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3 “Gee-Whiz” Mistakes to Avoid Early in Leadership
There is a dynamic in the first years of leading in ministry that I fell into pretty hard and that set me up for a lot of frustration and disappointment. I call it the “gee-whiz” element. It is the frame of mind that I believe many young pastors and leaders in ministry have fresh out of college, or early in their pursuit to follow the call of God into vocational ministry. And it is a frame of mind that I believe leads towards 3 crucial mistakes.
The Pedestal
This is the mistake so many young pastors and ministry leaders make when they place the church and the person they will be working for on a pedestal. This is such an obvious mistake to avoid, but almost all of us make it and after a year or two it often leads to frustration, disillusionment and conflict.
The reason this happens is because we allow ourselves to become so enamored with being accepted by a church that we stop thinking critically about the leadership and community. Is the church in the midst of a large transition? Has the youth ministry had a quick turn over in the position they are looking for you to fill? Are the ministers that will lead you proven mentors? Are the ministers that will lead you someone that you want to be like as a pastor? Is the church looking for a minister to come and set direction, and “fix” the ministry? How has the church grown over the past 3-5 years? Is there a strong team in place?
These are all questions that need to be asked and adequately answered. Young Leaders need a mentor, they need a place to learn, but the freedom to put those learnings into practice (now catch this) in an environment HEALTHY enough for their mistakes. You need a place to develop practical experience and a place that values the practice of mentorship for young pastors - period!
The Tom Sawyer
This is the mistake where you SO want to feel useful you sign up for every little task you can to help out and get that “that-a-boy” pat on the back. In the business world this is called falling for a “Tom Sawyer.” In the novel, Tom was whitewashing the fence, and his buddies made fun of him for having to work instead of play. Tom insisted he was having the time of his life so vehemently, that the other kids asked if they could take a turn painting the fence. Tom allowed them to paint the fence for him, but only if they gave him something in return. So, Tom ended up getting snacks and toys in exchange for allowing the other kids to paint the fence.
Don’t become someone’s “Tom Sawyer”, know who you are, and focus on your ministry. Think of it this way, your time is worth $500/hour. Now, most of us only wish we got paid that much, but as the leader of the ministry your time and where you spend it should only be in the places of the HIGHEST value. Don’t get suckered into menial tasks just because someone is affirming you, focus your time on the things you are best at and that hold the highest value. Now, don’t become the worst team player in history, your church is full of people who need to serve in their place in ministry. Enable them to serve, and stay focused on your priorities.
The Bottle Neck
In leadership and management books a consistent mantra is that you must delegate and enable volunteers so that you don’t become the “bottle neck” to your ministry, and thus limit it. There is one benefit for the insecure leader though, if you are the bottle neck you are also the center of attention! It also means when the ministry hasn’t grown, you are the center of attention for that failure. Learn early that being a pastor means lifting others up. Great pastors are constantly enabling ministry opportunities for people by getting out of the way and letting them serve. It is also the best way to help create “buy-in” within your ministry, and to provide an environment of excitement.
7 Ways to “Go Green” with your Car
Josh and Tony jump on the “going green” craze and talk about their field tested strategies for helping the environment. We also talk about making sure you eat before 4 hour seminary classes and a new podcast and blog to check out.
The “Host your own Show” Contest (for a free registration to Group’s National Youth Ministry Conference)
The awesome and very generous people from Group’s National Youth Ministry Conference have given us two free conference registrations to give away. So we are having a sweet contest!
Over the next two weeks we want to see your best show ideas for the Who Are These Guys Podcast. We will pick the best two, and if your idea is picked you not only get a free registration, you get to help host the show that you came up with!
Granted, hosting the podcast won’t make you very famous, but at least our mother’s will have something to listen to…
5 Ways to Undermine your Senior Pastor
This week Josh Griffin and Tony Steward talk about 5 “field tested” ways to undermine your senior pastor. Actually as we made these mistakes we hope this podcast will show you ways to avoid hurting the most essential ministry relationship you have - the one with your Senior Pastor.
(link to contest for Group Conference Registrations)
Resources Mentioned in the Show
The Blogging Church Facebook Group
Effective Blogging: a slideshow guide for the beginning blogger
I just got done putting together a slideshow for a presentation today on blogging and I thought that I would share! Once you click on the link below, just click on the screen to progress the slide show. It is also located on the Resources page, with the Podcast Ebook.
(Click on the screen to progress the slides)
10 Ways to get the Most out of a Conference
Josh and Tony talk about their experiences in going to ministry conferences and give the 10 best ways to get the most out of them. This applies if you are going to a Youth Specialties Convention or to Group’s Conference in the spring of 2008.
We also mention how Josh is now famous because he was listed on Tony Morgan’s Top 25 list of Blogs, for shame…
Two things I wished I had known before starting ministry
The Who Are These Guys Podcast was honored to have Mark Jackson, youth pastor of St. Luke’s Methodist Church from Welkom, South Africa and Tom Roepke, youth pastor of student Ministries at New Hope Community Church in Loudonville, Ohio as guests on the show today!
Today we all talked about the two things we wish we had know before starting ministry, it is a great show, so good in fact that is was a bummer Josh wasn’t here! You won’t want to miss this show, these guys have a combined 40+ years of ministry experience between them and have some solid advice for anyone just starting in ministry.
Tom’s Xanga
New Hope Community Church’s Youth Blog
Mark’s Youth Groups Facebook Group
No Podcast this week (unless…)
Hey everyone, Josh is on vacation so there is a low possibility that we will get a podcast out. That is unless I can find some of you guys who would like to have a conversation through skype!!! If you are in I am thinking we will record a conversation on Monday at noon my time (3pm Eastern Standard).
If you are in let’s have an idea on a topic to!
Who Are These Guys group on Facebook
I just want to let all of our listeners out in blog / podcast land know that we have a Who Are These Guys group on Facebook. I am going to be putting some videos up there, especially since Josh in on vacation and I might not get another podcast out right away. (tear)Ha!But if you are on Facebook, I have a link to my profile on the right and as always if you have an questions or want a bad idea just shoot us a message!
Who Are These Guys Facebook Group
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