Working as a team is difficult, even in church. Let’s briefly hit on a couple of the “elephants in the room” that exist on many church staffs:
Here are three things that bug senior leaders [Sr. Pastors, Execs, etc…]:
1] A Poor Work Ethic – working hard for 15 minutes and “recovering” for 45 minutes every hour doesn’t cut it;
2] A Lack Of Big Picture Thinking – EVERY department is important, not just yours [this is true in many areas of life];
3] Immature Use Of Social Media – there shouldn’t be a “church” version of you that’s different from the “real life” version of you.
Here are three things that bother church staff about leaders:
1] Anonymity – having a sense of who your team members are and what they do – including their challenges – is part of the job of every leader;
2] Nepotism – often highly destructive, and you’re unlikely to hear about from your staff, for obvious reasons;
3] Lack of Clarity – if what needs to happen to move things forward is dependent on your mood [or your most recent conversation], it will be very difficult for the staff to deliver high-quality and consistent results.
OK, here’s the point where grace comes in. First off, grace for others… If you are a normal human, your first reaction upon seeing the lists above is thinking about someone else and how irritating they are because they exhibit those tendencies. Resist that, and read through again – what tendencies do you find that YOU struggle with?
Now, part two of grace – grace for yourself. Only one perfect Person has ever existed in the history of this world, and it’s not you. Your job isn’t to be without fault, it’s to get better. Take an area and work on it. Track it. If you fail, don’t cave in – try again. Every good change comes one step at a time. Ask God’s help, and then try – and then try again… More to come… #creativeworshipideas
creativeworshipideas 