Summary: There are four types of leaders: Performance Driven. People Driven. Pennies Driven. Process Driven. Everything in ministry revolves around relationships. If you want to effectively lead in ministry, you need to know how to speak your boss’s language.

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Do you know your leader? You should. You need to learn who your boss is and how they receive information. There are four types of leaders: Performance Driven. People Driven. Pennies Driven. Process Driven.

Performance leaders get fired up to “Take the Hill” and often have a “Win at All Costs” perspective. New ideas excite them, and they love progress. If your boss is performance driven, you may need to learn this language and communicate accordingly.

You might have a “People Driven” leader. People driven leaders are motivated by “Life Change”. The lens through which they see the world is story. They need to know how this organizational change will bring about greater life change. Do you know how to speak THIS unique language?

Penny Driven leaders are most concerned with stewardship and budgeting. These leaders want to keep track of every single penny. If your leader is pennies driven, you had better come to the table with all of your financial ducks in order. If you do not speak this language, you will not be understood.

Process Driven leaders are concerned with systems, structure, flow of traffic and more. Because of this, these leaders intuitively know if an isolated change will throw a monkey wrench into the whole system. If you cannot speak their language of interconnectedness, you will not be heard.

Everything in ministry revolves around relationships. However, if you want to effectively lead in ministry, relationships are paramount. You need to know how to speak your boss’s language.

Summary: You do not want to be guilty of crying wolf. But you also do not want to say nothing and the wolf eats all the kids! Cultivate enough wisdom to know when to speak up and when to be patient.

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Do you remember the story of the little boy who cried wolf? He cried “WOLF” when there was no wolf. The town sprang into action. However, there was no danger. They got burned. Yet the story gets worse. The little boy did it again. The townspeople sprang into action when they heard “WOLF.” Yet, once again, they were not needed. The little boy unknowingly conditioned the townspeople to not take him seriously.

Listen Up: A day is coming when you are going to need help in a big way. You will need swift action from your senior leaders. Do not cry wolf and ruin your reputation. Trust me when I say, exaggeration will kill your changes of future success.

Let’s change the story altogether. Now let’s imagine you are a shipmate on a boat. You are all alone in the bottom of the boat with one simple job: Keep shoveling coal into the fire box. One day there is a small leak in the bottom of the ship. The boat is taking on water. Yet you just keep your head down and focus on “Your Job”. As time goes on, the leak only gets larger. You wonder, “Shouldn’t someone do something about this? I mean this could get dangerous.” HELLO…?! Go get help. Bottom Line: You see you can be too bold but you can also be too bashful. If there is a problem, speak up but first get your facts straight!

You do not want to be guilty of crying wolf. But you also do not want to say nothing and the wolf eats all the kids! Listen to me: Cultivate enough wisdom to know when to speak up and when to be patient.

Summary: You operate within the whole. It is foolish to only consider your own area and how your thing operates. What you do affects the rest. All changes have a system-wide domino effect.

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Ministry is interrelated. There is a cause/effect relationship within every organization. If you move this lever, three trap doors open up. You need to be a student of the entire church and the entire process. It is foolish to only consider your own area and how your thing operates. What you need to remember is that you operate within the whole. You are not an island. What you do affects the rest. What they do affects you!

You can’t think exclusively about your own needs. No ministry operates in isolation. All changes have a system-wide domino effect. Here is the key to success: You must train your mind to think systemically. If you only consider your own area and your own isolated needs, you will be far less effective as you grow as a ministry practitioner.

Senior leaders prize employees who think globally and systemically. Why do senior leaders prize such employees? It is simple, actually. You see, senior leaders HAVE TO THINK system-wide at all times. Senior leaders are strapped with making sure all the pieces fit together. THAT IS EXHAUSTING. It is a joy to your boss when they realize that they are not the only one who is thinking about the big picture. So how do you do this? Senior leaders prize global thinkers because they do not want to be the only one thinking about the whole.

Summary: Nothing can quite replace the value of practice. The feeling of unpreparedness is horrible. Follow the 5 P’s: Prioritizing practice prepares for perfection.

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Nothing can quite replace the value of practice. Let’s imagine you have a chance to give a three minute devotional before the entire church. Can I give you a strong suggestion? It is a great idea to rehearse your 3-minutes BEFORE you have to ACTUALLY deliver your 3-minutes.

Hear me out on this one. I am amazed how unprepared I am when I attempt to run my short talk for the first time outloud for the first time. This feeling of unpreparedness is horrible. However, this feeling of unpreparedness can be with a trusted team member or it can be in front of the entire church. The choice is yours. Your ideas and your talk may be crystal clear in YOUR mind. However, pushing your thoughts into words is harder.

The times that I have presented to a friend prior before I present to a group of people have been quite revealing. During that first presentation, I automatically see holes in my flow of thought. I see what needs to be REPEATED and what needs to be DELETED. I notice my friend’s body language and see what is not making sense to them.

Listen to me. The distance from my brain to my mouth is actually pretty long. Here is a quick and blunt word of advice: Stop winging it and start practicing. Your first draft should never be your final draft.

Here are the 5 “P’s” of this concept: Prioritizing practice prepares for perfection. Here is my reality. I had a 5 minute talk to give at a wedding. I practiced 12 times, outloud, with hand motions and all PRIOR to that 5-minute talk. I did over 60 minutes of back-to-back rehearsals for one 5-minute talk. I challenge you to do the same.

Summary: When handed lemons, great leaders make lemonade. Exceptional leaders, however, can make lemonade out of sour grapes

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I am an optimist. I see the glass as half full. However, I am also a realist. While I hope for the best, I think we should consider plans for the worst. Don’t get me wrong. I work hard for what I want. I do not do things half-heartedly. If I am going for it, I go for it in a big way.

I think leaders need to adopt the concept, “Be Over Prepared.” We need to have a deep bench of contingency plans. Ministry is often fluid and can change. There is always the chance that we need to modify on the fly. Sometimes wrenches get thrown into the mix. However, the show must go on. The fat lady still needs to sing. You still need to put on the “dog-and-pony-show” even if you just lost your dog at the negotiation table. I’ve been there.

Do you have your secret bag of tricks already loaded and close to your side? Do you have a back up lesson, a second game up your sleeve and even a creative way to burn some time? We need to “Be Over Prepared.”

When handed lemons, great leaders make lemonade. Exceptional leaders, however, can make lemonade out of sour grapes.

Summary: Your leaders sit above you. You hold one perspective. You do not see the entire picture. Do you hold the perspective that you leaders might know more information than you do? Seek to adopt this perspective.

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Your leaders sit above you. You hold one perspective. You do not see the entire picture. Your leader may share new information that changes everything. This is a time to listen and learn.

I lead at a particular level, let’s say 30,000 feet. I have a particular view. My Wednesday night volunteers are at the 5,000 foot level. However, my top-tier Wednesday volunteers may sit at the 10,000 foot level. My volunteers may not understand each and every decision I make as their pastor. I may have information and a perspective that they do not yet see.

My hope, however, is when they seek to learn more about the rationale for a decision, I can bring them up a few levels and to see things beyond the isolated area in which they serve. The same thing holds true in my relationship with my senior leaders.

If I sit at the 30,000-feet, my senior leaders may sit at 60,000-feet. They see the ministry I lead in relation to all the other ministries. They hold a larger and more global view. They have a handle on the overall budget. They see the scope of the ministry in a way that I just have no ability to see. In addition, the senior leadership exists at a level with the elder board.

Often, they are dealing with matters that have yet to be disclosed to me and other key leaders. They know what is coming. Their “NO” may be quite justified. I want to not only be a learner; I want to be perceived as a learner. On matters above my pay grade, I want to learn everything that I can and come to understand more about how the church at large operates.

Do you hold the perspective that you leaders might know more information than you do? Seek to adopt this perspective.

Summary: Leading in ministry is a lot like bull riding. You feel all alone on this wild ride. You feel you are working harder than anyone else around you. If you bail too early, you don’t get any points. You may have a sinking feeling that some people actually enjoy watching you get bucked off.

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When I was a kid, we would go to a small town for a rodeo. There were cowboys and cowgirls riding horses around obstacles. There were other riders who lassoed runaway cows. And yet everything at the rodeo seemed like an appetizer for the main dish. Nothing was as exciting as the final event: Bull Riding. You have a rider. You have an angry bull. The rider’s job is to stay on the bull for 8 seconds. Sounds simple, right? But it ain’t that easy.

In many ways, leading in ministry is a lot like bull riding and I can’t help but see some similarities. (1) You feel all alone on this wild ride. (2) You feel you are working harder than anyone else around you. (3) If you bail too early, you don’t get any points. (4) You cannot control this animal. (5) You feel out of balance. (6) You have a sinking feeling that some people actually enjoy watching you get bucked off. (7) And, the only people who seem willing to help are a couple of clowns.

Leading in ministry is like a bull rider in the rodeo. It looks so fun from the stands. But you, my friend, are in the arena. You feel like you are on the ride of your life, holding on for dear life. Ministry can be a wild ride on a bull named fu-man-chew. You want to do your best and stay in the game for those prized 8 seconds. You are not alone. However, I did not want to leave you with Biblical inspiration and hopeful platitudes. I want to provide you with a crystal-clear path to effectively lead. This is why I have created LeadMinistry.com. We offer courses and coaching for this wild ride called ministry.

Summary: Leadership is not a matter of position. Leadership is not a matter of hierarchy on the org chart. Leadership is, however, a matter of influence. Leadership is about the one who “guides the group.”

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Leadership is likely the most talked about subject within church ministry right now. If someone were to do a basic internet search, you would find hundreds of thousands of topics on how to lead at the top levels. There are teachings and trainings in the areas of administration, strategic planning, vision casting, team building and more. There is no shortage of content for leaders.

I want to start by defining the term “Leadership.” The author and speaker, John Maxwell defines leadership as “Influence.” Dictionary.com defines “Leadership” as “One who guides a group.”

As far as I am concerned, leadership is not a matter of position. Leadership is less about proxy. Leadership is not a matter of hierarchy on the org chart. Leadership is, however, a matter of influence. Leadership is about the one who “guides the group”.

Can you lead if you are not positioned at the top? Can you influence or steer the ship and not be the captain? Can you “guide the group” and yet not be the boss? The answer is a resounding yes. There is a critical leadership component that we must get right in church ministry and life. And yet, if we miss it much of our influence is rendered useless.

Hear me when I say this: Your competence may get you into the room, but your character keeps you in the room. You can, dear friend, help guide the group even if you are not the boss. Lead with character and conviction today.

Summary: Are you viewing recruiting as burdensome slot-filling or are you viewing it as a means to see people grow? Recruiting volunteers can be a means of disciple making. When people serve, people grow in the Lord.

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I became a children’s pastor in a not-so-normal way. Maybe you can relate. You see, I do not have any formal degrees in ministry. I have no formal training that would have predicted a career in ministry. Honestly, I just loved God a whole bunch and found joy serving and volunteering in ministry. Maybe this is your story. Maybe you find yourself in your role today through an odd set of circumstances and a non-traditional path. Well, that’s my story.

I will never forget needing to recruit a small army of volunteers. I was staring at a blank page needing qualified names. I was also staring blankly at the telephone. I looked up to heaven and said out loud to God, “I don’t think this is reasonable.” Then God asked me what volunteering had done in me. Had I grown as a Christian through serving? My eyes filled with tears as I reflected on how many relationships had gotten stronger through serving, how I trusted Him more and how I knew His word better and I knew myself better because I had volunteered.

Then God spoke deep into my heart. He asked me if I thought that He could bring about those same wonderful things in the lives of the people He would provide for my list. At that moment, I no longer viewed myself as a slot filler. Recruiting became a means of disciple making. I believed, deep down, that if people would serve, people would grow in the Lord.

How about you? Are you viewing recruiting as burdensome slot-filling or are you viewing it as a means to see people grow?

Summary: Do you remember the story of the little boy with some loaves and fish? God is willing to use and multiply whatever is in our hands. Do you have something in your hand that seems small and possibly insignificant? Just as He multiplied the fish and loaves, he has multiplied ministry far beyond what I thought possible.

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You have an invisible toolbox. Your invisible toolbox has an assortment of the most random things someone could imagine. It holds your spiritual gifts. This toolbox holds your passions, your abilities and your personality. This invisible toolbox is filled with so many of your life experiences, both good and bad, and the learnings and lessons from your one and only life.

You see, whether you know it or not, God has been slowly stockpiling tools into your invisible toolbox. Interestingly enough, those tools are form-fit for your hands, crafted by God so you could use them to serve God. You have an invisible toolbox. Your toolbox will likely grow today. You have a toolbox. I have a toolbox.

Do you remember the story of the little boy with some loaves and fish that was discovered by Andrew? You see, God is willing to use and multiply whatever is in our hands. Do you have something in your hand that seems small and possibly insignificant? I am a former high school chemistry teacher and as odd as it might sound, I love the periodic table.

I did not have loaves and fish in my hands. But the God of all creation and creativity is thrilled to show us how to use the items in our hands. I brought my passion for Him, a deep love for the lost and my crinkled up periodic table. Quite an odd combination, right? God took these ingredients and birthed “The Amazing Chemistry Show.”

God has allowed me to share the good news of Jesus with thousands and thousands of people. All major religions. Nearly all 50 states and 4 different countries. Just as He multiplied the fish and loaves, he has multiplied ministry far beyond what I thought possible.

Can I ask? What is in your toolbox?