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Awesome Committee Meetings
Actual response from my last meeting
Meetings, we all have to do them; board meetings, committee meetings or ministry team meetings, and we have all been to bad meetings. In a bad meeting you leave feeling overwhelmed, tired, and like your time has been wasted, because nothing was decided. That’s why people hate them so much. Believe it or not it is possible to walk out of one of these meetings feeling energized and motivated to get things done. Good committee meetings can make your ministry and its programs very successful. It’s not always easy, and takes some prep work, but here are 5 things you can do to make your next committee meeting productive and energizing.
Why Change Is So Hard: Self-Control Is Exhaustible
By: Dan Heath
In this article for Fast Company Dan Heath suggests that self- control is an “exhaustible resource.” Meaning that people only have so much self- control, and when that self- control is gone- it’s gone.
Since Change requires so much effort and self-control, there is a limit to how much change people are able to handle.
This makes sense to me.
I have served at churches that were going through periods of transition too quickly. Some of it was planned and some was just unfortunate circumstances. I have seen the damage change that happens to quickly causes.
It reminds me of Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, that there is a time for everything.
Sometimes, because of zeal and ambition we try to force change when doing so can cause disaster. I’m not saying that we should not change. I am saying let’s be responsible stewards of our congregation, and show love and patience because change is hard, and requires effort. Let’s move lovingly, patiently, one step at a time. Instead of having a one year plan to turn our church around, let’s have a 5 year plan.
If our congregations are not moving at the pace we want them to, it is not a critique of our leadership, nor is an indication of a lack of commitment. The truth is we can only handle so much change.
I want to hear your stories. Have you pushed for too much change from your congregation? What was the result of that? Is there merit for the Church in the things Dan Heath is saying?
Adapting Good Ideas
You just read the latest and greatest how to ministry leadership guide and are excited about all of the wonderful things this book is going to bring to your church or organization. There is a right way and a wrong way to do everything, including implementing ideas that are not your own. Here is the right way.
What are you trying to accomplish?
The golden rule of leadership: you need to see where you’re going before you can take others there. Don’t start changing things around until you have asked yourself, “What can this idea or system bring to our ministry?” Is there a specific problem you are hoping to solve? Is there a ministry you are trying to improve? What results will the successful adaptation of this idea produce? Be specific.
If you get to this point and realize you are excited about the idea because it produced tremendous results for someone else, but it does not solve or improve anything at your church, then let it go! Celebrate that leader’s success and move on. Change for the sake of change is a ridiculous waste of time, energy, and resources.
Are you the right person?
Adaptation is about taking a good idea from a field you understand and making it better. Just because you are the leader does not make you the expert at everything, nor does it mean you need to be the one to develop the plan. So you read the book and you think, “Wow, this is a great small group model that I believe has merit at our church.” Who is in charge of the small groups at your church? That is the person you need to equip to adapt this change. They understand all the specific issues and will be able to take what is good about the idea or system and apply it specifically to the culture of your church.
As a leader if you see a deficit or room for growth in the ministries you oversee it ‘s your job to train and equip those leaders. Explain to them what you liked about this book and “encourage” them to bring these types of solutions or systems to their ministry.
Making it better
The next most important thing is to make the idea better. Stealing ideas is lazy leadership, and doesn’t work. Great success comes from leaders who meet the specific needs and solve the specific problems of the organization they work in. Ask yourself how we can make this work at our church. What can we change about this idea so it translates to our ministry culture? Develop a plan that will work at your church. Make the idea a better by making it your own idea.
Image via flickr user royblumenthal.
Five Tips When Communicating New Ideas
You are sitting in your office and you have the next big idea for your church. Reality check: you cannot just change things in a church culture and expect it to be successful. New ideas in a church setting actually just equal the beginning of lots of necessary conversations.
Use these five tips when communicating new ideas with leaders and you will find that your not just spinning your wheels!
Talk to the right people
The fastest way to kill an idea is to start telling people. There are no secrets in church life. If the right (or wrong) people hear about your idea from the wrong (or right) person, your idea is bound to die. First impressions are lasting impressions, this is just as true with ideas as it is with people. So before you open your big mouth, decide who the right person to share this idea with is and who the secondary people to share this idea with are. Make a list and talk to them first.
Talk to them in person
A conversation face to face will always be more effective than email. Try sticking your head in their office and saying, “I have this great idea concerning such and such that we need to talk about. I know that you are busy, but when can we get together and discuss this?” It is difficult for people to say no when they are staring you in the face. As soon as you go back to your office, send an email confirming your appointment. Does this make you seem pushy? Yes. But remember having a reputation for being pushy is less damaging then having the reputation for being ineffective.
Be prepared
Everyone has an opinion about something the church should be doing, and a list of things the church should not be doing. Set yourself apart by basing your idea in quantifiable facts! Knowledge is power, and good information is what every great leader will base their decisions on. I once had a senior minister who told his staff that it was more acceptable to come to work drunk than it was to give him bad information. He was not exaggerating.
Go in with more than just an idea
Prepare a short effective oral presentation with useful handout they can keep that has just the pertinent information on it. Ministry leaders are busy people. Time is the only commodity ministers have, and it is not a renewable resource. The worst thing that you can do is waste it.
Don’t wait for a response
A good leader will want time to think about things, pressure will never turn out favorably for you. Use the time between the meeting and your follow up to make your plan better. Any feedback you received in the meeting will help you formulate a next step. Leaving a meeting with a next step is always a victory.
What about you? What are your roadblocks when sharing new ideas?
