Mistakes Ministers Make

Joe McDaniel
1. You stop growing.
It's hard for a pastor to continue to grow because they are always pouring out into others lives. So you need to find a way to 'feed' yourself.
2. You stop caring.
NEVER stop caring. You show you don't care, we show you the door!
3. You stop listening.
You're job is to listen to people listen, and we need you to listen. Whether it's counseling or whatever, listening is as important as preaching.

Week 11: Mistakes Ministers Make

I interviewed Deric Brown from The River Community Church on March 25th at the church. 

1.  The first mistake that new ministers make is thinking that they can simply gain the respect of their congregation by having the title of pastor.  They need to earn that respect and earn the right to know the intimate things about a church member's life. 

2.  New staff members need to learn to follow in the footsteps of their leaders or former church leaders.  It is helpful when a pastor listens to the advice of a former leader of the church because he has the knowledge and experience needed to guide the congregation. 

3.  Slow down.  New pastors may think that they have something to prove and while this is somewhat true the pastor needs to take his time and ease his way into the position and changes that may be occurring within the church.  

Week 12 Essay Theory X and Theory Y

Week 12 Essay Formal Leadership Theory

Theory X and Theory Y

    First of all theory X says that managers or leaders must assume that employees are inherently lazy and will avoid work at every opportunity. Theory Y says that employees may be ambitious, self-motivated, and exercise self control.

    I have seen an example of theory Y leadership in a Church that I once attended. It is Athens Wesleyan Church, the Church I went to growing up. The pastor of the Church would allow people to be involved with ministry and allow them to take risks and go out on a limb. Theory X leaders do not allow this because of the close supervision they believe that people need. Theory X leaders try to do everything on their own or have their hand in everything so they can "make sure it goes right."

    This was not the case at Athens Wesleyan. The pastor would allow people to be involved with the various ministries in different ways without babysitting them. At Athens Wesleyan there were many people that were involved in the ministry of the Church and encouraged to be involved in the ministry of the Church because the pastor thought that the people would want the ministry of the Church to be successful, not for fear of retribution if they fail, but because they could grasp the ministry of the Church and take leadership and ownership in it.

    At Athens Wesleyan the pastor would also listen to the ideas and suggestions of others. He did not always think that he is right, and was willing to listen. This is not the case with theory X leaders. The pastor of Athens Wesleyan Church was a theory Y leader and would encourage and develop the ministry of the Church with the help of volunteers that he was willing to let take a chance and take ownership in the ministries they were involved in.

Week 11 Essay Maxwell Book

Week 11 Essay

Maxwell Book

    The John Maxwell book that I looked into is called The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. The principle that I learned from this book is what Maxwell refers to as "The Law of Process." The law of process says that a leader does not become a leader in one day but to become a good leader it is a process. In this chapter there is the story of Anne Scheiber and how through a life time of saving she was able to go from making a little over $3,000 a year to leaving an estate worth over 22 million when she died. Maxwell uses this an example of how you cannot just do something overnight, but it is a process and this process is often accompanied by many sacrifices, had times and though decisions.

    I thought that this is an excellent principle of leadership especially in the world today. This is helpful with my generation as we are the "fast food" generations and want things done yesterday. We are not patient and often times don't want to put hard work into something. We want things and we want it now. From reading Maxwell I better realize how I have to be patient and invest time and energy into becoming a leader. Even if I am a good leader now I will not get better without hard work. There is a t-shirt that I once saw that said "Don't wish it was easier, wish you were better." I think this describes how I now feel about leadership, I don't wish it was easier, but I wish I was better and am willing to work hard and invest time into this process to become better.

People Work

I think the best way to work with people is by hanging with people. The best way to get good at doing something is to continuously do it. It is always hard to find something easy, when you don't do things repetitively.
Often times, 'homeschoolers' are people who have poor person skills. I think this is due to the fact that they do not necessarliy hang with people day in and day out.
Learn to pacify the situation instead of destroying others. Managing conflicts skillfully–bring responsible, making sound decisions, being inventive, helping others–can be a powerful opportunity for growing both professionally and spiritually. Choose to be curious, dropping “fight or flight” mentality. Recognize that we do not need to limit ourselves to a narrow perspective of achieving our objectives, voicing our opinions, protecting our territory. We can explore a wider set of possibilities for helping the situation. We can also attract resources during conflicts. By modeling our own resourcefulness first, we can then invite others to offer suggestions and share responsibility. First pacify, then discover that we are resourceful enough to be daring and available, free from fear and arrogance. Pay attention, and with such alertness we can preserve the sanity of our world even during extreme discord.
A working relationship means finding the best way to communicate with your co-workers, from supervisors to interns. You must together determine strengths and weaknesses, so that work can be accomplished most effectively. A working relationship also involves respect, trust, and, especially in an office setting, honesty. With these building blocks, a relationship is built on the foundation of work productivity. Many people work together for years without seeing each other outside the office.

Week 10: People Work

As I think about relationships and relational people I believe that a part of it is truly a gift that people are given for ministry.  I can think of countless pastors I have met who simply have an ability to be relational and develop deep and beneficial relationships with their communities.

   However I also believe that we are able to develop and learn the ability to be relational in ministry.  I believe that I am one person who has developed the ability to be more relational as I have matured and learned in ministry.  

The first thing I think of that helps develop relational people is to intentionally and maybe even forcefully place yourself in a position where you will be around people more often.  Doing so allows you to be more comfortable and confident around larger groups of people.  I know that when I started doing this I recognized how I would avoid and shy away from situations where I would be around a group of people.  So first getting around people and developing a comfort with that is important. 

Another aspect of becoming a relational person that I see is that we must become good listeners.  When we know what people are going through and talking about we will be able to have intentional and meaningful conversations.  I can't count how many times I have found myself thinking about the next thing that I will say to someone when I get into a conversation with them.  When I do this I lose focus on what will really have an impact on the person that I'm talking to.  So, to be able to develop better relational skills we have to learn to listen to what others are saying so that we will be able to have meaningful conversation.  

One of the hardest things about being a relational person is actually knowing what questions to ask and how to ask them.  I know from first hand knowledge that it is important to be able to ask good questions that cause others to respond with answers other than a simple yes or no.  It can be hard but it is important to learn how to ask questions that will make people talk.  As I said before, listen carefully so you can ask the right questions, but then learn how to ask questions that will make a person go deeper.  

There is a tendency to become someone you are not when you feel as if being relational isn't a strong point.  Its easy to think that becoming someone other than who you are will help in an uncomfortable situation, however faking it is sometimes very easy to see.  I've been fake before in relationships and I have had people tell me that they know and can see when I'm being fake.  This gives people the idea that you don't care about their relationship.  So it is important to understand who you are, what your abilities are, and how you may react in uncomfortable situations.  

Finally, I feel it is important to share your heart.  One thing that people respect and respond to is genuineness.  If you are genuine in your relationships and show people your heart and how you care about them, it will help you develop relationships.  How can we expect others to show interest or share intimate things if we are not willing to do the same?  We need to find a good way to share our hearts in a positive manner and allow others to share with us.  

Like I said at the start of this post, some people do just have an ability to form relationships and carry conversation with others.  But we can develop our abilities if we are willing to find out who we are and place ourselves in a position to learn. Yes it will be uncomfortable at first, but understanding that these relationships can be use by the Spirit to work in the lives of others should encourage us to preserver.  

Week 11 Mistakes Ministers Make

Week 11

Mistakes Ministers Make

I interviewed my wife, Jessica Trout, on Monday March 23, 2009.

Three Mistakes for a new staff person with a church to avoid:

1. Don't think you can do it all on your own:

    - It seems that many times pastors come into a church and think that they can do everything on their own or that they don't need people to help them. They should be open to allowing others to help because they don't have to do it all on their own.

2. Don't take too long preaching:

    Many times when pastors come into a church they feel that they have to impress the people of the church and they do so by giving long and drawn out sermon to show the people how much they know. It would be better to hear a short impactful sermon than one that is long and drawn out.

3. Don't be afraid to ask for help:

    This goes along with #1 but many times a new pastor is afraid or slow to ask for help because they do not want to seem inadequate to the people of the church, but they should not afraid to ask for help.

Church Fight

Pastor Jared
There was a female youth worker who had an issue with the youth pastor. They were little spiffles at first. But over time, they began to escalate into bigger issues. Eventually, everything added up and was bottled. One day in the office, the female came in a began yelling at the youth pastor. It got so out of hand the pastor asked her to leave, but she wouldnt. People in the church gto wind of the situation and about 1/5th of the people ended up leaving because of the issues and the fact that they were never settled. The youth pastor was eventually let go, once all the details were made public.

Leadership Characteristics

Here are some Quality Characteristics:
Honest - Display sincerity, integrity, and candor in all your actions. Deceptive behavior will not inspire trust.
Competent - Base your actions on reason and moral principles. Do not make decisions based on childlike emotional desires or feelings.
Forward-looking - Set goals and have a vision of the future. The vision must be owned throughout the organization. Effective leaders envision what they want and how to get it. They habitually pick priorities stemming from their basic values.
Inspiring - Display confidence in all that you do. By showing endurance in mental, physical, and spiritual stamina, you will inspire others to reach for new heights. Take charge when necessary.
Intelligent - Read, study, and seek challenging assignments.
Fair-minded - Show fair treatment to all people. Prejudice is the enemy of justice. Display empathy by being sensitive to the feelings, values, interests, and well-being of others.
Broad-minded - Seek out diversity.
Courageous - Have the perseverance to accomplish a goal, regardless of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Display a confident calmness when under stress.
Straightforward - Use sound judgment to make a good decisions at the right time.
Imaginative - Make timely and appropriate changes in your thinking, plans, and methods. Show creativity by thinking of new and better goals, ideas, and solutions to problems. Be innovative!

Week Nine Essay Leadership Characteristics

Week Nine Essay

Leadership Characteristics

A list of characteristics that "make" people want to follow a leader:

1. Politeness

2. Kindness

3. Openness and transparency

4. Bold

5. Someone who is not afraid of failure

6. Someone who knows what they stand for

7. Someone who does not let other people walk over them

8. Someone who is willing to take a stand for what is important

9. Someone who is personal and pleasant to talk to

10. Someone who shows they genuinely and truly care about you

Week 9: Leadership Characteristics

This is the list of attractive leadership characteristics a good church leader would have (in my own opinion and no particular order of course). 

1.  Servant-hood/Humility - A good leader in my mind serves those around him and is humble about the position he has been entrusted with.  In all facets of his life, he makes service and humility a key part of who he is.  

2. Visionary - This leader has vision and does a good job sharing this vision.  He not only is able to cast vision but also is able to make that vision a reality. He effectively communicates this vision to get others on board.  

3. Vulnerable - When a leader is able to be vulnerable with others I believe it shows sincerity and discernment.  The leader knows what it is to share his heart with others but also knows when to share and how much to share.  

4. Intelligent - A good leader is intelligent and desires to continue growing.  They know that when they stop learning they stop leading.  Good leaders are able to teach others what they have learned.  

5. Mentoring/Equipping - Sharing the knowledge, experience, and wisdom they have is an important part of a good leaders requirements.  They need to understand what it is to mentor and equip others to minister.  They take others "under their wing" to prepare them for ministry or life in general.  

6. Disciplined - A good leader is disciplined and knows when to say no.  They understand what it means to prioritize and take responsibility.  

7. Relational - Good leaders are able to form intentional and long lasting relationships that are beneficial.  

  

Firing a Teacher

The biggest thing that I was told is to do it in a loving way. And if at all possible, try and find another spot for them in ministry. Obviously, if a teacher is not teaching correct and sound doctrine, that is a great and needed time for release.
As mentioned earlier, the most important thing to do is to go about it in a loving and compassionate way. No one, especially someone who is being relieved of their duties, likes a jerk telling them that they're done! We need to go about it in a way that they know 'why' it is happening. The way we do this is by just telling them, "Listen, here's why..." We may even come to that 'meeting of release' with a set list of reasons explaining why and how you came to the conclusion.
If at all possible, try and find another place of ministry for them. Whether that is letting them sit in on another, more experienced teacher and let them watch how it's 'supposed to be done'! Sit a major reason for releasing them from their duties may be a result from poor theology, get them in a situation where they can fully enagage and learn to re-vamp their personal theology in a timely and correct manner.

Week 9: Firing a Teacher

I interviewed Pastor Matthew Trexler at Starbucks on February 18th.

This is a list of the advice that Pastor Matthew gave me concerning how to remove a teacher. These are in no particular order.

- Confront head on and share goals with the teacher that can possibly fix the current problem.
- Develop a timeline for yourself to approach and find a solution to the issue, which includes both helping and removing the teacher.
- Review their spiritual gifts.
- Never tell them that they are doing an "awful" job.
-Equip and coach them to see if they just need help in ministering because you don't want to lose willing volunteers.
- Go to them and ask them how they feel about how their ministry is going. They may understand the problems they are having and willingly tell you. This can be extremely helpful in the process because if they recognize their own problems it makes removal easier for you as a pastor.
- 100% honesty is critical.
- Share with them how you as a leader perceive their ministry.
- Ask them if they are enjoying the ministry.
- Find other possible roles for them to serve in if they are willing and desire to continue to serve in another capacity.

Week 8: Theology of Conflict

One of the greatest misunderstanding about conflict that I believe exists in the church today is that conflict is sin. I think there is a large portion of people within our churches who have begun to equate conflict with sin. We avoid conflict as if it isn't supposed to exist. We have a hard time realizing that conflict is a part of our fallen world and that it is an expression of the diversity that God has created. No we should never let conflict spill over into anger, bitterness, slander, gossip, or any other sin issue, but we as a church need to understand that we will deal with conflict and having conflict itself is not sin.

1. Conflict Exists
When dealing with interpersonal conflict it is important to always recognize that it is a part of our world and our churches and it is not something that should be avoided. Christ never avoided conflict with his disciples or any other person who was doing something contrary to what he preached. This is true for those of us in the church today. We need to recognize conflict and not avoid it.

2. Love in Conflict
All conflict should be approached with the heart and mind of Christ. Regardless of what the conflict is over, we should never approach someone with a personal vendetta or with anger. As followers of Christ it is critical that we are focused on love and unity. That is what Christ desires of us and that is what we should strive for in our interpersonal relationships. No, we won't always agree with the decisions and opinions of people, but that does not mean that we should forget about what Christ has showed us about how to treat one another.

3. Recognizing Sin
In conflict its important to recognize sin. The unfortunate thing is that conflict in the church can sometime be a result of a sin issue or can lead to a sin issue. Recognizing what sin is from a Biblical perspective is critical to making sure that we know how to approach conflict. Once we are able to recognize sin that will enable us to intentionally and effectively confront a brother or sister in Christ.

4. Discipline
At times it may be possible that conflict will lead to the church having to discipline a member. Remember that discipline is not punishment or a means of hurting someone, but it is a lesson and teaching moment for the person who is struggling. At all times we should remember our love for this person and that our actions need to line up with who we represent.

5. Restoration and Redemption
Conflict needs to have an end. Regardless of whether or not you ever come to a consensus about the particular topic, you need to agree to focus on things we have in common rather than our differences. There are so many things that are so much more important than the petty things that we sometimes get in conflict over. We also need to recognize that discipline is not the end when our conflict does lead to this action. We must be willing to restore and redeem our brothers and sisters in Christ to the church.

Conflict

1. Conflict does not mean a relationship is over. This one is huge for me. I have recently lost someone very dear to me because of conflict. Just because something has come in between a relationship, does not mean it's done. If so, then that means you don't really care about the relationship to begin with.
2. Let's don't take on the Mennonite view of conflict. Shunning. If there is a conflict, address it.
3. If there is a conflict, address the person who the conflict is with. Don't go to other people and try to pursuade them to 'your side'.
4. Move on. Once the spiffle is resolved, let it be resolved. Over. Done with. Gone.

Motivating Volunteers

Jared on Monday
There were a number of things in which i was advised to do in order to motivate volunteers.
1. meet them where they are. In order for the volunteers to be happy with where they are, match them up with tasks that fit them.
2. be positive. Sometimes volunteers act like volunteers. Treat them with understanding and help guide them along the way.
3. treat them like adults. They are there to help students, not to be treated like one. Don't look down on them because they might not know what exactly to do.
4. give them responsibilities. Let them know that you trust them by giving them things to do. And maybe it's things that aren't pressing, but things none-the-less.
5. be thankful. People do not even have to be there, so let them know that you are glad and thankful for them to be there!

Week 8: Motivating Volunteers

1.  I interviewed pastor Matthew Trexler on Wednesday February 18th at Starbucks.

2.  Here are five tips that pastor Matthew gave me for pastors who are trying to motivate volunteers.  

- Announce the volunteer position frequently in services and make sure that there are printed handouts that tell the possible volunteers what the job is, what the requirements are and how often they will be asked to serve.  

- Depending on the volunteer opportunity you may want to ask specific people that you know have specific skills to think about serving in this capacity.  Its much more effective to have a conversation and describe the position fully to a possible volunteer.

- Provide a great deal of information about how the church will serve the volunteer.  Volunteers are sometimes hesitant to serve because they fear that they will be on their own.  The church should provide them with information about how they will be equip to serve in the church.  

- When asking for volunteers for leadership positions and not just service positions, make sure that you have some kind of interview to make sure that you have the right people to lead.  Teachers and people who will be in front of the church need to be held to a higher standard because of what they are entrusted with.  

- Give them needed rest.  Volunteers are afraid that once they volunteer they are owned by the church.  Finding some kind of a rotation for volunteers or a schedule is important to make sure that the church is not burning out its volunteer base.  We should show our appreciation to our volunteers and make sure they know how important they are to the ministry.