Tell the Story!

One of the things I used to teach my clients when I was a consultant was that one of the best ways of promoting your business to a potential investor or client is to tell the story!   I would have my clients practice their ‘elevator story’, which was a way of getting to the point of the story in the amount of time you would have to talk with someone on an elevator.   Similarly, one of the best ways to reach a neighbor, friend or co-worker for Christ is your personal testimony. You personal testimony is a story; it is not theology but simply how your human condition was changed when you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior.

We just need to tell the story.  We likely don’t have all the answers. Telling the story doesn’t mean you have perfect recall of the theology the woman at the well said "I don’t know. Come and see. You tell me.. Is he the Christ?"  Consider also the blind man who was miraculously touched by Jesus. The religious establishment who were the supposed experts in theology was grilling him.  The once-blind man just gave a simple response: "One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" (John 9:25, NIV).

If you note, while the Apostle Paul was extremely gifted in Hebrew and Greek and understood the wonderful theology that today has become our New Testament often he simply used his personal testimony when sharing the Gospel. You would think that this anointed and special Apostle,  a scholar who understood the scriptures would use logic and theology when sharing the gospel.  However, over and over again, before Roman governors and Jewish leaders, the Apostle Paul would simply tell the story of how he came to know Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord.

Note that Paul always talked about his condition BEFORE, the impact of a crucified and risen Jesus Christ and his life AFTER.

Paul gives a simple summation of this process in 1 Timothy 1:12-15:

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.  Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.

What is your story?  Learn to be able to relate the sinner that you were, the condition that all men and women are in when they don’t know Christ.  The realization of the power of the Cross to forgive, redeem and restore and the impact that Jesus has had on your life.

Budget Time

Some firms budget better than others and while there are a lot of good things we can say about budgets, budgets are never fun.

While I’ve made a transition from the for-profit side of organizations to the non-profit side, I haven’t been able to escape some responsibility for the budget process.

Budgeting at the large multinational corporation I was employed with was a very exacting process. The controller’s office was constantly aware of both revenues and expenses and about every way performance could be measured; it was measured and measured frequently.

At the same time, the actual time spent by non-finance people working on budgets was minimal. As a manager I was responsible to review and submit my budget for approval; however, the size of my budget was rarely a consideration. We grew our budgets when revenues and the business plan dictated that we had sufficient opportunity to use the resources productively.

This is typically not true in our non-profit organizations. I’ve found the process to be completely different. For years I’ve struggled trying to determine why budgets in non-profits and our churches can be so frustrating and then I finally stumbled on the reason: It has nothing to do with competency as we have some fine financial types and plenty of bean-counters in the nonprofits. The difference is related to the nature of the non-profit and how fundamentally different it is from the for-profit.

I’m not talking about taxes or whether there is stock given to owners. No, the difference between a non-profit and a for-profit is all about revenues and expenditures.

Let’s take a for-profit organization first. Let’s assume we are talking about a pizza shop. In a pizza shop, like all other for-profit companies, there is a direct correlation between the sources of revenue and the expenditure of funds. The pizza shop buys dough, tomato paste, fresh ingredients; hires cooks and delivery employees; invests in ovens, menus, advertising and assorted other things; and rents a building to sell pizzas. All of the revenue that comes into the shop is a result of the sale of their pizzas. Easy!

This is not true for the non-profit. In most non-profits, revenue comes from contributions. In a church, that would be tithes and offerings, and in other non-profits it’s donations. The non-profit, however, needs to determine where to allocate the funds that are received. Often this is a completely subjective process despite being carefully considered. This process is often continually on the agenda through the year and there is a strong and often healthy competition for the limited resources that are provided. Since the needs and the mission of the organization are broad and typically never ending, there is a never-ending desire for additional revenue to meet organizational needs and mission desires.

The vast majority of the non-profit organizations are very careful with expenses, often getting great mileage out of every dollar spent. However, because there are few linkages between successful fund raising and the resourcing of projects and activities, much more effort and thoughtfulness is required on the allocation of the money through the annual budget process.

Reprint from ChurchExecutive Magazine October 2012 

Serve One

Have you ever wondered where you are going to get all of the volunteers you need in your ministry? If you are leading a volunteer workforce, you are in good company. The US Department of Labor reported that this past year (ending September) that there were 62.8 million people that were actively volunteering in some organization. These people came from all walks of life, all economic classes, some college, some not, all races, both genders, young and old. On average they spent about 52 hours in the past year volunteering, or about one hour a week.

While you may not remember all these numbers, remember the “one-hour a week.” Many churches have embraced “Worship one; Serve one” as a challenge to all of their members, engaging each one of them in a worship service and a serving opportunity, both likely about one hour a week.

We know that people volunteer for a variety of reasons. These range from identification with the values and mission of the organization and wanting to help, to a desire to get to know other people, make friends and find common interests. Regardless of the reasons given, our churches advance their mission when people identify with our mission and our calling.  Identifying the Great Commandment (to love one another) and the Great Commission (to make disciples of all nations) as our mission creates great opportunities for people to serve, make a difference and grow in their faith. Remember, people have opportunities to serve in all kinds of organizations but only the church can give them the opportunity to fulfill the mission Jesus gave His followers.

What is interesting also about one hour is that studies have shown that in about an hour, the average volunteer can be fully trained to perform the job for which they are assigned. The church jobs that volunteers fill range from some simple jobs like handing out the weekly bulletin or folding chairs to more complex tasks like making hospital rounds, supervising a nursery or mentoring inner-city youths.

What is unfortunate is that all too often, we don’t give these volunteers the one-hour of training that they need. This is unfortunate because the church is one big volunteer-run organization. Since the day of Pentecost, the vast majority of the leaders in the Church have been volunteers. Volunteers provide the invitation, the hospitality, the teaching, the training, the development and also the governance of most churches.

When training is inadequate, volunteers don’t get the opportunity to fully understand the importance of their role. Without proper training they can’t lead and without leadership the mission suffers.

Fortunately the best people to do the training are volunteers. We just need to give them the opportunity and let them know it is a priority; let them find the one-hour to train. Let them lead….62.8 million can’t be wrong.

Training vs. Trusting

One of the words we hear often when it comes to people and a particular responsibility or assignments is the word “trust.” I remember my children often saying, “Don’t you trust me?” when we were setting boundaries, limits on activity, or checking to see if their homework was completed. As parents, my wife and I often had to explain that it’s not about trust but about training. The concept of trust, while important, is not as important as other things. Other things like training, equipping and generally gaining experience are the way people establish trust.

This concept and understanding of training and trusting is important in our churches and ministries. When we have important processes, tasks and responsibilities, it’s best not to rely solely on trust. Its only through training that we can truly expect that important processes, tasks and responsibilities are executed properly. Training provides the appropriate knowledge transfer and an adequate period of time for the employee or volunteers to gain the experience needed to do their job properly.

No shortcut in training

While all jobs and assignments don’t have the same complexity or skill level required, all require some measure of training. Personally, I rely on the three-step training process:

1. I do it 
2. We do it together 
3. You do it, I watch

I’m not sure exactly when I first heard about this model, but I have learned that not only does it work but it also can’t be bypassed. This doesn’t mean that as a pastor, I need to train every staff member and volunteer, but it does mean that everyone being trained needs to have someone that personally demonstrates, supports and then supervises in order to verify knowledge and skill have been transferred.

Trusting is not a substitute for training

When we hear someone use the words “trust,” one of the things we can do is try to discover if the word trust is being used as a substitute for training. All too often we press new employees and volunteers into the job without adequate training. Most of us have experienced inadequately trained employees and volunteers from receptionists to preachers. When this happens, these newer and inadequately trained appear to be less “trust-worthy” when it really isn’t a matter of trust but a matter of training.

Trusting should not be a substitute for training. Trust is earned and developed through very intentional orientation and training processes that transfer knowledge and experience. The three-step training process: “I do it; we do it together, you do it, I watch” is a great and necessary part of developing trust.

Reprint from ChurchExecutive Magazine September 2012

In God We Trust - all others submit your budgets!

It's likely budget time at an employer or organization near you!!

Some firms budget better than others and while there are a lot of good things we can say about budgets, budgets are never fun.

While I've made a transition from the for-profit side of organizations to the non-profit side of organization, I haven't been able to escape some responsibility for the budget process.

Budgeting at the large multinational corporation I was employed with was a very exacting process.  The controllers office was constantly aware of both revenues and expenses and about every way performance could be measured, it was measured and measured frequently.

At the same time, the actual time spent by non-finance people working on budgets was minimal.  As a manager I was responsible to review and submit my budget for approval, however the size of my budget was rarely a consideration.  We grew our budgets when revenues and the business plan dictated that we had sufficient opportunity to use the resources productively.

This is typically not true in our non-profit organizations.  I've found the process to be completely different.  For years I've struggled trying to determine why budgets in non-profits and our churches can be so frustrating and then I finally stumbled on the reason:  It has nothing to do with competency as we have some fine financial types and plenty of bean-counters in the nonprofits.  The difference is related to the nature of the non-profit and how fundamentally different it is from the for-profit.

I'm not talking about taxes or whether there is stock given to owners.  No, the difference between a non-profit and a for-profit is all about revenues and expenditures.

Let's take a for-profit organization first.  Let's assume we are talking about a pizza shop.  In a pizza shop, like all other for-profit companies, there is a direct correlation -- a direct linkage between the sources of revenue and the expenditure of funds.  The pizza shop buys dough, tomato paste, fresh ingredients, hires cooks and delivery employees, invests in ovens, menus, advertising and assorted other things and rents a building to sell pizzas.  All of the revenue that comes into the shop is a result of the sale of their pizzas.  Easy!

This is not true for the non-profit.  In most non-profits revenue comes from contributions. In a church, that would be tithes and offerings and in other non-profits it's donations.    The non-profit however needs to determine where to allocate the funds that are received.  Often this is completely subjective process despite being carefully considered.  This process is often continually on the agenda through the year and there is a strong and often healthy competition for the limited resources that are provided.  Since the needs and the mission of the organization are broad and typically never ending, there is a never ending desire for additional revenue to meet organizational needs and mission desires.

The vast majority of the non-profit organizations are very careful with expenses, often getting great mileage out of every dollar spent.  However, because there are few linkages between successful fund raising and the resourcing of projects and activities, much more effort and thoughtfulness is required on the allocation of the money through the annual budget process.

Shaping Culture

Organizational culture is extremely important. One of the growth lids most organizations hit is when their organizational culture is contrary to their organizational goals. If your organizational goal is to reward great employees, but your organizational culture doesn’t include discussing, measuring and quantifying employee performance, then there is a problem.

Leaders lead the culture! 

Church leaders, like the leaders in all organizations, are responsible for shaping the culture of the organization. Just as the actual culture of an organization is not easy to define, so too any disconnect between what is intended and what is perceived may be difficult to quantify.

In the church, some of the key positive culture factors are integrity, responsibility, servant-leadership, competency, biblical literacy, authenticity and tenacity. Your organization may have identified similar cultural values or statements that get to the heart of your church’s goals. Likely some may be grouped under the words above, others may be a little more specific to your vision for your organization. 

Sometimes it’s difficult to quantify. 

While it may be difficult to determine if all the employees and members of the church are displaying and rallying around the stated cultural values, it may be easier to spot when the leader is marching to a slightly different beat.

Here are some questions to ask yourself and perhaps ask others that you have given permission to speak into your leadership.

• How have I demonstrated a respect and insistence on integrity in all matters? An integrity test is often called a ‘red-face’ test. It includes both internal and external compliance with a higher calling, a higher standard. 
• Do I give people responsibility or do I often pull it back when I want to make a different decision?
• Am I often accused of micromanaging despite my insistence on letting leaders lead? 
• Am I a servant-leader at heart? Am I known to be the one that ‘chips-in’ and ‘picks-up’ or do I equate being a leader with being ‘up-front’?
• Do I follow the rules or, as one of the rule-makers, am I likely the exception? Budgets, internal processes and systems limitations should also apply to leaders, not just everyone else.
• Do I respect other people’s time? Or am I late for meetings or do I change agendas at the last minute? 
• Patrick Lencioni said in his book “Death by Meeting” that bad meetings are a reflection of bad leaders. 
• What I have done to make meetings better? Am I tenacious? Do I stick to a stated multi-year plan despite setbacks and challenges? It’s often easier to teach on the parable of the persistent widow than personally lose heart and camouflage our frustration with new or modified ministry plans. 

What is described is more important than what is prescribed. 

Many of the above may sound a little simplistic. However, when we examine our own behavior in light of the desired culture, we often find troubling disconnects. While it is not the practice in many churches, senior leaders – including executive and senior staff pastors – need to critically examine their behavior and their leadership style. Culture starts at the top, but in most cases what you describe with your behavior is more important than what you prescribe.

Become a fan of self-examination and reflection. King David was described as a “man after God’s own heart” and while certainly not perfect, he nevertheless was willing to say, “Test me, Lord, and try me; examine my heart and mind.” (Psalm 26:2)

Reprint from Church Executive Magazine September 2012

Collaborate don’t compete

All too often in our local churches when we are putting together agendas, looking to push into new frontiers, recruiting volunteers or putting together annual budgets, we tend to compete with each other.  Regardless of how successful or financially blessed your church may be, there are still more needs and more great ideas than resources. God may have unlimited resources but the local church does not.

Some of the best churches have found ways to replace this competition for resources with collaboration, and it’s a huge improvement in planning as well as in execution.

When one ministry competes with another ministry or department at a church for volunteers, dollars or space, the leaders are at best looking to come out on the top of a “win-lose” outcome. Some ministry wins and the others lose.

On the other hand, collaboration between and among our ministries and departments strives to find the “win-win” outcome.

Opportunities rather than problems …

One of the best ways to collaborate and look for win-win outcomes in programing and recruiting and sharing resources is to communicate. The words we use may also be problematic in communicating well. For example, as a ministry leader and pastor I make sure that when we address issues, we typically don’t want to communicate that we have “problems,” but instead we have “opportunities.” This is not just a substitution of words but also a substitution of viewpoints.

Even if the local church has the resources, facilities or the space to do multiple things well, it’s unlikely the intended audience or participant can be in two places at the same time. Most successful churches intentionally limit the amount of opportunities that the congregation is exposed to in order to allow them to be able to choose wisely and be focused on those that are the best experiences.

Where there is no clarity, people perish …

One of the best things that senior leaders can do in the church is to bring clarity to the implementation of the vision that God has given them regarding the local church. If I were paraphrasing Proverbs 29:18, I’d likely state it this way, “Where there is no clarity, people perish.” Often, the senior or lead pastor will be able to clarify that there are great opportunities for the entire church to be involved for a season in a particular endeavor. That may be a call for people to get involved in small groups or the church may decide that it is calling everyone to a fast. Other times, it may be a time for people to choose their area of interest and let people literally vote with their participation. If the ministry leaders understand and bring clarity on where and how God is leading, collaboration flows naturally and everyone wins.

Milestones are reasons to celebrate …

For years I’ve heard churches say they want to celebrate more, but so often they actually celebrate less. While we are on a journey we rarely believe we have time to celebrate. However, God gave Moses very clear instruction on making sure that all of Israel would pause from time to time to celebrate. Israel was told to celebrate the Feast of the Passover; the people were told to celebrate the building of the Temple. Nehemiah told the people to celebrate the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem.  These were milestones that would only be passed once but could be celebrated often.

In the same way, churches should be celebrating that which God values. When we celebrate lives being dedicated to Christ, people being baptized, successful building or mission projects, we draw everyone’s attention to particular milestones.  Celebrating the wins and achievements automatically help prioritize all of our future plans and opportunities.

When we collaborate, the Church wins.

Reprint from Church Executive Magazine, July 30, 2012