Pastors

Tips, Trends & Resources

The Leader in Referee Stripes

Get more than one person S on a staff and there will be competition. It’s only natural and healthy, except when it causes unhealthy conflict. Then, goals become obscured, communication and cooperation become nonexistent. Once the battle is over, no one comes out the winner.

How you as a leader resolve the conflict determines whether or not it will permanently damage workers’ personalities and productivity. The two most common ways of handling conflicts, interestingly enough, leave scars:

g 1. Choose one side over another. Your criteria may be entirely objective, but you’re still asking for trouble. With the stakes i, set at all or nothing, staff •s! members aren’t likely to it give up without a good, |i| long fight. And then, |c you’ll have to force the loser to comply with your

i^ decision.

c 2. Negotiate. Although l; often praised as a fine art, 2s- sometimes compromise |s only produces losers. ^ There are other ways to 5j| lead and make everyone ‘s winners:

,’•„• 1. Confront conflict. ^ Don’t ignore it hoping it ^ will go away. It won’t. ^ Then, by the time you’re :; forced to deal with it, ^ permanent damage may ;; already have been done. :; When you sense tension, I hostility, or disruption, get to the bottom of the problem and tackle it.

2. Point out conflict perceptions. Meet with each side separately. Ask them to pinpoint their perception of the issues and what basic elements contribute to the problem. Then ask them how they think the other party would answer. Maybe neither one will suddenly see the truth, but this exercise will make each side aware of the other’s viewpoint. The opponents may mellow?or at least appreciate your dilemma.

3. Substitute goals for problems. Don’t dwell on whose fault it is. Discuss with those involved what the solutions should accomplish. Then, work with them toward finding an alternative means of satisfying both. ‘ ? The Effective Manager September 1979

It’s More Than Ramps and Parking Spots

For the past 23 years, James Ashwin has been confined to a wheelchair as the result of polio. Because of his determination and his wife’s and friends’ help, he has been able to participate in church activities, serve on committees and be part of some national boards.

‘Vs disappointing to report that I feel lonely in most churches,” Ashwin said. “This is not just from sitting in my wheelchair 3 in an aisle, special section ; for the handicapped, or in the back of the sanctuary. The strange gulf that separates severely handicapped persons from other church members is both , unfortunate and unnecessary.”

Welcoming the disabled does not just mean having a ramp to the church door, according to Ashwin. It means opening eyes, hearts, and pocketbooks to fill a need. “Inviting a lonely friend to a concert, football game, or for a simple cup of tea is a wonderful Christian activity,” he said.

One of the following suggestions should be adaptable to make your church more accessible and usable to disabled persons:

1. Visit the disabled and elderly members and friends of the church to assess their needs and de-: sires.

2. Encourage church members to become friends with disabled members and include them in their regular social life.

3. Offer to perform jobs or chores not possible for the disabled member.

4. Arrange for adequate help for disabled members. A 12-year-oJd child, for example, cannot suffi-. ciently help a severely disabled mother. Several part-time volunteers may be needed.

‘The manner of ‘posi-  i tive fellowship’ offered to , the church’s disabled persons depends on the underlying motivations of all church members,” Ashwin said. “Good motivations derive from a healthy understanding of the Scriptures.” ? Evangelical Newsletter July 27, 1979

More on

Meetings

if you let them get out of hand, meetings will eat up your time like a tapeworm. The cure is a tough-minded program:

, 1. Reduce the number of meetings you attend. Ten percent is a good reduction level to start with. But go for the biggest reduction you can get, even 80 percent or more.

Reduce your load on any basis that works for you: importance, sequence, distance, topic, etc. Just be sure you attend fewer meetings.

2. Limit the length of time you spend in any one meeting. If possible, leave very long sessions early.

3. Ask for the purpose of the meeting when it first begins, then as often after that as is necessary. By asking for the purpose you will keep people on track. And if they don’t know ‘ the purpose, that’s a clear signa] th^thof’should’be no meeting at all.

 ExecuTime October 1979

Hiring Assistants

Putting an extra minister on your staff requires a considerable commitment of funds and some inevitable temporary disruption in a smooth functioning of your church organization. So, it’s necessary to consider every possible advantage and disadvantage of enlarging your staff before taking the step. Here are some basic questions to ask before you hire another person:

  • What are the needs of the community in which the church functions? An urban-oriented person should not be brought into a rural parish, for example. Match the person to the milieu.
  • What are the specific needs of the church? Maybe you need a secretary or additional clerical help instead of another pastor.

i • Have you drawn up a good job description for your assistant? It’s absolutely essential to outline the person’s precise duties before you start looking for a candidate. Otherwise you’ll end up using the assistant poorly and he will be confused about what is expected from him.

  • Does your church have enough money to pay an adequate salary? If not, you’ll virtually assure the new assistant’s family months of pinching for funds.
  • Why do you, the pastor, want a second pastor? Do you just want to have someone you can consider “my assistant” on whom to dump jobs? If your motives are poor, you will insure the failure and dissatisfaction of any assistant hired.
  • How does the lay leadership of the church feel about a second pastor? It is essential that the pastor and the lay board agree, or the position of the new staff member may become untenable.
  • Does the new pastor’s title reflect his job?
  • Are you willing to share your ministry and the spotlight with another person? In other words, you want a person who will help you and do a good job; but if he does a good job, he will also get praised. Can you take such compliments for your assistant in stride?
  • What is the work background of the candidate you are considering? Check his references, both religious and secular, to be sure he is actually prepared to do the job you want done.
  • Does the candidate see this job as a specialty where he expects to stay for a while and develop a ministry, or is your church just a stepping stone? Try to determine the answer to this question during the interviews. You will lose a great deal of time and money if you train him for a year or so and then lose him to another church.

?from Church Business February 1978

Stop,

Think,

and Delegate

One of the hardest things for most leaders to do is delegate responsibility. The reason usually is that often it seems no one can be trusted to follow through and do a proper job. The problem is that each time you are disappointed with work you have delegated, you become more and more reluctant to delegate again. Ted Engstrom, in his book The Making of a Christian Leader, developed six principles of delegation that should help you toward a more satisfactory experience with future delegation:

1. Select the jobs to be delegated, and get them organized for turnover.

2. Pick the proper person for the job.

3. Prepare and motivate the delegate for his assignment.

4. Hand over the work, and make sure it is fully understood.

5. Encourage independence.

6. Maintain supervisory control?never relinquish the reins.

For

Your

Information

Following are some resources available for Christian leaders.

Campus Crusade for Christ, Mr. Stephen Douglass, Arrowhead Springs, San Bemar-dino, California 92404. Week-long seminars for pastors.

The Church Consultation Service, 177 N. Madison Ave., Pasadena, California 91191.

Hagstrom Consulting, Inc., 83 Barrie Road, East Long Meadow, Massachusetts 01028. Time management, matching strengths with results and motivation.

Olan Hendrix’s Management Skills Seminars, 150 S. Los Robles, Pasadena, California 91101. Also includes a speed reading course.

William Cast & Associates, 5230 Burgess Road, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80908. Seminar on administrative systems for churches, motivation, and introducing change.

World Vision International, 919 W. Hunting-ton Drive, Monrovia, California 91016. Time and organizational management; Christian Leader newsletter

Yokefellow Institute, 920 Earlham Drive, Richmond, Indiana 47374.

Copyright © 1980 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

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