Think you have a great idea….sleep on it…

If you read this blog regularly, surely you have learned that I’m a risk-taker by nature. I love to encourage big dreams and I want to be a catalyst for idea generation and innovative thought. I’m even a church planter!!! Talk about risk…

In spite of that tendency in me to act quickly, I have learned one principle of leadership by personal experience…this is one of those wisdom learned by mistake kind of things…so listen closely…

When you get the next great idea…don’t act on it immediately…even as great an idea as it may be. Sleep on it…for a day…a week…or a season…(depending on the size of and type of the idea)…before you take action towards it. (Now if you are absolutely certain it’s a “word from God” then move immediately, but in my case I have mistaken His voice for my own ideas a few times…so you might keep reading…)

I know…I know…that seems to contradict some of what you have been taught. If you don’t act immediately, someone else will steal your idea. If you don’t act immediately, you may lose valuable momentum. If you don’t act immediately, you might miss out on an opportunity.

I’m not trying to kill ideas, I’m trying to help you make better ideas. Before you throw stones, consider my rationale…keep this in mind…here’s why this is important…

You want to make the decision you are making is not based solely on emotion. You want time for emotions to subside (if they are going to) before you invest the energy and resources into the idea.

Still questioning? Consider this…

You wouldn’t advise someone who is experiencing negative emotions to make immediate decisions…would you? If someone loses a spouse, you wouldn’t encourage him or her to make a random and sudden decision to sell everything and move where they know no one…would you?

Why are positive emotions anymore trustworthy?

Remember, you don’t have to act immediately to act quickly. I realize there is a great balance here between stalling out and pausing, but don’t allow your emotions to cause you to react too quickly and regret your decision later.

Pause, get wise counsel, make sure rationale is equal to emotion…then you can and should move fast…you’ll be glad the emotion is still strong…

Share your story…

Have you made too quick of a decision you later regretted making?

What did it cost you?

Recently I had the privilege of speaking to some executive pastors about a senior pastor’s expectations for their role. Part of a healthy organization is recognizing the individual roles and responsibilities of the others on the team. I felt it was important that I first help them understand the pastor better, so I shared 10 Things You May Not Know about the Senior Pastor. You may want to read that post first.

I continued my talk by sharing how other staff members within the church can support the position of senior pastor. I realize our church would have never been successful without the creativity, diligence and leadership of the staff at Grace Community Church. Part of our success has been the way our staff has assisted my co-pastor and me in our work, but the role of a senior pastor is unique also.

Here are 10 expectations I believe are important for those who serve on a church staff in supporting the leadership of a senior pastor:

Have a Kingdom perspective. It’s not really about either one of you…it’s about God and we get to play a part in His Kingdom work.

Know yourself. Some people are wired for a supporting role and some are not, which is why so many are planting churches these days. You may be able to serve in this role for a short time but not long term. It takes a great deal of humility to submit to someone else’s leadership at times. Know who you are. Being in the second (or third) position in an organizational sense doesn’t always get to make the final decision. Are you comfortable with that fact?

Support the pastor. That’s an obvious for this list, but unless the senior pastor is doing something immoral, you should have his back. If you can’t, move on… You should make this decision early in your relationship, preferably before you start, but definitely soon into the process. Resisting the leadership of the senior pastor is usually not good for you or the church.

Realize you are in the second (or third) chair. If you don’t want to be, then work your way into a number one seat, but while you are in this position, understand your role.

Don’t pray for, wish or try to make your pastor something he is not. Most likely, the basic personality of your leader is not going to change.

Add value to the pastor and the organization. Do good work. Even if you are not 100% satisfied where you are at in your career at the current time, keep learning and continue to be exceptional in your position. Be a linchpin.

Be a friend. This is a general principle when working with others, but especially true in this situation. If you aren’t likable to the pastor, he isn’t going to respond likewise. Have you ever heard, “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you”? That works when working with a leader too.

Brand yourself in and out of the organization. Don’t wait until you are in the number one position to make a name for yourself. This helps you, the pastor and the church.

Compliment the pastor. Most likely, you are needed for your abilities that are different from the senior pastor. Use your gifting to make the church better and improve the overall leadership of the pastor. This will serve you well also.

Pick your battles. Even in the healthiest organizations, there will be conflict and disagreements. Don’t always be looking for a fight. Ask yourself if the battle is worth fighting for or if this in the hill on which to die.

Learn all you can. Most likely, the pastor knows some things you don’t. Sometimes you will learn what not to do from your pastor. Let every experience teach you something you can use later to make you a better leader.

Leave when it’s time. Be fair to the church, the pastor, and yourself and leave when your heart leaves the position, you can no longer support the pastor or the organization, or you begin to affect the health or morale of the church and staff.

I personally understand the frustration of being part of a team, but not feeling you have the freedom to share your opinions or the opportunity to help shape the future of the organization. Real leaders never last long in that type environment. There are certainly leaders who will never be open to your input. Again, I recommend discovering this early and not wasting much time battling that type insecure leader.

The goal of this post is not to sound arrogant as a senior pastor, but to help the organization of the church by addressing issues, which will help improve the leadership of the church and the working relationship between staff members.

I’d love to hear from senior pastors and those who serve on a church staff. What would you add/or delete from my list?

(I realize I have female pastors reading this blog. I didn’t try to exclude you, but went with the masculine sense for readability.)

Casey Graham and Joe Sangl have become good friends. Casey and Joe share several things in common with each other. They are both incredibly high-energy, they are both funny (or think they are) and, most importantly, they both share a heart to help churches and people live in financial freedom. Specifically for the church, their desire is for churches to be able to fully fund the vision God has given the church.

As writers of the new book, “Funded and Free”, Casey and Joe combine their practical experience serving on church staffs with their most current experience helping churches and individuals across the nation achieve financial success. In this easy-to-read, practical and concise book, Casey and Joe help us understand the obstacles churches face and how to deal appropriately with finances and debt. Every church leader needs to read this book.

Check out the FUNDED AND FREE website where you can buy 5 copies for $50. This low-cost investment will promote lasting Kingdom rewards. Let your finance team, leadership team, or staff read this book together and get your church headed in a more positive direction financially.

Just curious, how is your church fairing financially in this current economy? Could you use some help?

In an organization the unwritten rules are just as, if not more, important than the written rules. If you are considering making changes, implementing something new, adding staff, or any of dozen other decisions in your organization, you need to also consider the unwritten rules of the organization.

Here are a few examples:

The culture of the organization…How it responds to change…How it addresses problems…How it plans for the future…

The leader’s accessibility and temperament…Is he or she considered approachable?  Does he or she participate with the team normally?  Would he or she know if there was a perceived problem in the organization? Do team members trust the leader?

The relationships of team members to each other…Is there a friendship or just a working relationship?  Is conflict acceptable?  Do team members feel freedom to speak freely?

The sense of job satisfaction within the organization…Are there long-term team members?  Are team members generally happy with the organization?  Is there current unrest among team members?

The common and expected practices of the organization…Is there a way it’s always been done? Has change usually been accepted or resisted?

The way information flows…How does communication really happen?  What are the circles of influence?  Who drives discussion?  Who has influence with peers?

As a leader, it’s important that you not only concentrate your attention on what is easily measured, written in a policy manual, or even spoken as a value. Other considerations may be more important, even though they may have never been expressed formally.  When change occurs or is to be implemented in an organization, paying attention to these unwritten rules is necessary for success. BTW leaders, most likely you helped write these unwritten rules.

What are some of the unwritten rules of your organization?

Pastor burnout is a common problem in the church today.  I hear from pastors everyday facing the stress of ministry.

Here’s a common scenario that can cause that to happen…or pieces of this scenario…these may be the most common one I hear…perhaps this is your story:

• The church gets to a certain level
• Things start to slow down
• The church stops growing
• Maybe even slides backwards for a while…
• Money becomes tighter…
• People are complaining more it seems…
• Everyone is asking the pastor “What’s next?”  ”What do we do now?”
• You’ve done everything you know how to do…
• You feel stuck…trapped…afraid…paralyzed…confused…overwhelmed…

If not careful, the stress will quickly cause the pastor to:

• Stop reading and learning techniques and strategies
• Stop trying anything new
• Quit taking risks
• Quit expecting God to move
• Become protective…maybe even isolated..
• Become more sensitive to criticism and stress…

If this is your story, I have a few words of encouragement:

• Get help now…That may be professional or not, but ask for help today!  You wouldn’t encourage the people you lead to do life alone…so why is it a good idea for you?
• Surround yourself with people...not the opposite, which is the usual response to times like this…especially it seems by pastors.  Find people who love you…they are there if you look.
• Find your center of gravity again…(Most likely that is Christ…right?)
• Get back to the truth you already know...  You may start by reading 1 Kings 19 for another time one of God’s servants fell on difficult times.
• Renew the passion for your vision… God called you to something.  He never said it would be easy.  God-given dreams rarely are.
• Start doing something towards a goal...  Inactivity never solved anything. Waiting doesn’t mean doing nothing (Read another post with that thought HERE.)
• Look for some small wins…  It will help rebuild your confidence.  (Read another post with that thought HERE.)
• Stay faithful in the small things… and God will once again bring the bigger victories.  (Read Matthew 25:21)

I’d love to hear from you if this is your story.  You can comment here (which will encourage others also) or you can send me an email to ron.edmondson@gmail.com

Thanks for serving…even when the serving gets difficult.

For more encouragement, read THIS POST, and THIS POST and perhaps the suggested posts below this one.

According to a recent survey, 40 percent of professionals want to quit their job. I’m curious, is that higher than you would think? I’d love to know what percentage on our staff feels that way….(hopefully not that high!)

As one who studies and writes about organizational health, these numbers frustrate me. What can be done to improve job satisfaction? I love the interview Brad Lomenick did recently with Tony Hsieh of Zappos about their corporate culture. Check it out HERE. Zappos appears to be a place people want to work and one that is remaining very profitable.

According to the Nashville Business Journal, here is a list of reasons U.S. professionals cited for wanting to quit their jobs this year, accompanied by the percentage of respondents who cited the reason:

• Lack of communication and involvement by top management, 40 percent
• Lack of promotion despite good work results, 37 percent
• Overwork, 34 percent
• Lack of company “vision,” 31 percent
• Lack of belief in colleagues’ competence, 28 percent
• Lack of administrative support, 26 percent
• Rude colleagues, 21 percent
• Boss takes credit for their work, 20 percent

Read more: Survey: 40 percent of U.S. professionals want to quit – Nashville Business Journal

What do you think? Should the number be that high? Would you have thought it would be lower of higher? If you are brave, share which side of the percentage you are in today. Are you ready to quit…or loving your work?  If you did, which would be your reason for quitting?

(Be sure to read the recommended posts associated with this one.)

I tweeter recently a question. What is one non-negotiable characteristic of a leader you are willing to follow?

Here are some of the responses:

@JohninColorado Passion for the lost
@KevinDeShazo Honesty
@TN_SmartGirl Humility
@HireLianne Attentiveness to every rung of the ladder below him/her.
@John4Him Honesty
@Christfollower an integrity rooted in profound sense of dependence on God
@danscott smokes what he sells
@strategicsense Empathy
@RobertBlas ability to admit when wrong.
@TeriSWillis Healthy marriage
@dwaynehutchings Integrity
@Jill_Shaw Trustworthy
@taylors2belgium Integrity
@DistantLShaw Sticks close to God especially when it’s tough & when it’s good.
@elissekipe Integrity
@LAHSWORLD Integrity
@ericwschmidt Godly humility
@ YvonneMcLaren Integrity

@NoNameHere Must be a Twitterer (But he was just joking….see I didn’t sell you out…actually he gave a serious one above)

Keep in mind these were answered quickly, so answers may have been expanded or even changed had they had time to think about their answer more, but I think these are heartfelt responses.  I see a few trends and similarities in the answers…do you?

I think as leaders we should pay attention to things like this. Granted your staff may be different, but I suspect this is representative in many ways. As a leader, it’s important to know what is important to the people you want to lead. Sometimes we focus too much of our attention on things of lesser importance.

What do you think is one non-negotiable characteristic of a leader you are willing to follow?

BTW, this will give you a few more people to follow.

This was my message last week at Grace Community Church dealing with guilt. I was overwhelmed how big an issue this is among our people.

If you are dealing with guilt from your past, I hope you’ll take time to watch this:

What’s your story of guilt?

(The motivation from this series came from a message several years ago by Andy Stanley where he addressed four issues we hide in our heart.)

I love exploring Ted.com for exceptional videos. I don’t get to very often, but when I do, I find great stuff.

Here’s one you should consider watching. It’s about 17 minutes long, and honestly he rambles at times, but you’ll get some great wisdom and reminders from a great man. Here’s John Wooden on the subject “What is True Success?”

Do you agree with Wooden’s definition?

I had an opportunity recently thanks to Casey Graham to speak to a group of executive pastors. I was asked to give my perspective as a senior pastor, since each of them report to one. I thought you might also be interested in what I shared. Since I was addressing other issues in addition to this, I was limited on time, so I have added a few since I spoke with them.

Here are 10 things you may not know about a senior pastor:

1. Leading from the number one position is overwhelming at times. We know Christ is ultimately in charge, but we also know it seems everyone looks to us to have all the answers.
2. People tell the senior pastor all kinds of things about what is happening in their life or in the lives of others…many we would rather not know sometimes…and sometimes the weight of others problems we carry is enormous.
3. Most pastors walk with uncertainty and insecurity. Depression is common for many senior pastors.
4. Fear of failure is the number one fear of men…and senior pastors are not immune.
5. Sometimes we allow fear to cause us to get protective. We protect ourselves, our territory, and our position.
6. We face the same temptations and occasional spiritual dryness everyone else faces and know we need accountability.
7. We have issues and struggles like people do, because of past failures or present fears.
8. There is a loneliness of leadership and many pastors suffer from it.
9. We seldom know who we can trust, which is why we become guarded. Most senior pastors have been burned by someone once trusted.
10. We know the staff talks about us like they would any boss.

Granted, not every pastor faces each of these, and i happen to be in an extremely healthy church right now, but in talking with dozens of senior pastors each year…and being one…I know this is a representative list for many. Senior pastors find joy in our work and know we are in the center of God’s will vocationally. I don’t intend to take anything away from that in this post. We serve in a called position, so we are doing what we have been asked of God to do. When I share any post like this, however, I have come to expect a lecture on the need to depend on Christ for these issues, which only further demonstrates my points further. Senior pastors are to fully rely on Christ’s strength, as is every other believer. We just happen to be like Elijah…”a man just like us”. (James 5:17)

Senior pastors, what would you add?

If you are not a senior pastor, do you experience some or all of these?