Bill Easums Observations

I day dream a lot. Some might even say I fantasize.  It’s my own little world. I dream about winning the biggest billfish tournament in the world. I dream about seeing my wife again in this world. I dream about making a difference in the world. I dream about what I could do with ten million dollars.  And I have a ball doing it.  Sometimes I actually get lost in thought and don’t notice anything around me.

I shared this one day with a pastor friend of mine. His response explained to me why his church was dying.  He said, “I don’t have time to day dream. I have too much stuff to do each day.” Now keep in mind his church was over50 years old and had less than 100 members. And he had too much “stuff” to do-impossible unless he was smothering them to death. What a waste of a life.

Every successful person I’ve ever known day dreams about what could be.  Some even actually put it on their calendar. I haven’t been able to do that. I just let it happen when it wants to.

When was the last time you dreamed about something you feel is impossible? If you never have you might find that some things you thought were impossible just seemed that way.

Let me ask you a question. Why do you think Ben Franklyn hoisted that first kite? Ten dollars said he had sat around for some time day dreaming about what might happen if he could capture lightning.

What could you achieve if you let go of a lot of “pastor stuff” and day dreamed about changing the world?

Well, I could list several but one stands out above all the rest – the pastor gets caught up in the church machinery and loses sight of what makes it all go around – building the Kingdom one person at a time.

I’ve watched dozens of church planters get 125 people in worship by focusing on getting butts in the seats only to shift gears around 125 and start worrying about developing leaders or organization. And guess what happens, new people stop showing up.

The same thing happens in established churches.  Now the members expect to be entitled and the lost are forgotten.

So don’t take your eye off the prize.  Bringing people into the Kingdom and the Church is the most important task on earth. Don’t lose it.

Bill
www.effectivechurch.com

I just finished a book titled “Just Start.” It is a book right up my alley. I’ve long been a proponent of Ready-Fire-Aim so this book fits me like a glove.  I highly recommend it especially if your church is stuck or declining.

The premise of the book is that in an unpredictable world like we live in today you never learn what will or won’t work until you act.  The authors put it this way – You Act, Learn, and then build.  In an unpredictable future traditional learning and thinking will only get us in trouble.  What we need to is what they call “Creaction.”  Today we create by acting, not thinking.

Now apply this to the Church. Many of our churches are built around a committee structure that tries to analyze this life out of an idea or issue before acting on it.  A committee may spend months, even years, trying to decide if they should attempt a new ministry. In most cases that is all they do – think about it. Instead the authors suggest, in Nike fashion, “Just do it; see what you learn; and then build the future.”

Now I know this is counter intuitive to most clergy.  Seminary, if anything, teaches us to think. It makes thinkers out of us, not doers.  This may have made sense in a predictable world, but not in the kind of world we live in today where much of what we depend on didn’t exist 25 years ago.

So if you want to drive your committees crazy, ask them to read this book.  It just might open some eyes to the fact that if you keep thinking the way you are thinking you will keep getting what you’ve been getting.

One of the things I’ve noticed over the years is that pastors, for one reason or another, are the most disorganized group on the planet. I know because I’m one of them. I know once, years ago, I was suppose to have dinner with a member of the church. And I forgot. Did I have egg on my face. Don’t let that happen to you.

Too many have problems keeping appointments, getting work done ahead of time, or finishing the sermon by Wednesday instead of Saturday.

I think one of the reasons for this disorganization is because they do not have an 8 to 5 schedule. This flexible schedule changes from day to day.  So they are free most of the time to set their own agenda.  Secondly, they have so much on their plate that they move from one situation to another based more on the demand than on strategy.

So, if you are one of the majority of pastors who is disorganized, I have some helpful hints.

• Consult your personal calendar first thing every morning (that’s assuming you keep one).
• Have your secretary keep your calendar and remind you each morning of what you have scheduled.
• I’ve found that using Outlook on my computer and cell phone is the way I keep on tract.  I sync them every day.
• On really important items I set the alarm on my clock to remind me that there is something I’m suppose to do at that time.

Two Axioms for Effective Ministry

Distractions dilute desire. Don’t kid yourself. Distractions can re-rail even the most focused person especially in a church setting where so many members are still in spiritual diapers and expect the pastor to do everything spiritual for them.

Focus fuels desire.  The more a person focuses on something the more that person desires to see it fulfilled and the quicker that person pulls the trigger and takes action.  When desire for something consumes a person’s waking moment the odds are that something is going to happen either good or bad.

Desire to see the Kingdom fulfilled on earth is what separates the effective from the mediocre pastor.

With all your heart, do you desire to see the Kingdom come on earth?

One of the main bugaboos of many pastors is learning how to staff a church.  When in reality knowing how to staff is simple if you just use your noggin.

The following is based on any size church. If under 500 some of the following staff are volunteer or one paid staff may oversee two or more of the following.  By the time the church is over 500 there should be a paid staff, part or full time, over each of these.

One, staff to increase the number of new visitors on Sunday.  If the number of visitors isn’t increasing each year sooner or later the church stalls and begins to decline.  It’s really that simple. So you need a staff person to insure the number of first time people increases.  Up to 500 in worship the pastor should cover this one.

Two, staff to assimilate new people.  It’s easier to keep new people than it is to attract new people. So you need an assimilation system in place and someone to oversee it.  In most churches this person is a worship leader who understands the importance of hospitality.

Three, staff to disciple people.  Under 500 this is spread throughout all the staff. But around 500 small groups should become a major concern and will need someone to oversee it.  If you don’t do small groups, then what are you doing to disciple people.  Very few people are discipled by simply attending worship.

Four, staff to send people out into the community to become backyard missionaries. The true measure of a church is not its size but what difference is it making in the community. So you need someone to organize weekly events in the community where a growing number of participates in worship are in the community doing three things: blessing the community; blessing the ones serving; and creating visibility.

So there you have it. See how simple it is?

Now finding and keeping the right people isn’t that easy.  That is one of the reasons why my partner, Bill Tenny-Brittian, and I wrote the book, Effective Staffing for the Vital Church: The Essential Guide to Finding and Keeping the Right People.  You can find it at Amazon.com

I had a conversation today that caused me to think.  The pastor had a lot of balls in the air.  In fact too many.  So the the thought came to me about another rule of management (see previous post).

Rule Number Six:  Never be too Buy to Lead. Sounds like a no brainer but I challenge you to evaluate how many hours you are working and if you have a staff how much time do you spend leading them?  If you are working over 50 hours a week and little to none of it is on managing staff then you are too busy to lead.

Think about it.  Growing a church requires doing triage with your time.  You can’t be all things to all people and have the time to strategically hire the right staff and hold them accountable to the clearly defined goals. When you’re small (under 500) you have to take the time to learn how to hire and fire and set clear expectations.  When you grow you have to spend time evaluating staff and replacing those who don’t meet your expectations.  If you have never hired any or much staff you don’t know the countless hours are spent searching, interviewing, and vetting a new person.  It takes a lot of time.  And if you’re tired from being busy the odds are you will make the wrong choice.  Then the real fun begins- cleaning up a bad hire. It can get ugly.

Rule Number Seven:  Learn to Listen.Someone in the group suggested this practice and I agree. And it takes time to listen carefully enough to the hopes and dreams of staff to know how to help them succeed.  Remember, the basic rule of thumb in a church over 400 in worship is learning to measure your success by what others achieve under your leadership.

Bill Easum
www.effectivechurch.com
easum@aol.com

They didn’t teach me management skills in seminary.  Wish they had because as the leader of a church I needed them badly and it’s a shame I had to learn them on my own.  So I thought i would pass on some pointers.

Point Number One:  If you can’t measure it, it will not succeed.  I know- someone will say, “How do you measure spiritual growth? It’s simple, by watching how your leaders lead.  How much like Jesus do they lead? Are they more concerned with the least, the last, and the lost than themselves? Do they yearn for the salvation of their networks or do they just come to church? I could go on but you get the message.

Point Number Two:  Staff seldom succeed without clearly defined expectations. A pastor I know hired a youth director to lead the youth.  His set of expectations amounted to “Grow the youth group.” Instead he should have given clearly defined expectations. For example: “Build the youth group through collaboratively raising up enough adult leadership to mentor and equip 150 youth every week within two years.”  The expectations are clear and the results are measurable.

Point Number Three:  Hold staff accountable to the expectations. It’s not enough just to give clear directions.  Follow up is essential to success. Questions like- “How’s it going?” What do you need to succeed? “Why do you think you missed fulfilling the expectations this year.?”

Point Number Four:  Never put up with mediocre efforts from the staff (or yourself for that matter). Pastors are notorious for overlooking poor performance. However, allowing a staff member to continually under-perform takes the sails out of those who are performing. So the best thing you can say to this person, after giving it a college try to get the person the help they need to succeed is to say “Perhaps it’s time to move on.  I’ll help you find a church where you can be effective.”

Point Number Five:  The person you should be the hardest on is yourself.  The best thing you can do for your staff is to keep your own fires burning brightly. Remember, you can’t give what you don’t have. So set your expectations higher than those for your staff.

Bill Easum
www.effectivechurch.com

“God said, “It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.”

I’m sure you’ve read this verse before. I know I’ve read it time and time again. But now that my wife has passed away I read this verse differently.  I’ve come to know personally what it means to be alone. It stinks. It’s something I would not wish on anyone.

So, the reason for this post is to remind pastors of the impact losing a long term partner has on a person. Being alone, after a long term relationship with a spouse, is unlike anything other kind of loneliness.

So, what should you do when a parishioner loses a long term loved one ?

• First and foremost keep in mind that being alone isn’t what God meant for most of us.
• Keep in mind that often the stress on care giver can be catastrophic and someone should check in on them regularly. I only went through 15 months. I can’t imagine the pain of someone how has to go through it on a regular basis. Have someone on your staff to be there for them the first few days if they want it. It’s not enough to just take them some food or send them a card.  Someone needs to take the person under their wing and provide them some companionship.  It doesn’t have to in person. I have a good friend that lives in PA who calls me each week just to say he is thinking about me.
• As soon as you know of the loss, provide the person a good print or digital book on how to deal with loss.  Remember, not all of your parishioners have had your experience with death and grief.  This may be their first experience with death and they may not have a clue how to handle it.  I had helped many people through the death process but it’s not the same until it’s your loved one. So the next time you do a funeral or respond to a death don’t see it as just another day.
• Have grief groups available for them to help them deal with the lose constructively. Have a system in place that identifies the need and invites the person into a group.
• If they are retired, have projects they can become involved in because having little or nothing to do can be debilitating.

I hope these periodic posts about the loss of my wife will help some pastors understand what people go through with the loss of a loved one and how to effectively respond.

Following up on my last post I want to consider further the importance of conviction for effective leadership.

Consider this quote from Martin Luther – “Here I stand. I can do no otherwise. God help me.” Or what do you think allowed Nelson Mandela to give hope to the people from his confinement?  Or what kept Moses driving the people toward the Promise Land when they would just as well return to making bricks our of mud? Or for that matter, what compelled Jesus to go to the cross?  One thing- a conviction that what they were about came from God.

What is the “no otherwise” in your leadership? What is it that you are not willing to negotiate about your leadership? What do you think about when you wake up and go to bed? How much do you believe that the direction you are taking your people is from God?

Answer these question and you have the beginnings of being a leader.  Of course, you have to say “Here I stand” and mean it.  You have to pick up your cross and…..

Albert Mohler in his new book “The Conviction to Lead” says ” You can divide all leaders into those who merely hold an office or position and those who hold great convictions.” Such convictions don’t change from church to church or location to location.  Conviction is who a leader is.

You see, it’s not enough to just feel called to be a pastor.  What kind of pastor? What difference are you going to make as a pastor and how? What does God want you do with your life and ministry?

The more lazer like your answer is the more conviction you have in your leadership. My favorite examples is still Mark Driscoll.  When asked what he was called to do he replies “To plant 1000 churches before I die.” Now that’s conviction!

Christian Leadership that matters comes from a deep conviction that the Christian story is true and is worth giving one’s life for unconditionally.

How deeply do you believe in the truth of the biblical story of redemption in Christ?