Tag: staff

I Don’t Want To Pray For Your Church

That’s right! I don’t want to pray for your church.

Jesus said He would build his Church.

I can tell you this, though. After 25 years of church ministry I’ve learned to pray for church leaders over anything else in the church.

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Here are 4 things I’ve discovered to be true when we prayer for pastors and other leaders in the church.

  • Healthy churches grow from healthy leaders, NOT the other way around.
  • We don’t see church congregations that are healthier than their leadership.
  • Our focus changes from ‘are they meeting my needs’ to a genuine desire to partner with them for stronger Kingdom impact.
  • We know that prayer works, and that our prayers can be powerful. Our prayers can make a huge difference in the personal and professional lives of our leaders.

If you lead a church or other ministry and would like prayer, I’d love to come along side you this week. Feel free to email me at BrentDumler@iCloud.com

 

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5 Ways To Ensure Getting Fired From Your Church

I’ve been in ministry for a long time, and thankfully I’ve never been fired from a church position.  In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever been fired from any job.

That said, I’ve witnessed numerous friends/co-workers over the years lose their jobs.  Some did not deserve it.  Others, however, should have been let go but were not.

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Here are 5 things that can lead you to losing your position at your church:

  • Disregard for policies and procedures | Most people really hit the Student Pastor hard on this one, but I’ve seen all levels of leadership turn their nose up at P&Ps that they don’t personally agree with.  They simply do their own thing.  But it’s only a matter of time before this one bites you in the butt.
  • Poor time management | Some of us need to work on this more than others.  Nevertheless, this can be viewed by some senior leadership as laziness.  When we fail to manage our time well tasks tend to get done last minute and often poorly.
  • Lack of good people skills | We are in the people business.  Church is made up of people.  So, whether you work in pastoral staff or administrative support, knowing how to deal with all kinds of people and people issues is critical for all of us.
  • Disconnection with the mission and values | This is really big!  Honestly, this is something we must consider and pray about before ever taking a position on a church staff.  Mission and values ‘should’ be what guides and molds the direction of the church and all of it’s ministries.
  • Not a team player | Church really is a team sport.  And churches that have individual ministry silos operating on their own with zero regard for what the rest of the church is doing……well, these churches become ineffective in achieving the Great Commission.   They don’t have  a Kingdom work mindset.  Competition with other churches, as well as with their own church ministries, becomes commonplace.

There are MANY more things that can get us canned, but these are some of the most common that I’ve seen.  What would you add to the list?

Leave a comment below.  I love hearing from my readers.  Thank you!

You’re Not The Gatekeeper Of Every Ministry

Remember that iconic line from Monty Python and The Holy Grail?

“None shall pass!”

Arthur, King of the Britains, attempts to pass a bridge.  It is guarded, however, by the infamous Black Knight.  He guards this bridge with his life, allowing no one to cross over to the other side.  He claims, “None shall pass” twice before earning multiple ‘flesh wounds.’

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I share this because I recently had a powerful coaching discussion with my Lead Pastor.  In September of 2014 I transitioned into a Campus Pastor role in the midst of our church’s first multisite launch.  Can I just say…I’ve learned a lot in just 8 months!

As a new, and smaller, campus we want to be careful and purposeful about when and how we start new ministries.  Too much too soon can bring more problems than good.  This was the topic I brought up to him.  After a few minutes, he made a statement that instantly gave me clarity on the issue.

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Wow!  And he followed up with this.

He explained that new ministries simply need to have clear purpose, leadership, boundaries, and must be fully in line with the mission, vision, and core values of our church.  That’s my job.  As long as that is all in place, we want to be permission-giving.

If you’re in a senior leadership role, can you relate to this?  Do you find this helpful?  How is the creation of new ministries handled in your church?

Join the discussion.  Please leave a comment below.

 

 

Pastoral Inventory

2  things every Senior Pastor should take a personal inventory of:

1)  Are there people in your church who spend more time talking to you than Jesus?

Now don’t let that question offend you.  Let me explain.  Many pastors experience the occasional ‘concerned‘ church member.  You know these people.  They usually don’t have an appointment when they stop by your office, and they want to tell you about all the things that are wrong in the church.  If they are not spending more time praying about their intensions and their own possible contribution to a solution, they don’t need to be consuming portions of your valuable time.  Practice being a good steward of your time.  Make every minute worth something.

2)  Are you very aware of specific needs (both personal & professional) of each member of your pastoral staff team?

In the last 20 years of ministry, I’m disgusted to say that the MAJORITY of churches I’ve served in have been lead by pastors who were not at all in touch with their staff.  Whether your church office consists of only one pastor and a part-time admin assistant, or a full-time team of 30 ministers…connection matters.  Ministry teams are very different than sales or marketing teams in the corporate America cubical.  I’m going to make a very strong statement here.  If your Lead Pastor does not genuinely care about you and what you’ve got going on in your life…he/she will not care about anything of spiritual relevance in your area of ministry.  Lead Pastors need to be actively ‘in the know’ with their staff and praying for them regularly.

Are you a Lead Pastor, and do you struggle with either of these in your church?  Are you a support staff at your church, and what have been your experiences?

Leave a comment below.  You can also connect with me on Twitter and Instagram.