Great Leadership

The book of Nehemiah (in the Old Testament) is always heralded as a study in leadership. Preachers take their congregations to Nehemiah and exalt his leadership style, strength, and of course his success. The story of this man’s twelve-year stay in Jerusalem and his leading the people of Judah in rebuilding the city walls is one of the Bible’s best known stories. No doubt generations after me will continue to look at Nehemiah in their attempt to understand … or perhaps learn to emulate great leadership.

You know, Jesus has also been heralded as a great leader in the Bible. Ironically His story doesn’t seem to have that leadership “brand” on it like Nehemiah’s does. But a number of preachers have examined Jesus’ ways and concluded that they exemplify great leadership. Books have been written and sermons have been preached on Jesus’ great leadership. Here too, modern aspirants turn to Jesus’ story in their attempt to understand … or perhaps to emulate great leadership.

I think sometimes that the world, at least in my time here, is chasing a leadership paradigm that doesn’t really exist. It is overwhelming the number of books that have been written on leadership. Even more overwhelming is the amount of money that has been spent buying those books! Of course there are the seminars, videos, and other media disbursements of leadership courses, lessons, etc.

Seriously, I think we could probably find some people out there for whom this pursuit of leadership is something akin to a false religion. They are so focused on leadership that they’ll spend any amount of money or any amount of time trying to acquire the skill, discover the secret and ultimately transform themselves into great leaders. And of course they have this belief --- that something they can purchase, learn, acquire, emulate, etc. will enable them to be transformed into great leaders. Let’s think about that though. Is that really true? Or is it a lie that they nonetheless believe?

We can look at Nehemiah and Jesus. We can throw in some other great leaders of the Bible. Moses. King David. Joshua. Solomon. Paul. Quite frankly, close examination of their leadership reveals some pretty basic and fundamental patterns. It would seem to me that the “secret” to great leadership is revealed in these fundamentals. Ironically, those fundamentals seem to get overlooked in much of the modern day leadership hype that we spend millions or billions chasing. Perhaps Nehemiah and Jesus exhibit them more clearly than the rest though. What are those fundamentals?

1. They walked with God. Nehemiah and Jesus (as well as those other great leaders I’ve mentioned above) had close relationships with the Father. They knew who God was and they knew who they were in the relationship with Him. Everything was in its right perspective. And it stayed in its right perspective because these men consistently sought God.

2. They started with prayer. Virtually everything we see Nehemiah and Jesus doing was prefaced with prayer. Each time they were confronted with a considerable challenge or wanted to accomplish something worthwhile, they turned to God. They asked Him for direction on how to proceed. They asked for His help. No matter what they had to do as leaders, they always started with prayer.

3. They were obedient. Nehemiah and Jesus did what God told them to do. While great leaders in the Bible (except for Jesus) made some mistakes, all of them sincerely wanted to do God’s will. They earnestly wanted to do things God’s way. They knew that submission and obedience were the foundation of any walk with God … the foundation of godly men (and women).

4. They expected God’s favor. These men moved forward with an expectation that God would be with them. Jesus performed many miracles. And He wasn’t surprised by any of them. When He went to turn the water into wine, for example, He knew it would work. He didn’t hope it would work. When they moved out, they knew that God was with them, that they had His power and strength to help them. They expected God’s favor in their endeavor and they expected to prevail.

5. They were bold and courageous. Nehemiah was a gutsy fellow. He boldly asks for things that no one in their right mind would dare ask for. That he got what he asked is probably the best indication that boldly asking was the right course to have taken. Nehemiah and Jesus, as well as other great leaders of the Bible, are seen acting boldly and courageously. And they did so even in the most intimidating of circumstances. Facing enormous threats that would scare the crap out of any of us today, these men laid their fear at the altar and moved forward. They didn’t allow fear, concern, or any of fear’s other relatives keep them from moving forward. Surely they must have known the risks they faced. They were not ignorant men. So you might say they did it afraid.

6. They loved the people that they led. Really. Jesus’ love for His disciples was overwhelmingly evident and, of course, perfect. But even a more human leader like Nehemiah exhibited the exact same kind of love. Nehemiah’s love for the people he led was profound in two specific ways. First, he noticed the suffering of the poor and the oppressed – and he took a stand to help them. Second, he noticed the bad behavior of people – and he rebuked them, speaking the truth in love and calling them to change their ways.

7. They themselves did what they ask others to do. You can call it servant leadership or whatever you want to call it. But the fact of the matter is these leaders got their hands dirty. They worked right alongside the workers they were leading. They never asked anyone to do anything that they weren’t willing to do themselves. They waded right in and lent their own hands to the effort. They never saw themselves as being above the people that they led. (This is most remarkable in Jesus’ example of leadership – because He actually was above everyone else – He was God!)

As I look at these fundamentals, these basics, and as I pray about my own leadership, God has consistently taken me back to the basics. I've been told I'm a good leader. People who work for me or serve under me often give me words of affirmation for my leadership. I'm aware that God has cast me in the position to be a leader. I lead my family. I lead in my church and community. I lead at work. When I reflect on leadership, God tells me to learn from the basics that I see in these great leaders of the Bible. Specifically, God says if I want to be a good leader, I must do the following:

1. Seek Him first.

2. Pray about everything and everyone.

3. Obey God and His ways.

4. Expect God’s favor.

5. Be fearless.

6. Love the people I lead.

7. Get your hands dirty.

So there you have it. The fundamentals of great leadership. It's really pretty simple actually. And I haven't had to read any book, attend any seminar, listen to any tapes, or go through any class to get this timeless wisdom. God was happy to give it to me Himself --- when I asked.

The thing is that great leadership is not a skill or a tool. It’s not a character trait or a spiritual gift. Rather great leadership is the by-product of men and women who seek Him first, pray without ceasing, make obedience a priority, have faith in God’s promises and refuse to be intimidated by their fears. And the fact of the matter is there is great leadership potential in each and every one of us.

The only question is whether we’re willing to act in the ways that allow God to produce that great leadership in us.

Achieving Leaders

Achievements are simply examples of what God can do through someone's life. The most effective leaders spoken of in the Bible, for instance, had little awareness of the impact of their lives on others. They were too busy obeying God to keep track of their own successes.

Ezra is a man who did that. He focused on obeying God. As a result - and probably to Ezra's surprise - God used him in mighty ways. I want to be a man who fits that description like Ezra. I sometimes pray that God will help me to get so focused on Him and His will that I lose all track of my success and my failures.

People like Ezra - whom God uses to do great things - all seem to do three distinct things that seem to be fundamental to their overall success.

First, they dedicate their lives to personally studying God's Word. They don't outsource their knowledge of God and His ways to anyone else. They have firsthand knowledge of God and His will.

Second, they intend to apply and obey personally the commands that they discover in God's Word - no matter what they are.

Third, they are committed to teaching others God's Word and its practical applications in every day life.

So it seems that God uses just about anyone from any walk in life. But the common denominator is this pursuit of God and His Word and this commitment to discipleship.

Why then do we keep talking about leadership? How is it that zillions of dollars are spent by seemingly intelligent and sincere people pursuing an understanding of leadership. We all want to learn how to be leaders. So many of us can talk about types of leaders or styles of leadership. Seriously, is there such a thing as leadership? Isn't it a by-product of character?

I'm convinced that the we should be not be pursuing leadership and trying to take certain virtues with us into it. Rather, we should be pursuing the virtues and expecting leadership to develop. At least historically, that's when worthwhile things really do get accomplished!

Leadership Advice

Have you ever considered where the world goes for wisdom? I mean, who do we listen to when we think the topic is important? It seems that there are some pretty notable regulars that show up ... giving business and leadership advice ... on a regular basis. And we listen to them. In fact, we spend quite a bit of money listening to them. (They are paid well to advise us!)

Tom Peters, John Maxwell, Larry Ellison, Jack Welch, Jeff Bezos ... they're all in some sort of club. Most of them have had some measure of business success of their own.

Some have had other non-traditional successes in life. They may be best-selling authors. It doesn't seem to matter whether what they write is true or not, or even if it's useful. If it's best-selling, it's deemed to be valuable. Worthwhile.

Or they may be religious, political or military leaders. Bill Hybels and Joel Osteen are notable preachers. They're paid well for their advice on leadership (amongst other things) because they are the heads of some of the biggest churches in the world. We don't measure the quality of their church for example. (Bill Hybels publicly admitted that his church was spiritually weak.) The fact that they're big churches seems to make whatever their leaders have to say that much more relevant.

Perhaps they're military leaders. Colin Powell is making a ton of money speaking on leadership nowadays. He successfully lead the first assault in the 90's to free Kuwait from the hostile invasion by Iraq. And he was a decorated military leader otherwise as well. Now we aren't sure if his leadership style was successful. But his superiors seemed to think so at the time. And the fact that he had the world's largest military arsenal behind him in his "shock-and-awe" strategy with Iraq seems to have been all he needed to become a credible author of leadership principles.

Or maybe they're political leaders. Bill Clinton took an interesting foray into leadership principles. He was, by most measures, a decent President. Never mind the personal scandals that rocked his presidency (and his family). We look at people like Mr. Clinton, Ronald Reagan, and already Barack Obama ... and we conclude that they are exemplary leaders. So society concludes that they have something important to say about leadership. Are there metrics to measure the success of any political leader? Or does the fact that they were elected and served make them great leaders?

Do all these people have something important to say about leadership? Frankly, I wonder. John Maxwell wrote a book, called "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership." It's been widely read; it's a best-seller in both religious and secular circles. Some churches even use it to train what they hope will be great spiritual leaders. Frankly, this alone should make us pause and question what voices we're listening to and why.

Mr. Maxwell is a Christian preacher-turned-management consultant. When I read his book, I expected to be profoundly influenced. I wasn't. Instead, I came to the conclusion that the book was a load of hooey - a waste of time. It didn't offer any real insights into how someone could be an effective leader or a more effective leader. Rather it seemed to expose realities or facts ... based on observations of good leaders in action.

So what's wrong with realities or facts? Well, for starters, they are not necessarily truth. Maxwell, for example, doesn't cite much Scripture in his 21 Irrefutable Laws. Call them principles, rules, standards or whatever else you want to call them - but don't call them Biblical. They're not. It's not that they're necessarily unbibilical either. Rather it's a case of there being nothing particularly wrong with Mr. Maxwell's laws ... but there isn't much about them that's particularly right either.

Now I'm not picking on John Maxwell today. His is just a poignant example of the problem though. Let's consider Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric (GE). At one time, he was called "America's most-admired CEO," whatever that means. He became most known for his habit of firing the lowest performers in his company on a regular basis. So he took good, decent, hard-working people ... and fired them ... because 80% of the other people were performing better than they were. It didn't matter if they did their job or did it well. If someone else did it better ... you were fired.

Of course, in his personal life, Mr. Welch took up with one of his employees, then divorced his wife of thirty some years and married this woman half his age. (Apparently that's leadership in America.) Today, Jack and Suzy Welch (his new wife whom he plucked from the ranks of his staff) co-author and speak on leadership. And we pay handsomely to listen to what they have to say.

So what's my problem with all these notable experts on leadership? Why do I think it's a travesty that we pay tons of money to hear what they have to say? Why do I think they're such a poor place for the world to be seeking wisdom? It's simple really. They aren't really experts. Their measures of so-called success ... which apparently form the basis of their qualifications ... are not the measures God uses. And what they're saying doesn't line up with Biblical truth.

The Bible tells us that we are to test everything we are told or taught against the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 5:21). So, for example, if I test John Maxwell's 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership - or I test Jack & Suzy Welch's views of successful leadership in business - I don't seem to find it aligning with Scripture. And therein lies the problem. If it doesn't line up with Scripture, God says it isn't worth anything. Where, for example, is firing the bottom tier every year in the Biblical principal of loving others the way you would like to be loved yourself - or the way that Christ loves you? (I'll give you a clue: it isn't there!)

What are the most important Biblical truths about leadership ... which the entire world (including Christian churches) seems to be missing? The first one is to put God first in everything you do. The second one is to love everyone else the way you would like to be loved if you were in their shoes. (Both are found in Mark 12:28-31.) These two principles are the foundation on which all successful leadership rests. There are no others. Everything about good, solid, godly leadership in politics, business, religion or anywhere else rises and falls on just these two principles.

Isn't it time that we put away all this malarkey that the talking heads are spewing? Isn't it time that we quit wasting boat-loads of money on leadership advice ... and start listening to God's truth about leadership wisdom? And isn't it time that we stopped being consumers of leadership styles, tips and strategies ... and instead become practitioners of leadership truth?

Rewarded ... or Forgiven?

I've blogged in the past about franchise churches --- the ones that bill themselves as "one church, multiple locations." If you've not read my prior blogs on the subject, I can sum it up for you by simply stating that I don't think it's Biblical. In fact, I can find much about it that seems to fly in the face of what the Bible teaches about New Testament churches.

That notwithstanding, I have been further processing my thinking on this subject. I have some new thinking on it too.

I was reading in 1 Timothy recently about false teachers. And it reminded me of another topic I've blogged on before ... that false teachers can be godly men and women who simply err or miss the mark. It doesn't make them evil. It certainly doesn't cost them their salvation. They can preach many good things that are not false. But sometimes they may slip up. I think the temptation has always been to define false teachers as once and always --- meaning that once you teach something that is not true, you are always labeled as a false teacher. This is clearly wrong. It is not how God sees things.

You see, it becomes evident that God forgives false teachers if the reason they've taught something false is because of a simple error on their part. If they generally teach what is true and right, I believe God forgives their error and moves on. To be sure, the Bible says teachers are accountable for what they teach. But they are also forgiven. That much is just as clear.

So let's bring this back to one church, multiple locations. While I think this is a manifestation of false teaching and false beliefs - I realize it is also something that God can forgive.

I consider the pastors and church leaders who buy into this model. The ones I know are good men and women. They are good teachers. They are obviously called by God, anointed by God and ordained for His service. I don't question that. I simply question their church model. In fact, I do more than question it. I doubt it. I challenge it. But that doesn't mean I don't love them and can't be on the same page with them.

It is the unity of Christ that allows all believers to be wrong. So when we are looking at whether something is okay to do or not, perhaps the better argument is not whether it is right or wrong.

Rather I think the question is whether or not this is something God will reward me for ... or is this something that God will forgive me for?

From the Top

In any organization, it's been said that the climate comes from the top. The people in the organization become become like their leaders. So there are some dynamics at play here that we all should take note of - whether we are leaders or not.

What kind of climate are you setting for your leaders? Think about the people who are leaders in your life. Parents, heads of households, bosses at work, church leaders, government leaders and others. Do you have expectations of them? Do you trust them? Consider how much what they do or say tends to set the tone for your mood.

I've noticed something about human relationships, and I think it especially applies to leadership. When other people disappoint, humiliate, hurt or threaten us - we feel empty. It's as though a vital part of ourselves has been stolen. When others break the trust we have placed in them - they also break our spirit. And they can do this even when they aren't aware that we've placed our trust in them.

Many years ago, we attended a church that was dynamic and growing. The pastor was charismatic, inspiring and he was a leader that everyone wanted to follow. The worship pastor was a gifted musician. He wore tight jeans and cowboy boots as he pounded the keys on the grand piano - it was a spectacular experience - every Sunday morning!

And then it happened. He committed suicide. Seems he'd been having an affair with a 15 year old girl and the police were closing in on him. He left a wife and family, a solid career and a thriving ministry. We were devastated.

About a year later, the senior pastor got caught having an affair. He was forced to resign in shame - his wife and family crying beside him. Were were devastated. More than that, we were lost. Our church seemed never to be the same again.

What had happened? Leadership had set the tone. We trusted the tone; we followed the leaders. And they disappointed. Our spirits were broken. Trust had been broken.

Bosses in the workplace can do this too. You follow them, you trust them. But they disappoint. It can be something as simple as them not delivering on a compensation promise, or even leaving to take another job elsewhere. Whatever you expected someone to do - he or she didn't do. Or whatever you hoped they would not do - they did.

It's been said that expectations we have of others are really just pre-meditated resentments or pre-planned disappointments. So the analogy is that we shouldn't have expectations of others. I don't really think that's possible though. After all, we're human. Expectations of leaders can't be helped.

So in any kind of organization, the climate comes from the top. What kind of climate are you setting with the people who follow you? Do you even know who those people are?

And if you're in the organization, doing some following of your own - what kind of trust are you placing (or misplacing)? How will you handle it if and when the sky falls? Will your spirit be broken ... or will it be strong enough to sustain the storm?

Masaka, Uganda

There will be no posts on my main blog for a couple of weeks now. I'm leaving today for another trip to Uganda. I'll be spending some time with our adopted children there, and attending to some business related to them. I'll also be teaching at a conference in Masaka, Uganda. If you'd like to know more about Masaka - read on.

Masaka is a town of about 70,000 people situated in Uganda about 80 miles south of the capital city, Kampala. It is about 30miles south of the Equator.

Masaka Town is the regional capital for the 4 districts of Masaka, Rakai, Sembabule and Kalangala. It’s population is about 70,000 and most of them are children.

This region has been the worst hit area in the whole of Uganda by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. For a long time it was the area with the highest percentage of sufferers in Uganda.

In addition the district of Masaka suffered more than any other during the 1979 Civil War to remove Iddi Amin from the presidency of Uganda and again in the second Civil War to remove president Milton Obote from power (1985/86). The result of all this is that many bread winners have died leaving many orphans.

It is said that hopelessness and apathy rule many of the people in Masaka. But there are now sure signs of development. Roads are being repaired and new buildings are springing up. Religiously, there are about 30 independent Christian churches in Masaka, together with Church of Uganda an off-shoot of the Church of England and the Episcopal church in America) and Roman Catholic churches.

Who Leaders Follow

King David, of Old Testament fame, is often referred to as an example of a good leader. People (including me) like to think of that fact that God called him a man after God's own heart. This is especially comforting when one thinks of some of the outrageous mistakes (sins) that King David committed during his lifetime. Still, he's the poster boy for good leadership. Why is that?

What is it about King David that made him a good leader, despite the mistakes (sins) he is also known for? Do those things just not really matter? We think of some of the leaders of our day and we can see some close parallels. They are known for their mistakes - often more than they are known for their virtues and accomplishments. Think of Bill Clinton, for example. It may be hard to think of his presidency without remembering Monica Lewinsky. Is she the sum of his presidency?

As I've studied King David across the Old Testament, and looked at New Testament leaders in comparison, I noticed something recently. It seemed like it shouldn't be a revelation. I wondered why it felt like such a breakthrough in wisdom. You see, the leaders we follow have a great impact on our lives. So in this election year, I fret a great deal about which leader I will follow. (You should too!) But I think I found the best clue in King David's leadership.

You see, King David's effectiveness directly corresponded to his awareness of God's leading in his own life. He was a good leader when he was following his Leader. And when he wasn't - well that's where the Monica Lewinsky scandals of this world make history. But perhaps what endeared David to God's heart was his willingness to repent and turn back to his Leader every time he strayed. More importantly, that may be the best indication of David's true leadership gifts and qualities.

So do I know whom my leaders are following? Even if I do, do I know when they are or aren't' following their Leader? I think that's maybe what troubles me about our presidential elections this year. You see, I acknowledge that Senators McCain and Obama have leadership gifts and abilities. They're both intelligent and capable. Some of the things they say make a lot of sense. But the problem is that I just don't know who they're following.

I've learned in life that no one can lead me in excellence like my Creator can. I've learned that change for the sake of change isn't always worthwhile. It's become apparent to me that lasting, positive change can only be accomplished when I'm following God. And ironically, change that I try to pull off myself - without God's leadership - tends to be very flat and unrewarding, if it is really change at all. I think it's like that for our country too.

The presidential nominees are talking about change. I think it's safe to say that we all want change. But does the average American voter really understand where meaningful change originates? Does the individual casting the vote for president really intend to follow the person they're voting for?

Finally, who does this leader follow --- and how well does this leader follow? That my friends, may be the best criteria for deciding whom to elect as our country's next president!

Reinventing Church

George Barna’s research studies are one of the sources that tell us today’s church is in serious trouble. Dozens of churches in the U.S., for example, shut down every week. They actually go out of business! Of the remaining churches, many seem to be on “auto pilot” --- hardly making a real difference in anyone’s life or the communities around them.

It looks like we have saddled the church institution with tradition that now cries out for meaningful transformation in today’s fast-changing world. So while we have religion, one of the richest nations may be inhabited by some of the most lost people on the planet. The story is the same in other western countries too.

Maybe your church is one of those churches that look ripe for reinvention. Maybe you’re comfortable with it, but don’t believe it’s achieving all it could be. You’d like to see your church doing a better job of spreading the good news, making disciples out of converts and loving the lost around you. If so, you may be like many church leaders today, who are saying, “We need a strategy!”

Strategy may be important to a church, but what does it mean to have a good strategy? Look at Christian publishing today. It is chock full of books, tapes and other resources for church growth, church strategy, church effectiveness, etc. There are seminars, conferences and even consulting firms --- all promising to empower you with the secrets of making yours a dynamic church with eternal impact. Each one screams, “Pick me! Pick me!”

Leadership
Is it really such a great mystery --- running a dynamic, impactful church? What if your church needs to reinvent itself. Where do you start? God’s plan for His church works much the same way as His plan for everything else on this earth. What we need are revolutionary changes in our approach as leaders, so that revolutionary changes can emerge in our churches. In other words, we obey and God delivers.

Order emerges out of simple rules. Too many leaders try to design grand visions for everyone to follow. Instead, they should be working to create conditions that would help their congregation be obedient. I think leaders generally spend too much time working on "the strategy" and not enough time working to create the conditions out of which new results-oriented actions are likely to emerge. We have to have an environment where dynamic people come and grow. That’s all it takes to produce relevant churches.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that church leadership is irrelevant. But the job of church leadership is not to develop strategies. Church leaders are called to build an organization that can continually spawn cool new ministry concepts, to design context rather than invent content. Top leadership puts into operation rules that can create a deeply innovative organization. Let’s make no mistake, the concept of church strategy is really that simple. Nonetheless, implementing some of those rules may be a formidable challenge for many of today’s church organizations.

So I've thought about this a great deal. I think I would refer to myself as a "student of church models." I've been intrigued with how churches function for years. As a result, I've done a lot of homework, a lot of research, a lot of observing and admittedly, a lot of armchair quarterbacking. Consequently, I have some recommendations.

Set Unreasonable Expectations
Select a minimum of 25 people from your congregation, with average levels of spiritual maturity. Ask them this question: "What would be a reasonable expectation for our church growth this year?" Compute the average answer from the responses. Is it 20%, 30%, or something substantially less ambitious? The answer says quite a bit about where your church is going. You see, no church can outperform its aspirations. So if most of your people believe you are in a 5% or 10% growth mode, you are.

I was in one church a couple of years ago where a leader explained that their strategy was not to grow. And sure enough, they weren’t! I’ll consider the possibility (albeit remote) that it could truly be God’s will for your church to grow at such a moderate rate or not at all. But in most churches, the people probably haven’t asked God. Informal surveys usually reveal that the majority of regular church-attenders assume that there is some preordained, uninspiring ministry growth rate. But let’s be clear. The beliefs of your people set the upper limit on what you can actually do.

A bold aspiration won't suddenly by itself produce a multitude of revolutionary strategies. But its absence always yields bland, me-too strategies. If your objective is growth --- however you measure it --- transforming innovation begins with unreasonable goals. However, if you set unreasonable expectations, human nature will cause some folks to search for shortcuts. Don't let them get away with it. If it’s worth doing, it’s still worth doing right.

Convincing people that it is reasonable to strive for unreasonable goals is tricky. Mere exhortation is not enough. You have to demonstrate, with real examples. Show them that it's actually possible to dramatically exceed the average. Remind them that God doesn’t usually live by averages either. Without understanding and belief in the possible, aspiration and vision have no credibility. Whatever your growth rate, never ever believe that your church is in a mature state of existence. There are no mature churches, only mature people who accept someone else's definition of the boundary.

Stretch Your Definition of Ministry
Who are we? This is perhaps the most fundamental question churches can ask themselves. How we answer determines whether the church searches for unconventional opportunities. Too many churches define themselves by what they do (e.g., small groups, seeker-oriented) rather than by what they know and what they have (their resources). But even the gray-haired revolutionaries aren't bound by a narrow self-concept. I’d actually like to recommend that churches break with tradition and start defining themselves by who they are.

A growing, dynamic church requires a culture of why-not rather than why. An elastic definition helps curb the boundaries of tradition. In the most dynamic of churches today, leaders actually spend time looking for opportunities outside the boundaries of the ministries they currently manage. Every ministry leader needs to be a ministry development officer for the church --- always on the look-out for an opportunity to stretch the definition of the church’s ministry. In other words, instead of working with what’s allowed, they work with what’s possible.

Of course, an elastic ministry concept is not a license for all kinds of ill-conceived diversification. Entering a new ministry where God hasn’t led you is a recipe for a big failure. So start asking your people, “Who are we? What do we currently regard as off-limits?” Get a few people together and start redefining your ministry in terms of what it knows and what it has rather than what it does. Start teaching your people to look for the possibilities instead of the limitations. Frankly, the limitations are easy to find. There’s no challenge or fun in that anyway!

Create a Cause, Not a Church (or Worse Yet … a Business!)
Gray-haired revolutionaries must periodically shed their skin. But without a monumental purpose, individuals will lack the courage to do so. Anyone poised between a comfortable --- but tired ministry model and an exciting --- but untested ministry concept is bound to ask a few questions. Will my gifts and my relationships be as valuable in this new church as they were in the old? How much will I be asked to unlearn? How hard will it be for me to adapt? These are genuine, heartfelt questions that can't be answered in advance.

The courage to leave our comfort zone and strike off for parts unknown doesn’t come from any kind of assurance. It comes from devotion to meaningful cause. (I believe Rick Warren calls that being “purpose-driven.”) In some churches, there might be months, perhaps years, of savage debate. Factions could form. Positions may even harden. The notion of fundamental change in something that may not appear to be broke would strike fear into faint-hearted elders. Some might even call it heresy!

Today we live in the "information " society. And church leaders need congregations who bring their gifts and resources to church. Yet if we rob them of the chance to feel they are working on something that really matters, can we be so enlightened? Every volunteer and staffer should know (not “feel”) that he or she is contributing to something that will make a genuine difference on an eternal scale. It’s the job of church leadership to give them that knowledge too.

Listen to New Voices
Consider Bill Hybels (Willow Creek), Rick Warren (Saddleback) and Brian Houston (Hillsongs) and others who lead dynamic, impactful churches. Who are they and how do they do it? More often than not, church gets “reinvented” by outsiders who are free from the prejudices and constraints of veteran tradition. Yet in most churches, strategy is the preserve of the same few people talking to the same few people year after year. No wonder the strategies that emerge are dull.

What, after all, can the dozen most spiritually mature leaders in a church really learn from each other? Their positions are so well rehearsed they can finish each other's sentences.What is required is not a cohort of wise elders or a bevy of planners, but a taproot sunk deep into the organization. Without new voices in the strategy conversation, the chance for revolution is dim.

There are revolutionaries in your church. But all too often there is no process that lets them be heard.Surprised that I would say that? Take a look around. Maybe they are constrained by stifling tradition or bureaucratic process. Maybe they’re people who occasionally appear a bit outspoken. They may look divisive. Maybe they’re not a spiritually mature as your elders, and you’ll readily conclude that they “still have some growing up to do.”

Wherever they are, if your church intends to be God’s tool for spiritual revolution, leadership must give a disproportionate share of voice to at least some of these constituencies that are typically not represented in your elder body or other bodies of church leadership.

The first is young people, or more accurately, anyone with a youthful perspective. Why exclude the very group with the biggest emotional stake in the future--the young--from the process of strategy creation?

A second constituency that deserves a larger share of voice is those near the fringes of the church. These probably aren’t the people who show up every time the church doors open. More than likely they’ll look like the people who regularly attend, but rarely are heard from or seen. Orthodoxy doesn't hold the same sway with them as it does with church “insiders.” Don’t you wonder why?

The third constituency is newcomers. Particularly useful are those from other churches or communities, who have so far managed to escape the effects of your church’s failings. Churches sometimes pretend to celebrate diversity while at the same time doing whatever they can to systematically stamp out diversity of thinking--which is what counts most. Don’t ask newcomers to fit into your mold --- ask them how your church fits into theirs.

Very few churches regularly have an open-ended dialogue at this level, where fresh voices with new ideas get a hearing. Here's a challenge: The next time someone in your church convenes a meeting on "strategy" or "innovation," make sure that half of those who attend have never been to such a meeting. Load the meeting with young people, newcomers, and those from the fringes of the church’s nerve center. That's the way to quadruple your chances of coming up with truly revolutionary ministry concepts!

Design an "Open Market" for Ideas
There are many successful churches around. But we have to consider whether the leaders of those churches have thought about how they might instill the passionate, creative values of the church into all the people. How can a church ignite the ministry in its people when they’re not in church? Perhaps we can take lesson from secular businesses in this area.

The secret to business innovation is not some super race of entrepreneurial visionaries but the existence of three tightly interconnected concepts: a market for ideas, a market for capital (often manifested as authority) and a market for talent.

In most churches, ideas, authority, and talent are fragmented and silent. It's no wonder that most of the mega-churches of today were started by ministerial entrepreneurs. The individuals who started them were the kinds of people who probably couldn’t (or wouldn’t) get a hearing in a traditional church. In other words, some of today’s most dynamic churches were built by men and women that other churches wouldn’t have.

Everyone in the church must understand that radical ideas are the only way to create change, both corporately and individually. Until your congregation believes that rule-breaking ideas are a legitimate way to respond to God, the market for ideas will remain barren. God isn’t usually willing to fit into our churchy boxes. His people aren’t usually willing to live in those boxes either!

Even in churches where leaders acknowledge the need for an open market for ideas, many only have one place to pitch a new idea --- up the “chain of command.” Just one negative response in that precarious process will kill the idea completely. There should be no one individual in your church who can say no to a new idea. Remember that most of the ideas that have launched today’s most dynamic ministries and churches were the very ones that were rejected by other church organizations.

Moreover, you cannot have any prejudice about who is capable of inventing a ministry concept. No one cares how old you are, what academic degrees you've earned, where you've ministered, or whether you graduated from seminary. In any innovative church, what counts are the quality of your thinking and the power of your vision. It’s how God works. Is it how you and your church work?

Offer Authority To the Masses
Most ministries operating in the world today were started with scant funding, by people who had no money. But most of them weren’t started by existing churches or church organizations either. Why is that? Regardless of the budget, creative ideas seldom get funded or authorized within existing churches and church organizations.

But does it really make sense to set the same criteria for a small investment in a new experiment as for a large, irreversible investment in an existing ministry? If we want our churches to be dynamic, transforming organizations, we have to find ways to make it less difficult for good ideas to get some authorization and even the smallest amount of funding.

A new ministry concept is not a contract or a business plan. It usually cannot be budgeted. It's a story. It's a story about an opportunity and a calling. It’s a story of a committed, passionate person who is going to obediently be an instrument of God’s work. It’ll take some funding to play that story out too. Will you be willing to fund it?

In most churches the goal of the budgeting process is to make sure the church never makes a bet-the-farm commitment without knowing where the funding will come from. Fundamentally, you and I both know that’s not how God works anyway, but knowledge and actions are two different things.

Most churches budget everything they do. In the process, they guarantee that they never “get into trouble, but they may also be placing a ceiling on what God will do through them.The goal is to make sure you have a big winner --- not to make sure there are no losers.

But you won't create that next high impact church or dynamic para-church ministry unless you're willing to write off a few failed experiments. But in most churches, anyone with a vision for a radical new ministry concept must seek his or her funding from the defenders of the old ministry model. The people running the old ministry concepts have veto power of the new ministry concepts. Here again, tradition stifles innovation. Innovation only happens when we put some money behind the unorthodox.

Open Up the Stage for Talent
The best people are called to a variety of roles, not a single leadership position. Leaders cannot hold onto good staff when they want to try new things. When it comes to people, possession is not nine-tenths of the law. And the situation is even more profound when it comes to lay leadership and volunteers. You cannot shoehorn people into a role and keep them there. If someone believes he or she is called to do something, and you don’t let them do it, you’ll most likely lose them to another church.

Workers in churches change employers with less angst than most people change jobs within companies. Sure, they jump for money, but more than that --- they jump for the chance to work on the next great thing. Companies pursuing killer opportunities attract the best talent. Churches are no different. People are attracted to churches that they believe are the most strategic, the most effective. If you don’t believe me, ask Rick Warren or Bill Hybels how many unsolicited resumes they get.

If talent isn't mobile in your church, and you’re not attracting new talent, there's virtually no chance that you'll be able to expand your ministry reach. People search out opportunities. They vote with their feet.

In too many churches, our concept of leadership is too defined. But the marginal value a talented individual adds to a ministry running on auto pilot is often a fraction of the value that the individual could add to a ministry that’s just learning to walk. There are many gifted leaders sitting on the side lines because they don’t have “ministry credentials.” Who told them to sit there? In most cases, their churches!

Find out who the “movers and shakers” are in your congregation. What are their gifts? What are their market-based skills? What resources do they have? Identify your most capable and get them fired up about your most impossible expectation for the ministry. And let's be clear about how much is at stake. Christ told us to spread the good news (convert the masses), make disciples out of new believers and act in love. The mandate is clear. The impact is eternal.

The merit of an innovative idea counts just as much as the merit for service itself. There’s no way to raise the impact of your church in fulfilling this mandate unless you can engage the most capable people you find. Empower them. Pray for them. Expect God to do great things through them. After all, this is the business He's in!

Lower the Risks of Experimentation
When it comes to taking risks, most churches are torn between good stewardship --- where it may be better to be a fast follower than a foolhardy risk taker --- and innovation vision, where it may be better to capture the inspired moment a church must move boldly. But this is a false dichotomy. Neither cautious following nor rash risk taking is likely to pay off. It is possible to find a way between these extremes.

Henry Blackaby taught us to see where God is at work, and then join Him. In today’s fast-paced world, many Christians don’t know how to see where God is at work. They may launch out in what they believe is obedience, only to later discern that they misunderstood the message. Or, they may not realize that God can be at work in what looks like a failure.

But speed is everything. It defines obedience to the leading and call of the Holy Spirit. Obedient people take risks. Sometimes they take outrageous risks. And they don’t spend time talking about doing or getting ready to get ready.

Of course, that kind of attitude does mean that you'll fail sometimes. In fact, a smart church body will understand the risks and have an exit plan for anything it takes on. This so-called exit plan is where we manage the tension between good stewardship and bold obedience.

Such planning doesn't evidence any lack of commitment to new opportunities. It simply recognizes that what is true in even the best of circumstances: we live in an imperfect world, and humans can fail. We need to help our people know that it’s okay to fail, and that God could even call someone to a failure. (He did in the Bible!)

People can be encouraged to develop little initiatives that help the church learn about bigger opportunities. The early-stage goal of such an experiment is to maximize learning.

Maybe you’ve read about the pastor who, when faced with a funding shortfall for the new building, passed the collection plate and asked each person to take out $5.00. He then told the congregation to take the $5.00, invest it in whatever they thought might be a good idea, and bring the returns back to the church in a specified period of time. This is one way to avoid jumping into something you’re not ready for, and yet it’s also a way to engage the people at every level, and help them own the ministry individual.

Think of your experiments as a portfolio of opportunities to accelerate learning. Celebrate the people who champion the experiments as they listen to God. This is the core of low-risk experimentation. And it is a critical design rule for building churches that are consistently revolutionary. If you want proof, visit some of today’s most dynamic churches and look at the diversity of their various ministries. Some of them are doing some pretty crazy things!

Make Like a Cell--Divide and Divide
A human embryo grows through a process of cell division: A single cell becomes two, then four, then eight and so on. Some cells become lungs, others fingernails, bones, tendons, or any of the other organs and structures of the body. Division and differentiation are the essence of growth. The same is true for churches. When churches stop dividing and differentiating, innovation dies and growth slows.

Look at the concept of cells and small groups in some of today’s most dynamic and impactful churches. The objective is to divide and divide, creating new cells. Our most dynamic churches today have oodles of small groups, many with special interest focuses. Always be on the look out for a new ministry opportunity. Always be ready to divide one cell and make two (or more)!

Cellular division drives innovation in many ways. Let’s look at four of them now.

First, it frees potential and “political capital” from the tyrannical orthodoxy of any single church model. I used to work for a company that had 144,000 employees. It looked not like one giant company, but rather like a collection of about 10,000 little companies. It was named one of America’s most admired companies. Ask yourself why. Cellular division creates space for new thinking and ministry models.

Second, cellular division provides opportunities to nurture entrepreneurial talent. I want a church that doesn’t look like one giant mega-church --- but rather looks like a collection of hundreds of little churches collaborating with each other. That way, everyone has ownership. Everyone knows where they belong. Everyone makes it "my church."

Third, by keeping units small and focused, cellular division puts shepherds close to the sheep. Let’s be honest here. It is difficult for the sheep in a herd of thousands to follow the shepherd whom they can only see on the giant screen on the wall or in a podcast. It’s hard for love to be translated to those sheep. The shepherd on the stage may love them, but they’ll find that a most unbelievable proposition. So break the herd up. Get more shepherds in touch with more sheep.

Fourth, by dispersing power, it undermines the ability of strong divisions to be divisive or threaten the overall health of the ministry. If one small herd of sheep goes over the cliff, the rest of the herd is saved. If one minister falls, there are many others who still have credibility and can lead. Think of it like running your investment portfolio --- where keeping a balanced portfolio is the best way to mitigate risk.

Pay Your Innovators Well (It's Biblical!)
You can't reward rain-makers as you reward stewards. Companies that fail to understand this simple fact will hemorrhage entrepreneurial talent. Churches will too. If you get real leaders who can make rain, pay them well. It’s Biblical that the temple leaders be paid by the people they minister to.

I don’t mean buy them a corporate jet and a Rolls Royce. But certainly take care of their needs. Make sure they are living at the same standard the rest of your church families are living at. If the median household income in your church is one number, the household income of your pastors should be similar.

I am absolutely sickened by the way many churches today are treating their pastors and staff. The parishioners live in gated communities, send their children to private schools, take fabulous vacations and have a lake house. At the same time, they somehow have the deluded notion that it’s okay for their pastors and church staff to live in poverty.

Do you know that many of today’s pastors in urban churches don’t have health insurance or retirement plans (and are exempt from Social Security)? Do you know that many of today’s pastors qualify for food stamps, ADC (Aid for Dependent Children) or other social welfare programs? Do you think that’s okay? Let me assure you, it is not okay!

I know, I know ... you've got such a huge church mortgage that you can't afford to pay your people any more. And therein lies the problem. Churches tell their people to look at their checkbooks and their calendars to see what their real priorities are. I would tell churches to do the same. Look at your church budget and see where the bulk of your money goes. That is what your church believes in. So if you are strangled by a huge church mortgage, it's apparently what you believe matters. Good luck with that though. I've never seen anyone come to Christ because of the beautiful church facility. I've never seen anyone believe that they were loved, find practical application of Biblical truth in their messy lives or get discipled by a "state-of-the-art" church campus.

God wants us to take care of our people. If you’re people aren’t worth paying, then get rid of them. They’re probably not what God wants for your church anyway. But when you ask God to bring you the right ministers to make your church bloom, be accountable for taking good care of them.

There are many solid leaders who are called by God and anointed for ministry. They could produce vibrant, world-changing churches. The trouble is they are so defeated and so stressed out, living in the face of such spiritual warfare that they can barely function. Go have a conversation with each of your pastors. Ask them what needs their families have right now. Then commit yourself to meeting those needs.

Wrap-Up
So I’ve talked through several areas where making some changes could produce some radical, game-changing churches. Do you have the courage to make those changes? Are you bold enough to challenge the paradigms that your church lives in today?

Make no mistake about it --- God calls each of us as Christian leaders to lead the strongest churches possible. The Great Commission and Greatest Commandment are to be lived out in these churches. It is clearly God’s will that these lofty objectives be achieved through our churches today.

Will you be a roadblock? Or will you be a conduit?