leading the ministry and if s/he leaves, the ministry will be scrambling to find a replacement. Jesus has taught us a better way, and there is good guidance in Scripture for how this is done.

Here's the question: How do I develop leaders to take over my ministries?

The place to begin with this is by observing Christ in action. In Luke 10:1 Jesus sent them out 'two by two'. This was a technique used by Noah (joke), but Jesus uses it not to reproduce more people, but more leaders. Two by two is a great way to run a ministry. Instead of finding one person to lead a ministry, don't start it until you have two! If you do just this, your ministries will be more than twice as good, and your leaders will last more than twice the length of an ordinary leader alone.

Q: "What about all of my existing ministries that are already lead by just one person?"
A: The number one goal of every leader needs to be to develop new leaders who can replace them. If it is truly a priority, then it will impact the way they spend their time and energy. A leader needs to not only 'run the ministry' but 'develop the leadership of that ministry'. A leader needs to be spending at least 15% of his or her time, just on connecting with, praying for, teaching, training, and modeling for future leaders what is involved in making this ministry happen. But many leaders are too busy DOING the ministry to truly DEVELOP the ministry leaders.

Here is the guide from Scripture, 2 Timothy 2: 2 "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men [or women] who will also be qualified to teach others." (NIV)

How to develop leaders:

1st - WHAT are you asking them to lead?

Do you have a job description for your ministry? Don't ask them to lead something if you haven't defined what it is.
Here is a blank Ministry Description template, from HighPowerResources.com that should get you started.

2nd - WHY are you asking them to lead?

That question should actually be answered in the very first line of the "Ministry Description" template from above, under the title of "Purpose". What is the purpose of this ministry? What is it's relationship to the Great Commission? If you can't find out how it is to help the church to make disciples, then you may need to back up a little bit and take a big picture look at your ministry.

3rd - WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?
This is actually addressed in the second line of the "Ministry Description" template, under the title, "Description of Success". Dream a little bit here, and help your young protege to imagine what this would look like if everything was humming along like honey. How sweet it would be! Dream and give them a vision of what it is all about.

4th -- WHO am I going to approach?
Do some brainstorming here. Don't just go looking for someone with the word "leader" stamped on their forehead. You may have to look for a diamond in the rough. Here is another easy little form from HighPowerResources.com to get you thinking.
Meet with the person and cast the vision, you just worked on in the 3rd point. Make the sale!

5th - Assuming they tentatively agree to consider it, just ask them to watch you do it for a while. Don't dump the ministry on them the moment they say yes. Ease into it this way:
"I DO - YOU WATCH"
"YOU DO - I WATCH"
"YOU DO - I CHEER YOU ON AND SUPPORT YOU"

6th - Give them one or two small tasks to do.
Ask them to do just part of what you normally do. When you are fishing, and Jesus called us fishers of men, you let the line out a little bit and give them a taste of what the ministry feels like. Don't dump the whole load on them! Let them ramp up and get a feel for it.

People serving full-time in the ministry constantly overestimate what a person can handle, if they've never served in church before. Break it down into bite-sized chunks. You can always increase the size of the responsibility if they can handle more; but once you've scared them away by overwhelming them, they are not coming back.

7th - Ask them when they are ready for the whole thing.
Make sure that they are committing to it - to the ministry - and not to you. You do not want them to be doing YOU a favor. They need to be choosing to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in this ministry. They will stick with Him through thick and thin, a lot more than they may for you (no offense intended).

8th - When they are ready, do a formal handoff in front of the whole team.
Let all involved know that s/he is now the new leader. Invest your authority into them. Bless them!
Then get your hands off, and let them try it out, even if they wobble a little bit.

9th -- Maintain regular contact with you new leader
Do not dump and drive away! Be there as a support, helper, cheer leader, and confidante.

10th - Pray for them.