3 ways to be a Generous Leader

If you are reading this, you are most likely a leader. If you're a good leader you are developing leaders under you to lead in ways you never could, or never would have time to lead. A great leader is always about identifying and inspiring other leaders to join his or her leadership team.

I sat back the other day and began thinking of all the leaders I've identified over the last few years, and how many of them no longer report directly to me. I was actually shocked, and wondered, "what have I done?!" Then I realized that they didn't leave the organization, they have all just moved to different roles within our staff. Then I got excited about all the people working in their passions and strengths who are growing in their leadership. So if you want to go to the next level to be a generous leader, just apply these three steps.

1) Care deeply about the leader's design & not your desires: It's easy to look for leaders to help you get your stuff done. And if you're a great leader, there's lots to get done. But when we put a leader in a place they are not designed for, we may be setting them up for frustration. Many will submit to your plans, but if you really care about the person, you'll listen to them and discover what they were designed for. And you may discover she is designed to do something other that what you desire. In that case, the most caring thing is to explore and ultimately get her in the right role on the right team.

2) Share your leaders with other staff: Your staff needs good and great leaders on their teams. When you discover a new leader or a new passion in a leader, get them aligned with the team they will thrive in. The reality is that they won't be on your team, which could be seen as a loss. But three wins happen: a) The leader gets to work in her passion b) You just helped your staff by giving them a winner c) you've scored some major points with your staff.

3) Live with open hands: If you have the belief that you "own" the leaders under you, you'll most likely not be willing to share. But the reality is you can't "own" anyone. You can try to possess them, keep them, incentivize them not to leave, but you can't own them. When you truly believe they are created in God's image, given special gifts, talents and passions, and that they truly belong to God, you can rest assured that He will lead them.

If you would like more leadership ideas there's more on soggythoughts.blogspot.com
If your church is ready to double your great commission impact contact me at dave.elshaug@intentionalchurches.com
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Multiply your gospel impact

Everyone wants to make an impact in their world. Think of some people’s great ambitions: save the whales, end homelessness, stop human trafficking, end hunger, save the planet! These are big ambitions in a vast world. Most won’t become a reality on a grander scale, but on a small scale, people are making an impact in all these areas. Here are four ways to Multiply your gospel impact.

Develop Great Strategies: Nothing impactful happens without a plan. Could the Olympics bring all those athletes together to one city to complete in hundreds of events that are televised throughout the world without a plan? No way. You’ve heard the preachers share the plan of salvation, which is a multi-millennial strategy to save man’s soul. God is a planner! I will share later how you can get help in developing great strategies.

Invest in Leaders: If you’re a decent leader, there’s stuff you do to make things happen. If you want to multiply, you need to infuse those character qualities, skills, and know-how into other leaders. Give them what they need to succeed. Mentor one leader, or start a training class for 12. Find a book that’s helped you, and read it through with some of your leaders and discuss it.

Pass it on: I work with church planters through a group called lovingutah.org. A pastor recently approached us to ask how to get his church to look outward. So we’ve planned a free ministry workshop and a few key leaders from 5 different churches will be passing on some strategies on how other churches can multiply their gospel impact by having evangelism mindset. Are you making an effort to pass what you know on to other church leaders? If you do, you will multiply your gospel impact.

Poor & Powerless: You can multiply your gospel impact by creating a strategy to reach the poor of your community. No matter what community you live in, you don’t have to look hard to find people who are hurting. Single moms, Military families, homeless, low income, battered spouse shelters, refugees, or even entire neighborhoods. Jesus said to go to the highways and byways and compel them to come in.

So are you having trouble with the strategy piece? There are some great leaders who are willing to help. Intentional Churches will partner with you discover the church God made you to be, and create strategies that will multiply your gospel impact. Whether your church is small, medium or large, the call of God to do fulfill the great commission still stands. Let’s do it!

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Is your church ready to grow in 2015?

Is your church ready to grow in 2015? In 2010 the founders of Intentional Churches, Doug Parks & Bart Rendel, helped the church I serve, K2 The Church, develop a plan for growth, discipleship, and reorganization. We are experiencing the fruit of that planning session in a many ways. Our discipleship is more defined and effective. We'll be moving to a new facility that will allow us to grow, and we have key people in positions like never before. And Doug and Bart have continued to be a source of coaching for K2 over the last 4 years. If you're interested, you can see some of this fleshed out on k2thechurch.com.

I believe 100% that your church could experience amazing results as you unpack who God made you if you would engage with Intentional Churches to discover together what He wants you to do next in your community. The team building and intentional process will lead your team to action plans that they can accomplish. And the IC coaching will guide your team with results-oriented skills.

I have teamed up with Doug & Bart and Intentional Churches in order to see 1,000 churches double their Great Commission impact! Take the first step to investigate intentionalchurches.com and discover if we can partner with you and your church leaders.

God has called you to lead! You have a unique church in a unique community! Make 2015 a turning point year for your church!

4 Ways to Fill the Leadership Vacuum

leadership 101.3

Don't let the leadership vacuum suck the life out of you!

If you’re at a high level of leadership in a non-profit organization, you’ve probably experienced the leadership vacuum. What is the leadership vacuum? It’s can happen if more than one of the following happen at the same time:

1) You have more things to lead than you possibly can.
2) You don’t have enough resources to hire any more staff
3) A key leader leaves your organization.
4) A new major project needs to be accomplished
5) Your organization is in crisis, and needs the leader’s attention

As a leader, when you face these moments you will experience many thoughts and feelings. You may feel overwhelmed, burned out, contemplating quitting. You’ll definitely be tired. You may see anger, withdrawal, even addictive behavior rise up with in you. You will most likely not feel like yourself.

The worst thing about a leadership vacuum is that it sucks. As a leader it sucks to be you, and it begins to suck the life out of your organization, the people you lead, and you may even feel it sucking up your soul.

So what do you do about it? I recently experienced a key staff member leaving. And pretty much all his responsibilities landed on my already over full plate. The first thing I did was evaluate.

1) Act Quickly: What can you do right now to make things better? Then start doing them today. Don’t wait and wallow. Make sure you, or somebody in your organization covers the most urgent issues the vacuum has created.

2) Don’t Act too Quickly: Take time to evaluate what really needs to happen. Replacing someone’s position or doing things the same way may not be the solution. Take this moment to re-evaluate everything the vacuum is revealing. In my situation, the result was a 6-month process of re-organization that started about one month after the staff member left. The evaluation revealed that the task at hand needed multiple people, not just one. To replace that staff member with another person would have been disastrous. A complete re-organization allowed 6 leaders in the organization to step up, rewrite job descriptions and approach a major issue with new energy and direction. It also opened up the opportunity for another 25 volunteer leaders to help lead. It gave new energy, thought, and ideas. For now, the vacuum is plugged.

3) Continue Acting: For us, filling the huge vacuum has revealed more smaller vacuums where leadership or staff have inadequate resources or volunteers to accomplish their mission. For them, they are problem solving in a new way. Don’t be satisfied with quick fixes. Keep working on creating solutions that could keep you from experiencing the same vacuum.

4) Stop Acting: For this one I mean, the way you personally act. Don’t be Superman or Wonder Woman. If you’ve just experienced a leadership Vacuum you should take a break. Trust the people around you to make things happen. Do something that refreshes you. Be honest about being tired and needing a break. Trust me, everyone in your organization can see it on your face! Remember, don't let the leadership vacuum suck the life out of you! You’ll need your energy back, because before long, you’ll most likely discover a new leadership vacuum.

Three Questions to Ask if Your Church Isn't Growing

Church Growth 101.2

Why do you want to see your church grow? Most growing churches are criticized for growing for all the wrong reasons. Yet as I’ve met many pastors of growing churches and ask them about their story. I discover men who are very humble, have sacrificed greatly, endured many hardships, and lived out the great commission. I hear no pride in their accomplishments, growth, and buildings they’ve built, or things they have created. To most of these pastors, these are just by-products of a fruitful ministry to people. What I do hear is a passion to see people come to Christ, a love for their city, a desire to care for the disadvantage, and a belief that the church is the hope of the world.

So what if your church isn’t growing? There may be many reasons you are not seeing your numbers grow. Issues include lack of leadership, unclear vision, an undeveloped discipleship plan, inadequate facilities, loss of key people, or the wrong staff members. Some churches are in a difficult season, and relational issues become roadblocks for growth. And before you seek to grow, check your heart and make sure you have righteous motives.

1) Have you looked outside your walls? Yes, there is a hurting world out there. My friend in Pennsylvania asked, “what causes do the people in my community care about?” Then he joined in. This has led his church to be a source of inspiration, offering leadership development for non-profit and business leaders throughout his city. And people are coming to Christ. Our church partners with our city by tutoring refugee children, and serving in urban renewal projects. It’s a great way to serve our community, build our church community, and share the gospel.

2) Is it time to re-evaluate your discipleship? Our church is Salt Lake is trying to overcome this hurdle. Nearly four years of conversations, and baby steps are now bearing spiritual fruit. We are plugging holes in our discipleship pathway, making efforts to train our leaders better, and reorganizing our staff to be prepared to make more and better disciples.

3) Is your facility adequate? Be honest, is your facility inviting? Is it easy to navigate? Does it give you the best use for the ministries you offer or want to offer? I’ve been on staff in 4 churches, and not a single one could answer that question “yes”. One church entrance had a long dark hallway between a Gym and the sanctuary, and always had puddles of water collecting in it. Yet each church did make efforts and strides to either update, or physically move into a better-use facility.

Check your heart and your motives on the “why” you want to grow. If you’re struggling, pray for God to give you wisdom. What you must remember is that God is on your side. He has created you in his image to be in the location, community, church and neighborhood at this time for this season. Take a look around for opportunities to meet the needs of your community, re-organize if you have to, and if you must, move!

Wherever you live, If I can be of any help, please contact me. Dave.elshaug@intentionalchurches.com

by church leaders //
for church leaders
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Three E’s of Great Leadership: Encourage, Equip & Empower

Leadership 101.2

If you are reaching spiritually lost people with the Gospel, then your staff is in the spiritual fight of their lives. And you better be aware. Recently our staff has been engaging this subject intensely and upping our commitment to prayer, and care for one another. We live in a state where only 2% of the population attends a gospel-centered evangelical church. There is both a spirit of religion and anti-religion that pervades our culture. Our staff has experienced spiritual attacks in many ways, but the most devious of all is the lie of the enemy, telling each of them that they have no business leading in the kingdom. As we’ve been authentic and acknowledged it to each other in staff meetings, the enemies schemes are being rendered powerless.

What are you doing for your leaders to help them fight spiritual battles?

There’s three words people throw around in leadership development that I’ve seen in a new light recently: Encourage, Equip, and Empower.

Encourage your leaders: Don’t just pat them on the back, tell them they’re doing a good job. Although these are great things, they are weak in comparison to the the enemy who stabs them in the back at the end of the day and tells them they are a loser. EnCOURAGE by giving your staff Courage! Tell them you are with them, stop in their office and pray for them, ask them how they are doing, and then listen. Give them time, give them courage!

Equip your leaders: I’ve been guilty of needing a staff position, hiring someone and telling them, “here’s your job description, now good luck!” Often times this has left individuals feeling ill equipped to do their jobs. Remember when Saul gave David the shepherd boy his armor. Sure, it was great for Saul, but too big and encumbering for David. Find ways to give your leaders the EQUIPment they need do the job. Get them to read the best books and discuss them in small groups of peers. Find a local ministry training, or online course that will give them the right weapons to fight with.

Empower your leaders: I have also been guilty of delegating jobs to people without empowering them. to empower really means to give POWER. Our ultimate source of power comes from the Holy Spirit. So as a leadership team, pray with and for each other – often! Don’t let that slip. Then when you give someone a task or job, give them authority to do it! Stand by them in the beginning, have their back always, and be ready to invest time giving feedback in truth and grace. Show respect. Don’t trump their decision. Coach them to learn from mistakes, and re-empower them when they feel like failures.

In doing all these things, you will have a team that is strong in the Lord, and in his mighty power.

dave.elshaug@intentionalchurches.com

by church leaders //
for church leaders

Leaders Under Your Nose

Leadership 101.1

If you ask any church staff member what their greatest need is, one of the answers you’ll likely get is, “I need more leaders”. Believe it or not, there are all kinds of leaders right under your nose. If you don’t look for them you may never see them. And if you don’t identify them in the next few years, they may be gone. Don't miss this opportunity to find the leaders you desperately need.

A couple years ago our children’s ministry staff shared their concern over lack of leaders. I told them to follow me on a Sunday, and I’d show them where they could find a bunch of leaders. I walked them to the 5th and 6th Grade class and said, “In four years, these kids will be 15 & 16 years old. In 6 years they’ll be adults. Train them to lead now, and you’ll have leaders for the long haul.

To their credit, they latched on to the idea, and LIT was born: Leaders In Training. Teens and pre-teens are trained to lead a small group, lead worship, lead children and teens in prayer, and share the salvation message. They are learning lessons they are applying right now, and leadership and spiritual care for others is part of their character. They receive continued training and leadership from dedicated adults who believe in them.

You may be missing a great opportunity to fill your church with leaders for years to come. So take a look under your nose, and see the leaders of today and tomorrow. Remember how God surprised the adult Bible leaders all the time. As a boy, Samuel heard God’s voice. Jesus taught the temple leaders at the age of 12. Josiah was a king before he was a teenager. David killed a giant. A young Jewish slave led her Assyrian master, Naaman, to the healer.

Recently in Salt Lake City we graduated 21 new Leaders in Training and we have over 80 leaders (grades 6-12) serving all over our church. Watch this video and be inspired. And then on Sunday, stop by your 5th and 6th Grade Sunday school classroom and see them with different eyes.

dave.elshaug@intentionalchurches.com

by church leaders //
for church leaders