This week I wrapped up a two year journey toward earning my Doctorate. The final phase was the Oral Defense, a time-honored rite of passage required before completing the doctoral candidacy.
For what it’s worth, I filmed a reaction video and shared a couple clips from my Oral Defense to help educate others on the process.
Vulture has a great interview with Colin Mochrie, the improv phenom who has been making us all laugh for 30 years.
As you know, improvisational comedy has many “rules” that apply to business, leadership and life, as revealed in my book, Holy Shift.
Here are some highlights from the article:
“There are still times I think, How did they pitch the show to a network and have it get picked up? There’s four guys you have never seen before, and we don’t have a show until the end of the taping, and it’s 22 episodes of that. I’m proud that it got improv into the public mind-set.”
“Like any muscle, it has to be worked and exercised. Because, I mean, basically, we’re all improvisers. That’s what our lives are. We have sort of a rough framework; we know how it’s going to end. Everything in between now and then is just totally improvised.”
“Well, they’re horrible! First of all, is it even a song style? It’s like, “Oh, let’s hear the hoedown stylings of …” Who? No one. And there’s no good place to be in line. The first person: You get this suggestion right away, you have no time to think. And then the rest of the time, you’re just hoping no one will take your verse. There’s some topics we think, All I’ve got is one thing. If somebody does that verse … And when they do it right before you? I can’t even describe the feeling. It’s just loss and despair. And the fact that the Hoedown was invented? It’s horrible.”
The goal of a leader is to always be a blessing and never be a burden. There is nothing worse than a person that overstays their welcome at a home gathering. The same is true in leadership. We want to live our lives in such a way that adds greatness to people and circumstances around us instead of taking from them.
Here are three quick things to remember in order to be a blessing as a leader:
#1: NEVER BE OWNED BY ANYONE
To be owned by someone means that you owe them something. As leaders, our goal is not to be owned by our relationships, finances, belongings etc. Rather it is the responsibility of a leader to steward their own lives so that we can be a blessing to others around us and not a burden.
Money and people will try to own you so that you can serve them, but part of being a good steward means that we recognize that we are owned by God and serve Him only.
#2: BE CAREFUL OF PEOPLE WHO COME INTO YOUR LIFE TOO FAST AND TOO LOUD
People who come into our lives too fast and too loud generally leave the same way they came in. In leadership, the tension is between divine appointments and people that we moved too quickly with.
It can be easy to jump toward what’s flashy, but over time we see that the faithful and steady people around us usually end up being the ones that we need in our life.
#3: GOD IS OUR SOURCE!
God is the ultimate source! We don’t ever have to worry about our needs or the needs of the church because God is committed to taking care of us.
When we worry about our “lack” we are saying that God isn’t enough. Kingdom-minded people don’t see “lack” – they see what God is doing through the people placed in their lives.
Let’s always remember that as leaders, it is our goal to be a blessing and not a burden.
While there is much yet not understood about the effects of the post-pandemic/post-Christian climate we are now experiencing, some data and research is beginning to emerge to paint a picture of today’s spiritual environment.
What follows are three important articles that church leaders should take under serious consideration when planning ahead for the future.
Churches are closing at rapid numbers in the US, researchers say, as congregations dwindle across the country and a younger generation of Americans abandon Christianity altogether – even as faith continues to dominate American politics.
As the US adjusts to an increasingly non-religious population, thousands of churches are closing each year in the country – a figure that experts believe may have accelerated since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The situation means some hard decisions for pastors, who have to decide when a dwindling congregation is no longer sustainable. But it has also created a boom market for those wanting to buy churches, with former houses of worship now finding new life.
About 4,500 Protestant churches closed in 2019, the last year data is available, with about 3,000 new churches opening, according to Lifeway Research. It was the first time the number of churches in the US hadn’t grown since the evangelical firm started studying the topic. With the pandemic speeding up a broader trend of Americans turning away from Christianity, researchers say the closures will only have accelerated.
It’s time to rethink church size. For the purpose of this article, I define church size as average weekly worship attendance, including children and youth who may not be in the primary worship service. In other words, we count every person attending a worship weekend (or other days for a few churches).
Let’s look at the breakdown of churches by average worship attendance:
Under 50 in attendance: 31% of all churches
51 – 99: 37%
100 – 249: 24%
250 and above: 8%
All of the numbers are fascinating, but the largest category should cause us to pause. Only 8 percent of churches have an attendance of 250 or more. These churches now define the category, “very large churches.”
A church plant’s attendance is directly proportional to the money spent at launch and in the congregation’s first year, the research found. At churches with average attendance over 200 in the first five years, average startup costs were $100,000 and first-year costs $225,000—a total launch cost of $325,000.
Smaller churches tend to spend far less. Church plants more than two years old with less than 100 in attendance averaged $10,000 in startup costs and $60,000 in first-year costs. For churches more than two years old with between 100 and 200 in attendance, average startup costs were $84,500.
The correlation between spending and growth held over time. Growing churches continued to spend more as they continued to grow, while nongrowing spent less.
Comedian Kevin Farley joins me on a new episode of LeaderShift! Farley has been bringing his signature brand of upbeat entertainment to fans around the world for over three decades. Kevin got his start at the famous Second City in Chicago. Soon after he starred in films such as Black Sheep (with his older brother Chris) and The Waterboy (with Adam Sandler), as well as roles on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Comedy Central's Drunk History, and Netflix's F is for Family.
In this episode of LeaderShift, Farley shares shifts and insights from a stand-up comic’s perspective that apply to your leadership including:
Trust your instincts — Don’t second-guess yourself.
Don’t judge yourself.
The one thing every audience really responds to.
How to deal with rejection in your business.
The gold of authenticity in communication.
Connect with Kevin Farley on his official website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Listen to LeaderShift now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music.
If your pastor walked into your place of business, where he holds no title or experience, and critiqued your work on a weekly basis, how would you view your pastor?
If your pastor held meetings about you and your intentions behind your back, how would you view your pastor?
If your pastor expected you to call him and visit him on a regular basis, or else he would walk out of your life and find another church to pastor, how would you view your pastor?
If your pastor gave you the same measure of grace you give him, how would you view your pastor?
I am concerned that we, the sheep of God's pasture, have made the blessing of being a shepherd unnecessarily difficult. So many of the demands levied within the church against the pastor are found *nowhere* in God's expectations of His under-shepherds (1 Peter 5).
Let's get back to having Scriptural expectations of our pastors.
Be very careful with how you treat your pastor. Let him work under the grace of his God and his calling, not under the yoke of individualistic expectations and ultimatums.
Grace and peace, friends.
My oldest son is a decent soccer player... and the team he is on is fantastic!
The reason is his coach. This guy teaches, loves and leads those boys in ways I have learned from.
During a parent meeting early in the season I heard him say multiple times that he has a "system" he uses coaching. Each practice had a predetermined purpose. If a child missed practice, they missed that element and were left out.
Being a nerd for systems and processes that work, this made me happy. Processes bring purpose to every moment, even 15 and 16 year old soccer.
Today I want to share with you a system I use for one area of my life: Time Management.
Honestly, I hate using the word "management" in conjunction with time. I don't have enough time to manage, I need it to be maximized! This process will set your week on fire and you will accomplish more than you thought you could.
Here are 3 ways to make your week more productive.
Too often we roll into Monday with no plan. Planning ahead squeezes every ounce of potential out of your time.
One way I determine if a leader is responsible or flippant is how they respond when I ask, "How does your calendar look?"
Effective people plan.
Every Sunday I take 15-30 minutes to think through my week ahead. In short, I identify my 3 major accomplishments for the week. And I write them down in a convenient Goal Planner I bought from Ramsey Solutions.
Once I add tasks and actions to this, I have a workable plan.
I hate to-do lists. Some of it is personality, but I believe to-do lists impede productivity.
Without focus, to-do lists give the illusion of effectiveness. To-do lists do not necessarily produce results, but they always create busyness.
Instead of endless lists that pile up, I calendar what needs to be done. Often a to-do list exists outside of your calendar, so combine the two.
Schedule appointments with yourself to execute what needs doing and stick to that plan. Productivity doesn't happen when you create boxes to check but appointments to keep.
Having a unique theme for each day keeps the week fresh for me and guards from boredom.
Every day has its own flavor and focus. This brings that extra 10% of intensity to your week in measured doses.
Here is how I attack the week from a thematic standpoint:
Kick off the week by moving something. I have a goal of advancing 3 things down the field each week.
On Monday I get them started by having conversations or emailing details to those who need to be in the know.
Since I have a Board I work under, I need to make sure I am creating momentum around the things they care about as well.
This means a couple of things:
First, I cannot have all 3 of my weekly objectives be things that I want. Get used to that, or go start something so you can do everything you want.
Second, I float multiple things out to them on Monday, see what sticks, and chase that. It keeps me in touch with what they have placed energy around as opposed to guessing what they want.
Tuesday challenges my grit. Tuesday is when I do the tough work needed to make things happen.
Since progress does not occur without resistance, I tackle that on Tuesday. Difficult conversations, meetings that grind through details and pulling away alone to write a process all take place on Tuesday.
In church work Mondays are often bad days to expose holes in weekend services. Your team is tired. The issues are still fresh on Monday.
Let them breathe.
Tackle those issues on Tuesday. If they can't handle it then it means they're being emotional and they'll get over that.
Another reason I focus this type of work onto one day?
If I am constantly in everyone's crawl about things I earn the reputation of being a jerk. Measure how often you are pushing against everything or people will see you as combative and argumentative. Leaders can be this at times, but not all the time.
You cannot spend every day executing and working in the weeds. For your church or organization to improve, you need focused time working "on it" instead of "in it."
Create space to rise above the details and think about bigger picture things. Since this is a discipline for me, especially during busy times, I dedicate a day to have it shaping every meeting or conversation I have.
Ask questions about processes, big picture goals, push people out of being lost in details, and refocus people on "the why" behind what you are doing.
I am terrible at slowing down enough to cultivate gratitude in myself or others. It is a weakness of mine. Therefore, I give it a day.
The higher you rise in leadership the more "thank you's" you need to say. On Thursday I schedule zero meetings so I am free to walk around our offices, sit down with people, find out what they're doing and tell them they are awesome. All of the thank you notes I write happen on Thursday.
Keep a running list of people who do good things all week and express your gratitude on Thursday.
Our team is off on Friday. We do not work.
That is my focus and how I finish strong on Fridays: I do nothing.
Rest matters to leadership. It is the fuel to keep you going for the long haul. Things I do on Fridays are work out, read non-ministry books, listen to podcasts, sit in the deck with my dogs, or fall asleep in front of the TV. I finish strong by resting.
Adopt this system or one similar to make the most of your week.
Do not wait on a perfect process, adopt one today and work it until it works for you. Embrace the day.
There will be challenges in 2023. Life is hard. Can we thrive and build resilience in the midst of a broken world? We are becoming hard-wired to live “comfortable” lives. We want our homes a comfortable 70 degrees in the winter and 68 degrees in the summer. We want our groceries door dashed, and our Starbucks waiting at the drive thru. But, when we enroll in seminary, take our first pastorate, or simply engage broken people, we find that life is challenging.
Oftentimes God will have us undertake a misogi that moves us into the uncomfortable to help us thrive in life. A misogi is an activity that challenges a person, and is hard, but reveals that God can see you through it. Moses’ story is a misogi that may teach us about life.
In the midst of difficulties, Moses was called to lead God’s people out of slavery (Exodus 3). Moses worked through his insecurities, and stepped into the uncomfortable. For many of us, adrenaline will propel us in a new endeavor. Like Moses, we have our challenges. Those challenges can come from external power (Pharaoh) or internal ones (the Israelites).
In ministry, change is hard. Moving people to a healthy place is hard. And, people will gravitate to the comfortable before they embrace the unknown (Exodus 14:5-12). Moses experienced God guiding him through the challenges of leading people from slavery to freedom. In this, Moses learned that “God will help in his challenges” (Exodus 14:13-31).
Ministry drains a person. Even in success, there are challenges. Moses reveals challenges are best encountered when we surround ourselves with people who are honest and supportive. Moses needed Aaron and Ur to help him for Joshua to defeat the Amalekites (Ex 17:8-16). Moses also listened to those who offered wise counsel (Ex 18:1-16).
Moses was with God (Ex 32:1). But, the people were struggling with life, and seeking a path that was culturally easy (Ex 32:2-10). Moses implemented correctives mid-course, and shows setbacks can impede forward movement, but they also can reshape a better direction.
Past success isn’t necessarily the key to future success. In the midst of dehydration (Ex 17:1-7), God instructs Moses to strike the rock for water. It worked. Then, in a similar situation (Numbers 17), Moses was instructed to “speak to the rock” for water. Instead of being fluid in God’s directions, Moses privileged the past for his present. This profoundly modified his future (Numbers 20:20).
Due to a few mishaps in the challenge, Moses’ finish line experience is not the idealized finish. Moses did not make it into the land. But, in God’s grace, Moses was taken to the top of Mount Nebo and shown the land (Deuteronomy 34). Moses’ journey was over. He encountered many challenges in life. And was given the privilege of finishing his misogi.
Ministry is hard. Life will have challenges in 2023. We can let the challenges paralyze us, and make us quit. Or, we can train for challenges, and learn from Moses.