leadership
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Why the core activity of leadership is making decisions
If you’re a leader of a ministry, an group, a church, whatever, your core activity is making decisions. In the end, it was your decision to accept this post, it was your decision to get people on board with you,… Continue reading
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Reblog: Tensions to manage, not solve
If you have portfolio ministries, you have multiple purposes, visions and goals for each portfolio. These are all things that you need to hold in tension with each other. The wrong approach is to try to find a compromise between… Continue reading
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The difference between giving someone a brief and giving someone a job…
A job is… “I want a coffee table with four legs, 1200x900x500, in wood.” A brief is… “I have a coffee every morning and I want to out it down in something…” A brief is a problem, a need, something… Continue reading
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As you walk into church on Sunday, never forget…
Every Christian in that room is a “convert”. They may not be your convert (but who cares). They may have converted years ago (but again.. so what?!). They may have converted as a child in a family that never knew… Continue reading
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Why churches and businesses are not the same and why they are the same #horstmans-laws.4
(This is a series of reflections on Horstman’s Laws) Leadership is not the ability to control people. Because you can’t control people. Some business (corporate) leaders think because they pay their people they should be able to control them –… Continue reading
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Who do you think you are to them? Decide that or have it decided for you…
If you’re in leadership over other people, (particularly in gospel work–though not exclusively), you are a large figure in people’s lives. You’re not just a growth group leader, you’re not just the preacher or the mc or the team leader… Continue reading
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“More important than” does not mean “rather than”
It just means one is more important at the moment. Saying something is more important than something else says nothing about the value of either, nor the evil of either. Just because something is more important doesn’t mean that the… Continue reading
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The difference between an Emergency and an Urgency
Too often, myself included, people treat both Emergencies and Urgencies in the same way. It’s worth being aware of the difference and the different responses for each. Emergencies are things like a fire, a flood, etc… They require everyone to… Continue reading
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Just be a bit more careful with using the word “idea”
Words means different things to different people. I heard about a daughter who told her dad that a twig had fallen on the family car, but that “twig” was an inch thick and left a dent. The word “idea” is… Continue reading
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I don’t agree with the posts I write!
I agreed with them when I wrote them, but that doesn’t mean I agree with them now, or that I will in a few years time. That’s a principle of dealing with pragmatics; you’re only ever thinking about how a… Continue reading
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Disagreement does not mean devaluing
It’s really important that we separate disagreeing from devaluing. Being disagreed with does not mean that we’re being devalued. Just because my boss doesn’t agree with me, that doesn’t mean he devalues me. Just because a husband decides against his wife’s… Continue reading
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Work really really hard at simple clear outcomes
This was one of the great ideas from “7 Habits”; simplify your desired outcome. The illustration he uses is how he delegated the job of looking after the yard to his son. He thought really hard about it beforehand and… Continue reading
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Why gospel ministry is about producing people, not things
We make disciples. That’s our Lord’s command. We’re not about making events, or buildings, or programs, or sermons, or books, or blogs. That doesn’t mean we don’t work on these things, it doesn’t mean we don’t also do these things.… Continue reading
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Why you should have purposes #6 : It’s not unbiblical! In fact…
Eph 4 was the kicker for me. Here’s how it goes: Jesus gives certain people to the church; [“Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastor-teachers”] (Leaders) These people are meant to “equip Jesus’ people for works of service” (Training, Mentoring, Encouraging) So, Jesus… Continue reading
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Join the team, not the job description
If you’ve got staff who are “church members” first, the next step is not to offer them a job. The next step is to offer them a spot on the staff team. Again this is an important distinction. Team members… Continue reading
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Get to know people’s processing times
People take different amounts of time to process new information and ideas. Some people process on the spot, as the words come out of your mouth, they understand, imagine, feel the implications. Other people need time… A few hours, a… Continue reading
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Why you should staff “purposes” #1: Because you have a team of leaders
If you have a team of staff you should assign them purposes not congregations. In other words; staff “team” = Purpose based model is usually best. The reason for this is kinda simplistic, but it seems it needs to be… Continue reading
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Regular 1:1s reduce trivial interruptions
If you have “direct reports” (people who consider you their boss – even in a volunteer sense) then it’s worth scheduling in weekly 1:1 meetings. The point of these meetings is firstly just to give your directs some personal time… Continue reading
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Keep letting young eagles fly
This is a a great description of a really important principle. The phrase comes from Larry Osborne’s Sticky Teams. It’s the idea that young men (and women) are some of your most energetic, enthusiastic, inventive, risk-taking individuals around. So let… Continue reading
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Sit in the best seat you can
Notice that guys in the real world never sit directly across from each other, they sit side by side or at 90deg, looking at something else. It’s normally too intimate for guys to face each other – it’s more common… Continue reading
MINISTRY PRINCIPLES & PRAGMATICS 