A quick note for leaders transitioning into a new job… When you step into a new role, there is an immediate desire to prove yourself. It’s human nature. However, I have learned the hard way that it makes sense to observe for a bit before jumping in to make big changes.
Long story short, things are the way they are for a reason. It may be a BAD reason, and you may have been brought in specifically to make changes. However, gaining an understanding of what is actually happening and why things work the way they do is critical for coming up with a plan to fix them.
Watch the day-to-day. See what the true structures and avenues of communication are (regardless of what’s on paper). Talk to the team members individually. You may feel like you’re wasting time, but it may actually save you many hours (and potential heartache and/or lost employees) in the long run. And don’t forget to have the discussion with whoever you need to in church leadership to come to an agreed upon strategy of what this observation period will look like and how long it will last.
“Don’t tear down a fence until you know why it’s there.” – John Maxwell
Hmmm - well, let's see...
I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a son, a pastor, a consultant, a musician, a writer, and bits and pieces of a bunch of other things. My work life has followed three main phases - business to teaching to church. I was the Weekend Services Pastor for nine years at Northview Church, an awesome church in the Indianapolis suburbs. I used to work for Willow Creek, another awesome church in the Chicago area. Plus I've written for various magazines and websites, and other freelancy sorts of things... My life mission is to help the church be as excellent as it can be.
Oh yeah - the name's Greg. Greg Wallace. But not the race car driver or the major league pitcher or the British celebrity chef. Just the creative worship guy. Hi.
It's my hope that these ideas, musings, rants, raves, etc... will inspire you. They're just my opinions - but again, I hope that they'll help to inspire you. Because the church really, really needs inspired creative types. If you're a creative type (and most people are, deep-down), ask God for help. Then take any ideas that are useful to you - borrow them, nab them, use them, adapt them - and make them into something greater...
You can head over to my Instagram site for an abundance of shorter posts: creativeworshipideas. If you're looking for consulting - especially on weekend services, team leadership or multi-site strategies - I'd love to help. Just message me here, and I'll be in touch - Greg
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